An x-ray study of the lead zirconate-bismuth ferrate system

The lead zirconate-bismuth ferrate system was studied employing x-ray and microscopic analysis. Samples were prepared by sintering stoichiometric mixtures of the corresponding oxides followed by air quenching. The results of the analyses show the system to be probably solid solutions over the entire compositional range, although small amounts of other phases are present in some regions. X-ray data indicate a multiple cell, orthorhombic phase, to exist over the range 100-30 mole percent PbZrO₃ . From 100-82 mole percent PbZrO₃ , the addition of BiFeO₃ reduces the distortion of the phase such that a nearly cubic x-ray pattern is obtained at approximately 80 mole percent PbZrO₃. In the same range dielectric measurements suggest antiferroelectric properties. The nearly cubic phase is also confirmed by a minimum in a plot of Curie points versus composition. From 80-30 mole percent PbZrO₃ the structure is only slightly distoxted from that at 80 mole percent PbZrO₃ . In the range 80-50 mole percent PbZrO₃, the system is apparently ferroelectric. Samples of composition greater than 50 mole percent BiFeO₃ are too conductive for meaningful dielectric measurements. A rhombohedral phase corresponding to that of pure BiFeO₃ is observed from approximately 75-100 mole percent BiFeO₃. The electrical properties of the solid solutions in the range from 100-50 mole percent PbZrO₃ are explained on the basis of a structural model of crystalline PbZrO₃ proposed by previous investigators --Abstract, pages ii-iii

Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia managed with acupressure of Nei-Guan (PC6): the report of a case in the emergency department

Background: We described a 75-year-old man with a history of recurrent attacks of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT). The patient presented to the emergency department (ED) with complaints of palpitations and chest tightness. Vagal stimulation maneuvers failed to convert the rhythmMaterials and Methods: Acupressure was applied on Nei-Guan (PC6).Results: Acupressure applied on PC6 immediately converted the tachycardia to a normal sinus rhythm, thus successfully terminated an episode of PSVT complicated with hypotension and chest pain in the patient reportedConclusion: Acupressure of PC6 is easy to perform and safe, and can be done when other resuscitative measures are ongoing the same time. It is harmless and appropriate for certain groups of patients such as the elderly, children and pregnant women and worth trying before the administration of medication.Keywords: Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT), Nei-guan (PC6

Effects of Maternal Undernutrition on Glomerular Ultrastructure in Rat Offspring

BackgroundIntrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) can reduce glomerular number and increase blood pressure in rats. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of maternal undernutrition during late gestation on glomerular ultrastructure in adult rat offspring.MethodsTimed pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Control dams received regular food throughout pregnancy, while experimental dams received 50% of control food intake from days 15-21 of gestation. Glomerular ultrastructure was quantified in male offspring at 16 weeks of age.ResultsThe ultrastructure of the filtration apparatus in the IUGR rat glomeruli was indistinguishable from that in the control rat glomeruli. The relative volumes of the glomerulus occupied by podocytes, capillaries, and mesangium, and the thickness of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), and width of the filtration slit were comparable between control and IUGR rats.ConclusionThese results indicate that glomerular ultrastructure is not affected by maternal undernutrition and suggest that altered glomerular ultrastructure is not a contributory factor to the pathogenesis of hypertension following maternal undernutrition

Coronary artery disease in dialysis patients: What is the optimal therapy?

AbstractCoronary artery disease (CAD) carries a high risk of mortality in dialysis patients. End-stage renal disease is considered to increase the vulnerability of patients with atherosclerosis superimposed on artery calcification. Recently, an increasing prevalence of CAD in dialysis patients has been attributed to a lack of effective prevention and treatment. Further studies have shown that optimal therapies for CAD in dialysis patients remain neglected and unclarified. These therapies include correction of anemia, control of blood pressure, and antiplatelet therapy. Because of bleeding tendencies in dialysis patients, the benefits of antiplatelet therapy and platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors for treating CAD require more research. In addition, a meta-analysis of retrospective studies in 2012 showed that dialysis patients with CAD receiving coronary artery bypass surgery had a lower long-term mortality rate and fewer postoperative cardiac complications than those receiving percutaneous coronary angioplasty. A large randomized, long-term cohort study is necessary to confirm these issues

Interpretation as a factor influencing translation: the case of a biblical metaphor

This paper identifies interpretation as a crucial factor influencing translation of biblical metaphors. Data are drawn from five Chinese Bible translations. Qualitative analysis is conducted. The results show that it is highly likely for translators’ interpretation of biblical metaphors to affect the metaphor translation. More researches probing into translation variations of biblical metaphors in Chinese Bible translations are called for

Interpretation as a factor influencing translation: the case of a biblical metaphor

This paper identifies interpretation as a crucial factor influencing translation of biblical metaphors. Data are drawn from five Chinese Bible translations. Qualitative analysis is conducted. The results show that it is highly likely for translators’ interpretation of biblical metaphors to affect the metaphor translation. More researches probing into translation variations of biblical metaphors in Chinese Bible translations are called for

Unifying and Merging Well-trained Deep Neural Networks for Inference Stage

We propose a novel method to merge convolutional neural-nets for the inference stage. Given two well-trained networks that may have different architectures that handle different tasks, our method aligns the layers of the original networks and merges them into a unified model by sharing the representative codes of weights. The shared weights are further re-trained to fine-tune the performance of the merged model. The proposed method effectively produces a compact model that may run original tasks simultaneously on resource-limited devices. As it preserves the general architectures and leverages the co-used weights of well-trained networks, a substantial training overhead can be reduced to shorten the system development time. Experimental results demonstrate a satisfactory performance and validate the effectiveness of the method.Comment: To appear in the 27th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence and the 23rd European Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 2018. (IJCAI-ECAI 2018