Previous work in the Caribbean and West Africa have shown that air samples taken during dust events contain microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses), including human pathogens that can cause many respiratory diseases. To better understand the potential downstream effect of bacteria dust on human health and public ecosystems, it is important to characterize the source population. In this study, we aimed to explore the bacterial populations of African dust samples collected between 2013-2017. The dust samples were collected using the spatula method, then the hypervariable regions (V3 and V4) of the 16S rRNA gene were amplified using PCR followed byMiSeq Illumina sequencing. Analysis of the sequencing data were performed using MG-RAST. At the phylum level, the proportions of Actinobacteria (22%), Firmicutes (20%), Proteobacteria (19%), and Bacteroidetes (13%) were respectively predominant in all dust samples. At the genus level, Bacillus(16%), Pseudomonas(10%), Nocardiodes and Exiguobacterium (5%) are the most dominated genera in African dust samples collected in this study.The study showed that molecular characterization of dust microbial population remains a very efficient method, also applicable to the search for viruses and fungi in this type of sample. It is important to note that the majority of microorganisms identified in this study can cause respiratory diseases.


This paper presents a novel methodology for data fitting using a piecewise rational function. That function is able to satisfy any regularity conditions through the direct setting of some free parameters. Moreover, in any grid point of a defined grid we can impose simultaneous interpolation conditions of both the samples and their derivatives. The value of the interpolation function in any point of the input domain depends only on the closest four grid points in its neighborhood. This property bounds the uncertainty propagation in the case of noisy data. A suitable procedure permits to extend the grid beyond the convex hull, so keeping the described properties of the interpolation without affecting the function in the other regions


We have to learn all new technologies and we continue to learn for as long as we use them and develop that use. Learning is therefore an integral part of human engagement with technology, as it is with all areas of life. This paper proposes that we should consider learning as an important part of all human computer interaction and that theories of learning can make an important contribution to HCI. It presents 6 vignettes that describe different ways in which this could happen: rethinking HCI concepts in terms of learning, applying learning theory to better understanding established ideas in HCI, using learning research to inform HCI practice, understanding how people learn software and inspiring us to rethink the aims of this discipline. This paper aims to start a conversation that could bring valuable new ideas into our "inter-discipline".


As a South Slav/American and a dance ethnologist, my work focuses on change in dance/dancing as it relates to cultural change. The project herein refered to is best described as a comparative study of change over three generations (approximately 1900 to the present). The subjects are South Slav communities in California and communities in Yugoslavia which are regional sources of first generation immigrants in California. During this study I became aware of being both an insider and outsider, however, at the outset of this long term project (begun in 1974), I was neither aware nor concerned about the difference my cultural status would make to the group, to the research, or to myself.


In 1885 Prof. A. E. Yerrill mentioned that " a fine species of stalked crinoid, belonging to the genus Bentlwcrifius, was dredged in 1884 in 2,021 « fathoms, off Chesapeake Bay.'' Later, he referred to the specimen as a species of Bathycrimis " near B. gracilis Wyville Thomson." No further mention is made of it, and the record and specimen appear to have been forgotten. Recently, hoAvever, the example has been sent to Washington, together with a large number of other crinoids, from New Haven, where I have had an opportunity of examining it. It proves to be a remarkably fine specimen of a new species of Bathycrinus^ allied to B. aldrichianus, from the tropical mid-Atlantic, but quite different from anything heretofore known. The genus Bathy(rinus was first discovered off' tlie coast of Europe by the Porcupine, and has since been found abundantly in the northeast Atlantic, and recorded from the middle Atlantic, Antarctic Ocean, East Indies, mid-Pacific, off' southern Ja]:)an, and off' Kamchatka, in the last four localities only within the past year. The


An inverse method for estimating absolute velocities of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea and south of Japan was applied using hydrographic section data collected from January 19 to February 27 2006. By assuming the water mass to be conserved in four computational boxes, an undetermined system of linear equations was built. A family of solutions was firstly obtained by the "tapered least squares" method and then the optimal solution was selected based on two principles which are no large absolute velocities in deep layer and small residuals remained. The inversion results showed a good mass conservation and the residuals in each layer were below 1.50 Sv (1 Sv=106 m3s−1). The absolute velocities in the deep part of the computational region were below 0.01ms−1. The maximum velocities of the Kuroshio calculated by the inverse method were 1.06 ms−1 at Tokara Strait and 1.48 ms−1 at south of Japan. The net volume transports of the Kuroshio in PN section and TK section were 24.23 Sv and 22.76 Sv, respectively.


The goal of the present investigation was to design and evaluate mucoadhesive buccal patches of Cyproheptadine Hydrochloride (CPH) which is a sedating antihistamine with antimuscarinic, serotonin-antagonist, and calcium-channel blocking action. Buccal films were made with Hydroxy propylcellulose (HPC EF) and Hydroxy Propyl Methyl Cellulose (HPMC E15) as mucoadhesive polymers. Permeation of CPH was calculated ex vivo using porcine buccal membrane. The patches were evaluated for weight variation, thickness variation, surface pH, moisture absorption, in vitro residence time, mechanical properties, in vitro release, ex vivo permeation studies and drug content uniformity. The formulation F8 of HPMC E15 was found to give the better results and release of drug from the film followed Higuchi and Korsmeyer and Peppas models.


Surveillance video is vital to community emergency management and risk control. Existing surveillance video analysis has limitations of low utilization, low sharing rate and low data correlation analysis rate. Based on these shortcomings, this paper reports a framework of community risk identification and warning using machine vision to analyze surveillance video. The prototype is based on the YOLOV4 video analysis network, which extracts and records spatio-temporal coordinate data of key categories of people, vehicles and objects related to community risks. The data are computed to obtain key state information about the direction of flow, speed and range of activity. By analyzing the logical, inclusive and spatio-temporal relationships among objects, the process makes risk judgment in real-time and provides early warning of visualization results. In addition, by accumulating historical data to discover potential dangers, the level of community services are optimized and the construction of smart communities are accelerated. This paper introduces a community risk management and prevention framework based on machine vision, which focuses on networking, sharing and exchanging of video resources as well as multi-dimensional association of video big data. Through real-time surveillance and early warning of risks, analysis and research, the study aims at the visualization, monitorability and early warning of smart community operation.


Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), 15 percent by weight, was incorporated into selected ointment bases containing 10 percent salicylic acid or 11.6 percent sodium salicylate. Percutaneous absorption was studied by determining salicylate blood levels in New Zealand white rabbits at regular intervals for 8 hr. following application of the ointment to the shaved intact skin and confinement by a specially designed bandage. DMSO in hydrophilic ointment and hydrophilic petrolatum produced more rapid drug absorption and higher salicylate blood levels than the control systems. Polyethylene glycol ointment and a polyoxyethylene (20) stearyl ether gel with DMSO did not produce any significant change in the absorption pattern. The salicylate blood levels obtained from percutaneous absorption of sodium salicylate in hydrophilic ointment containing DMSO were lower than with control systems. In the case of hydrophilic petrolatum, there were no significant differences in absorption patterns of sodium salicylate with or without DMSO. Sodium salicylate did not appear to be absorbed from polyethylene glycol ointment whether or not DMSO was included.


The purpose of this paper is to analyse the cost structure of manufacturing companies in an emerging economy. The data was collected from 41 listed manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka mainly through a structured questionnaire and an analysis of company records. In addition, to analysing the data descriptively, we used correlation and regression models. The findings suggest that despite the majority of costs being variable, there are great differences among the companies in the composition of costs. There is no relationship between the cost structure and the level of advanced manufacturing technology used, which suggests a low level of technologyrelated costs in the cost structure. Budgeting and cost control are the main reasons for classifying costs while there is inadequate use of information for strategizing pricing decisions. Differences were also observed in the classification of the manufacturing cost items in the respondent companies. Finally, all the findings confirm that accounting practices in emerging economies are shaped by their environment as well. The study also reveals certain managerial and policy level implications.


For many children, school simply doesn't work. Many underprivileged children have found that the 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. program fails to educate and prepare them for life. What if we created after-school programs, separate from schools, to help these children learn? What if children received close attention in a public after-school program that worked on motivating students, increasing their self-esteem, and making the program age-appropriate? And the location of the program would be in their own communities, so they felt comfortable and happy studying near home with folks like them. The idea is that the site would reduce dropouts by providing education in an alternative context, meeting the needs of students who fail to thrive in traditional education settings (Sarason, 2003). This is not just a hypothetical. Such a Dropout Prevention Center has existed for more than 20 years near Tel Aviv, Israel. Early funding for the Dropout Prevention Center, established in 1992, consisted mostly of donations. Now the Tel Aviv Department of Education funds the center. Its target population is students, ages 12 to 18 from underprivileged families, and its goal is to help those children develop and succeed in the mainstream. The center works to involve the students as it makes full use of those afternoon hours, five days per week, where youth tend to hang out and get into trouble. The dropout prevention program works out of Beit Dani in the Hatikva Quarter in southeast Tel Aviv. It is the largest community center in the Middle East. The hardscrabble surrounding neighborhood is composed of immigrants from Arab and North African countries, foreign workers, and illegal immigrants from Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and is predominated by single-parent families. Nationally, Israel has only a 3.4% high school dropout rate, but it is much higher around Beit Dani. Before the center was established, few pupils in this area had the skills necessary to pass the Bagrut exams, a prerequisite for higher education in Israel. In 1992, only five Hatikva pupils passes the Bagrut; in 2013, before final numbers were tallied, it appears that 70 students would successfully complete the exams. In the last 20 years, about 1,000 Hatikva students graduated and completed the Bagrut exams. The center has become a supportive home for students--a nurturing, understanding place where they feel welcome and where their intellectual, cultural, educational, emotional, social, and vocational needs can be addressed with sensitivity and professionalism. The program helps students improve themselves by working through a number of aspects intended to improve their academic and personal skills that include: #1. One-on-one and small-group tutoring. Students receive preparation for the Bagrut exams to ensure that the number of high school graduates among the at-risk population increases. Moreover, the center offers reinforcement classes and social activities to develop social skills, improve self-image, and self-value by creating a network of mutual support. Children in the program receive daily reinforcement lessons in all the subjects: math, physics, English, grammar, etc. by trained teachers, with the help of volunteers who work one-on-one with students. Program leaders monitor their progress and cooperate with their schools and teachers in an effort to propel significant academic improvement and strengthen their self-esteem. #2. Junior high school-level (ages 13-15) computer classes in cooperation with Tel Aviv University. This program is intended to create an academic atmosphere to support students who have shown an interest in technology and to provide enrichment for gifted and talented students. The program provides an academic-study atmosphere in the neighborhood, using selected students as role models and promoting self-esteem and motivation in students while allowing them to fulfill their potential. …


The present study is aimed to review all available literature concerning studying early childhood education, factors influencing development, the benefits of early childhood education and teacher's duty in promoting parent child relationship. The aim of the study was to identify the causes of and solutions for declining early childhood education and decreasing teacher's responsibility in promoting educational settings. Data was collected by reviewing the available evidence concerning early childhood education in relation to mental and physical health status of the child. It was found by the researcher that children require motivating and supportive environments to develop. Individual, family, home, education and society settings are all essential for child development. When children are deficient in an encouraging environment in which to gain knowledge and develop they become vulnerable and regularly need additional support. Hence, early childhood education is an essential aspect of child education which not only provides basic education according to their stage of development but also helped parents in fostering the developmental progress of their children.


Although African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIKS) have existed for thousands of years, their concept and practice began to emerge in the science spheres only three decades ago. The development of new political, economic and cultural realities and postmodern methodologies created grounds and new ways to approach and embrace the AIKS. That is to say, the political recognition of indigenous people, failure of development planning to achieve the desired results, the growing disillusionment of Africans with the promises of the modern "Western" science at the same time increased public awareness of the value of the cultural Heritage and that 'science' must find its locality in the social and cultural context (Nel, 2008), are some of the those new realities and developments.


China's vast rural consumption market play an important role in developing the socialist new countryside and the rural economy.The paper analyzes the problems of insufficient effective consuming demands and supplies in China's rural areas,puts forward some suggestion so as to grasp the opportunity to achieve sound and fast development of the rural economy.


In this paper, the authors comparatively analyze the development of regional
 cooperation in Europe after the Second World War and in the Western Balkans
 since 1999. They compare and contrast regional cooperation in the Western
 Balkans (with a particular focus on the period after 2006, when the
 Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe was transformed into the Regional
 Cooperation Council, and after 2014, when the Berlin Process was launched)
 with similar forms of cooperation in Europe, such as the Nordic Council of
 Ministers, the Visegrad Group, and the Benelux. Therefore, the authors
 approach a comparative analysis of the composition of these regional forums
 and their areas of cooperation with the Regional Cooperation Council, the
 Southeast European Cooperation Process, and the Berlin Process. In this
 regard, the authors state that there are more than obvious similarities
 between regional cooperation in the Western Balkans, primarily with the
 Visegrad Group, and to a significant extent with the Benelux. Regional
 cooperation on the Balkan Peninsula and between the Nordic countries is
 similar to a lesser extent, owing to the absence of the formation of the
 Parliamentary Assembly of the Western Balkans, which was overlooked in 2013.
 The authors conclude that there are numerous obstacles to establishin g more
 intensive and deeper regional cooperation in the Western Balkans, the most
 significant of which are the lack of a multilaterally accepted regional
 identity, the different interests of regional leaders regarding its
 "originality", the conflicted views of dominant opinions, and the
 predominant influences of various Western actors.


In the article is designated the initial stage of the discussion around application of the nomological model explanation applicable to the historical narration, offered by K. G. Gempel. The author, stating not only the position of followers of the covering-law model but also position of their opponents given in U. Drey's works, lays emphasis that the given discussion became a basic point in the development of the main line of the analytical philosophy of the XXth century history.


Michael J. Hogan, ed., Hiroshima in History and Memory.

Edward T. Linenthal and Tom engelhardt, eds., History wars: The Enola Gay and Other Battles for the American Post.


A kind of jet oscillation tee was originally designed based on the coanda effect and the reversing theory.The jet oscillation tee can produce an oscillatory flow under a certain frequency in the two branches,thus transmits a pulse flow in the following lateral pipes,which can be used as a new type of pulse drip irrigation system.Based on the analysis of working principal of the jet oscillation tee,two groups of structural parameters were determined,namely the nozzle diameter W=5mm and W=4mm,and then a test sample was made.A preliminary experimental investigation was performed on the feasibility of the jet oscillation tee and the pulse characteristics of lateral pipe.The results demonstrated that an oscillatory flow arised in each jet oscillation tee under the inlet pressure 50~120kPa.A pulse flow was observed in each lateral pipe with 60mlength connected to the two outlets of each jet oscillation tee.Under 50~120kPa inlet pressure,the pulse amplitudes of inlet pressures of the lateral pipes were all higher than 30kPa and the pulse frequencies were 3.6~4.0Hz when the jet width of the nozzles were W=5mm and W=4mm.Through the comparison, it could be found that the bigger the nozzle diameter,the larger the pulse amplitude and the lower the pulse frequency.


Reporting about a project with male home carers, this paper presents some of the interactions, which took place between the participants as they got to know each other, becoming part of each other's lives. Presenting information from the artist's personal diaries as someone who has lived in the participating community all his life, he attempts to reveal the importance of seemingly insignificant data by making diary entries after each event and reflecting on them at a later date. These have been selected to compare the similarities between Tim Ingold's descriptions of creativity and Grant Kester's model for a dialogical aesthetic, which highlights key points in the engagement processes of a socially engaged artist. These reflective notes, made while the experiences were still fresh in his mind, help to illustrate the impact not only on the participants but also upon the artist as a participant in the social process.


The applications of Kalman filter in bistatic passive target tracking systems are discussed.The nonlinear model of bistatic passive tracking systems are discussed first,and then the procedures for extended Kalman filter which applied to such model are analyzed.The accuracy of estimation of different angle between the targets and passive systems are investigated by computer simulations.Simulation results illustrate that the extended kalman filter can achieve accurate parameter estimation.Moreover,the faster the angle between the target and the passive systems changes the smaller error is to be expected.


Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD) is a genetically and clinically heterogeneous muscle disorder causing severe muscle weakness with proximal joint contractures and distal hyperlaxity linked to collagen VI deficiency. It was initially described within the wider group of muscular congenital dystrophies. Collagen VI is an extracellular matrix protein forming a microfibrillar network. The protein is composed of three different α-chains encoded by separate genes named COL6A1, COL6A2, and COL6A3 in humans. Mutations of collagen VI gene are also responsible for Bethlem myopathy (BM), a relatively mild dominantly inherited disorder characterised by proximal weakness and distal joint contractures that was previously believed to be a completely separate entity. The pathogenesis of both diseases is still poorly understood. However, some recent data, obtained from experiments mouse models and from human myoblast cultures provide valuable insights into the pathogenesis of UCMD. A potential mitochondrial involvement may become the focus of specific therapeutic approaches. In this review we emphasise the typical clinical and biochemical findings that will help the paediatrician to identify collagenopathies within the complex diagnostic group of congenital muscular dystrophies, and outline the current understanding of UCMD pathogenesis, management, and potential therapeutic avenues. © 2009 Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.


Barbara Mary Katic (nee Cooke) was born into a medical family—her grandfather, father, and uncle were all doctors—and became the first woman in her family to practise medicine. Her grandfather's and father's practice was based in the family home, Ashfield House, in Aspull, Wigan. Her mother worked as the practice manager.

As a child, Barbara experienced the anxiety and stress of the war years. She then made a choice between her two passions, ballet and medicine, opting for medicine. After qualifying from Trinity College Dublin in 1953, she returned to finish training at Wigan Infirmary, and then joined the family GP practice, now run by her brother, Peter Cooke.

In 1956 Barbara followed her adventurous streak and secured a work …


This paper discusses the Voltage Sourced Converter (VSC) modeling process using the Laplace transform and the dq frame. The Laplace model is very appropriate because it enables to describe and expose VSC's internal cross-couplings, allowing the design of suitable VSC current controllers. A new VSC Laplace model is developed as well as an adequate decoupled current controller. The converter high-frequency carrier signal is excluded from the modeling process. Results show that the Laplace model accurately describes the converter's dynamic behavior exhibiting a good performance compared to the conventional, time-domain, electric model.


This paper is concerned with a fractional Caputo-difference form of the well-known Tinkerbell chaotic map. The dynamics of the proposed map are investigated numerically through phase plots, bifurcation diagrams, and Lyapunov exponents considered from different perspectives. In addition, a stabilization controller is proposed, and the asymptotic convergence of the states is established by means of the stability theory of linear fractional discrete systems. Numerical results are employed to confirm the analytical findings.


ABSTRACT
There is a paucity of literature on the effect of COVID-19 on hospital processes. We hypothesized that COVID-19 was associated with decreased cancer physiatry referrals in 2020. This is a retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients from April- July of 2019 and 2020 admitted at an academic quaternary cancer center. The main outcomes were number of hospital admissions, rate and characteristics of inpatient rehabilitation admissions and change in percentage of physiatry referrals as the primary endpoint. Results showed in 2019, there were 387 referrals from 10,274 inpatient admissions (3.8%; 95% CI: 2.4 - 4.2), compared to 337 referrals from 7,051 admissions in 2020 (4.8%; 95% CI: 4.3 - 5.3, p = 0.001). Hematology services referred more patients than neurosurgery in 2020 (20.4% vs 31.4%; 48.2% vs 26.5%; p = 0.01). Discharge disposition reflected an increased frequency of return to acute care service in 2020 (10.2% vs 21.8%; p = 0.03). In conclusion, there was an increase in the rate of physiatry referrals despite a decrease in hospital admissions. There was an increase in referrals by hematology, likely due to emphasis on safe discharge and the populations hospitalized.


A previous study' suggested that the distinction awards system compromises the integrity of all who touch it, and that gross anomalies are promoted and perpetuated by the system behind its screen of secrecy. This was exemplified by data from the Tavistock Clinic, where the incidence of awards had stood at one-tenth the national average, despite the international reputation of many of the staff. Since the Distinction Awards Committee has now distributed 749 Awards for 1974,' trends may be scrutinised and the extent to which anomalies have been corrected can be examined. Where appropriate, we have used the points system described in our paper' (an A-plus award equals 4 points, A equals 3 points, B equals 2 points, C equals 1 point) to clarify the distribution, where it might be misleading to use the raw figures for total awards.


When tasked with selecting one of the most influential papers in the field since the 1950s, Spillantini et al describing the presence of α-synuclein (aSyn) in Lewy bodies (LBs) in Parkinson's disease (PD) was our clear first choice. Following James Parkinson's description of the Shaking Palsy in 1817, progress in understanding PD mirrored the slowness of movement that characterizes the disease itself. Almost 100 years later, in 1912, Friedrich Lewy described the inclusion bodies we now recognize as the pathological hallmark of PD and a further 85 years later, investigation of the Contursi kindred, manifesting autosomal dominant PD, identified a causative single base mutation in SNCA. It took just 2 months for Spillantini and colleagues to publish their landmark paper describing the presence of aSyn in LBs in idiopathic PD and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). In the 24 years since this short paper was published (Spillantini et al's article was less than half the length of this Viewpoint), it has catalyzed numerous advances in understanding the pathophysiology of synucleinopathies, amassing over 2,225 citations and influencing almost every aspect of research in PD and other neurodegenerative disorders.


This article presents the results of a survey questionnaire developed to ascertain which of three constituent groups (Superiors, Peers, and Subordinates) in the workplace has the greatest influence on rater compliance with employee performance appraisal guidelines. The research found that superiors had the greatest influence on rater compliance with rating procedures.


A new species of the genus Murex (Family Muricidae) is described from an island in the Andaman Islands chain off Pang-nga Province, southwest Thailand in the Andamanian Subprovince. This geographical subprovince is located in the eastern Andaman Sea, East Indian Ocean. Murex suttipraneeae sp. nov. is conchologically differentiated from a closely related species; Murex pecten Lightfoot, 1786 and its complex from other geographical provinces around the western Pacific rim.


Mathematical modeling aims to provide a theoretical framework for understanding tissue dynamics and for establishing treatment response for diseased tissues, such as tumors. Previously published continuum models have successfully represented idealized two-dimensional and three-dimensional tissue for short periods of time. A recently published continuum model of cancer increases model complexity and describes three-dimensional tissue that, due to the required complexity of the geometric multigrid solver, can only be feasibly applied to millimeter-scale simulations. Furthermore, the computational cost for such models has hindered their application in the laboratory and in the clinic. With computational demands greatly outpacing current openMP-based approaches on single-CPU-socket machines, higher performance solvers for large-scale tissue models remain a critical need. In this thesis, preliminary results of a CUDA and CUDA-MPI based parallelization applied to a tissue model are presented, with significant speedups seen in solution calculation for an initial time step. With further access to larger distributed computing, these parallel frameworks could potentially scale to simulate large-scale tissues.


Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) is responsible for the safe handling and disposal of nuclear wastes in Sweden. This responsibility includes conducting studies into the siting of a deep repository for high-level nuclear waste. The aim of this study is to use the hydrogeological and hydrochemical data from Oklo Natural Analogue to compare the outcome of two independent modelling approaches (HYTEC-2D and M3) which can be used to model natural conditions surrounding the reactor. HYTEC-2D represents a 2D, deterministic, transport and multi-solutes reactive coupled code developed at Ecole des Mines de Paris. M3 (named Multivariate Mixing and Mass balance calculations) is a mathematical-statistical concept code developed for SKB. The M3 results are visualised using the Voxel Analyst code and the outcome of the uranium transport predictions are made from a performance assessment point of view. This exercise was in the beginning intended to represent a validation for M3, by comparing this statistic approach with the standard hydrodynamicgeochemical coupled code HYTEC-2D. It was realized that the codes complete each other and a better understanding of the geochemical studied system is obtained. Thus, M3 can relatively easily be used to calculate mixing portions and to identify sinks or sources of element concentrations that may exist in a geochemical system. This can help to address the reactions in the coupled code such as HYTEC-2D, to identify the hydrodynamic and hydrochemical system and to reduce the computation time. M3 shows the existence of the buffer around the reactor (sampling campaign 1993). No transport of uranium was indicated downstream the reactor. HYTEC-2D gives the same result in the case when we consider the existence of the redox buffer in the model. M3 shows an increase of the alkalinity in the reactor zone. The increase of the alkalinity was indicated by the M3 modelling to be associated with microbial decomposition of organic material which added reducing capacity to the system. The modelling result was supported by new results from the last field campaign, which included in-situ Eh measurements and microbial sampling and identification. The effects from the same process was indicated also by the HYTEC-2D predictions which show an increase of the pH in the reactor zone, due to the existence of the buffer. The two modelling approaches can be used to complete each other and to better understand the processes that can take place in nature. Thus, we can build confident tools which can be used to support performance assessment.


The study This NIHR Alert is based on: Lamb S, Bruce J, Hossain A. Screening and intervention to prevent falls and fractures in older people. N Engl J Med 2020;383:19. To read the full Alert, go to: https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/postal-advice-prevents-fall-related-fractures/


The cluster concept has been promoted in recent years as a panacea for economic development, both locally and nationally. One source of theoretical and empirical ambiguity in the concept is related to the spatial processes underpinning cluster development, and to the relationship between cities and clusters in particular. This paper examines the case of the biotechnology cluster in Scottish cities, with particular reference to Glasgow and Edinburgh. The promotion of a biotechnology cluster has become a priority for Scotland's economic development strategy because of its potential role in the knowledge-driven economy. The paper examines the major locational dynamics affecting biotechnology in Scotland and interrogates the balance between the major forces driving the development of biotechnology firms in their urban location. It concludes that the importance of cities to cluster growth lies mainly in the size and diversity of their labour markets, in the presence of key research institutions and public-sector anchors and in the provision of infrastructure and services. At the same time, historical legacies, national and international regulatory frameworks and external linkages play an important role in shaping the development trajectory of Scotland's biotechnology cluster.


Over the centuries British engineering has played a crucial role in the development of modern India. In his new book, 'The Making of India', Kartar Lalvani explains why this process is today often misunderstood.


not clear. The U.N. ad hoc Working Group on Chile also distinguished between particular cases which were proven beyond a reasonable doubt and other individual allegations or general patterns of government conduct on which information from reliable sources had been received. Amnesty International demanded proof beyond a reasonable doubt on its mission to Israel, but the Amnesty report on its mission to Argentina used a variety of standards of which I will quote a few: "There was strong evidence . . .;" "Amnesty International has received reports that . . .;" "it is clear that . . .;" "it is apparent that . . .;" "There is evidence that . . .;" "Numerous well substantiated accounts of . . . have been documented . . ." "There is no doubt that . . .;" "Summary executions of political prisoners have occured . . .;" "The evidence t h a t . . . is overwhelming." The disparity among these various measures of proof may be due to different degrees of persuasion on the part of the Amnesty International mission or may only reflect stylistic considerations. A mission may, indeed, discover evidence of varying weight and persuasiveness, but some consistency and care in the formulation of factual findings would appear appropriate in human rights reports. The reader should be informed of the burden or burdens of persuasion which a substantial report generally uses. NGOs may also use a different burden of proof for taking human rights actions of varying impact. For example, if an NGO proposes only to send a diplomatic letter of inquiry to a government, the NGO may merely need credible secondhand reports of human rights violations. If an NGO is publishing a significant report, however, it may require more substantial evidence of wrongdoing. This distinction is quite similar to that drawn in common law countries between civil and criminal cases, which use different burdens of proof for proceedings of quite distinct consequences. In any case, it is not imperative that any single standard be used in NGO fact-finding, but it is important that the standard for significant determinations be clearly defined. In conclusion, I do not suggest that nongovernmental organizations be forced into rigid fact-finding rules, but these human rights organizations can be asked to explain more fully their fact-finding methodologies, so as to lend more credibility to their findings.


Objective] To investigate the effect of depression on oxygen free radical (OFR)and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX 2) in the colon of depressed rats and the protective effect of ciwujia capsule on the colon of depressed rats. [Methods] The depression model of rats was produced. Ciwujia capsule and 5 ASA were clystered to the rats for 2 weeks. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and maleic dialdehyde (MDA) in the colon of depressed rats were detected with biochemistry kits, and the expression of COX 2 with immunohistochemical technology. [Results] Ciwujia capsule (300, 600, 900 mg/kg) decreased the level of MDA, increased the level of SOD, and inhibited the expression of COX 2 in the colon. [Conclusion] Ciwujia capsule can protect the colon tissue of depressed rats by changing the levels of MDA, SOD and the expression of COX 2.


The article presents an efficient image reconstruction algorithm for single scattering optical tomography (SSOT) in circular geometry of data acquisition. This novel medical imaging modality uses photons of light that scatter once in the body to recover its interior features. The mathematical model of SSOT is based on the broken ray (or V-line Radon) transform (BRT), which puts into correspondence to an image function its integrals along V-shaped piecewise linear trajectories. The process of image reconstruction in SSOT requires inversion of that transform. We implement numerical inversion of a broken ray transform in a disc with partial radial data. Our method is based on a relation between the Fourier coefficients of the image function and those of its BRT recently discovered by Ambartsoumian and Moon. The numerical algorithm requires solution of ill-conditioned matrix problems, which is accomplished using a half-rank truncated singular value decomposition method. Several numerical computations validating the inversion formula are presented, which demonstrate the accuracy, speed, and robustness of our method in the case of both noise-free and noisy data.


Since the advent and implementation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), its uses has increased gradually reaching a significant relevance in a cartographic analysis mainly, and allowing, at the same time, to work with geographical variables. The susceptibility evaluation to mass moving processes using tools available today in GIS has allowed to develop different methodologies to evaluate the contributing and triggers factors and their impact on the generation of mass movement processes in order to zoning the land according to their greater or less predisposed to generate this type of process .
As a case study has evaluated the situation that occurs in the Loja -Zamora road located south of Ecuador. With an approximate length of 55 kilometers, the route each year is affected by mass moving processes among which are detritus and debris flows, debris avalanches, rotational and translational slides and rock falls mainly.


Muhammet Arabaci, the director of IspartaAFAD (Disaster and Emergency Directorate) reports 'The milestoneof disaster management and coordination in Turkey is Marmara Earthquakeon August 17th, 1999. The earthquake which caused great lossof lives and extensive damage, sadly revealed the need to revise disastermanagement in Turkey.We carry activities at several ways, and the first of these is pre-disasteractivities. 2,544 people in 2010, 7,616 people in 2011, 1,948 people in2012, 10,838 people in 2013, 5,969 people between January – June,2014 have been trained.The priority at technical works is to spot the areas at the high riskof disaster, to carry geological surveys and to take disaster preventiveprecautions. The equipment to be used for the disasters in the city likerock fall, landslide, flood, earthquake, mudslide, fire and avalanchehas been purchased. ' (Translated by BURDIL)


Scaffolding is a teaching strategy that provides individualized support based on the learner's Zone of the Proximal Development (Chang, Sung & Chen, 2002). In scaffolding instruction, another, more knowledgeable individual, provides scaffolds or supports to facilitate the learner's development. Roehler & Cantlon (1997) identified five different strategies in instructional scaffolding: the modeling of desired behaviors, the offering of explanations, inviting students to participate, verifying and clarifying student understandings, and inviting students to contribute clues. In this research, the aim has been to analyze student teachers' scaffolding strategies as they have been applied to the teaching of mathematics. The research was conducted with thirteen student teachers in their fourth year of study in Bachelor of Education (Classroom Teacher) Programs. Nine student teachers worked with two fifth grader learners, while the other four worked with three. In order to determine the participant students, a geometry test relating to the first unit of the fifth grade mathematics curriculum was administered. The student teachers worked on a one-to-one basis with students who were having difficulty in geometry and this scaffolding process was recorded. According to the results; inviting student participation was found to be the most commonly used scaffolding strategy. The least common were inviting students to contribute clues and the modeling of desired behaviors. While the majority of student teachers had similar tendencies, certain others had different inclinations. However, the reasons for their preferences in using these scaffolding strategies were not clear.


"Though small, the recent protests we've seen across the U.S. signal what is likely to come as governments grapple with how to move forward, particularly if a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the pandemic becomes available."


As conventional teaching methods can no longer be used as the sole instruction approach in higher education, student-centred teaching methods should be employed. The primary objective of this study was to identify students? experience of collaborative learning methods applied in Hospitality Financial Management 1. A descriptive study using an existing questionnaire was used to collect data from 220 Tshwane University of Technology students. The questionnaire was distributed electronically using survey-monkey. Descriptive data-analysis techniques were used. In general, students expressed satisfaction with the collaborative learning experience as well as with the teaching aids employed. Most students disagreed that their group marks were lower than those they would have attained on their own. Equal numbers of respondents experienced either satisfaction or frustration during the collaborative learning experience.


Abstract : The authorities of El Salvador are facing multiple threats to the governability and stability of the country; including International Drug Cartels, Gangs (Maras), Weapons Dealers, and common violence that create instability and insecure. The Government is concerned about the current situation and is making different efforts to impede and reduce the criminal organizations activities. One of the efforts is the use of the armed forces to combat the criminal organizations. Actually, the military forces are supporting the local police in regular activities in rural areas and places where violence has a large presence, providing support to the penitentiary system for external security and main entries of the prisons, keeping permanent presence in the darks spots along the national boundary to stop and reduce the gambling activities and working in joint operations with the entities in charge of the control of the illegal drug movements in the region. The military forces, in order to be effective, have to modify the organizations, training, and procedures used in this kind of environment. Also, the forces have to acquire the proper equipment and means required to be more effective against the illicit organizations that use multiples ways to conduct the prohibited actions.


Wang Bi was the advocator for Body ideology,who on the one hand inherited Wang Gen's Body ideology,and on the other hand developed it further.Wang highlighted the leading role of human among all things,and advocated undergoing dangers and self-cultivation.Compared with Wang Gen's Body ideology,Wang Bi's was more reasonable and valuable.What's more,Wang Bi also inherited Wang Gen's People-First thought,which met the requirement of the times by highlighting the importance of comforting the people.He cared for the people and did a lot of things for them,which had a great impact on the whole society then.


Mobile Banking, in simple terms, can be defined as banking activities using applications on mobile phones (cellphones). The use of mobile banking can make transactions easier for someone, so there is no need to go to the bank and queue. This provides many benefits to the general public regarding the use of mobile banking, in addition to increasing work productivity, mobile banking can also provide the best service with a very expensive technology system. This study aims to determine the convenience, benefits, and trust of a person is using mobile banking. This study using a quantitative approach using a questionnaire and analyzing the data using statistical procedures. The results show that mobile banking provides convenience, benefits, and trust in customers. That way, mobile banking services can be continuously improved to improve the quality of mobile banking.


The motion mechanism for cultivation of innovative talents is studied,followed as: taking the scientific research topic as the center,designing the appropriate research experiments,the students participate positively by the undergraduate course graduation thesis(design),the teachers instruct multi-levelly them by grades.Through near 3 years practice,it is proved successful.It already improved student's comprehensive quality,also improved the young teacher's scientific research quality and local college's scientific research level.


The motion of the amphibian eardrum under free-field acoustic stimulation was investigated using time-averaged holography. We show that the amplitude is linearly related to sound pressure up to +/- 1000 nm. The frequency response of the eardrum shows broad resonance characteristics with a main peak between 1200-2200 Hz. The velocity of the tympanic membrane's motion at its resonance frequency matches the acoustic velocity of air particles. The resonance characteristics of the eardrum are also revealed by white noise stimulation. The power spectrum obtained by Fourier transformation of the autocorrelation of the response to noise resembles closely that obtained by holography.


Along with computer network′s universal use,the information security question becomes very important.In order to enhance the information′s security and reliability,objectively needs to use each method to protect the data,is not stolen by the illegal user and tampers with.several methods of protecting data message simply in view of information security question are presented.The replacement table algorithm,transforms the information position law,the byte end around shift and the XOR operation method,the public key information encryption algorithm and so on.Through information security′s overall analysis and the research,multiple step encryption algorithm and its programning method are given using the program to simulate file encryption,it needs a long time or even can′t be realized to break.


With the development of the electric power industry, the technical level of automatic testing equipment for the reliability of electrical component circuit breakers in the transmission and distribution network is getting higher and higher. The stability and accuracy of the test power supply are the basis for ensuring the pass rate of the test product. Most of the electrical testing and testing equipment has defects such as inaccurate power supply current regulation, low power, and low level of intelligence, which are difficult to meet the testing requirements. Based on the theory of a closed-loop control system, this paper adopts embedded system design technology to realize a high-current, high-power, high-stability digital constant current source system for line detection. This paper studies the rule-based intelligent anti-jamming decision engine design and system anti-jamming performance analysis of NC-OFDM system. We give the design of an intelligent anti-jamming decision engine based on rule-based decision-making, and focus on two intelligent anti-jamming decision-making algorithms: Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC) algorithm based on signal-to-noise ratio difference and packet error rate and Adaptive Sub-Band Selection (ASBS) algorithm. Experimental test results show that the output current range is 200 mA to 2000 mA, the system has realized a microstep adjustment of±5 mA, and the absolute error of current measurement is less than 0.3%+4 mA. The system is stable and reliable, and has high practical value in the field of high precision and low power.


of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science VERTICAL MOBILITY AND DYNAMICS OF PHOSPHORUS FROM FERTILIZER AND MANURE SOURCES IN SANDY SOILS By Leighton Croft Walker May 2004 Chair: D.A. Graetz Cochair: V.D. Nair Major Department: Soil and Water Science Animal manures from intensive livestock operations are rich sources of nutrients such as phosphorus (P) which are vital for plant growth. Increased amounts of P in water bodies may lead to unwanted environmental and aesthetic damages to these aquatic ecosystems. Some types of land-applied animal manures may release P even more easily than commercial P fertilizers when in contact with rainwater. The coarse textured sandy soils of Florida are prone to losing P both by surface runoff and leaching down through the soil profile. A column leaching study was conducted on coarse textured sandy soils with different nutrient management histories (high and low impact by manures) from two commercial dairy farms. Soil columns were treated with three P sources (dairy storage pond effluent, inorganic fertilizer and broiler litter compost), each applied at a rate equivalent to 40 kg P ha. The objective of this study was to compare the leaching potential of the three P sources applied to low and highly manure-impacted sandy soils, and also to evaluate the effects of an aluminum based water treatment residual (WTR) on


The category of A 1-algebras extend the category of diierential graded (DG) algebras. The main result of the present paper asserts that the periodic cyclic homology HP (A; m) of an A 1-algebra (A; m) is equal to ordinary periodic cyclic homology HP (H 0 (A)) of the homology of (A; m 1) in degree zero. This result extends a well known result of T. Goodwillie Go] for the periodic cyclic homology of DG algebras. We notice, however, that while the study of, at least certain aspects of, cyclic homology of DG algebras can be \reduced" to the study of cyclic homology of algebras by carefully adapting the algebra case to cyclic objects in the category of chain complexes as in Go], no such technique is available for A 1-algebras. In fact, although this is perhaps possible, and certainly interesting to try, we are not aware of any generalization of Connes' cyclic category C3] to a hypothetical \1-cyclic category", so that an A 1-algebra yields a \1-cyclic" object. Hochschild and cyclic homology of A 1-algebras were rst deened by Getzler and Jones in GJ], where a (b,B) type bicomplex was deened for an A 1-algebra. Our approach is however diierent and is based on ideas of Cuntz and Quillen CQ 1 ,CQ 2 ,Q] and especially their X-complex approach to cyclic homology. In fact this is crucial for the Cartan homotopy formula that we need. As is evident in the present paper, this approach allows a uniied treatment of cyclic homology type theories for various algebraic structures. A key element in the proof of our main theorem is a Cartan homotopy formula for quasifree DG (co) algebras from Kh], which in turn is a generalization of the Cartan homotopy formula of Cuntz and Quillen CQ 1 ]. The concepts of A 1-spaces and A 1-algebras are due to Stashee in S], where it is shown that a topological space has the homotopy type of a (based) loop space if and only if it is an A 1-space. The Moore model of a loop space has the extra property that it has a strictly associative product and hence its singular chains is a DG algebra. This is used in Go] to identify the SO(2)-equivariant homology of the free loop space with the cyclic homology of based loop space. It follows from Proposition 2.3 that this is indeed true for any model …


We construct a Chern‐Simons gauge theory for dg Lie and L‐infinity algebras on any one-dimensional manifold and quantize this theory using the Batalin‐Vilkovisky formalism and Costello's renormalization techniques. Koszul duality and derived geometry allow us to encode topological quantum mechanics, a nonlinear sigma model of maps from a 1‐manifold into a cotangent bundle T X , as such a Chern‐ Simons theory. Our main result is that the effective action of this theory is naturally identified with the y A class of X . From the perspective of derived geometry, our quantization constructs a projective volume form on the derived loop space LX that can be identified with the y A class. 57R56; 18G55, 58J20


Cardiovascular surgery, also known heart surgery is a stressful profession where surgical skills and experi-ence can make the difference between life and death for the cardiac patient. The cardiac surgeon must acquire numerous years of education, training and surgical ex-pertise. Open heart surgical operations are lengthy tak-ing 4 - 6 hours or longer to complete. The surgeon has to be on call all the time because emergencies can occur anywhere, anytime, preoperatively or postoperatively without warning. The cardiac surgeon has to work with a very experienced team; even a small mistake may lead to a tragic unexpected cascade of events, resulting in a disaster. Thus, stress is an integral part of cardiovascu-lar surgery. It is not surprising that surgeons practicing this stressful profession aged 45 and older have suicidal rates 1.5 to 3 times that of the general population (1). In a study in 2011 which assessed 8000 surgeons, 501 report-ed suicidal ideation (2). These surgeons are most likely "stressed-out" (Figure 1). A competent cardiovascular surgeon should be able to battle stress, "keep his cool" under pressure, "think on his feet" and improvise "on-the-spot" in case something unexpectedly goes awry during the course of the surgery. Moreover, the task of a cardiovascular surgeon does not end in the operatory. It is imperative that he or she has good bedside manners in order to effectively communi-cate with heart patients and their guardians in the ward, discuss treatment options preoperatively as well as help the patients recover postoperatively. The surgeon should also be in good physical shape to be able to stand for hours without fatigue. Thus, regular exercise is also im-portant. Mentality, psyche and self-confidence are equally vital to combat the inherent stress of open heart surgery. However, for the cardiac surgeon preferring a stress-less work environment, teaching may be a good albeit less lu-crative alternative (3-5).


Perception of time is essential for normal functioning of sensory and motor processes such as the perception of speech and music and the execution of skilled motor movement. Perceptual and motor timing of intervals between sequences of sounds holds special importance for music. Accumulating evidence suggests that perception of time is mediated by a distributed neural system consisting of distinct motor structures such as the cerebellum, inferior olive, basal ganglia, supplementary motor area as well as prefrontal cortical areas. In this theoretical paper, we review and assess how distinct components of the timing network mediate different aspects of perceptual timing. Recent work from our group suggests that different subsystems of the timing network are recruited depending on the temporal context of the intervals to be timed. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we established brain bases for absolute, duration-based timing of irregular intervals and relative, beat-based timing of regular intervals in the olivocerebellar and the striato-thalamo-cortical circuits respectively. We assess neurophysiological and neuroanatomical data that suggests that the timing functions of these circuits may, however, not be entirely independent and propose a unified model of time perception based on coordinated activity in the core striatal and olivocerebellar networks that are interconnected with each other and the cerebral cortex through multiple synaptic pathways. Timing in this unified model is proposed to involve serial beat-based striatal activation followed by absolute olivocerebellar timing mechanisms with a central role for the striatum as the brain's internal timekeeper.


Abstract To speak about the horror of the Holocaust is still extremely difficult. An exploration of our data, a video testimony of a female survivor of the Ghetto in Łódź, showed that she employs certain styles of narration (narrative motifs). This paper first examines some of those motifs and suggests that they might function as a means of self-regulation. In our data they either assist in preventing retraumatization or facilitate the re-experiencing of the dreadful past. The features of those motifs are analysed on a semantic, a prosodic and an embodied level through the usage of Conversation Analysis, PRAAT and Multimodal Analysis.


A new species of Paracleistostoma De Man, 1895, P. meilanense n. sp. is reported from mangroves forests in Haikou, Hainan Province, China. The new species inhabits mud burrows in the upper intertidal zone and is sympatric with P. tomentosa Yang & Sun, 1993, and P. depressum De Man, 1895. The slender chelipeds as well as the characteristic morphology of the male first pleopod easily distinguishes the species from congeners.


Using a simplified form of the Appleton-Hartree formula for the phase refractive index, a relationship was obtained between the Faraday rotation angle along the angular path and the total electron content along the vertical path, intersecting the angular at the height of maximum electron density. Using the second mean value theorem of integration, the function B cosine theta second chi was removed from under the integral sign and replaced by a 'mean' value. The mean value factors were printed on the computer listing for 39 stations receiving signals from the INTASAT satellite during the specified time period. The data is presented by station and date. Graphs are included to demonstrate the variation of the Faraday factor with local time and season, with magnetic latitude, elevation and azimuth angles. Other topics discussed include a description of the bent ionospheric model, the earth's magnetic field model, and the sample computer listing.


Abstract. Biclique cryptanalysis was proposed by Bogdanov et al. in Asiacrypt 2011 as a new tool for cryptanalysis of block ciphers. A major hurdle in carrying out biclique cryptanalysis is that it has a very high query complexity (of the order of 2 for AES-128, 2 for AES-192 and 2 for AES-256). This naturally puts a big question mark over the practical feasibility of implementing biclique attack in real world. In this work, we re-evaluate the security of full round AES against biclique cryptanalysis. We describe an alternate biclique construction with signi cantly reduced query complexity (of the order of 2 for AES-128, 2 for AES-192 and 2 for AES-256) at the expense of a slightly increased computational cost. In our approach, we use independent biclique technique to launch a chosen ciphertext attack against AES.


Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are metallic materials that have the capability to recover its original shape eliminating residual strains when subjected to adequate thermal process. This behavior is related to phase transformation induced either by stress or by. During the phase transformation process of an SMA component, large loads and/or displacements can be generated in a relatively short period of time making this component an interesting mechanical actuator. Because of such remarkable properties, SMAs have found a number of applications in different areas. The present contribution deals with the modeling, simulation and experimental analysis of SMA helical springs. Basically, it is assumed a one-dimensional constitutive model to describe its thermomechanical shear behavior and, afterwards, helical springs are modeled by considering classical approach. SMA helical spring thermomechanical behavior is investigated through experimental tests performed at different loads. Numerical results show that the model is in close agreement with experimental data. Since the thermal process has an essential importance in the performance of an SMA actuator, different cooling medium conditions are investigated, evaluating the actuators performance.


To register for courses, you must be a member (see How to Join [2]). Early registration is encouraged due to limited space. Course fees vary by a number of factors including class size, number of meetings, and type of membership. A course will be in one of the price categories below. For information about the different membership options, see How to Join [2]. OLLI runs a scholarship program for those for whom the full fees present a barrier to participation. To qualify for the program, complete an application and return it to the office. Applications are reviewed several times before the start of each term. See details and how to apply [3]. Current members may add a course at any time by logging into their account and paying the registration fee.


This qualitative study is about how individual supportive conversation between school welfare officers and pupils in upper secondary school is carried out.
The major interest of the study was to explore the problems that school welfare officers have during forced or involuntary supportive conversations with pupils, and how those problems can be understood and solved with the concept of strategies. It was also the aim to find out which methods welfare officers used in different strategies to achieve that. The theoretical framework of the study was Aaron Antonovskys salutogenic model "sense of coherence", which was applied for analyzing the results of my qualitative interviews with welfare officers and also the theoretical concept of strategies. Four semi-structured interviews were conducted with school welfare officers. The main results were that the key aspect of making the conversations work was to open up the pupil for conversation. Different aspects of how the welfare officers did that are described in this thesis and are understood through the concept of strategies. All welfare officers applied the solution focused model and most of them used Cognitive behavioral therapy. However, various other models were used as well in their strategies to help pupils.
Furthermore, the results of what methods the welfare officers used in their strategies can describe the complexity of the field. All welfare officers used a lot of different models, but only if they considered it fitting to the pupil's problems, which can be related to the theory of the salutogenic model and the theoretical concept of strategies.


Dehydroxylation phases of a kaolinite from Zettlitz, Czechoslovakia, were investigated by radial electron density distribution (RED) and X-ray spectroscopy. Special emphasis was placed on the 2 amorphous or poorly crystallized transition phases, i.e. metakaolinite (600 degrees to 800 degrees C) and the spinel structure (900 degrees C). The RED diffraction method, which is particularly suited to the study of such materials, indicated (1) a particularly expanded tetrahedral configuration for the Al atoms in metakaolinite and (2) a pure Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ spinel structure. The first result confirms earlier observations; the second eliminates, for the experimental conditions and kaolinite studied, the possibility of the formation of an Al-Si spinel structure with the Al and Si occupying the octahedral and tetrahedral interstices, respectively. Complementary measurements on the Al/b K/ alpha line shifts for the same samples support the present interpretation. Determination of the apparent Si coordination number by the same spectroscopy procedure revealed a regular 4 coordination for all phases except the end-member mullite.


This paper focuses on the new economy and more particularly on the service industry. It aims to highlight how, in these contexts, language and communication operate as central strategic tools both in terms of the regulation of service practices on the work floor and the regulation of the employees' behaviour. The emphasis of this paper will be on service training programs. I will first show how various institutions of the service industry organize and legitimize vocational training programs and I will highlight the particular place of communication training courses within the proposed curriculum. Secondly, a close examination of training sequences will allow to show how language operates as an organisational principle of training and highlight the underlying language ideologies. I will argue that the service industry clearly considers communication training and language practices as a way of controlling the activity of their workers, constructing them as service agents and denying them the capacity of acting.


This article examines the changes brought about by the Lisbon Treaty (LT) in the overall institutional architecture of the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), alongside their impact on the operation of the internal–external nexus in counterterrorism (CT) policies. It argues that the inclusion of CFSP actors in the making and implementation process of CT policies eased the legal, institutional and policy boundaries between the CFSP and the field of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA). This is despite the specific status granted to the CFSP in the Treaties, the former remaining subject to intergovernmental procedures and unanimity in decision-making, even after the strides towards the 'communautarization' of policies achieved by the LT, in Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters in particular. Central to the analysis is the interplay and division of competences between 'new' CFSP actors endowed with a coherence mandate, such as the European External Action Service and the upgraded office of High Representative, and 'old', pre-Lisbon, CT actors, JHA structures and member states in particular. This article finds that the involvement of the CFSP and more particularly its defence component, that is, the Common Defence and Security Policy, to realize CT objectives 'affected' the very content of foreign and security policies and heralded a process of 'judiciarization' of CSDP missions deployed in third countries resulting from the integration of criminal justice and law components in their mandate. The article concludes that the ensuing blurring of frontiers between the realms of CSDP and JHA raises fundamental rights concerns as to the judicial remedies available to individuals suspected or accused of terrorist activities.


Recent Super-Kamiokande data have greatly strengthened the hypothesis that the atmospheric neutrino anomaly is mainly due to nearly maximal oscillations between $\nu_{\mu}$ and either $\nu_{\tau}$ or a sterile neutrino $\nu^s_{\mu}$.In this letter we point out that the decaying neutrino theory for the ionisation of hydrogen in the interstellar medium, in conjunction with the assumption that the cosmological constant $\lambda$ is zero, requires these oscillations to be between $\nu_{\mu}$ and $\nu^s_{\mu}$. This requirement can be tested by forthcoming Super-Kamiokande measurements. A further requirement can be derived if the solar neutrino deficit is energy dependent and if both it and the LSND data are also due to neutrino oscillations. In that case the decaying neutrino theory alone (without any assumption about the value of $\lambda$) requires both that the atmospheric anomaly is due to $\nu_{\mu}-\nu^s_{\mu}$ oscillations and that the solar neutrino oscillations are between $\nu_e$ and a second sterile neutrino $\nu^s_e$. This latter requirement can be tested by forthcoming SNO and BOREXINO measurements. If these are also $\nu_{\tau}-\nu^s_{\tau}$ oscillations the decay line would be split into two lines of nearly equal intensity and spacing less than $\sim$ 0.2 eV.


In this article, numerical analyses of hydrodynamic lubrication and dynamics of the crank, rolling piston, and vane were carried out to study the tribological performance of a rotary compressor. Dimensionless Reynolds equations of journal and thrust bearings in dynamic load condition were derived and solved numerically. To deal with the lubrication of the rolling piston, the effect of the nonuniformity of tangential velocity over the bearing surface on the Reynolds equation was taken into account. In addition, combined with the analyses of dynamics and kinematics of the crank, piston, and vane, the angular velocities of the crank and piston as well as the motion mode between the piston and vane were studied. Analysis results illustrate characteristic oil film pressure distributions of the crank and piston bearings, which are different from that of common journal bearings. Under the influences of dynamic load and eccentricity of the cam, the wedge effect as well as the stretch and squeeze effect contribute greatly to hydrodynamic pressure. The relative motion mode between the piston and vane tip is not always pure sliding but accompanies rolling in some cases, which depends on the magnitude of the friction coefficient between the piston and vane tip. The analysis results are helpful for the improvement of rotary compressor design.


Single crystal of piperazinium L‐tartrate (PPLT) was grown by slow cooling technique. The crystallanity of grown single crystal was characterized by powder XRD analysis. The solubility, metastable zonewidth and induction period were determined experimentally by adopting gravimetric, polythermal and isothermal method respectively. The experimentally determined interfacial energies agree very well with the theoretically estimated values. The nucleation parameters such as Gibbs free energy change, radius of critical nucleus, nucleation rate and number of molecules present in the critical nuclei of PPLT crystal were evaluated based on the classical theory of nucleation. The nonlinear optical property of the grown crystal was analyzed by using aQ‐switched Nd:YAG laser and the second harmonic generation efficiency of the grown crystal was compared with KDP.


An image of a sea bottom observed through a rough sea surface is randomly distorted by the refraction of light at the water-air interface. The negative effect of waves on bottom visibility can be decreased by 'accumulating" image frames. Realistically the possibility of image accumulation is very limited. As a rule an observer has to deal with random images distorted by the rapidly changing sea surface. Thus a question arises: Is it possible to retrieve the "real" image of an object from its distorted image, if an image of the exact water surface distorting the bottom image is made simultaneously? The present paper addresses the correction of a distorted image of a bottom object, when the water surface relief or the spatial distribution of surface slopes is precisely known. Additionally a correction algorithm is given for rapidly processing two-dimensional images, the potential for determining the "instantaneous" spatial distribution of rough sea surface slopes from its instantaneous image is investigated, and finally an analysis is made relating errors in determining sea slopes from a single image to the associated quality of image correction for an object observed through a changing sea surface.


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A 15-year-old young man presented to the emergency department with a 3-week history of sharp left-sided chest pain, shortness of breath on exertion, and a low-grade intermittent fever. Chest radiograph revealed increased density in the upper left lobe, thus he was treated with


This thesis argues that donations are relevant in different contexts of life in society. It examines the way that donations have been connected with the family and argues that a comprehensive law of donation must also necessarily pay attention to donations made in different contexts of life, such as the market. Focusing on donations made in a market context, the present thesis will critically review the suitability of existing (national) laws of donation to regulate these donations. Three jurisdictions have been selected for this study: Scotland, Portugal and France. The choice of these three jurisdictions is based on the different policy considerations towards donation that helped to shape each one of them. In France, the protection of the family is of primary relevance to the law of donation; in Portugal, the law of donation is often set aside, gifts being instead regulated by non-legal normative rules (such as moral rules); and in Scotland, the law of donation exists as a complement to juridical acts primarily regulated by other laws (such as the law of warrandice or the law of promise). These national laws of donation will be critically reviewed in order to assess if they are fit to the purpose of regulating donations in the market context, in particular, by testing the protection conferred to a) the parties in the donation, b) third parties, and c) the community as a whole.


The invention discloses a double-servo roller feeding mechanism. The mechanism comprises a first servo motor; a front roller is arranged at one end of the first servo motor; a cylinder is arranged above the front roller; a second servo motor is arranged in parallel with the first servo motor; a rear servo conveying roller is arranged at one end of the first servo motor. According to the technical scheme, the mechanism has the advantages that materials can be quickly and accurately conveyed, the conveying response is fast, and the stability is high.


Printed Circuit Board (PCB) consists of circuit with electronic components mounted on its surface. There are three main steps involved in manufacturing of PCB and the inspection of PCB is necessary to reduce the defects. First step is printing, second step is the components fabrication over the PCB surface and third is the soldering of components. In this paper we have presented a PCB Inspection System which involves the use of correlation coefficient, image subtraction and fuzzy logic and the inspection system is applied at the first step of manufacturing, i.e., the making of bare PCB. The inspection system will not only show where the defects are present but will also show the degree of defectiveness present in the PCB. Typical defects that can be detected are over etchings (opens), under-etchings (shorts), holes etc.


Titanium carbide, silicide, and carbosilicide are obtained by selfpropagating hightemperature synthesis. The microstructure, phase composition, and properties of these compounds are given. Materials in the form of powders were used to form currentconducting polymer doughs. The influence of the type and content of the filling agent, the temperature of the thermal treatment, and the composition of the polymer binder on the electric resistance of polymer coatings is investigated. It is established that the binders that pro� vide the lowest resistance of doughs are PMPP and PPG polymers, and the corresponding filling agent is tita� nium carbosilicide. The working temperature of doughs containing PMFP and PFG should not exceed 250 °C, that of SKTN should not exceed 150°C, and the mixture of epoxy resin and PMFP and PFG should not exceed 300°C.


The performance of automatic speech recognition (ASR) may be degraded when accented speech is recognized because the speech has some linguistic differences from standard speech. Conventional accented speech recognition studies have utilized the accent embedding method, in which the accent embedding features are directly fed into the ASR network. Although the method improves the performance of accented speech recognition, it has some restrictions, such as increasing the computational costs. This study proposes an efficient method of training the ASR model for accented speech in a domain adversarial way based on the Domain Adversarial Neural Network (DANN). The DANN plays a role as a domain adaptation in which the training data and test data have different distributions. Thus, our approach is expected to construct a reliable ASR model for accented speech by reducing the distribution differences between accented speech and standard speech. DANN has three sub-networks: the feature extractor, the domain classifier, and the label predictor. To adjust the DANN for accented speech recognition, we constructed these three sub-networks independently, considering the characteristics of accented speech. In particular, we used an end-to-end framework based on Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC) to develop the label predictor, a very important module that directly affects ASR results. To verify the efficiency of the proposed approach, we conducted several experiments of accented speech recognition for four English accents including Australian, Canadian, British (England), and Indian accents. The experimental results showed that the proposed DANN-based model outperformed the baseline model for all accents, indicating that the end-to-end domain adversarial training effectively reduced the distribution differences between accented speech and standard speech.


Much recent research has been devoted to learning algorithms for deep architectures such as Deep Belief Net-works(DBN) and stacks of auto-encoder variants, with impressive results obtained in several areas, mostly on vision and languages datasets. These learning algorithms aim to find good representations for data, which can be used for classification, reconstruction, visualization and so on. Despite the progress, most existing algorithms would be fragile to non-Gaussian noises and outliers due to the criterion of mean square error(MSE) and cross entropy(CE). In this paper, we propose a robust auto-encoder called correntropy-based contractive auto-encoder(C-CAE) to learn robust features from data with non-Gaussian noises and outliers. The maximum correntropy criterion(MCC) is adopted as reconstruction cost function and a well chosen penalty term is added to the reconstruction cost function. By replacing cross entropy with MCC, the proposed method can learn robust features from the data containing non-Gaussian noises and outliers. The penalty term corresponds to the Frobenius norm of the Jacobian matrix of the encoder activations with respect to the input. By adding the penalty term, the antinoise ability of the proposed method is improved. The proposed method is evaluated using the MNIST benchmark dataset. Experimental results show that, compared with the traditional auto-encoders, the proposed method learns robust features, improves classification accuracy and reduces the reconstruction error, which demonstrates that the proposed method is capable of learning robust features on noisy data.


Action Books Informational books take on a dimension of movement with today's action books, where objects, people, and scenes move when pull-tabs, pop-ups, revolving wheels, lift-flaps, or other paper triggers are manipulated. For example, The Human Body has pull-tabs and anatomically correct threedimensional models which make lungs appear to breathe and muscles to contract. In Inside the Personal Computer, the display monitor invites the reader to find out how the computer works by pushing the pop-up floppy disk. The Smithsonian Institution's Flight of the Pterosaurs displays a pop-up replica of a fossil skull.


In researching how adult numeracy teachers actively motivate and enable learners to apply the numeracy skills they learn to their own real life practices, a case study of two adult numeracy teachers and their learner groups was undertaken. This paper compares the teachers' contrasting personal experiences of mathematics learning to consider how significant moments in their own learning experiences may have influenced their beliefs about, and approaches to, their adult numeracy teaching practice. Similarities and differences between teachers' approaches are explored and compared, to conclude that teachers' learning experiences greatly influenced their beliefs and teaching practices.


The 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA and COI gene sequence data were used to estimate the phylogenetic relationships of four superfamilies of Podocopida. Maximum-parsimony (MP), Bayesian and neighbor-joining (NJ) analyses combined with fossil records and morphological characters of Ostracoda were used to discuss the phylogenetic relationships among four major lineages of Podocopida. Cytheracea, Cypridacea, Darwinulacea and Bairdiacea were monophyletic groups in all trees. The closer relationship between Cypridacea and Darwinulacea is strongly supported by molecular data. The 18S rDNA data suggest that Darwinulacea evolved from within the Bairdiacea, and the two superfamilies together form the sister group of Cypridacea, further suggesting that Podocopida can be divided into two suborders: Bairdicopina (including Cypridinacea, Bairdiacea and Darwinulacea) and Cytheracopina (Cytheracea).


GHRS-EchA and G160M spectra of β-Pictoris have been obtained in the 1400-1600 Å range. A detailed analysis of the CO A-X (0-0, 1-0, 2-0) bands and of the CI λ1561 Å multiplet is presented. A column density of the order of 2 1015 cm−2 is found for both species. For CO, the rotational temperature is found close to 20 K and the turbulent Doppler width is b=0.8 km.s−1. Including the 13CO lines in the fit allows an estimate of the 13CO abundance: R=12CO/13CO=20. This anomalous ratio is tentatively interpreted as being due to chemical fractionation. For the CI triplet, the absorption profile is best fitted by a combination of four velocity components matching those observed independently at the same moment from ground in the CaII H and K lines. The most intense component corresponds to zero relative velocity while the others are shifted by 3 to 10 km s−1. The large turbulent width of the components (4.2 km s−1), the statistical population of the ground state fine structure levels and the similar column densities of CI and CO are interpreted as indicating that CI is formed by photodissociation of CO and destroyed by photoionization. The velocity structure would then indicate that part of CI is formed at large distance (∼100 AU) from CO evaporating from cometary bodies while another part originates closer to the star from fast moving cometary bodies with high excentricity.


Our laboratory has recently demonstrated
that 1 h of stressful immobilization of Balb/c mice result in an
enhanced learning if animals are trained 3 later in the fear
conditioning paradigm. Furthermore it was shown that the lateral
septum and the hippocampus are involved in this stress-mediated
enhancement of fear conditioning. Based on this data it was
investigated whether differential gene-expression in the
hippocampus and intermediate lateral septum is responsible for
stress-enhanced learning. By subtractive hybridization the gene
coding for cyclin dependent kinase (Cdk) 5 was found to be
up-regulated in the lateral septum of Balb/c mice 30 min after the
end of 1 h immobilization. Cdk5 is a Ser/Thr Kinase and was
originally identified by its homology to the cell cycle regulating
kinase Cdk2. However, Cdk5 is not involved in the cell cycle
regulation, but mainly required for developmental processes, such
as axon migration. To investigate the physiological role of Cdk5 in
the adult brain the cellular localization and activity of Cdk5 was
analyzed in response to stress and fear conditioning. The Cdk5
protein was found to be transiently up-regulated in cholinergic
neurons in the septo-hippocampal system of Balb/c mice in response
to stressful immobilization and fear conditioning. Furthermore it
was shown that Cdk5 associates with its activator subunit p35 in
the septo-hippocampal system. Consequently, the up-regulation of
Cdk5 protein was accompanied by increased Cdk5 kinase activity. By
region-specific microinjection of Cdk5 inhibitors it was
demonstrated that septo-hippocampal Cdk5 activity was required for
memory consolidation, its enhancement by stress and its resistance
to extinction. On this basis, the presented work showed that Cdk5
is a central regulator of cognitive brain functions.


Objective:To observe the clinical characte ristics of acute myocardial infarction(AMI)patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus(NIDDM).Methods:Clinical data and mortality of68cases of AMI wi th NIDDM and155cases of simple AMI were retrospectively analyzed.Results:Compare d to the simple AMI patients,AMI patients with NIDDM had a higher incidence of a nterior AMI(42.6%vs.23.0%,P0.01),lower LVEF(37.7%±10.1%vs.52.5%±10.5%,P 0.01),more severe lesion of coronary atherosclerosis(multi-vessel lesion:51.5% vs.35.4%,P0.01;extensive lesion:23.5%vs.7.7%,P0.01).The AMI patients with MID DM had higer incidence of acute left ventricular insufficiency(Killip≥Ⅱ:35.3% vs.16.8%,P0.01),severe cardiac arrhythmia(33.8%vs.14.8%,P0.01),pulmonary infe ction(26.5%vs.5%,P0.01),in-hospital mortality(19.1%vs.9.7%,P0.05).The indepen dent predictors for death were female,Killip≥Ⅱ,severe cardiac arrhythmia,pulmo nary infection,low molecular weight heparin(LMWH),angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor(ACEI)and statins.The last three factors were negative correlated with the mortality of the AMI patients.Conclusions:Since the clinical condition and coronary lesion is severe and the mortality is high in AMI patients with NIDDM,t he prevention and treatment for NIDDM should be paid more attention.


In a software driven world we are getting used to expecting to see more convenience and personalization offered by applications and systems we use. These can be in the form of applications that run in our mobile devices/computers, or applications that support systems that we interact with (powered by IoT, for example our cars). Achieving this level of convenience requires that applications gather and analyze vast amounts of data, understand them and find patterns to learn from them. However, application developers need to focus on business capabilities and valuable features rather than create complex capabilities to infer insight from available structured or unstructured information. Additionally, it becomes economically prohibitive for application builders to provide the necessary infrastructure to collect and analyze relevant data. This is where Cloud based computing and Cognitive computing enter. Cognitive computing has had a significant impact on how organizations think, act and operate. Unlike a typical and traditional computer, cognitive systems analyse information and then draw insights from that analysis by using probabilistic analytics. They learn from their interactions with data, in effect continuously reprogramming themselves. IBM is leading the Cognitive Systems Era by providing IBM Watson cognitive services on Bluemix platform.


Sex differences in gene expression are important contributors to normal physiology and mechanisms of disease. This is increasingly apparent in understanding and potentially treating chronic pain where molecular mechanisms driving sex differences in neuronal plasticity are giving new insight into why certain chronic pain disorders preferentially affect women versus men. Large transcriptomic resources are increasingly available and can be used to mine for sex differences and molecular insight using donor cohorts. We analyzed more than 250 human tibial nerve (hTN) transcriptomes from the GTex Consortium project to gain insight into sex-dependent gene expression in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). We discover 149 genes with sex differential expression. Many of the genes upregulated in men are associated with inflammation, and appear to be primarily expressed by glia or immune cells. In women, we find the differentially upregulated transcription factor SP4 that drives a regulatory program, and may impact sex differences in PNS physiology. Many of these 149 DE genes have some previous association with chronic pain but few of them have been explored thoroughly. Additionally, using clinical data in the GTex database, we identify a subset of differentially expressed (DE) genes in diseases associated with chronic pain, arthritis and type II diabetes. Our work identifies sexually dimorphic gene expression in the human PNS with implications for discovery of sex-specific pain mechanisms.


Objective To Isolation and purification of trypsin-like protease(Pr2) of Pythium guiyangense.Methods The cuticle-degrading proteases were induced from entomopathogensis fungus,P.guiyangense for 24 hours with cicada exuviae.After the crude enzymic fluid underwent embedding,concentration and dialysis by using PEG20000,and after finished with sephadex G-100 gel chromatography twice,the SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and the molecular weight of Pr2 determination were performed.Results The SDS-PAGE coomassie brilliant blue staining had been performed,the purified Pr2 presented as a single band and its molecular weight was determined as 31.5kDa.Conclusion The purification and molecular weight determination of Pr2(31.5kDa) are successful and the results play important roles for further study.


IN his insightful study of what he calls "a declaration of interdepen dence" (30), David Armitage suggests that the effective date of U.S. independence might be 1778, when France signed a treaty recogniz ing and agreeing to aid the revolutionaries, or even 1783, when Britain "conceded" (85) independence in the Treaty of Paris. The date matters. In raising this issue, Armitage reminds us that the American Revolution was a drama with many acts that could have turned out differently. He also argues that the natural law premise beneath the Declaration's proclamation that "all Men are created equal" (165) must be balanced against the positivist realism of its request for international recognition, which Armitage relates to a shift from natural to positive law concep tions of the law of nations. It was "more than just a coincidence," he notes, that Jeremy Bentham coined the terms "international" and "inter national law" (11) just a few years after panning the Declaration in a Crown-sponsored reply to Congress. Bentham's new terms described a law between or among states rather than within them and soon sup planted the more protean jus gentium (law of nations). The Declaration not only combined national political philosophy with a plea for interna tional recognition; it was also a methodological m?lange: naturalist, posi tivist, and full of customary constitutional claims. One question is whether Armitage goes a bit far in deemphasizing the Declaration's local effects and audience. Local means not only within the thirteen states but also within the Anglophone Atlantic world that the Revolution split in two.1 The document purported to shatter a common subjecthood and draw new baselines for political allegiance and legal rights within the United States and Great Britain. The Declaration therefore had, in addition to discrete domestic and international consequences, domestic international effects. It signaled within the thirteen provinces that the revolutionary governments


The viewpoint of this article is that the should-be structure of the theory about the constitution of crime should be defined as two layers and four requisites.This article takes the arguments about the uncertainty of justified behavior in the system of crime theory,the unclear relationship between justified behavior and the constitution of crime as a solid base,takes the judicial proceeding characteristics which reflect on the conviction procedure,balance between power and right,adversary system as a standpoint of value,and takes the present theories and legal practices as references at the same time.Concretely,two layers and four requisites will be defined as follows:the first layer,which is made up of three requisites-the objective requisite of crime,the subject of crime and the subjective aspects of crime;the second layer,which has one requisite only-the object of crime.Justified behavior is absorbed in the requisites in the constitution of crime as a cause of eliminating the object of crime,a crime will be committed without justified causes.


In the first paper of this series (3), it was demonstrated that the auxininduced growth in length of sub-apical sections of etiolated pea stems -is greatly inhibited by light. This light-growth inhibition was subsequently (1, 2) interpreted in terms of a riboflavin-sensitized photoinactivation of indoleacetic acid (IAA). Such an interpretation derives support from the fact that light, concurrent with its inhibition of growth, increases the rate of disappearance of IAA from the external medium. In the course of similar experiments with stem sections of light-grown peas, we noticed that light enhances, rather than inhibits, the auxin-induced growth. This response was unexpected and of such great magnitude that it was considered desirable to investigate it more fully. The present paper describes the phenomenon in some detail and presents an explanation of it which seems consistent with all the facts at our disposal. The simple section growth test herein described may, incidentally, be of some use to those interested in utilizing green tissues for auxin or herbicide studies.


24 P bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) plagued Arizona cotton crops until 1996 when Bt cotton was introduced. Containing a natural insecticide from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, the transgenic crop preserves yields and protects farmworkers and the environment by reducing insecticide applications. Before Bt cotton, as many as 8 to 12 sprays per season were used against cotton pests in Arizona, but now sprays are at historic lows, with the statewide average less than three per season. More than half of Arizona's cotton acreage is planted with Bt cotton. Growers adopting Bt cotton have gained an average of $15,000 per farm each season. This success will continue only as long as pink bollworm does not evolve resistance to Bt cotton, as it has previously to conventional insecticides. Each year tens of millions of acres of Bt cotton and Bt corn are planted worldwide—mainly in the United States and China. Yet no pest resistance to Bt crops in the field has been documented so far. Many people expected rapid pest resistance to Bt crops because the diamondback moth evolved field resistance to sprays of Bt and many pests evolved Bt resistance in the lab. "Instead, we have evidence that pink bollworm resistance to Bt cotton in Arizona remains rare, as does pest resistance to Bt crops worldwide,"says Bruce Tabashnik, head of the University of Arizona's Department of Entomology. For the past seven years a multi-agency collaboration among university scientists, commercial cotton growers and government agency personnel in Arizona has focused on research Delaying Pink Bollworm Resistance By Susan McGinley Cooperative studies and strategies protect Arizona cotton


For over fifty years anyone needing information on British and Irish libraries has turned to Libraries and Information Services in the UK and the Republic of Ireland for the answer. This newly updated directory lists over 2000 libraries and other services in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland, with contact names, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses, and URLs. The listing is broken down into the following main categories, all fully indexed alphabetically: public library authorities, with entries for headquarters libraries plus the main administrative, divisional, area and regional libraries; universities and institutes of higher education and other degree-awarding institutions, with entries for major departmental and site/campus libraries; and, selected government, national and special libraries, together with schools and departments of information and library studies.


The sandy land in east of the Yellow River in Ningxia has obvious characteristics of the transitional region of the farming and the pasturing and it is a focus of harnessing ecological environment for both Ningxia and China in the last 50 years.The viewpoint that "this sandy land is a man-made desert" has influenced the work of defending and controlling sand and the work of ecological construction for a long period.Recent researches prove that this sandy land had existed before the large-scale land cultivating in the Ming and the Qing Dynasty.After the Ming and the Qing Dynasty,the speeding-up desertification has close relationship with human activities,lake shrinking and lake drying.There are many effective measures to defend and control the sand in this sandy land: rational way of using the land,preventing the level of the underground water from dropping and averting lakes and marshes from disappearing.