Patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) have an increased catabolic state that affects both muscle and adipose tissue (AT), and may ultimately result in cardiac cachexia. Increased plasma levels of ANP might contribute to increased lipid mobilization and oxidation in CHF. We tested the hypothesis that increased plasma ANP levels are associated with an increased catabolic (lipolytic) state of white AT in patients with CHF.


In this article, the principles of multi-sided platform theory and value network analysis are used in order to give a detailed picture of the financing and revenue sharing models present in the audiovisual media industry in Flanders. By means of expert interviews, we verify whether the counter-logics of platform ecosystems and the double marginalisation effect of double platform


The growing consumerism has led to the importance of online reviews on the Internet. Opinions voiced by these reviews are taken into consideration by many consumers for making financial decisions online. This has led to the development of opinion spamming for profitable motives or otherwise. This work has been done to tackle the challenge of identifying such spammers, but the scale of the real-world review systems demands this problem to be tackled as a big data challenge. So, an effort has been made to detect online review spammers using the principle of big data. In this article, a rating-based model has been studied under the light of large-scale datasets (more than 80 million reviews by 20 million reviewers) using the Hadoop and Spark frameworks. Scale effects have been identified and mitigated to provide better context to large review systems. An improved computational framework has been presented to compute the overall spamcity of reviewers using exponential smoothing. The value of the smoothing factor was set empirically. Finally, future directions have been discussed.


Timing of floral visits was recorded for two bee species, Ptiloglossa arizonensis and Bombus sonorus, on the nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium at a site in southeastern Arizona. Periodic censuses revealed that P. arizonensis foraged between 0500-0600 hours, whereas workers of B. sonorus were most common after 0700 hours. Continuous obser vations of focal flowers revealed the same pattern, as P. arizonensis accounted for nearly 100% of the initial three visits to the focal flowers. These observations also revealed that floral visits often did not involve pollen collection but were simply investigatory in nature. For both species, we examined whether investigatory visits were more likely to occur at flowers that had received a high number of prior visits. Buchmann and Cane (1989) recently investigated the foraging behavior of two bee species, Ptiloglossa arizonensis Timberlake and Bombus sonorus Say, on the nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium Linnaeus. As in other Solanum species, flow ers of S. elaeagnifolium lack nectaries and offer only pollen as a reward for floral visitors. In addition, the pollen is released through minute pores and can be efficiently collected only via sonication of the anthers (Linsley and Cazier, 1970). Through experimental manipulation of pollen accessibility, Buchmann and Cane (1989) made two major findings regarding the foraging behavior of the bees. First, individuals of both P. arizonensis and B. sonorus assess pollen harvest from single flowers and modify their foraging behavior accordingly. For both species, floral handling times were longer for control, virgin flowers than for experimental flowers that (following manipulation) afforded no pollen. Second, individual P. arizonensis spent less time handling virgin flowers but appeared to collect more pollen per flower (based on grooming frequency) than individual B. sonorus. This finding indicates a trade-off between dietary specialization and foraging efficiency, as the solitary P. arizonensis is a "sonication oligophage" (Buchmann and Cane, 1989), whereas the social B. sonorus is a polylectic generalist (Shelly et al., 1991). This latter finding suggests that, in terms of floral use, P. arizonensis may have a competitive advantage over B. sonorus in exploiting S. elaeagnifolium as a pollen source. In addition, P. arizonensis is a matinal bee, active just before and after sunrise (Linsley, 1962), whereas B. sonorus is not fully active until 1-2 hr after sunrise (Shelly et al., 1991). Consequently, P. arizonensis typically visits S. elaeagnifolium flowers before B. sonorus (Linsley and Cazier, 1970). Based in the same locality, the present study more closely examines this inter specific difference in the timing of floral visits. Specifically, we describe temporal variation, not only in the overall abundance of foraging bees, but also in the 1 Hawaiian Evolutionary Biology Program, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822. 2 Department of Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024. 3 USDA, ARS, Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, 2000 E. Allen Road, and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85719. 4 Department of Entomology, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849. Accepted for publication 5 April 1993. This content downloaded from 184.108.40.206 on Sat, 10 Sep 2016 05:29:24 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 320 JOURNAL OF THE KANSAS ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY number of bee visits to individual flowers. These latter data give perhaps a more accurate description of the temporal advantage enjoyed by P. arizonensis, since they allow estimates, on a per flower basis, of the number of P. arizonensis visits that occur prior to the arrival of B. sonorus. In addition, we observed that, particularly for B. sonorus, floral visits often did not involve pollen collection but were simply "investigatory" in nature. Correspondingly, we examined whether these investigatory visits were more likely to occur at flowers that had received more frequent prior visits. Materials and Methods Field work was conducted between August 17-24, 1985, 2 km north of Portal, Cochise Co., Arizona, along the Foothills Hwy. On these days, skies were in variably clear during our observations. All observations were made in a single patch of S. elaeagnifolium (approximately 400 m2 in area) growing next to a cattle stocktank. Vegetation in the surrounding area consisted of Chihuahuan desert scrub dominated by creosote bush {Larrea tridentata). Censuses of foraging bees were made at 10 min intervals between 0500-0730 hours on five different mornings. During each census, observers counted all P. arizonensis and B. sonorus found within five plots of 1 m2. Prior to each census, ambient temperature 1 m above ground was measured to the nearest 1?C using a Bailey Bat-12 thermocouple thermometer. Relative light intensity was also recorded with a Gossen Scout-2 light meter (held vertically). These readings were later converted to Lux by calibrating the Gossen Scout-2 model against a Gossen Lunasix light meter. We also monitored visits to individual flowers of S. elaeagnifolium. Continuous observations were made of 15 flowers between 0500-0730 hours on four different mornings (a different set of flowers was observed each day). Focal flowers were selected one day prior to observations when they appeared as large purple buds. At that time a small piece of masking tape bearing an identification number was placed on the stem well below the flower. To ease observations, all flowers ob served on a given day were situated within a 3-4 m2 area. To avoid any positional bias, observations of focal flowers were made in different parts of the patch on different days. While monitoring individual flowers, we noted the number of visits by each species during 10 min intervals throughout the morning. Since the bees were not marked, counts may have included repeat visits by some individuals. We also noted whether the visits involved pollen collection (via sonication) or were simply investigatory in nature. During the latter, bees hovered immediately in front of a flower for 1-3 sec and then flew away without alighting on or even contacting the flower. Finally, on two mornings, we made continuous observations of in dividual bees and recorded the number of floral visits made. Focal bees were observed for 1-5 min. Fig. 1. (a) Censuses of foraging bees at the study patch of S. elaeagnifolium. Values represent means for five 1 m2 plots monitored over five mornings (i.e., n = 25 for each point). Vertical bars give ? 1 SD. Plots were checked every 10 min. Measurements of (b) ambient temperature and (c) light levels during hours of field observations. Values represent means over five mornings; vertical bars give ? 1 SD. This content downloaded from 188.8.131.52 on Sat, 10 Sep 2016 05:29:24 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms VOLUME 66, NUMBER 3 321


Neurofibromatosis type 1 is an autosomal dominant genetic disease, and can cause multisystem disorders affecting skin, bone, vision and internal organs. It is difficult to cure. In this paper, the indications, therapy attentions and development direction of different treatment methods were summarized.


Purpose: Introduction: Esophageal intramural pseudodiverticulosis (EIP) is a rare benign disease of uncertain significance. We report a case of EIP which presented with massive self-limiting gastrointestinal bleed. Case: A 63 year old male presented to the emergency department with hematemesis and postural dizziness. His medical history was significant for coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, esophageal candidiasis, alcohol and tobacco abuse. His heart rate was 111 per minute and BP was 104/70 mmHg without orthostasis. Abdominal examination did not reveal any significant abnormality. His hemoglobin was 12.7 gm/dl and hematocrit 40.2% compared to baseline values of 13.7 gm/dl and 44% respectively. In the emergency department he had two bouts of hematemesis with clots and a significant decline in hematocrit. He was volume resuscitated, started on esomeprazole infusion and transfused two units of packed RBC. After stabilization EGD was performed which revealed extensive pseudodiverticulosis of the esophagus from about 25 cm down to the distal esophagus. Erosive non-bleeding reflux induced distal esophagitis was also seen (Los Angeles Grade B). He remained stable during hospital stay without any recurrence of bleeding and was subsequently discharged on oral omeprazole. Discussion: EIP is a rare disease characterized by small sac like out pouching of the esophageal wall. Men between the ages of 50-70 years are most commonly affected and reflux esophagitis, diabetes mellitus and chronic alcoholism are well known associations. This benign esophageal disease is also known to be associated with candidial, herpetic and eosinophilic esophagitis. Our patient had a history of esophageal candidiasis which along with multiple other risk factors may have contributed to the pathogenesis of pseudodiverticuli. The pathophysiology of EIP remains unclear. The most widely accepted hypothesis is based on chronic mucosal inflammation resulting in squamous metaplasia of glandular epithelium with ductal dilatation and formation of pseudodiverticuli. Although esophagitis is a very commonly observed endoscopic finding, pseudodiverticulosis is extremely rare and this paradox is difficult to explain. Most patients present with dysphagia, odynophagia or chest tightness, hematemesis is rare. There are only two reported cases of EIP presenting with gastrointestinal bleeding. Endoscopy is the diagnostic test of choice and these small diverticular openings can be missed in the absence of detailed examination with adequate air insufflation. Treatment is aimed at relieving obstructive symptoms when present or treating underlying causes such as esophagitis in our case.


The mirror fusion test facility (MFTF) vacuum vessel will be about 60 m long and 10 m in diameter at the widest point. The allowable operating densities range from 2×109 to 5×1010 particles per cm3. The maximum leak rate of 10−6 Torrπl/s is dominated during operation by the deliberately injected cold gas of 250 Torrπl/s. This gas is pumped by over 1000 m2 of cryopanels, external sorbtion pumps, and getters. The design and requirements have changed radically over the past several years, and they are still not in final form. The vacuum system design has also changed, but more slowly and less radically. This paper discusses the engineering effort necessary to meet these stringent and changing requirements. Much of the analysis of the internal systems has been carried out using a three‐dimensional Monte Carlo computer code, which can estimate time‐dependent operational pressures. This code and its use will also be described.


Abstract : The purpose of this contract was to "...provide models and codes to predict infrared background phenomenon to be encountered by advanced space based systems operating in natural and disturbed backgrounds." The three specific tasks of the contact were: (1) analysis data from the Mid Course Space Experiment (MSX), (2) development of advanced radiance inversion techniques, and (3) enhancement of the radiative transfer program FASCODE Environment (FASE). Under (1), AER developed experiment plans and detailed data collection event parameters for MSX to obtain vertical profiles of radiance and trace gases in the stratosphere. In addition, AER analyzed data from meteorological satellites coincident with MSX measurements and correlated these data with the MSX data. In (2), AER collaborated with PL/GPOS to analyze radiance data from CIRRIS-II. by enhancing and applying the fast radiative transfer code XFWD and the inversion INV. In (3), AER continued the development of the atmospheric radiative transfer code FASCODE. The new code is called FASE, for FASCODE for the Environment.


Having rejected the Puritan ideology and determined to live a life as she envisions, the protagonist Hester never gets her acts approved by the Puritan society, but dies unredeemed on the wild, "sable"land of North America. The reason is not far to find:Hester ′s ideology unfortunately surpasses that of her time. Howere, Hester ′s protest rightly bespeaks "the underlying struggle"of the humankind ever since the dawn of its history, hence, earns her the sublime title of the hero.


In order to obtain the characteristic of flutter for a high maneuver aircraft all-movable horizontal tail, scaled structure dynamic similar models were manufactured and transonic flutter wind tunnel test was accomplished in FL-26 wind tunnel. In the mean time, CFD simulation using Navier-Stokes equation was accomplished. The horizontal tail flutter model has a rigid fuselage and a rigid wing to investigate aerodynamic influence to horizontal tail flutter boundary. Two flutter horizontal tail models were manufactured with different mass overload factor. Comparing the result of CFD simulation and wind tunnel test, a flutter design method was made for all-movable horizontal tail.


The development of concrete technology, it's necessary to verify the properties of these new construction materials. One of the most essential properties is bonding between steel bars and surrounding concrete. Pull-out test was adopted to quantify the bond resistance between them. Different embedded lengths (50, 100, 200mm) with different diameters of steel bar anchored in High Strength Self Compacting Concrete (HSSCC) were considered. To improve the bond slip relationship, other samples with two different micro carbon fibers were used. It was found that HSSCC is more effective in bonding resistance than normal concrete at different diameters taken as variables herein. One of the well-known theoretical models for development length was assessed relative to test results, and showed that, conservative up to 12mm diameter, and not at larger bars diameters.


Summary

.If œstrogenic material is administered to sexually immature possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), testes and epididymes show a tendency to leave the scrotum and to become situated under the skin near the abdominal ring. This process, which is called testicular ascent, was rapidly completed in a young animal of about Ave and a half months of age. In older but still immature animals, the process is slower and requires larger or lethal doses of cestrogenic material. In mature adult animals the testicles were confined to the scrotum, even after large doses of œstrin.


The rise of the cosmetic medicine industry and the popularization of the Internet have inevitably led to a degree of intersection between the two, including a broad range of messaging and future applications. This study evaluated whether the effects of medical quality and the approach--avoidance effect on medical trust are significant. The results indicate that recognition of medical quality significantly affects the approach--avoidance effect and that overall community support is positively correlated with the approach--avoidance effect. Of the facets of community support, emotional support is the most important. Participants valued interaction quality the most, but the quality of results did not have a significant effect on medical trust, possibly reflecting consumer distrust of medical results advertising.


The no-arbitrage affine Gaussian term structure model is used to analyse the impact of macroeconomic surprises on the nominal and the real term structure in the euro area and in the United States. We find that nominal rates are affected by surprises in economic growth, the labour market and the economic outlook in the United States, and above all by surprises in inflation in the euro area. As far as real rates are concerned, we find that they are not affected by macroeconomic surprises in the United States, but they are by surprises in inflation and monetary policy in the euro area. Inflation expectations in both areas are not systematically influenced by monetary policy surprises. In the United States forward inflation risk premia became sizeable around the start of the financial crisis at the end of the last decade and increased considerably just before the adoption of the first unconventional monetary policy measures in March 2009. By contrast, in the euro area forward inflation risk premia remained unchanged even after the adoption of the unconventional monetary policy measures in October 2008 and May 2010. In both areas long-term inflation expectations have been well anchored over the past years.


A bill recently passed with a close vote by the Ohio Legislature and is now on the Governor's desk. It purports to provide protection to the physicians who prescribe narcotics to their patients for 'intractable' pain. Examples in the discussion of the bill were largely limited to terminal cancer patients, but the application implied was to any 'chronic pain' person who is 'disabled' by pain. This is, of course, outrageous. A 'chronic pain' patient is disabled by the reaction to the circumstances surrounding the pain, i.e. job implications, prognosis, family concerns, etc. Trying to ameliorate the pain with narcotics (or spinal cord stimulator, morphine pump) is not only inappropriate but it's also downright 'stupid'. It's only symptomatic treatment for a complex disabling condition which needs a comprehensive interdisciplinary management approach. Unfortunately, this bill can (or will) be used by physicians to commit many chronic pain patients to a life of nausea, confusion, and dim consciousness. A classic example was presented by the television news show '60 Minutes' recently. The patient was complaining of low back pain extending to 'total body pain' and Ed Bradley was overly solicitous as he lambasted the State Medical Board for their decision to suspend the physician's license to practice. He went on to criticize the Pharmacy Board for doing the same thing to the pharmacist who was dispensing hundreds of thousands of oral narcotics to this physician's chronic pain patients usually secondary to industrial accidents (or, in some cases, victims of the medicaljsurgical system). Not incidentally, an interdisciplinary team is NOT the same as a multidisciplinary team. The latter can be a 'pain specialist' sending the patient around to the physical therapist, psychologist, pharmacist, nutritionist, etc. This is likening a buffet to a gourmet dinner. It won't work guaranteed. Not all benign chronic pain will disappear but then, pain is ubiquitous and almost always a continuing and important experience of life. Pain must be sampled, appreciated and above all, understood as a part of living. Trying to suppress it with potentially addicting and unpleasant narcotic medications is not only egregious and unthinkable but second-class medicine at best.


This study aims to understand about social economic of underage workers at Taman Bali village, Bangli Regency. The result of this research shows that the age of the underage workers is from 11 until 14 years old. They work at handicraft and printing industries. They work about 3.41 hours a day after schooling and earn about Rp.2.450 a day. They spend their earning for fulfilling their own need, paying tuition, or giving it to their parents. They work because they want to help their parents, want to get own money, to spend their spare time and to learn skills on handicraft and printing. Their parents support their activities because during their children work they will be able to stand alone, learn to save money and help their parents to fulfill daily needs. This research also find that the socialization of the regulation of Manpower has never done in this place, so that it is very important to socialize the rules to the village in order to give the village comprehending about their rights and duties as workers.


Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a pathophysiological and asymptomatic state characterized by obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, dysglycaemia and dyslipidaemia which are known to increase the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Though many decisive factors are employed to identify MetS, it is usually agreed to be having a combination of health issues like large waist circumference, hyperglyceridaemia, reduced HDL, raised blood pressure and increased fasting blood glucose levels.


Generational cohort theory suggests that shared events and influences in people's forming years shapegenerational values and common beliefs. Leadership traits theory focuses on trying to predict em ...


The present paper addresses the concept of CSF in the development of new products. More specifically, the aim of this research is to study how performance is perceived and measured within the companies, and how this can be improved. The target respondents are Indian SMEs. 18 critical factors are identified and with the help of semi structured questionnaire the data is collected. The collected data is being analyzed in SPSS software. The results show that the identified factors are related to success of new product in the Indian SMEs. © 2015 Elixir all rights reserved. Elixir Mech. Engg. 89 (2015) 37057-37061 Mechanical Engineering Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal) Ajay Khatarkar and Dr. Rohit Raj Vaidya/ Elixir Mech. Engg. 89 (2015) 37057-37061 37058 product development more effectively, encourage more use of outside expertise, and authorize and promote responsible and experienced professional employees to senior management levels. Abdel-Kader and Lin (2009) summarize the conclusions of the SAPPHO projects as: Professional employees and good management skills are the key to success. Tang et al. (2005) identified a distinct set of success factors for product development: Leadership, Organizational culture, Human resources, Information, Product strategy, Project execution, Product delivery, and Results. Leadership involves key characteristics of the project manager, the power delegated, and whether there is a clear strategic direction for the development project. The Organizational culture involves the extent to which management takes advantage of the established values of the personnel to improve project output. Human resources involve management's actions to improve the skills and the work environment. In a thorough review of critical success factors by Ernst (2002), the following categorization, as previously developed by Cooper and Kleinschmidt (2007), was adopted: Customer integration, Organization, Culture, Role and commitment of senior management and Strategy. Adams et al. (2006) present another review drawing on a wide body of the product innovation literature, and identified the following seven categories as important in the product innovation process: Inputs management, Knowledge management, Innovation strategy, Organizational culture and structure, Portfolio management, Project management, and Commercialization. Further, Bessant and Tidd (2007) argue for the following success factors in product innovation: Market knowledge, Clear product definition, Product advantage, Project organization, Top management support, Risk assessment, Proficiency in execution, and Project resources. Product advantage involves product superiority in the eyes of the customer e.g. delivering unique benefits to the user and a high performance-to-cost ratio. Market knowledge, i.e. assessment and understanding of customer and user needs, is critical. A clear product definition, defining target markets, clear concept definition and benefits to be delivered must be determined before the development activities begin. Holistic risk assessment including market-based, technological, manufacturing and design sources must be built into the business and feasibility studies. In a meta-review, by Chen et al. (2010), of the success factor literature especially focusing on decreasing the development cycle time, the success factors were grouped into process, project, team, and strategy. Chen et al. (2010) further argue, on the basis of their findings, that process and team characteristics are more generalizable and cross-situational consistent determinants of productdevelopment speed than strategy and project characteristics. This review differs from other reviews in the sense that it is focused on the time dimension, not the cost or product success as is most usual (e.g. Molina-Castillo and Munuera-Alemán, 2009). Few meta-studies focus on the time perspective as an aspect of product-development performance. One exception is the review by Gerwin and Barrowman (2002). The early but very influential review by MontoyaWeiss and Calantone (1994) found that certain factors related to strategy and the development process are most strongly linked to performance in product development. In the review by Henard and Szymanski (2001) they conclude that out of the 24 determinants of productdevelopment performance only five, i.e. product advantage, market potential, meeting customer needs, predevelopment task proficiencies and dedicated resources, are salient determinants of product development performance. Table 1. Success Factors in New product development Criteria Sub-Criteria Reference Technical Factor Technical capabilities Cooper (1999) Sun and Wing (2005), Poolton and Barclay (1998) Product Production in Appropriate Time and cost Cooper (1999), Sun Lynn et al. (1999) and Wing (2005), Lester (1998) Clear definition of the functions of the Product Cooper (1999) Gupta and Wilemon (1990) Technically difficult to replace Sun Lynn et al. (1999), Lester (1998) Marketing Factor Appropriate Marketing strategy Lester (1998), Haverila(2012), Ernst Holger (2002) Focus on the customer Cooper (1999) Sun, Wing (2005), Haverila (2012),Ernst Holger (2002) A growing market Poolton and Barclay (1998),Ernst Holger (2002) Sharma (2006) Clear definition of the target market Lester (1998), Cooper (1999) Sun and Wing (2005), Ernst Holger (2002)


In this paper, a 50 watts level continuous-wave W-band TWT was designed in order to meet the high frequency wireless communication requirements. A two-step phase velocity tapering interaction circuit was designed to improve the electron efficiency which was about 6% within the working bandwidth. A two-stage depressed collector was also used to improve the spent beam energy recovery efficiency. The simulation results show that 23.6% overall efficiency was achieved.


Objective
To investigate the cognition of depression and anxiety and recognition of physical and mental illness, and analyze their correlation in hospitalized elderly patients with chronic diseases.

Methods
A cross-sectional study was performed. A total of 206 hospitalized elderly patients with chronic diseases from a hospital were investigated using mini mental state examination (MMSE), Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD), self rating anxiety scale (SAS) and elderly patients with chronic diseases questionnaire.

Results
The total scores in cognition of depression and anxiety were (5.95±3.05) and (4.92±3.20). The correct recognition rate of chronic disease was (97±8)%, and the correct recognition rate of mental illness was (47±29)%. The recognition of mental illness was positively correlated with the total cognition score of depression and three dimensions of thinking, spirit and mood (P 0.05). There was no significant correlation between recognition of mental illness and physical dimension of anxiety (P>0.05).

Conclusions
The cognitive level and cognition of depression and anxiety are low in elderly patients with chronic diseases. They tend to recognize the mental illness as chronic physical disease. Therefore, nurses should make depression and anxiety evaluation as routine assessment for the elderly patients with chronic diseases. Early identification of mental illness can avoid the delay of psychological intervention and acquire the best time of treatment.

Key words:
Chronic diseases; Depression; Anxiety; Cognition; Correlation


Laboratory-scale experiments simulating the injection of fresh water into brine in a Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) cavern were performed at Sandia National Laboratories for various conditions of injection rate and small and large injection tube diameters. The computational fluid dynamic (CFD) code FLUENT was used to simulate these experiments to evaluate the predictive capability of FLUENT for brine-water mixing in an SPR cavern. The data-model comparisons show that FLUENT simulations predict the mixing plume depth reasonably well. Predictions of the near-wall brine concentrations compare very well with the experimental data. The simulated time for the mixing plume to reach the vessel wall was underpredicted for the small injection tubes but reasonable for the large injection tubes. The difference in the time to reach the wall is probably due to the three-dimensional nature of the mixing plume as it spreads out at the air-brine or oil-brine interface. The depth of the mixing plume as it spreads out along the interface was within a factor of 2 of the experimental data. The FLUENT simulation results predict the plume mixing accurately, especially the water concentration when the mixing plume reaches the wall. This parameter value is the most significant feature of the mixingmore » process because it will determine the amount of enhanced leaching at the oil-brine interface.« less


We introduce two new diagnostics of dark energy (DE). The first, Om, is a combination of the Hubble parameter and the cosmological redshift and provides a null test of dark energy being a cosmological constant Λ. Namely, if the value of Om(z) is the same at different redshifts, then DE ≡ Λ, exactly. The slope of Om(z) can differentiate between different models of dark energy even if the value of the matter density is not accurately known. For DE with an unevolving equation of state, a positive slope of Om(z) is suggestive of Phantom (w < −1) while a negative slope indicates Quintessence (w > −1). The second diagnostic – acceleration probe q̄ – is the mean value of the deceleration parameter over a small redshift range. It can be used to determine the cosmological redshift at which the universe began to accelerate, again without reference to the current value of the matter density. We apply the Om and q̄ diagnostics to the Union data set of type Ia supernovae combined with recent data from the cosmic microwave background (WMAP5) and baryon acoustic oscillations.


Author(s): Switzer, Heather | Abstract: This abridged discussion of Maasai schoolgirls and disruptive discourses comes from my dissertation (in progress), Making the Maasai Schoolgirl: Developing Modernities on the Margins, an ethnographic case study of development at the local level that examines an emergent social category in contemporary Kenyan Maasai society: the "schoolgirl." It is only recently, in the past generation, that Maasai females have attended school in any number, and access remains relatively limited. The dissertation analyzes rural schoolgirls' narratives of education and development in their daily lives, which are characterized by a contradictory resistance to 'traditional' gender norms and social forms. These narratives are embedded in larger questions regarding the transnational intersections of ethnicity, gender, and class in the formation of local identities in marginalized indigenous communities in postcolonial Kenya. The overall project relies on 98 interviews with Maasai schoolgirls ages 10-20 in nine primary government day schools in Kajiado District, Kenya. From this larger work, this short discussion thinks gender by examining the practical effects of two central disruptive discourses--thetensions between mainstream development's "girl-child" and the Maasai "schoolgirl" and the articulation of futurity and the limits of the aspirational horizon of desire—as they play out within a neoliberal developmentalist discursive regime.


This annotated bibliography of Chicano literature is intended to familiarize its readers with the large body of Chicano creative writing that exists today and that is growing at an impressive pace. Some observers of the Chicano scene believe that the Chicano Movement, vitalized in the late 1960s, precipitously gave birth to the phenomenon known as Chicano literature. In actuality, Chicano literature has existed as long as Ch?canos have existed, and they, of course, did suddenly come into being as the result of the Mexican American War. For more than a century after that war, Mexican Americans?usually los ricos?wrote for Spanish-language newspapers, kept diaries, and produced their share of poetry and fiction; in addition, virtually all Mexican Americans enjoyed a rich and vigorous oral folklore tradition that continues to this day. Their writings, however, were rarely published by American publishing houses, nor did they surface in American journals or magazines of the time. Those Mexican Americans who appeared in fiction written and published by Anglos were peripheral, one-dimensional characters, generally presented stereotypically, unrealistically, and negative


This report provides an introduction to federal records. It describes the scope and requirements of the Federal Records Act (FRA) and its associated regulations. This report focuses on federal recordkeeping laws, regulations, and policies including what is or is not a federal record, which agencies are required to comply with the FRA and how agencies can transfer or dispose of federal records. This report does not address the recordkeeping requirements of Congress, the Supreme Court, the President, or the Architect of the Capitol.


This paper aims at testing a conceptual model connecting variables of the demographical characteristics of the employees, internal and external work environment to ITES/BPO employee turnover. Based on the gaps identified from the literature, the study seeks to examine the influence of intervening variables such as alternative job availability and organizational commitment on turnover intention. The findings suggest that organizations need to focus on how to foster organizational commitment, to enhance job satisfaction, reduce job stress and provide support to facilitate employee retention. The findings of this study would provide information that will be useful to management practitioners and academicians. INTRODUCTION Outsourcing is the buzzword of the modern management system wherein an external service provider is contracted by the management to perform functions of a non-core activity (like pay roll in Human Resource stream), which is critical in nature. The advancement in the field of information technology and telecommunication has been the fundamental reason for the evolution of such new techniques that in turn aid the successful running of business houses. Another reason for such a monumental change in the nature of functioning of today's management system can be attributed to globalization. Specifically companies need to compete on a global basis if they are to achieve economies of scale and keep up with the latest technologies and advancements (Porter, 1980). The offshore outsourcing markets were initially developed as software development services and later developed as Information Technology-Enabled Services (ITES) . ITES has developed into a major part of IT industry. On the same lines, the BPO sector also forms a major part of ITES industry. The ITES/BPO industry is a young and nascent sector in India and has been in existence for a little more than a decade. Despite its recent arrival on the Indian scene, the industry has grown phenomenally and has now become a very important part of the export-oriented IT software and services environment. It initially began as an activity confined to multinational companies, but today it has developed into a broad based business platform backed by leading Indian IT software and services organizations and other third party service providers. The ITES/BPO market expanded its base with the entry of Indian IT companies and the ITES market of the present day is characterized by the existence of the IT giants who are able to leverage their broad skill-sets and global clientele to offer a wide spectrum of services. ITES include services that can be outsourced using the powers of IT the extent to which this is possible depends on the industry, location, time, costs and managerial perception of the risks involved. The Internet has facilitated execution of several activities, previously done within geographical proximity to the firm, from remote lowlabor cost locations, drawing both transaction cost and production cost efficiencies. WHY STUDY TURNOVER IN ITES/BPO SECTOR? Voluntary turnover has become a problem for many organizations, regardless of the nature of job, in today's society. The costs of this turnover not only have an impact on organizations, but also affect the morale of the rest of the staff. Prior research has examined the costs of an employee's decision to voluntarily leave an organization. For example, a recentfigure explained that it costs a company $78,000 to replace an employee (Ramsey-Smith, 2004) * These costs include the cost of recruitment and training of employees (Alexander et al, 1994), loss of firm-level social capital (Dess and Shaw, 2001), decrease in temporary productivity (Osterman, 1987) and loss of important tacit knowledge (Droege and Hoobler, 2003). For this reason, there have been a plethora of research studies conducted over the past 40 years by both academicians and practitioners on the causes and consequences of voluntary turnover. …


ABSTRACT Ag-doped CdO (CdO:Ag) thin films were prepared by spray technique using perfume atomizer from fresh and aged (1, 3 and 5 days) starting solutions. The as-deposited films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectroscopy and photoluminescence studies. Face-centred cubic structure and decreased crystallite size were observed with aging period of the precursor solution. Transparency and band gap value increase with aging period of the solution. The CdO:Ag film prepared from 3-days aged solution exhibits a minimum resistivity of 0.98 × 10−4 Ω cm. The aged CdO:Ag films exhibit increased figure of merit values. Thus, aging period of the precursor solution strongly influenced the structural, optical and electrical properties of the Ag-doped CdO thin films.


A palladium-catalyzed reaction has been applied toward the synthesis of divalent carbohydrate derivatives, which showed excellent lectin cross-linking abilities. The procedure, which in- volves copper(I) iodide and dichlorobis(triphenylphosphine)palla- dium(II)-catalyzed head-to-head coupling of prop-2-ynyl glycosides, is very efficient affording symmetrically conjugated carbohydrates containing 1,3-diynes in excellent yields. The reac- tions proceeded rapidly and efficiently at room temperature without the need for added oxidizing agents.


It has been found that N-bromosuccinimide readily and quantitatively oxidises aqueous solutions of copper(I) at room temperature and in the presence of dilute hydrochloric acid, the oxidising agent being irreversibly reduced to succinimide.A procedure is suggested for the determination of copper(I) by titration with standard N-bromosuccinimide solution; the results obtained were found to be equally precise but more accurate than those given by the permanganate and complexometric methods.Copper(II), after preliminary reduction, can also be determined by the suggested procedure, whether alone or admixed with copper(I).


This paper analyzes the chances and challenges of automobile hiring in our city and explores the relative measures to invigorate the local economy.


OBJECTIVE
One putative benefit of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a reduced risk of diabetes or reduced fasting glucose level. We report here the association of HRT with proinsulin, insulin, and fasting and postchallenge glucose levels in older adults.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Current HRT use was validated and cross-sectionally compared with diabetes-related variables in 785 women without diabetes by history or glucose tolerance test.

RESULTS
Median age was 72 years (range 50-97); median value of fasting plasma glucose, postchallenge plasma glucose, and proinsulin was 5.08 mmol/l, 6.93 mmol/l, and 9.3 pmol/l, respectively. In age-adjusted comparisons, current HRT use was associated with significantly lower fasting plasma glucose and higher postchallenge plasma glucose compared with never/previous HRT use, as well as with lower LDL and higher HDL cholesterol and higher triglycerides. Fasting and postchallenge intact insulin did not differ by HRT group, but proinsulin was significantly lower in current HRT users than in previous and never HRT users. The significant association between proinsulin and HRT status persisted after adjustment for age, waist-to-hip ratio, pulse pressure, LDL-to-HDL cholesterol ratio, triglycerides, fasting and postchallenge glucose, and intact insulin.

CONCLUSIONS
Reduced fasting and increased 2-h glucose replicate findings in a randomized clinical trial. The proinsulin effect has not been previously reported. Decreased fasting glucose and proinsulin levels in current HRT use suggest a potential antidiabetes effect of HRT. Increased postchallenge glucose in HRT, however, suggests insulin resistance and would be expected to increase the risk of heart disease.


Though apparently only a fragment, the posthumously published New Atlantis provides insights into Bacon's idea of science not discoverable in his other works. In Salomon's House, the poet of science gave a local habitation and a name to the process and product of science, creating a concrete image of the "learning" for which he had sued so eloquently and so fruitlessly twenty years earlier before the new monarch, the learned James. Clearly an integral part of Bacon's program, in many places the New Atlantis is no less than a fictionalized paradigm of The First Book of the Advancement of Learning For example, as a correlative to the arguments by which he defended learning from the ignorant zeal of religious, political, and social fanatics, Bacon created in the New Atlantis a little world sanctified to God, politically stable, socially conservative, and morally pure and dedicated to the pursuit of science. Further, in its leading institution, the College of the Six Days Works, we find also a correlative to the criticisms of contemporary scientific practice that Bacon had offered earlier in The Advancement in his analysis of "the errors and vanities which have intervened amongst the studies themselves of the learned" and in the "peccant humours" which weaken and corrupt learning. But the New Atlantis is more than a mere paradigm: it projects an image of science in operation and of the relation of scientists to society not to be found in Bacon's earlier works. My purpose here is to explore the structure of that image, emphasizing in particular the contrast between it and the image of science projected by other Renaissance Utopias.


●Abstract● Objective: The authors present a case with persistent primitive hypoglossal artery (PPHA) associated with a ruptured basilar aneurysm. Clinical presentation: A 58-year-old woman with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) was admitted to our hospital. Her neurological condition was Grade III (Hunt and Kosnic). Cerebral angiography revealed a PPHA and a saccular aneurysm at the tip of the basilar artery. The aneurysm was successfully embolized with GDC coils through the PPHA. After a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt for hydrocephalus, the patient was discharged without any neurological defi cit. Conclusion: The aneurysm at the basilar artery associated with PPHA can be safely treated with coil embolization through the PPHA. ●Key Words● coil embolization, persistent primitive hypoglossal artery, subarachnoid hemorrhage


Let XC be a separable, infinite dimensional, complex Hilbert space, and let E(9C) denote the algebra of all bounded linear operators on SC. In [2] it was shown that every quasinilpotent operator T in E(jC) (i.e., every T whose spectrum is the singleton {O}) is a norm-limit of nilpotent operators. The purpose of this note is to give a very short and easily remembered proof of this theorem. Our proof has two basic ingredients: the use of a model for quasinilpotent operators constructed in [4], and the use of a deep theorem of Voiculescu [7]. For completeness we review the relevant facts from [4] and [7] that we shall need. Let X. = X ED X e ... be the direct sum of S0 copies of SC indexed by the positive integers, let K = K,,' I= be a monotone decreasing sequence of nonnegative numbers converging to zero, and let UK denote the quasinilpotent backward weighted shift operator in Ef(f3C) defined by the equation UK(X19 X2, * * * 9 Xn9 .. . ) = (K1X2, K2X3,. . .9 KnXn, 19 . .. ). (1) THEOREM A [4]. If T is any quasinilpotent operator in e(9C), then there is a sequence K = K(T) = {Kn,) 'I with the above described properties and a subspace 91 of 'K.C that is invariant under the quasinilpotent operator UK such that T is similar to UK191 and such that the subspace 'CK e )1 is infinite dimensional.


Let A and B be two sets of n objects in R d. we propose to use bottleneck mat chtng as a convenient way for measuring the resemblance between them, and present several algorithms for computing, as well as approximating, this resemblance. The running time of all these algorithms is close to O(nl 5,. For instance, if the objects are points in the plane, the running time is O(n lslogrr). We also consider the problem of finding a translation of B that maximizes the resemblance to A under the bottleneck matching criterion. When .4 and B are point-sets in the plane, we present an O (n5 log n) time algorithm for determining whether for some translated copy the resemblance gets below a given p, improving the previous result of .41t, Mehlhorn, Wagener and Welzl by a factor of almost n. We use this result to compute the smallest such p in time 0(n5 Ioga n), and give an eflicient approximation scheme for this problem.


Recent scholarship wrestles with the issue of creating a setting within writing centers that encourages genuine collaboration between those who seek advice (or input) and those who give it. Some scholarship suggests that too often the people who fund, administer, and use writing centers see the facilities as primarily remedial. Among other problems, this attitude promotes the "us-and-them mentality" that Richard Leahy cautions against (45) • Lex Runciman, too, blames misconceptions about the meaning of tutor and tutoring for assumptions made by students, administrators, and tutors themselves that "writing centers serve only bad writers" ("Defining" 28) and are little more than emergency rooms for critically ill grammar. Both scholars urge us to create an environment "in which everyone is free to develop his or her own best writing processes" (Leahy 45), where good writers go "in order to make enlightened decisions about context, organization, idea development, tone, and the like" (Runciman, "Defining" 33). To create such a place, Leahy urges us to "foster a community of people who love writing and like to share their writing with each other" (45). As a logical first step, Runciman suggests we abandon terms that carry remedial connotations (e.g. tutor a.nd tutoring and adopt terms that more accurately describe who we are and what we do. Although I agree that we need to encourage an enlightened, collaborative environment in writing centers, I believe we can achieve this goal (whether or not we rename ourselves and our work) through the intelligent and humane use of humor.


We compare source parameter estimates for earthquakes in the 2011 Prague Mw 5.7, Oklahoma, sequence to investigate random uncertainty and systematic bias, and resolve reliable relative variations in stress drop. Source parameters provide insight into the earthquake rupture processes but large variations between studies occur. The Prague earthquake sequence is a prime example of this, with different studies reaching contrasting interpretations of the effects of injection on source parameters. We examine the Prague earthquake sequence using a single coherent catalog for all the events detected by the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) and McMahon et al. (2017). We use three principal approaches to estimate stress drop in order to understand the biases of each: a spectral decomposition method based on stacking, individual event spectral modeling, and a spectral ratio method based on highly correlated events. We also compare our results with previous studies for the Prague sequences aftershocks, as well as past results for the Mw 4.8 foreshock and Mw 4.8 aftershock and Mw 5.7 mainshock. The absolute values of stress drop vary significantly between methods, but the relative patterns remain consistent, except when low quality or low bandwidth data are included. The consistent relative patterns reveal that the stress drops of aftershocks are dependent on the fault orientation and the proximity of the events to the mainshocks slip. These results indicate that fault structure as well as past events play an important role in stress drop patterns.


The thermoelectric cooling is the alternative method of refrigeration. It has principally advantage that it does not harm the ozone layer. Other advantages that make the thermoelectric cooling only effective solution for certain applications are discussed. Rational space of thermoelectric refrigeration applications and also present applications are noted. Existing of principally new thermoelectric materials with a high figure of merit should lead to increasing of a thermoelectric refrigerators' market.


Internet technology is revolutionizing education. Teachers are developing massive open online courses (MOOCs) and using innovative practices such as flipped learning in which students watch lectures at home and engage in hands-on, problem solving activities in class. This work seeks to explore the design space afforded by these novel educational paradigms and to develop technology for improving student learning. Our design, based on the technique of adaptive content review, monitors student attention during educational presentations and determines which lecture topic students might benefit the most from reviewing. An evaluation of our technology within the context of an online art history lesson demonstrated that adaptively reviewing lesson content improved student recall abilities 29% over a baseline system and was able to match recall gains achieved by a full lesson review in less time. Our findings offer guidelines for a novel design space in dynamic educational technology that might support both teachers and online tutoring systems.


Commodity dependence is especially high in many least developed countries, with a corresponding increase in their vulnerability. For agricultural commodity-dependent developing countries, where a large portion of rural producers depend on commodities for their livelihoods, commodities and development are intertwined and inseparable concepts. Volatility and decline in the price of coffee have resulted in diminishing export revenues, undermining the ability of the state to invest in rural development. There have also been negative impacts at the micro level, leading to greater poverty among producers, deteriorating labour standards, and unsustainable land use practices. While the market for undifferentiated coffee has stagnated, the growth of the speciality market has created new opportunities for producers. A key characteristic of speciality markets is that they pay higher and more stable prices and provide additional benefits. For producers, the overall income impact depends on the balance between the costs of meeting the requirements of production standards and the income earned from the premium, plus additional non-monetary benefits. Findings from case studies conducted in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia show that benefits from producing for speciality markets do not always reach farmers in the form of higher prices paid and, ultimately, higher income, as hoped. To date, nonmonetary benefits in the form of social development, including enhanced social capital, are not very widespread either. This can partly be explained with speciality production having been introduced very recently in these countries. A number of ways to address commodity dependence and its negative social and environmental impacts are discussed in this article.


Measurements of near-surface salinity and temperature were made over a period of 16 months in the Connecticut River estuary, an estuary basically of the salt wedge type. The temperature distribution was found to be very highly correlated with the salinity distribution. The horizontal salinity distribution occurred primarily in two modes, a riverine mode and a plume mode, corresponding to salinity transitions mostly within the river itself and to those mostly within Long Island Sound. Similarity variables are developed for each of the two distribution modes which render the data in compact forms that should have applications to other estuaries of a similar type.


Currently,the illegal group events in Guangdong's rural area are displaying some new salient features,-the conformance of appeals,the strictness of organization,the concentration of type,the illegality of events,and the harm to society etc.It gives occasion to the events that many-sided benefit conflicts,mass interests are infringed,the ideas of lawful asserting rights diluted,the channels of asserting rights blocked,the asserting cost is not rationalized,the mechanism to solve conflict not completed,the cadres' working capability not strengthened.To prevent and handle such events must stick to impartial criterion to harmonize multilateral interest in rural area,normalize government conduct to guarantee mass legal right,uplift mass law-abiding consciousness and the outlook of overall situation,boost democracy and nomocracy to complete interest appealing mechanism for constituting scientific and effective settlement system.


Objective: To explore the incidence rate of the common complications in heroin addicts,and discuss the corresponding and effective intervention strategies for the complications.Methods: 500 heroin addicts who enrolled in the inpatient treatment in our center from January ,2009 to July ,2010 were assessed retrospectively.Results: It was found that 343 cases had hepatitis B;138 cases had local infection;157 cases had respiratory complications,and the incidence rate of respiratory complications was 31.4%.246 cases had the abnormal ECG,and the abnormal rate of ECG was 49.2%.In the 50 recent patients,It showed that 32 cases had anxiety,24 cases had depression,4 cases had psychotic disorders,and 1 case had disturbance of consciousness.Conclusion: The incidence rate of the common complications is relevant with the drug abuse pattern,the abuse quantity and abuse duration.high incidence of various types of severe virus hepatitis and mental illnesses,should be paid to the,and it is necessary to take effective measures to intervene.


A telemedical auscultation consulting system based on LAN is designed and implemented. Besides transmitting data with high security, this system can also sample, real-time-display, and store heart sound signals. Furthermore, many other functions are achieved such as heart sound playback, computer-aided diagnosis, electronic medical record reporting, etc. By using this system, doctors can communicate with and diagnose for patients remotely.


This article presents the main ways in which innovation can have a positive impact on economic growth, welfare of the population, economic structure, social image of society and various sectors of the economy, innovation opportunities, their application and development prospects. Key words:innovation, novation, science, new development, innovation, innovation infrastructure, innovation activity, innovation process.


approach to the conflict, counting on military strength, instead of investing in a peace strategy. In the third case, Peres took tough steps to stabilize the economy. Economists seemed to have been relatively successful, because they politicized their knowledge enough to become influential. Unlike the other professionals, they were willing and able to help plan and implement policy alternatives. Keren elegantly links technocracy with pluralism: whereas populists rely on sentiment, technocrats rely on knowledge. Knowledge in turn permits the constructive political dialogue on controversial issues that is essential to the democratic process. However, by using Peres's two-year term as a case study, Keren does not clearly show the conditions that are necessary for technocracy to defeat populism. By his own admission the period is too short to show an impact on Israel's economic and political cultures. Indeed, not only were Peres's policies quickly reversed, but a decade later Benjamin Netanyahu elevated populism to an unprecedented height by exploiting ethnic, religious, and ultranationalist sentiments. Rather, what this study confirms is that, given the primacy of issues of peace and security in determining political behavior in Israel, these issues have consistently been manipulated by Israel's governments and political parties. In contrast, economic policies are less risky and are easily reversed. Therefore, the Israeli polity has always been more flexible on economic issues. While contributing to our ability to build a model for the success or failure of technocrats in their pursuit of pluralism, Keren is overly ambitious. He could make a significant contribution with a revised and expanded study that would include Netanyahu's leadership style.


Embodiments of the present invention comprises a method for synchronizing sub-pattern recognition and automatic test pattern associated devices and systems. Test and measurement instrument is triggered in response to a first example of a data stream triggering pattern. Trigger to trigger counter starts counting at the first trigger event. Test and measurement instrument is triggered in response to a second instance of the data stream again trigger patterns. At this time, terminal count. The count is then a predefined length of the test pattern is compared, and if they are equal, determines automatically trigger patterns only the synchronization sub-patterns associated with the test pattern.


Abstract Leghorn-type hens in cages and floor pens were used to evaluate pigmenting potential for producing table-egg and intensely colored egg yolks from the xanthophylls in corn gluten meal, alfalfa and marigold meal and for β-apo 8′ carotenal (BAC) and the carotenoic acid ethyl ester (BACE). There were no consistent differences in utilization efficiencies between corn gluten meal, 20% protein dehydrated alfalfa meal, a 40% protein alfalfa concentrate, total xanthophyll extracts of corn or alfalfa or BAC. Xanthophylls in marigold meal, although most concentrated, were least utilizable and BACE was most efficiently utilized. Lutein isolated from alfalfa was not utilized as well at levels up to 22 p.p.m. as the xanthophylls of alfalfa meal or the alfalfa extracts, suggesting the presence of a factor in the latter materials which enhances xanthophyll utilization. Utilization was superior for caged hens vs. floor housed hens.


On a recent trip to Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, Matt Birkinshaw learnt about the effects that large dam projects on the Narmada River are having on the local community and environment.


Distant hybrid combining the systems select breeding methods to natural brown cotton BC1089,green cotton GC1011(Gossypium hirsutum L)and white sea-island cotton 324(Gossypium barbadense L) configurate crosses.The character of every F1 plant is stable.F2 plants are crazy separation.From the F1 generation began self-crosslinking in its future generations of separation,breeding a new traits stable colored cotton germplasm.The result showed that fiber quality and yield of these germplasm material has been improved.Analysis of variance results showed that the fiber quality and yield of stability strains and future generations of distant hybrid,have been increased to a certain degree.


☆ Funding Sources: This work is funded by the VA Mer 01), Department of Veteran Affairs. ☆☆ Disclosure Statement: The authors report no financia terest regarding the content herein. ⁎ Correspondence to: R. Banerjee, Department of Mecha 598 Rhodes Hall, PO Box 21072, University of Cincinnati, Ci ⁎⁎ Correspondence to: I. Arif, Division of Cardiovascular D Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA. E-mail addresses: email@example.com (R.K. Baner


The Tacrine loaded mPEG-PCL nanoparticles were prepared by emulsion polymerization and solvent evaporation method, to improve the bioavailability of the drug in brain. The nanoparticulate formulation was characterized for particles size, encapsulation efficiency, zeta potential and in vitro release study. The pharmacokinetic studies of Tacrine-loaded mPEG-PCL nanoparticles were carried out in Sprague dawley rats. The study revealed Cmax and Tmax were significantly altered and Clearance was less in brain and blood when compared to that of plain Tacrine solution. These results suggest that mPEG-PCL nanoparticles had considerably increased the transport of Tacrine across the BBB.


Assaf Razin,the pioneer writer of French classic drama,always has a reputation of tragedy writing.His tragic works are rich in ethical awareness.The thesis,by using ethics criticism on the basis of text interpretation,tries to explore Andromaque in a real language background of history to deeply demonstrate that the social rules are the adjustment of the characters' desires.


We propose a Y-configuration power router as a unit cell to easily construct a power delivery system that can meet many types of user requirements. The Y-configuration power router controls the direction and magnitude of power flow among three ports. Equations for the transmission power in each port were developed to control the power flow based on phase shift modulation. We made a prototype three-way isolated DC/DC converter consisting of SiC-MOSFETs that is the core unit of the Y-configuration power router and tested power flow control operation under open loop control. The experimental results revealed that our methodology based on the governing equation was appropriate for the power flow control of the three-way DC/DC converter.


Abstract A simple, rapid, and accurate method for the determination of naphazoline, oxymetazoline, xylometazoline, and ephedrine in rinological solutions using reversed-phase HPLC was developed. It involves the use of alumina coated with polybutadiene as the stationary phase, acetonitrile-aqueous 10−3 M NaOH (10:90) as the initial mobile phase with a linear gradient from 10 to 80% acetonitrile in 25 min, and detection at 224 nm. The only sample preparation is its dilution with water. Linearity and precision of the method have been assessed. The assay results obtained for various formulations were in agreement with the declared amounts.


In this paper, we propose a maximum-likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) procedure for transmission over rapidly time-varying channels. The time-varying channel is approximated using the basis expansion model (BEM). Using the BEM allows for an efficient implementation of the Viterbi algorithm (VA). This stems from the fact that with the BEM the time-varying channel is approximated over a window of size N by a bank of time-invariant filters, and the time-variation of each filter is captured by a corresponding time-varying complex exponential basis function. Therefore, a time-invariant state diagram of each filter is first constructed and then used to update the branch metrics at every recursion. This can be applied for single carrier transmission as well as for multi-carrier transmission.


A kind of GaAsSb/InP uni-traveling carrier photodiode has been simulated by using a 2D drift-diffusion approach. The simulated bandwidth based on the modified structure could reach 106.6GHz at reverse bias of 2V.


1 Five healthy human subjects were given, in single-blind fashion, either (a) 625 mg theophylline orally, followed 4 h later, by a 40 min infusion of adenosine (40 μg kg -1 min-1 for 5 min, 60 μg kg-1 min -1 for 5 min and 80 μg kg-1 min-1 for 30 min), or (b) 625 mg theophylline orally followed by 0.9% sodium chloride infusion, or (c) placebo theophylline tablets followed by adenosine infusion. 2 All five subjects experienced adverse effects during adenosine infusion, mainly at the higher infusion rates; two subjects also experienced chest pain but not during combined treatment with theophylline and adenosine. 3 Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) rose by 16.5 mmHg (P < 0.001) following treatment with theophylline only, fell by 24.5 mmHg (P < 0.001) during the adenosine infusion after placebo theophylline and remained unchanged during the adenosine infusion following theophylline. Pulse rate rose by 12 min -1 (P < 0.01) during adenosine infusion following placebo, but not after theophylline alone or theophylline and adenosine combined. 4 The respiratory rate fell by 6 min-1 (P < 0.01) during treatment with adenosine only, being lower than for the two treatments containing theophylline (P < 0.05). 5 Plasma potassium and magnesium fell by 0.25 mmol I-1 (P < 0.001) and 0.037 mmol I-1 (P < 0.05), respectively, during treatment with theophylline only, but these effects were not altered by infusion of adenosine. 6 This study has demonstrated interactions between theophylline and adenosine on diastolic blood pressure and respiratory rate, but no interaction on metabolic parameters. Adenosine infusion is unlikely to be of value in the management of theophylline toxicity, but its effects on theophylline-induced cardiac arrhythmias remain unexplored.


ganized and structured. When given a story to read for English, for example, they experience little or no difficulty dis cussing or writing about the plot, characters, and conflict. This is because they have developed an internalized struc ture for narrative prose, often referred to as knowledge of story grammar. This makes it easy for students to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate the narrative material. This internalization of narrative


The invention relates to a touch display device which comprises a frame, a display panel and a touch panel, wherein the inner side wall of the frame is provided with a first stepped part and a second stepped part; the height of the second stepped part relative to the bottom of the frame is larger than the height of the first stepped part relative to the bottom of the frame, a first containing cavity is formed by the enclosure of the first stepped part, and the display panel is positioned in the first containing cavity; and a second containing cavity is formed by the enclosure of the second stepped part, and the touch panel is positioned in the second containing cavity. The touch display device has the advantage of being easy to assemble.


Civil society is currently the guarantor of the sustainable development of the rule of law and the source of positive transformations in various spheres of society. The growing interest in the category of "civil society" in modern jurisprudence has actualized the task of building a holistic concept of civil society. The article discusses the main conceptual approaches to understanding civil society in modern jurisprudence and determining its relationship with the state. An analysis is made of the characteristics identified by Russian and foreign researchers as the hallmarks of civil society. The models of interaction between the state and civil society, distinguished in domestic and foreign jurisprudence, are considered. The forms of interaction between the state and civil society are considered, their classification is carried out. Based on the results of the study, a conclusion was formulated on the expediency of using the concept of civil society organizations as the basic concept of civil society in modern legal science.


The retrograde transport of the conjugate wheat germ agglutinin–horseradish peroxidase (WGA‐HRP) was used in the rat to identify the cell bodies of origin for all subcortical projections to the basilar pontine nuclei (BPN). A parapharyngeal surgical approach was used to allow the injection micropipette to enter the BPN from the ventral aspect of the brainstem and thus avoid any potential for false‐positive labeling due to transection and injury‐filling of axonal systems located dorsal to the basilar pontine gray.


We investigate the reduction to global normal forms of second order Shubin(or G) type differential operators P(x;D) in functional spaces on Rn. We describe the isomorphism properties of normal form transformations, introduced by L. Hormander for the study of affine symplectic transformations acting on pseudodifferential operators, in spaces like the Schwartz class, the weighted Shubin-Sobolev spaces and the Gelfand-Shilov spaces. We prove that the operator P(x;D) and the normal form PNF(x;D) have the same regularity/solvability and spectral properties. We also study the stability of global properties of the normal forms under perturbations by zero order Shubin type pseudodifferential operators and, more generally, by operators acting on S(Rn) and admitting discrete representations. Finally, we study Cauchy problems on Rn globally in time for second order hyperbolic equations P(x;D)+R(x;D), where P(x;D) is a second or der self-adjoint globally elliptic Shubin pseudodifferential operator and R(x;D) is a first order pseudodifferential operator.


Background: The aim of this study to investigate the relationship between asymmetric angular value in lumbar facet joints and pain, flexibility and daily activity level. Methods: The study included 51 patients with complaint of low back pain (LBP) and underwent lumbar magnetic resonance imaging. Facet joint angle measurements of L4-L5 and L5-S1 were measured. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used for severity of pain. Joint range of motions (ROM) was measured via goniometry. Body extensibility measurements were performed via body hyperextension test. The Nottingham health profile scale was used to assess daily activity level of individuals. Results: The VAS values of patients with tropism were significantly higher (p=0.016). There wasn't significance difference in ROM and flexibility (p=0.784). In patient group with facet tropism, there was limit of lateral flexion towards the side where the facet joint angle was larger than the control group (p=0.002). There was no significant difference between daily activity levels of both groups (p=0.755). Conclusions: Pain severity of facet tropism patients is higher. Patients with facet tropism had lateral flexion restriction. In the light of these findings, when the lateral flexion limitation is detected in individuals with complaints of pain without discopathy, it's necessary to make MR measurements in differential diagnosis by considering facet joint tropism, and to plan physiotherapy and rehabilitation programs. As a result, tropism should be questioned in patients suffering from LBP and limited lateral flexion. There is need for studies in which different evaluation and treatment methods are applied for tropism.


Abstract : There has been recent interest in using polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) as molecular building blocks in many polymer systems This interest is driven by significant property enhancements imparted by dispersion of a covalently bound nanosized inorganic particulate into an organic matrix. Most of the work to date has focused on thermoplastic hybrid inorganic/organic polymers derived from either a triol or a diol-silsesquioxane.


The essential oil of Hypericum perforatum L. of North Indian origin consists of 74% of monoterpene hydrocarbons, 7% of oxygenated monoterpenes, 10% of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and only 1.5% of oxygenated sesquiterpenes. Ishwarane and α-cuprenene were isolated (besides some well-known monoterpene acetates and other sesquiterpenes) from the high boiling fraction of the oil. The low boiling fraction contained 5- and 6-methylheptan-2,4-dione as trace consistuents, while from the residue two new dimethylchromene derivatives 7-sec-butyl- and 7-isobutyl-2,2-dimethyl-2H,5H-pyrano[4,3-b]pyran-5-one were isolated.


A case for a portable information device and a case for an image display device according to the present invention are constituted by three plate-shaped members of a holder portion (2) for storing a portable information device (smartphone (S)), a cover portion (3) for covering the holder portion (2), and an optical panel portion (4) into which an imaging optical element (micromirror array (M)) is fitted to allow the transmission of light. The optical panel portion (4) is held inclined at a prescribed angle relative to a display surface (Sa) of the smartphone (S) when these plate-shaped members are combined to form a prescribed shape. Thereby, the case can be easily transformed between a usage configuration wherein an image (I) displayed on the display surface (Sa) can be projected as a spatial image (I') and a storage configuration wherein these plate-shaped members are folded and stacked so that the overall body can be made more compact. Further, the present invention renders the case for the portable information device easier to carry.


This paper presents a framework to support dynamic adaptation of applications, which consists of a reusable infrastructure with standard elements to monitor and adapt running applications, and a contract-based adaptation language to enable one to express high-level adaptation policies. The proposed framework is used to introduce dynamic adaptation capabilities into a server cluster infrastructure, intended to address power and performance management concerns. By experimental evaluation, we demonstrate that our approach is useful and effective in providing the required support for describing and deploying typical power management contracts.


Introduction to polymers robert j young 9780412306303, introduction polymers the national academies press, introduction to polymers 1 2 polymer types openlearn, introduction to polymers infobase, introduction to polymers part two, introduction to plastics, introduction to polymers solutions manual the open, introduction of polymers, 26


Drilling wastewater,produced mostly in petroleum and nature gas drilling,was one of major wastes.They should be treated harmlessly or utilized comprehensively.The technology research and application progress of treating technique for drilling wastewater were reviewed,and lacking of primary treatment technology in our country,the tendency of the development of it was prospected.


A finite element model of car frame was built based on sensitivity analysis of the stiffness and modal frequencies. The extent of sensitivity to which the thickness of the tube affected the performance of the car frame was considered so that effective variables were chosen for the optimizing design. Then the thickness of frame components was calculated to such that minimized the car frame weight while meeting the requirements of torsional stiffness and modal frequency. The result shows that the frame meets the design requirements with weight reduced by 6. 01%.


Any real control system contains one or more associated highly nonlinear elements. The very presence of such elements in automatic control systems causes adverse effects such as reduction in the stability margin, the emergence of self-oscillations (causing a faster wear of mechanisms), as well as greater static error. Improving the quality of transients in automatic control systems (ACS) as well as the techno-economic indicators of control systems by nonlinear control of the ACS processes has served as the necessary basis for creating a software suit based on a fuzzy compensator capable of configuring itself. The paper presents the results of studies into nonlinear elements of automatic control systems; it dwells upon a novel fuzzy approach to compensating the associated nonlinearities. The paper demonstrates the effectiveness of a software module that uses soft computing to automatically configure a fuzzy controller. It presents an example of compensating a nonlinear deadband element; control quality assessments and their comparisons are given.


Objective To approach the effect of water extract of Flos Puerariae on micronucleus formation in Vicia faba root tip cells.Methods The root tips of Vicia faba with cyclophosphamide or without cyclophosphamide were treated with different concentrations of water extract of Flos Puerariae and the microscope was used for the examination of micronucleus formation.Results When the concentration of water extract of Flos Puerariae was 1.0 gm﹒L-1,the micronucleus formation(MCN‰)in root tip cells which was created naturally or induced with cyclophosphamide was lowest,4.40‰ and 11.11‰ respectively;the inhibition rate on micronucleus formation was tallest,79.07% and 53.90%,respectively.Conclusion The water extract of Flos Puerariae can effectively inhibit the creation of root tip cells micronucleus of Vicia faba and the inhibitory action of the water extract of Flos Puerariae can be strengthened along with the increasing concentrations of itself,which indicates the water extract of Flos Puerariae has an inhibitory effect on hereditary toxicity.


Estrogen receptor β is a nuclear receptor expressed in various tissues in the body including prostate and brain. In addition to 17β-estradiol, other steroids like 5α-androstane-3β, 17β-diol (3β-Adiol) and 5-androstene3β, 17β-diol have been reported to be endogenous ligands of ERβ. The concentration of these ligands in the tissue and the metabolism of these ligands by different enzymes regulate the transcriptional activity of ERβ. In human prostate, 3β-Adiol acts on ERβ to exert an antiproliferative effect to counteract the proliferative activity of 5αdihydrotestosterone (DHT) mediated through androgen receptor. 3β-Adiol is produced from 5α-dihydrotestosterone. In chapter 2, we show that 17βHSD6, a predominant enzyme expressed in human prostate, converts DHT to 3β-Adiol. This conversion of DHT to 3β-Adiol is capable of activating ERβ at physiological concentrations of DHT. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that 17β-HSD6 is expressed in ERβ-positive epithelial cells of the human prostate and that, both ERβ and 17β-HSD6 were present in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) samples and were undetectable in prostate cancers of Gleason grade higher than 3. These observations reveal that formation of 3β-Adiol via 17β-HSD6 from DHT is an important growth


Now a day's tremendous amount of earth observing data or images is downloaded in order to accommodate in variety of geographical and environmental applications like change detection, weather forecasting, climate change, disaster management etc. The recent advancement in spatial, spectral and temporal resolution of satellite images has make it possible to use the images in these vital and world-wide challenging applications. Due to limited transmission rate, remote sensed satellite images needs to be compressed before being delivered to the user. While individual images can be processed by considering spatial and spectral redundancies, a communication system for satellite images can also consider the temporal correlation between images of same place for two different time. In this paper a gradient-based temporal compression technique has been proposed to approximate the image using a reference image of previous time, which is already available. The residual image is transmitted where the proposed rate defeats the sate of art compression technology like JPEG. General Terms Compression, Entropy, Satellite image, Prediction


The sintering behavior and the resulting of cermet are influenced not only by the characteristics and impurities of the raw materials but also are found to be dependent on the thermal history during the fabrication process. Our work is concerned with the effect of sintering temperature on the mechanical properties of 17Ni/(10NiO-NiFe2O4) cermet. The nickel ferrite based cermet were prepared by hot-press sintering technology at 16MPa and sintered at temperatures ranging from 900 to 1200°C. The microstructure, phase compositions and mechanical properties were studied by SEM, XRD and three point bending strength tests respectively. It has been found that, the relative density, hardness and bending strength of NiFe2O4 based cermet have a great influence upon the sintering temperature, and an optimal sintering temperature, e.g. 1100°C is chosen through our experiments. The highest bending strength of 125.89Mpa could be obtained under the sintering temperature of 1100°C. Meanwhile, the thermal shock resistance increases as the sintering temperature increases.


The delayed early serum response gene T1 encodes glycoproteins of the immunoglobulin superfamily with significant sequence similarity to the type 1 interleukin-1 receptor. The T1 gene is transcribed in fibroblasts into an abundant 2.7-kilobase (kb) and a rare 5-kb mRNA in response to proliferation-inducing stimuli. It gives predominantly rise to the longer transcript in the bone marrow of adult mice and in cultured mast cells. Alternative 3′ processing is responsible for the two mRNA forms. The short transcript encodes a secreted protein with marked similarity to the extracellular domain of the interleukin-1 receptor, whereas the long mRNA is translated into a protein with an additional putative transmembrane and an intracellular domain. Here we demonstrate that T1 transcription in mast cells and fibroblasts initiates at two different start sites which are 10.5 kb apart. The alternative first exons are both spliced to exon 2 which contains the translation start site. Northern blot analysis and primer extension experiments revealed that promoter usage is strictly cell type-specific. T1 transcription in mast cells is initiated exclusively at the distal promoter, whereas in fibroblasts both the short and the long T1 mRNA start at the proximal promoter. Two GATA-1 elements were identified in the 5′-flanking region of the mast cell-specific distal exon 1.


A new species Bayadera kinnara (holotype male from Northern Burma, Kachin State, South-Kumon Range, Zhan-Phut) is described for the male sex. The new species is compared with Bayadera serrata Davies & Yang, 1996 described from Yunnan, China. A new record of B. serrata from Vietnam is presented. Bayadera chittaranjani Lahiri, 2003 is transferred to the genus Schmidtiphaea Asahina, 1978. The mutual taxonomic status of Schmidtiphaea chittaranjani and S. schmidi Asahina, 1978 is preliminarily discussed.


Thermodynamic simulation of iron reduction from liquid slag by carbon was carried out in the context of smelting reduction technologies of iron production. It is shown that iron reduction from liquid slag is thermodynamically possible only in case of the absolute domination of bivalent iron (FeO). This stage is always preceded by reduction of trivalent iron (Fe2O3) dissolved in slag up to bivalent iron. The formation of low-carbon iron drops at 1450 °C is possible with the residual concentration 0.5 – 0.2 % FeO in slag.


This review relates the results that we obtained in the field of the total synthesis of (-)-indolizidine 167B, based on the intramolecular cyclodehydration of a 4-pyrrolylbutanal to a 5,6-dihydroindolizine core, according to "oxo" or "non oxo" methodology. In the former pathway the butanal was (R)-4-(pyrrol-1-yl)heptanal and originated from (R)-3-(pyrrol-l-yl)but-1-ene via rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation. In the latter one the proper (R)-4-carboxyethyl-4-(pyrrol-1-yl)butanal intermediate was obtained from diethyl-2-(pyrrol-l-yl)pentanedioate via chemo- and regioselective reduction of the sole distal ester group. In both cases a diastereoselective hydrogenation of the final 5-n-propyl-5,6-dihydroindolizine gave the target compound.


The preparation of compound protease solution which fermented by mixed mucedine consist of Aspergillus niger,Aspergillus oryzae and hair mould was researched.On the basis of single factor experiment,technological parameters of preparing compound protease were determined by mixture design method to optimize fermentation conditions as following:inoculum size of mixed mucedine was 2%,the ratio of Aspergillus niger,Aspergillus oryzae and hair mould was 1.59 ∶1 ∶1.95,pH was 5,incubation temperature was 30℃,incubation time was 72 hours.Under the condition of the fermentation process,compound protease solution with high enzyme activity was prepared.Debitterizing experiment was carried out with enzymolysis of soybean peptide by compound protease solution.The experimental results showed that best debitterizing conditions as followings:concentration of protease was 70U/mL,enzymolysis pH was 5,enzymolysis temperature was 60℃,enzymolysis time was 2 hours.Under the condition,the yield of short peptide was higher,the bitter taste value was lower,and effect of debitterizing was better.


The paper deals with a positional detection system of alternative grating working with light modulation. It is an alternative system with a powerful anti interference ability and simple detailing circuit so that the great number of subdvision can be gained,whereby the resolution of grating measurement system can be greatly improved.


Alum-precipitated ovalbumin had a sensitizing capacity in guinea-pigs of from 4 to nearly 400 times greater than that of ovalbumin in saline solution, depending upon the route of administration of the sensitizing dose.
 For ovalbumin in saline solution the sensitizing capacity of the antigen by intraäbdominal administration was about 1½ times greater than by intravenous injection and nearly 2½ times greater that by subcutaneous administration. Only the latter difference was statistically significant.
 For alum-precipitated ovalbumin the sensitizing capacity by subcutaneous administration was 2½ times greater than by intraäbdominal administration and 60 times greater than by intravenous injection. Both of these differences were statistically significant.


Objective To study the clinical effect of the choice of surgery incision and postoperative cosmetic on patients with breast neoplasms.Methods 94 cases of patients with breast benign tumor selected in our hospital from February 2010 to March 2012 were randomly divided into two groups,with 47 cases in each group.Patients in control group were given traditional breast lesions resection along dermatoglyph incision,and patients in study group were giv en resection from arc incision surrounded areola.The operation time,blood loss,incision infection,postoperative scar and satisfaction were respectively recorded.Results Comparison between patients in two groups on operation time,blood loss and incision infection showed no obvious difference.Survey on postoperative scar and patient satisfaction showed that 2.13% patients in study group didn′t accept scar,it was significantly lower than that in control group for 72.34% patients(χ2=49.57,P0.01).Patient satisfaction in study group was 95.74%,it was significantly higher than that in con trol group for 59.57%,the difference had statistical significance(χ2=17.72,P0.01).Conclusion Resection from arc incision surrounded areola is superior to traditional breast lesions resection along dermatoglyph incision used in control group in treatment of benign breast tumor.It can effectively relieve postoperative scar.It not only play a part in curing the disease,but also get cosmetic effect.


In this article we analyze Orestes Brownson's opposition to the Fourteenth Amendment in light of his opposition to slavery, rejection of Southern secession, and support for the Thirteenth Amendment. We argue that his principled opposition to the Fourteenth Amendment derives from the same logic as the earlier positions he appears to contradict. To explicate his opposition, we place it within his broader understanding of the American constitutional order. Brownson thought that the Fourteenth Amendment would do little for African Americans, only enhancing the entrenched powers of Northern business elites while undermining the American republic. Brownson attributed the push for the amendment to the unfolding of what he called humanitarian democracy and the democratic principle. He argued that the democratic principle, once institutionalized within the legal framework of the American republic, would lead to the leveling of social and political institutions and the centralization of governmental authority to enforce that equality.


Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to recognize other people's mental states, and to understand that people's behaviour is influenced by their emotions, beliefs and desires. Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show severe deficits in ToM ability; these deficits can account for the social, communicative and imaginative deficits seen in ASD. Previous studies have found that individuals with ASD have a specific deficits and delays in ToM development. However, it is still unclear whether, or to what extent, ToM development takes place in children with ASD, and how age and verbal IQ impact on ToM ability. Using a novel and developmentally sequenced ToM battery, the aims of this study were to (a) compare the developmental trajectory of ToM in typically developing South African children, aged 3-13 years, with that of children from other countries (reported in previous studies), and (b) compare ToM ability in South African typically developing and ASD children. As expected, children with ASD performed consistently more poorly on the ToM tasks than typically developing children. Furthermore, ToM ability in the current typically developing sample was roughly on par with similarly-aged children from other countries. Interestingly, South African children performed worse than children from other countries on the more advanced ToM tasks, which may be due to cultural insensitivity of those tasks.


An antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) composed of a conditionally active biologic (CAB) antibody against receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 2 (ROR2) conjugated to an as of yet undisclosed cytotoxic agent, with potential antineoplastic activity. Upon administration of CAB-ROR2-ADC BA3021, the anti-ROR2 antibody becomes activated through an as of yet not fully elucidated process, only under the unique microphysical conditions that are present in the tumor microenvironment (T ME) as a result of the glycolytic metabolism of cancer cells and not in the microenvironment of normal, healthy tissues. Upon binding to ROR2-expressing cancer cells and internalization, the cytotoxic agent kills the cancer cells through an as of yet undisclosed mechanism of action (MoA). ROR2, highly expressed during embryonic development while only minimally expressed on certain normal, healthy cells, is involved in Wnt signal transduction and is overexpressed on certain cancer cells. It plays a key role in cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. High levels of ROR2 expression often correlates with poor prognosis. T he CAB antibody allows for efficient binding to ROR2-expressing cancer cells only, thereby maximizing efficacy while minimizing toxicity by avoiding activation and thus binding of the antibody to normal, healthy ROR2-expressing cells under normal conditions. Qeios · Definition, February 2, 2020


Engine results using biofuels have varied considerably in the reported literature. This article addresses two potential sources of this variation, atomization differences and impurities due to lack of quality control during production. Atomization is the first process encountered during the combustion of fuels in a compression ignition engine and is largely determined by the fuel's viscosity and surface tension. Previous work using five experimentally produced methyl ester biodiesel fuels showed that the viscosity and surface tension could be predicted from their fatty acid ester composition, and the atomization characteristics in turn could be predicted from their viscosity and surface tension. This article utilizes the results of that work to give a quantitative comparison of the atomization characteristics of fifteen biodiesel fuel types using the fuel's viscosity and surface tension, predicted directly from the fatty acid composition of the fuels. Except for coconut and rapeseed biodiesel fuels, all of the rest of the 15 biodiesel fuels had similar atomization characteristics. Since the most likely contaminant in the fuel from the processing was residual glycerides, their effect on viscosity and surface tension was studied experimentally and their effect on the atomization characteristics was computed.


In this paper we introduce an active learning extension to our incremental grounded language learning system implemented on the Pepper robot. This approach is inspired by recent results from child language acquisition research, which shows that children deliberately use gestures like pointing to acquire new information about the world around them. In our system, the Pepper robot learns word-object and word-action mappings by observing a human tutor manipulating objects on a table and verbally describing the actions. Under certain conditions, the robot will interrupt the tutor and actively request information by pointing at an object. We describe our first approach of facilitating active information seeking strategies to enhance our system. We motivate when and how to apply them by reviewing research on question-asking during infancy and toddlerhood.


We quantify the impact of spatio-temporally correlated Gaussian quantum noise on frequency estimation by Ramsey interferometry. While correlations in a classical noise environment can be exploited to reduce uncertainty relative to the uncorrelated case, we show that quantum noise environments with frequency asymmetric spectra generally introduce additional sources of uncertainty due to uncontrolled entanglement of the sensing system mediated by the bath. For the representative case of collective noise from bosonic sources, and experimentally relevant collective spin observables, we find that the uncertainty can increase exponentially with the number of probes. As a concrete application, we show that correlated quantum noise due to a lattice vibrational mode can preclude superclassical precision scaling in current amplitude sensing experiments with trapped ions.


Increasing shop floor efficiency through scheduling has become one of the major concerns of manufacturing companies. Two of the problems that manufacturers have to overcome are 1) difficulty inputting the information needed for scheduling into the scheduling applications and 2) reacting to changes in the shop floor environment that occurred after the schedule has been started. Methods to facilitate the transfer of data for the production of initial schedules must be devised along with methods to reschedule based on updated information from the shop floor. To address these problems, a project is underway at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to facilitate the development of reactive scheduling systems. This paper will present a model which describes shop floor status data and a model defining a simple message protocol for communicating shop floor status information. Implementation issues and vendor involvement in the development of these models will also be discussed.


The disclosed medical dressing is highly flexible and conformable over skin, while maintain strong adhesive securement to skin over extended periods of time. The dressing comprises a backing layer, support material, and a plurality of specifically placed slits in the support material, which allow for stretching and recovery of the backing layer.


Resources for students and researchers interested in using social media platforms for networking, information management and promoting their research through nontraditional channels. There are advantages for using social media in all stages of your career.


Nowadays, the amount of data is growing rapidly. Through data mining and analysis, information and knowledge can be derived based on this growing volume of data. Different tools have been introduced in the past to specify data analysis scenarios in a graphical manner, for instance, PowerBI, Knime, or RapidMiner. However, when it comes to specifying complex data analysis scenarios, e.g., in larger companies, domain experts can easily become overwhelmed by the extensive functionality and configuration possibilities of these tools. In addition, the tools vary significantly regarding their powerfulness and functionality, which could lead to the need to use different tools for the same scenario. In this demo paper, we introduce our novel user-centric interactive data mashup tool that supports domain experts in interactively creating their analysis scenarios and introduces essential functionalities that are lacking in similar tools, such as direct feedback of data quality issues or recommendation of suitable data sources not yet considered.