PURPOSE The experiment was designed to evaluate and compare the efficacy of focused shockwave and radial shockwave in symptomatic heel spur treatment. Postural balance tests were used to ensure the objectivity of evaluations. METHODS Forty three patients with symptomatic heel spur were divided into two comparative groups that received respectively focused shockwave therapy (the FSWT group; 20...

Spur gear wears either due to rubbing action between the meshed gears or by the occurrence of unwanted elements like dust particles, metal fragments, etc. which reduces its efficiency and service life. It is always a challenging task to determine the remaining life of a component or the strength of a component once wear has occurred on teeth surface. This paper presents an application of revers...

Contamination of body surfaces can negatively affect many physiological functions. Insects have evolved different adaptations for removing contamination, including surfaces that allow passive self-cleaning and structures for active cleaning. Here, we study the function of the antenna cleaner in Camponotus rufifemur ants, a clamp-like structure consisting of a notch on the basitarsus facing a sp...

Elstar apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh.) on M.9 rootstock received either 5 or 35 g N tree(-1) year(-1) during the first two growing seasons after planting, applied as Ca(NO(3))(2) on a daily basis for nine weeks through a drip irrigation system. During the third growing season (1994), all trees were treated with 20 g N tree(-1) year(-1) as (15)NH(4) (15)NO(3) with applications starting on A...

We examine the impact of import competition on firms’ innovation input and output. We conjecture that U.S. firms view import competition from high-wage countries (HWCs) as “neck-and-neck” competition and will respond by intensifying innovation. In contrast, U.S. firms will reduce innovation in response to import competition from low-wage countries (LWCs), because such competition does not alway...

To date, we have only partially begun to develop an understanding of the channels through which innovation is facilitated within organizations. Although talented individuals are pivotal to supporting knowledge accumulation and renewal, they may be more willing to contribute new ideas if they expect to reap some of the gains that these ideas generate for the firm. In considering this perspective...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS To date, the structure of the nectary spur of Aeridinae has not been studied in detail, and data relating to the nectaries of ornithophilous orchids remain scarce. The present paper compares the structural organization of the floral nectary in a range of Aeridinae species, including both entomophilous and ornithophilous taxa. METHODS Nectary spurs of Ascocentrum ampullaceu...

With the advances in wireless communication technology over last two decades, the use of fractional-N frequency synthesizers has increased widely in modern wireless communication applications due to their high frequency resolution and fast settling time. The performance of a fractional-N frequency synthesizer is degraded due to the presence of unwanted spurious tones (spurs) in the output spect...

The Molnieboi Spur is located at the northwestern margin of the Katun Range, the highmountain part of the Altai Mountains. Unique geological and geophysical characteristics of the Molnieboi Spur made it an attractive target for complex botanical studies including botanical, soil, geological, geochemical, geophysical, radiation, and soil gas surveys and analyses. In this paper, we present the fi...