ABSTRACT Alternative translation initiation mechanisms, distinct from the Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence-dependent mechanism, are more prevalent in bacteria than once anticipated. Translation of Escherichia coli ptrB instead requires an AUG triplet at the 5′ terminus of its mRNA. The 5′-terminal AUG (5′-uAUG) acts as a ribosomal recognition signal to attract ribosomes to the ptrB mRNA rather than functioning as an initiation codon to support translation of an upstream open reading frame. ptrB expression exhibits a stronger dependence on the 5′-uAUG than the predicted SD sequence; however, strengthening the predicted ptrB SD sequence relieves the necessity for the 5′-uAUG. Additional sequences within the ptrB 5′ untranslated region (5′-UTR) work cumulatively with the 5′-uAUG to control expression of the downstream ptrB coding sequence (CDS), thereby compensating for the weak SD sequence. Replacement of 5′-UTRs from other mRNAs with the ptrB 5′-UTR sequence showed a similar dependence on the 5′-uAUG for CDS expression, suggesting that the regulatory features contained within the ptrB 5′-UTR are sufficient to control the expression of other E. coli CDSs. Demonstration that the 5′-uAUG present on the ptrB leader mRNA is involved in ribosome binding and expression of the downstream ptrB CDS revealed a novel form of translational regulation. Due to the abundance of AUG triplets at the 5′ termini of E. coli mRNAs and the ability of ptrB 5′-UTR regulation to function independently of gene context, the regulatory effects of 5′-uAUGs on downstream CDSs may be widespread throughout the E. coli genome. IMPORTANCE As the field of synthetic biology continues to grow, a complete understanding of basic biological principles will be necessary. The increasing complexity of the synthetic systems highlights the gaps in our current knowledge of RNA regulation. This study demonstrates that there are novel ways to regulate canonical Shine-Dalgarno-led mRNAs in Escherichia coli, illustrating that our understanding of the fundamental processes of translation and RNA regulation is still incomplete. Even for E. coli, one of the most-studied model organisms, genes with translation initiation mechanisms that do not fit the canonical Shine-Dalgarno sequence paradigm are being revealed. Uncovering diverse mechanisms that control translational expression will allow synthetic biologists to finely tune protein production of desired gene products.


Objective:To establish the quality standard for Chuanbei Qiangli Pipa Syrup.Methods: Chuanbei Qiangli Pipa Syrup was identified by TLC.Results:Pericarpium Papaveris,Mentholu and Folium Eriobotryae were identified.Conclusion:The method is reliable,accurate and specific.It can be used for guality control of Chuanbei Qiangli Pipa Syrup.


Outbreaks of giardiasis occur every year in the United States, and waterborne infections appear to be increasing. Accurate identification of cases, proper hygiene in day-care and institutional settings, and adequate treatment of water sources will allow better control of this disease.


This study investigates whether anti-dumping statutes are effective at improving the performance of U.S. firms. As international trade grows and competitors increasingly cross national borders to enter new markets, U.S. trade law becomes a potentially important tool for managers as they consider how to create barriers for foreign competitors. The results of this study suggest that the anti-dumping laws significantly increase returns of U.S. firms that pursue anti-dumping protection. The average petitioner between 1980 and 1992 received a $46 million increase in market value as a result of filing an anti-dumping petition. However, no significant change in market value was associated with preliminary or final determinations of the International Trade Commission, except when petitions received a negative determination at the final stage of the process. A negative determination at the final stage of the process resulted in a loss of market value. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Background: The patients can undergo total knee replacement surgery either under general anaesthesia, combined spinal and epidural anaesthesia, nerve root block, spinal combined with intra-articular knee cocktail. There is an ongoing debate amongst Arthroplasty surgeons whether to include steroid in the cocktail or not. The aim of this study is to assess whether there is an added benefit of including steroid in the intraarticular mixture.

Methods: This prospective study was conducted at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher education, Chennai between December 2017 to December 2018. The study was conducted in the Arthroplasty unit, Department of Orthopaedics. SRIHER ethics committee clearance was obtained prior to the start of the study. The inclusion criteria were patients who underwent total knee replacement surgery under combined spinal and intra-articular knee cocktail. Patients were divided into two groups based on the use of steroid in the intra-articular mixture. Patients were evaluated using Visual analogue scale, opioids usage as primary endpoint while any joint infection within six months of the surgery and knee society score at 1 month and 6 months as the secondary endpoint.

Results: The mean visual analogue score for the 0 pod for the group I and group II were 2.3 and 2.4 respectively. There was no case of infection in both groups.

Conclusions: There is no fringe benefit of adding steroid to the knee cocktail. So it is not obligatory to add steroid in intra-articular total knee arthroplasty cocktail.


In recent weeks Dr Scrooge has introduced a new way for patients to access GP services using a website that offers to help patients find their way online to whatever they might need or want. This might include looking at results, asking for prescriptions or seeking advice from different members of the team. It might lead to an online consultation, a telephone consultation, a video consultation or even a visit to the surgery for a traditional, but masked, encounter with an increasingly remote, human primary care operative. It might have attracted the recent barrage of ever more trivial ailments from the portals created by the myriad devices expecting a nano-second response from Dr Cratchit and fellow operatives embattled in the practice call centre. It might also be responsible for the apparent rise in workload and patient complaints. It does feel like the old ways are finished. The pandemic has accelerated inevitable change in general practice towards a future shaped by new ways of consulting and communicating. This is changing the relationship between doctors and their patients, and changing who we are, how we behave and how we all, doctors and patients, view the role of the GP. This rapid and fundamental shift in the relationship has some utility in these days of constrained human contact and has obvious benefits for some patients and some doctors, some of the time. But do we know where we are heading? Will the benefits outweigh the unintended consequences and harms? How well prepared are we for this change? We have all felt threatened and worried about the future in recent months. We may entertain the thought that Christmas past was better than Christmas yet to come. Or like Scrooge, will we achieve enlightenment? Where should we seek enlightenment? Perhaps from the Spirit of general practice past. The remote, transactional and mutually convenient encounters of today seem very removed from those witnessed in 'A Fortunate Man', the masterful 1967 account by John Berger of John Sassall and his work as a dedicated and outstanding country doctor. John Sassall's all-consuming approach to general practice is remarkable but ultimately unsustainable. What would John Sassall, with all his commitment, responsiveness and empathy, have made of these new ways of working? It is impossible to know for sure, but I suspect that an accommodation of sorts would have led him to make the most of the new reality as the account is of an exceptional man doing the best for his patients whatever the prevailing circumstances. We may not feel so fortunate when times are difficult, but we are not finished if we can rise to challenges and adapt. This month's issue is not blessed with seasonal feature articles, but then I hope you won't be seeking seasonal enlightenment by reading InnovAiT over Christmas. Lisa Knight gives an account of motor neurone disease. This devastating disease involves GPs in diagnosis and terminal care. We will not forget patients with this disease as it leaves a lasting impact on families, carers and medical professionals. Rebecca Dunphy provides an enlightening account of Fragile X syndrome, one of the most common genetic causes of learning disability outlining clinical features, diagnosis and management. Problems affecting the pinna often present in general practice and can usually be diagnosed and treated without the need for referral. Karan Jolly et al. consider infection, skin conditions, trauma and cancer affecting the pinna. Between 5% and 10% of skin cancer affects the pinna, most often squamous cell carcinoma. Kenneth Lai et al. consider conditions that cause ear pain, whether primary or secondary. Primary causes of otalgia can usually be manged in primary care, but persistent or unexplained ear pain, with normal examination or the presence of red flags, should prompt specialist referral. Abnormalities of prolactin are detected in primary care and abnormal results need to be understood, explained and managed. Khyber Maarij and Shugufa Dinarkhail give a toolkit to guide the management of an abnormal prolactin result. Mah Jabeen focuses on insulin treatment for adult diabetic patients and explores use of insulin in diabetes, the preparations available, recommended regimens and some challenges with insulin treatment. Finally, David Tovey takes a look at the role of systematic reviews in the repertoire of evidence-based medicine. Understanding what a systematic review is and how to evaluate the quality and relevance of evidence provided can be important when making clinical decisions. It looks like we won't be seeing the Old Vic's production of a Christmas Carol again this year, which is a shame. Let's hope an enlightened Scrooge wins through for all of us. We wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous and healthy New Year.


We carry out CCD photometry of galaxies in the 5.25 deg2 region centered on the Coma Cluster down to MR = -16.0, which is beyond the limit of conventional morphological classification. We use the angular two-point correlation function as well as radial profiles in order to characterize the luminosity segregation. We find strong luminosity segregation for our total sample over the magnitude range of -20 ≤ MR ≤ -16, which is not entirely accounted for in terms of the morphology-density relation that is known to exist only for bright galaxies. We use a single consistent parameter, the degree of luminosity concentration, to parameterize the morphology of galaxies over the wide magnitude range, where both giant and dwarf galaxies are included. Galaxies with high central concentration (HCC) show strong luminosity segregation, i.e., their clustering strength depends strongly on luminosity, while those with low central concentration (LCC) show almost no luminosity segregation. The radial density profiles show that brighter HCC-type galaxies tend to more strongly concentrate near the cluster center, while LCC-type galaxies do not show such a dependence on luminosity. We show that these results are tenable against the contamination by field galaxies and uncertainties in our method of classification.


The utility model relates to a magnesium alloy manufacturing technology, particularly a punching device of magnesium alloy sheet materials, which is provided with an upper die plate, a convex die, a pressure plate of the convex die, a concave die and a lower die plate, wherein, the upper die plate and the convex die which is provided with the pressure plate of the convex die are installed together; the concave die is arranged on the upper part of the lower die plate. The utility model also comprises a heatable holddown ring and a heating plate, wherein, the heatable holddown ring is sheathed with the outer side of the bottom of the pressure plate of the convex die to be fixedly connected with the convex die; the heating plate is installed between the concave die and the lower die plate. The utility model greatly improves the workability of materials, the quality of products and production efficiency and reduces cost.


Classical electrophoretic deposition (EPD) relies on continuous direct current (CDC) to deposit charged particles on electrodes. In recent decades, modulated electric fields such as pulsed direct current (PDC) and alternating current (AC) have been investigated. This paper reviews EPD under these modulated electric fields and major applications of the deposited microstructures. The paper starts with a short overview of EPD principals such as the electrical double layer of the charged particle, electrophoretic mobility and main suspension parameters including zeta potential, particle size, conductivity, viscosity and stability of the suspension. The EPD mechanisms from the earliest model reported by Hamaker and Verwey to latest models including Sarkar and Nicholson model and influence of the electrohydrodynamics and electroosmosis as well as electrode surface and its electrochemical double layer on the deposition process have been briefly discussed. Two categories of modulated electric fields, PDC and AC fields have been addressed with their advantages and disadvantages. It is found that compared to CDC, PDC offers the advantage of: i) reducing the coalescence between gas bubbles induced by water electrolysis from aqueous suspensions, hence yielding deposition of smooth and uniform coatings, ii) reducing aggregation and disaggregation of nanometer sized particles, leading to formation of uniform and homogenous deposits and, iii) PDC generates low change in pH near the electrode, thus it is convenient for deposition of biochemical and biological species in their highly active states. The main disadvantage of PDC over CDC lies in the decrease of the deposition yield. The latter can be more pronounced if low time-pulses are used. Various categories of AC signals including symmetrical fields with no net DC component and asymmetrical AC signals without and with net DC component have been discussed. Overall, the deposition rate under AC fields increases with polarization time and amplitude. With respect to frequency, the deposition rate increases with frequency up to certain value then drops at elevated frequencies. It is noted that deposition under AC signals offers the possibility to produce superior quality coatings from aqueous suspensions because electrolysis of water as well as particle orientation during the deposition could be controlled. From the application standpoint, PDC and AC, offers new application perspectives such as in biotechnology. Because under modulated electric fields, EPD can now be accomplished from aqueous suspensions with low water electrolysis rates, a variety of biochemical and biological species can be deposited to yield highly active layers suitable for a wide range of applications including biosensors, biofuel cells and bioreactors.


The absoluteness of Christianity is a predicate of the God of the eschatological kingdom proclaimed by Jesus, a kingdom embracing the power of a universal future which also includes the entire sweep of the history of religions.


Neutrinos play a fundamental role in the understanding of the origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. They interact through charged and neutral currents in the atmosphere generating extensive air showers. However, their a very low rate of events potentially generated by neutrinos is a significant challenge for a detection technique and requires both sophisticated algorithms and high-resolution hardware. A trigger based on a artificial neural network was implemented into the Cyclone® V E FPGA 5CEFA9F31I7 - the heart of the prototype Front-End boards developed for tests of new algorithms in the Pierre Auger surface detectors. Showers for muon and tau neutrino initiating particles on various altitudes, angles and energies were simulated in CORSICA and OffLine platforms giving pattern of ADC traces in Auger water Cherenkov detectors. The 3-layer 12-8-1 neural network was taught in MATLAB by simulated ADC traces according the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. Results show that a probability of a ADC traces generation is very low due to a small neutrino cross-section. Nevertheless, ADC traces, if occur, for 1-10 EeV showers are relatively short and can be analyzed by 16-point input algorithm. We optimized the coefficients from MATLAB to get a maximal range of potentially registered events and for fixed-point FPGA processing to minimize calculation errors. New sophisticated triggers implemented in Cyclone® V E FPGAs with large amount of DSP blocks, embedded memory running with 120-160 MHz sampling may support a discovery of neutrino events in the Pierre Auger Observatory.


Abstract Post-operative nasal medications are commonly used following routine septal or turbinate surgery but their efficacy in removing blood clots, improving the sensation of a patent airway and promoting healing are unknown. This prospective randomized trial of patients undergoing septal and/or turbinate surgery assessed the efficacy of three commonly used nasal medicines, 0.5 per cent ephedrine hydrochloride nasal drops, betamethasone sodium phosphate (Betnosol®) nose drops and alkaline nasal douches, in producing the sensation of a patent airway in the 14 days following surgery. Ninety-seven patients were randomized into the three treatment groups and a control group who received no nasal medication. Patients assessed their nasal patency by means of a visual analogue scale (VAS) and any complications of treatment were recorded. Statistical analysis of the 76 complete sets of results using the Mann-Whitney U-test showed that there was a significant difference in the distribution of all of the treatments for each of the time intervals (p<0.05). Glass rank biserial correlation coefficients were all small (rg<0.085) but the most significant differences were between ephedrine and the control group at two hours, two, seven and 10 days (0.02, 0.054, 0.057, 0.085 respectively), alkaline nasal douches being most significant at four and 14 days (0.06 and 0.0722 respectively).


An adaptive inductive ballast is provided with the capability to communicate with a remote device powered by the ballast. To improve the operation of the ballast, the ballast changes its operating characteristics based upon information received from the remote device. Further, the ballast may provide a path for the remote device to communicate with device other than the adaptive inductive ballast.


Summary. Adhesion of parasitized erythrocytes to microvascular endothelium is a central event in the pathogenesis of severe falciparum malaria. We have characterized the adhesion of flowing parasitized red blood cells to three of the known endothelial receptors coated on plastic surfaces (CD36, intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) and thrombospondin (TSP)), and also to cells bearing these receptors (human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and platelets). All of the surfaces could mediate adhesion at wall shear stress within the physiological range. The great majority of adherent parasitized cells formed rolling rather than static attachments to HUVEC and ICAM‐1, whereas static attachments predominated for platelets, CD36 and TSP. Studies with monoclonal antibodies verified that binding the HUVEC was mainly via ICAM‐1, and to platelets via CD36. Adhesion via ICAM‐1 was least sensitive to increasing wall shear stress, but absolute efficiency of adhesion was greatest for CD36, followed by ICAM‐1, and least for TSP. TSP did not give long‐lasting adhesion under flow, whereas cells remained adherent to CD36 or ICAM‐1. We propose that the different receptors may have complementary roles in modulating adhesion in microvessels. Initial interaction at high wall shear stress may be of a rolling type, mediated by ICAM‐1 or other receptors, with immobilization and stabilization occurring via CD36 and/or TSP.


This paper presents a description of several efficient and easy-to-operate launchers intended for the pulsed regime. Two novel types of launchers which allow the use of high microwave power and high wave frequency are suggested. Using one of this launcher for the first time, high power SWs were excited in the 8-mm wavelength band. The paper also reviews the mechanisms of advance of the ionization front along the plasma column.


We report on observations of extraordinary terahertz transmission through metallic particle ensembles five orders of magnitude thicker than the radiation skin depth. The transmission is mediated by coherent near-field plasmonic coupling across the ensemble.


The Collaborative Wilms Tumour (WT) Africa Project has implemented an adapted WT treatment guideline in sub‐Saharan Africa as a multi‐centre prospective clinical trial. A retrospective, baseline evaluation of end‐of‐treatment outcome was performed for a 2‐year period prior to the introduction of this guideline. The collaborative project aims to reduce both treatment abandonment and death during treatment to less than 10% for improving survival.


Abstract Farm-raised rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were evaluated by sensory and instrumental analysis to determine differences in flesh color. A wide range of pigment levels matched a single color tile. On the other hand, colorimeter values produced unique concentration values for each sample. A predictive model based on colorimeter readings was created as a rapid, easy-to-use field test for determining flesh color pigmentation levels for selective breeding programs.


Key-Phrase should not only reflect the main content of a document, but also reflect the specialty of this document. Key-Phrase extraction is an important technique in the field of text information processing. With the advent of the Internet age, on-line file shows an astonishing increase in geometry and information explosion has became the main character of this age. Searching and making use of network information becomes more difficult. Therefore, automatically extraction on keyword is required. This paper uses the idea of classification to complete the task of Key-Phrase extraction, which uses SVM to build classification model and uses CRF to extract Key-Phrases. The testing result shows that, the mentioned extraction approach has improved dramatically compared with previous methods in precision and recall rate.


Abstract The Citrine Wagtail has been gradually expanding its breeding range from Asia westward into Europe since the middle of the last century. New breeding records of this species further to the west of Europe have emerged during the last several decades. The distribution of the Citrine Wagtail in Western Ukraine began at the end of the last century. A total of 48 Citrine Wagtails were ringed in August 1995–2016 at the Cholgynskyy ornithological reserve (West-Ukrainian Ornithological Station). The birds were recorded mainly in the first half of August, peaking from the beginning of the second decade to the middle of the month. At the beginning of August there were wagtails in different stages of moult. Adult moulted birds were recorded from the beginning of the second decade of August, while juvenile birds underwent partial moult during the first part of the month. The mean weight of adult moulted birds was higher than that of juveniles. At the beginning of August many Citrine Wagtails were lean, without fat reserves, with the mean fat class increasing by the end of the month. The autumn passage of M. citreola took place in W. Ukraine. Birds stay in the shallow waters, pastures, and reed beds to feed, overnight, moult and gain fat reserves for migration.


The 12C(p,γ) and 13C(p,γ) reaction cross sections are currently under investigation in the low-background environment of the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics. Both reactions are being studied using different types of solid targets, and employing complementary detection techniques (HPGe spectroscopy, total absorption spectroscopy and activation counting). To reduce systematic uncertainties, targets must be accurately characterized and their degradation monitored under the intense (~ 400 µA) beam of the LUNA400 accelerator. We present the experimental techniques employed, and the analyses developed for the study of these reactions.


The low-frequency subband of DWT decomposition has been used as the important subband in face recognition system. But we believe that some subbands other than low-frequency subband contain discriminative information. Consequently, a series of experiments are carried out to test the recognition accuracy on various combinations of the low-frequency with some mid- and high-frequency subbands and subbands that perform the best are selected. We use the M-band decomposition to decompose a face image into smaller frequency subbands. The resulting best combination of low-frequency subband and some subbands named as MBCom achieves a higher recognition rate as compared to the low-frequency subband alone. The MBCom is proposed to work in conjunction with PCA and it outperforms other feature extraction methods in term of recognition rate.


There has been a growing interest in the analysis of the asymmetries in competition in literature. Empirical evidence of its existence in the Spanish diaper market suggests us to study the source of these asymmetries and implications for the brand price decisions and more specifically, in the analysis of the brand's competitive position. Literature suggests that aggregation process of heterogeneous consumers in brand preferences or characteristics of the utility function can explain asymmetric competition. The results do not allow the rejection of any of these causes in the analyzed market. The paper also makes methodological contributions suggesting a different approach to aggregate consumers on the basis of their homogeneity on brand preferences.


In order to understand the dynamic change of soil chemical characteristics along with the succession stages for supporting forest restoration,the soil chemical characteristics in different succession stages were compared and analyzed.The results indicated that with the progress of succession,pH value,available P,and total K showed a decreasing trend while organic matters,total P,total N,alkaline hydrolytic N,and available K showed a trend of increase.The correlation analysis indicated that there was an significant correlation between soil chemical characteristics such as total N,alkaline hydrolytic N,available P and organic matters of different horizon in different succession stages.The correlation analysis somehow signified the main source of soil N and P was organic matters.During the forest restoration process,forest litters should be protected so as to increase soil organic matter and improve soil fertilization.


What is it like to be a child growing up in Britain these days? Is it a happy or anxious time? What are the best and worst aspects of being a child today? This book draws on accounts of over two thousand children and five hundred adults, to examine the present day meaning of childhood and its implications for policy and practice.


With the rising concern for drunk driving,drinking has become a social matter instead of a personal one.The paper analyzes the relationship between alcohol,health and the society so as to make clear what is the correct and scientific attitude towards drinking before suggesting solutions to the problem of excessive drinking.


All papers published in this volume have been reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing. 1. Type of peer review: Single Anonymous 2. Conference submission management system: Morressier 3. Number of submissions received: 53 4. Number of submissions sent for review: 53 5. Number of submissions accepted: 51 6. Acceptance Rate (Submissions Accepted / Submissions Received × 100): 96.2 % 7. Average number of reviews per paper: 1.39 8. Total number of reviewers involved: 38 9. Contact person for queries: Name: Liudmyla Kabakova Affiliation: Institute of Geotechnical Mechanics named by N. Poljakov of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Email: email@example.com


Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) is a ventilation disorder caused by the lack of pulmonary surfactant (PS) or the immaturity of lung development. Correct ventilation strategies are important for the treatment of NRDS patients since the deficient or excessive ventilation is harmful to the patients. This article elaborates the latest research progresses in ventilation strategies for NRDS neonates.

Key words:
Respiratory distress syndrom, newborn; Ventilator-induced lung injury; Ventilators, mechanical; Ventilation strategy


Disclosure: The content of this article has been reviewed by independent peer reviewers to ensure that it is balanced, objective, and free from commercial bias. No financial relationships relevant to the content of this article have been disclosed by the authors, planners, independent peer reviewers, or staff managers of the article. ABSTRACT The development of targeted therapies has provided new options for the management of patients with advanced solid tumors. There has been particular interest in agents that target the mitogen-activated protein ki-nase pathway, which controls tumor growth and survival and promotes angiogenesis. Sorafenib is an oral multikinase inhibitor that has been proven effective as a single-agent therapy in renal cell carcinoma, and there is a strong rationale for investigating its use in combination with other agents. In particular, targeting multiple Raf isoforms with sorafenib may help to overcome resistance to other agents, while the ability of sorafenib to induce apoptosis may increase the cytotoxicity of che-motherapeutic agents. Based on positive results in pre-clinical studies, further investigation in phase I and II studies has shown potential antitumor activity when sorafenib is combined with cytotoxic agents in different solid tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma and melanoma. Promising results have been reported in phase I and II studies of sorafenib combined with pac-litaxel and carboplatin, with oxaliplatin in gastric and colorectal cancer, with docetaxel in breast cancer, with gemcitabine in ovarian cancer, and with capecitabine in different solid tumors. Phase II and III studies are currently investigating the use of sorafenib in combination with different agents in a variety of solid tumors. The primary objective of this review is to summarize the early clinical studies of sorafenib with cytotoxic agents and discuss future perspectives of these combinations in different tumor types.


In this article I analyse prominent textbooks, encyclopedias and journals in the field of women's and gender studies and ask where the authors and concepts presented in these texts and sites of publication come from in terms of geographic location. This is inspired by the question: to what extent can gender studies be described as a 'multi-centered' field (Connell, 2011) and can gender studies take into account feminist concepts of knowledge production which favour the involvement of the greatest possible diversity of authors (Longino, 1990; Harding, 1991)? The analyses presented here show that being located at a North American or Western European institution still seems to be a crucial factor in authors being published and referred to – both in Western academic centres and in other regions. It seems that there is still a long way to go before various local gender studies communities can communicate on a more egalitarian footing.


Open research or open science is the term that can be well expressed as the dispersion of scientific knowledge openly as soon as it is practical in the invention process. It involves making overall research materials, data and lab procedures freely available online to everybody. Open research clarifies research techniques, such as making transparent the data and tools used in the research process by making them openly available. Open research enables scientists to use the ideas of the best research around the world through the results, protocols, data and all aspects of the research in the desired fields. These handy findings will increase research reproducibility, and will create a favorable environment in the scientific world.


Cholinergic input from the basal forebrain and septum to the hippocampus is well known to be critical in learning and memory. Muscarinic induction of theta‐frequency oscillations may synchronize pre‐ and postsynaptic firing and thereby enhance plasticity in the hippocampus. Previous studies have demonstrated that muscarinic activation facilitates long‐term potentiation (LTP) induced with tetanus in vitro. In the present study, we tested the role of muscarinic receptor activity in the induction of LTP beyond effects on spike timing by using a spike‐pairing (SP) method at Schaffer collateral‐CA1 synapses in rat hippocampal slices. Pairings of pre‐ and postsynaptic action potentials (APs) have been shown to induce LTP when the presynaptic AP precedes the postsynaptic AP by 5–15 ms, but contribution of muscarinic co‐activation has not been ruled out. We demonstrate that the mAChR antagonist atropine abolishes LTP induction by SP. Surprisingly, prolonged exposure to the mAChR agonist carbachol inhibits LTP induction by SP, perhaps because of receptor desensitization. These results demonstrate an essential role of cholinergic signaling in this form of hippocampal plasticity. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Background. At present, total immunoglobulin E, which has been used as a basic biomarker of atopy for several decades, in most cases does not reflect the severity of allergic inflammation in the skin in children suffering from atopic dermatitis (AD). Therefore, there is a need for new serum biomarkers that would allow to accurately diagnose the severity degree, control the course of AD and prevent its transformation into phenotypes in combination with other atopic diseases (AtD). In the past two decades, a new biomarker of the inflammation severity degree in the skin within AD — thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17), associated with T-lymphocytes type 2 has been actively studied. The purpose of the study was to determine the associations of serum concentrations of TARC/CCL17 with the AD in children: age, severity, and AD phenotypes — isolated and combined with comorbid AtD. Materials and methods. The basic group comprised 39 children with atopic dermatitis aged 3–6, 7–11, and 12–18 years old. The phenotypes of the basic group were AD isolated and combined with comorbid AtD — seasonal allergic rhinitis/rhinoconjunctivitis, and/or perennial allergic rhinitis, and/or bronchial asthma. The control group comprised 47 children with gastrointestinal pathology without clinical signs of atopy. The severity of AD in children of the basic group was determined using the scoring atopic dermatitis index (SCORAD). Results. Significant direct associations of TARC/CCL17 with the AD severity and the SCORAD index, which is a clinical marker of AD severity, were determined. A reverse association was found between TARC/CCL17 and the age of patients in both the basic and control groups. Also, significant associations were found with the patients' age increase, with the development of the AD phenotype combined with comorbid AtD and male gender (reverse significant association between age and female gender). Conclusions. TARC/CCL17 is significantly associated with the severity degree increase in patients with AD of all the phenotypes — isolated and combined with comorbid AtD. With the age increase, the level of TARC/CCL17 decreases, AD has a trend to progress into phenotype combined with other AtDs, and the incidence increases among male patients. The use of TARC/CCL17 in the diagnostic process of atopic dermatitis in children will provide more personalized control and prevention of progression of the disease into phenotypes combined with other atopic diseases.


Background Living donor liver transplantation (LT) is the main treatment for paediatric biliary atresia (BA) in Asia. During LT, a series of haemodynamic changes often occur during LT reperfusion, which is called postreperfusion syndrome (PRS), and PRS is related to a prolonged postoperative hospital stay, delayed recovery of graft function and increased mortality. To reduce adverse reactions after paediatric living donor LT (LDLT), our study's objectives were to ascertain the incidence of PRS and analyse possible risk factors for PRS. Methods With the approval of the Ethics Committee of our hospital, the clinical data of 304 paediatric patients who underwent LDLT from January 2020 to December 2021 were analysed retrospectively. According to the presence or absence of PRS, the paediatric patients were divided into the non-PRS group and the PRS group. Independent risk factors of PRS were analysed using logistic regression analysis. Results PRS occurred in 132 recipients (43.4%). The peak values of AST (816 (507–1625) vs 678 (449–1107), p=0.016) and ALT (675 (415–1402) vs 545 (389–885), p=0.015) during the first 5 days after LDLT in paediatric patients with PRS were significantly higher than those in the non-PRS group. Meanwhile, the paediatric patients in the PRS group had longer intensive care unit stays and hospital stays, as well as lower 1-year survival rates. Graft cold ischaemic time (CIT) ≥90 min (OR (95% CI)=5.205 (3.094 to 8.754)) and a temperature <36°C immediately before reperfusion (OR (95% CI)=2.973 (1.669 to 5.295)) are independent risk factors for PRS. Conclusions The occurrence of hypothermia (<36.0℃) in children immediately before reperfusion and graft CIT≥90 min are independent risk factors for PRS. PRS was closely related to the postoperative adverse outcomes of paediatric patients.


Obesity and nutritional factors like high-fat diets (HFD) are associated with metabolic alterations, which result from the diet, bodyweight change or both. The objective was to determine the effects of HFD consumed either at maintenance or excess energy levels on BW, metabolic parameters, and colonic permeability markers. A HFD (35% fat as fed, 4923 kcal/kg) was given for 8wks to 24 healthy Beagle dogs, 8 at 100% (G1.0) and 16 at 150% (G1.5) maintenance energy levels for each individual dog. At baseline and after 8wks, basal leptinemia, ghrelinemia, glycemia and insulinemia were measured, while postprandial glycemia and insulinemia were determined for 6h following a challenge test meal. Colonic mucosa biopsies were performed and the expression of proteins involved in permeability was analyzed using RT-rtPCR. Results were analyzed using linear mixed model (nlme package; R) with dog as a random term (data rank-transformed where residuals not normally distributed). Ethics approval was granted by the French Ministry of Research and Royal Canin's Ethical Committee. In the G1.5 group, increases in bodyweight (15%; P < 0.001), leptinemia (5±2 vs 2±1 ng/ml; P < 0.01), and postprandial insulin AUC (10405±2316 vs 6232±1368 μU.min.ml-1; P = 0.03) were observed at 8wks compared to baseline, whereas ghrelinemia decreased (552±361 vs 633±413 pg/ml; P = 0.04). No such change were observed in the G1.0 group. In both groups at 8wks, mRNA levels of claudin 2 (G1.0: P < 0.05; G1.5: P < 0.01) and syndecan (G1.0: P < 0.01; G1.5: P < 0.01) were higher compared to baseline, while mRNA levels of TJP1 (P < 0.01) increased in the G1.5 group. The changes observed in the G1.5 group but not in the G1.0 group suggest that the metabolic and hormonal parameters are related to weight gain but not to HFD alone. Furthermore, the mechanisms behind the modifications to colonic permeability markers observed in both groups remains to be elucidated.


In the numerous forms of analysis of variance (ANOVA) discussed in previous chapters, variance components were estimated by equating observed mean squares to expressions describing their expected values, these being functions of the variance components. ANOVA has the nice feature that the estimators for the variance components are unbiased regardless of whether the data are normally distributed, but it also has two significant limitations. First, field observations often yield records on a variety of relatives, such as offspring, parents, or sibs, that cannot be analyzed jointly with ANOVA. Second, ANOVA estimates of variance components require that sample sizes be well balanced, with the number of observations for each set of conditions being essentially equal. In field situations, individuals are often lost, and even the most carefully crafted balanced design can quickly collapse into an extremely unbalanced one. Although modifications to the ANOVA sums of squares have been proposed to account for unbalanced data (Henderson 1953, Searle et al. 1992), their sampling properties are poorly understood. Unlike ANOVA estimators, maximum likelihood (ML) and restricted maximum likelihood (REML) estimators do not place any special demands on the design or balance of data. Such estimates are ideal for the unbalanced designs that arise in quantitative genetics, as they can be obtained readily for any arbitrary pedigree of individuals. Since many aspects of ML and REML estimation are quite difficult technically, the detailed mathematics can obscure the general power and flexibility of the methods. Therefore, our main concern is to make the theory more accessible to the nonspecialist, and as a consequence, we are not as thorough in our coverage of the literature as in previous chapters. Also, unlike elsewhere in this book, we occasionally rely upon mathematical machinery (such as matrix derivatives) that is not fully developed here (see Appendix 3 for an introduction). This chapter is mathematically difficult in places, and the reader will do well to review some of the advanced topics in Chapter 8 (such as the multivariate normal and expectations of quadratic products) and Appendix 4. We start at a relatively elementary level, providing a simple example to show how ML and REML procedures can be used to estimate variance components and how these estimates differ. We then develop the ML and REML equations for variance-component estimation under the general mixed model (introduced in Chapter 26). Extension of these methods to multiple traits, wherein full covariance matrices, rather than single variance components, must be estimated, are then reviewed. We conclude our coverage of ML/REML by examining a number of computational methods for solving the ML/REML equations.


Nifedipine (NIF) a 1, 4-dihydropyridine calcium channel antagonist, undergoes photodegradation to nitroso analogues of dehydronifedipine (NDNIF) when exposed to sunlight. Photodegradation products of NIF have no clinical activity, so different formulations of NIF must remain unchanged. If NIF preparations become unstable in exposure to light, they could cause therapeutic failure. The present study was carried out in order to investigate the photostability of commercially available NIF products, in Iran. Three oral NIF formulations available in Iran were studied using indirect sunlight (daylight) and continuous artificial light exposure extending over a period of 12 weeks. The extent of photodecomposition of NIF was determined using a specific reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. NIF photodegradation was measured using both pure NIF powder as well as a methanolic NIF solution to determine differences in the effectiveness of artificial light and natural indirect sunlight sources used in this study. All the tested NIF formulations were likely to be photostable up to at least 12 weeks of continuous artificial and natural day light exposure, compared with pure NIF powder and methanolic solution. Photodegradation of NIF powder and methanolic solution exposed to indirect sunlight was faster than the artificial light.


The increasing mobile data traffic requires network coverage expansion and rate enhancement. However, this demands more power and results in environmental pollution. As a solution, directional modulation can be used to provide efficient and interference-free communications. In this work, we geometrically model the extended detection regions of M-QAM modulation for M = 4, 8, 16, 32 and use these modeled regions to design energy efficient symbol-level precoders for an interference-free MIMO directional modulation transceiver. We formulate and transform the precoder design problems into linearly constrained quadratic programming optimization problems. The simulation results show that compared with the benchmark schemes, directional modulation results in lower power consumption and symbol error rate using the less stringent extended detection regions and interference-free capability, respectively.


New research exposes a need for preoperative screening of even low-risk women undergoing robotic sacrocolpopexy, particularly those with risk factors such as obesity or diabetes.


The external interference often reduces the performance of high-frequency surface-wave radar. In this paper, a novel interference suppression subsystem for HF radar is proposed, in which virtual auxiliary channels are constructed by a group of mismatched filtered signal data so that radio interference in the main beam can be effectively suppressed by a subsequent a coherent side-lobe canceller. The processing results of experimental data show that this subsystem is quite effective and practical. (4 pages)


ALOS has optical and L-band SAR systems the same as JERS-1. The advantage of ALOS to applications of disaster observation compared with JERS-1 is discussed. Operational criteria of ALOS for the observations are presented.


Based on the individual-level raw data from the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Surveys in China(NFPRHS 1988 to 2001),this paper is to evaluate the effects of the client-centred contraceptive policy of informed choice(IC policy) by fixed effect modeling on the contraceptive choice of married reproductive-age individuals.Findings show that IC policy has bring out clear changes in the contraceptive measures taken by these people,that is,more and more take the contraceptive options of short-tern and self-controls while less and less adopt the medical options of long-term in China.


ABSTRACT: Information is limited on water and solute leaching in the presence of crops. This field investigation was conducted to determine the effect of various crops on leaching of a bromide (Br) tracer under natural rainfall conditions. The soil is a Griswold silt loam (fine-loamy, mixed, mesic, Acquic Argiudoll). Monitoring wells (4-m deep) to groundwater were installed in the center of a Br -treated area (5 m × 5 m) in selected plots planted to corn, soybean, and alfalfa. Bromide was surface-applied at the ratc of 197 kg ha−1 in May 1991. Dry weather conditions early in the growing season resulted in the formation of deep cracks in the field in all plots. Bromide was detected in the soil to a 80-cm depth by August (less than three months after application) under all the crops with only 1/0 mm of accumulated rainfall. This was presumably due to transport of Br through the soil cracks during the sporadic rainfall events. Simulation analysis with the Groundwater Loading Effects of Agricultural Management Systems (GLEAMS) computer model indicated that piston-flow was no adequate to provide the observed leaching depth of Br by the August sampling date. By November, Br was distributed fairly uniformly throughout the 1-m profile in all the treatments. Except in the top 20 cm, Br concentrations were significantly greater with the drilled soybean treatment compared to others at all depths. Crop uptake of Br was significantly greater (P 0.05) for corn (19.3 kg ha−1) and soybean (16 kg ha−1) compared to alfalfa (6.6 kg ha−1) or oats (4.5 kg ha−1). Bromide recovery (soil+tissue) was highest with the drilled soybean treatment (84%) followed by alfalfa (46%), corn (39%), and row soybean (28%) treatments in November. Monitoring wells sampled in December 1991 showed detectable amounts of Br in all the plots irrespective of the type of crop grown. Results from this study show that although the amount of Br recovered (soil+tissue) varied with the type of crop grown, Br breakthrough to groundwater occurred within one growing season under all crops. This is especially true when surface-applied Br moves rapidly through the soil via preferential pathways like macropcres. Greater potential for shallow groundwater pollution by non-adsorbed agri-chemicals exists on these medium-textured silt loam soils than previously believed.


In order to meet the growing demand for energy, wind energy can be one of the suitable options for generation of power. Savonius rotor, a type of Vertical axis wind turbine has the ability to accept wind from any direction and it is a low speed turbine. This makes it suitable in places where wind speed is relatively low and wind speed varies with season. But the main drawback of it is its low power coefficient. Thus, there is a need to improve its performance. The present study deals with computational investigation of the performance of a SST type single and double stage savonius rotor having holes at end plates. For designing and computational investigation, ANSYS-GAMBIT and ANSYS-WORKBENCH 19 software were used for comparison of power coefficient of both the rotors at different tip speed ratio. Double stage turbines showed better performance than single stage turbine.


Capture fisheries is one of the leading sectors that drive the economy of Banggai Laut Regency. Improved fishing technology is related to fishing efforts that will affect the sustainability of fish resource stocks in the waters of Banggai Laut Regency. This study aims to identify the rate of utilization of fish resources in an effort to develop a sustainable fisheries sector in Banggai Laut waters. The method approach used is "Surplus Production". This method serves as an estimator of the relative abundance of a fish resource in the waters of Banggai Laut Regency which is based on the catch per unit of fishing effort. The results showed that the capability of the fishing fleet in Banggai Laut Regency has not been able to reach potential fishing areas. The catch per unit effort (CPUE) of fish resources in Banggai Laut Regency still shows an increasing trend with the highest rate of increase by other fish group including crustaceans and mollusks, about 0.160 tons/unit in the 2014-2016 period. Meanwhile, the catch per unit effort of the large pelagic fish group showed an increasing trend with the lowest rate of increase, about 0.001 tons/unit in the 2014-2016 period. Therefore the utilization rate of fish resources in the waters of Banggai Laut Regency is still classified as under exploited.


In this investigation copper coated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared to enhance the interfacial bonding between CNTs and aluminum matrix by the molecular-level mixing process. In optimized plating bath of (1:1) by wt. CNT with Cu, thickness of coated CNTs is reduced to 100 nm to promote uniform distribution of Cu nanoparticle on the surface of pretreated CNTs. The mixing of CNTs was accomplished by ultrasonication and ball milling. Scanning electron microscope analysis revealed the homogenous dispersion of Cu-coated CNTs in nanocomposites samples compared to the uncoated CNTs. The samples were pressureless sintered under vacuum. The densification increased with the increase in the CNTs content and is more pronounced in Cu-coated CNT nanocomposites.


Aim: To study the expression level and mutation of PTEN gene in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma( ESCC) cells. Methods: The expression of PTEN mRNA in three ESCC cell lines( EC9706,EC1 of low differentiation and Eca109 of high differentiation) was detected by RT-PCR. The full length of PTEN gene in the cell lines mentioned above was cloned,and then the sequences of PTEN gene were blasted with the sequence of wide type PTEN gene on GenBank to analyze the mutation sites. Results: The expression levels of PTEN in EC1,EC9706 and Eca109 cells were( 0. 06 ± 0. 02),( 0. 24 ± 0. 02) and( 0. 41 ± 0. 01),and there were significant difference among the three cell lines( F = 306. 330, P 0. 001). That was higher in Eca109 cells with well differentiation degree than those in EC9706 and EC1 cells with low differentiation degree( P 0. 05). The mutations of PTEN gene in the three ESCC cell lines were found and the mutation sites mainly focused on exon 5 and 8. Conclusion: The expression level of PTEN has correlation with the differentiation degree and there are mutations of PTEN gene in ESCC.


Cloud computing is becoming an urgent technology in the enterprises. One key characteristic in the cloud computing is the elasticity. Then, it is urgent for the users how to rank the renting services reasonably. Considering the main features of the elasticity, this article gives classification on resource optimization. However, one of the major challenges is how to optimize resource allocation in an elastic manner. Due to the special pay-as-you-go manner, resource optimizing strategies are associated with the goal of minimizing the costs on the premise of service-level-agreement (SLA). Another challenge of resource optimizing strategies is to how to dynamically respond to the application demands. In this paper, the authors sketch the elastic definition more clearly. Secondly, different dimensions are described on elastic resource allocations. Thirdly, it is important to seek out the proper resource allocation strategy. Finally, the challenges and conclusions are discussed in this article.


This paper presents the shapes of the electron energy‐loss near‐edges structure (ELNES) on the N K‐edge of the group IVA (Ti, Zr, Hf) and group VA (V, Nb, Ta) transition metal mononitrides close to stoichiometry. With the exceptions of NbN and TaN, these compounds have the rock‐salt (B1) structure when close to stoichiometry. NbN exists with both the rock‐salt structure and a hexagonal structure. Two distinct ELNES shapes were observed from it, one of which corresponds closely with previously published data from the rock‐salt structure. Under normal conditions, TaN is considered to exist only in the hexagonal form, the rock‐salt form being a high‐temperature/high‐pressure phase although it has been reported as the result of plasma jet heating of the hexagonal form. Again two distinct ELNES shapes were observed, one of which appeared to fit into the pattern of the shapes from the other compounds with the rock‐salt structure. The systematic changes of shape observed are very similar to those observed in the equivalent carbides and qualitatively follow the behaviour expected from theoretical band structures. The change in the chemical shift of the N K‐edge on going from a group IVA nitride to a group VA nitride is ∼‐0·8 eV while that on going from a group IVA carbide to a group VA carbide is ∼+0·8 eV. This difference in behaviour is explained as the result of differences in the densities of states at the Fermi levels of the compounds. The position of the first peak in the ELNES also shows a systematic change in its energy relative to the core state as the number of valence electrons in the compound increases and also as the transition series of the metal species changes. The energies, Er, of the peaks in the ELNES relative to the threshold follow a relationship similar to that predicted by Natoli, i.e. (Er ‐ V)a = const. where V is the 'muffin tin' potential and a is the lattice parameter. The first peak gives a negative constant in the relationship. The value of constant increases for each subsequent peak up to the sixth becoming positive for the fourth and higher peaks but drops slightly on going from the sixth to the seventh peak. Each peak gives a different value of V in the relationship. The data sets for the carbides and the nitrides are systematically different in a similar way for each peak and there are deviations from linearity within each set. The systematic difference is minimized and the linearity significantly improved if the difference in the energies of two prominent peaks is used instead of Er. This systematic variation of peak energy with lattice parameter can be used to predict the lattice parameter. If both the nitride and the carbide data for the energy of a prominent peak relative to the threshold are used, this results in a maximum deviation of 4% (or ∼0·02 nm). However, if the differences in the energies of two prominent peaks are used and the data for the carbides and the nitrides are treated independently, the maximum deviation drops to 0·4% (or ∼0·002 nm). At this level, uncertainties in the lattice parameters themselves come into play and better characterized materials are required to set true limits to the accuracy of the predictions. Finally some applications in the microanalysis of materials are outlined briefly.


Frequent itemset mining finds frequently occurring itemsets in transactional data. This is applied to diverse problems such as decision support, selective marketing, financial forecast and medical diagnosis. The cloud, computation as an utility service, allows us to crunch large mining problems. There are a number of algorithms for doing frequent itemset mining, but none are out-of-the-box suited for the cloud, requiring large data structures to be synchronized across the network. One of the best algorithms for doing frequent itemset mining is the known FP-growth (Frequent Patterns growth). We develop a cloud-enabled algorithmic variant for frequent itemset mining that scales with very little communication and computational overhead and even, with only one worker node, is faster than FP-growth. We develop the concept of a postfix path and show how this allows us to lower the communicational cost and leads to adjustable work sizes. This concept provides a very flexible algorithmic solution that can be applied to a wide variety of different problem sizes and setups.


ABSTRACT We conducted an experiment to find out how future climate conditions will impact the spring development of photosynthetic capacity of silver birch leaves. We had two greenhouse conditions. In the simulated future climate condition, we had both elevated temperatures and CO2 concentration, while for reference we had trees growing under current climate conditions. We used two methods to measure the development of photosynthetic capacity: first, the maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II with a fluorescence meter; and second, the CO2 assimilation rate with gas exchange measurements. The development of full photosynthetic capacity took around two weeks following the bud burst. The maximum quantum efficiency developed slightly faster than the CO2 assimilation rate. Both measurement methods showed that an elevated CO2 concentration enhanced the development of photosynthetic capacity beyond the impact of temperature only. The enhancement under the conditions of our simulated climate change translates to achieving photosynthetic capacity up to five days earlier, which impact should be taken into account in simulations of photosynthetic productivity.


This study has focused on the impact of classroom management on the students' academic and emotional success. Class has importance in terms of being the place of where the educational process occurs. Teachers' roles, behaviours, rules, discipline, flexibility, communication styles in the classroom are very effective on students. In order to understand students, to tell them about herself/himself well and to be able to build a relationship depends on mutual trust; teachers need to establish effective sentences. Because words and sentences are essential elements representing us. But the factor affecting communication is "discourse" which is beyond the words and the sentences. If the teacher pays attention to "where" and "how" students say rather than "what", she/he understands students better and be more successful creating a suitable classroom environment to students. Here, "discourse" comes into play. In this study, how must the teacher pay attention to "discourse" and what kind of principles that the teacher should apply in the classroom environment according to discourse analysis have been revealed.


Using a passive optical frequency interleaver, together with optical FDM systems, we have successfully demonstrated a two-channel 25-GHz-channel-spaced 10-Gbps-per-wavelength DWDM system, BERs better than 10/sup -12/ were obtained with no observable BER floors and negligible power penalties. The optical frequency interleaver can be redesigned to be intrinsically athermal.


The invention relates to a glass fiber waster treatment process, which comprises the following steps of: removing suspended matters from the wastewater, and performing preaeration; adding a coagulant and polyacrylamide (PAM) into the sewage, performing demulsification under the alkaline condition, and performing flocculation on the demulsified suspended matters; performing solid-liquid separation on the sewage, settling the suspended matters to the bottom of a tank, using the settled suspended matters as sludge, discharging supernate, performing hydrolysis acidification on the supernate, and performing aeration treatment on the sewage subjected to hydrolysis acidification by using two stages of aeration biofilters; and filtering, adsorbing by using active carbon, and discharging. The glass fiber waster treatment process fills up domestic blanks that the aeration biofilters are applied to the field of glass fiber wastewater and zero emission is realized, saves cost and has good treatment effect.


Media are invited to apply for credentials to cover activities at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the landing of the agency's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission on Mars at about noon PST Nov. 26.


To propagate SHIV-KB9 virus stock via passaged in Chinese-original monkey PBMCs and realize viral replication and immunological trauma in the monkey after inoculation intravenously with 10 fold dilution of SHIV-KB9.Infectious virus was generated by ligating pSHIV-KB9 5′ and pSHIV-KB9 3′,and transfecting CEMx174 cells.The peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PMBCs) from Chinese-original rhesus macaque were cocultured with the supernatant of transfection and the virus stock was collected when the viral replication reached the peak area.The variation of env gene was analized,so did the viral loads and tissue culture infective dose(TCID50)with TZM-bl cells.Three Chinese-origin rhesus monkeys were infected with this batch of SHIV-KB9 intravenously with 10 fold dilution and the viral loads in plasma and the change of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes were analysed during the whole infection.In this study,totally 95 mL virus stock was propagated in monkeys PBMCs and without any variation about the gp120 sequence of env gene.The viral loads was 2.678×105 copies/mL and had 3.16×103 TCID50 in 1 mL of cell-free SHIV-KB9 stock.3 rhesus macaques were infected and presented severe and rapid depletion of CD4+ cells during acute phase.This panel of SHIV-KB9 adapted in Chinese-original rhesus monkeys' PBMCs were highly infectious and suitable for the animal modle.


Corrosion of the inside surfaces of aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) containing gasoline, gas oil, fuel oil, and crude oil was studied. Corrosion rates were defined for various parts of the ASTs after 10 to 55 years of service. The bottoms and the roofs experienced more corrosion than the walls. Microbiologically induced corrosion was found to cause severe localized corrosion on the bottoms. The main cause of corrosion of the roofs was hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) and water (H 2 O) in the vapor phase within the ASTs.


In a classical scheme of drinking water treatment, chlorine can be used at different locations: chlorination of the raw water before the coagulation process and disinfection of water after the filtration step. The objectives of this work are the study of the disinfection kinetics and the chlorine decay characteristics, when sodium hypochlorite is used for disinfecting natural and potable waters. For this, batch reactor tests have been done. Experiments conducted have revealed that the processes are not uniform. A Haas and Karra model [7] has been used for the formulation of chlorine demand of natural and clarified waters. For disinfection kinetics, it was supposed that the indicator organisms in the water are globally distributed in two main categories: resistant (or less accessible to the disinfectant) and less resistant (or more accessible to the disinfectant). Thus the survival ratio can be expressed in the form of a sum of two exponential relations. In order to estimate the influence of the hydraulic characteristics of chlorine contact chambers on disinfection process performances, we have used a model of j completely stirred tank reactors (CSTRs) in series was used. The mean conversion of batch kinetics in the entire contactor can by obtained by applying the segregated flow model. Using this approach, it was noticed that the impact of the reactor design on its performance is variable according to the quality of the water treated.


A a second-year eighth-grade English teacher one of the biggest problems I faced was the teaching of vocabulary. That my average and below average students needed vocabulary building went without saying. But I felt the standardized, twenty words a week, memorizethe-definitions-for-a-matching-test programs weren't the answer. These programs, I felt, emphasized rote memory rather than use. What I wanted was a


We would like to respond to the article 'Predicting treatment response in psoriasis using serum levels of adalimumab and etanercept: a single centre, cohort study.' (Br J Dermatol. 2013 Mar 29. doi: 10.1111/bjd.12341). (1) In this study adalimumab and adalimumab antibodies (ADA) measurement was done by using bridging ELISAs. The emphasis is put on the monitoring of drug concentrations rather than anti-drug antibodies as a useful tool in clinical practise. We agree with this emphasis though the blood samples for measurement of adalimumab concentrations and ADA were collected during the patients' routine clinic visits, without reference to the timing of the administration of their therapy (i.e. trough/non-trough not specified). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved


Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Introduction. The Clinical Internship Evaluation Tool (CIET) is a reliable and valid clinical education assessment tool but is used less frequently by physical therapist education programs than the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument (PT CPI). The purposes of this exploratory study were to: 1) explore CI and student perceptions for the CIET as an accurate and user-friendly measurement of physical therapist (PT) student clinical performance; and 2) to compare stakeholder perceptions of CIET as a clinical performance tool to PT CPI. Methods. Clinical instructors and PT students were recruited from 5 geographically diverse physical therapist education programs and completed both the PT CPI and CIET at the midterm and final evaluation during a full-time clinical education experience. A post-survey collected data related to participants' perceptions of tool feasibility and ease of use. The Wilcoxon sign rank test was used to determine whether significant differences existed in the participants' perceptions related to the utility of the CIET versus PT CPI. Results. One hundred one participants (56 PT students; 45 CIs) completed the study. Most student and CI participants (91.1%) indicated that the CIET completion time was < 45 minutes. More students (66.1%) and CIs (73.3%) reported a PT CPI completion time of > 45 minutes. Students (71.4%) and CIs (68%) preferred the CIET to the CPI. There was a significant difference in perception of ease of use (Z-score = −5.42, P < .001), appropriate completion time (Z-score = −7.25, P < .001), and little redundancy of items (Z-score = −7.17, P < .001). Discussion and Conclusion. Students and CIs preferred the CIET which was perceived to be easy to use and completed in < 45 minutes while still retaining the ability to accurately measure student performance in clinic. Clinical education requires efficient, valid, and reliable assessment tools to match the dynamic needs of a changing health care environment.


This study investigates the synthesis, characterization, and corrosion behavior of AA6063 composites with the inclusion of micron-sized titanium carbide (TiC) particles with different weight percentages. AA6063/TiC particulate composites containing 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 weight percent of TiC particles were produced by stir casting. The homogeneous dispersion of TiC particles in the AA6063/TiC composites was revealed from the scanning electron microscopy analysis. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis was conducted to ensure the presence of reinforcement particles in the matrix. Mechanical and corrosion properties of the produced composites are evaluated. The addition of TiC particles to the AA6063, the mechanical, electrical, and corrosion properties are initially increased and then decreased. Mechanical and corrosion study shows that the presence of 9 wt% of TiC particles in the matrix improved mechanical properties than other combination of TiC with the matrix material.


We report the assembly and annotation of a high-quality genome sequence for Myxococcus xanthus strain DZ2 (GenBank accession number CP080538), created using a combination of short reads generated using DNBSEQ technology (BGI Genomics) and long high-fidelity (HiFi) reads generated using Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) technology. ABSTRACT We report the assembly and annotation of a high-quality genome sequence for Myxococcus xanthus strain DZ2 (GenBank accession number CP080538), created using a combination of short reads generated using DNBSEQ technology (BGI Genomics) and long high-fidelity (HiFi) reads generated using Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) technology.


Objective: To discuss the imaging characteristics of splenosis for improving its diagnostic accuracy. Methods: Twelve patients with splenic autotransplantation were diagnosed by surgical pathology or needle biopsy. Patients underwent CT and MRI plan and enhanced scanning, 2 cases also underwent 99mTc-DRBC scanning, and the imaging data were collected. Results: Multiple nodules were found in 8 cases and single nodule was found in 4 cases. The nodules were detected in splenic recess (10 cases), in tail of the pancreas (5 cases), in right liver (3 cases), and in other parts of abdominal cavity (3 cases). The size of nodules was different, and the maximum diameter of 94.57% of the nodules were less than 3 cm. The nodules were all homogeneous and soft without cystic change, calcification or necrosis. Slightly short T1 and short T2 signal were shown in tail of the pancreas in 1 case. Long T1 and long T2 signal were shown in the rest cases. In CT arterial phase, blood supply from abdominal aorta was shown in nodule of right liver in 1 case. The nodules were surrounded by thin layer of low density ring, which showed long T1 and long T2 signal. Homogeneous or inhomogeneous enhancement was shown in the arterial phase, continuous homogeneous enhancement was shown in portal venous phase, and the decline degree of enhancement was significant in delayed phase. The findings of 99mTc-DRBC scanning were obviously strong radioactive concentrations in nodules. Conclusion: Multiple nodules were found in abdominal cavity with homogeneous density or signal and clear boundary. The enhanced features were consistent with spleen. The possibility of splenosis should be considered by the history of splenic trauma or splenectomy.


Method and system for driving a light emitting device display is provided. System provides a timing schedule to increase the accuracy of the display. The system, thereby providing a timing schedule the operation cycle is executed continuously in the group of rows. The system can provide a timing schedule by it aging factor for a plurality of frames are used. .FIELD 2


In the current paper we investigate the possibility of designing secure blind signature scheme based on ElGamal signature equation. We define the generalized construction and analyze its security. We consider two types of schemes with the proposed construction, that cover all existing schemes. For schemes of the first type we provide generic ROS-style attack that violates unforgeability in the parallel setting. For schemes of the second type we prove that they do not provide either blindness, or unforgeability. As the result, we prove that all known ElGamal blind signature schemes are not secure. Moreover, these results show that the existence of secure ElGamal blind signature scheme is potentially possible only for small set of signature equations and requires the non-standard way of generating the first component of the signature.


A method and apparatus for treating internal muscle and connective tissue disorders is disclosed. The method includes the steps of inserting a vibration source into a body cavity and applying vibratory massage in the form of expansions and contractions of the body cavity at a predetermined frequency. The apparatus includes a probe shaped for insertion into a body cavity, an actuator for causing the probe to expand and contract, and a mechanism for adjusting the frequency with which the probe expands and contracts.


Since sport entrepreneurship has recently been proved critical to the sport industry success, herein, we tested conceptual model of entrepreneurial marketing for sport club managers in Tehran, Iran. In order to assess entrepreneurial marketing, club nature, performance scale, market orientation, and entrepreneurship orientation, standardized methods of measurements were applied. The face and content validity of the research tools were confirmed by experts of sport marketing while the construct validity was affirmed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Structural Equation Modelling (SME) was estimated using partial least squares method in Smart PLS software. Our results demonstrated that except for entrepreneurship orientation, there was a positive and significant relationship between all variables and organizational performance. Moreover, a positive and significant relationship was also detected between all variables, except for market orientation, and entrepreneurial marketing. According to the goodness of fit, the model fitness was good (0.621).


The innovation and benefits of five awards and winners of the US Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge(PGCC) Awards Program in 2010 are introduced:①The Dow Chemical Company and BASF Chemical Company were awarded greener synthetic pathways award because of their innovative,environmentally benign production of Propylene Oxide via Hydrogen Peroxide. ②Merck Co.,Inc. and Codexis,Inc. were awarded greener reaction conditions award because of their greener manufacturing of Sitagliptin enabled by an evolved Transaminase.③The Clarke Company was awarded designing greener chemicals award because of NatularTM Larvicide: adapting Spinosad for Next-Generation mosquito control.④LS9,Inc. was awarded small business award because of microbial production of renewable PetroleumTM Fuels and Chemicals.⑤Ph.D. J.C. Liao of University of California,Los Angeles was awarded academic award because of his Recycling Carbon Dioxide to Biosynthesize Higher Alcohols.


The invention relates to a spring element (10) for compensating the axial play of a motor shaft of an electromotor. According to the invention, a spring element of this type (10) is configured in plastic from a single piece, with a stopping plate (12) which is connected to a support foot (16) by spring arms (14). The spring element (10) is then mounted on a support collar (18) with said support foot (16) and can be pressed onto the motor shaft with said support collar. The invention has the advantage of eliminating the axial play of the motor shaft of an electromotor with a spring element (10) which is economical to produce and easy to assemble.


The article deals with historiography about the cultural and educational development of Jews in Dnipro Ukraine during the 19th – early 20th centuries. The formation and functioning of a Jewish educational system in Volhynia during that period, the work of Zhytomyr Rabbinical School and Zhytomyr Jewish Teachers Institute, spiritual-cultural and education activities of Jews in Left-bank Ukraine, Right-bank Ukraine, South-East Ukraine, which was then part of the Russian Empire, and on Western Ukrainian lands of Austria-Hungary are reflected in the historical science. While appreciating the progress of Judaic studies, it should be noted that today this subject needs to be developed further. This is especially important for understanding the key issues of Ukraine's History and World History. The analysis of a wide range of historical sources, especially archival materials, will contribute to the objective presentation of the history of Jewish community as unique historical and cultural phenomenon and an important part of the Culture of Ukraine. The ideological and political pressure of Soviet era has slowed down Judaic studies, fulfilment of their scientific and practical potential. In the late 1980s there has been an upsurge of interest in the Jewish history. Research studies of Independent Ukraine have contributed to introduction into the scientific activities of new historical sources, developing innovative projects and ideas, improving methodological approaches. The role of Jews in increasing European cultural influences on the Ukrainian lands is a perspective direction of the historical research. In the period of raising the national spirit of Jews during the 19th – early 20th centuries, the number of Jewish students from Ukraine who studied in European universities has increased. Attention needs to be shifted towards an important social function of ethnic research, the results of which foster establishing Ukrainian cultural environment based on tolerance, mutual respect, humanism and cross-cultural dialogue


Heterogeneity, dynamic and flexibility are the basic characteristicsof grid computing. Distributed computing are currently based on Clint/Server model and implement operations across platform by remote procedure call or message passing. These technologies are suitable for steady network environment and applications, not the choices for grid computing. This article introduces the characteristics and advantages of agent and proposes to apply agent in grid computing. The model and six ways of applying agent in grid computing are proposed, problems existed in the application of agent are discussed, and the future of applying agent in grid computing are discussed.


The present paper discusses the mechanism of formation of dioxins and furans and the technologies used to mitigate the formation of such chemical compounds during the combustion process. By reviewing the findings of several investigations, being conducted by several researchers for the last 30 years, it has been found that the formation of Dioxins and Furans canbe considerably reduced by using the chemical compounds which function as catalysts. Such catalysts are vanadium pentaoxide V2O5, Tungsten Trioxide WO3, and Titanium dioxide TIO2. Besides, there are some sulphur compounds which inhibit the formation of dioxins and furans. Such compounds are Sulphur dioxide SO2 and ammonium sulphate (NH4)2 SO4. There are some Thiourea chemicals which play an important role in inhibiting the formation of dioxins and furans. Such chemical compounds are Ethanolamine C2H7NO, Urea CH4N2O, Mono ethanolamine (H2NCH2CH2OH) etc. But the greatest drawback in the aforesaid technologies is that, they require heavy capital cost as well as the high operating cost. As a solution to the problems, some German companies have developed the techniques for recovering HCl, Nacl and SO2 which are marketable and thus, can make the process cost- effective. Another solution is to adopt a good combustion practice by modifying the design of combustion chambers (primary and secondary) as per guidelines issued by CPCB, India (2017). Lastly it may be considered to switch over to the latest alternative technology of Plasma Pyrolysis which provides a complete solution to the problem. The objective of the present study is to help the stakeholders in the process of making decisions and opting for the latest technologies for a pollution free environment.


In Qianlong reigning years of the Qing Dynasty,Xu Xi's miscellaneous drama that describes his thoughts is a magnum opus in the history of Chinese drama.Its system which changed from writing in the name of others without independent thoughts to describing his thoughts,has altered the writing style of aiming at the complex of self-projection.It shows sufficiently that Miscellaneous Drama that describes thoughts provides special artistic value of discourse space for ordinary literati as well as for writer's wandering between elegance and vulgarness through manifold ways,such as the practice of expressing will and emotion,the special meaning revealed by autobiographic artistic expression and the natural artistic manner similar to essays of the late Ming Dynasty.


Neutrosophy, the study of neutralities, is a new branch of Philosophy that has applications in many different fields of science. Inspired by the idea of Neutrosophy, Smarandache introduced NeutroAlgebraicStructures (or NeutroAlgebras) by allowing the partiality and indeterminacy to be included in the structures' operations and/or axioms. The aim of this paper is to combine the concept of Neutrosophy with hyperstructures theory. In this regard, we introduce NeutroSemihypergroups as well as NeutroHv-Semigroups and study their properties by providing several illustrative examples.


A non-monotonic logic of institutional agency is defined combining a computationally oriented non-monotonic system (Defeasible Logic) and intentional notions of agency.


In this paper,the characters of obesity,overweight,standard body mass and ideal body mass were discussed,cause and harmfulness of obesity were summarized.Some problems of reduce weight were analyzed by physieal exercise.


Spherical powders were obtained by electric arc spraying of stainless-steel wire. The effect of the electrical power during the arc spraying process was investigated. The fractional composition of the obtained powder was determined by laser diffractometry. Scanning Auger microprobe was used to study surface morphology of the powder particles. The obtained spherical stainless-steel powders will be used to fabricate products by additive manufacturing methods.


One of the fundamental open questions in elementary particle physics is the value of the neutrino mass and its nature of Dirac or Majorana particle. Neutrinoless double beta decay (DBD0ν) is a key tool for investigating these neutrino properties and for finding answers to the open questions concerning mass hierarchy and absolute scale. Experimental techniques based on the calorimetric approach with cryogenic particle detectors are proved to be suitable for the search of this rare decay, thanks to high energy resolution and large mass of the detectors. The CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) experiment will search for DBD0ν in 130Te. The CUORE setup consists in an array of 988 tellurium dioxide crystals, operated as bolometers, with a total mass of about 230 kg of 130Te. The experiment is under construction at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy. As a first step towards CUORE, a tower prototype (CUORE-0) has been assembled and is running. In this talk a detailed description of the CUORE-0 tower, its performances and the expected sensitivity will be given. The status of the CUORE experiment, its critical points and its expected sensitivity on the base of what we will learn with CUORE-0 will then be discussed.


It seems that the freshmen are onto me. As part of our freshman "Chemical Engineering Computations" course, the students can choose speakers for four half-lectures. Last Spring, they chose me to give a presentation about hydrogen bonding. Rumor has it that they heard about a fanatical thermodynamics professor with a soft spot for the topic of hydrogen bonding. Their strategy was two-fold: first, to butter this guy up by asking him to ramble on about his favorite subject, and second, to scout this dangerous territory called thermodynamics. In my tum, I saw this as a teachable moment. If I made the presentation sufficiently accessible, they might actually learn something about thermodynamics.


Summary Analysis of meteorites provides insight into the various material that could comprise the parent body; be it asteroidal, planetary or cometary in origin. Here we present new data relating to the physical characteristics of the Tagish Lake meteorite and in doing so infer its possible origin. In our study, porosity was determined via scanning electron microscope imagery coupled with image analysis techniques. Our results, measured on images taken at 100 and 300 × magnification, show a range in porosity values of between 4.5 and 15.4 percent, and that porosity tends to increase towards the edge of the sample. In comparison with the available published data for bulk samples of the Tagish Lake meteorite we find our porosity values to be much lower. However, when compared to other carbonaceous chondrite falls we find our data is in good agreement. A high porosity deduced for the bulk samples of the Tagish Lake meteorite reflect the highly fragmental nature of the parent object and that this parent is likely to be brecciated and loosely consolidated.


From a theoretical point of view, this paper considers the evidentiary action of recognizing the voice of the perpetrator by the witness. It is the identification of the voice by a person who is usually an "unprofessional listener". Due to the specificity of the voice as an object of recognition, the involvement of forensics (linguists and phoneticians) in the organization and immediate realization of the voice recognition action seems inevitable. Their activity would be manifested in giving guidance to the authority on how to increase the efficiency of voice identification and the accuracy of witness testimony. The witness gives evidence based on his perceptual (auditory) abilities in a procedure prescribed by the law, in which the credibility of his/her testimony is simultaneously checked and assessed. The Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Serbia establishes the legal framework for taking the voice recognition action, while the content of performing the direct recognition action is determined by the criminal-tactical rules.


T here isn't much good news for Alaska', timber industry. There hasn't been for years. Most of the programs seen as subsidizing the industry today were created to make up for past blows to the industry. There have always been other places that could produce more product less expensively. Aside from a small percentage of very high quality timber, Alaskan timber is not significantly different from that of other areas. A high percentage of Alaskan timber is sold on the world market, particularly to Japan. Shifts in currency exchange rates impact most domestic producers. Alaskan producers live or die by exchange rates.


I model persuasive advertising for conspicuous goods that can either be made more attractive by greater popularity ("conformist markets") or by greater exclusivity ("snobbish markets"). Consumers are endowed with a latent attribute measuring some aspect of their identity, and a social status implied by this attribute. Consumers wish to signal a high social status, and the function of advertising is to render brands a signaling device by linking products with social groups. In a conformist market, I find that advertising increases demand elasticity, inducing firms to converge on low prices, and can be used by a first mover to deter entry and gain monopoly rents. In this setting, advertising creates a cutthroat environment in which only one product can survive. In a snobbish market, advertising reduces demand elasticity, dampens price competition and promotes firm entry. In this setting, advertising can act as a public good to firms, increasing all firms' prices and profits. Additionally, it can lead to asymmetric equilibria where a firm appealing to high status consumers advertises more heavily, capturing a greater market share and charging a higher price. Furthermore, I bring micro-foundation to persuasive advertising, allowing analysis of the channels through which it impacts welfare. Finally, I show that the model can help explain well-documented empirical puzzles in the marketing and empirical industrial organization literatures. ∗Department of Economics, University of Maryland, 3114 Tydings Hall, College Park MD, 20740. Email: email@example.com. I am indebted to Emel Filiz-Ozbay for her guidance and encouragement. I am also grateful to Lawrence Ausubel, Ian Chadd, Allan Drazen, Daniel Vincent, Arthur Melzer, Erkut Ozbay, John Shea, Yusufcan Masatlioglu, Andrew Sweeting, Sevgi Yuksel and participants of the University of Maryland microeconomics workshop for helpful feedback. All mistakes are my own.


Entrapping investigation doesn't have exact position in our criminal proceedings,which results in obstacles and difficulties in law application.However,entrapping investigation exists in the reality of criminal proceedings.Our country sets the legal confines for the scope,application objects,manner,process control and violation consequences of it.


This paper reports the real time particle sorting technique using the twin MachZehnder interferometer (MZI) based on the liquid waveguide that is integrated onto a single microfluidic chip. The particle is injected into either arms of the coupler between the two MZIs and the different position of the particle can induce the different phase change of the coupler that induces the difference in the interferometer pattern and the output intensity. It can detect the particle of 3 - 4 µm diameter in real-time which chip is promising for particle, cell and molecular sorting applications.


This paper focused on predictive algorithm of network utilization for networked control system (NCS). Auto-Regressive and Moving Average (ARMA) model was presented for general network utilization, which with fixed constant and known white noise. ARMA model parameters are estimated using parameter estimation algorithm of Recursive Extended Least Squares (RELS). Finally, a simulation example was given to realize RELS of ARMA model. Predictive output of network utilization can be obtained and converge to real state.


Sweet corn ( Zea mays L.) contains lutein that have potential as an immunomodulatory agent by improving immune system function. This study was aimed to determine the potential of sweet corn extract lutein as an immunomodulatory. Identification of luteinin the lutein fraction from sweet corn seed by TLC showed that the fraction contains lutein. This TLC data was confirmed using HPLC analysis. Identification of the functional group in the lutein extract using FTIR showed similar results with the lutein standard, i.e. there was a group C=C (Alkenyl), C-C (alkyl), -C=C (aromatic), and -OH (Hydroxyl). Immunomodulatory activity test was performed in vivo using mice peritoneal induced by Staphylococcus aureus . The luteinfraction with doses of 0.15, 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 mg/kg BW/day.???? The results showed that the fraction were active as immunostimulant.


According to housing theory, there are three components that affect household location decision. Binary logit model that explain household moving decision was constructed to find out its determinants and they are life cycle of household, socio-economic characteristics and housing factors. Like prior research results, life cycle was a main factor of its household moving decision and residential satisfaction, commuting time were also appeared in determining household moving decision. On the contrary, there were three factors that are different from those of prior researches. They are ratio of financial asset total asset, housing type and residential cost. Household who lives in non-metropolitan area showed more propensity to move when they had more capacity in financial asset. Its means that they adapt their portfolio through moving behavior. Although there were lots of researches concerning household movement, there were a few researches focusing on its location, so this study found out a meaningful results. If high housing price of metropolitan area and search cost can be included in the model, we can have a more insight for the structure of household moving decision.


Transparent conductors play an increasingly important role in a number of semiconductor technologies. This paper reports on the defects and properties of Cadmium Oxide, a transparent conducting oxide which can be potentially used for full spectrum photovoltaics. We carried out a systematic investigation on the effects of defects in CdO thin films undoped and intentionally doped with In and Ga under different deposition and annealing conditions. We found that at low growth temperatures ( 1 Ω cm due to...


The textile auxiliaries to be developed are described according to the requirements of the ecological textile production technologies,the clean production and continuative development of the textile industry.


Firms use merger and acquisition (M&A) as a strategic tool to restructure their business. We explore the factors that determine the success of M&A in manufacturing. The literature has highlighted financial variables as success factors. However the literatures have not considered how operational factors of target firm have effects on the post-M&A performance of the buyer firm. Thus, we hypothesise that operational factors of the target firm also affect the M&A performance. In particular, we look into three different types of inventory, i.e., raw material, work-in-process, and finished goods, simultaneously. Then, we put forth that the turnover of the target firm's work-in-process inventory, which directly reflects its operational efficiency, is the most important factor. Thus, we conclude that in addition to financial factors, the target firm's operational efficiency determines the M&A performance. We elaborate on the analysis results and discuss economic as well as managerial implications.


In the present investigation tofu was dried in freeze dryer at -40°C temperature. Drying characteristics of tofu viz. drying rates, moisture diffusivity were evaluated and the drying data of tofu was used to calculate the effective diffusion coefficients by the Fick's law equation of diffusion. The moisture diffusivity of tofu was found 2×10 m2/s. Also it was fitted to study the five models. Among the diffusion approach model was found most satisfactory to represent the thin-layer drying of tofu.


The incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), is increasing in children. We recently demonstrated increased epithelial gaps in the non-inflamed duodenum of CD and UC patients, and high capillary flow rates in the duodenum of UC patients using probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE).


Combined granular activated carbon adsorption with membrane filtration for high strength wastewater treatment have been carried out. Raw oleo-chemical wastewater and leachate were used as sample. Ultrafiltration is also relatively low cost, easy to backwash and operates up to 3 barg. Experiment was carried out by passing through the sample to an adsorption column for 10 minutes followed by membrane filtration at different transmembrane pressure of 1, 2 and 3 barg. Oleo-chemical samples were analysed for chemical oxygen demand, turbidity, suspended solid and leachate samples were analysed for chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen according to APHA method. Results showed that the best chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids and turbidity removal for oleo-chemical samples achieved at 2 bar with 64%, 93% and 97%, respectively. Leachate showed the best removal of chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen achieved at 3 bar, with 76% and 87%, respectively. The adsorption process combined with membrane filtration is feasible as an alternative for conventional biological treatment for high strength wastewater. However, GAC exhaustive breakthrough point requires monitoring.


The agriculture society at Manchester has long recommended the making of reservoirs for the water which flows from dung-hills in farm yards. This water is strongly impregnated with the salts and putrid matter of the dung-hill, and by stagnation it acquires a much higher degree of putrescence, and probably becomes proportionably more replete with salts. When thus collected and improved, it is pumped into an hogshead, which being drawn upon a sledge, or small cart, is conveyed into the meadows, for the purpose of sprinkling them with this rich manure.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a new composite model using structural equation modelling (SEM) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for the selection of suppliers.Design/methodology/approach – In this paper the authors have made an attempt to arrive at the supplier selection score using SEM and AHP. An attempt has been made to develop a new composite model using SEM and AHP technique, based on the survey of 151 respondents. Attributes' weightage are found out using cluster analysis.Findings – Based on the output from the composite model, cluster analysis has been carried out to find out the strengths and weakness of each supplier on the influencing factors. Based on these findings, the supplier can improve on factors where they lag and can maintain the factors where they excel.Originality/value – In this paper the authors have made an attempt to arrive at the supplier selection score using SEM and AHP.