We report the growth by liquid phase epitaxy and laser operation at 2.012 micrometers of Tm:YAG planar waveguides with various concentrations (4 to 10 at %), lengths (3,4 mm) and active layer thicknesses (8 to 30 micrometers ). The pumping source was 1 W GaAlAs SDL diode emitting at 785 nm and the cavity consisted of 2 plane mirrors butted to the waveguide endfaces. Initial results have been obtained with a 6% doped, 4 mm long and 14.6 micrometers thick, Tm:YAG epilayer: Thresholds occurred at respectively 60 mW and 300 mW of incident power (48 mW and 136 mW of absorbed power taking in account pump feedback by the output couplers) for output mirrors transmissions of 2% and 12% respectively. Slope efficiencies of 32% and 48% with respect to absorbed power have been achieved with these output transmissions. With Ti:sapphire pumping an using 1.8% output coupling, laser threshold as low as approximately equals 10 mW and slop efficiencies of approximately equals 30% have been obtained in a range of different Tm:YAG waveguides. This performance is comparable to the best results published until now for bulk crystals.


By using the Vertically Integrated Liquid water content(VIL) products and hailstorm sample data of 2009-2010 in Guangxi,variation characteristics of VIL in the cases of hailstorm are analyzed.The results show that the VIL of hailstorm in Guangxi is characterized by its obvious gradation variation,the index of identification is VIL≥43 kg·m-2.Before the hail shooting there is an abrupt increase of VIL,in 1 datum time VIL abrupt increase value≥5 kg·m-2.The higher the hailstorm's VIL value is,the bigger the diameter of the hail may be.It is considered that VIL products would have fairly good directive function in artificial hail suppression such as hail cloud recognition,operation time,and bomb amount needed for the operation.


ABSTRACT Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome is an autosomal-dominant disease characterized by the formation of various tumours and cysts in many different parts of the body. Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome is caused by VHL gene mutations leading to production of impaired tumor suppressor Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome protein or its complete absence. Purpose: To study five patients with clinically suspected Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome, who were referred for molecular genetic testing. Methods: Sanger sequencing of the coding regions of the VHL gene. Results: Five clinically relevant germline mutations were detected. One of the pathogenic variants has not been previously reported. This novel mutation is a complex mutation event combining a duplication and an indel, rearranging exon 3 of the VHL gene - c. [516_517dupGTCAAGCCT; 532_542delCTGGACATCGTinsATTA], p. (Glu173Serfs*4). Conclusion: Overall, our results showed that the diagnosis of Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome in our country is difficult most probably because of its heterogeneous clinical manifestation and insufficient knowledge on the diagnostic criteria for the disease. From genetic point of view our results add some novel data on the mutation profile of the VHL gene. In order to prove or revise the diagnosis, early genetic testing is strongly recommended in affected patients and their family members to ensure appropriate follow-up and treatment of the malignancies.


The article is dedicated to the analysis of the digital transformation processes of the procedure of making aviation technics based on the usage of high technological platform MindSphere. The architecture and tools of the Siemens IIoT MindSphere open cloud operating system are reviewed. There are the capabilities of the MindSphere platform for the digital transformation of industrial enterprises. In theoretical part of this article, the authors consider perspective technologies of digitalization at domestic aviation enterprises, where the main factors are work in the sphere of introducing artificial intelligence and creating unique digital twins of aircrafts. The research is based on the comprehensive analysis and synthesis with the following forming of the final grade of the main results of realization of technological domestic enterprises' transformation. In the course of the study, the task is to identify key areas and areas of technological transformation and the possibility of using promising information technologies (IT) systems. The article's authors point out that for solution of tasks of predictive analytics, multivariate analysis, trend prediction, and pattern analysis based on artificial intelligence / machine learning methods aviation enterprises have to use technological abilities of the platform MindSphere. It is defined that the development a full-fledged virtual object model based on technologies included in the platform Mindsphere will allow solving a lot of problems during its development and also there comes up an opportunity to qualitatively analyze the various options for the developed product and optimize the time / expenses connected to its last development. During the conducted analysis, it was found out that technologies Siemens PLM (Product lifecycle) Software on the platform MindSphere allow making verified models aircraft, their units, components and systems, as well as conduct their virtual tests. For typical aviation systems and components of the solution suggest available libraries of customized models, due to which reliable calculations and rejection of part of field tests are possible. In the result of the conducted research authors come to the conclusion that with the help of the platform MindSphere enterprises, holdings, and even whole industries it will be able to close digital chains between the design, manufacture, and product operation.


In this paper a discrete event system is a dynamical system in which the term event is used to describe the occurrence of a discontinuous change in the elements of the system at a point in time. Events occur at discrete intervals of time, which are not necessarily uniformly separated, and logical relationships govern the discontinuous changes when events occur. The state space is restricted to being discrete and finite.


Background: Lymphatic filariasis is a parasitic disease that is similar to the threads of its habitat in the lymph system that infect humans, namely Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori. Although B. malayi commonly infects humans, recent evidence also suggests that Brugia pahangi, an afilarial nematode naturally found in cats, can cause clinical infection in humans, with clinical features consistent with lymphatic filariasis. Methods: Cross-sectional with an observational and analytic approach. The results of a positive microscopic examination were carried out by Brugia Rapid Test for B. malayi and PCR examination for B. malayi and B. pahangi. Positive microscopic results were then checked for periodicity of microfilariae every 2 hours for 24 hoursResults: From the research, 17 people were positive for B. malayi microfilariae (mf rate 6.34%). The Brugia Rapid Test had 17 positive results. PCR results of 14 people were positive/formed a band at 322 bp. The results of the sample sequencing were B. malayi species. PCR results of B. pahangi were not found to be positive / band formed in all samples. The periodicity results of microfilaria peaked at 00: 00-04: 00 with the nocturnal periodic type. Conclusions: Lubuk Pauh Village, Musi Rawas Regency is still endemic for malayi filariasis with a high level of endemicity and is not an endemic area for filariasis pahangi. The periodicity of microfilariae indicates a nocturnal periodic type.


role of labour as a prime influence upon the locational decisions of industrialists. This work seems to be divisible into two strands. The first presents capital as, in principle, quite indifferent to abandoning often substantial concentrations of usable labour power to seek out more profitable locations elsewhere (Walker and Storper, 1981; Storper and Walker, 1983). A second strand accepts this point to some extent, but holds that the pools of labour left when traditional industries


The dynamic growth and ambitious plans of the geothermal sector in Indonesia require a lot more skilled personnel and welltrained scientific specialists than currently exist hence a nation-wide capacity building program has been drafted by BAPPENAS. It is difficult to assess the capacity needed both in volume as well as in level of education. The Netherlands Embassy, through Agenschap.NL started to assist BAPPENAS in 2009, to accelerate investments in geothermal areas. In 2014 the NetherlandsIndonesian geothermal capacity building program GEOCAP was launched. The objective of the program is to increase the capacity of Indonesia's Ministries, Local Government Agencies, public and private companies and knowledge institutions in developing, exploring and utilization of geothermal energy sources, and to assess and monitor its impact on the economy and environment. A broad Indonesian-Netherlands consortium consisting of 11 universities, knowledge institutes and geothermal companies formed a Public-Private Partnership to draft GEOCAP. The GEOCAP program has a number of intimately linked components: (1) an Education and training program; focusing on developing capacity at university and technician level in support of the development of the geothermal sector, (2) a research program; addressing the real needs of the sector and solving real life problems related to exploration, exploitation of geothermal resources as well as environmental and legislation issues, (3) a data base program; to collect, standardize, digitize and store surface and subsurface information relevant to geothermal development, (4) a program targeted to explore the use of-low & medium enthalpy resources in Indonesia and a (5) geothermal 2050 program aimed at out of the box thinking is necessary to explore potential unconventional geothermal resources that at present are undiscovered or technically not yet feasible. The GEOCAP program aims to engage with local governments and local population. This is unique and highly needed as all the permits are dealt with (contrary to oil and gas concessions that are dealt with by the state government) by local authorities who are only in part known with geothermal energy exploration. In this presentation we will report on the status of GEOCAP, discuss the challenges of geothermal exploration in the Indonesian context both from a geosciences perspective as from a policy perspective and we will discuss the advantages of collaborating in a public-private setting.


Our homes tell the story of who we are; the things we surround ourselves with represent our view of the world. Eileen Mockus, president and CEO of sustainable home furnishings brand, Coyuchi, discusses the work of creating products that connect with custo


The realization of a defect-free mask is a technical problem in extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) technology, which is expected as a next-generation lithography technology. We are therefore proposing and developing the EUV phase-shift microscope for phase-defect inspection. The beam splitter is the key element in this microscope. In this paper, we describe the present situation on the development of the beam splitter. The most inportant issue in beam splitter development is controlling stress. By controlling Ar gas pressure, we controlled stress and thereby successfully developed the beam splitter.


Solar radiation reached to ground as one of the essential factors for studies of water resources, environment, agriculture and vegetables coverage, designing the systems for use of clean energy and other numerous cases, has a wide application. This factor is not measured in all meteorological stations and therefore has presented a lot of empirical methods by the use meteorological, astronomical and geographical parameters for estimation. The purpose of this study is estimating the total amount of radiation reached to horizontal surface using climate parameters (minimum, maximum and average temperature, minimum humidity, sky cloud inees, sunny hours) and it's classification in East Azerbaijan province. Thus, the measured monthly data of solar radiation in Tabriz sta on during 2001 to 2006 were used for modeling. The clima c data of 6 synop c sta ons in the province during 1987 to 2007 were 1 Associate Professor, Department of Climatology, University of Sistan and Baluchestan. 2Professor, Department of Climatology, University of Tabriz. 3Department of Climatology, University of Sistan and Baluchestan. Islamic Azad University-Ahar Branch Geographic Space An Approved Scientific, Research-based Quarterly


HILE gathering ethnological material among the Canadian Iroquois in the summer of 1907, the writer was fortunate enough to secure, besides a fair typical collection of ceremonial paraphernalia, weapons, games, costume, and domestic utensils, a number of unusual specimens, the description of which may prove of interest to students of Iroquois culture. As in the case of the Delaware material described in a previous article,' Lhich


What is the state of health care in China? Wei Zhang analyzes the deep institutional issues that plague China's health care system. Despite its timely and effective efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis, the system still faces deep-seated challenges, many of which can be traced directly to the marketization of hospitals and medical care.


The invention discloses a 'technique for conditioning sludge by using the synergic action of Fenton reagent and polyacrylamide', and mainly aims to overcome the defects in sludge dehydration conditioning of urban sewage treatment plants at present. The invention provides a sludge conditioning combined technical process which can effectively degrade organic substances, realize sludge reduction, effectively release combined water and cell internal water difficult to be dehydrated in the sludge and improve the dehydration performance of the sludge. In the technique, the oxidizing action of the Fenton reagent and the strong flocculation of CPAM (cationic polyacrylamide) are fully combined and used to enhance the dehydration performance of the sludge and improve the solid-liquid separation ratio in sludge dehydration. Through conditioning, the water content of the sludge after centrifugal dehydration is reduced from 87.7 percent to 79.3 percent, and the mud cake output is reduced from 0.218t/m to 0.128t/m .


Online Information Hunting posits that online searching is replacing traditional libraries because the proliferation of multidisciplinary subjects makes it financially difficult for traditional libraries to store a wide variety of materials in highly specialized fields. This is especially true because a large percentage of library materials are infrequently or never requested by users. Online searchingeliminates much of the expense of collecting and storing hard copy materials that are in low demand. However, author Goldmann laments the fact that informational retrieval services have been tailored for use by librarians rather than by the end users, the subject experts. He believes, nonetheless, that his Subject Expert Searching Technique (sEST) produces the highest quality online search when used by the professional or expert in a particular subject area. After establishing a rationale and need for the Subject Expert Searching Technique (sEST) in chapter i, the author does not actually explain this online searching method until chapter 10. However, since the search strategy is the core of the book, it will be explained first. This strategy is based on a two- or three-concept search. A subject expert will decide before going online on two or three key concepts to search. The subject expert will then develop a list of terms or synonyms for each of the concepts. The subject expert searches for each of the concepts and related terms using an OR search command. The computer database will list the number of "postings" or "hits" it finds for each concept and its synonym terms. A search is then conducted using the AND operator to find references that refer to both key concepts or their synonyms. This usually significantly limits the "postings" from hundreds or thousands to less than a hundred. A subordinate clause, or third key concept and its synonyms, is then used to further limit the number of findings when it is used with the AND operator to apply to all three key concepts. Further specification can be provided by using the NOT operator to exclude "postings" if they contain specified "noise" terms. The book includes a brief discussion and demonstration that searches can also be conducted for names or citations. And finally, the Subject Expert Search Technique is spelled out in a step-by-step fashion in chapter 14, the last chapter in the book. Clearly, the search procedure explained in the book and outlines above could be of value to the subject expert or professional new to online database searching. It does provide a rational way to search more efficiently and effectively. This book has a number of deficiencies. Chapter 2 involves the definition of three concepts: information, knowledge, and data. Unfortunately, the author provides his own highly idiosyncratic definitions of these terms, which do not appear tied to anything else in the book. There are several chapters in which one finds only five or six pages of text, which appear to be primarily extended "laundry lists." For example, chapter 3, "An Overview of Online Systems," informs the reader that online systems are composed of three elements : producers, online services, and files. The remainder of this chapter consists of assorted and loosely connected charts and graphs. Online Information Hunting provides a number of searches from various online services, some of which are annotated. Most of theseare helpful. In some cases, however, one finds entries such as ".exs t16e/6-7" without any annotation or explanation. One also finds terms such as "master-index file" that are not explained in the text or even listed in the index. The book has no glossary. A book written for novice online users, as indicated on the cover, should more carefully and completely explain and document search and other key terms and concepts. The author, who is an engineer, uses scientific, engineering, business, or medical examples for many of the online searches presented. A smaller proportion of the searches uses subjects or files or both that would be directly relevant to social scientists. Online Information Hunting is strikingly similar in format and content to Online Research and Retrieval With Microcomputers, published by Goldmann by the same press in 1985. In his introduction to Online Information Hunting Goldmann states that the "content of the book has not aged and most of its material is reproduced in this new book with only minimal amendments and up- dates" (p. xix). The later book omits one earlier chapter on "The IBM Pc and Information Gathering" and substitutes one new chapter on "Academic E-Mail Networks." More extensive revision and the updating of information on available databases, their users, and searching commands would have strengthened Online Information Hunting. Overall, Online Information Hunting presents a step-by-step strategy that utilizes a two- or three-concept technique to assist professionals in doing their own online searching. This book can assist the professional who is a novice online searcher organize his or her search before going online. This can result in a less costly, more efficient, and more successful online search. Despite weaknesses in several chapters, and in documentation, the book would be of value to professionals new to online searching. Unfortunately, many important topics, including menu and command modes of online searching, are not included. Although this book presents more information about online searching than the typical guides provided by online services to subscribers, much new and valuable information could have been provided in the underdeveloped early chapters in the book. (Reviewed by Larry Hall, Spring Hill College)


Vehicular Clouds introduces a new paradigm that addresses and potentially enhances underutilization of on-board computing resources through aggregation to solve several computational tasks in Intelligent Transportation System. The most challenging issue in Vehicle Cloud is the task allocation among the dynamically changing amount of available resources. For further research towards this issue, a realistic road traffic system models which could generate traffic flow with high accuracy must be designed. In this paper, we conduct a study on short-term traffic flow predictions for our envisioned road traffic prediction system. Five prediction models, including double exponential smoothing (DES), seasonal autoregressive moving average (SARIMA), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), back-propagation neural network (BP-NN) and support vector regression (SVR), are implemented. Then, three different error metrics are used to evaluate the performance of these models. Finally, the results shows that SARIMA and BP neural network are two precise and stationary prediction models and thus are the best candidates to be embedded in an road traffic load prediction system.


ABSTRACT Purpose Previous research has focused on device-based measures of activity compensation, with little understanding of how children perceive potential compensatory responses to activity or inactivity, or whether these change after periods of activity or inactivity. The aim of this study was (a) to explore the alignment between children's self-reported usual compensation and compensation recall after experimental conditions and (b) to examine sex differences. Methods In total, 360 children (47% boys) participated in at least one of three experimental conditions over 6 wk: (a) restricted physical activity (PA; indoor play), (b) imposed moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA; sports class), and (c) imposed light-intensity PA (LPA; standing lesson). Before the first condition, children reported their "usual compensation" behavior to examples of restricted/imposed PA, and 2–3 d after each experimental condition, they completed a recall measure of their compensation after the condition. Multilevel regression models were conducted to determine whether children's perceptions of "usual compensation" score were associated with recalled compensation score after imposed or restricted PA. Additional models were fitted for sex-specific associations. Results Overall and among girls, the usual compensation score was positively associated with the compensatory recall score for the additional MVPA and LPA conditions (P < 0.0005; e.g., they thought they would usually compensate for additional MVPA and then perceived that they compensated after additional MVPA). A negative association was seen in the restricted activity condition among girls (P = 0.03). All associations in the boys' analyses were statistically nonsignificant. Conclusions These findings suggest some alignment between children's self-reported usual compensation and compensation recall after imposed changes to routine activity. Future research should consider device-measured comparisons and identify characteristics of children at risk of activity compensation in future interventions.


Regarding the importance of fragility curves in seismic evaluation of buildings, in this study the fragility curves were developed for some sets of steel buildings, having frames with X-bracing as their load bearing system, by performing a series of Nonlinear Time History Analyses. The buildings, which were assumed to be regular in both plan and elevation to avoid the torsion effects, include a set of 2by 4-bay and another set of 4by 6-bay plans having 3, 5, or 7 stories. Several recorded accelerograms, with various peak ground acceleration values and also different frequency contents, were used for each building to create a relatively large statistical data for developing reliable fragility curves. Two damage indices, including the "inter-story drifts" and the "axial plastic deformation of bracing elements" were used. The numerical results show that the second index is more reliable for developing the fragility curves of braced frames.


In vivo experimental studies are done by inducing kidney stones in the Wistar rats and modulation of disease progression was noted after intervention of extract. Instead of struvite crystals, here the inhibition effect is tested against the growth of calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals. The in vivo studies are categorized into prophylactic effect study and curative effect study of the drug. The prophylactic effect (prevention) proves that whether the prior intake of the drug or the prior presence of chemical components of the drug in the human body can stop or reduce the growth of urinary crystals. The curative effect (treatment) proves the intake of this drug by a patient, who is affected by kidney stones, will reduce the kidney stone size and act as a medicine to cure this condition.


In the study of material and characterization of their properties, our major concern is to invent various new materials and improvise the existing information about the known substances by developing in-depth understanding of physical and chemical properties corresponding to different physical conditions. For this certain important physical parameters such as adiabatic compressibility, specific acoustic impedance, relative association, intermolecular free length, relaxation time, free volume, Rao's constant, Wada's constant etc. are evaluated using ultrasonic velocity, density and viscosity of liquids, gases, ceramics and crystals.


In this article, we explore how digital platforms capture value from the transactions they enable between different actors. We explore how digital platforms capture value from the transactions they enable between different actors. We analyzed 51 platform startups and derived recurring value capture patterns, which can serve as substantial tools for practitioners and researchers who engage with the design and description of business ecosystems.


A live attenuated influenza vaccine candidate was notgenetically stable when administered tosome children wholacked antibody tosurface proteins ofthe virus. Toobtain additional biological information aboutthese revertants, the vaccine strain, thewild-type parental strain, andisolates recovered frominoculated children during a vaccine trial were evaluated inferret tracheal organ culture foreffects on theciliated epithelium andreplication atbothpermissive andrestrictive temperatures. Thestudies revealed thatthevaccine strain destroyed cilia andreplicated tohightiter atitspermissive temperature (330) but caused minimal damageandreplicated toverylowtiter atitsrestrictive temperature(370C). Thewild-type parent destroyed cilia atboth33and370C. Isolates which were nolonger temperature sensitive (ts') destroyed cilia atbothrestrictive andpermissive temperatures andgrew tohightiter. Isolates whichretained the tsphenotype behaved asthevaccine strain inthis system. Thets' virus recovered fromvolunteers behaved like thewild-type parent, whichsuggests thatthese viruses hadnotmerely lost their tsphenotype, buthadundergone reversion to wildtype.Important information aboutthegenetic stability oftemperaturesensitive influenza vaccine strains recovered fromvolunteers canbeobtained by evaluating theminferret tracheal organculture. A/HongKong/68-ts-l[E], aliveattenuated influenza vaccine candidate, wasnotgenetically stable inyoungchildren wholacked antibody to thetwosurface proteins ofthevirus(1-3, 5). Thisprovided usanopportunity tocompare the behavior ofrevertant viruses isolated fromvolunteers tothatoftheoriginal vaccine virus in ferret tracheal organculture atpermissive (330C) andrestrictive (370C) temperatures. We havepreviously reported thatA/HongKong/ 68-ts-l[E], avirus withashutoff temperature forplaque formation of380C, destroys ciliated epithelium inthis system andgrows tohigh titer at330C(permissive nasal temperature), butthat itdoesnotdamage cilia andgrows toverylow titer at370C(restrictive lungtemperature) (4). Wild-type viruses destroy cilia andgrowtohigh titer atboth33and370C. Since itwasunknown whether thets'(revertant) virus hadmerely lost thetsphenotype orwhether italsohadlostits attenuated characteristics, itwasevaluated in theferret tracheal organ culture system.


In this paper, a new distributive heuristic algorithm is developed for maximizing the network throughput in adaptive power and rate spatial-TDMA networks. At each step of our algorithm, the link with highest current receive-SINR in its 2-hop neighborhood is included in the schedule for the underlying time slot, configuring its Modulation/Coding Scheme so that it transmits at the highest feasible power and rate. The winning link announces its power margin to its neighbors. The receivers of unscheduled links calculate the maximum potential SINR at which their link could operate if scheduled next. The next set of winners is then selected. The process repeats until the power margin of transmitting links doesn't allow more additions to the schedule at the underlying time-slot. Simulation results show the performance of the distributive algorithm to be within 5-10% of that exhibited by our recently developed centralized algorithms, while inducing a much lower computational complexity.


Reactions of primary amines with Fmoc-protected amino acids or Fmoc deprotection of the resulting products in N,N-di-methylformamide gave tetramethylguanidines in variable yields as unexpected by-products.


The utility model relates to a food machine, particularly a forming device for dumpling sheets. The utility model is characterized in that a chain type module (8) is provided with a hole (25); the edge of the hole (25) is provided with a convex cutting edge (26); dumpling sheets are rolled and cut by the convex cutting edge (26) and a flexible die roller (10) for forming; the hole (25) on the chain type module (8) is composed of two sections; the position of the cutting edge (10) is in a tapered table shape; the lower part of the hole (25) is in a cylinder shape; the generatrix of a tapered table part and the generatrix of a cylinder section form an intersection angle alpha from 0 DEG to 100 DEG; the wedge angle of the convex cutting edge (26) is beta from 20 DEG to 40 DEG; a flour distributing hair brush (5) and a baffle plate (6) are arranged under a dry flour hopper (4); dry flour is sprayed into a fog shape under the function of the mutual movement of the flour distributing hair brush (5) and the baffle plate (6); a scraping plate (18) rotates round a positioning screw (19); the scraping plate (18) and rollers (2) and (3) are always contacted without gaps under the function of a tension spring (20). The utility model has the advantages of better demould effect, small volume, high efficiency and stable and reliable performance. The utility model is suitable for processing dumpling sheets with high water content especially.


Jose Rodrigues Migueis' most unsual fictional narrative (Return of Dome Pena), was considered by Oscar Lopes a prose poem about the return of the Portuguese to their homeland. In this tale, which gives rise to the myth of Eternal Return, an expatriate goes back to Lisbon to rejoin his people, and especially himself. The plot follows an almost cinematic pace, full of anxiety and tension, with the hero's haziness to readapt to the present time. Portugal of the past is far and inaccessible to the traveler's eyes, who does not want to be a foreigner in his country. The clash that took place at the dome of Pena Palace assumes a mythical feature, in which the narrator-character faces his own ghosts in a struggle of life and death. The emblematic confrontation of Self against Other, which wanders between levels of dream and imagination, implies an initial question to then


In Japan, lung cancer death ranks first among men and third among women. Lung cancer death is increasing yearly, thus early detection and treatment are needed. For this reason, CT screening for lung cancer has been introduced. The CT screening services are roughly divided into three sections: office, radiology and diagnosis sections. These operations have been performed through paper-based or a combination of paper-based and an existing electronic health recording system. This paper describes an operating support system for lung cancer CT screening in order to make the screening services efficient. This operating support system is developed on the basis of 1) analysis of operating processes, 2) digitalization of operating information, and 3) visualization of operating information. The utilization of the system is evaluated through an actual application and users' survey questionnaire obtained from CT screening centers.


Recent advances in the semiconductor industry have created an exigency for processes that allow to deposit and etch material in conformal matter in three-dimensional devices. While conformal deposition is achieved using atomic layer deposition (ALD), conformal etching can be accomplished by thermal atomic layer etching (ALE) which, like ALD, proceeds via a binary sequence of self-limiting reactions. This study explores ALE of TiO2 and ZrO2 using WF6 as a fluorinating agent, and BCl3, TiCl4, or SOCl2 as a co-reactant. The effect of co-reactant chemistry was studied using atomic force microscopy, in situ ellipsometry, and in vacuo Auger electron spectroscopy measurements along with thermodynamic modeling. All three co-reactants exhibited saturation and etch rates increasing with temperature. At 170 °C, TiO2 can be etched using WF6 with BCl3, TiCl4, or SOCl2, and the etching proceeds at 0.24, 0.18, and 0.20 nm/cycle, respectively. At 325 °C, ZrO2 ALE can occur using these same reactants, proceeding at 0.96, 0.74, and 0.13 nm/cycle, respectively. A higher temperature is needed for ZrO2 ALE versus TiO2 because the ZrCl4 product is less volatile than the corresponding TiCl4. During ZrO2 and TiO2 etching using BCl3 or TiCl4, boron oxide or titanium oxide intermediate layers, respectively, were formed on the surface, and they were subsequently removed by WF6. In contrast, for ALE of TiO2 using SOCl2, a similar intermediate layer is not observed. This study broadens the understanding of co-etchants role during thermal ALE and expands the range of reactants that can be used for vapor etching of metal oxides.


In this paper, we present new theoretical analysis on the uncoded bit error probability (BEP) of optimal multiuser detectors in cooperative cellular networks. We consider the uplink of a cooperative network where an arbitrary number of receivers jointly detect the signals transmitted from multiple transmitters. For such a network, we derive accurate upper and lower bounds on the BEP with independent Rayleigh fading and arbitrary path loss. We observe that our lower bound accurately approximates the BEP at low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), whereas the upper bound is accurate at high SNRs. We further evaluate our bounds asymptotically to explicitly characterize the cooperative diversity order and array gains in the high-SNR regime.


The reaction between equimolar 2-chloronicotinoyl chloride and 2-mercaptopyridine in ClCH2CH2Cl, after 30 minutes refluxing in ClCH2CH2Cl solution, produced pyrido[2,3,b][1,5]benzothiazepin-5(H)one 7, and 6-[3-(2-benzothiazolyl)pyridin-2-yl)thio]-N-[3-(2-benzothiazolyl)pyridin-2-yl]aniline 8. In contrast, the reaction using the same reaction conditions between equimolar 2-chloronico- tinoyl chloride and 2-hydroxypyridine, produced the simple amide, 2-chloro-N-(2-hydroxyphenyl) nicotinamide 9. 2-Chloro-N-(2-mercaptophenyl)nicotinamide was considered to be a common intermediate in the formation of 7 and 8. The characterizations of 7–9 were achieved by X-ray crystallography. The conformations of 7 and 8 in the solid state can be described as "U" and "V"-shaped, respectively.


This paper is to develop a model on synthesis reaction of methanol using material and thermodynamics balance, and to utilize MATLAB to solve multielement nonlinear equation set on proposed model, so calculate balance composition of reactions, parameters of various materials, various process criteria such as methanol output and consumption according to given operation conditions, thereby can quantitatively analyze the effect of various operation conditions on process criteria, so that direct the actual chemical operation, thus assist to determine the optimal operating conditions of synthesis, consequently could forecast various criteria such as yield and consumption according to given conditions of feeds.


Current situation in the domain of railroad international traffic permits to propose a variety of projects and to discuss the prospects for their implementation. The article covers the business idea of organization of an international high-speed railroad service between Russia and Western Europe (Centre Western Europe).


To be concerned about data privacy in the fitness tracking world is apparently not the question of age or fitness level. It also does not necessarily influence the actual use of fitness tracking technologies. In this empirical study, 590 participants from the EU and USA, who are current users, former users or non-users of fitness tracking applications, were surveyed (online) on their sensitivity perception of several data pieces collected with fitness trackers as well as their data privacy concerns. Furthermore, subgroups of different fitness tracking users were detected based on their different privacy unconcerns.


As a majority of tourist group, the pro-environmental psychological mechanism of mass tourists has not been investigated adequately. Deepening one core facet of the model of goal-directed behaviour, this study investigates the relationships among attitude (i.e. place attachment dimensions), desire, intention and mass tourism value orientation to expound the pro-environmental mentality of mass tourists. Questionnaires were collected from 865 domestic mass tourists visiting Sanya, China. The results partially confirm the validity of the explanation model and delineate the pro-environmental motivating nuance of each place attachment dimension. Place affect and place dependence both significantly motivate the environmental activation of mass tourists. While the motivating effect of the former is rather solid, it is vulnerable to moderation when it comes to the latter. Place identity unexpectedly plays a negative motivating role. The implications of the research findings are discussed.


With the development of social platforms, people are more likely to use pictures to share their sentiments and opinions. With the development of deep learning, the current mainstream image sentiment analysis research mainly focuses on the use of high-level semantic sentiment features of images, and less on the use of low-level sentiment features such as colors, lines and so on. Aiming at the above problems, this paper proposes an image sentiment analysis model based on multi-level feature fusion (MLFF). Firstly, the convolution neural network is used to learn different levels of image features; Then the multi-level features are input into the bidirectional sequential neural network, and attention is introduced to fuse to generate multi-level fusion features; Finally, the multi-level fusion features are input to the full connection layer for classification. The experimental results show that the fusion model proposed in this paper can make effective use of multi-level image features and effectively improve the performance of image sentiment analysis.


Merino wethers grazing unfertilized pastures in rotational and continuous grazing systems on the North Coast of New South Wales were drenched at high, medium and low frequencies. Liveweights, wool production, faecal nemarode egg counts of the sheep and deaths from helminthosis were recorded. The results indicate that high stocking rates and good wool production can be maintained with frequent drenching. Haemonchus sp. and Trichostrongyh sp. were the most important nematodes that infected the sheep and the epidemiology and control of these two parasites is discussed.


"Our craft is best practiced, according to the traditionalists among us, when we stay off the streets, out of legislative corridors, and away from the tape recorder," commented Jane De Hart in 1993. Graciously defi ant, De Hart has shaped her academic career by moving carefully through the forbidden paths of contemporary history. Comfortable in legislative corridors and many a street, she has demonstrated the benefi ts of keeping a tape recorder close by, most notably in her 1990 co-authored book, Sex, Gender, and the Politics of ERA . Navigating the choppy waters of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ratification process even prior to its 1982 death knell, De Hart did not let "contemporary passions cool" before documenting this policy history. Instead, she exhibited what she calls "probationary restraint" during lengthy interviews with ERA opponents and supporters, taking the viewpoints of antiratifi cationists seriously even though they did not match her own. 1


1Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China 310028 2Institute for Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany 3College of Pharmacy, and 4Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA 5Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0212, USA


The displacement effect of polymer flooding in low permeability oil layers needs to be studied. With the application of physical analog, the lab study about polymer flooding is carried out. The results of filtrating flow experiments suggest: For low molecular weight polymer and low permeability oil layers, plugging will not occur when the ratio of pore throat radius to the gyral radius of polymer molecule is above 5, and plugging will occur when the ratio is less than 5. The displacement experiment results prove that the recovery factor of polymer flooding can be 3.79%-6.82% (5% in average) higher than that of water flooding. So, polymer flooding can be executed in low permeability oil layers. Due to the limit of the matching relationship between the relative molecular weight of polymer and permeability of low permeability oil layers, only lower molecular weight polymer can be selected for low permeability oil layers, and then the recovery factor improved for polymer flooding is not high.


Objective By evaluating the effect of nitric oxide (NO) donor L-arginine on the contents of aspartate,glutamate, glycine and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in striatum, hippocampus and cortex in the rat brain following cerebral ischemia respectively, to investigate the beneficial effect of L-arginine on cerebral ischemic injury and the possible mechanism.Methods The model of focal cerebral ischemia in rat was prepared. Rats were divided into sham-operated group, ischemic group and L-arginine treatment group.Each group was further divided into 3 subgroup (n=6 for each): drugs were administrated at 2, 6 and 12 h after the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) respectively. L-arginine (500 mg/kg,ip) was administrated, 2 times a day, for 3 consecutive days. The changes of infarct volume and the contents of amino acids were assayed.Results The infarct volume (IV%) was not significantly different from the ischemic group in L-arginine group administrated at 12 h after MCAO, and was markedly decreased compared with that of ischemic group when L-arginine was administrated at 2 or 6 h after MCAO(P0.05,n=6) respectively.The contents of aspartate, glutamate, glycine and GABA in striatum, hippocampus and cortex in ischemic group were significantly increased compared with sham-operated group (P0.05 orP0.01,n=6). The contents of aspartate, glutamate, glycine and GABA in striatum, hippocampus and cortex were not significantly different from the ischemic group in L-arginine group administrated at 12 h after MCAO respectively. The contents of aspartate and glutamate was markedly decreased compared with that of ischemic group, but the contents of GABA and glycine in hippocampus were higher than those of ischemic group when L-arginine was administrated at 2、6 h after MCAO(P0.05,n=6).Conclusion It could be concluded that L-arginine have beneficial effect on ischemic cerebral injury in ischemic early stage in rats. The possible mechanism is that L-arginine can decrease the contents of aspartate and glutamate,increase the contents of glycine and GABA.


The significant volume constraints placed on the design of airframe-integrated scramjet engines calls for fuels with high energy per unit volume. Therefore, low-order hydrocarbons, such as ethylene and methane are candidates for use in engines such as the Mach 8 Rectangular-to-Elliptical Shape Transition (REST) engine, a flow-path which has been extensively tested for hydrogen. Cavity ame- holders are being investigated as a means of ensuring the robust combustion of these fuels. A modular cavity has been designed for a Mach 8 REST engine model suitable for shock tunnel testing. The depth, L/D ratio, and aft wall angle of the cavity ameholder have been determined using previous experimental studies, coupled with axisymmetric simulations. The L/D ratio and aft wall angle have been chosen to minimise stagnation pressure losses and promote a stable flowfield for ameholding. Unsteady axisymmetric simulations reveal that for all cavity depths investigated, the recirculating cavity flow is established within a small fraction of the test time available in the University of Queens- land's T4 Hypersonic Shock Tunnel. The flow temperatures achieved within the simulated cavities are used in conjunction with correlations for cavity residence time and fuel ignition delay to estimate the cavity depths required to auto-ignite low-order hydrocarbon fuels. Consideration is also given to the level of disturbance to the flow through the core of the combustor caused by cavities of various depths. The initial cavity dimensions selected to be experimentally tested are L/D ratio, depth and aft wall angle of 4:0, 4:4 mm, and 22:5°, respectively. Analysis indicates conditions in this cavity should cause the auto-ignition of ethylene. An external ignition source, using conventional spark plugs, will be installed in the cavity to promote ignition of the low-order hydrocarbon fuels, should auto-ignition not occur.


Safety accidents have occurred in many counties and construction sites. Sometimes, it seemed to be inevitable items during construction work. However, these safety accidents imply lots of influence construction projects in terms of cost and schedule. To prevent the safety accident in construction project, this paper proposes the work task based safety management system that is consisted of safety information combined with daily based work task schedule and mobile technology such as personal digital assistant (PDA). The daily based work Task Safety Management System (TSMS) in the construction phases has been applied to over 200 projects for 24 months. Comparing before and after using TSMS in number of injuries and number of deaths, usability of TSMS was verified. This paper contributed to create new system which were based on daily based work tasks and could set safety risk in each work task in academic perspective. Also, TSMS has prevented death accident in practical perspective. And, the end-user of TSMS was construction manager, field Engineer, and labors, TSMS could mainly prevent safety accident while labors had performed in site.


This paper studies how expectations of future flood risk in communities within the U.S. change once they experience a flood. Focusing on small events, I examine if population and housing values change in a way consistent with higher flood risk. To do this, I compile a new measure of insured and uninsured losses for 4,147 locations and identify small flood events at places with different flood history. I show that flood history determines the extent to which events are anticipated and insured. Flood surprises in communities with high pre-flood growth reduce population and do not affect house prices. In the rest they cause reduction in prices and no population effect.


describe an innovation in curricular design in which patients' feedback regarding resident performance was used to develop an individualized, simulation-based experience to improve communication with patients. Patients provided further feedback after the described intervention, and thus gave some indication of the impact of this curricular design. This patient-centered structure utilized input from the most important stakeholders in patient communication, the patients themselves, to both customize individual resident educational experiences and evaluate performance after the educational intervention. Briefly, the authors had previously evaluated resident communication skills by mailing surveys to ambulatory surgery patients.3 In this report, the authors took patientcentered feedback to the next level by asking patients to complete resident evaluations during their postanesthesia care unit (PACU) stay. A total of 54 postgraduate year (PGY) 2–4 residents completed this study, and a total of 1162 patients completed surveys. Patients evaluated resident communication skills before, during, and after residents completed their simulation intervention. Surveys were completed by patients with a tablet device, and pictures of the residents were included to improve identification of the treating resident for accuracy and response rate. Three low-scoring survey questions were identified for each resident, and 2-part reflective questions were developed for each of these survey question. The educational intervention further consisted of residents watching 2 simulation scenarios tailored to their areas of relative underperformance on 2 different days (a positive preoperative and postoperative interview) and completing their reflective questions after viewing these simulations. Patients gave higher ratings to residents who completed the intervention (simulation). There was no correlation between PGY level and performance. This timely Brief Report is important on at least 2 levels. The first is its obvious utility for anesthesiology educators and the specialty. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Outcome Project's Core Competencies and the subsequent Milestones include "Interpersonal and Communication Skills."4,5 (More specifically, residents are expected to "create and sustain a therapeutic relationship with patients and families.") The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) of the American Board of Anesthesiology's (ABA) Applied Examination includes evaluation of communication skills with patients.6 Nontechnical skills such as communication are not only challenging to teach but also difficult to evaluate. The development of curriculum and assessments in these skills has been frustratingly slow. It was nearly a decade and a half ago that Lattore and Lumb7 noted that "effective teaching to shape behavior require creative and very skilled use of the following methods: mentoring, modeling, case study, simulation, role-playing, and timely, honest feedback." And yet, we cannot today point to commonly accepted curriculum development strategies or assessment instruments that address nontechnical skills. Simply on this basis, the report is an important step in teaching and evaluating communication skills among anesthesiology residents. Beyond this obvious need, however, there is a deeper level of relevance, especially important for educators and educational researchers that could be easily overlooked. The casual reader might simply see an interesting descriptive report. This work must be further considered within several important contexts. This report is (1) relevant to the current needs of the specialty; (2) an educational investigation that has asked the right questions; (3) a logical and strategic next step that builds on earlier work; and (4) solidly positioned to inform future research. A Brief Report has rarely warranted an accompanying editorial. However, despite being an observational, single institution report without control data, this work is, simply put, at the forefront. The evaluation of technical skills and medical knowledge in anesthesiology residency is generally further advanced than of skills such as communication.8 This is in direct contrast to the emphasis placed on communication with patients within the ACGME Core Competencies and Milestones, as well as the ABA OSCE Content Outline. Further, the impact of this report reaches beyond credentialing and certification requirements. Patients find The Time to Address Curriculum and Evaluation for Nontechnical Skills Is Now


The Commom Agricultural Policy is a matter of overall importance in the European Eco- nomic Community and and has Provoked many debates, which become more heat- ed in recent years. TO greet the Single European Market, the Commission of the EEC naturally gives the first priority to the settlement of the paramount issue -- adjusting and reforming the Common Agricultural Policy. The article illustrates the different attitudes taken by the United Kindom, France and the Federal Germany in the debates, analyses the gains and losses of the three nations through the implementation of the policy and presents the background of their diversified attitudes. The important position of the three in the EEC decides that their attitudes towards the poilcy will affect to a great extent the direction of the development of the policy in the future.


W e are pleased that our February i983 article drew the attention of Michael Flinn,1 and welcome this chance to elaborate on the points he raises. While Flinn has not challenged our main conclusions, he has challenged our turning-point. He suggests that the real-wage turning point was almost a decade earlier, and that most real wage gains had been achieved before I 825. The debate over turning-points hangs on the choice of benchmark years for unstable prices, rather than on the more stable nominal wage rates. Flinn believes that our nominal wage series (w) should be deflated by a smoothed, multi-year price index (p), thus: deflate i8io(w) by i809/iI(p), deflate i8I5(w) by i8I4/I7(p), and deflate i835(w) by i833/37(p). When we do so, however, the following "new" real-wage trends emerge ("All blue collar", i850 = I00.0):


The biological effects of acoustic cavitation are mediated by a range of phenomena associated with different types of bubble activity, e.g., micro-streaming, micro-jetting, and shockwave generation. The acoustic emissions generated by cavitation are also correlated to bubble dynamics. Hence, monitoring these emissions during ultrasound therapy is desirable, to maximise treatment safety and efficacy. The precise relationship between the spectral content of acoustic emissions and bubble dynamics is, however, less well understood. The aim of this study was to use simultaneous ultra-high-speed optical imaging (1–10 MHz) and passive acoustic mapping to characterise the behaviour of individual and clusters of microbubbles over a range of ultrasound exposures. As expected from the literature and numerical modelling, both the number of discrete harmonic components and amplitude of broadband content in the emissions increased with increasing amplitude of bubble oscillation. This suggests that passive acoustic mapping provides a useful indicator of spherical bubble behaviour. Frequently, however, complex bubble behaviour, such as fragmentation and coalescence was observed, which could produce substantially different effects in tissue compared with spherical bubble collapse. Future work will focus on determining whether these differences can be adequately captured in defining a future cavitation "dose" based on acoustic emissions for different applications.


In a recent article in this Journal by Dr. Shihata, it is implied that the English text of Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) of November 22,1967 on the situation in the Middle East should, for purposes of interpretation, enjoy some measure of precedence over the French version. This view appears to be based on the fact that English was the original language of the draft resolution which without change became Security Council Resolution 242 (1967). The underlying issue is now famous. The English and French versions of this resolution are considered to conflict in that the latter provides, literally, for withdrawal of Israeli forces from all occupied territories, whereas partial withdrawal would appear to satisfy the requirements of the former.


This concise review of work at the UK Building Research Establishment on lighting for office spaces provides the context for the many facets involved. These include probability predictions of occupants' use of switches, better assessment of useful daylight, and more reliable predictive techniques for non‐uniform artificial lighting, for which a new computer program is being tested. The paper was originally given at a lecture display during an Open Day at Garston on energy efficiency.


ost physicians who provide care for women are familiar with the possible physical causes of common sexual problems. However, as such disorders often have psychological components or sequelae, these factors must also be assessed. S exuality M atterS


To determine the usefulness of the fluorescence parameters generated by Sysmex UF‐1000i flow cytometer for the rapid diagnosis of urinary tract infection by bacilli or cocci.


The pancreatic cancer is one of the most worst prognosis cancer,which usually gets into an end-stage disease.A palliative treatment might be performed in order to release the severe symptoms.Since the opportunity of performing an operation was lost,the non-operated treatments play an important role in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.The concurrent chemoradiotherapy has been a standard regimen of pancreatic cancer treatment in USA and Europe.But the report of chemoradiotherapy of pancreatic cancer in China was less.In order to find out the status of radiotherapy of pancreatic cancer,so as to determine the aim of the next study,the author performed a review and analysis of the radiotherapy of pancreatic cancer by use the searched material in the data base in China.


ABSTRACTKim WR Poterucha JJHermans JE et al.Cost-Effectiveness of 6 and 12 Months of Interferon-Alpha Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis CAnn Intern Med 1997;127:866–74Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality in the United States. Although approved for first-line treatment, interferon-alpha is effective in only a small percentage of patients with chronic HCV infection. Consequently, the long-term use of interferon may not be justified based on its low response rate, high cost, and uncertain long-term benefits.The objective of this study was to compare clinical and economic outcomes after 6 and 12 months of interferon-alpha therapy. A Markov type decision analysis model was developed to simulate the natural history of chronic HCV infection. Using this model, 6 and 12 months of interferon-alpha therapy at standard doses of 3 million units three times weekly were compared to no therapy among four age-specific cohorts: 30-, 40-, 50-, and 60-yr-old patients. Results of the analysis demonstrated a relatively small increase in quality adjusted life years (QALY) associated with interferon treatment. Cumulative QALY increased from 18.00 yr without treatment to 18.25 yr with 6 months of therapy and 18.37 yr with treatment for 12 months. However, the effectiveness of interferon was clearly influenced by patient age. Patients in the 30-yr-old cohort demonstrated lifetime risks of decompensated cirrhosis of 47.4% without treatment, 44.4% with 6 months of treatment, and 42.9% with 12 months of therapy. By contrast, significantly less effect was observed among patients 60 yr of age with risks of cirrhosis being 21.1%, 20.1%, and 19.6%, respectively.Economic analysis revealed a marginal cost-effectiveness ratio of $5,000 per QALY when 12 months of interferon was compared to no therapy. As expected, stratification by age again revealed a substantial difference among cohorts. The incremental cost of each QALY gained was $1,800, $3,700, $6,900, and $12,800 for 30-, 40-, 50-, and 60-yr-old cohorts, respectively. Sensitivity analysis was performed using best- and worst-case scenarios. In both cases, interferon therapy appeared to be cost-effective in all but the oldest patients.


Wind-blown sand has an important effect on plant physiological processes,but there is no any theoretical model to explain its mechanism.Based on the rigid conduit model of the plant stem,this paper discusses the effect of wind-sand electrostatic field on the speed of plant sap flow.The numerical result shows that with the increasing of external electric field,the sap flow rate corresponding exponentially increases,accordingly the stronger external electric field,the faster the water transport;with the increasing of conduit radius,the water transport rate increases,and the effect of environment electric field on plant sap flow is more obvious.To some extent,these results can explain why the effect of wind-blown sand on plant is larger than that of the net wind,and it will provide some helps for the vegetation protection on arid areas.


The canonical, three-fold subdivision of speech impact forms, proposed Cicero, can already be traced clearly in the works of Plato and Aristotle. These forms, however, have not been totally endorsed in all their impact by these two authors. Factual evidence, seen from the perspective of philosophical rhetoric, has received a specific valency, whereas affect generation seems to be problematic. Theoretical rhetoric, however, considers other factors as decisive ones. Even though persuasion is a fundamental issue in rhetoric, a differentiation must be made regarding the subject areas a speaker needs to deal with. Basically, it may be possible that the use of affective means of persuasion, something that had already been recommended from the very early times onwards, might not always lead to the envisaged goals. Likewise, purely factual arguments may be vulnerable to fail because of the audience which is either not at all open to such factual arguments, or not in such a particular situation. Although we can only grasp a mature theory of speech intentions in the theoretical work on style "On the Orator" (De Oratore) by Cicero, we may already recognize in Plato's criticism of rhetoric and his outline of an own rhetoric proposed in his "Phaedrus", that Plato considers differences both in the textual and mind structures and postulates these as a pre-requisite for successful persuasion. In his theory on evidence (πίστει /pisteis), Aristotle created an important theoretical moment, which basically differentiates between the impact modi but does not necessarily establish hierarchies.


The government's seriousness towards the growth and development of entrepreneurship is felt by universities. One of them is the birth of the Free Learning and Independent Campus (MBKM) program. The Merdeka Campus programs aim to prepare students to become graduates who have the competencies needed in the future and as respond to digital transformation that is happening globally has pushed Indonesia to become a country that excels in giving first to start-up. The research purposes to investigate the implementation of start-up management to strengthen student entrepreneurship program.  This research will be conducted at Pasundan University. The method used is the Mix Method approach, namely a quantitative approach (survey) supplemented by qualitative data (interviews and Focus Group Discussions). The survey was conducted to 54 active student respondents at the University, as well as Focus Group Discussions. The results showed that the effect of creativity and innovation on motivation was 42,5% and motivation on management was 33,9%. Due to the small management influence, tools are needed to help improve start-up capabilities in increasing profits, market size and productivity through online interactions with business websites.


The first new design of United States currency in over 60 years will soon be issued. Its issuance will be the culmination of a 6-year effort to make U.S. currency more secure against widely available advanced reprographic technology. The cooperative effort was directed by the Advanced Counterfeit Deterrence (ACD) Steering Committee, with executive representatives from the Federal Reserve System (FRS), U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and Treasury Department. A task force of technical experts from each agency carried out the necessary evaluations. The overall strategy to determine the new design and new features applied a comprehensive, synergistic approach to target each type of currency user and each type of counterfeiting. To maximize objectivity yet expedite final selection, deterrent and detection technologies were evaluated through several parallel channels. These efforts included an open request for feature samples through the Commerce Business Daily, in-house testing of each feature, independent evaluation by the National Research Council, in-house design development and survey of world currencies. Recommendations were submitted by the Steering Committee to the Treasury Secretary for concept approval, announced in July 1994. Beginning in 1996, new designs will be issued by denomination approximately one per year, starting with the $100 bill. Future new design efforts will include input from the recently founded Securities Technology Institute (STI) at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Input will include evaluation of existing features, development of new techniques and adversarial analysis.


The introduction of hard ceramic coatings has significantly improved the performance of high speed steel (HSS) cutting tools. However, failure mechanisms such as plastic deformation of the HSS substrate (beneath a ceramic coating) remain and motivate furt


In this paper, we describe and evaluate Hide-as-you-Type, a prototype steganographic system, designed to hide secret bits in the digest chains of natural language sentences. Through an interactive embedding process that incorporates keyed hash functions and human reviewed sentences, the system generates two innocuous natural language carriers that ultimately optimise payload secrecy. Conventionally, the first carrier (carrier-text) hosts a payload of secret bits. The second carrier, referred to as an open-stego-key, hosts sentences used as keys to extract a payload from a carrier-text. Notable aspects of our approach include the scope to offset embedding distortion from a carrier-text to an open-stego-key, as well as the scope to resize a carrier-text for optimal transmission via capacity constrained channels (e.g. Twitter, SMS), at the expense of a larger open-stego-key, that is transmitted via an alternative channel (e.g. Social media, blog, forum, email).


Carbon co-implantation in silicon has been studied as an approach for achieving ultra-shallow dopant profiles. Carbon implants to a dose of 1/spl times/10/sup 14/ cm/sup -2/ were performed in conjunction with 2 and 5 keV boron and BF/sub 2/ implants. Annealed samples implanted with carbon and boron exhibited junction depths up to 250 A shallower than control samples. However, no change was observed in dopant profiles when BF/sub 2/ was used as the implanted species. Residual defect analysis and electrical characterization of boron implanted samples suggest that enhanced carbon levels inhibit defect dissolution mechanisms thereby degrading electrical properties of the junctions. Alternatively, carbon and BF/sub 2/ implanted samples exhibit no changes in these parameters from control samples.


A heat transfer and flow visualization experiment was conducted with a one-fifth scale model simulating a dry shielded canister (DSC) with 24 PWR spent fuel assemblies in order to elucidate the heat transfer characteristics and the velocity distribution for natural convection inside a DSC filled with air or water at atmospheric pressure. It was found that the average heat transfer coefficients were proportional to the one-fourth power of the Rayleigh number despite the complicated geometry inside the DSC. Flow patterns inside the DSC were visualized clearly through a digital image processing system. The velocity distributions inside the DSC were obtained quantitatively from the Particle Tracking Velocimetry. In comparison with the results of a two-dimentional thermal hydraulic analysis, computed flow patterns were similar to the experimental results and the computational temperature distributions on the sleeve surfaces agreed well with the experiments within 8%, except at the top point of the center gap. ...


Combined with practical work, scheme for deflection correction is determined. From the selection of correction equipment and measurement methods concrete construction methods are introduced as well as twist correction process in order to ensure pipe jacking construction well along with designed axes.


Background: Nasal endoscopy has revolutionized the ease of diagnosing nasal pathologies over the recent years. It offers the advantage of detailed examination of the intra-nasal architecture and precise identification of the pathology. It is cost effective and a useful adjunct for performing minor procedures in the office setting. Thus, nasal endoscopy has evolved as a tool with multiple roles of diagnosing the disease, planning of treatment and post treatment examination.Methods: This is a prospective study conducted at a tertiary care hospital during a period of 2 years on 100 patients to evaluate the role of nasal endoscopy in diagnosing the disease and planning the management. 60 cases were managed conservatively depending on the initial finding on nasal endoscopy while the other 40 cases underwent surgery. Pre-treatment symptoms and post treatment outcomes were observed objectively on nasal endoscopy.  Results: Majority of the patients (60%) were managed conservatively and were labeled as cured after enough evidence was obtained both subjectively from the patient and objectively as seen on endoscopy. The remainder of patients (40%) underwent surgery and follow up endoscopy was done in all of them.Conclusions: Diagnostic nasal endoscopy is of immense help to the novice surgeon in understanding and managing various nasal pathologies. Through this study, it can be concluded that most of the nasal symptoms can be managed conservatively and surgery advised for absolute indication, with the help of nasal endoscopy.


Sartre's thought is routinely declared to have been surpassed by the ideas of this or that subsequently elevated figure. Sometimes, of course, these claims are made in good faith, but often one cannot escape the feeling that such reports are insufficiently grounded in an adequate understanding, or even an honest reading of the body of work that ostensibly has been left in the dust. Several of these "surpassing" vanguard spirts can be variously situated along a continuum of parricidal intent, for it can be shown that they owe to Sartre important, founding debts. The early Barthes made a fully acknowledged use of Sartre's theory of literature.


Not all allegations of sexual assault are true. Unfortunately, there has been little work on understanding the prevalence of false allegations or pathways to these. This paper proposes 11 pathways to false allegations of sexual assault: (a) lying, (b) implied consent, (c) false memories, (d) intoxication, (e) antisocial personality disorder, (f) borderline personality disorder, (g) histrionic personality disorder, (h) delirium, (i) psychotic disorders, (j) dissociation, and (k) intellectual disability. These pathways originate in the psychological diatheses of the individual. Further research is needed into the frequency of these pathways, ways to accurately detect these, and whether other pathways exist.


In this paper a system is proposed to combine small finger movements with the large scale body movements captured from a motion capture system. The strength of the proposed work over previous research is in the real-time and natural interactions that the virtual hands have with their environment. By being able to conform to physics, the virtual hands feel like virtual extensions of one's own hands. This provides a higher degree of immersion and interactivity when compared to more traditional virtual reality systems.


objective Androgens and other drugs that reduce plasma concentrations of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are often considered to be pro‐atherogenic. Tibolone lowers HDL‐cholesterol by 20% but the clinical significance of this effect is unknown.


: Wealth plays an important role in social stratification but the results that can be obtained when analyzing wealth as a predictor variable depend on modeling decisions. Although wealth consists of multiple components it is often operationalized as net worth. Moreover, wealth effects are likely non-linear, but the functional form is often unknown. To overcome these problems, we propose to 1) split up net worth into gross wealth and debt and evaluate their joint effect and 2) use non-parametric Generalized Additive Models. We show in a simulation study that this approach describes systematic wealth differences in more detail and overfits less to random variation in the data than standard approaches. We then apply the approach to re-analyze wealth gaps in educational attainment in the US. We find that the operationalization of wealth as net worth results in a misclassification of which children have the best and the worst educational prospects. Not negative net worth is associated with the worst educational prospects but only the combination of low gross wealth and low debt. The most advantaged group are not only children with high net worth but all children with high gross wealth independent of the households' amount of debt.


Groundwater is the nation's most importance sources. Therefore, it has motivated many researchers to study about groundwater. Nowadays, we have many researches done using stochastic model in groundwater flow. Hydraulic conductivity, K is one of the important parameters in groundwater. This research studied about groundwater property at Pontian, Johor. The secondary data consists of depth of water table and time taken for two different radius. From the secondary data, the values of hydraulic conductivity were obtained by using Earnst and Hooghout formula. From the calculation, the range of hydraulic conductivity is between 30.11810/cms?? to 36.94810/cms?? and it agrees that the hydraulic conductivity of peat soil is between 410?? to 310?? . Besides that, this research also study the relationship between hydraulic conductivity as dependent variables with depth of water table and radius of auger hole as independent variables. Multiple linear regressions are used to analyze the relationship and it is shows that, the depth of water table and radius of auger hole affect the hydraulic conductivity significantly. Lastly, stochastic approach was used to describe the one dimensional, steady state and saturated groundwater flow and the exact solution is in the form of expected function of ()Js which is the gradient of head potential


One alternative procedure that may assist with the screening of chemicals for neurotoxic activity, a cytotoxicity assay using neuronal cell culture, is examined for its suitability to assess mechanisms of cellular injury and pharmacologic activity. Four compounds ― two neurotoxins and two inhibitors ― have been chosen to illustrate the application of this cell culture technique to industrial toxicology


In patients with various indications to renal split function diagnostics the plasma slope clearance of the Tc99m-DTPA and J131-Hippurate to the estimation of GFR and ERPF were performed with two or three blood samples in the monocompartment model (1 KM). In comparison these functional parameters were calculated on the basis of the only least blood sample (single-point procedure--EPV). The results of linear regression GFR (1 KM) = 12.7 + 0.978 * GFR (EPV), r = 0.986, N = 102 or ERPF (1 KM) = 22 + 1.13 * ERPF (EPV), r = 0.889, N = 68 may recommend the use as patient-safe procedure especially in poor venous access. Two short BASIC programs for estimation of GFR and ERPF are presented and the error ranges discussed.


Objective: To observe the effect of Chinese herbal medicine boiling powder in the treatment of infantile diarrhea. Methods: A multi-center study was carried out. In 3 centers,according to the visiting sequence,the children were randomly divided into treatment group and control group. On the basis of conventional therapy,the treatment group according to TCM syndrome differentiation used the boiling powder decoction and the control group was given Smecta orally. Results: The average hospitalization days,the cure rate of fourth days and fifth days,appetite normal rate of fourth days and fifth days in the treatment group were better than those of the control group and the difference was significant. Conclusion: The Chinese herbal medicine boiling powder in treatment of infantile diarrhea has better clinical efficacy.


A kind of loading scale was introduced.The causes loading error were analyzed using data of field application.It was founded that the loading error is composed of measurement error and control error.It was concluded that the effective measures to improve loading precision are 1) setting work ways of A/D7730 reasonably,which considers the quantization error and measurement lag error can reduce the sum of the two errors to the minimum value;2) using shock absorption measures;3) reducing the radius of pushing spiral to the exit gradually to keep stability of the volume in the air;4) supplying power to controlling device by using the isolated transformer to restrain the interference of high harmonics waves.


Objective To explore the changes of serum cardiac troponin T(cTnT) and myocardial enzyme concentrations and their clinical significance. Methods 39 cases with acute methmidophos poisoning (poisoned group) were tested of the level of serum cTnT and myocardial enzyme on the first,the third and the seventh day of admission.The results were contrasted with 30 healthy children (control group) and analyzed. Results The level of serum cTnT in the poisoned group were higher than those in the control group (P0.001).On the first and the third day of admission,the levels of serum creatine kinase(CK),creatine kinase isoenzyme(CK-MB),lactate dehydrogenase(LDH),aspartate aminotansferase (AST) and α-hydrooxybutryrate dehydrogenase (α-HBDH ) in the poisoned group were higher than those in the contrast group(P0.001).On the seventh day of admission,CK and AST reduced to the normal level.But CK-MB,LDH and α-HBDH remained higher than those in the control group ( P 0.01 and P 0.05). Conclusions Children with acute methmidophos poisoning will have myocardial injury as a whole.Examination of cardiac troponin T and myocardial enzyme concentrations has great value in diagnosing children of acute methmidophos poisoning complicated with myocardial injury.


Abstract SNR 1987A is the expanding remnant from the brightest supernova since the invention of the telescope. The remnant has been monitored extensively in the radio at variety of wavelengths and provides a wealth of data on which to base a simulation. Questions to be answered include estimating the efficiency of particle acceleration at shock fronts, determining the cause of the one-sided radio morphology for SNR 1987A and investigating the gas properties of the pre-supernova environment. We attempt to address these questions using a fully three-dimensional model of SNR 1987A.


In the current work we constructed the Model of Distribution of Budget Vacancies in University in conditions of Universities autonomy. In the article we determine the brand attractiveness of one budget vacancy and use this category into the model of distribution. The model of distribution based onto the linear optimization methods. We made distribution of vacancies in Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics and receive real and optimize distributions. Its show uneven distribution structure and low level of orientation real distribution onto the demand of the national economy. This distribution gives tools to University in management of the budget vacancies distribution for the increase profitability of University.


The numerical simulations of negative corona discharge in Trichel pulse mode are carried out with the calculation of evolution of azimuthal perturbations. It is found the azimuthal instability with increment corresponding to avalanche development. This instability is suppressed at the nonlinear stage and does not lead to the process branching. The result is also applicable to the azimuthal instability of the cathode directed streamer, found earlier. The difference in their increments is followed from the difference in courses of the processess, which is discuss.


Measurements of stress relaxation as a function of hydrostatic pressure up to 9000 kg/cm/sup 2/ were made on a vanadium sample containing approximately 0.1 at.% dissolved oxygen and 0.2 at.% dissolved nitrogen. At 83.0 to 98.0 deg C, the relaxation time due to dissolved oxygen is found to increase exponentially with pressure, the value at 9000 kg/cm/sup 2/ being about 1.7 times the value at 1 kg/cm/sup 2/. The pressure dependence of the stress relaxation can be interpreted in terms of an activation volume of 1.7 cm/sup 3//mole which is about equal to the molar volume of the diffusing oxygen atoms. The relaxation times due to the dissolved nitrogen were measured at 156.8 and 163.0 deg C. The values at 9000 kg/cm/sup 2/ are about 1.3 times the values at 1 kg/cm/sup 2/ the activation volume being about 1.1 cm/sup 3//mole. (auth)


Instrument for working with approaching difficult within the cavity is disclosed. The device comprises an elongated sheath having an open end positionable in the through hole and the cavity. Filament element is slidably positioned within the through hole of the sheath. Some of the filament element is extendable from the sheath through the open end into the cavity outwardly. Filament element is urged into a curved shape or spiral shape, and may be a loop, or cone, cutting edge, scoop, hook may have a balloon or other piece may be attached to the distal end.


Titanate-based luminescent materials have a strong absorption capacity for blue and near-ultraviolet light. Here, a sol-gel method is used to prepare a high-efficiency red phosphor of magnesium titanate Mg2Sr2-xTiO4: Eu3+, Gd3+ doped with rare-earth ions. The optimal doping concentrations of the activator rare earth ion Eu3+ and the sensitizer Gd3+ were investigated. Furthermore, the doping of a certain amount of Sr2+ and Na+ effectively improves the luminescence properties of silicate luminescent materials. The luminescence spectrum shows that the luminescent material has red monochromaticity and the strongest red-light emission is 614nm, which can be used for WLED.


Introduction: The main purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between Locus of Control (LOC) with Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) among individuals with spinal cord injury. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Two hundred and ninety-one individuals with spinal cord injury were randomly selected as participants. The study variables were measured by posttraumatic growth assessed by the 21-item version of Post Traumatic Growth Inventory Scale (PTGI) and locus of control assessed by the 29-item version of Rotter's internal-external locus of control scale. The collected data were analyzed with descriptive indexes and analytic tests, including the Levine's test, independent t test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Chi-square test, and Pearson test. Results: Descriptive findings showed that the mean (SD) of LOC in the study population was 8.60(4.72) and PTG mean (SD) was 60.8(26.48). The Independent t test showed significant difference in PTGI score between internal and external LOC in the studied population (P<0.001), so that individuals with higher mean scores in PTG had more internal LOC (μ=08.75). Also the Pearson correlation coefficient showed a strong relationship between PTG with LOC (r=0.630, P<0.001). Conclusion: The results suggest that the mean internal LOC scales in spinal cord injured patients with symptoms of PTG is higher. This study found that the LOC in spinal cord injury can affect individuals' health and result in an increased possibility for PTG.


This paper contains descriptions of the evaluation processes salary and allowance information a sample copy of a performance evaluation report and a table of general service category salaries and allowances (in takas) for CHW (Community Health Worker) and FWV (Family Welfare Visitor) workers in the Matlab MCH/FP Project Bangladesh. The evaluation process for both CHWs and FWVs includes discussion of each CHWs performance utilizing information from the personnel file field observations progress reports and completion of a performance evaluation report which converts the CHWs perofrmance into score figures. Specific salary and allowance information includes net salary child allowance and annual increase subject to results of performance evaluation reports. Effective January 1 1983 workers are placed in general service category 4 with a starting annual salary of 32210 takas with yearly increases of 1610 takas.


Clove is a commodity trading economically valueable, and provide many positive contributions to the economy of the community. Supply chain management is a product development activities, the procurement of materials, the production and distribution. A design network able to determine whether a supply chain management will be efficient. The purpose of this research is to determine the design of the network of supply chain management in the village cloves Karimbow Motoling eastern districts in order to design supply chains that provide added value to benefit farmers and industry. Analysis method used is descriptive qualitative analysis. Data collection techniques by conducting observation, interviews and documentation. Research shows patterns of supply chain management network design clove Karimbow rural districts east Motoling includes farmers, traders, collectors, industry, distributors that distribute to consumers. Increased cooperation with the village communities and between communities with industry.


The pace of progress in fermentation microbiology and biotechnology is fast and furious, with new applications being implemented that are resulting in a spectrum of new products, from renewable energy to solvents and pharmaceuticals. This chapter focuses on applied metabolomics for microbial "cell factories" in biomanufacturing.


The paper presents a modified tool for detection of noise in images when the pixel intensity of noise is within the pixel range. The detection is based on a combination of an edge-detection tool, i.e. the Laplacian filter, and the Softmax function. Although considered as an edge detection technique in the digital image processing, the Laplacian can be efficiently used in the determining noisy pixels. The decision–making threshold is then found using the Softmax function, which is based on the probability of the pixel intensity, which decides if a pixel should be declared as corrupted. The reconstruction is then performed using a gradient-based algorithm. The method is tested and verified through examples.


Hipsterville has many locations, primarily in Europe and North America. The name of this "place" refers tourban districts, mainly in large cities, which are dominated by particular subcultures. They are often formerworking class districts, in different stages of gentrification, located away from traditional tourism disticts. Inthese districts, clusters of small scale innovative firms may develop, which are dependent of theconsumption of local residents and the vicinity of other similar firms. In many cases these firms haveambitions to be socially and ecologically sustainable. Hipstervilles are often highly international in character,both inhabitants and cultural influences tend to be highly mobile. In the last decade, incoming tourism hasbecome an increasingly important part of local activities and consumption in these districts. Increasing 20tourism may create enhanced opportunities for creative local innovation but it may also, through theeconomic power of tourism consumption, become a vehicle of negative social change, for instance by risingrent levels due to tourism induced gentrification.This presentation discusses three main things:• How can we define these new forms of urban tourism related services? What roles do they play in theirlocal contexts?• What are the driving forces behind the development of this kind of tourism? How do they relate to oneanother depending on geographic scale?• What effects do they have for social and ecological sustainability?This project is still in its early stage; results are not presented in a traditional way. (Less)


This paper examines uses of theatre for practice-based, collaborative, research. It brings a review of existing work and reflections on my own practice into dialogue with participatory geographies, studies of affect and geographies of bodily difference. This demonstrates in-depth and well-justified relationships between forms of practice and the spatial ways of knowing they engage; the surfacing of otherwise background conditions for critique and intervention; and relations between doing and thinking, as well as collaborating partners, that can open a field of possibilities. This is significant for the broader development and assessment of 'creative' or 'artful' collaborations in human geography, as I summarise in conclusion.


The thesis of this volume is that amitriptyline (Elavil) hydrochloride is the drug of choice in the treatment of depressive states. A total of 137 female patients were treated in a double-blind, wellstructured, comprehensive analysis —clinical and statistical—of symptoms and response. Analysis of the tables and of the statements made, however, does not provide conclusive proof of the superiority of this drug. After the first week of treatment, imipramine hydrochloride (Tofranil) was superior in effectiveness to amitriptyline; after one month's therapy, amitriptyline was superior; after six months follow-up, both drugs reached the finish line at the same time. In terms of results, amitriptyline showed 84% improvement, and imipramine a 79% improvement in the 137 case studies. Admitting that electric-shock therapy is simple, safe, and effective, the authors state that the relapse rate of patients treated with electric shock is between 20% and 30%. In the authors' series, the relapse


The objective of this study was to build and psychometrically analyze a scale to measure digital immersion in adolescents. Digital immersion was defined as the persistent, continuous and enthusiastic use of devices and digital media accompanied by the ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously with feelings self-efficacy, reliance, dependence, and identification with technology. Content validity was analyzed through expert judgment (n = 8); then, evidence of the validity of the internal structure was obtained through Exploratory Factor Analysis (n = 347) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (n = 347). The final version of the Scale of Digital Immersion for Adolescents (EIDA) contained 30 items, grouped into five dimensions: Variety of Use; Intensity of Use; Multitasking: Involvement; and Dependence, explaining 89% of the variance presented in the data. The internal consistency of the scale was satisfactory (α = .951).


The white druse material in Antarctic shergottite EETA 79001 has attracted much attention as a possible sample fo Martian aqueous deposits. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) was used to determine trace element analyses of small particles of this material obtained by handpicking of likely grains from broken surfaces of the meteorite. Electron microprobe work was attempted on grain areas as large as 150x120 microns. Backscattered electron images show considerable variations in brightness, and botryoidal structures were observed. Microprobe analyses showed considerable variability both within single particles and between different particles. Microtomed surfaces of small selected particles were shown to be very useful in obtaining information on the texture and composition of rare lithologies like the white druse of EETA 79001. This material is clearly heterogeneous on all distance scales, so a large number of further analyses will be required to characterize it.


The far‐infrared laser electric resonance spectra of the prototypical atom–diatom complex ArH35Cl are analyzed using improved zero‐field molecular constants, yielding accurate permanent and transition dipole moments for the three lowest excited van der Waals vibrational states. The constants are obtained from a multistate fit to previous microwave, far‐infrared laser electric resonance, and far‐infrared tunable laser spectra, as well as new far‐infrared measurements of the Σ‐stretch state, which are reported here. The signs of the dipole moments and Coriolis coefficients establish the relative orientations of the HCl subunit in these states. The fit is found to converge only if these signs correspond to the HCl pointing in opposite directions along the a inertial axis in the Σ‐stretch and Σ‐bend states. A weak preference, near the experimental error limit, is found for the Ar–Cl–H average angle in the Π‐bend state to be greater than 90°, contrary to expectation. For the best fit, we obtain the a‐axis dipo...


ABS TRACT Objective: Pe ri to ni tis is a com mon cli ni cal prob lem that oc curs in pa ti ents with end sta ge re nal di se a se and is tre a ted by pe ri to ne al di aly sis. We eva lu a ted the po ten ti al risk fac tors in con ti nu o us am bu la tory pe ri to ne al di aly sis (CAPD) re la ted pe ri to ni tis in our hos pi tal. Material and Met hods: The study was a ca se-con trol study. CAPD re la ted pe ri to ni tis pa ti ents tre a ted in In fec ti o us Di se a ses and Cli ni cal Mic ro bi o logy De part ment bet we en Ja nu ary 2005 and July 2006 for med the study gro up. The con trol gro up com pri sed CADP pa ti ents wit ho ut pe ri to ni tis. De mog rap hic cha rac te ris tics of the study and the con trol gro up we re re cor ded. Po ten ti al risk fac tors for pe ri to ni tis we re al so re cor ded. Comp le te blo od co unt and al bu min le vels we re tes ted in both gro ups. Age, gen der, hand was hing ha bits, edu ca ti o nal back gro und, re a son of re nal di se a se, re a son of CAPD who per son per for med CAPD, he mog lo bin and al bu min le vels we re in ves ti ga ted as po ten ti al risk fac tors by uni va ri a te and mul ti va ri a te analy ses. Re sults: The re we re 47 pa ti ents in the study gro up and 50 pa ti ents in the con trol gro up. The me an age of the pa ti ents was 49.6 ± 16.41 ye ars and 44.82 ± 14.41 ye ars in the study and con trol gro ups, res pec ti vely (p> 0.05). Ane mi a and low al bu min le vel we re fo und as risk fac tors in uni va ri a te analy sis. Low al bu min le vel (p< 0.001) was a sta tis ti cally sig ni fi cant and in de pen dent risk fac tor for CAPD-re la ted pe ri to ni tis in the mul ti va ri a te analy sis. It was fo und to in cre a se the re la ti ve risk of pe ri to ni tis 11 fold. Conc lu si on: In se ve ral pre vi o us stu di es, low al bu min le vel was re por ted as a risk fac tor in CAPD pa ti ents with pe ri to ni tis. Hi po al bu mi ne mi a can be con si de red an iden tif ying pa ra me ter and the CAPD pa ti ents with hi po al bu mi ne mi a can be fol lo wed up clo sely for pe ri to ni tis.


As a modern method of organization and management, logistics management plays an important role in our society. With the development of hospital, original management of goods and materials could not meet the need of development in modern hospital. The establishment of scientific standardized logistics management mode will not only help reduce the cost, but also increase the efficiency.


The present study was carried out to evaluate student achievement in medical school professional examinations in the light of previous pre-medical school academic performance. This was done as part of the process of evaluating factors which might contribute to academic success and high quality of medical education. Medical and Dental students of the University of Lagos Medical School were studied over a five-year performance period. They were divided into high, medium and low-performance groups based on their performance in the pre-medical school examination. The high performance group were students who scored above 59%, medium performance — those who scored between 53% and 58%, while the low-performance group were those who scored below 51%. The mean achievements of the three groups in medical school examinations were studied and compared. It was observed that pre-medical school high-performers continued to perform better than the medium-performers, scoring an average of 60% in all the exams. The medium performers were also found to perform better than the low-performance group, scoring an average of 55% in their exams while the low performers scored an average of 50%. Results of the study imply that performance in the medical school entrance examinations is a good index of student performance and achievement in the medical school and is therefore predictive of future clinical performance. Low performance in pre-medical school exams generally leads to poor performance in the medical school. These results will be relevant when there is need to modify academic and admission policies in the Medical School.

Key words: Pre-medical school performance, medical school achievement.
[Nig. Jnl Health & Biomedical Sciences Vol.1(1) 2002: 49-53]


The changes to prescription charges will impact negatively on health and healthcare costs, and increase health inequalities. Our research based on 2004 data clearly showed that while 7% of respondents deferred picking up a prescription in the previous 12 months because they could not afford the cost of the prescription, a much higher proportion of Māori (14%) and Pacific people (15%) reported putting off paying for prescription medication.