The interplay between equilibrium, interfacial reactions, and diffusion at its full complexity is most evident in pyrometallurgical systems. The purpose of this work is to offer a method of analysis that describes the process in terms of a rigorous quantitative framework based on the De Donder's extent of reaction and to report on the computation of virtual-equilibrium activities of species, and their diffusion rates, under quasi-steady-state conditions ; these results are compared to measured rates. The examples selected for the purpose of illustration are chemical vapor transport (CVT) of Fe 2 O 3 , and the growing of ZnS crystals from vapor-phase in a closed ampule reactor held in a linear temperature-gradient in the vicinity of 1000°C, using HCl(g) as the solvent. The model assumes virtual equilibrium between solid and gas-phases in each of the two end-zones, the displacement from perfect equilibrium induced by diffusive transport of the gas species. The computed diffusion-limited growth rates compare well with the experiment for both systems ; and the departure at low-HCl concentrations is attributed to change in mechanism, with the growth limited by chlorination.


AM1 calculations are reported that address the following: (1) the hydration of C 0 2 by H,O and OH-; (2) the deprotonation enthalpies of zinc-bound and -unbound H 2 0 and imidazole; (3) the catalytic mechanism of hydration (dehydration) of C 0 2 by carbonic anhydrase (CA). The AM1 calculations on the hydration of C 0 2 agree well with the ab initio results, in that the hydration of C 0 2 by H 2 0 involves a rather large activation energy in the gas phase, while hydration by OHis activationless. However, the heat of reaction for OHhydration of CO, is found to be too exothermic due to errors in the calculated heats of formation of OHand C02. Our calculations also show, as have previous ab initio calculations, that zinc-bound water has a lower deprotonation enthalpy than does zinc-bound imidazole. This result agrees with the experimental evidence that suggests that the deprotonation of zinc-bound water initiates the catalytic activity of CA. The detailed calculations on the catalytic mechanism of hydration of C 0 2 by CA have uncovered some interesting features as well as corroborated existing experimental results. Our calculations suggest and other workers' experiments have shown that the rate-determining step in the catalytic cycle of CA is the intramolecular proton transfer (PT). We have investigated four mechanisms for this step: ( I ) PT via a Thr-199, Glu-106 proton relay; (2) PT to water in the CA active site; (3) PT to His-64 via a two-water-proton relay; (4) PT to His-64 via a bicarbonate proton relay. It is predicted that there are two low-energy pathways, namely, the two-water relay and the bicarbonate proton relay. Our calculations also indicate that the hydration of C 0 2 by the zinc-hydroxide form of CA proceeds via a trigonal bipyramidal transition state, which forms the zinc-bicarbonate species directly. We also find that the presence of a water molecule inhibits this reaction. Finally, given our results, we have suggested an alternative mechanism for the mode of action of CA. An important issue in enzyme chemistry is to explain why enzyme reactions are so fast and so specific. To understand these two aspects, it is necessary to know the details of the catalytic mechanism. Unfortunately, such detailed mechanisms for most enzymes are not known with any certainty. This state of affairs is true in the case of the enzyme system studied here, namely, carbonic anhydrase (CA).2 I t is the goal of this research to provide new insight into the catalytic activity of CA. C A is found in both plants and animals, and its only known biological function is to catalyze the interconversion of C 0 2 and H C 0 3 (eq I ) . The active site environment, as determined by


The purpose of the smart street light control for saving electricity via the Internet of Things (IoT) is the use of LED luminaires that are regulated through operating time via a motion sensor Passive Infrared Detector (PIR) controller and Smart lighting towers also include PM 2.5 sensors, IP cameras and a Wi-Fi system controlled by a microcontroller. The result of energy savings is 64%, pollution display (PM 2.5) is in the range of 17-20 mg/m3, and life safety is enhanced by surveillance through IP Camera, the IoT system. It can be as many benefits as smart homes, smart farms, smart offices and smart electricity by analyzing the deep learning and machine learning approaches of the future.


PURPOSE: To obtain an oxide adhered activated carbon, by mixing solid oxine with activated carbon, which converts various kinds of reaionuclides containined in cooling water of a reactor or water leaked from it into stable hydrophobic oxine complex cpds., which can be removed by adsorption with activated carbon. COPYRIGHT: (C)1979,JPO&Japio


It is a fact that the construction industry is the main consumer of energy and materials in most countries Traditionally steel is used as reinforcement in concrete structure. But because of cost and availability, replacement of steel with some other suitable materials as reinforcement is now a major concern. Though bamboo has been used as a construction material, especially in developing country, until today its use as reinforcement in concrete structure is very limited due to various uncertainties. Since bamboo is a natural, cheap and also readily available material, it can be a substitute of steel in reinforcing of concrete structure. The indiscriminate infrastructural growth is leading to rapid environmental degradation. Steel, cement, synthetic polymers and metal alloys used for construction activities are energy intensive as well as cause environmental pollution during their entire life cycle. In order to quantify the energy and CO2 savings potential by applying best available technologies like vegetable fibers including bamboo, wastes from industry and mining etc., for engineering applications. In this study work an attempt has been made for finding bamboo as reinforcement in concrete by determining the various physical and mechanical properties of bamboo. The investigations conducted for the tested types of bamboo are evaluated using the same accepted criteria as that of steel and aggregate. Keywords— Bamboo, Compressive strength, Flexural strength.


In the title complex, [Cu(C7H5O3)2(C7H6N2)2], (I), the CuII atom, located on an inversion center, is surrounded by two 4-hydroxybenzoate anions and two benzimidazole molecules in an elongated octahedral geometry, the longer Cu—O distance being 2.618 (2) A in the axial direction. The partially overlapped arrangement and the short face-to-face distance of 3.405 (6) A suggest π–π stacking between benzimidazole ligands of neighboring molecules.


In this paper, we have investigated the influence of air-fountain injection to study the hydrogen diffusion behavior with the help of 3-Dimensional code, HYDRAGON. Three different turbulence models i. e., Standard k −, model, Re-Normalized Group k − m model and Realizable k − e model have been studied carefully and the comparison of simulated data with experimental data were performed. The effect of air-injection was examined using three different velocities i.e., 0.411, 2.803, and 5.143 m/s to evaluate the phenomena of stratification break-up. When we kept the velocity of the air-injection as low as 0.411 m/s, the simulated results obtained through these three turbulence models were very close to experimental data. As the velocity was set to 5.143 m/s, the simulated data captured the experimental data well. But, when the velocity of air-injection was kept 2.803 m/s, the two turbulence models i.e., SKE and RNG turbulence models gave satisfactory results. However, when we added the turbulent diffusivity coefficient to RNG and RLZ turbulence models in the HYDRAGON code, a minor influence was investigated in these simulation results.


Public procurement law specifi cally regulates the process of procurement in the public sector. Procurement, as the process leading to a contract, is generally divided into three categories: supplies (acquisition of products), services, and works. It consists of legal rules that impose limits in pursuit of the main goal the best value for money. The main difference between procurement in the public and in the private sector is that the aim of public procurement is to pursue the best value for taxpayers' money. Since public procurement is about spending taxpayers' money to provide benefi t to citizens or consumers from the products and services acquired, procurement is subject to compliance with general rules and principles in order to ensure effi cient purchasing. Therefore, public procurement necessarily includes formal and bureaucratic processes, depending on the thresholds of the contract.


PURPOSE: An adhesive film for an orientating treatment in a photo-alignment layer provide a three-dimensional image displaying device by including an optical transmission region and a light cut-off region forming into a stripe shape. CONSTITUTION: A material(10) comprises an optical transmission region(T) and a light cut-off region(B). The optical transmission region and the light cut-off region form into a respective stripe shape. The optical transmission region and the light cut-off region are formed by turns. A photo-alignment layer is for an optical filter of a three-dimensional image displaying device. A pitch of the light cut-off region is double the width of the unit pixel for the left-eye or left-eye of a display unit of the three-dimensional image displaying device.


This article describes how a fact-based clinical case was effectively used to motivate and enrich the classroom experience and review many of the concepts covered in general chemistry. The case involves an elderly patient who was brought to the emergency room. The results of his physical examination and laboratory analysis of his blood are presented. The students, in peer-led groups, work through the chemical principles involved in the doctor's diagnosis and treatment options for the patient. The article describes the case study, instructors' observations, and students' perception of the activity.


Deviations from paraxial image models are significant at numerical apertures (NA) planned to support immersion lithography. Apodization and rotation of polarization by high numerical optics are well-characterized phenomena. Similar behaviors follow from intrinsic properties of photomask patterns at high spatial frequencies. Diffraction efficiencies differ from values predicted using Kirchhoff boundary conditions, and depend on polarization. Pellicles also apodize diffraction patterns because reflection losses depend on angle of incidence and polarization. These effects are large enough to influence contrast, critical dimension and depth of focus of images thru pitch. These vectorial effects may degrade image quality, or invalidate models for optical proximity correction (OPC) that do not properly comprehend them. What matters for the image is the cumulative contribution of mask pattern, pellicle and optics. The objective in this study is to provide a systematic and unified mapping the optical landscape of mask patterned film and pellicle membrane materials as well as their impacts to vectorial imaging performance. We conclude that to optimize image performance, it is essential to balance the diffraction beam's angle, phase and amplitude. And there are non-unique reticle (mask scatter and pellicle membrane) material solutions to enable high (NA) immersion lithography.


Architecture is a built environment to fulfil the needs of human inhabitants. However, behind the aesthetics of beauty artificial that formed, the inherent in it, architecture has different impact to the nature related with destruction. Rapid deforestation has its way alongside with the build of housing, agriculture, and industry. To answer the related problem, the experimental study should be offered. Therefore, this paper puts forward the solution for the undersoil house design. In the future, people might adapt with unpredicted condition, so ask the new design to leave must be set up in an experimental manner.


Significant damages to liquid storage tanks have occurred during the 1999 Kocaeli earthquake. More than 30 of the floating-roof Naphta tanks have failed due to fires at the Tupras refinary and 2 elevated liquid oxygen tanks collapsed due to the failure of their reinforced concrete pedestals at the HABAS plant. This paper begins by outlining the mechanical analogue systems to be used for calculating the overturning moment and the base shear in tank wall as well as the free surface displacements for cylindrical tanks subjected to horizontal base excitation. Seismic responses of the floating-roof Naphta tanks at the Tupras refinary were analyzed using a Matlab scipt based on the mechanical analogue systems with the acceleration time-histories records collected from the site. Results of these analyses confirmed the excessive sloshing action. It was concluded that the frequency content of the base acceleration has a significant influence on the seismic response and that site-specific time-history records should be utilized in the design of critical tanks. Furthermore, it is pointed out that there is a need to check the reliability of existing tank farms, especially those built before the 70s, with the current codes of design.


CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune systems are present in many bacteria and archaea and provide protection against invading DNA such as phages and plasmids. These systems are very versatile and complex in their gene composition and genomic architecture. CRISPR-Cas systems are classified into 2 classes, 6 types and 33 subtypes although this number is not definitive and the research is ongoing. All CRISPR-Cas systems have been thoroughly investigated in order to better understand the mechanism of CRISPR immunity enabling its use as a tool in genome editing and other biotechnological applications. However, regulation of the CRISPR-Cas system is also very complex and still not fully understood; it must provide optimal protection without introducing harmful consequences to the host. In this review, we give an overview on the regulation of the CRISPR-Cas system Class 1 Type I-E in Escherichia coli with the emphasis on the role of temperature in the regulation of the CRISPR-Cas activity and the interplay of the key regulators H-NS and StpA repressors and LeuO antirepressor in regulation of cas gene expression and HtpG chaperone in maintaining functional levels of Cas3.


Abstract A series of compounds based on peroxide-cured EPDM were prepared with varying amounts of paraffinic plasticizer and carbon black. Modeling of the NMR relaxation signal was successfully car...


This essay examines Malory's presentation of Guenevere's ascetic choices as abbess and considers how her behavior resonates with the choices of royal widows like Eleanor of Provence and her patronage of Amesbury.


In this paper, we discuss low-temperature hopping-conductivity behavior in the insulating phase, in the absence of a magnetic field. We conduct a theoretical study of the crossover from hopping to activated transport in a GaAs two-dimensional hole system at low temperatures, finding that a crossover takes place from the Efros-Shklovskii variable-range hopping (VRH) regime to an activated regime in this system. This conductivity behavior in p-GaAs quantum wells is qualitatively consistent with the laws laid down in theories of localized electron interactions. Given sufficiently strong interactions, the holes in the localized states are able to hop collectively.


The utility model relates to a spin riveting machine for automobile parts, comprising a spin riveting machine base, a spin riveting head and a workpiece clamp; the spin riveting machine for automobile parts also comprises a sliding planker, and a double-work-station workpiece clamp is arranged on the sliding planker. In the spin riveting machine for automobile parts, the labor intensity of workers can be greatly reduced, the production efficiency can be improved by more than 50 percent, the spin riveting quality can be remarkably improved and the operating safety of workers can be improved.


Biosensor technology is an expanding field of research and there is a great market demand for low-cost disposable sensors. The aim of this project was to come up with a printed, disposable biosenso ...


BACKGROUND
Amidrazones have been reported to have significant anti-tumor properties against several cancer cell lines.

OBJECTIVES
The current project aims to profile the structure-anticancer activity relationship of phenyl-amidrazons.

METHODS
Fifteen phenyl-amidrazone-piperazine derivatives were prepared and tested against four cancer cell lines (leukemia, prostate, breast and colon cancers).

RESULTS
Six compounds illustrated low micromolar anticancer IC50 values, while the remaining compounds were either inactive or of moderate potencies. All compounds were virtually nontoxic against normal fibroblast cells.

CONCLUSION
Docking into the oncogenic kinase bcr/abl illustrated the critical importance of (i) phalogen substituent on the ligand's phenyl ring and (ii) the presence of positive ionizable moiety at the ligand's piperazine fragment for anticancer activity.


The invention provides a ham-containing minced fillet sausage and a production method thereof, which can solve the defect that ham-containing minced fillet sausage does not exist on the current sausage market. The technical scheme is as follows: the ham-containing minced fillet sausage comprises minced fillet, western ham and seasoning, wherein in percentage by weight, the minced fillet is 1 percent to 96 percent, the western ham is 1 percent to 50 percent, the seasoning is 1 percent to 20 percent, and the balance is water. Since diced or granular western ham is added in the prior minced fillet sausage, the appearance of the minced fillet sausage becomes good, the nutrition of the minced fillet sausage is increased, moreover, the minced fillet sausage overcomes the defect of the white longitudinal and cross sections of the cut prior minced fillet sausage, which cannot be accepted by lots of people, consequently, the minced fillet sausage is a high-quality product which is good in color, flavor and taste, and the sausage market is enriched.


A new design algorithm is presented for a symmetric universal vector quantiser based on the successive partitioning of normalised signal space. The universal vector quantiser of video signals is also shown as an example.


Human papillomavirus(HPV) infection is one of the important risky factors leading to cervical cancer. Recent studies show that the rate of its detection in oral tumor and precancerous lesions is also high,suggesting its relationship with the pathogenesis of oral tumor. Present research focuses mainly on its E6,E7 genes,less on other genes. In this paper,we discuss the HPV E5 gene,budding in papers of recent years,and make a brief re-view on the relationship between E5 gene and oral tumor.


Underwater radio communication using surface electromagnetic waves propagating along the seawater-air and seawater-sea floor interfaces may provide a promising alternative to commonly used acoustic communication underwater. Here we present a detailed analytical and numerical consideration of TE and TM polarized surface electromagnetic wave properties. The resulting surface waves have propagation constants that permit communication ranges far longer than those of bulk propagation in the lossy media. We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally their ability to carry broadband radio signals over practical communication distances underwater. A 50 MHz radio signal was successfully carried along the sandy seabed over 7 m distance.


The novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 and the virus-induced disease COVID-19 has caused widespread concerns due to its contagiousness, fatality rate, and the absence of drug(s). This study investigated Lens culinaris and its phytochemicals, especially the flavonoids. The compounds were assessed through molecular docking studies for their binding abilities with the major protease of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (PDB: 6LU7). A total of 42 phytochemicals of Lens culinaris were analyzed through molecular docking studies for their binding affinities to COVID 3C-like protease. Of them, 23 compounds were found to have binding affinities to the protease of −7.5 kcal/mol or higher. Our study indicates that Lens culinaris contains a number of polyphenolic compounds as well as phytosterols, which can bind to the active site of the protease, and so merits further scientific attention on trials for use as potential anti-COVID-19 drugs.


Photoinduced charge separation and excitation transport to the interfaces of an organic photovoltaic material are examined using ultrafast visible pump−infrared probe spectroscopy. The carbonyl (CO) stretch of the butyric acid methyl ester group of a functionalized fullerene, PCBM, is probed as a local vibrational reporter of the charge-transfer dynamics in a blend of PCBM with a conjugated polymer, CN-MEH-PPV. Following ultrafast excitation of the polymer, charge transfer to the fullerene occurs at the interfaces of the materials over many time scales ranging from sub-100 femtoseconds to nanoseconds. A fast charge-transfer component arises from excited states in the polymer that form near interfaces with PCBM aggregates where little or no excitation transport is required to affect charge separation. A slower component occurs because excited states that are created throughout the polymer phase must diffuse toward the interfaces to affect charge separation, giving rise to an induction period in the charge-...


ABSTRACT Edible oil imports to Africa grew over 10% per year from 2006 to 2015, and accounted for 34% of the continent's total growth in food imports over this period—the highest share of any food group. In the same period, several African countries experienced a boom in the local production and processing of oil-seeds. The combination of import growth and domestic production booms reveals a gap in the literature on the characteristics of edible oil demand in Africa. We begin to fill this gap by estimating own-price, cross-price, and expenditure elasticities of demand for palm, sunflower, and other edible oils in Tanzania. We apply a QUAIDS model to detailed household level data-focusing on palm and sunflower oil, because for the most part, palm oil is imported and sunflower is domestically produced. Our main finding is a surprisingly low level of substitution between the domestic and imported edible oils. Simulated budget shares from our estimates suggest that a 10% tariff increase on palm oil leads to less than a 0.06% change in the budget share of domestically produced sunflower oil. We identify other potential policy implications from our findings and highlight steps for further research.


Inhaled hydrogen gas (H 2 ) provides protection in rat models of human acute lung injury (ALI). We previously reported that biomarker imaging can detect oxidative stress and endothelial cell death in vivo in a rat model of ALI. Our objective was to evaluate the ability of 99m Tc-hexamethylpropyleneamineoxime (HMPAO) and 99m Tc-duramycin to track the effectiveness of H 2 therapy in vivo in the hyperoxia rat model of ALI. Rats were exposed to room air (normoxia), 98% O 2 + 2% N 2 (hyperoxia) or 98% O 2 + 2% H 2 (hyperoxia+H 2 ) for up to 60 h. In vivo scintigraphy images were acquired following injection of 99m Tc-HMPAO or 99m Tc-duramycin. For hyperoxia rats, 99m Tc-HMPAO and 99m Tc-duramycin lung uptake increased in a time-dependent manner, reaching a maximum increase of 270% and 150% at 60 h, respectively. These increases were reduced to 120% and 70%, respectively, in hyperoxia+H 2 rats. Hyperoxia exposure increased glutathione content in lung homogenate (36%) more than hyperoxia+H 2 (21%), consistent with increases measured in 99m Tc-HMPAO lung uptake. In 60-h hyperoxia rats, pleural effusion, which was undetectable in normoxia rats, averaged 9.3 gram/rat, and lung tissue 3-nitrotyrosine expression increased by 790%. Increases were reduced by 69% and 59%, respectively, in 60-h hyperoxia+H 2 rats. This study detects and tracks the anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic properties of H 2 therapy in vivo after as early as 24 h of hyperoxia exposure. The results suggest the potential utility of these SPECT biomarkers for in vivo assessment of key cellular pathways in the pathogenesis of ALI and for monitoring responses to therapies.


Purpose: The purpose of this integrative review is to examine the existing literature comparing short‐ and long‐term outcomes of both coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) stenosis. CABG has long been considered the standard of treatment for ULMCA stenosis; however, advancements in the use of PCI have made it a viable alternative treatment option. Data sources: Sixteen articles were selected from a literature search using the PubMed database, with at least 1 year of follow‐up and adjustment for established risk factors. Conclusions: The majority of studies found CABG and PCI with stenting to be comparable and equally safe treatment strategies for patients with ULMCA stenosis. Some studies found that PCI had a significantly lower risk for adverse events and mortality compared to CABG. However, a large number of studies found that PCI had a higher rate of target vessel restenosis. Implications for practice: Advanced practice nurses have become a prominent and influential part of the healthcare delivery system. As such, advanced practice nurses should be educated on the current research about coronary artery interventions so that they may better screen, treat, and manage this patient population.


This thesis presents a computational model of working memor y load in human sentence processing that attempts to explain a number of well-establ i hed linguistic performance effects that are associated with processing difficulty of cert ain syntactic structures. The computational model presented here is based on recent assumpti ons of working memory in computational cognitive modeling. In particular the assumpti on that there are working memory demands in on-line sentence comprehension associated with both storage of incomplete syntactic structure and integration of new lexical input into t he structure built thus far. The model has been realized as an implemented system for parsing a frag ment of English into dependency representations. The implementation provides detai led quantitative predictions of the time course of sentence comprehension and processing diffic ulty. These predictions afford comparison with empirical evidence such as reading time dat a. In contrast to current sentence processing theories which rely on phrase structure re pr s ntations, we implement an algorithm for parsing where the basic syntactic relations n ecessary for interpretation are established directly as asymmetrical dependency relations b etween lexical nodes. In addition to accounting for well-established processing contrasts, the dependency-based parsing model detailed here reflects important principles of real-time se ntence processing, such as incrementality and predictivity.


For years Albena Georgieva's scientific research has been focused on the issues concerning Bulgarian folk narrative, such as the typology and its function, as well as its place in culture. The continuity of her scientific interest is confirmed by series of academic publications including the monograph dedicated to the genealogy of non-folktale oral narrative and the process of storytelling: Етиологичните легенди в българския фолклор (София 1990) [Etiological Legends in Bulgarian Folklore, Sofia 1990]; Разкази и разказване в българския фолклор (София 2000) [Narratives and Storytelling in Bulgarian Folklore, Sofia 2000], publications of source books such as the anthology of folk legend with a commentary Когато Господ ходеше по земята. 77 легенди с тълкувания (София 1993) [When the Lord Walked the Earth. 77 Legends with Explanations, Sofia 1993], and several articles published in periodicals, both domestic and abroad. In her latest work, Фолклорни измерения на християнството [Folk Dimensions of Christianity], Georgieva once again undertakes the subject of the folk religiosity. The 440-pages-long publication consists of Introduction, six chapters, Summary, index of interlocutors cited from unpublished materials, table of sources, and the subject literature list, Appendices containing several texts included in the narrative process, and Index of basic concepts. Resources used in Georgieva's study were acquired through interviews and observations of the Bačkovo Monastery of the Mother of God Petritzonitissa and the Hadžidimovo Monastery dedicated to the Holy Great-Martyr George, the Victory-Bearer, as well as various places of cult in which the author conducted field studies since the 1970s up till now (for more information see the impressive record of Georgieva's scientific researches – p. 11–14). Georgieva's aim is to track the process of storytelling – "what and how we talk about faith" (p. 14) in communities agglomerated near the cult places significant for the Eastern Orthodox Christianity, along with communities which tend to gather in the places of cult exclusively during the major Christian festivals. Georgieva claims that the content of the stories indicates the occurrence of mutual influences and impacts existing between a community and its surroundings, as well as it constructs and sustains the sense of being affiliated with the place. Suddenly, on the margin of the central issue of the study emerges an argument concerning the significance of the storytelling process in ritual practices – the interpretation of their genesis, beliefs concerning their effectiveness and purposefulness, and, finally, the construction of specified ideological demeanor among the faithful. The first chapter, Устни религиозни разкази и фолклорна култура [Religious folk narratives and folklore], p. 23–72, introduces the issue of the "folk Christianity", a phenomenon defining the result of the centuries-old coexistence, mutual influences and the mutual infiltration of folklore (beliefs and practices) and official religion. Georgieva performs an overview of the terminology of the scientific discourse (битово, народно, фолклорно християнство), in order to define the most appropriate one for the undertaken deliberation (фолклорно християнство, фолклорна религия, популярна религия), contrasting and rejecting those elements which do not embrace the entirety of the phenomenon (алтернативна религиозна култура), as well as those which are DOI: 10.18778/2084-140X.05.16


The Oheyama plant of Nippon Yakin Kogyo Co., Ltd. produces ferro-nickel granules by the Oheyama Process (the world's only method for smelting siliceous nickel ores with a rotary kiln) for self-consumption to make finished stainless steels in Kawasaki plant. Siliceous nickel ores imported from New Caledonia, Indonesia and Philippines are composed of various minerals and their chemical compositions largely vary depending on mines as well as working places, which causes smelting operations very vulnerable. Constituent minerals of New Caledonian ores were investigated by X-ray diffraction method to understand the properties of the siliceous nickel ores and the following results were obtained. (1) Main constituent minerals are garnierite, serpentine, goethite and silica. (2) Garnierites are consisted of such types as 7 A°, 10 A°, 14 A° and 12 A° which represent X-ray reflection positions from the base planes of phyllo-silicates, while serpentines are consisted of 7 A° and 14 A°. (3) Ni in the ores is concentrated in phyllo-silicates such as garnierites and serpentines, while Fe is concentrated mainly in laterite ore whose main constituent mineral is goethite. (4) A good relationship between Ni content and crystal structure is observed.


Interaction of charged particles, induced by adding an oppositely charged polyion, gives rise to intriguing aggregation phenomena. The presence of short-range interactions in competition with electrostatic eceived in revised form 5 January 2009 ccepted 30 January 2009 vailable online 5 April 2009


The accuracy of the parameters of the synchronous condenser will impact on the stability analysis of the UHV DC system. This paper presents a joint identification strategy based on Grid Searching Method of Initial Values (GSIV) with multiple transient disturbances in power system. The identification results of this strategy satisfy the output curves of multiple disturbances at the same time. Therefore, the results have higher credibility. The simulation results show that compared with the traditional single disturbance identification strategy, this identification strategy has higher accuracy. The identification result is less affected by the initial value of the parameters and is more stable.


Root nodules of Coriaria Lindsay and Datisca Baill. display a unique anatomy in which the symbiotic vesicles radiate inwards towards a central vacuole. Use of the confocal microscope and the redox dye cyano-tetrazolium chloride demonstrates that the vesicles are the sites of reducing potential and that there is a sharp cut-off in reducing potential at the base of the vesicles. The use of the lipophylic cationic dye rhodamine 123 revealed a continuous blanket of mitochondria in this zone. This was verified by transmission electron microscope views of nodule cells. Further studies reveal that the mitochondrial layer also forms a discontinuous layer around the intercellular air spaces. The nodules of plants grown with root systems at 5 and 40 kPa O2 did not show any differences in the thickness of the mitochondrial layer. Microtubules are also radially arranged in these cells and mitochondria are likely to reach their position by moving along this radial framework.Key words: actinorhiza, mitochondria, nitrog...


WORDS is the main international event in Combinatorics on Words. It is a biannual conference devoted to research of words (i.e., finite or infinite sequences of symbols over a finite alphabet) from combinatorial, algebraic and algorithmic points of view. The emphasis of the conference is on mathematical theory of words but the conference is also open to applications, mainly in computer science, biology, linguistics and physics, gaining from the fact that words arise as a natural object in many areas.
The eighth edition of the conference was organized in Prague from 12th to 16th September 2011 as a joint undertaking of the Czech Technical University and the Charles University. This volume consists of contributed papers accepted for presentation at the conference and summaries of invited lectures.


Introduction: Cx45 has been proposed to maintain basal AV-nodal conduction. The exact function of Cx45 in the adult heart has not yet been identified as Cx45 deficient mice are embryonic lethal. Methods: We generated a transgenic mouse line by breeding floxed Cx45 mice with inducible cardiomyocyte-specific Cre-recombinase-expressing mice. Cardiac Cx45 was conditionally deleted by intraperitoneal administration of tamoxifen in adult mice (Cx45 fl/fl:aMHC-CreERt2). In these mice and control littermates (Cx45 fl/fl), we performed telemetric ECGs (n=5) and in vivo electrophysiological investigations (EPI) using transvenous catheterization to assess standard EPI-parameters (n=10). Results: Holter ECGs showed similar heart rates in the genotypes (590±65 in Cx45 fl/fl:aMHC-CreERt2 vs. 571±72 in Cx45 fl/fl). PQ-intervals were prolonged in Cx45 fl/fl:aMHC-CreERt2 (41.0±2.2ms vs. 36.4±3.1ms; p Conclusions: Our mouse mutants with conditional cardiac deletion of Cx45 represent the first model for evaluation of Cx45 function in the adult heart. Our data show prolonged AV-intervals and no impaired AV-nodal conduction under fast heart rates. These findings support the thesis of Cx45 as a provider of basal AV-nodal conductivity, potentially as a backup system for maintaining AV-nodal conduction under pathological conditions, but with minor importance for AV-nodal conductivity when Cx30.2 and Cx40 are present.


The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) produces a daily satellite based smoke and fire analysis for the US. The capability to specify smoke concentration levels and to identify the start time, duration and areal extent of a particular fire which is producing smoke emissions has recently been added. Smoke concentration values are obtained from visual inspection of animated Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) visible band imagery in conjunction with output from the automated GOES Aerosol and Smoke Product (GASP). There are three categories of smoke concentration utilized: 5, 16 and 27 μg/m3, which correspond to light, medium, and dense smoke respectively. The smoke concentration values are available for air quality managers and other users to download and/or view as GIS shapefiles. The initial time and duration of smoke emissions are also obtained through inspection of animated GOES visible imagery by an analyst. This information is incorporated into the HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model which produces a 48 hour forecast of smoke dispersion and transport. In addition to approximating smoke emissions and the diurnal variations observed in wildfires the specification of emission duration allows for the representation of short duration agricultural and prescribed burns as well. A number of examples depicting various smoke concentrations, including fires of different size and duration, will be shown. HYSPLIT performance in depicting the observed smoke will also be presented.


A series of A1,Gao sa-,Ino 48P/G&s heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT's) with z = 0 to z = 0.52 showed ideality factors close to unity for both base current and collector current and small variation in gain with temperature up to at least T = 623 K across the whole range of z composition. Hole current injection from the base into the emitter in these devices was shown to be negligible. The current gain, 8, which is temperature insensitive was thought to be limited by bulk base recombination for z 5 0.3 and recombination at the graded emitter region for z > 0.3. The optimum emitter composition (highest p, and good p stability with collector current and temperature) was found to be z = 0.18-0.30. Useful transistor action with very high gain and output resistance is possible up to at least T = 623 K, limited only by the thermal performance of the unoptimized ohmic contacts employed in the devices.


Alluding to situations marked by pretence and vanity, Perlman juxtaposes photographs of two men in conversation. The photographs vary but the conversation does not. Artist's statement.


A rapid assay method of collagenase activity has been developed using (14)C-labeled soluble collagen as substrate. This method is based on following three parts; first, carrying out the enzyme reaction with (14)C-labeled collagen in solution containing 0.25M glucose to prevent collagen fiblil formation at 35℃ under neutral condition, second, denaturation of the enzyme digestion products at 35℃ for 1hr after stopping the reaction by adding o-phenanthroline and third, selective extraction of the denatured (14)C-products into dioxane at a final concentration of 50 % and counting (14)C-activity in the surpernatant. The rate of the reaction was about 10 times higher than that obtained by the conventional method using reconstituted collagen fiblils as substrate and relationship between enzyme activity and enzyme concentration was linear over a wider range regardless of the purity of collagenase.


Based on the fact that most systems that support piano learning only focus on self-study and ignore the piano class learning situation, we propose an AR-based system to support live group piano learning. The system has two modes: formal learning mode (FLM) and group competition mode (GCM). The first mode, FLM, is designed to allow students to observe teacher's key pressing and finger movement directly from their HMDs so as to enhance mutual understanding between the two parties during the learning process. The second mode, GCM, is developed to further ignite students' passion on learning piano via competition among students. Our goal is to exploit AR technologies for enhancing the learning fun and enthusiasm of beginner-level students on a group piano learning situation, and thus ultimately provide students with a great learning experience.


Brainstem auditory and visual potentials were recorded from 6 patients with chronic idiopathic polyradiculoneuropathy. Evoked potentials were either completely absent or their latency was prolonged suggesting slow conduction in visual or auditory pathways. The results of our study provide further evidence suggesting subclinical involvement of cranial nerves and central nervous system sensory pathways in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy.


To facilitate empirical investigations of longitudinal methodology, a computer procedure was developed to generate artificial data in which true growth scores are known. This procedure simulates the results of the Educational Testing Service Growth Study that pertain to the relationships among scores on a test of academic potential and scores on a test of educational attainment administered on four occasions. Similarly, the procedure simulates the results of Project TALENT that pertain to the correlation of community per capita income with average academic potential of students and with school resources. It is also assumed in the program that school resources determine school impact. The program user is allowed to specify the correlation between resources and impact and the extent to which schools vary in impact. Student scores and school means generated by this program are entered on separate output tapes.


Adenylyl cyclase 5 (ADCY5) mutations is associated with heterogenous syndromes: familial dyskinesia and facial myokymia; paroxysmal chorea and dystonia; autosomal‐dominant chorea and dystonia; and benign hereditary chorea. We provide detailed clinical data on 7 patients from six new kindreds with mutations in the ADCY5 gene, in order to expand and define the phenotypic spectrum of ADCY5 mutations.


A novel technique for fabricating through-chip porous palladium layer on the silicon substrate was developed. We are studying formation of the porous metallic layer on the silicon substrate, and developing miniature fuel cell electrodes that use the porous metallic layer as a catalyst layer. In this works, the porous palladium layer obtained by using the organic palladium complex with ethylenediamine for a porous metallic layer was used. Plasma etching was performed from the opposite side of the porous palladium layer to make fuel channels, and the through-chip porous palladium layer was successfully fabricated.


This study examines the influence of the fraud hexagon on the likelihood of financial statement fraud in Indonesian public companies with stock values below IDR 100 that were listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) from 2018 to 2020. The study population comprises sixty companies with stock values below IDR 100 for three consecutive years listed on the IDX. The objective sampling technique was employed to select a sample of 48 companies that met the research criteria, resulting in 144 observations. Data analysis was performed using logistic regression. The findings reveal that financial stability and change in auditors significantly impact identifying financial statement fraud, while financial targets, changes in directors, collusion, inefficient monitoring, and the frequency of C.E.O. photos show no influence. These results provide valuable insights for detecting and preventing financial statement fraud in Indonesian public companies with low stock values.


This article proposes a holistic mathematical model for the selection, supporting and evaluation of a transformation architect's or manager's profile. The model uses critical success factors, natural programming language environment and an adapted decision-making system to define the optimal BTPAP. The authors propose the use the BTPAP in various types of transformation projects, like for example, in the case of transformation of enterprise's human resources activities, financial systems transformation, logistics transformation projects, or even in audit operations. The BTPAP is a specific profile which is mainly based on the manager's original capabilities and affinities, which are in turn supported by the optimal educational curriculum, by worthful experiences in transformation projects and above all, such profile should be supported by a tuneable transformation framework. A transformation framework is a set of existing frameworks that are integrated to support all types of transformation activities, like the selection of the optimal BTPAP. This framework's originality is that it can be used in any stage of the transformation project for any type of problem and to audit the BTPAP's effectiveness. The main limitation is the enterprise's capacity to restructure and unbundle its legacy environments.


This paper deals with the design of the manufacturing information system which is able to respond rapidly to various requirements of customers in make-to-order environment. The system is required to maintain a consistent flow of information from the start to the end. For this, we adopt an approach based on Information Engineering (IE) methodology, which consists of four stages: planning, analysis, basic design, and detail design. The first is a planing stage which establishes a project goal and organizes a project team. In the second stage, current activities are analyzed and problems are defined. The basic design is accomplished in the third stage, where a project scope is defined and an overall feature of the new system is presented. And then, in the last stage, the operation plan of each subsystem is drawn up in detail and all subsystems are integrated. This study applies the methodology to the case of H company and focuses on designing forms which are easy-to-write, easy-to-understand, and field-oriented. These forms are interrelated and can be used for systematic analysis and design. By applying them to the system design, we have obtained effect of reducing cost and time.


Two measures which have been shown to predict the ease of learning trigrams, namely log letter frequency and sequential predictability, were applied to data from an experiment on short term memory. This involved the immediate recall of 120 six-letter consonant sequences which were presented visually one letter at a time. A significant correlation was found between the probability that a given sequence would be recalled correctly and both its mean log letter frequency (r = 0.308, p < 0.001), and its mean predictability (r = 0.393, p < 0.001). Partial correlation showed only a marginally significant effect of log letter frequency when predictability was partialled out (r = 0.161, 0.05 < p < 0.1). With log letter frequency partialled out, however, a reliable correlation between predictability and recall score remained (r = 0.300, p < 0.001).


AGCO'S VALTRA BRAND HAS A HEALTHY REPRESENTATION IN THE 150-250HP TRACTOR SECTOR WITH ITS T SERIES AND THE 300-400HP BRACKET WITH ITS S MODELS. THE RECENT LAUNCH OF ITS Q RANGE MEETS DEMAND FOR THE BURGEONING SECTOR IN BETWEEN


Sludge is one of the main pollutants from sewage treatment and contains a high content of water and organic matter. The co-combustion of sludge and coal can bring about the energy conversion of sludge. However, the high moisture content in sludge and the inorganic pollutants generated by co-combustion have adverse effects on combustion and the environment. In this work, through experimentation, it was demonstrated that co-combustion does not release obvious toxic elements or create an environmental hazard. On the basis of the TG/DTG curves, the ignition points of sludge and coal and the temperature of each group were obtained, which provided boundary conditions for a numerical simulation. Co-combustion with various mixing ratios and moisture contents was studied via the numerical simulation of a 330 MW boiler. The numerical results show that a high mixing ratio reduced the boiler temperature and created more moisture and fuel NOx. When the mixing ratio reached 40%, the boiler temperature became less than the combustion temperature. Sludge drying improved the internal temperature of the boiler, but it created thermal NOx. When the moisture content decreased to 40%, the temperature in the boiler rose, which improved combustion.


A new bidirectional associative memory model named as HOMIBAM is introduced. The relationships of HOMIBAM with the models existed are pointed out. Both theoretical analysis and simulations show that the capacity and recall performance of HOMIBAM are superior to that of modified intraconnected BAM (MIBAM), higher-order BAM (HOBAM ) greatly.


The attenuation of the continental crust during rifting and the subsequent filling of the rift-related accommodation alter the long-term thermal and mechanical state of the lithosphere. This is primarily because the Moho is shallowed due to density contrasts between the sediment fill and the crust, but
also reflects the attenuation of the pre-existing crustal heat production and its burial beneath the basin, as well the thermal properties of the basin fill. Moho shallowing and attenuation of pre-existing heat production contribute to long-term cooling of the Moho and thus lithospheric strengthening, as has
been pointed out in many previous studies. In contrast, basin filling normally contributes to significant Moho heating allowing the possibility of long-term lithospheric weakening, the magnitude of which is dependent on the thermal properties of the basin-fill and the distribution of heat sources in
the crust. This paper focuses on the thermal property structure of the crust and basin-fill in effecting long-term changes in lithospheric thermal regime, with particular emphasis on the distribution of heat producing elements in the crust. The parameter space appropriate to typical continental crust is
explored using a formalism for the heat production distributions that makes no priori assumptions about the specific form of the distribution. The plausible parameter space allows a wide range in potential long-term thermal responses. However, with the proviso that the accommodation created by the isostatic response to rifting is essentially filled, the long-term thermal response to rift basin formation will generally increase average crustal thermal gradients beneath basins but cool the Moho due to its reduction in depth. The increase in the average crustal thermal gradient induces lateral heat flow that necessarily heats the Moho along basin margins, especially in narrow rift basins. Using
coupled thermo-mechanical models with temperature sensitive creep-parameters, we show that such heating may be sufficient to localise subsequent deformation in the vicinity of major basin bounding structures, potentially explaining the offset observed in some stacked rift basin successions.


Private Dentistry October 2010 My first article on differential tooth wear, the Inman aligner, the Dahl principle and an alternative to preparomental dentistry (published in February's Private Dentistry) resulted in me receiving quite a few emails. I was aware that the subject matter was a little controversial as the Dahl principle is often viewed as a slightly left field way of treating wear. But why should it be? For some reason, the occlusion industry seems to ignore it. Certain speakers do bring the topic up, but there just don't seem to be that many case write ups or courses on the subject. I find this pretty amazing because I use it nearly every day in my practice, and often wonder how other dentists can practice without it. Of course, the truth is many manage perfectly well, however, others just don't treat wear because many of the traditional options often have expensive final outcomes, which can be a barrier for the patient. This struck me more when I was very honoured to speak at the Chicago Midwinter meeting. The majority of the audience was American dentists, however not a single one had even heard of the Dahl principle. The cases I showed, where instead of using ceramic full mouth restorations, we had placed simple composite in the anterior region with no lab fee in a matter of hours, created quite a stir. Trying to justify one type of approach over another is quite a difficult thing to do because the truth is that there are not than many dentists around who have tried all the techniques extensively. However, I have found that in cases where the combined anterior wear in both arches is 6mm or less, and there is still some enamel coverage on posterior teeth, it is my primary mode of treatment to restore the teeth, restore guidance and still find within a few months that we have our posterior contacts regained. I will usually employ traditional techniques in more severe cases. Ideally, just showing the kind of cases we often see in practice and what we do to complete them is a great way of letting dentists make their own mind up. So I am going to present two cases that could have been treated with close to full mouth ceramics – but instead I used the Dahl principle, composite and virtually no tooth preparation.


two of of family deaf-ness. of the these small tumours and both are reasonably well pneumatized. Each tonsillectomy adenoidectomy for indications otitis suction myringotomy.


A measuring method of molten pool temperature which is influenced by various factors is designed based on multi-sensor data fusion. With the time-varying measured object, an adaptive weighted fusion algorithm for searching the minimum standard deviation is proposed here. The corresponding weight is achieved by using sensors measurements through approach of self-adaption. The statistic characteristics of estimated standard deviation are also elaborated in this paper. A comparison is made between real-time processing of adaptive weighted fusion algorithm and traditional mean algorithm. The theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrate that the method can measure molten pool temperature effectively.


The development of metal-free photocatalyst systems is becoming a new trend in practical application. We proposed a simple strategy for the fabrication of g-C3N4/COF 2D/2D heterojunction photocatalysts, and studied their...


Co-operation idea is a progressive idea which came to China from the west after the May 4th movement.Cooperation organization is organized by the members who were at a disadvantage in competition through financial concentration of operations and division of labor cooperation to achieve the economic interests of the participants,and also enhance or improve the economic status of an economic form of organization.As the backbone of the early members of the Chinese students studying in Japan,Yu Shude was the active disseminators of the theory in the pacific co-operation during this period,and he was the advocate and important practitioner of cooperation projects in China.Through the promotion and implementation of various cooperation projects in China's vast rural areas,he enhanced awareness of co-operation of farmers and cultivated the spirit of co-operation of farmers,and finally established a number of co-operatives.He strongly advocated and implemented a system of cooperation,not only rushed the traditional clan forces and promoted the transformation from traditional to modern in China's rural,but also provided important practical experience and valuable system resources,for the People's Republic of China after the establishment of the vast rural areas throughout the country to carry out co-operative movement.He supported the cause of rural cooperative rather than acting on their behalf,guiding without interfering with operations,encouraging rather than forcing the attitude,which is worth learning in our time.


This article is a comparative study of how three Danish climate celebrities – an activist, an influencer, and a politician – personalise climate change on Instagram. They engage in personal storytelling about the issue in a way that is closely connected to their public presentation of self and their choice of visual genres. The theoretical framework combines theories of social media aesthetics and publics (Serafinelli, 2018; Papacharissi, 2015), self-presentation (Marshall, 2010), authenticity (Enli, 2015a; Marwick, 2015), and emotion in political communication (Wahl- Jorgensen, 2019). The method is a qualitative case study comparing the three profiles and their overall curational strategy for addressing climate change through particular visual genres and how their personal storytelling is based on performing authenticity, emotion, and connecting with affective publics. The analysis demonstrates how personalising climate change can be performed as coping with climate anxiety, feel-good sustainable consumption, or enthusiastic promotion of Danish green solutions.


Estimation in the presence of censoring is an important problem. In the linear model, the Buckley-James method proceeds iteratively by estimating the censored values than re-estimating the regression coeffi- cients. A large-scale Monte Carlo simulation technique has been developed to test the performance of the Buckley-James (denoted B-J) estimator. One hundred and seventy two randomly generated data sets, each with three thousand replications, based on four failure distributions, four censoring patterns, three sample sizes and four censoring rates have been investigated, and the results are presented. It is found that, except for Type I1 censoring, the B-J estimator is essentially unbiased, even when the data sets with small sample sizes are subjected to a high censoring rate. The variance formula suggested by Buckley and James (1979) is shown to be sensitive to the failure distribution. If the censoring rate is kept constant along the covariate line, the sample variance of the estimator appears to be in...


Though having not reached an consensus on the definition of civil society,Chinese and overseas scholars all agree that it is a society featuring individual rights and people-oriented principle,and possessing autonomy,participation,publicity and openness.The above illustrates that in civil society the value pursuits of social development correspond with the connotation of civil subjectivity,which enables civil individuality and independent awareness to stand out.The construction of civil society boosts the formation and development of civil subjectivity awareness.


Abstract Three of six siblings developed the uncommon tumor medullary fibrosarcoma of bone. An uncle died of a metastatic bone tumor. The siblings and 5 (possibly 11) of their kindred had an underl...


Extending previous studies on sub-lexical character constituent activation in Japanese and Chinese, the present regression study investigates whether recognition of two-character words in Japanese involves activation of semantic radicals and whether the semantic radicals' contribution is orthographic or semantic in nature. A mixed-effects model complemented with a random forest analysis provided support for the importance of the semantic radical, as witnessed by two orthogonal sets of semantic radical properties: the radicals' semantic transparency and usefulness, as well as the semantic radicals' combinability and token frequency. The two frequency effects were facilitatory for the head of the compound, but inhibitory for the modifier, possibly due to incompatibility of the semantic class marked by the modifier's radical with that of the compound as a whole. Thus, semantic radicals emerge as not just orthographic components but as fully fledged purely orthographic morphemes.


The report provides a business perspective for the Florida work program. It describes the work program as a mechanism to determine projects capable of improving, expanding and maintaining the transportation infrastructure through use of available funds. The reasons for the design, development and implementation of a new system are listed; the functional analysis of the system is provided; and the foreseeable benefits are enumerated.


Stress corrosion cracks initiation can be detected by an electrochemical noise analysis (ENA) method. The electrode potential of the specimen is continuously measured by using the reference electrode in the sodium chloride solution. When a stress corrosion crack occurs, it can be detected by potential decrease. A stress corrosion crack initiation to propagation process, such as initiation of the micro-crack, the individual crack to progress, coalessence, and steady state propagation is separated based on the change of potential. Also, we can measure the potential inside the bittern spot for the case of high humidity sodium atmospheric condition. Stress corrosion cracking can be detected by monitoring of the potential even in the atmosphere.


Purpose – The aim of this paper is to identify difficulties and tension fields encountered in a Social Accountability (SA) 8000 certification process. The paper is based on a case study within a multinational small–medium enterprise (SME) during the implementation of a SA8000 standard. Design/methodology/approach – In the framework of the case study, we adopt a cognitivist approach and use cognitive maps to describe and analyze the corporate social responsibility (CSR) representations of the main actors of the certification process: the owner-manager of the SME and the certification manager. We collected additional information on the case company through document analysis, additional interviews, validation interviews, confrontation interviews and follow-up interviews after one year. Findings – The analysis of cognitive maps revealed tension fields and difficulties linked to the different representations of social responsibility between the social accountability standard SA8000 and the owner-manager strate...


This paper proposes a method to reduce false positive fire alarms by fusing data from different sensors using a specific machine learning model. We design an electronic circuit with 6 sensors to detect 7 physical sensory inputs. We experimentally collect dataset for training and testing of machine learning models, which are used for the implementation of fusing and classifying sensor data. An algorithm, which employs the trained machine learning model for the classification of sensor data and then the thresholding is designed. Machine learning models are selected based on the results of comparisons among multi-layer perceptron, support vector machine and radial basis function network. We use classification accuracy percentage, false negative error and false positive error as measures for comparison. Multi-layer perceptron is observed as the best model according to its 96.875% classification accuracy.


The logic function classification with spectral coefficients is discussed and the definition of characteristic threshold logic function is given. Based on it, the design method for three-variable universal-threshold-logic gates is proposed and the three-variable universal-threshold-logic gates without and with a complementary output are obtained respectively. In addition, several examples showing the realization of three-variable threshold logic function with three-variable universal-threshold-logic-gates are given.


The availability of nodal codes capable of performing whole-core transport calculations accentuates the issue of the errors incurred in first using infinite lattice results at the fuel assembly level to obtain homogenized cross sections. Such errors can be eliminated by employing homogenization only at the fuel pin cell level to obtain self-shielded pin cell cross sections and then performing whole-core transport calculations with each fuel pin cell represented as an explicit homogenized node. In principle, spherical harmonic or simplified spherical harmonic calculations can be performed using the VARIANT variational nodal code with one node per fuel pin cell. Such calculations, however, are expensive for two reasons: the large number of pin cell nodes [typically 289 fuel pins/fuel assembly and 157 or more assemblies per pressurized water reactor (PWR) core] and the slow convergence of the response matrix algorithms for the optically thin cells. To circumvent these difficulties, a finite subelement formulation of the variational nodal method was recently implemented. It is here generalized to perform whole-core PWR calculations without the need for homogenization at the fuel assembly level. In it, the orthogonal polynomials that represent the spatial distribution within each node of the conventional variational nodal methods are replaced bymore » a 17 x 17 array of continuous, piecewise bilinear finite element trial functions with the unknowns representing the even-parity flux at the corners of each fuel pin cell. The group source is constructed from the pin cell averages of the four vertex values of the scalar flux. Lagrange multiplier terms representing the odd-parity flux couple the fuel assemblies. The coupling consists of spatial polynomials (typically quadratic) at each assembly interface, obviating the need for infinite lattice approximations and allowing flux gradients across the assemblies to be more faithfully represented. At the same time, since each assembly represents a node in the global finite subelement transport calculation, the response matrices model optically thick regions and result in rapid convergence of the iterative algorithms.« less


In this paper, a new type lower-mobility symmetrical parallel mechanism, 4-RPR (RR) has been discussed chiefly including its mechanistic characteristic and its motion based on screw theory. Meanwhile its freedom is calculated and inverse kin- ematics on this kind of mechanistic is presented. Furthermore one-order influence coefficient matrix is erected based on nominal mechanism influence coefficient. Finally its velocity analysis and simulation are presented. All these are the basis of more analysis on this kind of mechanisms including kinematics and dynamics. Therefore all presented in this paper are value of practice.


When a flow suffers a discontinuity in its vector field at some switching surface, the flow can cross through or slide along the surface. Sliding along the switching surface can be understood as the flow along an invariant manifold inside a switching layer. It turns out that the usual method for finding sliding modes — the Filippov convex combination or Utkin equivalent control — results in a degeneracy in the switching layer whenever the flow is tangent to the switching surface from both sides. We derive the general result and analyze the simplest case here, where the flow curves parabolically on either side of the switching surface (the so-called fold–fold or two-fold singularities). The result is a set of zeros of the fast switching flow inside the layer, which is structurally unstable to perturbation by terms nonlinear in the switching parameter, terms such as (signx)2 [where the superscript does mean "squared"]. We provide structurally stable forms, and show that in this form the layer system is equi...


Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) committee consists of local Aboriginal people from within the community to deal with cases of children who experience neglect, sexually abuse, absence from school, sexually transmitted disease, personal problems, and those children in hospital and foster homes. SCAN committee tries to talk to people before taking any action and conducts meetings once a month or in an emergency to resolve the problems, thus, helping people to gain confidence in taking care of the problems.


The utility model discloses a laboratory for large-scale air conditioners, which comprises an indoor unit test cabinet, an outdoor unit test cabinet, an indoor side air treatment system arranged in the indoor unit test cabinet, and an outdoor side air treatment system arranged in the outdoor unit test cabinet, wherein the indoor side air treatment system comprises an indoor side refrigerating unit, and the outdoor side air treatment system comprises an outdoor side refrigerating unit; the indoor side refrigerating unit comprises an indoor side heat recovery exchanger which is arranged in the outdoor unit test cabinet; and the outdoor side refrigerating unit comprises an outdoor side heat recovery exchanger which is arranged in the indoor unit test cabinet. By adopting the laboratory for large-scale air conditioners, heat recovery of the refrigerating unit is scientifically and fully used to achieve and maintain environment working condition of the experiment. Therefore, the laboratory for large-scale air conditioners has the advantages of small energy consumption, and remarkable energy saving effect, and can be extensively applied to air conditioners, in particular to enthalpy difference experiments of the large-scale air conditioners.


We present angularly resolved spectra of T Tau North and South in the 3 μm water-ice feature and K band. Most of the water-ice absorption lies along the line of sight toward T Tau South, confirming that it is viewed through stronger extinction. A decrease in ice-band absorption toward T Tau S between 1998 December and 2000 January, significant at the 2 σ level, was associated with an increase in its near-IR flux. Brγ emission is detected in T Tau North and South and H2 (2.12 μm) emission toward only T Tau South, consistent with previous studies of infrared companions to T Tauri stars. Our results suggest that the near-IR variability of T Tau S is probably caused by both variations in accretion rate and variable extinction along the line of sight.


Description Epoprostenol is a synthetic prostacyclin that mimics the actions of natural prostacyclins. Prostacyclin is a substance produced by vascular endothelium that stimulates adenyl cyclase in vascular smooth muscle cells resulting in vasodilatation, antiplatelet aggregation and cytoprotective effects. Epoprostenol is FDA approved for the treatment of primary pulmonary hypertension by intravenous infusion, but its use is limited by adverse effects including systemic hypotension and worsening of intrapulmonary shunt. When administered by IV infusion, epoprostenol is a potent vasodilator of all vascular beds. Epoprostenol administered by inhaled aerosol selectively dilates the pulmonary vascular bed. Hence it reduces pulmonary hypertension and improves oxygenation by matching perfusion and ventilation of lung units.


ABSTRACT Arborcandin C is a novel antibiotic with potent antifungal activity that inhibits 1,3-β-glucan synthase in fungi. We examined spontaneous Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants which are selectively resistant to arborcandin C and revealed that a single amino acid replacement in Fks1p of Asn470 with Lys or of Leu642 with Ser confers selective resistance on Fks1p mutants.


This paper highlights the main features of technology cooperation between developing countries with different types of technology acquisition in an analytical nexus. A paradigm is formulated to show the mutual benefits, the scope and the mechanisms for such cooperation, using the example of telecommunications in Korea and China. Based on the case studies, strategic recommendations are posited to enforce the technology cooperation and optimize the mutual benefits.


ABSTRACT Employment in the municipal workforce is a key area in which cities shape the inclusion of their population of immigrant origin. While many European cities have developed policies aiming to foster the employment of staff of immigrant origin, little is known about the drivers and barriers of their implementation. Based on a comparative case study of local administrations in one German regional state and drawing on organizational theory, this article explores the role of organizational factors. It shows how the interplay of mainly two factors matters: support from the administrative leadership and the pragmatic recruitment rationalities of the human resources practitioners. Additionally, the findings suggest that the local identity as municipality more or less shaped by immigration also informs practices. The article argues that to understand the implementation of policies promoting workforce diversity organizational structures and rationalities must be considered.


Employments with paper and paperboard have a great correctional and developmental importance for children with intellectual impairment. Manufacture of paper folding products have an impact on the overall intellectual development of the child, contributes to the development of fine motor skills of hands and a speech in correction of disturbed the mental processes (spatial perception, voluntary attention, visual memory and other).


The aim of this work is stydying the removal of some divalent cations, Cd, Cu, and Co from their aqueous solutions by using the natural materials, diatomite. The diatomite material was characterized by the chemical analysis, IR, X-ray and TEM also the surface area was calculated. The results of characterization indicate that diatomite consist mainly from silica with some other oxide.The effect of pH values and the initial concentrations of the aquous solution on the efficiency of removing was studied. The results indicate that the efficienc of removing dependsgreatly on the pH values and the initial concentration of the cations with optimum value for each case. In general the effeciency of removing for these cations follows the following sequence Cd>Cu>Co. This behavior may due to the electronegativity and the ionic radius as well as the different species of these cations in their solutions


Torque ripple is an inherent problem of SRM which should have been decreased. Several methods have been presented for torque ripple reduction in Switch Reluctance Motor (SRM). Some of them are based on changing the structure and the geometry of the motor. The other methods are done by utilizing control techniques. This paper introduces a 6 by 4 three-phase SRM as a normal mode structure which is designed by the SRM formula. The other modes of the SRM have been created by small changes in the dimensions of the normal mode. All of the modes are simulated by Finite Element Method (FEM). Next, the value of generated torque and torque ripple versus different rotor position are achieved. After that, the effect of the variations in dimensions of the SRM is studied on the value of the generated torque and torque ripple and according to this information the optimal structure is chosen. At the end, the optimal structure is constructed, tested in laboratory and the operational results are obtained.


Even if an isolated defect results only in a local perturbation of the electron density, the wave function and the first-order reduced density matrix may still exhibit a long-range response to the defect. We present an axiomatic approach to the construction of a general-purpose embedding scheme which is able to cope with this problem. We start from a list of requirements, which we consider pertinent to an accurate embedding technique, and we proceed to demonstrate that the extended subspace approach recently proposed by Head and Silva [J. Chem. Phys. 104, 3244 (1996)] is the minimal realization of such an embedding scheme. The variational principle, strict fulfillment of the Pauli exclusion principle, a finite dimensional parameter space, and the possibility to perform the minimization by a standard SCF (self-consistent field) procedure are the key requirements which lead to a constrained SCF procedure. Self-embedding consistency and local completeness of the Hilbert space can then be realized by a mathem...


Anew azo ligand (E)-2-((4fluoro phenyl)diazenyl)-4,5-bis(4-methoxy phenyl)-1H-imidazolehas been synthesized from coupling 4,5-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)imidazole with para-chloro-anline. The structures of the new ligand and their transition metal complexes ware investigated and characterized using different physicochemical studies as elemental analysis, IR spectra, 1HNMR,, UV-Vis spectra, mass spectra, Molar conductance ,and magnetic susceptibility .The complexes were found to have the general formula [ML2Cl2]. H2O where M = Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) ,Mn(II),and Fe(II), [MLCl2].H2Owhere M=Zn(II),Cd(II),Hg(II), and Pd(II). The IR results demonstrate that the co-ordination sites are the azomethine nitrogen of the imidazole ring and azo nitrogen atom of the azo ligand. The electronic spectral and magnetic measurement data indicate that the complexes exhibit octahedral geometry,except the Zn(II),Cd(II),andHg(II) complexes suggest tetrahedral and Pd(II) a square planar geometry.The cytotoxicity of Pd(II) complex on human Lung Cancer (SCLC) and normal cells. Key word: Synthesis, Biological activity, Lung Cancer.


The measurements on the reflection by a free-swimming fish shoal in a net cage and the transmission through that shoal, were carried out by using a 50kHz echo-sounder in an indoor 50 ton-water-tank. In addition, the measurements on the reflection from a fish in yaw plane were done. In the experiment, a transducer of the echo-sounder received the reflected waves, and a hydrophone received the transmitted waves. These signals were analyzed by means of a signal analyzer. Plural kurosagi Gerres oyena, with a mean folk length of 8.5cm and a mean body depth of 2.6cm, were utilized.From the measured results, it was shown that the reflected voltage increased, and transmitted voltage was decreased, as the number of the fish increased. But the reflected voltage had irregular fluctuation, so that it was hard to estimate the fish-density from the voltage. In contrast, the transmitted voltage was very stable. After much labor, we have obtained the results showing the same conclusion as the one in the previous report, namely, it was suggested that utilizing the transmitted voltage in estimating the fish-density is effective.


Abstract : The long range Maritime Patrol mission has evolved and expanded such that the U. S. Navy's maritime patrol aircraft (P-3C Orion) has become an attractive platform from which to employ a wide variety of air launched weapons. Specifically the need for a stand alone air-to-air defensive capability was identified. In 1989 the Naval Air Test Center at Patuxent River, Maryland began investigations for this through the P-3C/AIM-9 integration program. Naval Postgraduate School responded to this with the construction of a ground vibration test stand and the conduction of a preliminary vibrational characterization of the AIM-9 missile. From these tests a two degree of freedom lumped mass model was developed along with the determination of the primary and secondary missile resonate modes in pitch. In addition, a mathematical model of the AIM-9 missile was developed using finite element techniques. This model was used to analytically determine the modal parameters of the missile and set up a modal parameters of the missile and set up a model test system to experimentally verify the model parameters in view of natural frequencies, mode shapes and transient response.... Finite element analysis, Model shapes.


Objective To analyze the CT features of thyroid carcimona and elevate the diagnostic accuracy.Methods CT findings of 63 patients with thyroid carcinoma proved by surgery,biopsy and pathology were reviewed retrospectively.Results The maximum diameter of tumours ranged from 0.5 cm to 8.5 cm,in which diameter of 40 cases(63.5%)ranged from 2 cm to 5 cm.All of the tumours were heterogeneous hypodensity.56 cases(88.9%)were ill defined and irregular.29 cases(46. 0%)were found granular calcifications,including 17 cases with fine granular microcalcifications less than 2 mm,8 cases with mixed calcifications,4 cases with macrocalcifications exceeded 2 mm."No complete ring around the tumour"were revealed in 20 cases(31.8%),and"peninsular tubercles around the tumour"were revealed in 17 cases(27.0%).Cystic formation with intracystic obvious enhanced papillary-like nodules were found in 8 cases(12.7%).40 cases(63.5%)were revealed metastatic lymph nodes in the neck,including 22 cases with marked enhancement similar to normal thyroid gland,10 cases with cystic formation with intracystic obvious enhanced papillary-like nodules,7 cases with maximum short diameter less than 0.8 cm,7 cases with granular calcifications(5 cases with fine granular microcalcifications less than 2 mm,2 cases with mixed calcifications).Conclusion Thyroid carcinomas have the characteristic CT findings:fine granular microcalcifications,cystic formation with intracystic obvious enhanced papillary-like nodules,peninsular tubercles around the tumour and no complete ring around the tumour.CT manifestations of the metastatic lymph nodes also have the character of the primary carcinoma.La- mellar scan can increase the detection rate of fine granular calcifications.Conventional scan and enhancement scan are useful in the diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma,which is very important in evaluating the stage of thyroid carcinoma preoperation and se- lecting the surgical planning.


Abstract The heat transfer process of the sweeping jet and film composite cooling (SJF) structure of the turbine blade leading edge is complex. The current work divides the overall cooling effectiveness of the SJF into the impingement heat transfer effectiveness, the convection heat transfer effectiveness inside the film holes, and the external film cooling effectiveness by the decoupled method. Various cooling effectiveness proportions and trends are compared when the blowing ratios are 1.05, 2.07, and 4.11. There is an average ratio of 64.33% for impingement heat transfer effectiveness and 38.02% for convection heat transfer effectiveness. The ratio of external film cooling effectiveness gradually changes from positive to negative with the increase of the blowing ratio. Therefore, the proportion of external film cooling effectiveness and impingement heat transfer effectiveness should be considered when applying SJF. The convection heat transfer effectiveness cannot be ignored, especially when the design scheme of the shower head is used.


Background and Aim: Pasteurella multocida B:2 is the causative agent of hemorrhagic septicemia (HS) in buffalo and cattle. Buffaloes are known to be more susceptible to HS than cattle, but the reason for this remains unknown. This study aimed to compare the in vitro efficiency with which buffalo and cattle macrophages can kill P. multocida B:2. Materials and Methods: Monocyte-derived macrophages of buffalo and cattle were used in this study. They were exposed to 1×106 colony-forming unit/mL of live P. multocida B:2 before the cells were harvested at 0, 30, 60, and 120 min post-exposure and viewed under a fluorescence microscope to count viable and non-viable macrophages and the macrophages with phagocytosing P. multocida B:2 cells. The phagocytosis, intracellular bacterial killing, and macrophage death rates were calculated and compared between the two species and sampling points. Results: In general, the rates of phagocytosis, intracellular killing, and macrophage death increased with time of exposure for both animal species. No significant (p>0.05) differences were noted between the phagocytosis rates by the macrophages of buffalo and cattle throughout the experiment. However, the rates of intracellular killing were significantly (p<0.05) higher in cattle macrophages at 30 min and 120 min post-exposure than those of buffalo. The death rates of buffalo macrophages were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those of cattle at 60 min and 120 min post-exposure. Conclusion With higher bacteria killing ability and lower macrophage death, cattle appeared to be more efficient at handling P. multocida B:2 infection than buffalo.


Poster: "ECR 2015 / C-0745 / MR-directed ("second-look") real-time virtual sonography (RVS) examination and biopsy for breast lesions detected initially on MRI: initial experience" by: "T. Uematsu; Shizuoka/JP"


English is one of the most spoken languages in the world. Nowadays, it is spoken by over two billions people in the world. English has some important roles in some area, such as economic and business, international relations, the media, education, communication, and international travel and safety. Thus, Indonesian people have to learn English because almost every part in our life is delivered in English.
People aware about the importance of English, therefore it is taught in formal school and in informal school, such as in pesantren. SMA Pesantren Terpadu Roudlotul Huda is one of the formal schools that teach general subject and Islamic subject, and English is one of general subjects that are taught in the school.
As an English teacher in SMA Pesantren Terpadu Roudlotul Huda, the writer had to teach grade tenth and eleventh. From this teaching experience, the writer got some knowledge, such as how to make fun and enjoy atmosphere while learning process, how to make a good lesson plan, and how to handle the students. Also, the writer had to know every student"s characteristic to make them feel acknowledged, so they could accept the lesson well.
The writer was very happy when she did her internship in SMA Pesantren Terpadu Roudlotul Huda because she got new experience, met new people, students and teacher in the school, and gained more knowledge. The other teachers was friendly, it made the writer feel accepted by the students and the teacher, so she could enjoy her internship. In brief, from the internship as a teacher, the writer has new got experience, knowledge, and skills which make the writer become a good teacher in the future.


Abstract BACKGROUND: The concurrent decline in gait speed and cognition are associated with future dementia. However, the clinical profile of those who present with dual-decline has not yet been described. We aimed to describe the phenotype and risk for incident dementia of individuals who present a dual-decline in comparison with non dual-decliners. METHODS: Prospective cohort of community-dwelling older adults free of dementia at baseline. We evaluated participants' gait speed, cognition, medical status, functionality, incidence of adverse events, and dementia biannually over 7 years. Gait speed was assessed with a 6-meter electronic-walkway, and global cognition was assessed using the MoCA test. We compared characteristics between dual-decliners and non dual-decliners using t-test, Chi-square, and hierarchical regression models. We estimated incident dementia using Cox models. RESULTS: Among 144 participants (mean age 74.23 ± 6.72 years, 54% women), 17% progressed to dementia. Dual-decliners had a three-fold risk (HR: 3.12, 95%CI:1.23-7.93, p=0.017) of progression to dementia compared with non dual-decliners. Dual-decliners were significantly older with a higher prevalence of hypertension and dyslipidemia (p=0.002). Hierarchical regression models show that age and sex alone explained 3% of the variation in the dual-decliners group, while adding hypertension and dyslipidemia increased the explained variation to 8% and 10 %, respectively. The risk of becoming a dual-decliner was 4-fold if hypertension was present. CONCLUSION: Older adults with concurrent decline in gait speed and cognition represent a group at the highest risk of progression to dementia. These dual-decliners have a distinct phenotype with a higher prevalence of hypertension, a potentially treatable condition.


The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has contribute to a harsh effect on the global public health. Computed Tomography (CT) is an effective tool in the screening of COVID-19. It is greater important to rapidly and accurately segment COVID-19 from CT to help diagnostic and monitor patients. In this paper, we propose a Progressive encoder and decoder U-Net++ based segmentation network using attention mechanism. In terms of COVID-19 lesion segmentation problems with highly imbalanced dataset and small regions of interests (ROI), we will use a progressive encoder and decoder combined with dilated convolution to form a deeper network structure, which can extract more and lower level semantic features while ensuring spatial information features. We propose to incorporate an attention mechanism to a progressive encoder and decoder U-Net++ architecture to capture rich contextual relationships for better feature representations. Meanwhile, the focal tversky loss is enhanced to address the small lesion segmentation. In addition, after combining the advantages of multiple modules, the network parameters will increase abruptly. According to the performance of the model in the validation set, we cut the redundant branch of the network model to do the final segmentation test, which can not only reduce the segmentation accuracy, but also reduce the network parameters and calculation cost. The experiment results, evaluated on a small dataset where only 3520 CT images are available, prove the enhanced model can achieve an accurate result on COVID-19 segmentation. The obtained Dice Score, Sensitivity and Specificity are 70.1%, 82.1%, and 92.3%, respectively.


A concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) system with a steady electric output adopting an electrically tunable concentration ratio of the LC light modulation is demonstrated. The distribution of the LC directors of the LC light modulation can be controlled by an applied voltage in order to adjust the number of incident photons in an area. Therefore the system can be operated with an static and maximum output under different ambient illuminations because the LC light modulation helps to increase photocurrent at a low illumination and prevent the effect of the series resistance at a high illumination.


Researchers investigated wildlife-highway relationships in central Arizona from 2002 to 2008 along a 17-mile stretch of State Route (SR) 260, which is being reconstructed in 5 phases and will have 11 wildlife underpasses and 6 bridges. Phased reconstruction allowed researchers to use a before-after-control experimental approach to their research. The objectives of the project were to: assess and compare wildlife use of underpasses (UPs); evaluate highway permeability and wildlife movements among reconstruction classes; characterize wildlife-vehicle collision (WVC) patterns and changes with reconstruction; assess relationships among traffic volume and WVCs, wildlife crossing patterns, and UP use; and assess the role of ungulate-proof fencing with WVCs, wildlife UP use, and wildlife permeability. Researchers used video surveillance to assess and compare wildlife use of 6 UPs, at which 15,134 animals and 11 species were recorded; 67.5% crossed through UPs. Modeling found that UP structure type and placement was the most important factor influencing the probability of successful crossings by elk (Cervus elaphus) and Coues whitetailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Researchers used Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry tracking of 100 elk and 13 white-tailed deer to assess and compare permeability. Elk permeability on reconstructed sections was 39% lower than controls, while deer permeability was 433% higher on reconstructed sections. The elk-vehicle collision (EVC) rate on fenced reconstructed sections was the same as before-reconstruction levels, but on unfenced sections the EVC rate was nearly 4 times higher. In addition to a safer and more environmentally friendly highway, the economic benefit from reduced EVCs on SR 260 averaged $2 million/year since the completion of 3 reconstructed highway sections.


This is an annotated bibliography of pape
rs relevant to the st
udy of schizrophrenia
and language. These papers were collected
by the CASPR team at the University of
Georgia after the team's earlier
literature review (Covington et
al., 2005), the first item in
this bibliography, was complete.


Conventional face recognition usually assumes that both the training and test phases employ the same form of data in a face recognition system. In many real world face recognition applications such as e-passport and ID card identification, it is common to have only a single sample per person enrolled or recorded in these systems because it is generally difficult to collect additional samples for training. In the testing phase, however, the probe samples are usually captured on spot and it is possible to collect a number of face samples for recognition. This problem is defined as image-to-set face recognition in this paper, which is essentially different from most existing image-to-image or set-to-set face recognition problems. Specifically, we propose in this paper a new locality repulsion projections (LRP) method to address this problem. Motivated by the fact that interclass face samples with higher similarity usually lie in a locality and are more easily misclassified than those with lower similarity, we aim to learn a mapping to project the original face samples onto a low-dimensional feature subspace such that samples lying in a locality are repulsed and more discriminative information can be exploited for recognition. To better characterize the similarity between a gallery sample and a testing set, we further propose a reconstruction-based point-to-set similarity measure to identify the unlabeled subjects. Experimental results on two widely used face databases are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method.


Introduction History: Milestones of Change Methods & Data Sources The Older Parents: The Explorers & the Pioneers The Younger Parents: The Settlers & the Citizens of the Welfare State The Fathers Ordinary Lives with a Difference: Social Capital, Power Index.


Zooplankton occupy the role of primary consumer in the aquatic food web. primary consumers eat autotrophs which obtain their energy from inorganic sources .These zooplankton become the food for fishes and can be used as indicators of trophic status of water body. Zooplankton in the present study categorized under six group. The rotifer dominated the water body. Station wise zooplankton from five different stations was in the order of station I> Station II> Station IV > Station III > Station V. Seasonal trend in zooplankton population was observed minimum in monsoon and maximum during summer month in the present investigation.


Purpose: Charter schools are unique public schools in part because this type of school can close if it fails to meet objectives set forth by the chartering body that approved it. Thus far, however, little research has been conducted into the causes of charter school closures. In this article, we examine charter school accountability. Research Design: We consider four types of accountability to guide our event history analysis of environmental influences that affect charter school closures in North Carolina. In addition, we present two case studies of schools that closed in North Carolina to better illustrate the differing micro-level processes that can lead to the closure of a school. Findings: We find evidence that market, bureaucratic, and financial accountability processes influence the likelihood that a school will close. The initiation of closure procedures, however, is more complex than our quantitative model alone suggests and our two case studies illustrate the key role that financial accountability plays in charter school closures in North Carolina.


While research on school improvement is now into its third decade, systematic research on what theprincipal actually does and its relationship to stability and change is quite recent. Some of the earlierimplementation research identified the role of the principal as central to promoting or inhibiting change(Sammons, 1999; Goleman, 2000), but it did not examine the principal's role in any depth orperspective as regards to the utilization of new technology for record-keeping. During the 1980'sresearch and practice focusing on the role of the principal-ship, vice-principal-ship, and other schoolleaders mounted, resulting in greater clarity, but also greater appreciation of the complexities anddifferent paths to success.


Abstract To eliminate problems caused by gypsum soil in Iraq (due to gypsum salt under building foundations and projects), this study evaluates the effect of using the proposed stabiliser additives (vehicle waste oil and asphalt powder) to produce a composite enhancement material as a novel solution by examining the shear strength of the gypseous soil using the direct shear and constant head permeability tests. Three burned-oil weights were used (3%, 5%, and 7% by dry soil weight), which were mixed with a constant quantity of asphalt powder (10% of the sample weight) to investigate the shear strength of the composite material. Several factors were considered in this study, including soaking time and moisture content. The main findings reveal that composite material could improve the strength of the gypseous soil. The stabiliser reduces water leakage and percolation by forming an impermeable layer with a very fine texture, causing a significant reduction in the permeability coefficient, which improves the gypseous soil and reduces the collapse phenomenon.


A gas-solid reaction method was adopted in this work to explore the influence of SO2 gas on the composition and structure of secondary sintering cement clinker. In this process, the Portland cement clinker was secondarily sintered at different temperatures and a mixed gas mixed with SO2 was introduced simultaneously in a tube furnace. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) combined with rietveld refinement was used to determine the phase composition of the cement clinker and the corresponding phase content. The experimental results showed that the increase in temperature conduced to increasing the content of SO3 solid solution, C2S and CaO, but decreasing the C3S content. Moreover, as the ratio of SO3/MgO (by mass) increases, the content of M1-type alite also increased. And the result of hydration heat release was positively correlated with the content of alite in the clinker. If the content of alite was low, the heat flow was low, as well as the cumulative heat, and vice versa.