Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represent global public health problems with high disease-related morbidity and mortality. However, the interaction between both diseases remains unclear.

 In a novel murine model, cigarette smoke (CS)-induced lung injury was combined with a CKD model (CS-CKD model). In 2,314 patients of the prospective multi-center COSYCONET study, urinary Dickkopf-3 (DKK3), a renal tubular stress marker, was quantified. The association between urinary DKK3 and trajectories of FEV1 and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), exercise capacity, risk of exacerbation, and mortality was determined (follow-up 37.1 months).

 In the CS-CKD model, CKD was associated with higher systemic and pulmonary inflammation, and the combination of CKD and CS significantly aggravated kidney inflammation as well as fibrosis and increased renal expression of DKK3. Abrogation of Dkk3 attenuated kidney injury and pulmonary inflammation alike. In COPD patients, higher urinary DKK3 was associated with rapidly declining FEV1 (OR 3.36, P<0.0001), higher risk for exacerbation, lower 6-minute walking distance, and higher all-cause mortality (HR 1.49, P=0.015). Importantly, higher urinary DKK3 was also associated with declining eGFR during follow-up (OR 2.23, P=0.0005). Neither eGFR nor proteinuria were associated with lung or kidney dysfunction during follow-up.

 In summary, the present study identified a strong pathophysiological link between lung and kidney dysfunction, which is at least partially mediated by DKK3. Urinary DKK3 allows identification of COPD patients at increased risk for deteriorating pulmonary and kidney function as well as adverse outcomes. These patients might particularly benefit from preventive therapeutic strategies as a personalized-medicine approach.


The author argues, that the philosophy of science not only formulates problem situations in modern education, but also proposes some methods of solving the given problem situations. It means, that the application of philosophical analysis, heuristic techniques of learning in concrete frameworks of educational practice is vital. It is necessary to increase the theoretical foundations of education as a whole.


According to Stahl's textbook of essential psychopharmacology, sleep is considered to be "vital sign" related to psychiatry and is considered equally important and in the same league by psychopharmacologists as pain, while evaluating the psychiatric health of an individual. The evidence is there supporting the fact that inappropriate sleep may not only affect an individual's mental and physical balance but can even go up to an extent that the person may depart from putting up a civilized behavior in the society and exhibiting appropriate moral principles.


Traditionally, an assessment of efficiency of regional housing policy is based on studies of housing construction sector, housing market, investment attractiveness, migration of economically active population and others. But the current stage of urbanization in Russia is accelerated by digitalization and smart technologies in cities, which makes a new type of housing policy assessment necessary. The article presents a four-level methodology for assessing the efficiency of regional housing policy, which evaluates the regional social and economic policy in the construction industry for urban districts with the population over 100,000 citizens in conditions of digitalization. The methodological basis for calculating the integral indicator of housing policy efficiency is presented and visualized in vectors. The author's methodology is based on the methodological approach of S.A. Ayvazyan and the methodology of the urban digitalization index "IQ of Cities", which was created by the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation in cooperation with Lomonosov Moscow State University. In the process of calculation the final integral indicator of efficiency of housing policy the authors use three equivalent integrated indicators of the 2nd level, such as economic, housing and digital indicators. The paper presents 10 indices for each integral indicator of the 3rd level and explains their economic meaning. The calculation of these indicators is carried out by means of the basic indicators of the 4th level on the basis of official statistics. The study presents the results of testing the authors' methodological approach, which was made on the basis of official regional statistics. In the process of testing different cities from all federal districts of the Russian Federation were selected, so their results had a large spread. The purpose of such selection was to demonstrate the efficiency of the model and its suitability for the federal and regional authorities as a tool for planning and control.


Widely used in various countries, roselle ( Hibiscus sabdariffa ) is used for culinary, medicinal, and ornamental purposes. Due to the growing need for more nutritious foods free of toxic substances and aiming at the development of environmentally-correct alternatives, this study aimed to evaluate the growth, development, and physicochemical quality of roselle under organic compost levels. The experiment was conducted at the Horticulture Unit of the Federal University of Acre, consisting of the application of four levels of organic compost, corresponding to the following treatments: T1 - 0 (control), T2 - 200 mL, T3 - 400 mL, and T4 - 600 mL, deposited into planting holes spaced 0.5 m in three planting rows approximately 10 m long and spaced by 1 m. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with five blocks. The data were subjected to regression analysis at 5% of probability. The growth, production, and physicochemical quality variables of the leaves were analyzed. Significant results were obtained for plant height and the number of branches, with the levels of 325 mL and 142 mL standing out as the best to provide the highest plant height (276 cm) and number of branches (14), respectively. There was no significant difference between the compost levels and the production parameters and physiochemical analyses of the leaves. The organic compost promoted the growth in height and the number of branches of Hibiscus sabdariffa.


Responding to declining defense budgets and increased world competition, major manufacturing companies in the rotorcraft industry are pursuing a series of proven textbook remedies. These include consolidating operations, reducing overhead and improving productivity. But more and more, rotorcraft industry leaders are moving toward new strategic alliances which rely on international and bilateral cooperation. Driving this development is an awareness that strategic alliances are essential in order to compete in a global business environment. The reasons lie in the enormous costs and risks of many new programs which dictate teaming arrangements of one sort or another, the need to access new technologies or specialized abilities, and, last, the need to gain market access and marketing support in different regions of the world. The benefits of risk sharing and teaming arrangements include reduced risk and costs, shortened development time, improved company performance and better service to customers.


Proposes building key indicators system in power grid enterprises in three aspects.First proposes architecture of key indicators,including the relationship of the classification,hierarchical methods;second,proposes indicator cluster management methods,which define responsibility of all departments and units in power grid enterprises;At last,proposes performance evaluation based on analysis of key performance indicators,which provide reasonable and effective decision-making ancillary support.Key performance indicators presented has important theoretical value and application prospect.


Current trends and the role of international tourism in the small island developing states are considered. Many of the issues and challenges associated with sustainable tourism development are still very much in evidence today. It is apparent that the shifttowards ecological tourism based on sustainable tourism development is occurring apace both within the tourism industry itself and in tourist destination regions.


Digital sequences and nets are among the most popular kinds of low discrepancy sequences and sets and are often used for quasi-Monte Carlo quadrature rules. Several years ago Owen proposed a method of scrambling digital sequences and recently Faure and Tezuka have proposed another method. This article considers the discrepancy of digital nets under these scramblings. The first main result of this article is a formula for the discrepancy of a scrambled digital (?, t, m, s)-net in base b with n=?bm points that requires only O(n) operations to evaluate. The second main result is exact formulas for the gain coefficients of a digital (t, m, s)-net in terms of its generator matrices. The gain coefficients, as defined by Owen, determine both the worst-case and random-case analyses of quadrature error.


Decision-making theory suggests that jurors will tend to choose the verdict that maximizes the expected gains minus the expected losses of each decision. Capital punishment (as compared to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment) would seem to increase the perceived negative consequences of a guilty verdict without affecting the consequences of a non-guilty verdict. This should make guilty decisions less likely. To test this prediction, questionnaires were sent to all jurors who had served on 32 first degree murder trials in which capital punishment was not in effect and who reached guilty verdicts. They were asked whether their verdicts in the murder trial would have been affected if capital punishment had been a possible sentence. Thirty percent of the respondents replied that they would have been less likely to vote guilty, whereas only 3% said they would have been more likely to vote guilty. Of the 32 separate jury panels, 30 had at least one person who indicated that he or she would have been less likely to vote guilty; and in 7 trials, 50% or more of those who responded gave this answer. The results appear to indicate that the possibility of a death sentence reduces the likelihood of a guilty verdict.


Diaphragmatic hernias refer to a diaphragmatic defect that may be adquired or congenit. In this pathology, abdominal content protrudes into the thorax; its origin is mainly due to blunt and penetrating traumas. The diagnosis relies on chest radiographs that show hollow viscera that contain liquid or air above the diaphragmatic level. Early diagnosis precludes respiratory and circulatory disfunction due to diaphragmatic motility impairment..


The recent paper by Jeltema & Profumo(2014) claims that contributions from \ion{K}{18} and \ion{Cl}{17} lines can explain the unidentified emission line found by Bulbul et al 2014 and also by Boyarsky et al, 2014a, 2014b. We show that their analysis relies upon incorrect atomic data and inconsistent spectroscopic modeling. We address these points and summarize in the appendix the correct values for the relevant atomic data from AtomDB.


The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) plays a key role in cholesterol homeostasis, and its inhibition represents an effective therapy to lower low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) levels. In this study, we examined the impact of the PCSK9 rs11591147 loss‐of‐function (LOF) variant on liver damage in a multicenter collection of patients at risk of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), in clinical samples and experimental models.


Objective:To observe the apoptosis of renal tubular epithelial cell line LLC-PK1 and expression levels of cell cycle regulatory protein cyclin E/CDK2 and p27Kip1 after being treated with gentamicin, and to probe into the relationship between apoptosis and cell cycle regulatory proteins. Methods:LLC-PK1 cells were treated with gentamicin (0. 2-3. 2 mg/ml) for 24-96 h. The growth inhibiting effect of gentamicin on cells were measured by 3-(4,5 dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) method. Agarose gel electrophoresis was performed to observe apoptosis of cells. Flow cytometry was used to determine the apoptotic indices (AT) of cells and distribution of cell cycle. Western Blotting was used to determine the expression of G1 phase-related regulatory protein cyclin E/CDK2 and p27Kip1 during the course of apoptosis. Results: Gentamicin inhibited the growth of LLC-PK1 cells. Agarose gel electrophoresis revealed the appearance of DNA ladder,a biochemical hallmark of apoptosis. AI increased linearly with the increase of gentamicin concentrations and times of incubation. Cell cycle analysis revealed G1 phase cells increased linearly with the increase of gentamicin concentrations. Western blotting showed that the protein levels of cyclin E and CDK2 were down-regulated, whereas those of p27Kip1 were up-regulated after treated with gentamicin. Conclusion: Gentamicin-induced apoptosis of LLC-PK1 cells is closely related to the increased expression of p27Kip1 and decreased expression of cyclin E and CDK2.


Vertical profiles of chemical components in snow cover at Mt. Nishi-Hodaka-dake, the Northern Japan Alps, were obtained over three consecutive winters (2001/02, 2002/03 and 2003/04) for the investigation of long-range transportation of chemical substances from the Asian continent to high mountainous areas in Japan. The δ 34 S value of non sea-salt (NSS) SO 4 2- ions in 2002/03 snow was also measured. Concentrations of anthropogenic components such as NSS-SO 4 2 and NΟ 3 - in snow range from almost 0 to over 100 μeq 1.Soil derived components (NSS-Ca 2+ and NSS-Mg 2+ ) were also observed in snow, especially in dirt layers, suggesting the transportation of Asian continental desert dust. The NSS-SO 4 2 /NO 3 - (S/N) ratio in snow typically ranges from 0.3 to 6.3. A considerable number of samples had higher S/N ratios than those found in Tokyo, Japan (about 2), while some samples had a much higher ratio (about 4-6), more akin to values found in Beijing, China (about 4). Snowfalls at Mt. Nishi-Hodaka-Dake are considered to include acid contaminants transported from both the Asian continent and the industrial areas of Japan, with a variable proportion depending on weather conditions. High S/N ratios seem to be caused by severe winter pressure patterns. The Nss-δ 34 S values range from +3‰ to + 7‰. These ratios are evidently higher than that afforded by petroleum usage in Japan (-1‰), and is in accord with that of coal used in both northern China (+7.4‰) and the Russian Far East (+3.4‰). These δ 34 S values also suggest the occurrence of long-range transportation of NSS-SO 4 2- from the Asian continent, independent of chemical composition.


The experiment was conducted on the use of prebiotics "Spirulina platensis" and "Lactusan" in pig breeding. The goal was to determine the feasibility of feeding the drugs. The experiment was conducted in the farm of an individual entrepreneur in the Rostov region. Three groups of large white breed animals were formed, including two groups of 30 piglets each receiving prebiotics: the first, the prebiotic Spirulina, the second, Lactusan, the third group of the same number did not receive prebiotics and served as control. It was established that in sows, which, up to four months of age, were given with food prebiotics "Spirulina" by 0.25-0.50 g and "Lactusan" by 10-20 g were more resistant to opportunistic microflora. It has been established that the prebiotic "Spirulina" should be added to feed of 0.25 g per day per pig from the age of two days up to two months and at 0.50 g per day up to four months. "Lactusan" is added to feed at a dose of 10 g per animal per day, starting from seven days old up to two months, and 20.0 g per day-up to four months old.It was established that in sows, which, up to the age of four months, were given 0.25-0.50 g each with "Spirulina" feed and 10-20 g Lactusan, resistance to conditionally pathogenic micro flora was higher. The authors propose to add to the feed "Spirulina" 0.25 g per day from seven days of age and 0.50 g per day from two months of age.


M IRHAM TAUFIK NASUTION. Monitoring Radial Growth of Kristal Guava (Psidium Guajava L.) Based on Optoelectronic Sensor. Supervised by SLAMET WIDODO. Monitoring radial growth of kristal guava is very important to show the influence of the environment and other activities on its productivity growth. Trunk, branches, and fruits radial growth showed that the response to grow a crop may change due to environmental conditions. A new device for measuring the growth of the fruit based on optoelectronic sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) has been developed. The principle is based on the work of optoelectronic device which detects alternating white and blacks narrow bar printed on reflective tapes. Reflective tapes would be installed encircling the fruit. The movement of reflective tapes will follow the radial growth of the fruit so that the infrared sensor on the optoelectronic would response reflective tapes movement. This device is designed to measure object continuously and long-term monitor without periodic maintenance. This device is designed based on IoT so the growth could be monitored in realtime. The average success rate of device is 97.54%, while average error is 0.52%.


The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for driving an active matrix type organic light emitting diode display panel, an active matrix organic light emitting diode display panel drive device of the present invention, a DAC, a column selection circuit, a current data memory, a feedback circuit, an output circuit, a current-driven OLED pixel. By driving a plurality of columns by using a single DAC, where it can reduce the chip area of the drive circuit to reduce the impact on the process error. Further, by feeding back the OLED to the current comparator and current input data, and modulating the drive current, it is possible to more fast programming process. An active matrix type organic light emitting diode, OLED, display, panel, the driving


Purpose. To clarify the vasodilatory mechanism of unoprostone isopropyl (unoprostone), a PG F2a related compound used for treatment of glaucoma, we have investigated the effect of this drug and its metabolites on isolated rabbit ciliary artery in vitro. Methods. Under the dissecting microscope, ciliary arteries were prepared from albino rabbit eyes and mounted in a myograph system. The effects of unoprostone isopropyl and other agents were investigated using isometric tension recording methods. Results. Unoprostone induced a dose-dependent relaxation in ciliary arteries that were pre-contracted with high-K solution, 10µM histamine or 10µM PG F2a. Neither unoprostone metabolite M1 or M2 had a relaxant effect on the precontracted vessels. Relaxation was unaffected by inhibition of adenylyl cyclase with SQ 22536, guanylyl cyclase with ODQ, or maxi-K channels with iberiotoxin. Pretreatment with unoprostone did not affect histamine-induced transient contractions in Ca 2+ -free solution. However, SKF96365, a general Ca 2+ channel blocker, evoked relaxation similar to unoprostone with respect to amplitude and rate of onset. Conclusions. Unoprostone, but not its metabolites M1 and M2, relaxed pre-contracted rabbit ciliary artery. The mechanism of vascular smooth muscle relaxation by unoprostone differs from that of IOP reduction and does not depend on adenylyl cyclase, guanylyl cyclase, or maxi-K channels. Relaxation may be mediated by inhibition of Ca 2+ entry, possibly through capacitative Ca 2+ channels.


This living guideline by Lamontagne and colleagues (BMJ 2020;370:m3379) has been updated. For the latest update, visit doi:. The latest version of this WHO living guidance does not include any changes to the strength or direction of recommendations, but rather has new data to support existing recommendations: • The use of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir is now considered to be an option also for pregnant and breastfeeding women with non-severe covid-19 • Evidence of reduction of in vitro neutralisation activity supports the strong recommendations against the use of the neutralising monoclonal antibodies sotrovimab and casirivimab-imdevimab


This article proposes a smart system of measurement of and control over a local technosphere's condition. A basic element of this system, which allows for minimizing control errors, is a smart sensor which gives an opportunity to measure, transform, and automatically detect and correct measurement results. In order to minimize control errors within threshold values of parameters, we suggest transforming the sensitivity of a smart sensor using the Monte Carlo method. Structural schemes of a smart measurement and control system and an intelligent sensor are proposed, as well as an algorithm for transforming the sensitivity of an intelligent sensor based on the Monte Carlo method.


The threshold of the Abbott TDx Cocaine Metabolite Assay (TDx) was lowered from 300 ng/mL benzoylecgonine (BE) to 50 ng/mL by dilution of calibrators and controls with drug free urine. The between-run precision of the modified assay was evaluated by analyzing the urine control samples containing 50, 100, and 500 ng/mL BE for over a 12-week period which yielded CVs of <8.2%. Five hundred consecutive urine samples from pregnant women and neonates tested for BE by EMIT-d.a.u. with the cut-off value of 300 ng/mL were also tested by the modified TDx assay with the new cutoff value of 50 ng/mL. All positive immunoassay results were confirmed by Gas Chromotography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). The modified TDx assay resulted in 27 more positive samples than the EMIT-d.a.u. Screening urine samples obtained from the Prenatal Clinic and OB-ER by the modified TDx assay yielded a 70% (51/30) increase in positive BE results compared with EMIT-d.a.u. Lowering the threshold of TDx assay to 50 ng/mL enhances the detection of BE in this population at high risk for the tragic consequences of cocaine abuse


During the last decade, a large amount of research has been published in Taiwan on different strategies for the reduction of the urban heat island effect. The most important strategy for reducing ambient temperature and mitigating the heat island effect is encouraging citizens to build a green roof on their own buildings. In order to analyze the effect of green roofs on the thermal environment, this paper collects temperature and humidity data from two buildings with different roof greening levels and tries to analyze the relationship between roof greening and the thermal environment in Taipei city. The result of this research can give citizens an idea what kind of thermal environment they can get if they make some greening on their roofs; moreover, it also can provide some useful data to governments for calculating the environmental benefit if they carry out the green roof policy.


The warships are designed over a period of 2 to 5 years. The sister ships may continue to be built up to 15 years from the class ship (first of a kind) getting into service, with little design modifications and improvements. The requirement of a common hull design has emerged, more important than ever, in light of worldwide trend of curtailing defense budgets and increasing focus to extract maximum out of a single design through modular approach. Utilizing modular concept a single optimized hull will be designed; and the two variants will have a major difference of a plug only. The types of hullform considered are both conventional and unconventional. The common capabilities, payload and space arrangement are similar on both variant V1 & V2. Major advantages of a common hull design are reduced design & build costs, ease of personnel training, ease of maintenance and common support infrastructure including inventory management. Though the commonality of hull forms and system architecture will add design and build complexity, the advantages to be gained are numerous. The enhanced capabilities and payload are provided in V1 through addition of a plug, whereas the low end V2 variant is envisaged to have a high export potential due to marginally low cost.


Railway infrastructure managers must deal with new operators' requests for capacity. Planning the construction of new infrastructure or rehabilitation of existing infrastructure must be carried out very carefully due to the huge investment needed. This paper examines a Constraint Programming (CP) model of the railway infrastructure saturation problem. The CP model is applied to assess the capacity of a junction or a station. Two resolution algorithms have been developed and combined to be applied to an actual case study.


The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is being developed as a space instrument to observe high energy primary cosmic rays, especially positrons/electrons and gamma rays with an energy range from 5 GeV to 10 TeV. The DAMPE detector is intended to operate on a satellite orbit in future, and its major scientific objectives are cosmic ray, gamma ray astronomy and dark matter particles. A Bismuth Germanate(BGO) calorimeter, which composed of a stack of BGO crystals, is a critical sub-detector for measuring the energy of cosmic particles, distinguishing positrons/electrons and gamma rays from hadron background, and providing trigger information. In year 2012 a prototype model of DAMPE was accomplished, including a scaled-down BGO calorimeter and its readout electronics. After ground-based cosmic ray tests in Nanjing, China, we successfully carried out an accelerator experiment at CERN, in October, 2012, using the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). The development of the readout electronics and the performances during experiments is to be presented in this paper.


In the present article, a search for antecedents of organisational commitment in quality of work life, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction among university teachers was made. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the fit of the model that identified quality of work life, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction statistically significant correlates and antecedents of organisational commitment. Our models provided a good fit. Direct and indirect effects of exogenous variables on endogenous variables were estimated and resultant percent of variance accounted into organisational commitment was reported. Implications and suggestions for future research were proposed. These findings provide the knowledge for mangers to set an eye on these psychological variables as valuable factors to enhance commitment of employees.


According to important role of cash flows statement information, this research tries to predict firms' financial distress through combining components of cash flows statement based on Iranian accounting standards. Also, we want to detect relationship between cash flows and firms financial distress. This research is empirical in term of goal and is descriptive in term of administration; required information is collected using library regression method. Also, financial distress criterion determined in article 141 of commercial law is used for separating firms. In this research, we predict financial distress through alarm that positive or negative sign of five components of cash flow statement give about future financial situation of firms. In this line, we use binary logistic regression for 30 distress and 30 nondistress firms during 2003 till 2013. Research findings show that some combination of cash flow statement are useful for evaluating firm performance and predicting financial distress.


Nowadays high-power fiber lasers with ultrashort pulse duration are widely used in different fields of science and technology. Spectral filters are used for spectral filtration in master oscillators, after amplifiers and to remove Raman spectral part from the output signal in ultrashort pulse lasers. The process of modern fiber filter fabrication is time-consumable and involves quite expensive technologies. A new costless and easy method to process hollow-core anti-resonant fibers into fiber filters is presented in [1]–[2]. It shown that it is possible to control the position and width of transmission bands by heating and tapering of HCFs. Such a method allows to fabrication of a wide range of spectral filters using only one piece of HCF. However, the spectral filters presented in [1] could not be used in fiber lasers, because of the big core diameter of the used HCF.


Comparison of optical absorption spectrumand magnetic field dependent susceptibility of Polyaniline (PANI) and Zirconium doped polyaniline is made. The effect of doping agents on polyaniline backbone with electrical conductivity and magnetic susceptibility is discussed. Doping by Zirconiumcompound may alter the magnetic property and electrical conductivity of polyaniline. Zirconiumdoped PANI is promisingmaterial for technological applications.


We like to find a logic stronger than first order such that: on the one hand it satisfies the 0-1 law, e.g. for the random graph script G_{n, 1/2} and on the other hand there is a formula varphi(x) such that for no first order psi (x) do we have: for every random enough G_{n, 1/2} are the formulas varphi(x), \psi(x) equivalent in it.


Change detection is a major application domain for image analysis techniques in remote sensing. Besides the analysis of multitemporal imagery there is also the need to update or revise previously created thematic data with the help of recently acquired imagery. The emergence of object-based image analysis provides another approach to the change detection problem and derived methods and algorithms have been applied to it accordingly. Simultaneously there is continuous demand for techniques that produce results that are GIS-ready. In this study we put forward a proposal for automated change analysis for thematic data using an objectbased image analysis methodology. It is implemented within the scope of IMALYS, a software system able to conduct a comprehensive object-based investigation of remote sensing imagery including segmentation, feature retrieval and classification. Segmentation is conducted based on a hybrid approach with the emphasis on a low-degree-of-freedom system. Retrievable attributes for the created segments include a number of built-in features as well as ones defined by the user. For identification of real-world objects the presented software implements a two-stage process consisting of an unsupervised classification based on self-organizing maps and a supervised classification based on a context-sensitive object model. For change detection the latter process can be provided with training data based on existing thematic mappings. Using statistical analysis the presented software is capable to relate the underlying imagery to previous mappings or classifications results. The result of this process is a measure of probability of a certain segment to be still part of the previously assigned class. As this process is based on statistical calculations it is not only suitable to be applied on large areas and data volumes but also dependent on such conditions. The introduced software is integrated in a GIS-environment and its results can be therefore easily incorporated in following workflows and processes. * Corresponding author.


Investigations into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust and mental health services in Essex are a further two examples of negligence which have caused death or serious harm to patients. Reports into Shrewsbury's maternity services indicate an 'atmosphere of fear' which had been growing for almost two decades. The arrogant and bullying manner in which some services are being managed demonstrates a serious issue in how parts of the NHS are being run. John Finch, a freelance journalist specialising in the law and ethics relating to healthcare, explains his stance on the bullying nature which has sadly become engrained among certain healthcare services. He believes that bullies within the management of the NHS should hold some level of responsibility for the increasing statistics of patient harm, as well as for the callous manner in which they try to avoid the responsibility for deficiencies in the system that they are in charge of.


THE manuscripts that have been submitted for this issue of the REVIEW exhibit two outstanding facts relating to research in science and mathematics during the past three years. The first of these relates to the total amount of research reported during this three-year period as compared with that of the three years ending in 1942. When the bibliographies for the seven chapters of this report are compared with those for the corresponding topics in the 1942 REVIEW, it will be seen that the total number of references for the 1942 issue was 402, as compared with 241 for the present issue. This fact would be disturbing were it not for the many disruptions caused by the war. A second and more hopeful fact, which has been pointed out by several of the contributors to this issue, is that while the total number of studies is less than that of three years ago, there are more truly excellent studies represented in the present bibliographies. If the appearance of these excellent studies is an indication of the maturity of the scientific study of educational problems, this is promising indeed. Perhaps even the paper shortage may be contributing something of value in making it impossible to print some of the more trivial studies which scarcely deserve classification as research. As will be seen from the table of contents, the committee in charge of this issue of the REVIEW has purposely followed the main classifications used in the 1942 number. This is due, in part, to the committee's opinion that the 1942 issue gave an effective treatment to the material, and partly to the fact that following a similar organization facilitates reference from one report to the other. The committee is indebted to three contributors who were not members of the committee, but who assisted in the preparation of material. Charles C. Weidemann, who was originally a member of the present committee, asked to be relieved on account of ill health, and his withdrawal was accepted with regret. The authors of the various chapters have aimed to be selective in their choice of materials rather than to include all published studies bearing on their topics. Even so, there will appear some references which, in the minds of certain readers, may seem to be out of place in a review of research. In some cases these questionable studies are included because they carry the implications of other research or give mature, critical evaluations of research; and in other cases, as certain courses of study, because they reflect rather well the extent to which scientific research has affected the organization of teaching materials. Practically all of the references included are of American origin. Under the conditions of war, no review of foreign research was feasible.


A 40-kA Nb/sub 3/Al cable-in-conduit conductor has been developed for the toroidal field coils of fusion reactors, because Nb/sub 3/Al has excellent mechanical performance. This conductor consists of 405 copper-stabilized multifilamentary strands inserted into a CuNi circular conduit. The Nb/sub 3/Al strands are fabricated by the Jelly-roll process with a diameter of 1.22 mm. This conductor could be operated up to a current of 46 kA at an external field of 11.2 T. Accordingly, Nb/sub 3/Al promises to soon become a useful superconductor for large-scale high-field applications, such as fusion machines. >


This paper comprehensively analyzes the effect of surface mass loading on GPS height time series in terms of weighted root mean square (WRMS), annual timescale, velocity and noise properties. Considering the complexity of the hydrological process, we adopt the same atmospheric loading and nontidal ocean loading estimated from the TUGO-m barotropic model (ATMMO) and different hydrological loadings estimated from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) and the Global Land Surface Discharge Model (LSDM). The results indicate that the combined ATMMO & GLDAS outperforms the combined ATMMO & LSDM in reducing the WRMS of GPS height times series due to the annual phase asynchrony between GPS height and ATMMO & LSDM. Furthermore, cross-wavelet transform-based (XWT-based) semblance analysis is adopted to quantitatively express the annual phase relationship between GPS height time series and different loading model combinations. The results show that (1) mass loading is the main driving force for the annual fluctuation in GPS height, and (2) the annual term of ATMMO & GLDAS better matches the GPS height time series than ATMMO & LSDM. Consequently, it is concluded that the LSDM may not work well in Eurasia with its current accuracy. Finally, we investigate the impacts of the mass loading correction on site velocity and noise properties. For most sites, the velocity change can reach 0.1 mm/year after the loading correction, indicating that the influence of mass loading should not be ignored in the construction of millimeter-level earth reference frames. However, for some sites, the velocity uncertainty is increased due to undesirable changes in noise properties, suggesting that using the mass loading model to correct GPS height time series is potentially feasible but not sufficient.


The characteristics and operating principle of ultraviolet(UV) imaging detection technology were discussed,and the technical characteristics of UV imaging were compared with those of the traditional preventive test and infrared detection.The application of the UV imaging detection technology in the electrical corona discharge detection was introduced through engineering cases,and the influencing factors on UV imaging detection were analyzed.Based on the analysis,the problems to be solved in practical application of the UV imaging detection technology were pointed out,such as ultraviolet photons calibration,evaluation of the consequences of corona discharge,and development of the protocol and criteria for UV imaging detection.


Guangdong province is one of the typhoon regions. Typhoon catastrophe causes a big economic loss to Guangdong province every year. Because of the economic influence of typhoon catastrophe,the defense of typhoon becomes an important topic vital to the people's livelihood. This paper tries to present some feasible ideas for the construction of a recovery system for typhoon catastrophe from the three phases including pre-disaster defense and reduction system,in-disaster crisis management,and post-disaster loss evaluation and compensation system.


The various challenges posed for the Catholic Church in New Zealand during 1870-1910 by the tide of temperance and prohibitionist sentiment are discussed. The impact of the alcohol debate on the New Zealand Catholic community as well as the emergence of Catholic temperance societies, inspired by the work of the Capuchin priest Father Theobald Mathew are highlighted.


1 Introduction If one concerns oneself with questions of the organization and reform of the police from a political-science perspective, then it is appropriate to analyze these as aspects of a policy field. Even though the police is fundamentally different from other authorities (and in particular from private enterprises) (see Jaschke 2006:154), in the sense that it has a monopoly on force with its legalised, regimented and controlled readiness to implement it, at its core it is just as much a component of public authority as other official organizations (see Lange/Schenck 2004a: 336). Police policy is therefore a special case within public administration policy. To be more specific, police policy deals with "the fundamental questions concerning the structure and organisational set-up [.], aimed at the deployment and use of personnel and resources of the police authorities, as well as the way in which police authority is administered" (Lange/Schenck 2004a: 134). As with administrative policy in general, police policy is frequently a reform policy and must be analysed accordingly (see Bogumil/Jann 2009:300). Consequently this article examines how the organisation adapts to changing demands, the procedure, persons and instruments of the police, and shows the difficulties of the processes behind them. If one analyses police organizational reform or police management issues in Germany against this background, it would be advisable in view of the heterogeneity of the policy landscape (see GroB/Frevel/Dams 2008) not to consider all police forces, which often have contradictory development tendencies, but to study the process of one force as an example. This article is conceived as a case study and--as in the comparative study "Het betwiste politiebestel. De organisatie van de politie in Nederland, Belgie, Denemarken, Duitsland EN het Verenigd Koninkrijk vergeleken" (Cachet et al. 2009)--will look at the police in North-Rhine/Westphalia (NRW). The federal state with the largest population and nationally the largest police force was selected, since from there important impulses emanate for the development of the German police as a whole: * Advocates (see Gintzel/Mollers 1987, Dietel/ Kniesel 1985) of the idea of a "citizens' police force", which began emerging in the mid 1980s, and whose activities were based more on etatist ideals ("The police as the personification of state power") rather than the belief in the sovereignty of the people according to Art. 20 [section]2GG, predominantly came from (the police of) NRW (see Winter 1998:207 f). The reference to the constitution, to its principles and fundamental rights, which the police have to protect, provides police action with the legitimate basis according to the concept of "citizens' police". * In the early 1990s, the state Minister of the Interior for NRW commissioned the management consultant Kienbaum GmbH (see 1991) to carry out an evaluation of the function of the security police. The introduction of the dual career path in the police was primarily based on this appraisal--even beyond the boundaries of NRW. * With the implementation of reforms under the umbrella of "New Public Management" (NPM), NRW has performed a pioneering role in Germany since the beginning of the 1990s (see Lange/Schenck 2004b: 53 f). The organizational reforms carried out in NRW within the police and the corresponding understanding of management can thus in principle be seen as the prototype for NPM reforms in Germany, taking conditions specific to the state into account. (1) 2 The police in Germany Police authority of the "federal states" ("Lander"), in other words the member states of the Federal Republic of Germany can, against the background the past 60 years, be seen as an extension of German federalism. "The police are a concern of the federal state" has long been an important statement for the policy field of internal security in the Federal Republic of Germany. …


Sets of technical coefficients are exploited for the development of input-output models of the productive structure of an economy. The models are refined to incorporate country-specific behaviours. The increased flexibility of the enhanced semi-input-output model permits a more confident investigation of the economywide effects associated with a new project in the mineral sector of a developing country.


In the last few years, the relationship between art and public spaces has become one of the most important issues in the realm of applied research. The connection between contemporary creative works and publics is gradually migrating from artistic spaces to public spaces. Economic and social mutations have caused certain Tunisian cities to loose their cultural or historical identities, and thus, their originality. Consequently, saving these public sculptures in order to preserve the cultural heritage of the city has become a top priority that necessitates a quick intervention. The intervention of professionals (developer, architect, artist, urban geographer, town planner, etc…) is necessitated to bring back to the city its soul and its uniqueness to maintain its identity. It is an urge, as a matter of fact, to render to the city's public spaces their weight to guarantee the perseverance of the country's cultural heritage thanks to public sculptures. In the light of this reflexion, we have chosen to consider this subject taking three Tunisian cities as case studies, namely, Tunis –capital of Tunisia, Moknine and Sousse, situated in the region coast of the country. The necessitated policies to save the architectural and, thus, historical identity of historical monuments vary from one city to another since every space has got its inherent urban and architectural structure. We are interested in the artistic intervention as a means of mediation-communication that facilitates the transmission of history. In this regard, the Tunisian agenda is oriented towards the reanimation of historical monuments whereby art is deployed to modernize and update the Tunisian cultural heritage


On 24 August, 2001, Air Transat Flight 236, an Airbus A330-243 aircraft was flying from Toronto to Lisbon over the Atlantic Ocean at 4244N/2305W when the crew noticed a fuel imbalance at 05:33 UTC (UTC is known as "Zulu" time in aviation, denoted "Z". I shall use this designation). Upon checking the fuel quantities, the crew saw that the imbalance was close to 7 tonnes of fuel. (The aircraft uses about 5 tonnes per hour in cruise flight.) They followed the FUEL IMBALANCE procedure from memory. At 05:45Z, they began a diversion to Lajes airport on Terceira Island in the Azores, a set of mid-Atlantic islands which are part of Portugal. At 06:13Z they informed air traffic control (ATC) that the right engine had flamed out. At 06:26Z, they further informed ATC that the left engine had also flamed out and that a ditching at sea was possible. At this point, the aircraft was about 65 nautical miles (1nm = 6000ft =1.15 statute miles = 1.85km) from the airport at Flight Level 345 (= 34,500 feet pressure altitude = 34,500 ft altitude in an internationally-normed atmosphere). And it was a glider. The aircraft glided in to the airport, carried out an engines-out visual approach at night, in good weather conditions and good visibility. The aircraft landed fast on the runway, with reduced braking possibilities due to lack of some electrical systems, and came to a halt. It was evacuated; some passengers were hurt during the evacuation. The lower landing gear of the aircraft was more or less destroyed through the hard landing and extreme braking. But no one died.


The adduct prepared from dichloro-biscyclopentadienyl titanium and triethyl aluminium at a molar ratio 1:1 was studied as an active catalyst for the polymerisation of styrene. The overall rate of polymerisation was found to be first-order in monomer, and half-order in adduct concentration; it was also time dependent, and decreased markedly with time. The molecular weights of the polymer samples also increased with conversion. The values of the transfer constants to monomer, toluene and adduct, and the activation energies of the various steps in the overall polymerisation scheme were consistent with a radical mechanism involving the reduction of Ti (IV) to Ti (III). This mechanism is substantiated by a kinetic study of the deceleration of the polymerisation and of the reduction reaction.


We present a statistical study of in-situ shock acceleration of ~1-100 keV solar wind suprathermal electrons at Earth’s bow shock, by using Wind 3D plasma and energetic particle measurements in ambient solar wind and MMS measurements in shock downstream. We pick out 74 shock cases (1 quasi-parallel shock, 73 quasi-perpendicular shocks) during 2015 October - 2017 January, and classify them into 4 types according to their energy spectra in downstream: type 0 (23 cases) without significant electron acceleration after shock passage, type 1 (24 cases) with power-law spectrum, J ∝εβ1_dn, at ~0.8-10 keV, type 2 (16 cases) with power-law-spectrum at ~0.8-10 keV and significant flux enhancement above 30 keV, and type 3 (11 cases) with a clear double-power-law spectrum, J ∝ εβ1_dn (J ∝ εβ2_dn) when ε « εdntr  (ε » εdntr), bending down at εdntr ~20-90 keV. The spectral indexes at lower energies for type 1, type 2 and type 3, β1dn, range from 2.5 to 5, while the spectral indexes at higher energies for type 3, β2dn, range from 4 to 9, and all the spectral indexes have no significant correlation with those in ambient solar wind. Among the 4 types, type 3 is the strongest acceleration with the largest flux enhancement and the lowest β1dn. Besides, we find that the flux ratio between downstream and ambient solar wind Jdn/Jab is field-perpendicular for most cases in both low and high energies, and Jdn/Jab (β1dn) has positive (negative) correlations with θBn and magnetic field compression ratio, rB, which favor the shock drift acceleration (SDA) mechanism. However, Jdn/Jab has no correlation with the drift electric field Ed, while the normalized drift time, Td/Ttr, has a positive correlation with θBn, it suggests that θBn can influence electron drift time and thus influence the acceleration efficiency.


—Applications have many opportunities to be adap- tive. One of them is the ability to control the input language(s). To achieve this objective we present an efficient semi-top- down parsing technique – kind parsing. It supports on-line (parse-time) as well as off-line extensions, restrictions or other adaptation of the accepted language. Kind parsers can be adapted quickly and the changes of the parser's structure tend to be only local. We suppose that such a technique can be very useful for adaptive system development.


This pessimistic conclusion seems at odds with Lee's fundamental theoretical claim in the book's preface that the possibilities for imagining China are "unlimited" and reflect dominant, minority, and contestatory visions. If this is indeed the case, as the intervening chapters are intended to convince us, then do not the "garish-coloured dragon-headed lamp-posts, red plastic pagoda-topped phone boxes, and imposing arches imported from China" (p. 99) represent yet one more creation of Chineseness, rather than its death knell?


For rapidly solidified Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystals, detailed metallographic investigation on the stability of the quasicrystalline phase has been carried out. It has been shown that the quasicrystalline phase itself shows distinct changes in morphological features. Additionally the quasicrystalline phase is not entirely stable 873 K, as has hitherto been believed. It transforms partially to a crystalline phase accompanied by repartitioning of solutes. The studies of repartionning of the solute elements and diffraction of the transformed phases show that the product phase is the same as the coexisting crystalline phase found in small quantities in the as spun ribbons


Knowledge of the breeding system is a fundamental step in any program dealing with genetic improvement of wild grasses for forage purposes. This information is essential for Paspalum , a large genus with a variety of reproductive methods including apomixis. We conducted cytoembryological studies in 3 species of the group Plicatula ( Paspalum limbatum , Paspalum lenticulare and Paspalum guenoarum ) in order to understand the breeding systems of 9 accessions which are currently under selection and being bred for forage purposes in our institution. Both accessions of P. limbatum were diploid (2n = 2x = 20), showed bivalent chromosome pairing at meiosis and were allogamous due to self-incompatibility. Five accessions of P. lenticulare and 2 of P. guenoarum were tetraploid (2n = 4x = 40) with mainly bivalent and quadrivalent chromosome pairing at meiosis. The high frequency of quadrivalents suggests autoploidy as the most probable origin for these tetraploids. All these tetraploid accessions showed complete degeneration of the megaspores. The embryo sacs, one to several per ovule, always developed from somatic nucellar cells. These nonreduced embryo sacs produced embryos through parthenogenesis, and were hence genetically identical with the mother plant. Notwithstanding, pollination was required for the development of the endosperm. Only one accession of P. lenticulare has some reduced potential for sexual reproduction. Our results indicate that P. limbatum is a sexual allogamous diploid species while P. lenticulare and P. guenoarum reproduce by means of aposporous obligate apomixis.


Rational use regions of rigs with different types of drives have been determined. It was ascertained that drilling efficiency of compressed air driven machines may be increased in 1,4 times due to selection of rational parameters; but the drilling efficiency all-hydraulic machines may be increased in 2,4 times without increasing specific reduced costs, weight and power of rigs.


Introduction. Nowadays, the number of adults with hypertension has doubled worldwide from 650 million in 1990 to 1.28 billion in 2019, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. Late diagnosis of the disease leads to increased morbidity, target organs damage, and early disability. Therefore, risk factors stratification for patients with hypertension is an important task of modern medicine.
Objective. To study the risk of essential arterial hypertension (EAH) in the population of Western Ukraine, taking into account anthropometric, clinical and demographic, gender and genetic factors (NOS3, rs2070744 and GNB3, rs5443).
Materials and methods. 100 patients with EAH and 48 apparently healthy individuals (the control group) participated in the study. All participants underwent clinical and laboratory examinations. Risk factors included a burdened anamnesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI) in men (M) and women (W). GNB3 (rs5443) and NOS3 (rs2070744) genes genotyping was performed by real-time PCR.
Results. The EAH risk in the population generally increased due to the CVD burdened heredity regardless of the NOS3 (rs2070744) and GNB3 (rs5443) genes genotypes by almost 3–4.5 times, with the most pronounced correlation in the mutation C-allele carriers of the NOS3 gene and in T-allele carriers of the GNB3 gene [OR = 3.10–4.29; OR (95% CI): 1.03–13.77; p ≤ 0.041–0.005], due to DM2 – by 7–14 times [OR = 7.14–14.25; OR (95% CI): 1.0–127.2; p ≤ 0.043–0.006], due to increased WC (M > 102 cm, W > 88 cm) – by 3.5–17 times [OR = 3.45–16.67; OR (95% CI): 1.06–66.09; p ≤ 0.035–0.0001]. Gender analysis confirmed the association between increased risk of EAH and elevated WHR, but only for women (> 0.85 U) – by 4.5–51 times [OR = 4.44–51.33; OR (95% CI): 1.10–346.9; p ≤ 0.036–0.0001] in TT‑genotype carriers of the NOS3 gene and in the CC-genotype carriers of the GNB3 gene. Augmented BMI (> 25.0 kg/m2) also enhanced the EAH risk by more than 6–9 times [OR = 6.29–9.0; OR (95% CI): 1.0–83.07; p ≤ 0.034–0.011], but only in women with TT genotype of the NOS3 gene and the CC genotype of the GNB3 gene (rs5443) – by 5 times [OR = 4.80; OR (95% CI): 1.25–18.42; p = 0.019] and 11.5 times [OR = 11.50; OR (95% CI): 2.01–65.91; p = 0.004], respectively.
Conclusions. The risk of EAH in the Western Ukraine population increased with burdened CVD heredity regardless of genetic factors, DM2, elevated BMI, WC and WHR, but only in women, with the most pronounced correlation in the TT genotype carriers of NOS3 gene and CC genotype patients of GNB3 gene.


Given the increasing demand to increase the switching frequency and efficiency of switched-mode power converters, pulse-width-modulated (PWM) soft-switching techniques have been proposed to combine the desirable features of PWM and resonant-mode converters. This paper presents the evolution of several soft-switching techniques, operating principles, performance characteristics, experimental results, merits and limitations are also discussed. Experimental results of three classes of zero-voltage-switched converters and one class of zero-current-switched converter are prototyped and presented.


THIS STUDY constructs a commercial bank portfolio model based on expected profits maximization where there is uncertainty regarding future levels of deposits and other liabilities. Aggregate Federal Reserve data is used in the empirical sections. The model is presented in a dichotomized form: first, the trade-off between cash assets and earning assets is analyzed under the assumption that the earning assets are perfect substitutes; later, the model is expanded to include a wider breakdown of assets. Aside from expositional convenience, this approach enables the author in the earlier sections of the study to investigate a variety of issues commonly encountered in conventional money supply-money demand analysis. Among these are: (a) The question whether aggregate free reserves or its components, excess reserves and borrowed reserves, is the more appropriate behavioral variable both in theory and from the standpoint of convenience for empirical research. The study concludes in favor of free reserves, showing that if portfolio adjustments are rapid (and this is verified in a section of the study), borrowed reserves can be better predicted with an indirect method developed by the author which first uses a free reserve equation, then transforms predicted free reserves into predictions of borrowed reserves. (b) The functional form of the free reserve demand function. The functional form developed theoretically, and supported by a number of tests in this study, suggests that banks have tended to accelerate borrowing as the ratio of the Treasury bill rate to the discount rate approaches a value slightly greater than unity. This evidence is supplemented by tests of several implications of the theoretical demand curve, including the effects of the 1959-1960 change in Regulation D, and the significance of transaction costs (including a measure of the differences between country and city bank transaction costs). The author finds no evidence of "risk aversion"; rather it appears that banks, at least in the aggregate, managed their free reserves in such a way as to maximize the mathematical expectation of return. (c) The speed with which banks respond to unplanned flows of available funds and changes in interest rates. This study provides evidence that free reserves and other assets adjustments are far more rapid over periods as long as a quarter than has been concluded in much of the recent literature. A number of tests are also shown which belie the interpretation of free reserves as a cyclical buffer; the buffer function of free reserves appears to take place in a much shorter time interval. Expanding the assets categories, the author develops conditions under which expected profits maximization will lead to asset diversification. For the least "liquid" category considered, "nonprime" commercial loans, the model is useful for examination of the rationing hypothesis and the so-called "loan accommodation principle", under which banks are constrained by longer run profit considerations to grant loans upon demand to favored customers. The study offers tentative evidence that "nonprime" loans (nonprime commercial and other) are rationed by quantity rather than by other terms. On the other hand, loans to prime borrowers are shown to be financed by reductions in all other earning assets, most importantly nonprime commercial loans.


Life on the Line may become one of the legends of Canadian theatre. In the fall of 1984 the show completed its "farewell tour," somewhat like a golden rock band. Though it underwent various incarnations, it became one of the premiere presentations by Mixed Company: Theatre Artists for Social Responsibility. Like the ensemble, this "new wave musical satire" is unique in Canada - unique in style, content and, especially, its targeted audience.


This paper presents the results of an exploratory study undertaken in conjunction with managing directors and medical chiefs of staff in German hospitals. Following the framework of a model developed by Venkatraman, it analyzes how information technology permeates this type of organization, how it changes its focus during evolution towards higher levels of sophistication, and which determinants affect the evolution. I. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS ADDRESSED This paper aims to explore the status quo of the Information Systems / Technology (IT) function in German hospitals from a top management perspective. It analyzes how organizational strategies and structures affect the IT function within hospitals from an evolutionistic perspective. Thus, an evolutionistic model will be chosen and utilized as a research framework. Based on the observed results, additional research questions will be formulated with regard to the penetration of the IT function in hospitals. II. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE STUDY Evolutionistic models have been utilized within the field of IS research for more than two decades. They explain the logic of a development, typically in the form of stages that follow one another. Each stage is the precursor of the next , representing a higher level of maturity or perfection [1] and may be categorized into two perspectives. The internal perspective focuses merely on the evolution of the IT function from an intra-organizational point of view. Probably, the most widely cited representative of this category is Nolan's stage hypothesis which divides the evolution of the data processing (DP) function into six stages [2]. The properties of each stage are classified in the light of four distinct characteristics (e.g. applications portfolio, DP organization, DP planning and control, user awareness) which in turn determine the level of DP expenditures. Since While Nolan's work has received a considerable amount of criticism,numerous subsequent contributions with different focuses have been published [3].All representatives of this perspective have one aspect in common: They concentrate solely on the IT function neglecting other elements of the internal and external environment of an organization. Examples such as airline reservation systems, or efficient customer response, provide evidence that the IT function is not merely an isolated business function, but rather an opportunity to reconceptualize the role of IT within business. Thus, this function should be regarded from an interfunctional, as well as inter-organizational point of view, which in turn may be conceptualized as the external perspective of IT evolution. Representatives of this category are not as widespread as the internal perspective [4] [5].Venkatraman's model especially has received attention [6]. It highlights how the business is reconfigured not only to fully exploit the available IT capabilities but also to differentiate operations from those of the competitors. Venkatraman classifies the changing role of IT in business in terms of five levels of business reconfigurations [4]: Level one is named localized exploitation which concerns itself with the exploitation of IT within business functions, or isolated business activities within these functions. IT applications are deployed in order to improve the task efficiency of operations achieving function-specific goals without necessarily affecting related areas of operations. Level two is internal integration which is considered a logical extension of level one. IT capabilities are exploited in all possible activities where the deployment of a common IT platform serves to integrate the organization's business processes, enhancing its efficiency and effectiveness. Level three is termed business process redesign. It involves the reconfiguration of the business using IT as a central lever. Instead of treating the existing business processes as a constraint in the design of a coherent IT infrastructure, the business process itself is redesigned to maximally exploit the available IT capabilities. Level four is business network redesign and is concerned with the scope and tasks of the business network involved in the creation and delivery of products and services. This includes the business tasks within, and outside, the boundaries of an organization, and the consequent redesign of this electronic business network through IT capabilities. Electronic integration across key partners in the changed business network becomes the dominant management challenge. Level five is labeled business scope redefinition which deals with an organization's right to exist. It covers the possibilities of enlarging the business mission and scope through related products and services, as well as shifting the business scope through the substitution of traditional capabilities with IT-enabled skills. In this study, we focus on the reconfiguration of the German health care sector where the legislator has recently undertaken some deregulatory efforts. Since the passing of the third phase of the German Health Structure Bill (Gesundheitsstrukturgesetz) in 1996, public health insurance providers not longer cover expenses caused by medical treatment of patients. Instead, flat rates and special compensations are granted for each type of treatment, no matter how long the treatment takes. Since these functional prices are subject of mutual negotiations between the insurance providers and medical organizations, the cost structures will become transparent as well as comparable. In order to avoid cost pressures, medical organizations are likely to respond by adapting various strategies such as enhancing cost effectiveness or differentiation through quality leadership or redefinition of services [7]. The IT function has played a crucial role during the deregulation of other industries, e.g. air transportation or banking, [7] providing evidence that this too will be the case in health care. Hospitals account for almost two third of the cost within this sector. Since very few contributions have been made to assess the role of IT in Germany's health care sector [8] [9] we intend to analyze how the deployment of IT affect the reconfiguration of German hospitals, following Venkatraman's model as a research framework. III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY EMPLOYED The nature of this research project is exploratory. 95 hospital managers were contacted during the period of spring and summer 1998. Finally, 32 respondents accepted the invitation to participate in the study. For each hospital involved additional information was gathered from public databases like the DKA (German Hospital Addressbook) and Genios.The participants were then sent a two page semistructured questionnaire four weeks in advance of scheduled face-to-face interviews. Each interview took approximately two hours per hospital. The participant's responses were recorded, transcribed, extracted, classified and aggregated from the transcripts. In order to reduce bias, a co-coding procedure was deployed which yielded congruence in more than 81% of all cases. Deviating items were subject to further analysis based on a mutual discussion and argumentative justification of the categories involved. Data analysis was performed with the help of a statistical software package. The predominant methods are descriptive statistics and contingency analysis. In this context, the likelihood ration (χL) is preferable to the Pearson criterion size (number of beds) large (> 500) medium (250 500) small (< 250) pe rc en t 50


An equivalent modeling technique for estimating the deformation of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) masks caused by a complex pattern layout has been developed. An equivalent layout pattern (ELP) model provides a means of investigating ways of improving pattern placement accuracy. The simulation model is based on the finite difference method. In order to investigate the possibility of making EUVL masks with a high pattern placement accuracy, the ELP model was used to simulate how pattern density and substrate thickness affect placement error. The results obtained agree well with those for an exact model, with the relative error being at most 4%. They suggest that, when the stresses of the multilayer and absorber films cannot be reduced, it may be useful to increase the substrate thickness to improve the pattern placement accuracy. In addition, when the exposure field covers two chips, the placement error should be reduced through proper control of the stress of the absorber film rather than by changing the absorber coverage.


In control questions, multiquality parameters are the most suitable, as they are everlasting in highly complex misalignment relations; the relationship between the parameter and quality of mutual influence is complex, and often massive redundant operations must be achievable by the test installation. Because the most suitable multiquality parameter is difficult to achieve, this study designates the proton exchange membrane fuel cell as the topic, takes the inlet temperature, inlet pressure, and incoming flow speed as the controlling elements, uses conformity fuzzy meaning analysis and the ideal solution similar order by chance law (TOPSIS), and discusses the parameters to control the influences of the quality goal. As outlet temperature, outlet pressure, pressure drop do not operate after the experiment, this study uses the meaning deduction method and develops a set of the most suitable control mechanisms. The research results show that this study develops a quality decision scheme for a set of meanings by using the misalignment and a high order complexity question. It also penetrates the meaning method, which guarantees that the quality and experimental efficiency may elevate the competitive power of science and technological undertakings development, effectively economize costs, and provide a set of economies and perspectives. The multiqualities are the most suitable control plan which meets the demands of practice.


ABSTRACT It is now common to see consumers post their own purchases on social media to communicate feelings and/or thoughts about the consumption items to their social media audience. The authors conducted two surveys with a student sample and an Amazon MTurk sample to investigate factors leading to such behavior. The results show that purchase type predicts the consumption-related posting behavior—experiential purchases are more likely to get posted than material purchases, and materialism serves as a moderator in the influence of purchase type on the posting behavior. Specifically, lower-materialism consumers are more likely to post experiential purchases on social media than material purchases, while higher-materialism consumers do not show such a pattern. This article pioneers in investigating consumption-related posting behavior and provides important implications to research on user-generated content, materialism, and purchase type.


The article is devoted to the topic of tragic in balkar prose of 1960-1980. The deportation problem of the Balkars, the correlation of a historic fact and an artistic fiction in the prose of that period, themes, ideas and images in stories, tales and novels of balkar writers these are basic questions which are considered in the article. Works of M. Batchaev, E. Gurtuev, A. Teppeev, H. Shavaev are under the analysis in the article.


Detailed knowledge of species distributions, endemism patterns and threats is critical to site prioritization and conservation planning. However, data from biodiversity inventories are still limited, especially for tropical forests, and even well recognized hotspots remain understudied. We provide an example of how updated knowledge on species occurrence from strategically directed biodiversity surveys can change knowledge on perceived biodiversity importance, and facilitate understanding diversity patterns and the delivery of conservation recommendations.


On Poesy by ZHONG Rong is an masterpiece on ancient literature, which contains his aesthetic thoughts. Aesthetic propositions as "meaning from old poems and free emotions from recitation" from his "seeing" and "feeling", which belongs to aesthetics category, have produced far-reaching influences on later theories on poesy.


Seed priming has been reported to enhance growth of plants. To evaluate the effect of some physical seed priming materials (ultrasonic, gamma, beta, lase r, magnetic field, irradiations and hydro -priming) on yield and yield components of sunflower, field experiments were conducted at Islamic Azad University, Tabriz branch, Iran during 2011 -2012 in a randomized complete block design, with three replications. The results revealed that crop LAI, following pre -sowing treatments, increased by magnetic fields, laser for 5 and 15 min. and ultrasonic up to 3.36, 3.41, 3.91 and 3.53, respectively. Beta and gamma rays, hydropriming and non-priming of seeds reduced it at 70 DAE. Highest mean yield produced from seeds treated with laser (419.7g.m -2 ) and magnetic field (379.8g.m -2 ) for 5 min. However, it decreased by increasing laser duration from 5 to 10 min. Biomass produced ranged from 947.4 g.m -2 in seeds primed under laser for 5 minutes. and 406.7 g.m -2 in non-priming ones. It was also found that sunflower seeds irradiated with laser for 5 and 10 minutes and magnetic fields resulted in highest harvest index (49.1%), as compared with other treatments. It may be concluded that sunflower growers could improve crop yield by priming the seeds with magnetic field and laser irradiation before sowing.


Background  Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play an important role in the maintenance of vascular integrity. Lipid lowering therapy (LLT) with statins may contribute to biologically relevant activities including the proliferation of endothelial cells. The physiological role of microRNA (miR)‐221/222, a newly discovered class of small RNA, is closely linked to the proliferation of endothelial cells. We therefore investigated whether LLT with statins might affect miR‐221/222 expression in EPCs obtained from patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).


Polymer 3 based on 1-(4-hexyloxy)-benzene and 2,4,6-triphenyl-1,3,5-triazine functionalized fluorene units was synthesized and characterized, whose optoelectronic properties were further compared with those of poly(9,9-dihexyl-fluorene) ( 1 ) and poly(9,9-di(1-(4-hexyloxy)-phenyl)-fluorene) ( 2 ). The 5% weight loss temperatures of polymers 1 , 2 and 3 thin solid powders are 274, 318 and 401 ℃ , and their glass transition temperatures in the same state are 91, 120 and 139 ℃ , respective-ly. The maximum absorption and photoluminescent emission peaks of polymers 1 , 2 and 3 in toluene solution are 380 and 435 nm, and their optical band gaps in toluene solution are 2.95, 2.95 and 2.91 eV. The triplet energy levels of polymers 1 , 2 and 3 are 2.82, 2.81 and 2.97 eV, while their singlet energy levels are 3.14, 3.13 and 3.12 eV, which makes the singlet-triplet energy splitting gaps for polymers 1 , 2 and 3 to be 0.32, 0.32 and 0.15 eV. The highest occupied molecular orbital energy levels of polymers 1 , 2 and 3 are - 5.72, - 5.95 and - 5.96 eV and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels are - 2.70, The introduction of 4-hexoxybenzene widened the energy band gaps of the electron 2,4,6-triphenyl-1,3,5-triazine the single-triplet energy splitting gaps of reased, but it did not endow polymer 3 with thermally activated delayed fluorescence characteristic. With the introduction of rigid and electron deficient 2,4,6-triphenyl-1,3,5-triazine into the 9-carbon of the fluorene units in the polymer, the thermal stability, color purity and photostability of blue light emitting solid were improved in the turn of polymers 1 , 2 and 3 , which were further validated by the stable electroluminescent spectra of polymer 3 . The wide-angle X-ray diffraction results of the polymers 1 , 2 and 3 powders show that all polymers have excellent amorphous properties in nature. The phase diversity of polymer 3 powder locates between those of polymers 1 and 2 , and the alkoxyl phenyl substituted group on the polymer 2 side chain is helpful to improve the diversity of ordered morphology in solid powder. The random copolymer 3 exhibits much better photoelectric properties than those of polymers 1 and 2 .


Vehicular wireless channels have a high degree of variability, presenting a challenge for vehicles and infrastructure to remain connected. The emergence of the white space bands for data usage enables increased flexibility for vehicular networks with distinct propagation characteristics across frequency bands from 450 MHz to 6 GHz. Since wireless propagation largely depends on the environment in operation, a historical understanding of the frequency bands' performance in a given environment could expedite band selection as vehicles transition across diverse scenarios. In this paper, we leverage knowledge of in-situ operation across frequency bands with real-time measurements of the activity level to select the the band with the highest throughput. To do so, we perform a number of experiments in typical vehicular topologies. With two models based on machine learning algorithms and an in-situ training set, we predict the throughput based on: (i.) prior performance for similar context information (e.g., SNR, GPS, relative speed, and link distance), and (ii.) real-time activity level and relative channel quality per band. In the field, we show that training on a repeatable route with these machine learning techniques can yield vast performance improvements from prior schemes.


Abstract : Alfath Semarang is a Muslim fashion store located in Komplek Ruko Mall Ciputra C.26-27. While this serves only Alfath offline or in other words only serve customers who come directly to Alfath. This study aims to design a web-based application system which contains the procedures of payment and purchase online. Making an application program using web languages with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, PHP scripts, using MySQL database processing. Of this research effort is expected to create applications on the sale of equipment pilgrimage. And can increase the company's revenue. As well as the promotion system that does not exist in the online company. This website is created to facilitate buyers from within or outside the city who will buy the product from Alfath Semarang, without having to come to Alfath Semarang. Increase convenience in shopping. Keywords: Sales Information System, PHP, Macromedia Dreamweaver MX


Several recent computational studies have predicted the possible formation in combustion systems of the unknown species H–NO2, iso-nitrous acid. We report here high-level calculations of the harmonic vibration frequencies as an aid to identification, together with a series of intermediate-level CCSD(T) and hybrid density functional calculations for the reactions of NO2 with various hydrogen-containing molecules, viz. H2, HO2, HCHO, H2O, H2S, CH3OH, HBr, HI, and cis- and trans-HONO, in an attempt to identify likely routes to a synthesis.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the importance of olfaction in daily life between patients with olfactory disorders and healthy normosmic individuals.

DESIGN
Quasiexperimental.

PARTICIPANTS
A total of 470 individuals (235 anosmic or hyposmic patients and 235 normosmic control individuals).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The Individual Importance of Olfaction Questionnaire (IO) and olfactory testing using the "Sniffin' Sticks" test kit.

RESULTS
The IO scores were lower in people with smell disorders compared with normosmic subjects (P < .001) and lower in patients with anosmia compared with hyposmic patients (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS
These scores suggest adjustment processes in the daily use of the sense of smell by patients. Patients attach less importance to their current sense of smell in daily life than do normosmic individuals. This adjustment might be an example of regaining psychological health despite acquired and long-lasting impairments.


A 3-year-old boy was recently admitted to the general paediatric ward of our hospital with a facial palsy. An automated blood pressure device could not provide a reading. However, 5 h after admission his severe hypertension of 210 mm Hg systolic was detected by a nurse from our renal unit using a manual sphygmomanometer. This incident highlighted the current lack of suitable equipment and the low confidence of staff in its usage.

We collected data on 70 consecutive medical admissions to seven paediatric wards. Blood pressure was recorded in only 56% of patients compared to 100% recording for heart rate, 93% for …


Magnetic helicity is a conserved quantity of ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) that is related to the topology of the magnetic field, and is widely studied in both laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. When the magnetic field has a non-trivial normal component on the boundary of the domain, the classical definition of helicity must be replaced by relative magnetic helicity. The purpose of this work is to review the various definitions of relative helicity and to show that they have a common origin—a general definition of relative helicity in multiply connected domains. We show that this general definition is both gauge-invariant and is conserved in time under ideal MHD, subject only to closed and line-tied boundary conditions. Other, more specific, formulae for relative helicity, that are used frequently in the literature, are shown to follow from the general expression by imposing extra conditions on the magnetic field or its vector potential.


In Software-Defined GPS Receiver (SDR), GPS signal acquisition is a significant algorithm to identify the visible satellites. It also finds the code phase and Doppler frequency. After acquisition, the acquired code phase and Doppler frequency are transferred to a tracking loop as initial values to demodulate the navigation data. Acquisition time and detectable signal strength are depending on the performance of acquisition algorithm. In this paper, traditional GPS signal acquisition algorithms are analyzed and compared with the proposed GPS signal acquisition algorithm based on the combination of both coherent and noncoherent approaches. The proposed algorithm is verified by simulations. The results show that the proposed GPS signal acquisition algorithm gives about two times faster acquisition time than the conventional algorithm. In addition, the improved algorithm is more effective in the acquisition of weak signals.


Logical layers enable structuring of reactive systems in a fashion that is orthogonal to conventional components. We introduce a case study, where such layers are used to structure a formal spec-iication of an on-board instrument. The speciication starts at an abstract level, and advances towards a detailed description of the instrument with reenement steps whose size is manageable. Finally, we present a summary on the experiences obtained when composing the speciication.


This article describes a new bulk-fill resin, or deep resin composite, SonicFill (Kerr Corp., USA), possessing fluctuating viscosity by the application of sonic energy. The rationale for the system is explained, together with concerns and the benefits in clinical practice. Deep resins are primarily indicated for white fillings in pos terior teeth, but the unique varying viscosity of the SonicFill concept offers other useful clinical applications. Numerous case studies are presented for a variety of clinical situ ations including replacing defective posterior fillings; core build-ups and retaining fixed orthodontic brackets and retainers.


This paper proposes an OS-ESPRIT algorithm based on one step eigenvalue decomposition (EVD) to estimate the directions of arrival (DOAs) of narrowband signals in wireless communication environments, after analyzing the features and performances of DOA estimation algorithms. The proposed algorithm makes use of one step EVD to estimate DOAs. Compared with the previous works, the new approach calls for low computational complexity, but it exhibits superior performance, such as smaller estimation error and better robustness to signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) change etc. It is applicable to a lower SNR scenario. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the method.


Preface / Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations / Mathematical Preliminaries / Initial Value Problems / Linear System and Transition Matrix / Stability Analysis / Series Solution / Boundary Value Problems / Control Theory of Linear Systems / Index.


To characteristics the near infrared spectrum of corn, we proposed a preprocessing algorithm combining multiplicative scatter correction (MSC) and direct orthogonal signal correction (DOSC). In this article, we compared the SG first derivative correction, MSC, DOSC and the new algorithm. And using partial least squares analysis (PLS) built the quantitative analysis model. The results show that the preprocessing algorithm combining with the MSC and DOSC can improve the prediction accuracy of all components. This work has some practical and scientific value.


Schools are too often places in which answers are conveyed to questions students are rarely, if ever, asked. This article offers, therefore, some examples of content  animating and throughline questions  and assessment practices that centralize questions rather than answers. While animating questions return teachers to the mysteries that excite us as intellectuals (excitement that is crucial to share with students), they also spark throughline questions  provocative questions that give the content of our courses apparent purpose. Using a notion of dangerous teaching, I argue that such practices serve to disrupt the ahistorical stance of much of social studies and history teaching that offers students little opportunity to connect what they learn in schools to political charged debates over what and how they should be taught.


On-farm verification trial of soil test based crop response phosphorous calibration study for bread wheat production was conducted in 2019/20 main cropping season in the Horo District of the Horo Guduru Wollega Zone. The trial was initiated to verify phosphorus critical level and requirement factor for bread wheat production in Horo District. The treatments were the control (without phosphorus fertilizer), farmers practice (blanket recommendation) and soil test based recommended phosphorus fertilizer rate (RR). The trial was conducted on six farmers' field across the district. Plot size was 10m * 10m. Soil data before planting and yield data were collected throughout the trial. Soil reaction pH (H2O) of all the sites ranged from 4.73 to 5.42 and available P ranges from 1.4 to 12.6ppm. Soil acidity of the experimental sites were amended with lime. Bread wheat grain and biomass yield (kg/ha) were high and significantly (p< 0.01) affected by different fertilizer rates used as treatments. The highest grain yield (2875 kg/ha) was resulted with soil test based phosphorus fertilizer rate recommendation. Economically optimum N (46 kg/ha), critical level phosphorus (10 ppm) and phosphorus requirement factor (11.03 kg/ha) for bread wheat production in the district were gained and recommended during the calibration study. It was significantly higher than the grain yield gained from the farmers' practice (2119.4 kg/ha) and control/without phosphorus fertilizer (1647.2 kg/ha). Similarly, soil test based phosphorus fertilizer rate recommendation was economically optimum and feasible for bread wheat production in the district.


Photograph of the front of a one-story house located at the corner of S. Magnolia and Neches streets in Palestine, Texas. The house is painted yellow with white trim and has Queen Anne-style architectural accents, including shingling in the front gable end. It has a small square addition connected to the north side of the house.


The nonequilibrium effective action for a charged particle interacting with the quantized electromagnetic fields is derived within the context of the closed-time-path formalism by integrating out field variables in general covariant gauge. The reduced density matrix of the charged particle is then obtained, thus enabling us to explore quantum decoherence phenomena of the charged particle in terms of the decoherence functional W by an interference experiment under the influence of electromagnetic quantum fluctuations. The issue of gauge invariance of the decoherence functional is discussed. PACs numbers: 03.65.Yz, 05.40.a, 42.50.Lc


Introduction: Several analyses have been conducted to assess the association between leukaemia risk and XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism. However, their results are conflicting. Hence, this comprehensive study was carried out to obtain a more accurate assessment of the association between leukaemia risk and XRCC3 Thr241Met (rs861539) polymorphism Material and methods: We searched Ovid, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Google Scholar, PubMed database and Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE) for potential eligible studies published as of July 2020. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used in evaluating the strength of the association between Thr241Met polymorphism of XRCC3 and leukaemia, and the p-value less than 0.05 (p < 0.05) was considered as the level of significance. Results: A  total of 17 studies consisting of 7241 controls and 4198 cases met our inclusion criteria. No significant association was observed between leukaemia risk and Thr241Met polymorphism of XRCC3 across the five genetic variants. In our ethnicity subgroup evaluation, we noted a significant association between leukaemia risk and Thr241Met polymorphism of XRCC3 among Caucasians under four genetic models. Furthermore, SNP (rs861539) of XRCC3 has a protective effect among Asians under four genetic models. Conclusions: Thr241Met polymorphism of XRCC3 has a protective effect in the Asian population but has oncogenic potential in the Caucasian population.


The correlation of magnetic moments has been investigated by neutron small-angle scattering in superconducting and normal Ce1−xTbxRu2. Samples with 20% Tb are superconducting below 2.6°K. In these samples ferromagnetic short-range order is found below 10°K. In spite of a maximum in the static susceptibility at 5°K no transition to long-range order is observed. In the whole temperature range between 1.5 and 10°K the experimental data can be fitted by an Ornstein–Zernike correlation function. At 1–5°K the correlation length is about 15 A. No significant change is observed at the superconductive transition temperature. Samples with 40% Tb are not superconducting. The static susceptibility shows a maximum at 13°K. Above this temperature again ferromagnetic short-range order of the Ornstein–Zernike type is found. Below 13°K the intensity of scattered neutrons drops faster with scattering angle indicating long-range order.


X-band microwave oscillators stabilized with superconducting niobium cavities with loaded Q's of about 1010achieved short-term frequency stabilities as low as σ<inf>y</inf>=6 × 10-16, and typical long-term fractional frequency drifts of ± 2 × 10-13per day.


ABSTRACT The phenomenon of social remittances has been investigated by authors of a vast literature who have also subjected to critical analysis the link between migration and development. The present paper explores the case of the Republic of Moldova in the context of south-eastern Europe, a region characterized by consolidated emigration that has generated a great flow of financial and social remittances over the years. Through multi-location research conducted in Italy and in Moldova, our goal is to analyse social remittances at the level of 'ideas' and the level of 'practices', discussing the conditions that have produced socioeconomic change in the localities of departure. This will show how this change does not always reflect the model of economic and social development sustained by international organizations and the European Union in the Eastern Partnership area.


HE Dominican coat of arms belongs to that fascinating, yet rather complicated branch of general armory known as ecclesiastical heraldry. It was necessary during the Crusades, as we have already seen,1 that the knights and their leaders be distinguished from their foes on the field of combat by means of conventional emblems, which, during the early part of the thirteenth century, became permanent and hereditary coat of arms. At first thought, then, it may seem incongruous that the Church, established by the King of Peace, should have permitted her hierarchy, even though of the nobility, the use of coats of arms distinctly of military origin and primarily intended as rallying emblems on the battle field. But when we consider that "the life of man upon earth is a warfare"2 against the powers of darkness, it seems only proper that the Church militant should allow her organized forces of prayer and good works to be distinguished by means of heraldic insignia somewhat after the manner of the crusading knights. Even St. Paul would have us "labor as good soldiers in Christ Jesus,"2 and as such, he bids us put on "the armour of God,"4 having our loins girt with truth, and wearing the breastplate of justice—in all things taking the shield of faith. The "shield of faith" and the cross of Christ were, from the earliest times as they are today, the first distinctive marks of the true Christian. The ecclesiastics and the religious communities of the Middle Ages, however, saw in the rising vogue of heraldry a further suitable means of personal identification, at the same time decorative and capable of expressing religious symbolism charged with the mysteries of faith. "Whether


The present invention is directed from the dirty air stream entering the fuel cell in the filter assembly for removing particulate contamination and chemical contamination. The filter assembly also includes a noise suppression element to reduce the noise or sound waves coming from any equipment such as a compressor. The filter assembly may have included a chemical filter portion for removing the particulate filter section or chemical contaminants for removal of the physical or particulate contamination, or both parts.


Frame generation process is the first stage of the multiplexing mechanism of Advanced Orbiting Systems,whose performance has a great effect on the transmission efficiency and time delay of AOS.In this paper,the frame generation algorithm in AOS protocol is studied.The average frame generation time of high efficiency frame generation algorithm is analyzed,on condition that the packet arrival rate distribution is Poisson distribution.An adaptive frame generation algorithm is also proposed to solve the problem that the generation delay exceeds the allowed maximum service time,which is caused by lack of enough packets arriving in a long period of time.Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can not only solve the large time delay problem of high efficiency frame generation algorithm,but also get higher information transmission rate than the conventional periodic frame generation algorithm.


This work concerns the advance scheduling of elective surgery when the operating rooms' capacity utilization by emergency surgery, as well as by elective procedures, is uncertain. New requests for bookings of elective surgery arrive each day. Such procedures preferably would be performed as soon as possible, but admitting too many patients may result in exceeding a day's capacity, possibly necessitating turning away some emergency cases. So the problem facing the hospital at the start of each day is how many of the additional requests for elective surgery to assign for that day. We provide a stochastic dynamic programming model for this aggregate advance scheduling problem. The model has some novel mathematical features. We analyze it and characterize the nature of the optimal policy, which is not necessarily of a control-limit type. Plausible numerical examples which confirm our theoretical results and provide additional insights are reported.


Autonomous active exploration requires search algorithms that can effectively balance the need for workspace coverage with energetic costs. We present a strategy for planning optimal search trajectories with respect to the distribution of expected information over a workspace. We formulate an iterative optimal control algorithm for general nonlinear dynamics, where the metric for information gain is the difference between the spatial distribution and the statistical representation of the time-averaged trajectory, i.e. ergodicity. Previous work has designed a continuous-time trajectory optimization algorithm. In this paper, we derive two discrete-time iterative trajectory optimization approaches, one based on standard first-order discretization and the other using symplectic integration. The discrete-time methods based on first-order discretization techniques are both faster than the continuous-time method in the studied examples. Moreover, we show that even for a simple system, the choice of discretization has a dramatic impact on the resulting control and state trajectories. While the standard discretization method turns unstable, the symplectic method, which is structure-preserving, achieves lower values for the objective.


The convolutional neural network (CNN) is the most widely used machine learning technique within the fields of image and video processing. It is primarily used to categorize images using vast datasets. This require a lot of calculations. The effectiveness of a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) as a hardware accelerator for CNNs will give excellent performance at low power budgets. The employment of the Winograd algorithm can reduce the number of processing stages in CNN. 2-D convolution is employed for the bulk of calculations in CNNs. The tactic for computing convolution for smaller filter sizes that uses Winograd minimum filtering is the handiest. The comparison of computation complexity for multiplications will be performed using Matlab. The architecture of the Winograd-based processing element, RTL coding in Verilog HDL, and the test bench are designed to examine the performance. The Xilinx Vivado / Cadence tool will be used to implement the processing element in the convolution unit on an FPGA or ASIC.