An analysis based on a Gaussian approximation of the BER performance for noncoherent optical fiber code-division multiple-access (CDMA) networks (both asynchronous and synchronous) is presented. The effects of shot noise, thermal noise, interference and the architecture of optical receivers are included in the evaluation of the BER. A general equation for the BER is established and it is shown that using this equation, the results for special cases previously published by others were confirmed. BER performance for asynchronous optical CDMA systems using prime sequence codes and that of synchronous systems using modified prime codes were calculated. The author shows that the synchronous system can achieve better performance.


Packaging has been on the environmental agenda for decades. It has been discussed and debated within the society mainly as an environmental problem. Production, distribution and consumption of foo ...


A crucial issue in the software cost estimation area that has attracted the interest of software project managers is the selection of the best prediction method for estimating the cost of a project. Most of the prediction techniques estimate the cost from historical data. The selection of the best model is based on accuracy measures that are functions of the predictive error, whereas the significance of the differences can be evaluated through statistical procedures. However, statistical tests cannot be applied easily by non-experts while there are difficulties in the interpretation of their results. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the utilization of a visualization tool, the regression error characteristic curves in order to compare different prediction models easily, by a simple inspection of a graph. Moreover, these curves are adjusted to accuracy measures appeared in software cost estimation literature and the experimentation is based on two well-known datasets.


The paper holds the view that, the thinking of shifting position in the reader service of library is mutual beneficial to both librarian and reader and is the precondition to improve the service.


We discuss angular-momentum conservation law for spin and orbital angular momentum for a vortex generated by a silicon photonic gear, which is a ring resonator with an inner grating. The gear is coupled to two bus-waveguides to control the chirality of the emitted vortex out of the gear.


Although there is a commonly held belief that high-fidelity simulators provide a high degree of transfer, some evidence indicates that lower-fidelity simulators can provide benefits without the added expense and complexity of high-fidelity simulators (Wickens & Hollands, 2000). The civilian flight simulator market contains inexpensive systems for training procedures and operations. A plethora of force-cueing devices can augment the lower-fidelity simulators. However, the effect of force-cueing devices on performance and training is a heavily debated topic (e.g., Heintzman, 1997). Furthermore, the available information regarding the impact of fidelity on training effectiveness is documented in a disparate and fragmented literature. The ability to assemble this information in a common location and to establish quantitative, predictive relationships between simulator fidelity and training effectiveness would greatly enhance the value of training programs that utilize simulators to train operators. In this paper, we will describe the Relating Effective Learning to Attributes of the Training Environment (RELATE) approach, a process designed and applied in the Performance Effects Related to FORce-cueing Manipulation (PERFORM) project. The purpose of the RELATE approach is to establish quantitative, predictive relationships between the attributes of a training environment and training effectiveness. In the PERFORM project, the training attribute of interest is simulator fidelity. The RELATE approach consists of six steps: (1) identifying the relevant dimensions of simulator fidelity, (2) identifying the knowledge and skills (K&S) necessary in the specific domain, (3) determining whether a relationship exists between the fidelity dimensions and the K&S, (4) developing functions that define the relationships between fidelity dimensions and K&S, (5) developing algorithms that predict training effectiveness, and (6) empirically validating the functions and algorithms. We will walk through the steps as they were applied in the PERFORM project, which aimed at determining the level of fidelity required for effective air-to-air combat training in F-16 simulators.


Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of low extremity artery colour Doppler imaging in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods The elderly patients with DM accepted the examination of low extremity artery colour Doppler imaging.The inner caliber,IMT, atheromatous plaques and blood flow spectrum of lower extremity artery were measured and compared with the control group's. Results ①the thickness of IMT and atheromatous plaques were thicker than the control group's ( P 0.01);②the check out rates of marked narrow segments and occlusive segments in the low extremity artery in patients' group were significantly higher than the control group's (14.89% and 3.10% ,1.06% and 0.27% , P 0.01,respectively);③the check out rates of marked narrow segments and occlusive segments in patients with low extremity artery symptoms were higher than patients without symptoms;④ the check out rates of marked narrow segments and occlusive segments were not related with the duration of the disease. Conclusion The narrow extent and occlusive segments could be judged by united with CDFI and the measurement of frequency spectrum, and the measurment is especially suitable for the small arteries under knees.


Geoelectric resistance method of Wenner configuration has been used to identify the type and distribution of geothermal  systems located in  the village of Masaingi.  Measurements  were taken around the hot springs in the village of Masaingi, at Sindue District, the Regency of Donggala. The Processing and modeling data using EarthImager 2D software in the form of 2D cross-section. Based on the 2D modeling, it is obtained the resistance type values of hot water layer, ranging from 2-25 Ωmeter.


This thesis comparatively investigates into the cross-border enforcement of claims to misappropriated cultural objects initiated by states. It identifies and categorises sovereign rights in cultural property, and discusses the legal mechanisms to successfully implement these rights in foreign courts. The results may be used by government officials, museum officials, lawyers, art historians, archaeologists, art dealers, academics.


The guide provides information about the Montgomery Elementary School Library. This guide gives students information on the 4th Grade Battle of the Books.


Minneapolis, April 18, 1905. To the Editor: —InThe Journal, April 1, page 1073, you abstract G. Lennhoff's description of a tampon for nose and nasopharynx, a long narrow strip of gauze tied at one end with a strong thread which is passed through several folds of the gauze, the string to be held by an assistant while the operator packs the gauze into the nose to the required extent. Permit me to make an addition to the technic, which makes the tampon the best possible. I have used such a tampon, which I devised five years ago, as an improvement on Ingals' many string tampon, with great satisfaction. The one difficulty is that of packing the gauze along the thread without entanglements. The best "assistant" is a tube, through which the string is passed, which serves to carry the tied end of gauze to the nasopharynx, and over which


The terms of professionalism,industrialization,and marketability of sports are related in wording and similar in their process of development.Yet,they are not related in meaning with different connotations and extensions each respectively.In practice,the three display their unity through interaction and mutual promotion.Theoretically,marketability is the foundation of professionalism and industrialization.While professionalism and industrialization advance hand in hand,the former becomes a concrete form of a kind of progressive and varied development of the latter.A clear understanding of these basic theories will not only benefit the perfection of the theoretic system of sports discipline,but help summarize the experience and rules in the reforming process of professionalism,industrialization and marketability,which,in consequence,can better guide the practice from a theoretical point of view.


Objective:To observe the clinical effect and safty on the application Sumi Tongru together with acupoint massage on treating postpartum hypogalactia and promoting uterus recovery.Methods:120 cases of term delivery who diagnosed as postpartum hypogalactia and deliveried in our hospital,were randomly divided into four groups average,treatment group,control groupA,control groupB and control groupC.Treatment group were given application Sumi Tongru and acupoint massage;Control group A were given application Sumi Tongru only;control group B were given acupoint massage only;control groupC were given oral liquid of Shengruling.Observing the amount of milk,PRL level in blood and the recovery of uterus after one course of treatment;following up with the breast feeding.Results: Comparison of the amount of milk,PRL level in serum,the decreasing height of uterine fundus(P0.05),and exclusive breastfeeding forty-two days after delivery: treatment group was superior to each of the control group(P0.05);and there was no statistical difference between each control group.Conclusion:Application Sumi Tongru together with acupoint massage can obviously increase the milk amount of postpartum hypogalactia.And it can promote the recover of uterus and increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding.


abstract:Following its 2013 Pulitzer Prize win and various productions across the country and abroad, Ayad Akhtar's Disgraced has become a popular play to include in Theatre History syllabi. It is also one of very few plays written by a MENASA playwright to secure a place in the canon of contemporary American drama. Yet the content of Disgraced has been widely misunderstood and misinterpreted. A meeting point for contrasting ideas, the play has continuously excited and engaged but also confused and provoked students. This article proposes a re-framing of the play as a pedagogical tool to introduce and expand on Edward Said's Orientalism and its implications and manifestations in contemporary culture and media. By chronicling experiences teaching the play to undergraduate students of theatre, this article investigates the ways in which the play's main concerns, and tension points, can be explored and conscientiously addressed in the drama classroom.


The aim of enterprise portal is to eliminate enterprise information isolated island,seamlessly integrate all kinds of application systems and realize uniform identity authentication.Using the framework of SOAP messages,the kernel concept and the running mechanism of Web services,the architecture of uniform identity authentication system was put forward to resolve the key problem in integrating different systems.At last,a prototype system was implemented using.NET to realize the uniforn identity authentication.Therefore,the enterprise data flow and application flow which is under the environment of varied platforms and heterogeneous databases are integrated.


The report identifies the relationships between land use and energy use, determines what is known about them, and isolates the general types of policies and programs that Federal, state and local governments can pursue to influence land use for energy conservation purposes.


Iceland has a long history of geothermal resource utilization and gains successful experiences in the exploitation and management of geothermal resources. Although China has abundant geothermal resources, the utilization rate is not high, and its management mechanism is not perfect yet. There is still much to improve. Through the comparison of geothermal resource utilization and management between Iceland and China, combining with the evolutionary game model of energy cooperation, this paper draws a conclusion: although both sides can gain corresponding benefits by strengthening energy cooperation, the urgency of cooperation between them is not very strong and the cooperation is in a still mode. With the increasing proportion of China's clean energy usage and pressure on traditional energy security, as well as the promotion of China-Iceland free trade zone in bilateral economic and trade cooperation, their willingness for energy cooperation is very likely to be strengthened. Therefore, both sides should be forward-looking when formulating energy strategies, establish a geothermal enterprise alliance, share knowledge and information, actively deepen the co-development of unconventional geothermal energy.


This article is devoted to one of the main problems concerning the development of creative abilities of students. One of the actual and effective forms is the festival competition of foreign languages. Such festival is held by Novgorod Department of St. Petersburg State University of Service and Economics. It was organized in 2004 and has a long history.


Transient Ischaemic attack (TIA), accounted for over 2000 hospital admissions in Ireland in 2020. 25% of all TIA presentations develop stroke. The European Stroke Organisation (ESO) and National Stroke Strategy have recommended the development of rapid access stroke prevention (RASP) clinics, to reduce morbidity associated with devastating stroke event and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions. This project reviews the functionality of a RASP clinic in an Irish hospital and compares it to international recommendations.

 A retrospective chart review of patients who had been referred to the clinic over a three month period was performed. The initial referral date, clinic review date, date of any appropriate investigations and final diagnosis were collected and compared against the current recommendations. Quantitative analysis was performed on this data.

 A total of 43 patients were included, 18 were referred by the emergency department (ED), 25 by general practitioners (GP). On average GP referrals were waiting 5.8 days, and ED referrals 3.5 days, to be seen by a specialist. Current ESO recommendation is for specialist review within 24 hours. Of those referred, 34 underwent the recommended carotid imaging. 7 of the 43 were diagnosed with TIA, highlighting the poor sensitivity of the current risk stratification tool (ABCD2). The average time from symptom onset to referral was 3.7. With 15 patients waiting 35 days prior to seeking medical advice.

 It is clear that, at present, the RASP clinic is not meeting the international recommendations. A number of improvements to the referral process have been proposed. The move to an electronic referral process would reduce unnecessary steps in the current pathway and would ensure the appropriate investigations were carried out, at the time of initial contact. Improved patient education on symptoms of TIA is needed. A repeat audit will take place to review if these changes have had a significant impact.


Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is a coconut oil made without hydrogenation process and high temperature. In addition, the main component of the VCO is lauric acids which are considered as Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MUFA). Therefore, its physicochemical properties are considered to be better than the ordinary coconut oil, which are not easily rancid, stable, and heat resistant. This present study employed a traditional and enzymatic method using enzyme variations consisting of bromelain and papain enzyme. In addition, the production of VCO is carried out using fresh and burned coconuts. The purpose of this present study is to determine the effect of VCO on the obtained yield and fatty acid compositions. The highest obtained VCO yield was at 27% resulted from the enzymatic method and the papain enzyme using fresh coconuts and the lowest yield was at 11.6% resulted from traditional method using burned coconuts. In this study, the tested parameters consisted of the peroxide number, % FFA, saponification number, and fatty acid analysis using KG-SM. The obtained results showed the large percentage of the highest area for the lauric methyl which was resulted in either in traditional or enzymatic methods (papain enzymes) with the value of 39.54% and 37.45% respectively. In this case, the results obtained in this study indicated that the different methods and enzyme variations in fact significantly had an effect on the yield and composition of fatty acids. In addition, the results of the VCO quality parameter analysis showed that the results in fact met the applicable standard requirements.


Understanding how to alter people's behavior to mitigate GHG emissions in cities is a challenge for both researchers and practitioners. The problem encompasses comprehending variation in behavior among thousands to millions of people living in cities, as well as their contributions to the cities' GHG footprint. To help simplify this challenge, this article seeks to define and justify the partitioning of people into three categories of actors for understanding and mitigating GHGs at the city-scale. The three actor categories are policy actors, designers and operators of infrastructure and individual infrastructure users. By linking theories from across the social sciences, this article provides specific illustrations of the three actor categories and intertwines them with the goal of developing better GHG mitigation strategies. This paper concludes with a discussion of the need for meta-theoretical approaches toward describing and explaining the interactions among the social actor categories and GHG mitigation in cities.


This editorial article presents the bullwhip effect which is one of the major problems faced by supply chain management. The bullwhip effect represents the demand variability amplification as demand information travels upstream in the supply chain. The bullwhip effect research has been attempting to prove its existence, identify its causes, quantify its magnitude and propose mitigation and avoidance solutions. Previous research has relied on different modeling approaches to quantify the bullwhip effect and to investigate the proposed mitigation/avoidance solutions. Extensive research has shown that smoothing replenishment rules and collaboration in supply chain are the most powerful approaches to counteract the bullwhip effect. The objective of this article is to highlight the bullwhip effect avoidance approaches with providing some interesting directions for future research.


Introduction: Different Investigations have shown that the effect of Relaxation Training on emotional stress. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of relaxation training on health index such as Apgar index, weight, height in infants after delivery in pregnant mothers. Materials and Methods: This is a clinical trial in which 84 pregnant women who referred to two health centers of Shiraz (Hafez and Shoshtary) in 2010 were selected using simple sampling method and assigned randomly to case and control groups. The case group was taught about relaxation whereas the control groups did not undergo any training. At the time of delivery, Health Index of Infants including Apgar index, weight, and height was assessed. Results: The results showed a significant difference between the two groups in height, infant reflex and intensive crayning (with better situation in case group). There was no significant difference between the two groups in delivery, Apgar scores, weight and cephalic index, meconium deifcation and Apgar score in 1-5 minute. Conclusion: It seems that teaching pregnant women on relaxation could be effective in mother and her children. Therefore, attention should be paid to different methods for reducing stress in this group of mothers.


When magma vents into the sea or a crater lake, the ensuing magma-water interaction can affect the style of eruption dramatically. If the mass of surface water incorporated into the erupting material is small, ( 108 kg/s, the height progressively decreases with surface water content. This occurs when the magma and surface water begin to constitute a significant fraction of the mass at the top of the column, so that an increasing fraction of the initial magmatic thermal energy is converted to the surface water rather than the entrained air. The transitions in eruption style which result from changes in the mass of surface water mixing with the magma may account for observations of both buoyant plumes and wet surge during the eruptions of Taal in 1965 and Miyake-jima in 1983 and for the changes in the eruptive activity at Surtsey in 1963–1964 as the access of seawater to the vent became more restricted. We also present calculations which suggest that the accretionary lapilli, which are often found in wet flow deposits, may result from condensation of vapor in both the cold, wet collapsing fountains and in the flows themselves.


[Objective] The aim was to obtain the technical parameters of asparagus juice extraction and asparagus wine fermenting.[Method]The orthogonal experimental design was used to study the influencing factors of asparagus juice,and three different processes for making asparagus wine were studied.[Result]The optimal extraction conditions of asparagus juice were as follows: the extraction temperature was 35 ℃,pH was 4.0,extraction time was 8 h and the enzyme dosage was 0.03 g/L.Under this condition,the yield of asparagus juice was up to 58.12%.High quality asparagus wine can be made by the process of macerating asparagus from start to end during fermenting,suitable bentonite dosage for clarificating asparagus wine was 600 mg/L.[Conclusion] The research provides reference for development and utilization of leftover parts of asparagus in aspect of making asparagus wine.


PURPOSE: A water purifier is provided to control stabilized circulation and circulating amount of water in the circulation process of water, and prevent water pollution and algal bloom phenomenon by easily supplying oxygen of lakes by the generated bubble of bubble nozzle. CONSTITUTION: A water purifier comprises several substructures (120), an impeller which compulsorily circulates water, a suction pipe (150), a sludge discharging measure (170), medicine supplying means (180), several partition wall units (190), a controller (CR), several bubble nozzles (210), a blocking barrier (220), a conveyor for transporting bubble (230), a bubble filter plate, and a bubble collecting box. A bubble nozzle is connected in a connected state with air supplying pipe in a lower side between the inner side of a sludge hopper and outer side diaphragm of several partition walls. A blocking barrier prevents risen bubble from scattering by separating water and bubble as fixed to be separated from the exterior of the sludge hopper at regular intervals. Conveyor for transporting bubble ejects water and separated bubble on each side between sludge hopper and blocking barrier. The bubble filter diaphragm is installed in a maintaining state at regular intervals to smoothly transfer bubble floating on water in the exterior of conveyor for transporting bubble. A bubble collecting box is installed on the discharge end portion of a conveyor for transporting bubble.


OSNR monitoring techniques are reviewed and a use of machine learning to estimate the nonlinear noise and thereby monitor the OSNR is described. High monitoring accuracy is demonstrated for a wide range of link conditions using an artificial neural network.


Composed of values, beliefs, norms, language, symbols, and habits, an organization's culture is the systematic way that employees, leaders, and work groups behave and interact with each other. Researchers surveyed top managers at a leading Indian manufacturing firm to determine how strongly the company culture manifested these seven dominant characteristics: innovation and risk taking, attention to detail, people orientation, team orientation, stability and security, aggressiveness, and outcome orientation. They also polled respondents on the organization's subcultures. The results revealed a people-, detail-, and outcome-oriented company that values stability and security over innovation and risk taking and that fosters employee engagement in the form of democratic decision making and teamwork. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The major problem of this study is how the ignorance of people to the nature
of God is reflected in The Fall of the Imam novel. The objective of this study is to
analyze the novel based on its structural elements and on the sociological analysis.
In analyzing The Fall of the Imam, the researcher uses sociological aspects.
The data sources consist of primary data and secondary data sources. The primary
data sourceis The Fall of the Imam novel and the secondary data sources are the other
sources related to the analysis such as books of literary theory and the other relevant
information. The method of the data collection is library research. The technique of
data analysis is descriptive analysis.
Based on the sociological analysis, in The Fall of the Imam, Nawal El
Saadawi describes how the Imam in region that claims to be representative of God on
earth. He oppresses and deceives people in the name of God. The Fall of the Imam is
a true novel condition in situation social-religion culture in Egypt. Sociological
perspective is essentially the scientific, objective of the study of people in society, the
study of social institutions and social processes.


A field experiment was conducted on manually weeding tool khurpi in the farm of college of technology and engineering (CTAE), Udaipur during the rabi season of 2015-16. Soil type of the experimental land was sandy loam. Bulk density, moisture content of soil at the time weeding operation was recorded using 'digital moisture meter'. Bulk density and moisture was recorded from each plot. Core sampler is used to measure bulk density. Cone index was recorded after the weeding operation using cone penetrometers. We use the average values for the results. Weeding efficiency was 94.8 per cent, plant damage percentage was 0.01 and field efficiency was 98.1 per cent of khurpi. Indexed Terms: cone Moisture content, Field capacity, Plant population digital moisture meter' cone penetrometer


Any perturbation in politics and in economics affects the logistics of freight, from local to regional, national and even international. It creates weaving of the total volume of cargo and subsequently weaving of the market's necessities regarding the transportation and warehousing. More, weaving of the volume of investments is specific effect. Such mechanism has been recorded in the last 7 years: increasing 2012-2015, decreasing 2015-2017, increasing 2017-2018. From 2017 it has been recorded a higher value of individual transactions, compared to 2016, when the transactions have dropped dramatically. In the end of the 2017, the mass center of the warehousing facilities were in the triangle Bucuresti-Pitesti-Ploiesti. The structure of the warehousing offer was at 31.12.2017: Green, energy efficient warehouses with available space for rent - Warehouse spaces: 197.440 m2, Warehouse rent: 45.540 m2, Average rental price: 2.73 €; A category warehouses with available warehouse space for rent - Warehouse spaces: 5.832.841 m2, Warehouse rent: 2.312.824 m2, Average rental price: 12.79 €; B category warehouses with available warehouse space for rent - Warehouse spaces: 487.388 m2, Warehouse rent: 222.248 m2 , Average rental price: 2.98 €; C category warehouses with available warehouse space for rent - Warehouse spaces: 109.432 m2, Warehouse rent: 60.582 m2 , Average rental price: 2.13 €; D category warehouses with available warehouse space for rent - Warehouse spaces: 1.950 m2, Warehouse rent: 1.950 m2 , Average rental price: 3.75 €; the rest to 100% was shared among Cold, Break-Bulk, Cross dock, Transload, Hazmat, and Food grade warehouse types. Keywords: warehousing, improve efficiency, improve quality, improve security, warehousing structur


The third column of the left row in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome, has a hole carved in it, of probable astronomical use. The tube aims at a point a 116 degrees of azimut, East-South-East and 17.3 degrees of altitude, the Sun could be aimed in that direction at 07:00 UTC of 12 october and 7:25 UT of march 2, but the view is obstructed by the church's building. Same situation for the 3.9 magnitude alpha Monocerotis, visible 2000 years ago, taking into account the precession. Other hypotheses on the meridian astronomical use of this hole are here reviewed. In the case of solar observations it cannot be for meridian transits in Rome, since the lower transits occurs now at 24.5 degrees at winter solstice; we investigate the case of stellar transits, of declination 30.8 degrees South. Many alignments are possible leaving the azimut as free parameter, being the columun not in its original collocation, but here we investigate only the meridian transits, and no bright stars could have been seen through that hole, taking also into account the precession 2000 years ago. We conclude that this hole was probably not used for meridian observations.


This paper examines the issue of ethnicity relations with the Regional Head Election in Medan City on Mayor and Vice Mayor Election Year 2010.This research was conducted in Medan City by analyzing the result of Recapitulation of vote acquisition to candidate pairs who contest elections on 2 in each of 21 Subdistricts in Medan City. The method of writing is descriptive qualitative based on the analysis of the matrix of the vote in each candidate.The acquisition of data were collected by purposive sampling, combined with snowball sampling, especially on informants who will be interviewed from each sub-district by referring to the ethnic base. Furthermore, the secondary of data from the Recapitulation that has been Analyzed will be seen in conformity with the primaries of data from in-depth interviews to the informants and participant observation as well as the documentation of photo activities during the field. The conclusion is that at the Mayoral Election of 2010 round I, RahudmanEldin pair performed well with a vote of 51.72%, Followed by the couple Sopyan Nelly in second with 48.28% of votes. In the second round, RahudmanEldin succeeded in getting 65.88% while the couple Sopyan Tan Nelly votes only get as much as 34.12% .The victory of Rahudman Eldin gives clues to ethnic correlation. The figure of the couple Rahudman Eldin is a figure that represent Mandailings ethnic, Malay and Islam. This ethnic is almost spread in 21 sub-districts. The voice of support from any sub-districts to the couple Rahudman Eldin is represented the citizens of Medan City. Strong support for the couple Rahudman and Eldin, derived from many ethnic Including with the label of Islam. It has been made this pair relatively can be accepted by the citizens of Medan city. While the couple Sopyan Tan and Nelly somewhat difficult, to get support from people because the figure of SopyanTan and Nelly did not get fully support from the citizens of Medan city, especially from Moslem people.


Astronomers traditionally find steep, open-ended functions difficult: the log N - log S curve for example, or the probability-area-radius relation in making cross-waveband identifications. The debate over the existence of a redshift cutoff for RQSOs (radio-loud QSOs; Jarvis and Rawlings 2000, Wall et al. 2005) is a case in point: an instance in which a second-order effect involving radio-variable QSOs, initially selected by survey from a population with a steep source count, leads to discrepant results from different analyses. A redshift cutoff is present in optically-selected QSOs of the SDSS and in X-ray selected QSOs of XMM, ROSAT and CHANDRA. A similar cutoff for radio-loud QSOs is important to establish, because if present, no known type of obscuration can be responsible. Such a space-density diminution then defines an epoch of creation for galaxy hosts of massive black holes powering AGN, a datum for galaxy formation. I discuss the resolution of the debate: the issue is highly relevant to modern surveys and their follow-up observations.


Recently renewed attempts have been made to argue that resemblances between I Peter and Gospels indicate authorship of the epistle by the Apostle Peter. We shall attempt to re-assess the evidence both from the point of view of authorship and in relation to the state in which the gospel tradition existed at the time of its use by the author of I Peter. Since many of those who argue for Petrine authorship of the epistle take a conservative view of the transmission of the gospel tradition, we shall try to allow for this angle, though not necessarily adhering to it.


The growth of III-V semiconductor core-shell nanowires by Au-catalyzed metal organic chemical vapor deposition is described. The effect of growth conditions on the properties of the nanowires is discussed. Results nanowire solar cells and lasers are also presented.


Abstract A set of laboratory studies were conducted to identify abiotic conditions associated with winter lake drawdowns that might be capable of sufficiently damaging root systems of Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) to prevent shoot regrowth. Two separate conditions prevented regrowth: exposure of roots in hydrated sediment to a temperature of −5 C for 24 h or longer with a slow thaw over 12 h, or exposure to a sediment water content equivalent to 0.02 m3/m3 for 48 h or longer. Eurasian watermilfoil can therefore be killed by freezing at −5 C or desiccation at 4 C in as short a time as 24–48 h, and a percent relative electrolyte leakage (% REL) of 80% or higher is sufficient to prevent shoot regrowth. The ability to regrow shoots after freezing at −5 C did not correlate to the sediment hydration level. Treatments that did not damage roots sufficiently to prevent shoot regrowth included freezing at −5 C with a 10 cm snow cover above the sediment; freezing at −5 C for 1 d with roots submerged in standing water, as would occur if exposed plants were standing in pooled water prior to freezing; and freezing at 0 C for 4 d. Treatments that resulted in partial root damage but still allowed subsequent shoot regrowth included freezing at −5 C in standing water for 4 d, and freezing at −5 C for 4 d with a rapid thawing of roots. Monitoring of temperature and moisture content of the exposed littoral zone in sequential years indicated that both damaging conditions were observed in the 2009–2010 drawdown season, but neither condition was observed in the 2010–2011 season, suggesting that the interannual variability in response to drawdowns is probably the result of variable annual climate conditions. Monitoring the exposed sediment could indicate if and when conditions suitable for killing root crowns have been satisfied and the appropriate timing to reverse the drawdown.


Objective To evalutate the effect of phakic intraocular lens implantation for high myopia.Methods Eighteen eyes with-10~-22 diopters of myopia were implanted with the intraocular lenses.These eyes then were checked with uncorrected visual acuity,corrected visual acuity,intraocular pressure(IOP) and corneal endothelial cells for 12 months post surgery.Results All surgeries of the 18 eyes were successful.The uncorrected visual acuity was 0.01~0.1 pre-operatively.The corrected visual acuity was improved to 0.4 in 83.33%,and 0.6 in 50.00%,to 0.4 in 88.88%,and 0.6 in 77.77% of those patients post-operatively in one day and one year,respectively.Pre-and post-operative IOP were(12.68±0.46)mmHg and(13.59±0.81)mmHg respectively.Endothelial cells were(3 381±289)/mm2 and(3 107±278)/mm2,with no significant difference.Conclusion The implantation of phakic intraocular lens for high myopia is effective,safe and predictable.


Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) does not conserve energy and this precludes its use in the study of thermal processes in complex fluids. We present here a generalization of DPD that incorporates an internal energy and a temperature variable for each particle. The dissipation induced by the dissipative forces between particles is invested in raising the internal energy of the particles. Thermal conduction occurs by means of (inverse) temperature differences. The model can be viewed as a simplified solver of the fluctuating hydrodynamic equations and opens up the possibility of studying thermal processes in complex fluids with a mesoscopic simulation technique.


Nowadays, distribution systems have different levels of automation due to the need for massive investment. The optimal operation of capacitor banks (CBs) is a widely-used approach to improve the performance of these systems. Therefore, the optimal operation of CBs in distribution systems with any level of automation is essential. This paper introduces a novel framework for the operation of CBs in the non/semi/fully-automated distribution networks based on two timescales of day-ahead and near-to-real-time applications. In this framework, the linear current injection power flow method to properly study CB effects on the system is developed, including i) modeling vector group transformer, ii) modeling induction motors, iii) plotting the PV curve of motor loads as indices to assess the efficiency of CB on the voltage system, and iv) developing a fast power flow method with a low computational burden. Besides, the optimization problem of CBs control as the core of the proposed framework is reformulated, considering the level of network automation. The accuracy of the developed framework is evaluated on the IEEE 37-bus and 123-bus test systems. The obtained results verify the efficiency and superiority of the proposed framework.


Whereas population genetics underrates the organism, life history theory underrates the gene. These fields are limited, in part because they ignore each other and in part because they ignore development. Thus the perspective of life history motivates a new look at development because developmental mechanisms could connect population genetics with life history theory to form a predictive theory of evolution more powerful than either of the first two attempted. (Bonner 1982, p. 238)


Forest products, wood and non-wood, remain vital among smallholder households in Zambia with charcoal being the most sought after product. This has led to increased exploitation of forest trees to meet the needs for fuel wood, among others. However, Jatropha curcas plant has been identified as a potential fuel source. In the early 2000s, profit-making organizations encouraged smallholder households to grow Jatropha for use as an alternative fuel source. This paper reports on a study conducted in Solwezi between 2011 and 2014 to evaluate the impact of Jatropha cultivation for biofuel production. A sample of 100 small-scale farmers involved in Jatropha cultivation and key informants were interviewed to evaluate the impact of growing Jatropha at the small-scale level. Results show that farmers lost out on time; income from sale of edible non-wood forest products; and experienced reduction in maize ( Zea mays ) and bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ) production, worsening household economic conditions. Farmers attributed this loss to unclear policy alignment on biofuel production by government. We therefore recommend that project implementation should involve interactions of all legislative bodies and any other concerned stakeholders. There is also a need to promote the value chain, from production to marketing, which focuses on minimizing detrimental effects on the livelihood of small-scale farmers.


The β-transglucosylase of Sclerotinia libertiana catalyzed the reaction transferring the non-reducing end glucose of cellotetraitol (G4-OH) to the non-reducing end glucose of G4-OH, and both G3-OH and G5-OH were produced in the reaction at first. A water-insoluble glucan was synthesized by the enzyme, accompanied by the production of soluble cellooligosaccharides such as cellobiose, cellotriose, cellopentaose, and cellohexaose in a prolonged reaction with 2% cellotetraose. The water-insoluble glucan was found to be a linear β-1,4-glucan having an average degree of polymerization of 14 by enzymatic hydrolysis test, methylation, and X-ray analyses. From the results, the β-transglucosylase of Sclerotinia libertiana was defined as a new enzyme able to synthesize higher cellodextrin by a disproportionation reaction of lower molecular weight cellooligosaccharides.


Background and Goal of Study: Oxytocin (oxy) is routinely given to stimulate uterine contraction in order to reduce blood loss in caesarean section. This oxy, however, may bring about hypotension, and increase as well as decrease of heart rate. The objective of this study is to evaluate oxy bolus and infusion ef fects on blood pressure, heart rate, and uterine contraction. Materials and Methods: A Randomized Controlled Trial, double blind was conducted on 100 patients of elective caesarean sections. Inclusion criteria is aterm pregnant women for elective caesarean section,physical status of ASA I-II, voluntarily join the research and fill out Informed Consent,18-40 years of age,first and second pregnancy. These patients were randomly divided into 2 group, group I (oxy bolus) and group II (oxy infusion). The measurement of systolic, diastolic, mean arterial pressure, and SpO2, which was conducted every minutes and LAS was measured every 3 minutes within 15 minutes period af ter the application of oxy. Statistical data for blood pressure, heart rate, and SpO2 are analyzed with student-t test, whereas LAS is analyzed with Mann-Whitney. Results and Discussion: This study show that the decrease of Systolic, diastolic, mean arterial pressure in oxy bolus group was greater than that in oxy infusion (p< 0.001). The decrease of heart rate in oxy bolus group was greater than that in oxy infusion (p< 0.05). The possibility cause is negative inotropic and chronotropic ef fect as direct ef fect of oxy to the heart. Uterine contraction with LAS ≥ 6 was reached faster by oxy bolus than oxy infusion (p< 0.05). The possibility cause oxcytocin bolus is faster to get therapeutic window than infusion. The addition of methergin occurred more in oxy infusion than oxy bolus (p< 0.001). The possibility cause the peak plasma level of oxy bolus faster than oxy infuse and it can made the uterine contraction faster. Conclusion(s): Group oxy bolus decrease blood pressure and heart rate more than oxy infusion. Adequate uterine contraction is reached faster in the oxy bolus group and the addition of methergin occurs more in the oxy infusion. References: Sarna MC, Soni AK, Gomez M, Oriol NE. Anesth Analg 1997;84:753-6. Mukaddam-Daher S, Yin YL, Roy J, Gutkowska J, Cardinal R. Hypertension 2001;38: 292-96. Davies GAL, Tessier JL, Woodman MC, Lipson A, Hahn PM. Obstet Gynecol 2005;105: 294-9.


In the field of information security, there are several areas of study that are under development. Social engineering is one of them that addresses the multidisciplinary challenges of cyber security. Nowadays, the attacks associated with social engineering are diverse, including the so-called Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). These have been the subject of numerous investigations; however, cybernetic attacks of similar nature as grooming have been excluded from these studies. In the last decade, various efforts have been made to understand the structure and approach of grooming from the field of computer science with the use of computational learning algorithms. Nevertheless, these studies are not aligned with information security. In this work, the study of grooming is formalized as a social engineering attack, contrasting its stages or phases with life cycles associated with APTs. To achieve this goal, we use a database of real cyber-pedophile chats; this information was refined and the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling was applied to determine the stages of the attack. Once the number of stages was determined, we proceed to give them a linguistic context, and with the use of machine learning, a linear model was trained to obtain 97.6% of training accuracy. With these results, it was determined that the study of grooming could support research associated with social engineering and contribute to new fields of information security.


A study of the genus Sansevieria based on gross morphological variation and enzyme electrophoresis was carried out to delimit the Sansevieria taxa that occur in Zimbabwe and to elucidate evolutionary relationships that exist in the genus. The study was based on living specimens from the wild and those in cultivation at the National Botanic Garden (Harare). Eight species S. aethiopica, S. hallii, S. hyacinthoides, S. kirkii, S. pearsonii, S. singularis, S. stuckyi including one new species Sansevieria sp. A were delimited. Isoenzyme data showed that in spite of the great variation observed in the genus, a close relationship existed between the Sansevieria species, suggesting high reticulate crossings among the ancestral groups. The study highlighted the importance of rescuing members of the genus growing in the wild from over exploitation by local communities, that has resulted in certain species like S. stuckyi and Sansevieria sp. A becoming locally extinct. By highlighting the diversity in species and habitat preferences in the wild, this study contributes to the field of horticulture an avenue through which wild Sansevieria species can be introduced into cultivation as ornamentals, thereby ensuring their sustenance.


The article will analyse the use of tax havens, as well as the specific use of tax havens by
Slovak companies. Cluster analysis was utilised to identify similar types of tax havens
based on the share of Slovak companies in the respective tax havens. Similar tax havens
were also identified using the criterion of the Slovak companies' shares' development.
The sampling period span between 2010-1Q2018. Neural networks were used to identify
characteristics that are especially relevant from the perspective of Slovak firms when
selecting a tax haven.


By reading, you can know the knowledge and things more, not only about what you get from people to people. Book will be more trusted. As this what kind of a man the life of henry smith leiper, it will really give you the good idea to be successful. It is not only for you to be success in certain life you can be successful in everything. The success can be started by knowing the basic knowledge and do actions.


A series of poly(sodium-4-styrene sulfonate) functionalized graphene/manganese dioxide (PSS-GS/MnO2) composites as electrode materials for supercapacitors are prepared via a simple and facile route. The morphology and microstructure of the as-prepared samples are characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman microscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical performances of the as-prepared composites are evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge experiments and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte, demonstrating that the resulting composite materials exhibit excellent gravimetric capacitance and long cycle life. Moreover, the relationship of the specific surface areas and electrochemical performance is investigated and discussed. The results demonstrate that the specific capacitance increases with the increase of the specific surface area and the specific capacitance of PSS-GS/MnO2-2 with the highest specific surface area can reach 223 F g−1 at the current density of 0.1 A g−1. The enhanced specific capacitance can be attributed to the higher specific surface area and uniform pore size distribution, which enable effective electrolyte transport and active site accessibility.


This article is a part of the result of the research on the function and meaning of interior design of dalem pangeran . This research aims at finding out the meaning contained in the interior design of Javanese houses. The result of the research shows that in case of the interior design, dalem pangeran is always oriented towards symbolic classification based on two, four, and eight. The outlook on classification two often manifested in kiwo-tengen (left-right), atas-bawah (top-down), or loroning atunggal (two in one) is always integrated into something greater and absolute. This view is not a contrast but a relation of two different things which is harmonious. The symmetric concept in designing interior elements shows the existence of the symbolic and harmonious meanings. The concept is the manifestation of balance aiming at attaining the harmony of life, that is, to live harmoniously with each other, with nature, and with God. Key words : Javanese house, interior, meaning


The failure factors of semiconductor lasers,the degradation behaviors,and the measures for improving the reliability,are outlined,with the emphasis on reliability screening.The article points out that it is an effective way to screen and assess semiconductor lasers by use of electric derivative parameters.


The purpose of this study is focusing on the role of the individuals' capabilities in terms of perceptions expressed and adapting strategies preferred relative to the water scarcity in the western High Atlas. Therefore, a survey was conducted among 246 individuals in the Anougal Valley. Concerning the variables used to capture this objective, six are summarizing the main indicators of individual capabilities, three are expressing the perceptions of water scarcity and two are formulating the individuals' coping strategies preferred. The results showed that population is aware of the fact that droughts and floods weaken the water resources. To cope with this problem, individuals, with weak capabilities, prefer traditional strategies, while the others with strong capabilities choose modern strategies whose inducted effects can only degrade water. Thus, any development project aimed at improving the individuals' capabilities without taking into account the local hydraulic heritage, risks compromising the sustainability of water resources in the western High Atlas.


Given the unquestioned impacts of recent/future environmental changes on human societies, it is reasonable to posit that past societal responses could be used as proxies of contemporaneous environmental forcing and might help identify the drivers of these, particularly where independent evidence of the effects of these events is inadequate. Such areas include Pacific oceanic islands for most of which there is evidence of a societal perturbation in the 14th and 15th centuries that saw the outbreak of region‐wide conflict, abandonment of coastal settlements and the abrupt end of long‐distance cross‐ocean voyaging networks. The contemporaneity of these effects across a vast region requires a driver that is external to particular island groups with the only possibility that of oceanic origin, most likely large waves (tsunamis or storm surges) or rapid sea‐level change. The explanation is less important than the principle that societal changes can be used as proxies for environmental activity.


A multi‐objective analysis was applied to allocation of water storage for food control and irrigation water supply in the Bili‐Bili reservoir in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. In order to recognize the stochastic nature of floods and irrigation demands, the two objectives were measured in terms of expected annual flood damage and expected annual irrigation‐water deficit respectively. The multi‐objective analysis was performed by developing the line of non‐inferior solutions for these two objectives to show how each objective is changed with variation in the allocation of storage.


Best practices are the best ways to perform a process, a function, or an activity that leads to a superior performance. These pertain to the processes, practices, and systems identified in public and private organizations that perform exceptionally well and are widely recognized as improving organization"s performance and efficiency. Successfully identifying and applying best practices can reduce costs and improve quality. The libraries are the social institutions that are changing their dimensions and functionalities in the context of paradigm shift. The Madras University Library is an old academic Library of India; it has completed its 100 years of services on 2007 to the academic and research communities of the Indian sub continent. This library was served by the world renewed Librarian Dr.S.R.Ranganthan who is known as father of Library and information Science in India. Madras University Library was established in 1907 in the Connemara Public Library. The existing library building, built in Indo-British style was opened on 3rd September 1936. This Building is built with the pointed arches in granite, domes with octagonal base. The kiosks resemble the Islamic Architecture in India. In order to provide world class services to the users, the library adopts processes and practices that are not only considered to be the best but are comparable with the best in the market. An attempt is being made in this paper to discuss and disseminate these processes and practices for the benefit of other libraries under the categories of Resource development and management, User services, ICT-enabled Services, Users empowerment and information literacy, other activities.


Adaptation and use of the long term humic balance calculating model AMG in a wide range of crops and mixed-farming systems The very low number of available long term experimental data requires using simulation models to predict long term changes in soil organic carbon stock under different pedoclimatic or agronomic effects. Among available models, AMG model (derived from the name of the authors: Andriulo, Mary, Guérif),


In the analysis of performance evaluation of banks it is essential to know the value of assets their percentage component to working fund of the respective banks. For this purpose cash balance, balance with bank money at call and short notice, investments, fixed assets and advances and other assets are considered for this study. Among them advances given to their customers and investments are occupying major portion in its total assets with more than 70 per cent. But other assets cannot be left out such cash and balance with bank money at call and short notice because their value may be meager but they have been utilized for facing its liquid liabilities.


Long-term trends in summer precipitation totals, the number of rainy days, and precipitation intensity were investigated with daily rainfall datasets for China from 1961 to 2000. Total precipitation significantly increased in summer in the Yangtze River basin and northwestern China, while total precipitation decreased in other regions. The number of rainy days increased in the Yangtze River basin, and over northwestern China. In contrast, the number of rainy days decreased over Tibet and over northern and northeastern China. Seasonal mean precipitation intensity became large at most of the stations in China.To investigate trends in heavy rainfall, daily rainfall totals during the whole investigation period were grouped into ten classes, with class width equal to l0% of total number of rainy days from 1961 to 2000, and the number of rainy days, and summer mean rainfall amount for each class, were obtained for each summer. A simple linear fit was made to determine the linear trends in the 10-class precipitation time series. The upper 20 percentile of daily precipitation totals showed a statistically significant increase over the Yangtze River basin, and over northwestern China during the study period. Class average precipitation decreased in almost 10 classes over Tibet and north and northeastern China.


Objectives To evaluate the appearance of root canal walls in vitro, after hybrid preparation with NiTi rotary instruments and one of four irrigation regimes, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The null hypothesis stated that no differences in debris on canal walls and surface morphology should be observable between the experimental groups after the different irrigation techniques. Materials and methods Forty single-rooted human teeth (incisors and canines), freshly extracted for periodontal reasons, were divided into four groups, endodontically prepared, and irrigated as follows: • Group 1: 5% sodium hypochlorite during preparation plus final flush with 5% sodium hypochlorite at 40°C; • Group 2: 5% sodium hypochlorite during preparation plus final flush with 5% sodium hypochlorite and 15% liquid EDTA at 40°C; • Group 3: 5% sodium hypochlorite and viscous EDTA during preparation plus final flush with 5% sodium hypochlorite at 40°C; • Group 4: 5% sodium hypochlorite and viscous EDTA during preparation plus final flush with 5% sodium hypochlorite and 15% liquid


We have previously shown that intestinal adaptation precedes and relates to metabolic improvement in humans after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB). Based on this, we hypothesized that persistence of this adaptation at the one-year postoperative timepoint occurs selectively in patients with persistent postoperative metabolic improvement, versus those without Type 2 diabetes (T2D) remission. RNA-seq was used to determine gene expression in jejunum collected before and 12 months (± 1 month) after RYGB. T2D was defined as HbA1c >6.5% or requiring T2D medications prescribed for prior diagnosis of diabetes. Remission was defined as HbA1c <6.5% off any T2D medications. Nine of 17 patients with T2D failed to achieve remission by 12 months. After sample quality control, jejunal biopsies from 7 patients with T2D without remission (NR), 8 patients with diabetes remission (R) and 13 patients without diabetes (ND) were analyzed via RNA-seq. Significance was defined by an FDR cutoff of 0.05. Unsupervised principal components analysis (PCA) showed no significant differences across PC1 or PC2 among the 3 groups. However, among top pathways expressed in samples from patients with T2D remission (R), LXR/RXR pathway activation was upregulated (pathway z-score= 0.333, p= 4.85E-06) but downregulated in patients without diabetes (ND, z-score= -1.508, p=.01) and in patients without remission (NR, z-score=-1.0, p=2.07E-07). Antioxidant action of vitamin C exhibited a similar pattern of activation uniquely in R and not in NR or ND (R: p=.02, z-score=0.816; NR: p=0.33, z-score=0.816; ND: p=0.03, z-score=-1.0). In summary, although jejunal remodeling may occur in patients without T2D remission, lipogenic (LXR-driven) and antioxidative pathways are uniquely upregulated in biopsies from those with remission. We hypothesize that these processes may underlie mechanisms for T2D improvement after RYGB.

 M.A.Stefater-richards: None. W.F.Gourash: None. A.Courcoulas: None.

 National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R56DK125816, R01DK108642, K08DK125878)


The public health services are concerned with the prevention of disease and the provision of a wide range of domiciliary services, and in neither role can they remain static. On the preventive side the traditional subject for attack has been infectious disease, whereas in the future it is towards chronic conditions that attention must increasingly be turned. In domiciliary care, services must be adapted so as to provide


There is conflicting evidence and considerable confusion in the literature concerning the relationship between recreation and generic housing form. The goal of this study is to review this mixed literature, to identify some of the weaknesses in past studies, and then to reexamine the relationship between recreation and housing, using original data. The data were derived from a household survey carried out in 1984 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The initial results of two-way contingency tables, difference of means tests, and analysis of variance show that there are differences in recreation by generic housing form. However, when control variables describing household characteristics are introduced, the initial differences disappear. The conclusion reached is that household characteristics confound the relationship between recreation and housing. Differences in recreation are due to variation in household characteristics, not to generic housing form. The policy implications of these results are explored.


According to the present invention, when the authentication information is provided in an integral manner from the digital information, the information can always detect whether the interference is, and as long as the digital data is not disturbed, will be able to recover it. To achieve this, when the authentication information is embedded into the digital information inputted by the image input unit (201), the hash value calculation unit (202) is generated (203) using the authentication information based on the digital information, the secret key encryption unit plus of encrypted authentication information, and the digital watermark forming unit (204) the encrypted information is embedded as a digital watermark into the digital information.


particularly treating for burns of the type using balsam: - a decongestant and soothing, - an agent of rebuilding the epidermis, - a softening agent, - a protective and / or regenerator membrane member a peroxidized oil combining a mechanical action by the formation of an occlusive physical barrier of the body part to be treated and an anti-inflammatory, Analgesic, and oxygenating the cells chemical action; tocopheryl quinone for a vasodilatation action.


Wireless communications technology is a vast and dynamic field of study. As such, high-reconfigurable tool like software defined radio is crucially needed. Software defined radio is a set of tool that consists of RF frond-end hardware and supported software like MATLAB, GNURadio, etc. For researcher, software defined radio is important to support the frequently change configurations and requirements of the studied system in real scenario as the inflicted cost and time consumed to re-configure the embedded system are significantly high. For instance, the endless demand for better quality and service of wireless communications leads to active research in current technology like OFDM. The way OFDM been implemented is vary from one application to the other, which required a high reconfigurable tool for real scenario experimentation and analysis. Thus, for knowledge enrichment, this paper intends to study the basic approach of OFDM by providing an insight of the system in multipath propagation channels. This paper is the first part of author's study whereas the simulation was implemented on GNU platform. The platform was used to model the OFDM system that based on both FFT and built-in GNURadio blocks, and the multipath propagation environment using the flat fading model. The observed signal constellations across the multipath models are consistent with the theoretical output, shows the reliability of GNU platform to deliver the OFDM system which will be used later for real transmission study.


Concurrent transmission, a novel communication paradigm, has been shown to effectively achieve reliable and energy-efficient flooding in low-power wireless networks. With multiple nodes exploiting a receive-and-forward scheme, this technique works effectively in flooding-based networks, i.e., in one-to-many scenarios. However, application-level scheduling has to be introduced for data collection in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In this paper, we propose Packet-in-Packet (PiP), an energy-efficient paradigm requiring no application-level scheduling for timely data collection in low-power WSNs. PiP builds on concurrent transmissions, exploiting constructive interference and the capture effect to achieve high reliability and low latency. Moreover, PiP uses a packet concatenation capability to gather single-hop information in a best-effort manner. As a result, PiP significantly reduces collection time. We further compare PiP with a state-of-the-art protocol by extensive experiments in a 30-node FlockLab testbed. Experimental results show that PiP highly reduces collection time (i.e., rounds) and achieves good performance in terms of high reliability of approximately 98.7% and high energy efficiency in all experimental scenarios of the real-world testbed.


We report a 45-year-old woman whose unilateral vertebral artery (VA) was potentially occluded with head rotation at the C1–C2 level and her ischemic symptoms suddenly appeared because of contralateral VA dissection. She noticed first pain around the posterior part of her neck on the right side, and then dizziness when turning the head to the right side. The dizziness disappeared immediately after her head returned to the natural position. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) showed a string sign of the right VA. DSA and computed tomography angiography (CTA) showed high grade extrinsic compression of the left VA at the C1–C2 level with head rotation more than 90- to the right. Three-dimensional (3D) CTA also showed clearly kinking of the left VA at the C2 neuroforamina. Her symptoms disappeared completely with conservative therapy, and recanalization of the right VA was also confirmed by 3D-CTA. 3D-CTA was thought to be valuable to diagnose and manage the rotational compression of the artery. VA dissection must be remembered to differentially diagnose the etiology of transient attacks of posterior circulation ischemia due to rotational contralateral VA occlusion. D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


This study analyzes the consequences that full-field development of geothermal resources may have on recreational industry and aesthetic resources in Imperial Valley. Significant changes in the level of the Salton Sea and extensive development of outlying desert areas, such as East Mesa, resulting from geothermal development will significantly affect fishing and water-oriented sports, wildlife refuges, and off-road vehicle activity in East Mesa. The aesthetic impacts are illustrated by the use of pencil sketches of views organized in sectors around the Salton Sea. The sketches allow selection and emphasis of important detail not obtainable with the use of photographs or viewshed analyses. Generally, the aesthetic impacts of geothermal development are superimposed on an environment already affected by rural development, some industrialization, and highly intensive agricultural activity. Power plant structures, transmission lines, and, to some extent, water and steam pipelines are a noticeable addition to the local visual scene but do not significantly alter the aesthetics now dominated by man's activity. In the wildlife refuge areas of Niland and on exposed ridgelines, however, there is a potential for significant aesthetic impact. The aesthetic impacts can be mitigated to some extent in these areas by location and design choices and by clustering themore » geothermal plants. In addition, housing and commercial development to support direct and indirect population growth will create a variety of aesthetic impacts of varying beneficial and detrimental character in different locales throughout the valley. Several community design concepts are proposed to accommodate this residential development.« less


In this paper a precision full-wave rectifier of minimal configuration is presented. The main structure employs only single second-generation current conveyor and two diodes. It enables to process both low-voltage and low-current signals. The proposed circuit is able to rectify signals up to 500 kHz and beyond with no or small distortion. If the voltage or current biasing scheme is used the frequency range can be further extended. Using the CMOS structure of the current conveyor, the behavior of proposed full-wave rectifier has been verified by SPICE simulations. Furthermore, using the universal current conveyor UCC-N1B 0520 experimental measurements are also presented.


found for notes, and the reader is referred for the routes to any serious atlas. Little help is given in real difficulties: for instance, there is no hint whether Zariaspa is or is not the same place as Bactra (which is constantly mistranslated as Bactria). The translation is, on the whole, readable, and has happy touches, but is marred by inaccuracies and a considerable number of serious errors, such as I. 23. 6 avrbs Be . . . kyicaTa\nra>i> ^evovt fiev 7re£bv9 T/ato-^tXioi;?, l-Mtea<; Be es BiaKocriov<s Kal TLroKe/iaiov rjye/iova avr&v, iirl tppvylas ia-TeXXero, ' left as a garrison . . . three thousand mercenary foot: two hundred horse, under Ptolemaeus, he despatched to Phrygia ': I. 24. 6 avvefjaipel axiTol<s <f>povpiov oxvpov, ' took, along with these places, a strong outpost': II. 2. 4 eVi XaX/dBos, 'from Chalcis': II . 20. 2 xal eK 2oX&w Kal M a W o u rpeis Kal A.VKia<> 8e>ca, 'ten from Soli and Lycia': III. 8. 4 Tiapdvaiovf Be Kal 'Tp/cavlow} Kal Tairoiipovi, roiif TravTas iinreas, <Ppara<peppr)<; fyyev, ' Parthyaeus commanded the Hyrcanians and Tapurians: all cavalry were under Phrataphernes.' About proper names a fatality seems to pursue the translator. Apart from ugly forms like ' Sogdianians' and ' Sacians,' AiowiroBtopoi; is faced by ' Dionysidorus' (thrice), Hpu>rea<i by 'Proteus,' HoXvBdfiavra by' Polydames/ HaaiKpaTowi rod @ovpiea>({ by ' Pasicrates of Curion ' (Kovpiew; Roos): and it is impossible to understand on what principle the transcriptions Ptolemy, Ptolemaeus son of Lagos, Dareius, Geraistus, Antipatros, Antipater, Menandros, Aristander can coexist.


The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the development of the microfinance sector in Vietnam and to examine the link between microfinance institution development and domestic economic factors. Particularly after reviewing previous papers conducted all over the world, this paper examines the Vietnamese market by using five years (2010–2015) of data from Vietnamese microfinance institutions by using a descriptive statistical method. It was found that the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) and gross loans portfolio more or less have a relation. Likewise, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow growth seems to have a link with asset development. This result also opens up several avenues for future research. Further studies could be performed to examine data with a quantitative method to test the results.


This paper presents the reliability analysis approach of long-span cable-stayed bridges based on structural health monitoring (SHM) technology. First, the framework of structural reliability analysis is recognised based on SHM. The modelling approach of vehicle loads and environmental actions and the extreme value of responses based on SHM are proposed, and then models of vehicle and environmental actions and the extreme value of inner force are statistically obtained using the monitored data of a cable-stayed bridge. For the components without FBG strain sensors, the effects and models (extreme values) of dead load, unit temperature load, and wind load of the bridge can be calculated by the updated finite element model and monitored load models. The bearing capacity of a deteriorated structure can be obtained by the updated finite element model or durability analysis. The reliability index of the bridge's critical components (stiffening girder in this study) can be estimated by using a reliability analysis method, e.g. first order reliability method (FORM) based on the models of extreme value of response and ultimate capacity of the structure. Finally, the proposed approach is validated by a practical long-span cable-stayed bridge with the SHM system. In the example, reliability indices of the bridge's stiffening girder at the stage after repair and replacement after 18 years of operation, and the damaged stage are evaluated.


Introduction. Heart Failure is a very prevalent disease in developed countries that generates numerous care processes assuming a significant percentage of health expenditure. There is therefore a need to develop a system that makes it possible to reduce the management of these patients without  deteriorating the assistance provided, with telemedicine being established as a valid alternative.
Objectives. This review aims to compare the efficacy of telemedicine-based interventions against standard care in the management of patients with Heart Failure. To assess this efficacy, the performance of telemedicine will be evaluated by appealing to the rates of income and mortality due to Heart Failure or other causes, to the quality of life of these patients and to the costs saved thanks to their employment.
Results. A review of the main search engines and databases was carried out. Among the publications used, there was a reduction in the income rate per CI that ranged between 12-67.8%, a decrease in the mortality rate that varied between 18-34%, an improvement in the quality of life variable according to the questionnaire and finally, a reduction in healthcare costs of 14-86%.
Conclusions. Telemedicine stands as an effective and valid alternative to the usual care for these patients.  More research is needed in the future to be able to unify the different systems thus giving rise to a  universal tool.


Biodiversity information is very important for scientific studies/research, education, and decision making, in the management of natural resources, biodiversity information is needed to maintain the sustainability of species utilization, exploration of biological potential and species monitoring along with ecology, policy making, and for the development of biotechnological innovations. The paper analyzes the performance of Borneo's Biodiversity Information System in terms of the resources of software development used (Key Performance Indicators web), measuring each resource (scripts and contents web), testing, and the results are evaluated to determine system performance and recommendations for optimization solutions.


Observations on the effects of water level fluctuations in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, Washington, were made in 1976 and 1977. The two years provided contrasting flow regimes: high water and fluctuations of greater magnitude prevailed in 1976; low water and higher temperatures prevailed in 1977. Situations where fish and other aquatic organisms were destroyed by changing water levels were observed and evaluated each year in three study areas: Hanford, F-Area, and White Bluffs sloughs. Losses primarily were due to stranding, entrapment (with or without complete dewatering), and predation. Juvenile fish were more susceptible to entrapment and stranding than were adult fish. Estimates of actual losses were biased and conservative because relatively few fish could be found after each decline of water level and dewatering. The most valued species of fish affected by water level fluctuations at Hanford were the anadromus fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and the resident smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui). Crucial periods for chinook salmon occurred during winter when incubating eggs were in the gravel of the main channel, and before and during seaward migration in the spring when fry were abundant in shoreline zones. The crucial period for smallmouth bass was during spring and early summer when adults were spawning in warmed sloughs and shoreline zones. Chinook salmon and smallmouth bass fry were vulnerable to stranding and entrapment, and smallmouth bass nests were susceptible to exposure and temperature changes resulting from repeated water level fluctuations. Thus, flow manipulation may be crucial to their survival. The extent to which other species of riverine fish were affected by water level fluctuations depended upon their use of shoreline zones for spawning and rearing young.


A dorsal incision is made over the metatarso-phalangeal joint (MTPJ) extending 2cm proximally and distally from the joint line. A routine cheilectomy of the MTPJ is performed. The Extensor digitorum longus (EDL) tendon is identified and divided through a separate incision 5 cm proximal to the MTPJ at the mid-foot level. A 3/0 vicryl stay suture is placed in the divided tendon. The tendon is retrieved from the distal wound and mobilised along with the extensor expansion and the dorsal capsule to expose the proximal half of the proximal phalanx. The transverse fibres of the extensor expansion and the MTPJ capsule are divided medially and laterally with preservation of the collateral ligaments. Extensor digitorum brevis is identified and protected. A groove is created on the dorsum of the proximal phalanx at the centre of the articular surface to stabilise the EDL tendon in its final position. A 3.2mm tunnel is then created at a 45 degree angle through the metatarsal neck beginning dorsally 2.5cm from the metatarsal articular surface and exiting just proximal to the plantar plate. The mobilised EDL tendon, expansion and capsule are then passed down through the MTPJ via a perforation in the plantar plate. The EDL tendon is then passed through the tunnel from plantar to dorsal where it is sutured to the periosteum of the metatarsal using a 3/0 vicryl suture. Hence the EDL tendon, expansion and dorsal capsule form an interposition arthroplasty. Eleven patients with an average age of 37 years underwent the above procedure for Freiberg's Disease or osteoarthritis of the second or third MTPJ. There were no intra-operative complications and at an average 31 month follow up 70% were pain free. We recommend the Cobb II procedure as a primary management option for MTPJ Freiberg's Disease/osteoarthritis.


Background. Fluorescein isothiocyanate–Ulex europeus agglutinin I stain (UEA1) was postulated as a prominent histochemical marker for premalignant mucosa in dimethylhydrazine (DMH)–treated animals. UEA1 (evaluated by two scanning methods) and high iron diamine Alcian blue (HIDAB) stain were used in attempt to detect premalignant colonic mucosa in this animal model. The authors also examined the influence of the duodenal medium on colonic segments transposed to the upper gastrointestinal tract.


The present invention relates to a surface layer of PFA and excellent in abrasion resistance and has a high releasability of the toner fixing member. The fuser member comprises a substrate, an elastic layer and a surface layer formed on a surface of the substrate. The surface layer contains tetrafluoroethylene having a specific partial structure - perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer, and with the use of wetting tension test liquid mixture was measured with a contact angle of less than 67 ° to the surface, the mixed solution having 31.0mN / m of wetting tension.


The emergence of a new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has generated multiple consequences that have affected the lives of all human beings, imposing a new normal where social distancing and mobility restrictions have become the norm. This situation has also affected organizations forcing them to create or strengthen strategies to respond to the situation to guarantee their survival and growth, which has made it essential to have full commitment from employees. Structural equations were used to design an instrument that was used with managers and middle managers at 130 Mexican companies. Once reliability and validity were tested and confirmed, the study found that there is a positive and significant relation between organizational strategies applied during the health emergency and employee commitment with the organization.


The Nuclear Safety Research Reactor(NSRR) in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) is a modified TRIGA-ACPR(Annular Core Pulse Reactor) which was constructed in 1975 in order to investigate the fuel behavior mainly under reactivity initiated accident (RIA) conditions. This reactor generates very sharp pulse power with the maximum of 23GW by rapid reactivity insertion of the maximum of 4.7$, and has capability to simulate a power burst in RIAs of power reactors. Fuel failure mechanisms and the fuel failure threshold in RIAs have been investigated through irradiation of test fuel rods in the NSRR. The control system and the operation data acquisition system of the NSRR were modified in 1989. By the modification, the controlled high power operation with various power shape became possible. Also on-line data acquisition of reactor data such as reactor power, regulating rod position, and so on, became possible by the modification. Evaluation of reactor characteristics became easy and accurate by detailed comparison of the time history of operation data and calculation results. Authors have tried to evaluate some parameters or constants of reactor characteristics by using a core transient behavior simulation code EXCURS-NSRR which consists of one point reactor kinetic equations and thermal equations ofmore » driver fuel and coolant. Especially in a relatively small and slow pulse power generation with reactivity insertion of less than 1$, evaluation of feedback reactivity coefficient and relation between reactivity insertion and regulating rod position was conducted. This article presents the evaluation results by the comparison between obtained reactor data and parametric calculation results. (author)« less


Special contrast sensitivity was estimated in kittens at the age of 6, 9 and 12 months as well as in adult cats. Acuteness of perception of grating pattern remained the same in kittens of 6 as well as 12 months of age. However, the former kittens were shown to have a decreased contrast sensitivity at lower spatial frequencies (cycles/degree). The contrast sensitivity reached the adult level at 12-month age. This seems to reflect a maturation of the higher cortical areas involved in the recognition process.


Forest growing stock volume (GSV) is an essential aspect of ecological carbon stock monitoring. The successive launches of spaceborne microwave satellites have provided a broader way to use microwave remote sensing to monitor forest accumulation. Currently, the inversion parameterization models of active microwave remote sensing stock volume mainly include the interferometric water cloud (IWCM), BIOMASAR, and Siberia. Among them, the IWCM introduces backscattering and coherence, the BIOMASAR model only introduces backscattering, and the Siberia model only introduces coherence. Although these three models combine the backscatter coefficient and coherence of SAR to estimate volume accumulation, the performance of the models has not been evaluated at the same time in the same area. Therefore, this article starts from the perspective of the three combinations of coherence and backscattering, relies on three models that do not require measured data, and evaluates the accuracy of the models' overall inversion of GSV. In addition, we combine precipitation meteorological information, vegetation types, and seasonal variation to separately explore model performance. The comparison results show that the IWCM model is relatively stable in the process of stock volume inversion and is more sensitive to the vegetation types of coniferous and deciduous forests. The influence of seasons and precipitation on the model is weak, and the accuracy of the multi-time-series model is slightly improved. The Siberia model has a good storage volume inversion effect in this study area, but the multiple time series did not improve the model accuracy. The BIOMASAR model is simple, and its performance was slightly inferior in this study area. Precipitation can negatively affect BIOMASAR. The model results for multiple time series outperform those for single time. In summary, the stability of IWCM is more suitable for research with unknown information. The BIOMASAR model is simple, does not require coherence calculations, and is ideal for the estimation of large-scale national or world-level storage distributions. The Siberian model performs better in small regions and smaller spatiotemporal baselines.


In the visual navigation system,in order to extract the area where the smart cars can travel in,an algorithm based on texture feature was proposed,which could be used to distinguish viable path area from urban unstructured road.First,in order to extract the texture features corresponding to lane ruts,the Gabor templates of two frequencies and eight directions were selected to analyze the transform of the images,so as to achieve the features of the texture intensity and texture directions of the pixels. And the direction features were used to vote the candidate vanishing points,and the point with the most votes was treated as the final vanishing point. The slopes of lines in the valid vote area was extracted,and the linear equations via the vanishing point were established,so as to get the viable path. Experiments show that the proposed algorithm can divide the viable area effectively in the circumstances of strong lights or at nighttime,avoiding the effect of shadows.


Monitoring whether a student is opening other files other than the allowed file/s during an examination period is really a challenging task. The art of cheating in a written examination is also pertinent to a computer-based examination. Since the proctor is not at all time looking at the student's computer activities, students still have the chance to open restricted applications. In this hurdle, developing a system that will send to the proctor's machine the list and screenshots of the classified computer programs accessed in every student machine in real-time is beneficial. This system will detect the deceitful act through a warning message. If the act is not discontinued, the student machine will be penalized by either be locked, restarted, shutdown, sleep, or hibernate depending on the penalty set by the proctor. Furthermore, this system also records the student attendance during digital exams or as the students log-on to their machine.


The emission of motor vehicles can cause air pollution, the industry, and household activities and is currently a severe problem. Surabaya City, especially West Surabaya, is an area that has heavy traffic because it is a warehouse area, directly adjacent to Gresik Regency, which is an industrial area and other activities such as garbage Final processing place and port. Therefore, a study needed to monitor the quality of the PM pollutants in West Surabaya and further estimates are the source location of the pollutants. The results of this study can complement previous research and can be used to make policies in air pollution control in Surabaya city. Sampling for fine and coarse particles using Gent Stacked Filter Unit (Gent SFU) every six days between November-December and meteorological data obtained using Kestrel 5500 Weather Meter. The concentration of PM10 was analyzed using the gravimetric method while estimating the pollutant source location using the Conditional Probability Function (CPF). The average concentration of PM10 at the time of research of 32.24 μg/m3. The estimated source location of pollutant for PM10 is from north, northeast, east, south, and southwest and the potential source of pollutant is possible from industrial activities, traffic, warehousing activities, and natural sources such as dirt dust.


J. B. S. Haldane is credited with first clearly pointing out that disease is one of the major selective forces in evolution, and that genetic resistance to disease in nature is therefore to be expected.1 Subsequent research in the area has followed two general directions. Sabin's pioneering study of experimental viral encephalitis in mice2 demonstrated that individual genes, inherited as simple mendelian units, may be responsible for resistance and susceptibility to certain experimental virus diseases, but that genetic resistance to one virus infection did not necessarily confer resistance to other viruses, as he showed with poliomyelitis and rabies. Subsequently, it . . .


Python is nowadays one of the most widely-used languages for data science. Its rich ecosystem of libraries together with its simplicity and readability are behind its popularity. HEP is also embracing that trend, often using Python as an interface language to access C++ libraries for the sake of performance. PyROOT, the Python bindings of the ROOT software toolkit, plays a key role here, since it allows to automatically and dynamically invoke C++ code from Python without the generation of any static wrappers beforehand. In that sense, this paper presents the efforts to create a new PyROOT with three main qualities: modern, able to exploit the latest C++ features from Python; pythonic, providing Python syntax to use C++ classes; interoperable, able to interact with the most important libraries of the Python data science toolset.


Over the time the LGBT parades have obtained visibility across the Brazilian territory, a fact noticed because the increase of these events over the Brazilian cities, fitting emphasize their popular feature, in which society is involved in a generalized way. In this paper we analyze the micro-territoriality on the week of the Rainbow Fest and Miss Brazil Gay in Juiz de Fora city/MG, which is listed as immaterial heritage of that city, standing out how social groupings use tools to control the fest space-time. In methodological terms our analyzes were based on field surveys at events, interviews and structured questionnaires. A bibliographic consultation was necessary to support more theoretically the theme. We also highlighted the importance of these events for Juiz de Fora city and for LGBT social group, which uses this week to claim its rights and express its wishes in a heteronormative society.


A method and apparatus for compressing resources used for transmitting acknowledgment signals from User Equipments (UEs). An acknowledgment signal is in response to detections from a UE of one or more Physical Downlink Control CHannels (PDCCHs) in respective one or more Transmission Time Interval (TTIs) within M TTIs. Each PDCCH is transmitted over Control Channel Elements (CCEs). Resources account for both CCEs in a same TTI and for TTIs within the M TTIs. A Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) Acknowledgment Resource Offset (HRO) field in a Downlink Control Information (DCI) format is used to compress resources in both CCE and TTI domains. For the first TTI of the M TTIs, all HRO values compress resources in the CCE domain while for all remaining TTIs, half HRO values compress resources in the CCE domain and half HRO values compress resources in the TTI domain.


LaFell.39 Mn-; 35 Si1.2613 0. 1HI alloys were prepared by hydrogenation. Samples were annealed at 1313 K for 30-90 h to form the NaZn13 phase. La-rich and o-Fc secondary phases were also detected. Saturated hy drogenation at 553 K and O. 15 MPa of H 2 pressure for 5 h was employed to improve the Curie tempera ture of the alloys to 279 K. The ma ximum magnetic entropy change, relative cooling power , and adiabatic temperature change of LaFell.39 Mno.35 Si-. 26 130. 1HI annealed at 1313 K for 90 h after hydrogen absorption arc 6. 38 J/(kg . K) ( magnetic changes !-'ot:.H = 1. 65 T), 100.1 J/ kg (!-'ot:.H = 1. 65 T), and 2.2 K (/"ot:.H = 1. 18 T), respectively. Although the maxim um magnetic entropy change of the LaFell.39Mno.35 Si. 26 13 0. 1HI alloys is lower than those of similar alloys with high purity raw materials, the relative cool ing power is nearly the same. The effect of impurities of the raw materials used was also discussed. It is assumed that the impurity of O. 2 wt. % Al is responsible for the reduced entropy change of the res ulted alloys. The LaFell.39 Mn-; 35 Sir 26 13 0. 1H. T alloys prepared by this method could be a low cost alte rnative material for room temperat ure magnetic cooling applications.


The amino acids compositions of Xuehua Pear and Huangguan Pear were analyzed by using automatic amino acid analyzer.The results showed that there were plenty of amino acids in the two pears after low-temperature storage for 10 months,aspartic acid of Huangguan Pear accounted for as high as 56.93% total amino acid content,the contents of 14 amino acids in Xuehua Pear were higer than that in Huangguan Pear.The results of nutritional evaluation showed that the contents of essential amino acid in both Xuehua Pear and Huangguan Pear were lower than the pattern spectrum.And the contents of Lys amino acid in Xuehua Pear was closed to the pattern spectrum.


In this paper, by using the Alexandrov–Serrin method of moving plane combined with integral inequality, we prove some non-existence results for positive weak solution of semilinear elliptic system in the half-space .


Abstract To confirm the existence of an ongoing electroencephalogram (EEG) pattern that is truly suggestive of pain, tonic heat pain was induced by small heat pulses at 1 °C above the pain threshold and compared to slightly less intense tonic non-painful heat pulses at 1 °C below the pain threshold. Twenty healthy subjects rated the sensation intensity during thermal stimulation. Possible confounding effects of attention were thoroughly controlled for by testing in four conditions: (1) focus of attention directed ipsilateral or (2) contralateral to the side of the stimulation, (3) control without a side preference, and (4) no control of attention at all. EEG was recorded via eight leads according to the 10/20 convention. Absolute power was computed for the frequency bands delta (0.5–4 Hz), theta (4–8 Hz), alpha1 (8–11 Hz), alpha2 (11–14 Hz), beta1 (14–25 Hz), and beta2 (25–35 Hz). Ratings were clearly distinct between the heat and pain conditions and suggestive for heat and pain sensations. Manipulation of attention proved to be successful by producing effects on the ratings and on the EEG activity (with lower ratings and lower EEG activity (theta, beta1, 2) over central areas for side-focused attention). During pain stimulation, lower central alpha1 and alpha2 activity and higher right-parietal and right-occipital delta power were observed compared to heat stimulation. This EEG pattern was not influenced by the manipulation of attention. Since the two types of stimuli (pain, heat) were subjectively felt differently although stimulation intensities were nearby, we conclude that this EEG pattern is clearly suggestive of pain.


Ambivalence is defined as the coexistence of opposed emotional attitudes toward a significant figure in the social environment. A new technique for the assessment of ambivalence is described; its application in a series of studies on college students, hospitalized schizophrenics, and school children reviewed. The obtained relationships of ambivalence to sociocultural characteristics, perceived family relationships, psychosexual conflicts, defenses, and superego variables are presented. Data on the generality of ambivalent feelings toward parents, other authority figures, God, and siblings are also given. Finally, the empirical findings are pulled together to evolve a theoretical account of the psychodynamics of ambivalence, covering both etiological aspects and manifestations in the adult personality.


The purpose of this article is to highlight research related to the understanding of the SME manager. Two approaches have divided researchers over the last century. The personality trait approach is based on an ontological approach and gives considerable weight to the psychological dimension of the manager by emphasizing some of his intrinsic characteristics like: the need for self-fulfillment, locus of internal control and risk-taking. While the skill's approach adopts a praxeological approach and examines the various abilities of the manager, mainly those of an entrepreneurial, managerial and functional nature. Moreover this contribution, based on an empirical study, aims to describe the profile of Moroccan SME managers, particularly those who realized the growth of their firms. We will develop their socio-demographic, psychological and behavioral characteristics and identify their most salient personality traits, their distinctive skills and those lacking. The results presented are based on the quantitative study we conducted among one hundred managers of SMEs in Casablanca respecting the quotas of the different economic sectors.


A model is derived for the viscoplastic behavior of a host medium driven by stress-induced diffusion of guest atoms. The constitutive equations are applied to study development of stresses in a spherical electrode particle subjected to insertion of lithium. Numerical simulation demonstrates the ability of the model to capture basic phenomena observed in anode nanoparticles under lithiation: formation of a sharp interphase between a Li-poor core and a Li-rich shell, slowing down of the interphase motion revealed as self-limiting lithiation, and growth of tensile hoop stresses near the outer surface of a particle leading to its fracture.


INTRODUCTION Birth weight of beef calves is included in the genetic evaluation of Swedish beef breeds as an auxiliary trait to avoid an increase of calving difficulties. Birth weight of bull calves is 4-7% higher than that of heifer calves of the Charolais, Hereford and Simmental breeds (Swedish Dairy Association 2000). This phenotypic difference between males and females increase with the age of the animals. Stålhammar and Philipsson (1997) concluded that male and female preweaning gain for these breeds in Sweden should be regarded as genetically different traits, as correlations between males and females were found in the range of 0.6-0.9 and 0.4-0.6 for direct and maternal effects, respectively. These results were supported by a more recent study by Eriksson et al. (2001). The genetic differences between male and female growth traits observed later in life raised the question whether genetic differences in weight between the genders exist already at birth.


Aims Our objective is to study changes of phytoliths in Leymus chinensis quantitatively under saline-alkali stress to assist reconstruction of saline paleoenvironments.Methods We selected similarly sized leaves of L.chinensis under six different saline-alkali levels and extracted phytoliths with the wet ashing method.Important findings We identified and named 10 categories and 3 387 phytoliths:flat-topped rondel,peaked rondel,barbed rondel,smooth elongate,sinus elongate,horn-ends elongate,pointed,plate,favose and other types.With increased salt concentration,rondel,elongate,pointed,plate and favose changed.The percentage of rondel increased in all groups.The same type of phytolith had differences in morphology and percentage among groups.All types of phytoliths increased in size with saline-alkali stress.