Constant structural reorganisation may not improve or transform healthcare,1 but an objective observer might wonder if these shake-ups have been in the financial interests of the organisations, partnerships, individuals, and companies associated with them.2 The NHS budget doubled in 20 years: from £60bn …


Metric geometry of singular spaces recently became one of the most important parts of Real Algebraic and Analytic Geometry. The investigations on this direction can be divided into two wide parts. The first one works with invariants under isometries. Investigations of L.Bröcker and A.Bernig (see [6],[7]) are devoted to the different notions of curvature on singular definable spaces. Another part of this direction is to study bi-Lipschitz invariants. Bi-Lipschitz equivalence classes of singular spaces are much more wide than the classes of isometric singular spaces. That is why one can expect to have a complete solution of the problem of Lipschitz classification. This problem appears naturally in Singularity Theory and in classical Differential Geometry. T.Mostowski [15] studied a question of "tameness" of this problem for complex algebraic sets. He proved that, for any finite dimensional analytic family, the set of equivalence classes (according to a bi-Lipschitz equivalence) is finite. Later this result was generalized by A.Parusinski to semialgebraic and subanalytic sets [17]. However, these finiteness results are "existence theorems" and do not give any key to resolve a classification problem. For germs of semialgebraic and subanalytic curves (one-dimensional semialgebraic and subanalytic sets), the problem of bi-Lipschitz classification was completely solved in [3]. The main result of [3] is that a Lipschitz equivalence class of a curve is totally determined by orders of contact of all pairs of branches. The paper [1] is devoted to a bi-Lipschitz classification of 2-dimensional semialgebraic or subanalytic sets. The


Appreciating the history of water and wastewater infrastructure is important, but so is taking a hard look at where we are now and where we need to be in the future.


V Abstract In addition to the general interest in trace gas sensing, the measurements of their isotopic composition provides additional information about their origin, or can be used for process identification or as tracer. This is important in ecosystem and climate research, volcanic emissions, medical diagnostics, studies of extraterrestrial atmospheres, etc. The aim of this thesis was to develop a laser spectrometer for measurements of the isotope ratios N/N in N2O and C/C and O/O in CO and CO2 at trace levels yielding a precision better than 1‰. It should be a single instrument for all three gases, several isotopes should be measurable for each molecule and no pretreatment should be required. The standard method today is isotope-ratio mass-spectrometry, which yields an excellent precision and accuracy (<0.1‰), but it requires careful and time-consuming sample preparation and it is too bulky for field applications. Another disadvantage is that isomers like NNO and NNO cannot be distinguished directly, as they have the same mass. Therefore, laser spectroscopy offers an interesting alternative The molecules of interest have their strongest absorption lines in the mid-infrared between 4 μm and 5 μm. In this wavelength range our requirements of broad tuning range, narrow line width and room temperature operation are currently best met with a cw difference frequency generation (DFG) system, yet at the cost of complexity and laser power. We implemented such a system that is based on a Nd:YAG laser (1064.5 nm, 2 W), an external cavity diode laser (ECDL; 820–870 nm, 120 mW) and a nonlinear optical crystal (periodically poled MgO-doped LiNbO3) for mixing. This source provides a continuous tuning range from 4.3 μm to 4.7 μm and exhibits a narrow line width of 1 MHz. Since LiNbO3 has an absorption band at 5 μm, the power decreases strongly with increasing wavelength: At 4.3 μm the power amounts to 23 μW and at 4.7 μm it drops to only 5 μW. Theoretical calculations were performed to obtain the optimal crystal length and the optimal beam parameters. A second fiber-coupled version of the DFG-system was built to have a more robust and compact laser source with a Gaussian beam shape. An important issue in laser spectroscopic isotope measurements is the large difference in the abundances of the main and the rare isotopes (e.g. N/N = 0.4%). Two different configurations were tested: An only long path detection scheme and a balanced path length detection scheme, where the main isotope is measured along a shorter path than the less abundant one. Both configurations are implemented in a single-cell setup as well as in a dualcell setup, where the isotopes where measured simultaneously in a sample and a reference cell. In addition, two different measurement methods were compared, direct absorption spectroscopy and wavelength modulation with first harmonic detection.In addition to the general interest in trace gas sensing, the measurements of their isotopic composition provides additional information about their origin, or can be used for process identification or as tracer. This is important in ecosystem and climate research, volcanic emissions, medical diagnostics, studies of extraterrestrial atmospheres, etc. The aim of this thesis was to develop a laser spectrometer for measurements of the isotope ratios N/N in N2O and C/C and O/O in CO and CO2 at trace levels yielding a precision better than 1‰. It should be a single instrument for all three gases, several isotopes should be measurable for each molecule and no pretreatment should be required. The standard method today is isotope-ratio mass-spectrometry, which yields an excellent precision and accuracy (<0.1‰), but it requires careful and time-consuming sample preparation and it is too bulky for field applications. Another disadvantage is that isomers like NNO and NNO cannot be distinguished directly, as they have the same mass. Therefore, laser spectroscopy offers an interesting alternative The molecules of interest have their strongest absorption lines in the mid-infrared between 4 μm and 5 μm. In this wavelength range our requirements of broad tuning range, narrow line width and room temperature operation are currently best met with a cw difference frequency generation (DFG) system, yet at the cost of complexity and laser power. We implemented such a system that is based on a Nd:YAG laser (1064.5 nm, 2 W), an external cavity diode laser (ECDL; 820–870 nm, 120 mW) and a nonlinear optical crystal (periodically poled MgO-doped LiNbO3) for mixing. This source provides a continuous tuning range from 4.3 μm to 4.7 μm and exhibits a narrow line width of 1 MHz. Since LiNbO3 has an absorption band at 5 μm, the power decreases strongly with increasing wavelength: At 4.3 μm the power amounts to 23 μW and at 4.7 μm it drops to only 5 μW. Theoretical calculations were performed to obtain the optimal crystal length and the optimal beam parameters. A second fiber-coupled version of the DFG-system was built to have a more robust and compact laser source with a Gaussian beam shape. An important issue in laser spectroscopic isotope measurements is the large difference in the abundances of the main and the rare isotopes (e.g. N/N = 0.4%). Two different configurations were tested: An only long path detection scheme and a balanced path length detection scheme, where the main isotope is measured along a shorter path than the less abundant one. Both configurations are implemented in a single-cell setup as well as in a dualcell setup, where the isotopes where measured simultaneously in a sample and a reference cell. In addition, two different measurement methods were compared, direct absorption spectroscopy and wavelength modulation with first harmonic detection.


Oceans are absorbing about one-third of the anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere, and the excess CO2 leads to reduce the seawater pH, carbonate ion concentrations and saturation states of biologically important calcium carbonate minerals. The ocean acidification affects many calcifying organisms such as foraminifera. The present study assessed experimentally modified ocean pH impacts on survival rate and shell morphology variation in three species of intertidal benthic foraminifera. Foraminifera was collected from Parangipettai coastal waters, Tamilnadu, India. Foraminiferal specimens were cultured for a period of five weeks at three different pH treatments that replicated future scenarios of a high CO2 and low pH. The experimental results revealed that reduction of seawater pH significantly affected foraminiferal survival and morphology. Scanning Electron Microscopic observations revealed significant changes in foraminiferal morphology with clear evidence of dissolution and cracking processes on the test surface, and reduction in teeth structure in treatments with decreasing pH. Hence, altering the seawater chemistry might have extensive impacts on benthic foraminifera.


Erbium ions encapsulated in the metallofullerene Er2@C82 emit near infrared fluorescence about 1.5 µm, typical for 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 transitions of Er3+. The similarity of spectra measured in glassy and polycrystalline media at 1.6 K, and the very narrow inhomogeneous linewidth (<1 cm-1), show that the fullerene cage provides a locally ordered environment for the two erbium ions, well isolated from the host medium. Spectral fine-structure is observed with line splittings of ~10 cm-1. It is proposed that these splittings are dominated by exchange interaction between the two Er3+ ions involving a novel superexchange pathway through the C82 cage.


(§5 in a continuous annealing furnace, a steell strip is conveyed by conventional hearth rolls made of heat-resistant cast steel, such as HK40. However, since the formation of buildup is frequent, conventional hearth rolls are inappropriate for long-term operation of a continuous ainnealing furnace. In the hearth roll of the present invention, which consists of a solid or hollow roll body (21) and a surface layer (22), the surface layer (22) containing more than 15% by weight of Nb and the balance being inorganic material, the formation of buildup is not frequent, thereby making long-term operation of a continuous annealing furnace possible. 21 22


to build a precise and real time model is a key issue in fulfilling on optimal control of marine power station diesel engine in the hardware-in-the-loop simulation system. In this paper, a control oriented real time model for marine power station diesel engine is proposed based on neural network. After establishing the quasi-steady model of diesel, the hybrid model based on the compensation of neural networks, which raises precision of diesel engine model, are obtained. A NN model is obtained from the hybrid one to meet with the requirement of real time simulation. Simulation studies are conducted, and results show that the model built is precise and real time, and can be used for developing and analyzing engine control algorithms in the hard-in-the-loop simulation system.


We reconsider the 2003 October 28 X17 flare/coronal mass ejection (CME), studying the five minutes immediately before the impulsive flare phase (not discussed in previous work). To this aim we examine complementary dynamic radio spectrograms, single frequency polarimeter records, radio images, space-based longitudinal field magnetograms, and ultraviolet images. We find widely distributed faint and narrowband meter wave radio sources located outside active regions but associated with the boundaries of magnetic flux connectivity cells, inferred from the potential extrapolation of the observed photospheric longitudinal field as a model for coronal magnetic field structures. The meter wave radio sources occur during the initial decimeter wave effects, which are well known to be associated with filament destabilization in the flaring active region (here NOAA 10486). Antiochos et al. predict in their break-out model for CME initiation that "… huge phenomena … may be controlled by detailed plasma processes that occur in relatively tiny regions." They suggest that the expected faint energy release "… on long field lines far away from any neutral line … may be detectable in radio/microwave emission from nonthermal particles…" In this paper, we describe meter wave sources whose properties correctly coincide with the quoted predictions of the break-out reconnection model of the CME initiation.


Fissuring caused by rapid moisture adsorption generates broken kernels upon milling; brokens are often ground to flour. The recent increase in demand for rice flour has promoted interest in brokens. This study investigated the physical and functional characteristics of brokens resulting from milling lots with various levels of moisture adsorption-induced fissuring. Two long-grain (LG) cultivars and one medium-grain (MG) cultivar were conditioned to five initial moisture contents (IMCs), rewetted, and then reconditioned to 12% moisture content. Brown rice fissure enumeration and milling analyses as well as size distribution and functionality analyses of brokens were conducted. As IMC decreased, the percentage of fissured kernels increased and, consequently, the amount of brokens generated increased. Although the number of fissures/kernel also increased with decreasing IMC, the mass distribution of the resultant brokens was not affected by IMC. Across all IMC levels, the mass percentage of the medium-sized ...


The multiaxial fatigue behaviors of the GH4169 nickel based superalloy under (650°C) were investigated using MTS809 tension-torsion fatigue testing machine.The results showed that the shape of the stress-strain hysteretic loops is correlative with the loading waves and loading paths and plastic deformation continuously increases by analyzing the stress-strain hysteretic loops.The microcosmic analysis with FEI-Quanta 200 scanning electron microscope and EDAX Genesis 2000 X-energy dispersive spectrometer showed the material has the obvious oxidation phenomenon.The creep behavior should also exist in the fatigue process at high temperature based on the different fracture surface topographies under different equivalent strain amplitudes.


Vulvar cancer represents 1% of cancers in women; vulvar neuroendocrine carcinoma is extremely rare, with less than 20 published cases. Its behavior is very aggressive, producing early local recurrences, lymph node and distant metastases. The case of a 60-year-old patient who consulted for a vulvar lesion of 6 months of evolution, with extension to the lower third of the urethra and vagina and left inguinal nodal plastron is described. The vulvar biopsy reported malignant round cell neoplasm and the immunohistochemistry result was compatible with neuroendocrine carcinoma. She received concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy, evidencing a complete response in the vulva and a partial response in the inguinal region.Later, bilateral inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy was performed. Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the vulva should be considered when managing malignant vulvar pathology, timely diagnosis requires histology and immunohistochemistry to establish an adequate prognosis and treatment.


Between March 5 and July 25, 2020, the total number of SARS-CoV-2 confirmed cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) was 10 090 corresponding to a cumulative incidence rate of 285.7 per 100 000 population. Demographic and clinical information on all the cases along with exposure and contact information was collected using a standardized case report form. In suspected SARS-CoV-2 cases, respiratory specimens were collected and tested by real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay. The dynamic of the outbreak was summarized using epidemiological curves, instantaneous reproduction number Rt and interactive choropleth maps for geographical distribution and spread. The rate of hospitalization was 14.0% (790/5646) in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBH) and 6.2% (267/4299) in Republic of Srpska (RS). The death rate was 2.2% (122/5646) in FBH and 3.6% in the RS (155/4299). After the authorities lifted mandatory quarantine restrictions, the basic reproduction number increased from 1.13 on May, the 20th to 1.72 on May the 31st. The outbreak concerns both entities, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, and it is more pronounced in those aged 20-44 years. It is important to develop the communication and emergency plan for the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in BH, including the mechanisms to allow the ongoing notification and updates at the national level.


We provide new empirical evidence on the sources of value creation in mergers and acquisitions by using a dataset of establishment-level management practices from the U.S. Census Bureau. We find that firms with better management practices tend to acquire establishments with worse management practices, and following the acquisition, improve the target's management practices. These improvements are larger when acquirers have a greater incentive and ability to make these changes and are also followed by increases in establishment performance. Overall, our findings suggest that spillovers of good management practices constitute an important source of synergies from mergers and acquisitions. However, the results are robust to including 6-digit NAICS fixed effects.


1. Calcium trisodium diethylene triamine penta‐acetate (CaNa3DTPA), sodium 1,2 diaminocyclohexane tetra‐acetate (Na2CDTA), triethylenetetramine hydrochloride (TETA. HCl) and sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (NaDDC) were investigated for their efficacy to mobilize cadmium (Cd) from various tissues and hepatic metallothionein (MT) in Cd‐exposed rats.


Treatment of metallurgy wastewater using Al_2(SO_4)_3, Fe_2(SO_4)_3, FeCl_3, AlCl_3 as coagulants has been studied. The coagulation effects of different coagulants and the coagulation mechanism of FeCl_3 for removing arsenic, cadmium ionic also have been discussed. And the experiment results show that FeCl_3 is the best coagulant for treating mineral processing wastewater. When the addition of FeCl_3 in treatment reaches 16 mg/L, the discharging water can meet the national standard.


This paper examines the joint lot sizing problem for minimizing inventory costs for several products of constant demand made on one machine with zero cost setups but with setup times. If total demand requirements do not exceed available capacity then there is always a feasible schedule for any cycle sequence using different lot sizes. The paper describes a four-stage solution procedure, which builds upon the concept of not having any idle time or carryover inventory. The paper demonstrates that, quite often, unequal lot sizes can reduce inventory costs over equal lot sizes in the zero inventory case.


The aim of this work is to use the Pfa¢ an technique, along with the Hirota bilinear method to construct di¤erent classes of exact solutions to various of generalized integrable nonlinear partial di¤erential equations. Solitons are among the most bene…cial solutions for science and technology, from ocean waves to transmission of information through optical …bers or energy transport along protein molecules. The existence of multi-solitons, especially three-soliton solutions, is essential for information technology: it makes possible undisturbed simultaneous propagation of many pulses in both directions. The derivation and solutions of integrable nonlinear partial di¤erential equations in two spatial dimensions have been the holy grail in the …eld of nonlinear science since the late 1960s. The prestigious Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) and nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equations, as well as the ,Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (KP) and Davey-Stewartson (DS) equations, are prototypical examples of integrable nonlinear partial di¤erential equations in (1+1) and (2+1) dimensions, respectively. Do there exist Pfa¢ an and soliton solutions to generalized integrable nonlinear partial di¤erential equations in (3+1) dimensions? In this dissertation, I obtained a set of explicit exact Wronskian, Grammian, Pfa¢ an and N -soliton solutions to the (3+1)-dimensional generalized integrable nonlinear partial di¤erential equations, including a generalized KP equation, a generalized B-type KP equation, a generalized modi…ed B-type KP equation, soliton equations of Jimbo-Miwa type, the nonlinear Ma-Fan equation, and the Jimbo-Miwa equation. A set of su¢ cient conditions consisting of systems of linear partial di¤erential equations involving free parameters and continuous functions is generated to guarantee that the Wronskian determinant or the Pfa¢ an solves these generalized v equations. On the other hand, as part of this dissertation, bilinear Bäcklund transformations are formally derived for the (3+1)-dimensional generalized integrable nonlinear partial di¤erential equations: a generalized B-type KP equation, the nonlinear Ma-Fan equation, and the Jimbo-Miwa equation. As an application of the obtained Bäcklund transformations, a few classes of traveling wave solutions, rational solutions and Pfa¢ an solutions to the corresponding equations are explicitly computed. Also, as part of this dissertation, I would like to apply the Pfa¢ anization mechanism of Hirota and Ohta to extend the (3+1)-dimensional variable-coe¢ cient soliton equation of Jimbo-Miwa type to coupled systems of nonlinear soliton equations, called Pfa¢ anized systems. Examples of the Wronskian, Grammian, Pfa¢ an and soliton solutions are explicitly computed. The numerical simulations of the obtained solutions are illustrated and plotted for di¤erent parameters involved in the solutions.


Recently, symbol-level precoding has emerged as a novel efficient solution in multi-user multi-antenna downlink systems, since it can exploit multi-user interference (MUI) and transform it into useful signal. In this correspondence, we attempt to apply symbol-level precoding into the well-known hybrid precoding architecture in multi-user multi-input single-output (MU-MISO) millimeter wave (mmWave) communication systems. Particularly, we aim to design the symbol-varying digital precoder and the analog precoder with low-resolution phase shifters (PSs) to optimize symbol detection performance under the transmit power constraint and the discrete phase constraint. To handle this difficult joint optimization problem, we propose to minimize the Euclidean distance between the optimal fully-digital precoder and the hybrid precoder. An efficient iterative algorithm is developed to solve this problem. Simulation results demonstrate the advantages of symbol-level precoding and validate the effectiveness of our proposed symbol-level hybrid precoding algorithm.


A novel interferometric scheme for photonic analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) is experimentally demonstrated at a real-time sample rate of 40 gigasamples/s. The input signal in the experiment was a 1.25 GHz sinusoidal tone and the resolution 21 digital levels with an effective number of bits (ENOB) of 3.6. The major benefits of this scheme are that only one standard phase modulator is required and that the phase swing does not have to be larger than ±π to reach the full digital value space.


The propositionexpressedby this sentencewill be true in any situation in which there are 4,000 distinct ships, each of which passed through the lock during the previous year. However, as Krifka points out, (1) can also be used to describe a situation in which fewer than 4,000 ships are involved, provided that some of the ships pass through the lock more than once and the total number of lock traversals is at least 4,000. We will need a way of talking about the two types of construals that is neutral with respect to the theoretical status of the objects being counted.


In this work, the authors use the kinetic Monte Carlo method to simulate the heteroepitaxial submonolayer epitaxial growth process on a prepatterned semiconductor substrate. Experimentally, the GaAs substrates are patterned prior to growth by reactive ion etching through a self-organized nanopore anodized aluminum oxide film. At the early stages of growth, the InAs nuclei appear at the edges of the pores and then continue to grow from these locations, eventually filling the pores entirely. The shape of the pores greatly influences the location of the nuclei. If the pores are smoothed during the high temperature thermal cleaning process, the selectivity of nucleation is reduced or lost. The results of the kinetic Monte Carlo simulation demonstrate that a likely theoretical explanation of the observations is that the nonuniform distribution of the substrate elastic strain energy that is brought in by the lattice mismatch in the InAs wetting layer is the origin of the selectivity in the dot nucleation process.


This paper discusses an intelligent conductivity meter of which software and hardware disposition and the main points of their design , as well as the measuring principle are described in detail. The ultralow-power and high-powered Micro-controller, other peripheral chips and high sensitivity and strong stability electrochemistry sensors are used synthetically in this scheme. The whole design can realize some traits such as high-accuracy, rapid-detection ultralow-power, strong stability and it also possesses functions like intelligent processing and has friendly English-Chinese menu.


To assess the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) status of Macrozamia platyrhachis F.M.Bailey, we surveyed this central Queensland cycad for its population abundance and health and its pollinator type and pollination syndrome (thermogenesis and volatile emissions). Plants are locally abundant within the 11 discrete populations surveyed, with an estimated population of 611 315 adult plants. Plants are highly restricted to a small area of occupancy, seed dispersal is nearly non-existent and extreme fires appear to have destroyed almost all seeds and seedlings and decimated the pollinators. Of known Macrozamia pollinators, only the thrips, Cycadothrips chadwicki Mound, were found on cones, and these were found in very low numbers. The pollination syndrome for this cycad appears to be unique, based on two cone traits. For one, thermogenesis peaks in early evening, a contrast with daytime peaks of other Cycadothrips-pollinated Macrozamia, but matches that of the Tranes weevil-pollinated Macrozamia machinii. In addition, cone volatiles include both previously unreported compounds as well as those reported exclusively on either Cycadothrips- or Tranes-pollinated species. Based on its small, fragmented area of occupancy, projected population declines and the unique pollination syndrome, we recommend that M. platyrhachis retain its current status as 'Endangered'. Habitat management plans should stipulate that controlled burns be avoided during cycad coning season and that wildfires be controlled to minimise damage to seedlings and pollinators.


In this paper, we present a new numerical approach to the time-dependent Ginzburg--Landau (GL) equations under the temporal gauge (zero electric potential gauge). The approach is based on a mixed formulation of the GL equations, which consists of two parabolic equations for the order parameter $\psi$ and the magnetic field $\sigma = \mathrm{curl} \, \mathbf{A}$, respectively, and a vector ordinary differential equation for the magnetic potential $\mathbf{A}$. A fully linearized Galerkin finite element method is presented for solving the mixed GL system. The new approach offers many advantages on both accuracy and efficiency over existing methods. In particular, the equations for $\psi$ and $\sigma$ are uniformly parabolic and, therefore, the method provides optimal-order accuracy for the two physical components $\psi$ and $\sigma$. Since in the temporal direction, a fully linearized backward Euler scheme is used for $\psi$ and $\sigma$ and a forward Euler scheme is used for $\mathbf{A}$, respectively, the...


Hsp90s are essential ATP dependent molecular chaperones required for the maturation of numerous signal transduction proteins. They exist as obligatory homodimers consisting of an N‐, Middle, and C‐domain. In higher eukaryotes there are four hsp90 paralogs: two cytosolic isoforms, Hsp90α and Hsp90β, the ER paralog GRP94 and the mitochondrial paralog TRAP‐1. Despite the high sequence similarity between cytosolic Hsp90 and GRP94, structural and biochemical studies have elucidated different nucleotide induced conformational states which account for a 5–20 fold difference in ATPase rates. To further characterize the similarities and differences between Hsp90 and GRP94, we constructed chimeras between domains of cytosolic Hsp90 and GRP94 and tested the viability of these chimeras when expressed as the sole Hsp90 in yeast. We show for the first time that Grp94 domains can functionally complement yeast Hsp90 domains. In particular, chimeric constructs consisting of Grp94 N or Grp94 MC support growth in yeast while M domain substitutions are detrimental to cell growth. These results indicate the importance of ATP binding and highlight the MC interface as an important structural unit within hsp90s. These observations also suggest a conserved mechanism of action within the hsp90s family. Finally, the GRP N chimera may be used to develop paralog specific inhibitors. Funding: NIH 5F31GM086120, NIH 2R01CA095130


This article uses examples from the Littoral dialect group that have the phoneme/ grapheme v in place of etymological b in order to determine that sporadic cases of the multidirectional substitution v ⇄ b (e.g., Littoral vedrica 'hip' ← *bedrica : Prekmurje griba 'mane' ← griva), which can be observed quite broadly throughout Slovenian territory, are the remnants of what was probably already the Proto-Slavic (dialect) operative free alternation  ⇄ ƀ.


An efficient and convenient highly enantioselective Michael addition of malononitrile to enones has been developed by using quinine as the organocatalyst. The adducts were isolated in excellent yield and high asymmetric induction (up to 95% ee). An easy route to difficultly accessible ester derivatives has been also disclosed.


Various real world phenomena can be modeled by a notion called complex network. Much effort has been devoted into understanding and manipulating this notion. Recent research hints that complex networks have an underlying hyperbolic geometry that gives them navigability, a highly desirable property observed in many complex networks. In this internship, a parameter called δ-hyperbolicity, which is related to the underlying hyperbolic geometry of a graph, is studied in contrast of navigability. Graph-theorectical and computational properties of δ-hyperbolicity are studied and used to investigate δ-hyperbolicity of several network models. A seemingly gap between δ-hyperbolicity and navigability is found.


To the Editor.— I read with great pleasure Dr Ralph Johnson's letter to the editor (230:1387, 1974). Dr Johnson has very accurately stated the case for considered judgment and thoughtful procrastination in the physician management of early, operable breast cancer. Since most clinically detected breast cancers have been present in occult or semioccult form for many months, the helter-skelter approach from biopsy to mastectomy is not only unnecessary but in many cases harmful. Until recent years the policy at one of our greatest midwestern surgical clinics, was to operate on all patients with a histologic diagnosis of breast cancer—regardless of stage, provided the patient could withstand the anesthesia and the operation. Thankfully, that period is past, but from the failure of radical operations in advanced stages of breast cancer, we have learned a great deal that we now put to good use. Unfortunately, in many areas throughout the United States,


In this paper, we investigate the dynamics behavior of stochastic hybrid switching staged progression model for the transmission of HIV. The method used in this paper is Lyapunov functions analysis. We establish sufficient conditions for extinction of disease. Especially, we conclude that there is a stationary distribution for the stochastic system and it has ergodicity under appropriate conditions. Finally, some examples and their simulations are provided to illustrate the theoretical results.


Reliable and effective work of urban electric passenger transport for Belarus is the major parameter of sociopolitical and economic stability. Appointment of this kind of transport consists in realization of the stable, reliable and safety public conveyances promoting effective maintenance of multilateral ability to live of the population of republic, and also the organizations. It provides the basic part of labor trips of the population, directly influencing efficiency of a national economy.


Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine foliar surface features such as cuticular patterns, epicuticular wax, and trichome types in species ofAlnus, Betula, Carpinus, Corylus, andOstrya. Six trichome types are recognized in this survey, four non-glandular (acicular, filiform, aduncate, subulate) and two glandular (stipitate gland and peltate scale). The distribution of these trichomes among the genera supports the recognition of two tribes, Betuleae (Alnus andBetula) and Coryleae (Carpinus, Corylus, andOstrya). Trichome morphology can be an important supportive taxonomic character in determining evolutionary relationships.


Working in the environment of the complex projective line P 1 (C) rather than the Riemann sphere C gives an elegant uniform description of lines and circles, and an immediate case-free argument that they are preserved under fractional linear transformations. The first idea is that every real-projective class of 2-by-2 nonpositive hermitian (self-adjoint) matrices describes a circle, a line, or a point, and conversely. Indeed, let m be a nonzero 2-by-2 nonpositive hermitian matrix, m = a −b −b d and consider the equation (in which " * " is the transpose-conjugate operator) v * mv = 0. In coordinates, this equation is z w a −b −b d z w = 0, or a|z| 2 − 2Re(bzw) + d|w| 2 = 0. For any nonzero r ∈ R, the scaled matrix rm is again nonpositive hermitian, and it gives rise to the r-scaled version of the equation shown in the previous three displays, with no effect on the set of solution-vectors v. Similarly, if a nonzero vector v satisfies the equation then for any nonzero λ ∈ C, so does the scaled vector λv. That is, we can view the matrix m defining the equation as real-projective and the vector variable v as complex-projective. If a = 0 then we can normalize to a = 1. The vector solutions with w = 0 can be normalized to w = 1, giving the finite points z of the Riemann sphere such that |z| 2 − bz − bz + d = 0, or |z − b| 2 = |b| 2 − d Note that |b| 2 − d ≥ 0 since m is nonpositive. So when a = 0, the affine solutions of the equation form a circle or reduce to a single point. The infinite point ∞ = [1, 0] of the Riemann sphere is not a solution. In sum, when a = 0, the equation describes an affine circle or an affine point. Now suppose that a = 0. This time the equation is −2Re(bzw) + d|w| 2 = 0.


Oxygen acts on colupulone in petroleum at 60° to give 5-hydroxy-5-isobutyryl-3,3-bis-(3-methylbut-2-enyl)-cyclopentane-1,2,4-trione, which we find present in old hops. Cohulupone is evidently an intermediate, but the new product appears not to be an intermediate in the oxidation of cohulupone to hulupinic acid.


Hexagonal barium ferrite thick films (50–200 µm) have been deposited on Si and Al2O3/Si substrates using a screen printing technique. X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and magnetometry were used to characterize and correlate the ferrite films' microstructure and magnetic properties. The experiments indicated that an Al2O3 underlayer was effective in preventing silicon diffusion into the barium ferrite films during a final sintering treatment at temperatures above 1100 °C. A two-stage sintering process allowed a reasonable tradeoff between mechanical and magnetic properties. This work reveals the feasibility of fabrication of thick ferrite films on large substrates (up to 25 mm in diameter) for future planar microwave devices compatible with semiconductor integrated circuits processing.


Recent public policy has demonstrated increased concern for the effectiveness of existing transportation systems as a cost-efficient alternative to major capital expenditures. One such program in Kentucky uses a single school bus to provide transit service in the community of Morehead. A 36-passenger school bus operates hourly along a 12.1-km (7.5-mile) route from 8:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays. Service is provided to Morehead State University, several public housing projects, the central business district, a principal manufacturing house, and the hospital. The one-way fare is $0.25. The Kentucky Department of Transportation, the Rowan County Board of Education, and the city of Morehead all share in the management of the project. Net operating costs during the 12-month demonstration period are shared between the department of transportation and the city of Morehead (75-25 percent, respectively). To date, farebox revenues have equaled 8.78 percent of the total operating costs. Initial patronage during the first 5 months of the demonstration program was low, increased drastically during severe winter weather, and moderated somewhat when warmer weather arrived. Weekday patronage averages 33.6 persons/d and Saturday patronage averages 16.8 persons/d. /Author/


Sendmail is the standard of Email server system. The article analyses the security problems of Sendmail, describes the security characteristic which provided by Sendmail, and provides some solutions to solve the potential security problems.


Early recurrence of atrial fibrillation (ERAF) after catheter ablation is common and has been thoroughly studied. However, very late recurrence of atrial fibrillation (VLRAF) is rarely researched, and its characteristics have not been determined.


A 1D air–sea interactive model that couples an atmospheric column model with a slab ocean model was introduced. The model simulated an exact balance between radiative cooling and convective heating in the free troposphere. Within the planet boundary layer, the turbulent mixing produces cooling in the upper part and warming in the lower part, which is compensated by radiative and convective heating together. The model was then used to explore the equilibrium response of sea surface temperature (SST) and precipitation to carbon dioxide (CO2) and aerosol forcing changes. Results show a warming or cooling signal owning to increased CO2 or aerosols can be well captured by the ocean, leading to an increasing or decreasing of the SST, and hence the precipitation. Cutting off the interactions between atmosphere and ocean however renders different results. By applying the relaxed weak temperature gradient (WTG) approximation, the local response to aerosol forcing perturbations was investigated, which was shown to be largely different from the global response in spite of the same forcing. To understand the nonlinear interactions among different forcings, the equilibrium responses to multiple combinations of CO2 and aerosol forcings are analyzed.


Refinements have been made to the parallel-substitution heterodyne method of attenuation measurement. These are provision for small fixed frequency differences between the IF signals to improve the sensitivity of tests for leakage, a switched reference path to reduce errors from drift and to assess "flange scatter," a flexible waveguide in the measuring path to accommodate attenuators of different lengths, a steady flow of dry air through the system to remove moisture, and an electronic system for fine-balancing the two channels.


This study was described Citrus microcarpa extract as an antimicrobial agent in controlling edwardsiellosis in African catfish culture. Edwardsiellosis due to Edwardsiella tarda was recognized as a problem in African catfish culture and may lead to mass mortality of the cultured fish. Many antibiotics were no longer effective to control this bacterial disease. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the potential of C. microcarpa extract to overcome this bacterial disease problem. The experimental fish were fed with medicated feed at three different concentrations (1 g kg-1; CM-1, 2 g kg-1; CM-2 and 4 g kg-1 of fish) of C. microcarpa extract for one week before they were intraperitoneally exposed to E. tarda. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was carried out to determine the value of antibody response to E. tarda in fish from group of fish that received medicated fish and the percentage of total cumulative mortality of the experimental fish were observed at the end of the experiment. The results showed that the value of antibody response to E. tarda in fish from group of fish which received medicated feed (CM-1, 0.148 ± 0.017 OD; CM-2, 0.143 ± 0.006 OD; CM-4, 0.163 ± 0.015 OD) were found significantly higher (P < 0.05) compared to fish did not received medicated fish (0.00 OD). Whereas, percentage cumulative mortality of fish from all groups of fish received medicated feed (CM-1, 20.0 ± 10.0 %; CM-2, 16.7 ± 5.8 %; CM-4, 16.7 ± 5.8 %) were found significantly lower (P < 0.05) compared to group of fish did not received medicated feed (56.7 ± 5.8 %). The findings of the present study indicated the huge potential of C. microcarpa extract as natural antimicrobial agent for aquaculture use.


The influence of multimodal sources of input data to the construction of accurate computational models of user preferences is investigated in this paper. The case study presented explores player entertainment preferences of physical game variants incorporating two data modalities. The main findings of the paper reveal the benefit of multiple modalities of input data for the prediction of preferences and highlight the impact of feature selection on the construction of such models.


Novel opportunities of waveform tailoring for controlling plasma parameters based on the development of a high-voltage gas-discharge switch with a subnanosecond breakdown time and high pulse repetition frequency are discussed. The studies of characteristics and breakdown development mechanisms of the switch based on an 'open' discharge—kivotron are summarized. The discharge in the switch is carried out in conditions when counter-propagating electron beams in high electric field are generated. In this case, when using helium as an operating medium, firstly, atoms are effectively excited into the resonance state by fast particles. Secondly, due to the Doppler effect, resonant photons without reabsorption reach the cathode surface, maintaining the discharge current due to photoemission. Thirdly, fast heavy particles modify the cathode surface, thereby significantly (up to an order of magnitude) increasing the photoemission coefficient. The combination of these processes leads to an increase in the switching rate with an increase in the operating voltage U and helium pressure pHe. At U > 20 kV and pHe > 10 Torr, the switching time becomes less than 100 ps both in the experiment and according to the simulation. It is preferable to use planar geometry without a drift space as a switching device, in which, on the one hand, the most complete use of EB energy is realized in creating a plasma with a high charge density, on the other hand, a small wave impedance of the switch is realized. As a result, currents of tens of kiloamperes are achieved at voltages up to 100 kV. In an interpulse period plasma in the discharge gaps recombinates fast. As a result, switches can operate up to pulse repetition frequency 100 kHz. Together these achievements open new opportunities to control plasma parameters.


Research has documented the psychological phenomenon in which the trip back from a destination is experienced as shorter than the trip to the destination. Deemed the "return trip effect" (RTE), prior work explained this phenomenon in terms of differential familiarity between home and outbound destination or an underestimation of initial travel time. The present article posits an anticipation account for the RTE: Outbound trips to a destination tend to foster higher levels of anticipation than return trips. Due to greater anticipation, people's perception of time elongates. Importantly, the anticipation account makes novel predictions with regard to the occurrence of the RTE that cannot be accounted for by prior explanations. Multiple studies, with diverse methodologies, test and offer evidence in support of an anticipation account of the RTE.


Multinational pharmaceutical companies patent essential drugs routinely in developed countries. Patents grant a monopoly to manufacture and sell a particular drug to one pharmaceutical company. Drugs are therefore very expensive in developed countries as availability and pricing is dependent on one pharmaceutical company. In contrast with the absence of product patents, Indian pharmaceutical companies manufacture and sell generic drugs at a fraction of the price of patented drugs. In developing countries therefore affordable generic drugs from India are imported and used in the treatment of diseases and illnesses which are life threatening and chronic. AIDS, cancer, mental illness, asthma, and tuberculosis are some of the diseases for which generic drugs are sourced from India. All this is now set to change. The ability of generic pharmaceutical companies in India to manufacture and sell essential drugs at affordable prices to patients and governments in developing countries including in India is at risk due to the amendments in the Indian Patent Act. The impact of the legal amendments to the India Patent Act introduced in 2005 under the TRIPS agreement are going to be felt increasingly across the developing world. In the coming decade as product patents on essential drugs are granted in India to multinational pharmaceutical companies, many of these drugs will become either unavailable or very expensive. The article highlights the importance of generic drug manufacturing in India in the context of AIDS treatment. Legal options before the government of India to limit the impact of patents on generic manufacturing of affordable medicines are discussed with an emphasis on the political nature of the decisions involved.


Using the Infectious Diseases Society of America's Emerging Infections Network, we surveyed 724 infectious disease consultants to determine current practices in the management of patients with invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) disease. The majority of responding physicians had seen at least one patient with invasive GAS disease in the first six months of 1999; 7% recommended chemoprophylaxis for close contacts and 36% used intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy for patients with streptococcal toxic shock. We found an increase in reported use of IVIG therapy compared with findings from a previous Network survey in 1996. The majority of infectious disease consultants in our survey indicated that further data, preferably a randomized clinical trial demonstrating the effectiveness of IVIG for invasive GAS disease, would clarify the potential value and use of these interventions.


Abstract Three new taxa of diatoms, Achnanthes duthii sp. nov., Achnanthes undulatus sp. nov., and Neidium distincte-punctatum Hustedt var. major var. nov., are described from a sediment core obtained from Sunfish Lake, Waterloo County, Ontario.


Objective To analyze the ultrasonogram characteristics and diagnostic value of ultrasound examination for duplex kidney with duplex kidney.Method The ultrasound examination data of 13 cases of duplex kidney with duplex kidney in 3 years were retrospectively analyzed.Results Thirteen cases were diagnosed as the duplex kidney with malformation by ultrasonography and confirmed by operation.Left duplex kidney was found in 6 cases,right duplex kidney was found in 6 cases,and bilateral duplex kidney was found in 1case.4 cases were combined with ureteral cyst,7 cases were combined with the ectopic ureters open,1 case was combined with the left ovarian teratima.Conclusion Duplex kidney with malformation has specific ultrasonogram characteristics,therefore ultrasound examination should be the first examination,and can be used in monitoring and follow-up observations after operation because of good repetitiveness.


This paper aims to develop a diagram as a tool for analysing empirical data concerning the issue of difference of subcultural backgrounds and worldviews in the dialogue and its implications to the psychological practice in social work. From a theoretical view on dialogical and cultural psychology, we will trace the roots of selected contemporary dialogical and social representation theories and elaborate on it how distinct subcultures of interlocutors can produce misunderstandings when the professional interprets the utterance of the other. Focusing the social pedagogic practice, we will approach dialogues between people that belong to different cultural contexts as instances of the challenges in the communication, i.e. pedagogues and adolescents, doctors and patients, people belonging to different societies, etc. We argue that the theoretical approach presented and discussed here is part of a general understanding of communication processes, showing that despite mutual understanding will never be fully achieved in a dialogical situation, the possibility of sharing meanings and senses depends on the effort to take into consideration the worldview of the other in the background of what is presently uttered.


Abstract : This project supported an investigation into extending a relational system to support new kinds of data objects such as lines, points, polygons, bit maps, text, documents, vectors and arrays. Two important tactics were studied: 1) use of an abstract data type system (ADT); and 2) use of procedural objects. Basically an ADT system allows new data types to be added to a relational system to augment the normal character strings, integers and floating point numbers traditionally provided. In addition, procedures provide a powerful data modeling capability that is especially useful for complex objects or objects that have unpredictable composition. The important results that the authors achieved are twofold. First, they obtained results on the integration of an ADT system into a general purpose DBMS. In particular, they discovered how to integrate new data types with query optimization routines and how to allow new access methods to be constructed for the new data types. Second, they designed a syntax for efficient manipulation of procedural objects and then constructed query optimization algorithms to efficiently process this extended syntax.


Objective:To evaluate the application of VNK-3 neuroendoscopy in neurosurgery clinic.Method:58 cases treated with neuroendoscopy from july 1997 to september 1999 were studied retrospectively and analysis the indication and method and complication of operation.Result:Complete evacuation of heamatoma was achieved in 30 cases,partial evacaution in 28 cases.No infection or bleeding after operation were found.Conclution:Neuroendoscopy is one minimally invasive technique in treatment of intracerebral heamatoma in modern neurosursery,and this new mathod is worth spreading.


This paper presents a new fully cascadable (i.e., low input and high-output impedance) high-order current-mode universal filter. The proposed circuit only uses n+1 second-generation current conveyors (CCIIs), n grounded capacitors, and n grounded resistor, which are the minimum components necessary to realize a fully cascadable nth-order universal filtering response ( low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, band-reject, and all-pass ). Moreover, the proposed circuit simultaneously achieves nearly all of the main advantages such as; (i) fully cascadable feature, (ii) the employment of all grounded capacitors, (iii) the employment of all grounded resistors, (iv) no capacitors bringing extra poles degrading high-frequency performance (v) no need to impose components choice conditions to realize specific nth-order filtering functions, (vi) no need to change the filter topology, (vii) no need of extra inverting or non-inverting amplifiers, (viii) orthogonal control of the filter characteristic parameters, (ix) low active and passive sensitivities. The author not only proposes such filter structure, but also shows how analytical synthesis can be used to produce filter circuit that has the minimum components. H-Spice simulation results confirm the theoretical.


Credit Default Swaps (CDSs) provide an efficient way for commercial banks to hedge their portfolios' exposure to credit risk. Following Patton (2006), Huang, Lee, Liang, and Lin (2009), and Fei, Fuertes, and Kalotychou (2013), we proposed a way to estimate Value-at-Risk (VaR) of portfolios containing CDSs that is better than the traditional methods mentioned in financial textbooks. Markit's North American Investment Grade CDX Index (CDX.NA.IG) is a combination index of 125 North American entities with investment-grade credit ratings that trade in the CDS market. Each of the S & P 500 index and VIX are used with CDX.NA.IG to construct portfolios. This paper uses 2,477 daily data items from December 2004 to October 2014 covering the period of the subprime mortgage crisis and the European debt crisis. We chose six constant and two time-varying copula models combined with GARCH skewed Student-t innovation (GARCH-skt) to form eight copula-GARCH models to capture the joint distribution of the two assets in the portfolio. We then computed corresponding 1-day VaRs. According to our findings, the time-varying symmetrized Joe-Clayton (SJC) copula model combined with the GARCH-skt (tvSJC-copula–GARCH-skt) performed best, regardless of the market situation. Not surprisingly, this result stems mainly from this model's consideration of the serial correlation in the individual index return and the time-varying nonlinear dependency between indices.


Introduction and Aim: Nutritional state of the mother before and during pregnancy is one of the important determinants along with factors like pre-pregnancy BMI, weight gain during pregnancy and gestational age which determines pregnancy outcome. Adequate gestational weight gain contributes for better pregnancy outcomes in both mother and infants for short- and long-term health.
Materials and Methods: This is an observational study conducted retrospectively over a year comprised 300 pregnant subjects in their second trimester. Incidence of anemia, preterm labour, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission were compared in women with various Body Mass index (BMI). Analysis of the data was done using SPSS version 13 using chi square test and p ? 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Out of 300 subjects, 79 developed anemia, among these 64(81%) were in the underweight category. 49 cases had a preterm delivery, out of these 49 cases, about 37(75.5%) belonged to the underweight BMI category. 39 cases delivered an intra-uterine growth retarded baby. Out of these 39 cases, about 25 (64.1%) belonged to the underweight BMI category. 56 neonates required intensive care unit (NICU) admission, of which 41 (73.2%) neonates born for underweight BMI mothers.
Conclusion: The high proportions of underweight pregnancies in this study reflects the poor nutritional status. Adverse effects of maternal low body mass index target the fetus. Adequate weight gain of pregnant woman is an extremely important factor for the fetal outcome.


'Concord' grape vines trained to the Modified Munson and 4-arm Kniffin systems were sampled, at weekly intervals, beginning approximately one month before harvest and continuing to harvest. The fruit were categorized for evenness of ripening and analyzed for total pigment content and per cent soluble solids. Total yield, and components of yield were compared under the 2 training systems.
Fruit harvested from the Modified Munson trained vines ripened more evenly, contained more anthocyanin pigments, soluble solids, and produced greater yields than did vines trained to the 4-arm Kniffin system. The yield increase was due to increases in the percentage of fruiting shoots, clusters per shoot, and cluster weights on vines trained to the Modified Munson system. The increase in cluster weight was due to increases in berry weight and berries per cluster.


Objective To investigate the changes and clinical significance of serum visfatin and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) level in patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods The 108 patients ( aged 51 NS0 years ) with UAP and 52 healthy subjects ( aged 48 - 75 ) were enrolled. Before and after PCI at the different time, the serum levels of visfatin and cTnI were analyzed. During three years followed-up, the major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were as- sessed. MACE defined as cardiac death, myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization anginal sta- tus. Results Twenty four hours later after PCI, compared with the level before PCI, the serum visfatin and cTnI levels of the UAP group were significantly increased ( P = 0.01 ) ; the serum Visfatin levels of the UAP group before PCI and 30 days later after PCI had no significant difference( P =0. 12) ; Thirty days later after PCI,the serum cTnI levels of the UAP group were lower than them before PCI ( P =0.02) ; high level visfatin and cTnI were independent predictors of MACE in UAP after PCI( OR =3.27,2. 85) ( P 〈 0. 05). The serum cTnI and visfatin levels were significantly positive correlation ( r =0. 523, P =0.01 ). Conclusions The serum visfatin and cTnI levels in patients with UAP after PCI increased transitorily, and they had certain value in predicting MACE.

Key words:
Angina, unstable ;  Angioplasty, transluminal, percutaneous coronary;  Nicotinamidephosphoribosyltransferase/blood ; Troponin I/blood


•  A relative exercise intensity (%) protocol is often used to compare absolute whole‐body sweat rates (WBSRs) during exercise between participants of different aerobic capacity. •  Under conditions permitting full evaporation, heat balance theory suggests that exercise intensity should be fixed to elicit the same rate of evaporation required for heat balance (Ereq). •  Whole‐body direct calorimetry was employed to measure WBSRs throughout 90 min of exercise across a range of air temperatures and rates of metabolic heat production. •  Irrespective of ambient temperature and metabolic heat production, Ereq alone described ∼90% of all variability in WBSR during steady‐state and non‐steady‐state exercise, whereas <2% of variation was independently described by %. •  To perform an unbiased comparison of WBSRs (but not necessarily core temperature) between different individuals/groups under conditions allowing full evaporation, future studies should consider using a fixed Ereq irrespective of the % incurred.


Dynamic light scattering (DLS) measures time-dependent fluctuations in the scattering intensity arising from particles undergoing random Brownian motion. Diffusion coefficient and particle size information can be obtained from the analysis of these fluctuations. More specifically, the method provides the ability to measure size characteristics of proteins in a liquid medium. Proteins consist of polypeptide chains that are sensitive to a wide range of parameters such as temperature and chemical environment. Preparation method, storage conditions and/or buffer choice can all influence the size and quality of proteins in a sample. This seminar describes the theory of method and presents examples how light scattering may be used as a method of characterizing the size of proteins in solutions.


We examine the pursuit and subsequent capture of the Chrysler/Mitsubishi Diamond Star auto plant by Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, as a case study to illustrate a number of interesting aspects of economic development. First, we examine the degrees of uncertainty in economic development decisions faced by various levels of government. Second, we spell out the expected costs and benefits associated with the capture of Diamond Star Motors. We also show how the expected costs and benefits are tempered by each government's perceived need for economic development and how these perceived needs affect each government's willingness to discount uncertainty. Finally, we examine the numerous interactions between the public and private sectors and within the public sector that affect the negotiations process.


Abstract Data from a national survey conducted in 1977 were examined to identify correlates of attitudes toward euthanasia and suicide for terminally ill persons. The results indicated that race, religious participation, and attitudes toward freedom of expression were directly associated with such attitudes. It was also found that regional variations in such attitudes could be explained by the degree of urbanization of geographic regions.


of total lipids were determined by gas chromatography. The results showed that birds supplemented with 1.5%SO and 3%SO had significantly (P<0.05) higher levels of n-3 (25.27, 50.62 mg/100g) than control group (5.65 mg/100g) into breasts. With regard to leg/thigh the higher incorporations of EPA and DHA were obtained with 1.5%SO There were not changes induced by the sex (P>0.05). Under conditions of the present study, it is concluded that SO could be used to increase the EPA and DHA content in tissue lipids of poultry, that there is higher incorporation of FA into leg/thigh than in the breast and, than the sex no affect the deposition of FA in the muscle of the birds. 1993 Changes of magnesium and calcium contents and adenosine triphosphatase activity of shell gland mu-cosa during eggshell formation in Brown Tsaiya ducks and White Leghorn hens. The changes of magnesium and calcium contents, adenosine triphos-phatase (ATPase) activity of shell gland mucosa during various stages of eggshell formation in brown Tsaiya ducks and white Leghorn hens were investigated. Ducks and hens containing an egg in the shell gland were sacrificed at 6, 10, 15, 20 and 22 hours after oviposition, respectively. The whole shell gland lumen was flushed immediately by 50 mL 10 mM Tris-buffer (pH 7.4) for analyzing the amounts of Mg and Ca and their shell gland mucosa were scraped off to determine Mg, Ca contents and ATPase activity. Calcium content in eggshell gland mucosa of both birds decreased to lowest level at 10 hours after oviposition and the data in ducks were lower than hens after active eggshell formation. Total flushed Ca content in uterus lumen of duck or hen were rapidly increased from initial to active stages of eggshell formation. Magnesium content in duck shell gland mucosa was significantly higher (p<0.05) than those in hens from 6 to 20 hours after oviposition. Total flushed Mg content in whole shell gland lumen of chicken was higher than duck after 15-hr stage. The specific activities of Ca 2+-, Mg 2+-or Ca 2+-Mg 2+-ATPase in shell gland mucosa were only minor changes (p>0.05) during eggshell formation in both birds. Mg 2+ added to incubation medium improved uterus mucosa ATPase activity of Leghorn hens, but not in Tsaiya duck. It was concluded that brown Tsaiya ducks could retain higher Mg and lower Ca contents in shell gland mucosa, and secrete less Mg and more Ca to shell …


Two-phase cross flow exists in many shell-and-tube heat exchangers. Flow-induced vibration excitation forces can cause tube motion that will result in long-term fretting wear or fatigue. Detailed flow and vibration excitation force measurements in tube bundles subjected to two-phase cross flow are required to understand the underlying vibration excitation mechanisms. Studies on this subject have already been done, providing results on flow regimes, fluidelastic instabilities, and turbulence-induced vibration. The spectrum of turbulence-induced forces has usually been expected to be similar to that in single-phase flow. However, a recent study, using tubes with a diameter larger than that in a real steam generator, showed the existence of significant quasi-periodic forces in two-phase flow. An experimental program was undertaken with a rotated-triangular array of cylinders subjected to air-water cross-flow, to simulate two-phase mixtures. The tube bundle here has the same geometry as that of a real steam generator. The quasi-periodic forces have now also been observed in this tube bundle. The present work aims to understand turbulence-induced forces acting on the tube bundle, providing results on drag and lift force spectra and their behaviour according to flow parameters, and describing their correlations. Detailed experimental test results are presented in this paper. Comparison is also made with previous measurements with larger diameter tubes. The present results suggest that quasi-periodic fluid forces are not uncommon in tube arrays subjected to two-phase cross-flow.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


This paper employs the history and politics of football looking at discussions about Cyprus' national identity, the relationship between the Greek-Cypriot state and its self-declared Turkish-Cypriot counterpart, and the possibility of reunification. It explores these issues from both sides of the divide, something rarely undertaken in Cyprus, and within a wider European perspective, by comparing it briefly with the modern football histories of Ireland, Spain and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Football and its inherent developments reflect not only the political rivalries in the world of Greek-Cypriot football, but also the encounters between Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots. The history of Cypriot football has no similar precedent in the selected European space. In Ireland, the peace process has not ended historic civil society divisions, while football agents with opposing political ideologies across the Greek and Turkish divide in Cyprus have been able to overcome their differences, political elites on one side of the border have prevented unification. In Spain's Catalonia, while the football-fed movement for independence, yet to materialize, remains subject to approval by Spain's institutions, the independence of the de facto Turkish-Cypriot state would require the approval of the governments of the Republic of Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, and Britain. Finally, while FIFA and UEFA have successfully dictated the terms for the final admission of Bosnia & Herzegovina's football Federation into their membership, they have failed to repeat this achievement in the Cypriot case.


Inspired by events ranging from 9/11 to the collapse of the accounting firm Arthur Andersen, economists Kunreuther and Heal [5] recently introduced an interesting game-theoretic model for problems of interdependent security (IDS), in which a large number of players must make individual investment decisions related to security — whether physical, financial, medical, or some other type — but in which the ultimate safety of each participant may depend in a complex way on the actions of the entire population. A simple example is the choice of whether to install a fire sprinkler system in an individual condominium in a large building. While such a system might greatly reduce the chances of the owner's property being destroyed by a fire originating within their own unit, it might do little or nothing to reduce the chances of damage caused by fires originating in other units (since sprinklers can usually only douse small fires early). If "enough" other unit owners have not made the investment in sprinklers, it may be not cost-effective for any individual to do so.


The episodic gas releases from Tank 241-SY-101 (SY-101) pose a potential safety hazard. It is thought that gas releases occur because gases are generated and trapped in layers of settled solids located at the bottom of the tank. This document focuses on issues associated with testing of hydraulic mitigation technologies proposed for SY-101. The basic assumption underlying the concept of hydraulic mitigation is that mobilization or maintained suspension of the solids settled in the bottom of the tank wig prevent gas accumulation. Engineering of hydraulic technologies will require testing to determine the operating parameters required to mobilize the solids and to maintain these solids in suspension. Because full scale testing is extremely expensive (even when possible), scaled tests are needed to assess the merit of the proposed technologies and to provide data for numerical or analytical modeling. This research is conducted to support testing and evaluation of proposed hydraulic mitigation concepts only. The work here is oriented towards determining the jet velocities, nozzle sizes, and other operating parameters required to mobilize the settled solids in SY- 101 and maintain them in suspension.


The simulation is nowadays used in many applications with great benefits both for teaching and industrial applications. In education there are few tools that enable the fast and agile simulation of simple systems and respective control of the systems oriented to discrete event, in the spectrum of PLCs. This is the area of intervention of the course 'Systems and Automation' from the program MIEEC at FEUP. In this Dissertation it was developed the FEUPSim tool, a simulator and SCADA, which communicates with the SoftPLC FEUPAutom who also was updated in this work. It was used the FreePascal/Lazarus as free and open programming tool in order to obtain cross-platform applications. It was also used ModbusTCP communications protocol to take advantage of enabling communications standard developed tools to communicate with other devices and applications. FEUPSim is a tool that allows the user to create entities such as geometric shapes, images, sensors, etc., where the look and movement over time of these entities depends on inputs and outputs of FEUPAutom. As a strategy to maintain ease of use, the system was kept 2D although it may be extended in the future to 3D. As SCADA the FEUPSim can be linked to real equipment or other applications and allows interesting viewing (including animation) of a remote system. There is also the possibility of temporal record of relevant details (history system). The handling features of FEUPSim and FEUPAutom projects were created/updated in order to take advantage of the XML file recording, without losing retro-compatibility with older projects. FEUPSim was tested with success through several case-studies: a traffic light, a lift, a clean wind-shield. The application was also tested by the students of course mentioned and validated in the form of surveys, which have shown the high interest and acceptance in relation to the work developed. It is expected that teachers and the students themselves for future occurrences of the course can create their own simulations. At the end of this Dissertation, conclusions are drawn to both the update of FEUPAutom and the creation of FEUPSim simulator bring to course. The two new applications were extensively tested on Windows and there were also some successfully tests on Linux, and is expected to make tests under Mac OS X in the near future. The platform tools will be made available free of charge to the community. Future work includes integrating the two applications for in-depth study of real-time interaction, consider extending to other communication protocols, tests in real environments and eventually automate the validation of monitoring evaluations.


Objectives To explore the mechanisms by which ischmic preconditioning(IPC),ischemic postconditioning(IPO) and IPC-IPO exert influence on ischemic reperfusion injury(IRI) of the graft of SD rat after pancreas transplantation.Methods After the establishment of diabetic SD rats model by using streptozotocin,24 rats suffered from pancreas transplantation and were randomly averagely divided into four groups: I/R group,IPC group,IPO group,and IPC-IPO group.Six diabetic SD rats suffered with sham operation were served as SO group.The blood glucose level of rats in each group was detected before and after reperfusion,the contents of malonaldehyde(MDA) and super oxide dismutase(SOD) of pancreas allograft were tested at 2 h after reperfusion, and the apoptosis index(AI) of pancreas allograft was monitored by using TUNEL method.Results The blood glucose level of rats in each group was not significantly different(P0.05).In SO group,the blood glucose level of rats was significantly higher than other groups(P0.01).The blood glucose levels of rats after reperfusion decreased from the levels before reperfusion in I/R group,IPC group,IPO group,and IPC-IPO group(P0.05 or P0.01),furthermore the blood glucose level of rats in I/R group was significantly higher than that in above-mentioned three groups(P0.01),although among which the difference was not markedly(P0.05).When compared with I/R group,the MDA contents of rats after reperfusion in IPC group,IPO group,and IPC-IPO group decreased(P0.01),while the SOD contents of rats after reperfusion increased(P0.01). In rats of SO group,the MDA and SOD contents were significantly higher and lower than other groups,respectively(P0.01).The MDA and SOD contents in IPC group,IPO group,and IPC-IPO group were not different(P0.05).The AI of pancreas allograft at 2 h after reperfusion in I/R group((47.31±4.52)%),IPC group((26.25±3.17)%),IPO group((24.73±3.62)%),and IPC-IPO group((25.5±4.15)%) were higher than that in SO group((3.16±0.53)%),P0.01.The AI of pancreas allograft in IPC group,IPO group,and IPC-IPO group were not different(P0.05),but they were lower than that in I/R group(P0.01).Pathological results showed that injury of pancreas allograft in I/R group was most severe.Conclusions IPO and IPC are associated with comparable effectiveness to protect graft from IRI during pancreas transplantation.The combined protective effects of IPC and IPO do not appear to be additive,which is equal to IPC or IPO alone.


A new class of platinum( II ) terpyridine complexes with a phosphole-derived bridging alkynyl ligand have been prepared. The X-ray crystal structure of complex 2 has been determined, and reveals a polymeric zig-zag chain structure with the existence of p – p stacking interactions. The photophysical properties have also been studied, with 3 MLCT/ 3 LLCT phosphorescence exhibited in degassed CH 2 Cl 2 ; the energy of which is varied by the p -conjugation of the terpyridine ligands. The solvent-induced assembly of complex 1 has been studied. The incorporation of hydrophobic hydrocarbon chains has been shown to play an important role in assisting the formation of self-assembled nanostructures via Pt / Pt, p – p stacking and hydrophobic – hydrophobic interactions. It has been established that an isodesmic growth mechanism operates in polar media to give nanospheres, while fi brous networks originate from the self-assembly of the complexes in non-polar media, predominantly driven by p – p stacking interactions.


Summary form only given: The large-scale hard combinatorial optimization problems arise in many areas. One of them is Physical Design Automation. Such problems as partitioning, packaging, placement, routing, compaction are very hard. From mathematical point of view, these problems belong to the intractable combinatorial - NP-class. Optimization is especially important for VLSI, SoC and NoC design. The complication of the electronic circuit requires a further search for the new efficient, effective and robust approaches to solve such problems with high quality. Nowadays, chips have billions of transistors. Many of these kinds of problems are connected with the usage of identical input data. The idea of how to solve such problems is to transfer the full mathematical model to the aggregate mathematical notation, which could significantly decrease the number of arguments, and rather than operating with the original elements, the number of which is extraordinarily high, deal with the macromodels of essentially smaller number parameters. It enables us not only to decrease the size of the problem, facilitating the solution and reducing the calculation consumption, but also to considerably improve the the solutions quality and to trap into the zone of the global optimum much more easily. The algorithms presented in this tutorial have some new properties: (a) can be efficient in choosing the most appropriate number of partitions to divide the circuit; (b) the arbitrary division ratio can be chosen for partitioning; (c) the same procedures can be used for the initial solution finding and its optimization in partitioning and placement; (d) the topological and flexible routing algorithms are appropriate for the arbitrary surface shapes and placed components, arbitrary angles and routes with arbitrary width and guarantee the best quality and high routability; (e) close to linear computational complexity; (f) provide high quality of the solutions; (g) are appropriate for the large and very large-scale problems.


COMBINATIONS OF EIGHT ASPHALTIC BITUMENS AND TWELVE SELECTED ANTIOXIDANTS HAVE BEEN EXAMINED FOR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO OXIDATIVE HARDENING. BITUMEN FILMS 40 IN THICK WERE OXIDIZED AT 300 PSI IN THE DARK AND BY SIMPLE EXPOSURE TO SOLAR RADIATION. SUBSEQUENT CHANGES WERE DETERMINED WITH THE SLIDING PLATE MICROVISCOMETER. MANY COMBINATIONS EXHIBITED IMPROVED STABILITY AND THEIR BEHAVIOR IS DISCUSSED IN RELATION TO CURRENT THEORY OF AUTOXIDATION OF HYDROCARBONS. /AUTHOR/


ABSTRACT Lending was of importance in finance of Song Dynasty, and the government constituted strict laws and regulations to control the risk. Those measures had made great contribution to the sustainable financial market by maximizing the strengths of lending and lessening the loss of individuals and instability of society caused by bad loans. Nevertheless, there were many problems in the policy implementation that the officials violated the law and discipline. Thus, coordination should be made between soft constraint and hard constraint, which needs conditions to support (mainly the advance in scientific technology).


Introduction: Dengue fever (DF) is an acute viral disease caused by an arbovirus of the Flaviviridae family, transmitted by Aedes vectors. It causes high morbidity and mortality and economic condition in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, in the region of Latin America, the number of dengue cases has increased significantly in the last 25 years. Materials and Methods: A descriptive, retrospective study, cross where the patient population was analyzed diagnosed with dengue were admitted to the internal medicine at University Hospital Hernando Moncaleano Perdomo city of Neiva, Huila who presented a myocarditis. Results: 35 patients with myocardial involvement were found. 68.5% were women and 31.4% men; 90% of patients had dengue with warning signs; The most frequent electrocardiographic changes were: sinus bradycardia (88.57%); the anterior hemiblock, right bundle branch block, cardiac arrhythmia and supraventricular extrasystole 5.7% each. Echocardiography reported: that 71.4% had LVEF> 50%; 28.4% LVEF <40%; 57.1% had mitral and tricuspid regurgitation, 28.6% systolic and diastolic spread each; Ventricular hypertrophy 42.8% and 28.6% myocarditis. Conclusions: The female gender was predominant followed by risk factors such as being older than 50 and have obesity. The most common electrocardiographic finding was sinus bradycardia, and echocardiography of atrioventricular valve insufficiency. The therapeutic approach that more was done was the administration of intravenous fluids and acetaminophen. Taking electrocardiogram in the emergency department is not a routine paraclinical adult patients with dengue, because of this, not all cases are diagnosed with myocardial involvement.


MIL-21 or [Fe III 5− x V III x (H 2 PO 4 ) 4 (HPO 4 ) 4 F 4 (H 2 O) 2 , 4(H 2+ y N–(CH 2 ) 2 –NH 2+ y )] was prepared hydrothermally (453 K, autogenous pressure, 3 days) in the presence of ethylenediamine. Its structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. MIL-21 is tetragonal (space group P -42 1 c , No. 114, with cell parameters a =17.2023(2) A, c =13.3086(2) A, V =3938.27(9) A 3 , Z =4. Its three-dimensional network can be described from the connection via phosphate tetrahedra of infinite corner-sharing cis – trans octahedral chains of metallic atoms in a random distribution and isolated FeO 4 (H 2 O) 2 octahedra. The (Fe 3+ , V 3+ ) infinite chains belong to the KTP type. Mossbauer and structure refinements demonstrate this segregation. This structure exhibits small tunnels and cages in which the ethylenediamine molecules are located. Moreover, MIL-21 shows a ferrimagnetic behavior below 13 K.


Dementia includes a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases which leads to various complications of the brain functioning. It is a clinical syndrome wherein gradual decline of mental and cognitive abilities occurs and this in a way renders an individual insufficient to function on his own due to severe memory loss. Various types of dementia are Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD), Lewy body dementia (LBD), Vascular dementia (VaD), Huntington's Disease with dementia (HD), Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Creutzfeldt- jakob dementia (CJD) and Alzheimer's disease with dementia (ADD). Medicinal plants used in dementia show varied mechanis ms including effects on β - Amyloid plaque formation, Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), ɑ and β -secretase, NMDA receptors, glutathione levels and cerebral blood flow. There have been a lot of medicinal plants used for trials against dementia and most of them have shown to have promising results in-vitro. This review article is about different medicinal plants which can potentially treat dementia. Medicinal plants


This paper presents window memoization, a performance optimization technique for convolution-based image processing algorithms. Window memoization exploits the repetitive nature of image data to reduce the number of calculations required for image processing algorithms and hence, it improves the performance. We applied window memoization to a chain of image processing algorithms that includes median filter, Kirsch edge detector and local edge filling. We found that a large portion of the calculations performed on pixel neighborhoods can be skipped and instead, previously calculated results can be reused. The typical speedups were in the range of 1.6times to 2.8times.


It has long been believed that spinal subdural empyemas (SDEs) with neurological symptoms result in death if operative intervention is not performed. We present a case of addressing an extensive spinal SDE with a minimally invasive procedure: a bedside lumbar drain. Our patient is a 67-year-old man with medical history significant for type I diabetes who presented 2 weeks after a right shoulder steroid injection with septic arthritis. An MRI was obtained for back pain which revealed spinal SDE from the cervical to lumbosacral spine. Given patient's acute sepsis, haemodynamic instability, and extent of empyema, we placed a lumbar drain for decompression. The patient had a prolonged complicated hospital course. Imaging 2 months later revealed interval decrease in the spinal SDE. Although this severe septic event left the patient with significant deficits, he was able to return to ambulation without surgical intervention.


This research begins with reaction-diiusion, rst proposed by Alan Turing in 1952 to account for morphogenesis { the formation of hydranth tentacles, leopard spots, zebra stripes, etc. Reaction-diiusion systems have been researched primarily by biologists working on theories of natural pattern formation and by chemists mod-eling dynamics of oscillating reactions. The past few years have seen a new interest in reaction-diiusion spring up within the computer graphics and image processing communities. However, reaction-diiusion systems are generally unbounded, making them impractical for many applications. In this thesis we introduce a bounded and more exible non-linear system, the \M-lattice", which preserves the natural pattern-formation properties of reaction-diiusion. On the theoretical front, we establish relationships between reaction-diiusion systems and paradigms in linear systems theory and certain types of artiicial \neurally-inspired" systems. The M-lattice is closely related to the analog Hoppeld network and the cellular neural network, but has more exibility in how its variables interact. The bounded M-lattice enables computer or analog VLSI implementations to serve as simulation \engines" for a wide variety of systems of partial and ordinary diierential equations. On the practical front, we have developed new applications of reaction-diiusion (formulated as the new M-lattice). These include the synthesis of visual and sound textures, restoration and enhancement of ngerprints, non-linear programming, and digital halftoning of images. Halftones were synthesized in the creatively hand-drawn \special-eeects" style of the Wall Street Journal portraits as well as in the \faithful-rendition" style of error-diiusion. Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge the continuous encouragement , guidance, and support I have received from my thesis supervisor, Professor Rosalind W. Picard. It has been an honor and a privilege for me to work for Roz as a research assistant. I would like to express my gratitude to her for being closely involved in all aspects of thesis research: from technical inspiration, to advice on academic and non-academic matters, to sponsoring conference trips at exotic locations , to ardent reading of electronic mail, papers, and this document. Her emphasis on clarity, depth, and rigor as well as on positive attitude, patience, caring, and good ethics has been instrumental in my own development as a scientist and as a human being. One cannot say enough good things about Roz, and I am proud to be her rst doctoral graduate. I am thankful to my thesis committee members, all of whom helped steer this research ship to the …


Port environmental protection, with the rapid development of water transportation industry, attracts more and more attention. This paper, on the basis of introducing the development of port environmental protection in China, analyzed the problems of environmental protection in the port construction and operation, and suggested what should be improved in the future.


This paper introduces the bottom technology which gets access to the database with ODBC in VC++, and also demonstrates it with example used in CAPP system, with having important role for developing ODBC applications.


Several degenerate resonances of one cavity are simultaneously coupled to the same interface (waveguide) port that represents source or load of the network. This new method extends significantly the design possibilities for multimode cavity filters-odd-order true elliptic function designs are now possible along with other conspicuous design variants by novel coupling structures. Experimental verification is provided for this approach by a three-order elliptic function filter realized with one triple-mode cavity.<<ETX>>


Introduction: people with disabilities have specific rights, guaranteed by national legislation, the Federal Constitution of 1988, states that everyone has the right to education, health, work, housing, leisure and security. With regard to PCD, it ensures the development of public policies for the PCD. Objective: to reflect on public policies for the inclusion of people with disabilities, potential and challenges. Method: reflective analysis based on the search for articles on scientific bases, elaborated from the research project "Situations of Violence in the Daily Life of Families of People with Disabilities Living in Rural Areas", in which it is sought to know the conditions of of this population segment and public inclusion policies to guarantee their rights. Results: public policies aimed at people with disabilities seek to supply something that is registered in the record of the absence. In addition, they enhance the guarantee of rights and protection of these individuals, through the construction of an inclusive society, with changes in interpersonal relationships underway, where they can find conditions that favor their development as human beings. Conclusion: Public inclusion policies reinforce the guarantee of dignity for the PWD in the construction of an inclusive society. It is observed that there have been advances regarding public inclusion policies in the midst of national legislation, but society is still not very inclusive and dependent on proactive attitudes of public authorities to guarantee the rights of this population segment.


Big data analytics can be used in many domains for accurate prediction and analysis of the large amount of data. They facilitate the discovery of significant information from large data, which is hidden otherwise. In this paper, we describe an approach for analysis of the stock market to understand its volatile nature and predict its behavior to make profits by investing in it. We first provide literature survey of past works on this domain. Then we provide a methodology of our approach which contains data collection and machine learning


CAS(14,12)/cc-pvdz calculations are reported for the reaction of 3 CH 2 + 3 O 2 →products. On the singlet potential energy surface, a transition state has been located with an energy barrier of 1.65 kcal/mol, which is in good agreement with the experimental estimation of 1.0-1.5 kcal/mol. The rearrangement and metathesis of the singlet intermediates have been also investigated at the same level of theory. For the triplet case, the formation of CH 2 OO has an energy barrier of 5.79 kcal/mol, and the formed triplet CH 2 OO could be further decomposed into CH 2 O+O( 3 P) with an energy barrier of 2.92 kcal/mol. The geometries of some key points have been relocated at the CAS(8,6)+1+2/cc-pvdz level of theory for comparison. The present theoretical results for the total reaction rates, at the CAS(8,6)+1+2/cc-pvdz level, can be expressed by the three-parameter expression: k(T) = 4.273× 10 - 1 8 T 2 . 2 4 5 exp(-185/T) within ′5% error at the temperature range 295-2600 K.


In the analysis of Anglicisms in German one of the most striking features is the considerable number of variants which show a much wider range of different types than is usually found in other languages. Anglicism variants in German - both orthographic and morphological - sometimes require complex treatment and in many cases must be taken as two (or even more) entries in the Dictionary of Anglicisms. The problem of variants in German Anglicisms is further complicated by the existence of regional variants of German - such as Swiss or Austrian. Each language community has a certain number of specific features concerning vocabulary, orthography, pronunciation and in a few cases even grammar, so it is not surprising that the consequences are felt also in the domain of loan words - in our case Anglicisms in particular


ABSTRACT Sometimes map projection designers need to create equal-area projections to best fill the projections' purposes. However, unlike for conformal projections, few transformations have been described that can be applied to equal-area projections to develop new equal-area projections. Here, I survey area-preserving transformations, giving examples of their applications and proposing an efficient way of deploying an equal-area system for raster-based Web mapping. Together, these transformations provide a toolbox for the map projection designer working in the area-preserving domain.


Managing issues such as single desk selling provides a challenge lor any political creed, particularly one diat values individual economic freedom. The task is made difficult hy the lack of, and difficulty in interpreting, much of the evidence presented by both sides. But policy-makers should take heed of the clear benefits that have already emerged from die partial liberalisation of single desk selling in wheat. And they should beware of taking too narrow a view of democracy.


To assess if determine whether pre‐operative investigations identify a group of patients with low‐risk endometrial cancer, that who do not require tertiary referral for surgical staging or pelvic radiotherapy.


The elastic-plastic deformation characteristic of the spacer grid spring in a nuclear fuel assembly is important to evaluate the supporting capability of a fuel rod. The characteristic is usually obtained from the test and is used to the design of spring. In this paper, the finite element analyses simulating the characteristic test of three spacer grid springs which has been uniquely designed by KAERI are performed and their characteristic curves are obtained. Comparisons with test results are made and the appropriate boundary condition in the characteristic analysis of a spacer grid spring is proposed. The stiffness and linear range of a spacer grid spring are well predicted by the present finite element analysis, and some improvement is needed for the nonlinear range.


To explore the effects of fly larval protein on postnatal growth of rats by animal experiment,comparing with casein.The male ablactating Wister rat with 4 weeks old were fed by the food according to AOAC(protein 10 %) for 28 days,using fly larval protein and casein as the main dietary protein source to formulate experimental diets respectively.Growth experiment showed that there was no significant difference between fly larval protein and casein on rats′ weight,food taking,the growth and development of every organs(P0.05).Fly larval protein was a quality protein.It can expedite the normal growth and development of rats.


Our lab is interested in signals that trigger schwannoma tumour formation and we have previously shown that peripheral nerve injury triggers tumour formation in nerves with Schwann cell-specific loss of the Merlin (NF2) tumour suppressor. The Ras/Raf/MAPK/ERK pathway activity in myelinating Schwann cells is involved in nerve regeneration, causing demyelination and recruitment of inflammatory cells in areas of nerve damage, as well as dedifferentiation of myelinating Schwann cells into a repair-competent state. We have used a mouse model expressing a tamoxifen-inducible Raf-Kinase estrogen receptor fusion protein (Raf-TR) in myelinating Schwann cells of the PNS in either a control wild-type Merlin or Merlin-null background. This allows us to determine the effects of an injury-like signal in Schwann cells and its role in generating schwannoma tumour development. We present here a detailed analysis of the proliferation of Schwann cells within the nerve and morphological changes in PNS structure following Raf-TR activation.

 The P0-promotor driving the Raf-TR transgene is active in myelinating Schwann cells but inactive in the non-myelinating population, allowing specific targeting of the myelinating Schwann cell population. In addition to the Raf-TR gene, the mice exhibit a separate P0-promotor controlled Cre floxed NF2 gene which undergoes Cre-mediated recombinase at embryonic day 13.5 causing NF2 knockout in all developing Schwann cells. Mice aged between 4-6 weeks received intraperitoneal injections of either 2mg Tamoxifen or oil vehicle for 5 consecutive days and were then studied at either 10 or 21 days post-first injection. The peripheral nervous system of the mice was studied with fluorescent immuno-histochemistry staining, semithin sections and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on sciatic nerves and dorsal root ganglia (DRG).

 Activation of the Ras/Raf/MAPK/ERK pathway in NF2 null Schwann cells led to higher rates of proliferation within sciatic nerves at 10d post-tamoxifen injections. At both 10d and 21d Raf-TR+ NF2-null mice sciatic nerve fascicles were visibly larger with significantly more cell bodies present than controls, however at 21d the rate of proliferation had reduced. In the DRG, proliferation was higher in Raf-TR+ NF2-null mice compared to controls, with proliferation remaining high at 21 days. Quantitative imaging of peripheral nerve semi-thins analysed to date showed no significant difference in the number of myelin rings present in the fascicles between different genotypes. Additionally, dual immuno-histochemistry staining with Myelin Basic Protein and EdU, markers for myelin and proliferation respectively, appeared to show proliferation in the non-myelinating Schwann cell population. Results from staining with other cell markers will also be presented, as well as a detailed analysis of nerve structure using TEM.

 While developmental myelination of Merlin-null Schwann cells appears largely normal, the reaction of Merlin-null Schwann cells in the nerve to an injury signal (activation of the Raf-TR) is remarkably different from those of control nerves. The high levels of proliferation in Merlin-null Schwann cells may be indicative of a higher tumorigenesis potential. While the proliferation of Merlin-null cells does reduce over time in the sciatic nerve, further experiments are now testing whether there may be ongoing tumour growth at other locations in the nervous system that are associated with NF2 tumours in human patients.


The present invention discloses a method for controlling crystal color, specifically: the high purity calcium fluoride CaF2 containing feed tip provided at the bottom of the crucible is placed in a vacuum oven with a temperature gradient, and adding a small amount of a fluorinating agent in the feedstock ; degree of vacuum of the vacuum furnace is adjusted, such that crystals of the corresponding color produced; furnace temperature increase to above the melting point 50 ℃ ~ 100 ℃, and the retention time after the temperature reaches Ping Heng such that all melted material; slow decline of the crucible, it dropped to a low temperature region of the furnace body, so that the crystalline melting point temperature drops, so that crystals started to crystallize. By controlling the degree of vacuum in the crystal growth of calcium fluoride, and the control color of the crystal of the present invention, the method is simple, easy to operate, and the resulting crystals uniform color, good quality.