The Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, (1) like the federal employment statutes on which it was modeled, provides for an award of "attorneys' fees as part of costs" for a successful plaintiff. In Texas, while entitlement to attorneys' fees is a question for the court, the amount of reasonable and necessary attorneys' fees is typically a question of fact for a jury to decide. The dramatic question addressed in this practice note is whether the Texas legislature's adoption of the phrase "as part of costs" from the federal statute reflects an intention to adopt the federal procedure for determining attorneys' fees as well. ACT I, WHEREIN THE APPELLATE LAWYER IS PRESENTED WITH THE PROBLEM It was a dark and stormy night.... Well actually, it's a sunny afternoon, and trial counsel for Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Restaurants has asked for a meeting with appellate counsel. He has gone to trial in state court on an employment-related claim under the Act, which states that one of its purposes is to "provide for the execution of the policies of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ... [and] the Americans with Disabilities Act." (2) It prohibits employment-related discrimination on the basis of "race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age" as well as retaliation against persons complaining about discrimination. (3) For purposes of our story, the key provision states that "a court may allow the prevailing party ... a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs." (4) In the meeting with appellate counsel, Miller's trial counsel explains that the jury found in favor of the plaintiff and awarded $30,000 in actual damages. The jury had not been presented with evidence about attorneys' fees and the court's charge to the jury did not contain a question about the amount of attorneys' fees reasonably and necessarily incurred by the plaintiff. Postverdict, and nearly two months after the jury had been excused, plaintiffs counsel filed a motion to enter judgment, proposing a judgment containing an award of attorneys' fees. Over the objection of Miller's trial counsel, the trial court conducted a non-jury, evidentiary hearing on the amount of reasonable and necessary attorneys' fees and awarded the plaintiff $60,975 in attorneys' fees. Miller's trial counsel filed a motion for new trial that again objected to the court's determining the amount of fees, which the court denied. But Miller's trial counsel remained convinced that under Texas law, a jury should determine the amount of a fee award. Miller's appellate lawyer has experience with federal litigation, so upon being presented with this scenario, and after reviewing section 21.259 of the Texas Labor Code, she suspects that the phrase "attorneys' fees as part of the costs" probably comes straight from the comparable federal employment law--Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A quick bit of research confirms this suspicion. Title VII provides that "the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party ... a reasonable attorney's fee ... as part of the costs." (5) The appellate lawyer knows that a federal law upon which a Texas law is based is persuasive, but not controlling, on the interpretation of a comparable statute adopted by the state. (6) What the appellate lawyer does not know is why Texas juries generally determine the amount of attorneys' fees to award and whether the Act's borrowed language changes the general practice. ACT II, WHEREIN THE APPELLATE LAWYER BEGINS TO INVESTIGATE Upon taking the case, the first thing the appellate lawyer does (after filing the notice of appeal), is research the current law on section 21.259 and jury trials. It's not good. The only two Texas intermediate appellate courts to consider whether a losing party is entitled to a jury trial on the reasonable amount of fees to be awarded under section 21.259 have come out the wrong way. The first reported decision was Borg-Warner Protective Services Corporation v. …


Context: vitiligo with a unique location in the penis is a rare entity. Presentation of the case: A 34-year-old man who presented himself in our training, he complained of a whitish plaque on his penis. The physical examination showed an achromic macule on the level of the penis, with a catch of contrast in light of Wood. A skin biopsy of the dorsal surface of the penis showed a total absence of melanocytes and melanin granules in the basal layer.


Plants, the leading fixed way of life, are forced to be particularly plastic on environmental impact responses of the environment. The most important external factors include the light, which is not only a source of energy for photosynthesis, but also a signal, activating and changing the program of development of the plant. Objective: To study the content and ratio of different forms of photosynthetic pigments in leaves of plants that grow only in natural light (forest) and compared to individuals present in the conditions of an additional light (located near the street lamps and lighted windows of houses). The experience included birch specimens of plants growing in a forest tract Gutorevo (dense stands of birch within the pine forest) and tree planting ordinary Lear Park (southern suburbs of Kursk area). The leaves are weighed. pigment content was determined by in vitro analysis in four replicates. The content of chlorophylls and carotenoids were determined by calculation. Volume fraction pigments evaluated. Statistical analysis were Student t-criterion. The content of chlorophyll and carotenoid in the leaves of birch in an artificial increase in the duration of the light period in the temperate climate of the Kursk region. In plants, an increase of chlorophyll content (a + b) 12.0% of carotenoids in the leaves 23.0%. There is reason to believe that the adaptation of the pigment apparatus birch plants growing under natural light (forest) and located in the area of artificial lighting is done by transforming the light-harvesting complex. Factor complex urban environment, including sunlight, soil compaction podkronovogo space in which increasingly suffering park biome, does not reduce the content of pigments in the end of the growing season, in comparison with individuals forest biome. This testifies to their high stability and better adaptation to the effects of natural and anthropogenic factors.


This study analyzes the impact of the shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market. The research is vital for expanding the literature about maintaining the unemployment rate amid crisis, ultimately reducing unnecessary social costs. The quantitative approach in this study uses a Granger causality test to understand the effect of the shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on unemployment. Meanwhile, the qualitative approach in this study uses literature related to economic growth, crisis management, and unemployment. Granger causality tests show that economic slowdown hurts the unemployment rate. Based on discussion and synthesis from works of literature, this paper recommends some of the policies to maintain growth and prevent a more severe collapse in the labor market; the government needs to sustain aggregate demand and supply. Also, ensure the supply chain runs well amid various restrictions. Besides, this paper also proposes that the government maximizes alternative budget resources. Meanwhile, strengthening the labor system and developing health and food security industries must be a priority policy amid-post the pandemic.


This work describes the automatic balancing and inertia identification system for a three degrees of freedom CubeSat attitude simulator testbed. For a reliable check of the attitude control algorithms, the on-orbit environment has to be simulated within the testbed. The external disturbances acting on the satellite mockup shall be minimized, the most significant one being the gravity torque. An automatic balancing procedure can largely reduce the time necessary for tuning the platform and minimizing the residual disturbance torque. The automatic balancing system adopted in this work employs three sliding masses independently actuated by three electric motors. A control algorithm automatically adjusts the location of the sliding masses to eliminate the unknown offset between the center of rotation and the center of mass. Inertia parameters are estimated through the balancing procedure by collecting free oscillating platform data. No actuators except the motors are required. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the implemented approach in achieving a good disturbance reduction.


The following species are described from either New Zealand pastures or peats on Chatham Island. Tylencholaimus chathami n. sp. is prodelphic, with short tail and without offset inner lip region; it is closest to T. dorae Kruger but differs in having V = 69-72% and c = 43-57. Tylencholaimus australis n. sp. has a hemispheroid tail and rudimentary posterior genital branch; it differs from T. maritus Loof & Jairajpuri in having V = 67-72% and in the posterior genital branch being two anal body widths long. Tylencholaimus rossi n. sp. in being opisthodelphic, less than 1 mm long and having a short tail is similar to T. pakistanensis Timm and T. gertii Kruger; it is differentiated by V = 54-58% and the tail being truncate. Tylencholaimus micronanus n. sp. is 0.38-0.42 mm long and is distinguished from T. nanus Thorne by its length and having c = 33-46 cf. 50-60. Dorylamioides chathami n. sp. has a rudimentary caudal gland duct, is pseudo-opisthodelphic with a distinctly offset lip region and may be distinguished from D. thornei (Jairajpuri) by being larger (L = 0.97-1-.38 mm), in the shape of the odontostyle and oesophageal bulb, and in having a rudimentary, reflexed anterior genital branch. Axonchium (Dactyluraxonchium) watti n. sp. is distinguished from A. (D.) arcuatum Thorne by being smaller, bisexual, and in having a well-developed prevulval sac. Axonchium (Discaxonchium) coxi n. sp. is distinguished from A. (D.) serpens Thorne, A. (D.) crassum Thorne, and A. (D.) micans Thorne by length, tail shape, and form of the vaginal sclerotisation. Oxydirus visseri n. sp. is opisthodelphic, has a more anterior vulva than O. oxycephalus and differs from O. tenuicaudatus in begin longer, bisexual, and in having a prevulval sac. Dorylaimellus pastura n. sp. is closest to D. andrassyi Heyns, but differs in being monosexual, larger, and in having over 70 glandular bodies in the lateral field.


The labours of Mr. Jex in the Eskdale fish-beds have brought to light another beautiful new fish, now in the British Museum. This is a Ganoid of the genus Elonichthys, and though represented as yet only by a single specimen, this is fortunately a very perfect one.


A unified ratio-dependent supply-demand driven tritrophic model of the cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) system was compared to field data, and then used to explore the basis for the successful control of cassava mealybug (CM, Phenacoccus manihoti Mat.-Ferr.) in Africa by the exotic parasitoid Epidinocarsis lopezi (DeSantis). The causes for the failure of the related parasitoid E. diversicornis (Howard) to establish were examined. Among the important findings are: (i) the functional and numerical responses of either parasitoid alone are insufficient to explain the observed dynamics of the mealybug; (ii) rainfall and its enhancement of the fungal pathogen Neozyites fumosa suppress CM numbers sufficiently during the wet season so that the parasitoid E. lopezi, with its efficient search, can regulate CM density at low levels during the dry season


ion This is a process of concentrating on features that help understand a system, while ignoring ones that are irrelevant. The process of specifying classes and function groups in S3 is a process of abstraction.


The water effect on productivity can be estimated by growth models, the DSSAT/CANEGRO model can be a great alternative to aid in obtaining this information, 1 Acadêmico em Agronomia, UFAL, Campus Arapiraca, CEP:57309-005, Arapiraca AL. Fone: (82) 96270957. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com 2 Mestrando em Agricultura e Ambiente, UFAL, Campus Arapiraca, AL. 3 Acadêmica em agronomia, UFAL, Campus Arapiraca, AL. 4 Acadêmico em agronomia, UFAL, Campus Arapiraca, AL. 5 Prof. Dr. Irrigação e Drenagem, UFAL, Campus Arapiraca, AL. III INOVAGRI International Meeting, 2015 83 saving time and money. The state of Alagoas stands out as a major producer of sugarcane, and it has some calibrated varieties for your climate and soil conditions for this model. The aim of this study was to estimate the productivity of sugarcane to the city of Porto de Pedras AL, in different scenarios of production, with the use of DSSAT/CANEGRO. The scenarios were: two varieties (RB92579, SP79-1011) x two planting dates (15 JANUARY, 15 JUNE) x two management systems (Irrigated, Not Irrigated), totaling eight treatments. We found that the greatest effect of irrigation occurs when the crop is planted on 15 June, with an increase in productivity of up to 31.65%. The most productive variety is the RB92579 averaging 136.276 Mg.ha -1 when planted on 15 January and 127.635 Mg.ha , to June 15.


The invention relates to the improved production of a spectacle lens (42) for a spectacle wearer using a casting mould (10) with an integrated block piece (18). The claimed method for producing a spectacle lens for a spectacle wearer comprises a first casting mould (10) and a second casting mould, said first casting mould (10) comprises a block piece (18); the first and the second casting moulds are joined together thus forming a casting cavity (34); said casting cavity (34) is filled for forming a spectacle lens blank (38); and one surface of the spectacle lens blank (38) undergoes prescription grinding for producing a prescription surface (44, 48) of the spectacle lens (42), whilst the spectacle lens blank (38) remains joined to the first casting mould (10).


Bunsen beakers are adopted to the experiment.The resource water including manganese of the ex- periment is configured by manpower,then added with different quantity of potassium permanganate and coag- ulant,at different time of potassium permanganate.Manganese concentration of the above water is measured after coagulation and sedimentation on different conditions.The results indicate that,at the right adding time the removal rate of manganese is 90.6%~99.0%,when the equivalent proportion of potassium perman- ganate is 80 %~100 %;The nature organic matter has some effect on decreasing the removal of manganese.


Dynamics of the United States Automobile Industry is a book about the problems faced by the small independent manufacturers within an industry in which there are large economies of scale and a differentiated product. This book is concerned with the postwar industry but the problem of the independent producer is much older than this. The strategy of the annual model change was discovered in the middle 1920's and has had the effect of increasing the effective economies of scale in the industry. Automobile firms that did not wear out their tools and dies in one season, or at most two, were forced to scrap this equipment in order to bring out a new model in competition with firms whose output was large enough annually to wear out their tooling, and to whom, therefore, a style change was nearly costless. Thus large firms, by adopting the strategy of an annual style change, were able to force higher costs upon their smaller rivals. We all know the consequence of this behavior. In 1920 there were 150 automobile firms in the country; by 1925 there were 55; by 1929, only 23. The depression of the 1930's aided this process of elimination and by the outbreak of war in Europe there were left only 10 or 12 automobile firms in the industry. Every firm, at the end of World War II was, in a sense, forced to reenter the industry.


This article is focused on a test assesment with a low repeatability, which is typical of its financial and time severity. In the introduction of this work the assessment of the current state of the solved problem concentrated on the creep test assesment is carried out, which is typical of its low repeatability. These results are subsequently graphically confronted with the subjective assessment of the observer and using Mann-Whitney test. This test is there used for finding if measured data come from the same basic file or come from the selected confidence level. The results show the significance of using this test, which is calculated with certain probability.


Since November 2015, two underwater gliders equipped with external hydrophones were deployed in the South Brazilian Bight in order characterize the area's soundscape. Contrasting to standard fixed mooring systems (where flow noise is generated by currents passing by the hydrophones), gliders are subject to noise generated by its own downward and upward motion, which may compromise soundscape characterizations if not properly evaluated. In order to investigate induced flow noise on the hydrophone and its characteristics, 563 hours of acoustic data from the gliders were correlated to the navigation settings. Results can be comparable to previous flow noise descriptions for fixed systems. A high correlation was observed between the glider speed (both vertical and total) and 1/3 octave band levels centered at frequencies below 20 Hz. Estimates of the broadband sound pressure level were accomplished with different lower frequency limits and found to be uncorrelated to the glider speed above 40 Hz.


Emerging adulthood is a critical developmental phase for planning future adult roles, such as the professional and familial role. Current research concerning plans to combine work and family roles in emerging adults enrolled in higher education has focused mainly on gender differences with few studies devoted to cross-cultural comparisons. This study aims to explore plans to combine work and family roles with a sample of 239 Portuguese and Polish emerging adults enrolled in higher education. Country comparisons revealed that Polish emerging adults present a more clear perspective on how to combine work and family in the future. Further, findings suggested that working students perceptions of being able to successfully manage work and family roles are higher when compared with those who were only students. No evidence was found for gender differences in future plans to combine work and family roles.


Photoelectric color sorter is a sort of effective separation equipment used in quality detection and classification of granular materials.Based on the investigation of the configuration and working principle of photoelectric color sorter,a control system in the master-slave mode controlled by double CPU is designed.ARM is employed as the master CPU to control the whole system and DSP as the slave CPU to operate the photoelectric detecting signal,thus forming the double CPU structure which can perform a variety of data manipulations and control functions of the control system corporately in order to enhance the whole performance of system and improve the rapid processing capacity of data.


My essay constructs a postcolonial theoretical framework to investigate a scene in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises. The scene suggests that an African-American character--a musician performing the popular jazz song "Aggravatin' Papa"--may share a sexual history with the novel's white female protagonist. The text strategically silences the black character's voice at several moments in the dialogue. By exhuming the musician's lyrics and showcasing the silenced voice in this intertextual relationship, I argue that the marginalized minority voice is, in fact, central to Hemingway's modernist experimentation. In the very process of its appropriation and silencing in the novel, the black presence bursts forth from its liminal discursive space and intervenes in the narrative's construction of difference.


The present invention relates to a polyester long-fiber, manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method utilizing a vegetable fatty acid, a polyester sheet which is more specifically prepared by the vegetable fatty materials are mixed with the PET chip type melting and reaction fiber, as the invention relates to an apparatus and method for manufacturing the same, PET chips dryer; Vegetable fatty material feed; The PET chip and said vegetable fatty material is added and mixed mixing lines; The mixing is the PET chips and the raw material of vegetable fatty acid mixture in the inlet line, the extruder is the PET chips and vegetable fatty material at a certain temperature for causing the molten and binding reaction; It provides the advantage of the vegetable fatty acids, characterized in that consisting of a polyester long-fiber manufacturing apparatus; and a polymer discharged spinning unit to produce filaments with feed and radiating at a constant temperature through the extruder.


We describe the extraction and stabilization in vitro of discrete complexes of interferon and cellular receptor proteins. A homogeneous complex of Mr 230 000 was extracted at the time of peak receptor binding (30 min). Complex formation was specific for human interferon. At later times a second complex could also be extracted suggesting transfer of interferon to a second site.


Tourism is an important sector which can boost the economy of a country. Tourist recommender systems are used to provide recommendations to tourists based on their preferences. The prime challenge a tourist face while visiting tourist spots in a country is in determining a tourist spot to visit next that best suits their age. This paper proposes a deep learning-based system called TSR-Net that recommends next tourist spot from images of a tourist in Dubai by predicting the age group and the current tourist spot. TSR-Net uses two pretrained MobileNet models for this purpose. One MobileNet predicts the age group from the image and the other MobileNet identifies the current tourist spot from the image. Once the age group and the current tourist spot are identified the next suitable tourist spot is recommended to the tourist. The TSR-Net is applied to datasets to evaluate its performance on age group classification (AGC) and tourist spot detection (TSD). Results proveed that the proposed model achieved the best accuracy of 82% and 100% for AGC and TSD. The proposed model was also tested on a custom dataset and showed satisfactory results. The TSR-Net classifies a person into one of 3 age groups (less than 18, 18-45, more than 45), identifies 4 tourist spots in Dubai, UAE (Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab, Atlantis, Ain Dubai) and recommends 20 different places. Thus, the proposed model will help tourists visit appropriate places according to their age and present location.


Cydonia vulgaris Pers. is the cultivated and economically important species of genus Cydonia. Cydonia vulgaris Pers. (Cydonia oblonga Miller) is a small shrub belonging to the family Rosaceae and is a native to Southwest Europe and Minor Asia. The plant is commonly called Quince. The Cydonia vulgaris is commonly medicinally used as demulcent, in treatment of asthma. Other usages of the plant are as a source of flavor in marmalade, liqueur, candies, brandy, jelly and preserves. There are three varieties of the tree namely Cydonia vulgaris Pyriformis, Cydonia vulgaris Maliformis and Cydonia vulgaris Lusitanica. The present review highlights the plant, its variety, cultivation, chemistry and utilization of this medicinal plant.


The heat treatment microstructure and properties of X80 steel were analyzed by means of structure analysis,mechanical properties test and fracture analysis.The results showed fine and well-proportioned austenitic grain is obtained,when X80 steel is heated at 950 ℃,950 ℃ is applicable quenching temperature for X80 steel.The microstructure of X80 steel is bainite ferrite(BF) + granular bainite(GB) when steel is tempered at 550 ℃ and 600 ℃,partial ferrite laths in BF merge and broaden,the interior sub-lath boundary in GB begin to merge and disappear,and the M/A constituent(a mixture of martensite plus retained austenite) in GB is orbicular,at the two tempering temperature the X80 steel shows a certain degree of tempering stability.The microstructure of X80 steel is GB + quasi-polygonal ferrite(QF) after 650 ℃ tempering,the original BF laths merge to form smaller GB crystal grains,it is the reason that the steel shows good combination of strength and toughness.The microstructure of X80 steel is mainly QF after 700 ℃ tempering,which can cause serious reduction of yield strength.The M/A constituent assemble and grow up in the grain boundary of QF,which cause worse low-temperature toughness for X80 steel.


This paper introduces a new performance analysis method for a computed torque controller against disturbances with the framework of the induced norm from L<inf>2</inf> to (which is also denoted by the L<inf>∞</inf>/L<inf>2</inf>-induced norm). To this end, we first derive a linear time-invariant (LTI) representation of the system obtained by connecting a robot manipulator and a computed torque controller. We then formulate the problem definition associated with the L<inf>∞</inf>/L<inf>2</inf> performance of the computed torque controller in which the maximum magnitude of the output for disturbances of finite energy is adopted as the performance measure. We next show that the L<inf>∞</inf>/L<inf>2</inf>-induced norm of the derived LTI system can be explicitly computed by solving the continuous-time Lyapunov equation. Finally, some experiment results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the introduced performance analysis method.


Susceptibility of 353 bacterial strains, composed of 6 genera and 9 species, which were isolated recently from various clinical materials in Yamagata University Hospital, to 4 disinfectants, chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG), benzalkonium chloride (BAC), saponated cresol (SAC), and povidone iodine (PVP-I), was examined.1.All of the clinical isolates tested were sensitive to SAC and PVP-I, however, susceptibility of the isolates to CHG and BAC varied from species to species and also from strain to strain. 2.Most of the strains Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas cepacia, Proteus mirabilis and Pr. vulgaris seemed to be insensitive to CHG, though they were sensitive to BAC.3.Many strains of Ps. cepacia were resistant to not only CHG, but also BAC. 4. Most of the strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Sta.epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Ps. aeruginosa were estimated to be sensitive to CHG and BAC.These results indicate that the resistant strains against CHG and BAC at the concentration recommended for disinfection of are be existent in some species of gram-negative bacteria of clinical isolates.


Within the C95-Challenge Erasmus+ project, mobile learning technologies are adopted and tested for bus and truck drivers training according to the EU 2003/59/EC Directive. Different kinds of training contents are developed in the form of interactive slides, hyper-videos, interactive quizzes and delivered on mobile devices. Existing apps and games are also considered to learn specific topics. The preliminary results from the target users involved in pre-pilot testing are positive: both trainers and drivers recognise the potential of these new learning technologies and understand the added value in terms of easy access to resources, mobile fruition, reduction of time, no need to move to a specific place for the training, engagement of the interactive material, flexibility in the training path. Users also identify some issues and provide interesting suggestions for future improvements.


Computers facilitate reasoning with complex data. We report a study where 195 students aged 12 to 15 years were presented with computer based tasks that require reasoning with multivariate data, together with paper based tasks from a well established scale of statistical literacy. All the tasks fitted well onto a single Rasch scale; computer tasks were cognitively more complex, but ranked only slightly more difficult than paper tasks on the Rasch scale. Implications for assessment, the curriculum, and public presentations of data are discussed.


Dengue
Although dengue hemorrhagic fever can be life-threatening, not all dengue virus infections even cause symptoms. Simon-Loriere et al. examined the serum and immune gene transcripts of Cambodian children infected with dengue virus serotype 1. Relative to those with clinical infections, the


Private provision of public services has always been a factor in local government. In 1736 Benjamin Franklin and a group of civic leaders founded a fire company in Philadelphia because such a service was needed and the city could not provide it. Local municipalities often cannot provide the labor, equipment, and expertise to build roads, to do data processing, or to run hospitals but rather arrange with someone else who has the expertise to perform these tasks. However, during the 1970s rapid inflation, shrinking tax bases, and "no growth" budgets made the public provision of even what is popularly perceived as essential government services seem more like a tight‐rope walk than responsible government.


In this paper, some teaching cases are designed based on Robocup small-size soccer robot to complement the robotics curriculum. In addition, case teaching should be combined with experiment and graduation project to improve the effect of robot course teaching together.


The study found that use of the drug «Arglabin» in capsules as an immunomodulator showed the good tolerabil-ity and safety, did not bring significant changes of the functional state of the liver, kidneys, and allergic status in healthy volunteers. The drug «Arglabin» in capsules had been not only well tolerated by volunteers, but has led to sig-nificant improvement in certain indicators of laboratory research. The results of the research allows to recommend the drug «Arglabin» in capsules as an immunomodulator for further study in clinical practice.


The policy objective of the proposed Impact Evaluation (IE) is to build evidence on the impact and cost-effectiveness of the proposed performance based financing (PBF) project in Tajikistan. More specifically, the IE would seek to ascertain: (i) the impact and cost-effectiveness of the PBF model implemented in Tajikistan; and (ii) whether PBF is more effective or cost-effective if implemented in conjunction with additional low cost interventions (Collaborative Quality Improvement (CQI), Citizen Score Cards (CSC)). The results from the IE will help informing the Ministry of Health (MOH) on whether PBF should be scaled-up to additional primary health care (PHC) level institutions in other regions. The collaborative quality improvement intervention responds to policy concerns that performance incentives may not produce the desired improvements if providers lack the necessary competencies, data to inform decisions and knowledge. The Citizen Report Card attempts to improve the effectiveness of PBF by strengthening the 'short route of accountability', i.e., by increasing accountability of health facilities to their local constituents. Since PBF, collaborative quality improvement, and citizen score cards have never been implemented in large scale in Tajikistan, it is to be expected that the results from the IE will be useful for designing national PHC policy in Tajikistan, and that they will also contribute to the larger body of knowledge on these interventions.


Biomass offers a significant potential for reducing national dependence on imported fossil fuels through the conversion of a renewable energy source to useful liquid and gaseous fuels, electric power, process steam, and chemicals. Several previous studies have indicated that feasible national goals could be the production of about 5 quadrillion Btu (quads) of energy by the year 2000 and 10 quads of energy by the year 2020. The results of these studies indicate that these are realistic and achievable goals provided Federal funding levels for biomass development are increased and Federal incentives are successfully applied to increase biomass feedstock availability. The study summarized in this paper involved the identification of over 1,100 possible missions (specific conversion routes from biomass feedstock to useful fuel and chemical products to end-use markets) prior to the selection of 15 missions for detailed analysis. Based only on market penetration projections, processes that appear to offer minor future contributions include marine crops, catalytic liquefaction, and fermentation to produce ethanol. Missions that appear to have greater near-term commercialization potential include: (1) Gasification of wood and low moisture plants to produce LBG, IBG, SNG, and ammonia. (2) Pyrolysis of wood and low-moisture plants to produce SNG, fuel oil more » and char. (3) Combustion of wood and low-moisture terrestrial crops to produce IBG and SNG. « less


Discrimination is defined as to differentiating people in the labor market who have similar human capital, based on their sex, age and race. The typical method in studying sex discrimination is to monitor a single organization or a few organizations and evaluate the results. This technique is based on the presumption that the position of the women can't be analyzed by isolating the social and cultural dimensions, and that the data quantitative techniques relied on are evaluated neglecting the sex discrimination. So, this technique can't supply in-depth information about the women's employment. Continuing the approach and neglecting alternate numerical data reflecting the women point of view, results in insufficient information about the case. But justification of the social and economic policies at the macro level is possible only with a comprehensive database and widely accepted systematic methods (Olson, 1990; Rowbotham, 1995; Burnell, 1993 ).


Almost 500 million people live within the exposure range of active volcanoes. In June 2011, the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle Volcanic Complex, located in northern ...


Predator-prey models have been shown to exhibit resonance-like behaviour, in which random fluctuations in the number of organisms (demographic noise) are amplified when their frequency is close to the natural oscillatory frequency of the system. This behaviour has been traditionally studied in models with exponentially distributed replication and death times. Here we consider a biologically more realistic model, in which organisms replicate quasi-synchronously such that the distribution of replication times has a narrow maximum at some $T>0$ corresponding to the mean doubling time. We show that when the frequency of replication $f=1/T$ is tuned to the natural oscillatory frequency of the predator-prey model, the system exhibits oscillations that are much stronger than in the model with Poissonian (non-synchronous) replication and death. The effect can be explained by resonant amplification of coloured noise generated by quasi-synchronous replication events. To show this, we consider a single-species model with quasi-synchronous replication. We calculate the spectrum and the amplitude of demographic noise in this model, and use these results to obtain these quantities for the two-species model.


In wireless networks, the same channel must be reused at different access points (APs). The co-channel interference (CCI) is a predominant factor that limits the transmission quality. Recently, we proposed an interferenceaware channel segregation based dynamic channel assignment (IACS-DCA) which forms a channel reuse pattern with low CCI in a distributed manner. In our proposed IACS-DCA, each AP periodically monitors the beacon signals transmitted from other APs and measures the average CCI powers on all available channels to select the best channel to use. However, the actual uplink propagation loss of the co-channel mobile station (STA)to-AP link is different from that of the co-channel AP-to-AP link due to shadowing. The same is true for the actual downlink shadowing propagation loss. In this paper, we study the impact of shadowing correlation ρ between co-channel AP-to-AP link and actual CCI link on IACS-DCA by computer simulation. It is shown that as ρ decreases, the CCI power experienced at each AP increases, but the 10%-outage signal-to-interference power ratio (SIR) degrades by only 1dB even when ρ=0.4. Keywords—channel segregation; dynamic channel assignment; co-channel interference; shadowing correlation


The invention provides an accurate-positioning image-distortion-free X-ray digital imaging device and an imaging method. An X-direction displacement sensor and a stepper motor are arranged on a movable plate; a Y-direction displacement sensor and another stepper motor are arranged on a fixed plate; a detector is arranged on the movable plate; a long rod is arranged on a detector base; a cross rod is arranged on the long rod; an X-ray source is fixed on the cross rod; a digital optical camera is arranged on the X-ray source; and a Z-direction stepper motor and a displacement sensor are arranged on the long rod. The imaging method comprises that: the distance of the detector is regulated through the stepper motor on the long rod; the stepper motors on the movable plate and the fixed plate are regulated to allow the detector to scan from a starting point in the position of a perspective area to an ending point; the detector transmits measured electronic signals to a host computer; and the host computer transforms the electronic signals into gray values of regional color blocks in digital images. The invention has the advantages of fast imaging, capability of carrying out various types of digital processing on images and realizing remote diagnosis, perspective scan in local regions and reduction in damage of rays to human body.


A practical and scalable one-pot process for the preparation of florfenicol phosphodiester (3), a new water-soluble prodrug of florfenicol (1), has been developed by adopting the phosphorylating system of POCl3/pyridine/CH3CN. The yield of 3 was 80.72%, and its HPLC purity reached as high as 99.20%, while the content of the maximum impurity was reduced to 0.28% under the optimum conditions. The present process has proven to be reliable on 500-g and 4-kg scale in the pilot plant.


Two novel water and air stable acidic ionic liquids are synthesized.One bears an alkyl benzene group in a N-methylimidazolium cation,and the other bears an alkoxy benzene group in a N-methylimidazolium cation.The counteranions are both HSO4-.The total yield is 87.2% and 85.6% respectively.They show good effect in the synthesis of ethyl palmitate and ethyl benzoate,and the produced esters can be separated by decantation.The ionic liquids can be reused after the removal of water.


According to previously presented findings cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections frequently occur in the Swedish population (2). The high proportion of individuals found to carry antibodies against CMV corresponds well with findings from other geographical areas (10, 16, 19). The introduction of viral diagnostic procedures for CMV infections has been followed by a gradual delineation of the clinical picture of both congenital (5 , 9, 12, 14, 18, 21) and acquired (1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 20) CMV infections. However, many problems await further elucidation. The role of CMV as a pathogen in different clinical syndromes has not yet been completely explored, nor has the incidence of inapparent CMV infections and minor clinical illnesses with subtle or unspecific manifestations been thoroughly investigated. Because of observations of the persistence of infection and the reactivation of dormant virus, it is difficult to assess, both in acute and chronic cases, whether the disease is caused by a primary infection or a reactivation. Furthermore the mode of transmission of infection is yet not fully understood. The present investigation was undertaken in an attempt to elucidate some of these problems. Sero-epidemiological and virus isolation studies were carried out at Karolinska sjukhuset from 1963 through 1967 in different groups of children. MATERIAL AND METHODS


Objective
To explore the effect of formative evaluation based on Rain Classroom on clinical skills teaching.

Method
s A total of 70 students in clinical medicine from Grade 2016 were enrolled and divided into experimental group (n=35) and control group (n=35). The experimental group adopted Rain Classroom combined with formative evaluation, while the control group used conventional teaching method and evaluation. Test scores of the two groups were compared and students' satisfaction was collected via questionnaire. T-test was performed using SPSS 17.0.

Result
The total score of clinical skills test in the experimental group was (84.11±7.76), which was significantly higher than that in the control group (74.37±12.58), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). According to the questionnaire survey, the experimental group was significantly better than the control group in terms of enhancing learning interest, improving knowledge comprehension, clinical skills, clinical thinking and analytical ability, as well as better satisfaction towards teaching (P<0.05).

Conclusion
Formative evaluation based on Rain Classroom is helpful to improve the teaching effect on clinical skills and comprehensive abilities of students, so as to promote their overall development.

Key words:
Formative evaluation; Rain classroom; Clinical skills; Teaching effect


Altered cellular growth and suppression of anti-tumor immune response collectively drive progression and therapeutic resistance of high-grade gliomas (HGGs), suggesting that successful treatments will likely target these key mechanisms. Janus-associated kinase (JAK)-STAT pathway comprises one such therapeutic node, as STAT3 signaling is upregulated in proliferating glioma cells and immunosuppressive cell types. We performed retrospective analysis on 13 HGG patients treated with the JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolinitib in combination with radiation or radiation plus temozolomide in a Phase I setting (NCT03514069). Disease progression and treatment response was determined based on the Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) criteria. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) cells were collected from patients prior to treatment, and 2- 4- and 6-week time points to characterize early immunological changes that are indicative of treatment response with flow cytometry. 6 patients responded favorably, define as progression-free survival >6 months. Investigation of myeloid and lymphoid cell populations revealed no differences in dendritic cell, myeloid-derived suppressor cell and CD8+ T cell subset frequencies in blood. Similarly, expression of checkpoint inhibitors PD-1, TIGIT, CTLA-4 and TIM3 were not altered with ruxolinitib treatment. However, there was a ~2-fold reduction in the frequency of peripheral B cells in favorable responders at 4-week time point, whereas the levels remained stable in non-responders (p<0.05). In addition, while 5 out of 7 non-responders had increased CD4+ T cells by 4-weeks, 5 out of 6 responders had stable or reduced CD4+ T cells. This effect was driven by reduction in immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (Tregs) as the relative ratio of immunostimulatory T helper 1 (Th1)-to-Treg ratio was 3-fold higher in responders compared to non-responders. These results support evaluation of B and CD4+ T cells in the peripheral blood as biomarkers to identify HGG patients likely to benefit from such approach.


Black liquor is a byproduct from the production of pulp and paper. Since Sweden to a large extent consists of forest it would be of great interest to use this byproduct for manufacturing of other products. Black liquor contains lignin and hemicelluloses which could be used for production of biofuel and plastics respectively. To separate these components from the black liquor, membrane filtration with ceramic membranes can be used. This study compares the efficiency of separation between ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) with ultrafiltration as a pre-treatment. The results showed that a good separation of lignin and hemicelluloses from black liquor could be achieved with both methods. However, if a separation between lignin and hemicelluloses was the aim, ultrafiltration as a first step is required. The initial flux during NF increased almost 100 % (from 200 l/m 2 h to approximately 400 l/m 2 h) when the feed was permeate from ultrafiltration instead of untreated black liquor. The higher flux made it possible to reach a higher volume reduction which is desired. The results of the study show that separation of lignin and hemicellulose from black liquor is possible and that ultrafiltration as a pre-treatment has advantages compared to nanofiltration alone. Key-words: Nanofiltration, black liquor, membrane, lignin, hemicelluloses Introduction The energy demand of the world is increasing daily and today 30 % of the consumed energy is derived from fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas [1]. Since the resources of these fuels will come to an end and the prices are increasing, it is important to find renewable, cheaper energy sources to meet the increasing demand [1]. Sweden is a country that is, to a large extent, covered in forest. Consequently, products from the forest industry equal 11 % of the total value of exported goods [2]. From the forest the most used raw material is wood and the largest part of the industry itself is the production of pulp and paper [3]. In the making of pulp, the wood is debarked and chopped and then fed to a digester [4]. Here, chemicals are added at a high temperature to separate the fibers from other components of the wood such as lignin, hemicelluloses and extractives [4]. From the digester two streams are obtained, of which one is rich in fibers. This stream is later washed, bleached and dried to get pulp. The other stream is black liquor [4], which is sent to a recovery boiler where the cooking chemicals are regenerated and the organic material is burnt to produce heat and power [5]. Since black liquor contains both hemicellulose and lignin which could be used to produce plastics and biofuels, a separation of this two components from the black liquor would be of interest [6]. The purpose of this study was to separate lignin and hemicelluloses from the black liquor by using membrane filtration. Materials and method Black liquor The black liquor used in this project was softwood black liquor from Södra Cell pulp mill in Mönsterås, Sweden. It was extracted directly after the digester and thus no chemicals for bleaching have been added. The composition of the black liquor used is presented in table 1. Table 1 Composition of the black liquor used. Total lignin 61,4 mg/g Acid-insoluble lignin 53,9 mg/g Acid-soluble lignin 5,03 mg/g Total dry substance 147 mg/g


This paperpresents afuzzy--logic approach tothe energy management ofanembeddedfuelcell system. The mainobjective istostudy oneofthemosttechnological bolts tobeovercome forembeddedfuelcell systems: their energv optimization. To reachthisaim,experimentally validated modelsofalowpower5kWProton Exchange Membranefuel cell (PEMFC)anditsmostpowerhungry ancillary (theFC airsupply system) aredescribed. Allsimulation results have beenperformed usingMatlab/Simulinkla environment. Two fuzzy controllers willbeproposed foiboththeinternal aiir supply control loopandalsoforthewholeembeddedenern management strategy. Index Terms-Fuel cell system, Energy management, Fuzzv controller, Modeling. L.INTRODUCTION Inthelast fewvears. fuelcellvlehicles arebeing developed asapotential alternative totheconvlentional internal combustion engine vehicles. Theyoffer the potential ofhigher fuelefficiency' andloNwer veehicle emi-issions compared totheconvTentional vehicles. Howev-er. anareaneeding further development isarealistic systems analysis combining thevarioussub-systemls and components. Indeed, energ7 optiniization ofthecomplete fuel cell system mustlead toavehicle whoseefficiencv. fromwelltowheel, issignificantly higher thaln that of conventional veliicles. In orderto accomplish this optimization. wehavetoreduce intrinsic fuel cell system internal consumption. Unfortunatel?. incurrent fuel cell generators, upto40%oftdeproduced energ+ isconsm-ned by7alltheir ancillaries. Thus,fuelcells-ystem energy management mustbedonetoallow hannonization ofthe stack andsub-systems behaviors inafuel cell vehicle. Inthefirst partofthis paper, theembedded fuel cell systemcomposed ofa 5kW PEM fuelcellandits ancillaries isdescribed. Ofcourse, suchapowerisnot sufficient forthewholevehicle energr consumption. Therefore, anormalization scale factor (value 10)hasbeen apphed onall powervalues inthis study. Themodels ofthe fuelcellanditsairsupplv circuit basedona motor- compressor group will bepresented. These twomodels are vahdated respectively ona5kWfuelcell andadedicated FCaircompressor test bench. Thesecond part proposes an energy management strategy forthis fuel cell system using a fuzzvcontroller. Inthismanagement twoloopsare present: aninternal airflowregulation loopandanairflow setpoint evaluation loops. Thethird part will bededicated tosimulation results onagiven Avehicle speed profile. Then. behavior of thesystemwithandwithoutenergy managenmenit facing various system faults will bestudied.


Objective To discuss the relevance and clinical practice by determining erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR) with automatic ESR analyzer and traditional Westergren's method. Methods 328 cases' ESR was measured with automatic ESR analyzer and traditional Westergren's method simultaneously. The results were statistically analyzed. Results The difference of ESR measured methods is no distinct (P0.05).The correlation coefficient is 0.9843 and regression equation is Y=0.9587X+0.0538, which indicates the relevance is very well. Conclusion The operation of automatic ESR analyzer is simple and fast, and the measured result is accurate. The automatic ESR analyzer can replace Westergren's method to determine ESR.


The Florida Park Service manages the sites of fifteen plantations in the area once known as East Florida, including the United States-Territorial-Period sugar plantation known as Bulow Plantation. The plantation is now located within the Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park, located in Flagler County approximately two miles north of the Volusia County line and two miles from the Atlantic Coast. Current interpretations at the park are limited in scope, visitation is considered to be relatively low, and the mill structure and associated buildings pose a variety of management issues. The development of solutions for the Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park will be applicable not only to other plantation sites managed by the Florida Park Service, but any state park in Florida and to site managers beyond Florida's boundaries.


Time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) and Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) methods are benchmarked against configuration interaction (CI) calculations of excitation energies and photoabsorption cross sections for small closed shell sodium clusters with up to six atoms in several low energy configurations. The mean absolute deviation of lowest excitation energies of each symmetry in these clusters for TDHF or BSE calculations from CI results is about 0.1 eV. The Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn (TRK) sum rule is satisfied to within numerical accuracy for both TDHF and BSE calculations, however, Tamm-Dancoff approximations applied to either method for these systems yield optical cross sections which grossly violate the TRK sum rule. TDHF and BSE calculations for photoabsorption cross sections of Na8 and Na20 clusters are compared to experiment and found to be in good agreement. A feature in the cross section of Na20 above 4 eV is found to be caused by a large density of optical transitions rather than an incipient volume plasmon with a short lifetime.


Pulmonary histoplasmosis is a rare disease in Europe caused by Histoplasma capsulatum, a dimorphic fungus present in the soil contaminated with
excrements of birds and bats. There are two varieties, variety capsulatum endemic of American continent and variety duboisii endemic of African continent. All cases in Europe were imported. In this article, we present a case of chronic pulmonary histoplasmosis, a rare presentation of histoplasmosis in
an immunocompetent man several years after he has lived in a endemic region of Africa. He complained of fatigue and dyspnea in the last two years. In
computed tomography of the chest, it was verified multiple and bilateral focus of densification with peribronchovascular distribution. Transthoracic lung
biopsy was then requested, whose pathological anatomy revealed epithelioid granulomas infected by yeast from Histoplasma capsulatum.


An integrated population PK analysis of studies A1481131 and A1481140 (adults) was performed, considering the results from study A1481157 (neonates). In this 2-part analysis, the first part focused on the population PK data from study A1481131 in conjunction with data gathered in the adult PAH population from study A1481140. Both data sets were analysed simultaneously, and the resulting integrated population analysis is presented below.


Introduction: Chronic sinusitis with nasal septal deviation is a common condition encountered in ENT practise. Deviated nasal septum leads to altered airflow dynamics in nasal cavity and sinuses causing hypertrophy of mucosa. It leads to osteo-meatal complex obstruction, impaired mucociliary clearance and sinusitis.
Aim: To compare the outcome of septoplasty alone and septoplasty with FESS in patients of chronic maxillary sinusitis with septal deviation.
Materials and Methods: Fifty patients of Chronic maxillary sinusitis with Deviated Nasal Septum (DNS) were included in the study. They were randomly divided into two groups of 25 each. First group (Group A) underwent septoplasty alone while the second group (Group B) underwent septoplasty with FESS. The results were analysed to find out the efficiency of each procedure when done independently and concomitantly.
Results: Mean age in group A was 29.68 years while mean age of group B was 28.96 years. In group A, 19 (76%) were males while in group B, 16 (64%) were males. Nasal obstruction and post nasal drip were present in all patientsAt 12 weeks follow-up, in Group B patients who underwent FESS and Septoplasty only 7 patients out of 25 had nasal obstruction giving 72% improvement while 3 out of 25 patients showed post nasal discharge showing an improvement of 88%. In Group A, 11 out of 25 patients still had nasal obstruction giving only 56% improvement whereas 11 out of 25 had post nasal discharge showing 56% relief. On statistical analysis the results were statistically significant.
Conclusion: Though both groups reported improvement in symptoms as compared to pre-operative state, it was more in Group B which underwent FESS with septoplasty rather than in Group A which underwent septoplasty alone. In deviated nasal septum with features of chronic rhinosinusitis, septoplasty alone is inadequate, therefore FESS must be concomitantly done with septoplasty.


OF DISSERTATION Jennifer Sebert Howard The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2011 CLINICAL AND FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT FOLLOWING AUTOLOGOUS CHONDROCYTE IMPLANTATION TO THE KNEE: THE ROLE OF PATIENT REPORTED OUTCOMES, PERFORMANCE BASED ASSESSMENT, AND RESPONSE SHIFT _________________________________ ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION _________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Kentucky


An investigation of the mesomorphic properties of 3,5-diamino-1-dodecyl-1,2,4-triazole and 3-amino-1,5dodecyl-1,2,4-triazole binary mixture in the ratio of 1:0.75 (four molecules of the rst compound and three of the second) was performed. By means of polarizing optical microscopy, it was discovered that the experimentally obtained binary mixture possesses enantiotropic mesomorphic properties (SmA phase). With the help of the molecular dynamics simulation of both individual triazole derivatives and their binary mixture, it was shown that the SmA-mesophase is caused by the presence of the di-dodecyl substituted triazole derivative.


The 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, dubbed the Rio +20 summit, must focus on patterns of resource use in making the transition to a low-carbon economy. The earth's atmosphere is a strategic resource for the establishment of infrastructure to enable the eradication of poverty, and sustainable development cannot be considered only in terms of environmental damage. As developed countries have not been able to control the forces unleashed by the industrial revolution that have led to climate change, the transformative power of the rise of China will shape new rules for international cooperation. Climate change first came onto the global agenda in 1972 at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. With limited progress under the UNFCCC (1992), the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Copenhagen Accord (2009), the theme of the Rio +20 summit is the transition to a low-carbon economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. The reframing of the issue away from legally binding commitments provides an opportunity for focusing on patterns of resource use in making the transition to global sustainability. The biophysical limits to growth implied in the Cancun Agreements (2010) are the first steps towards a new paradigm, which is yet to be defined. One consequence of the current framework's neglect of patterns of resource use is that ecosystem services delivered outside national boundaries – by the atmosphere and terrestrial natural resources – have been ignored, effectively setting their value to zero in decision making. It is also now being recognized that alternative patterns and processes in how humans use nature in developed and developing countries result in trade-offs for socio-economic systems that are very different to those that focus only on environmental systems (Levin and Clark, 2010). Reconciling competing resource needs with respect to maintaining lifestyles and eradicating poverty is at the core of the climate negotiations, and will shape the deliberations in the Rio +20 summit. The 1992 Rio summit framed international cooperation in terms of burden sharing, determined by responses to international emission reduction commitments. This framing has only led to inconclusive debate between old and new emitters. The modest scale of pledges, accounting loopholes and lack of political support for altering longer-term trends in the US have been a cause of concern at the climate negotiations. Recent analysis also establishes that market mechanisms will not lead to the required technological transformation (IEA, 2010). Although global emissions in 2009 remained constant for the first time since 1992 because of the drop in economic activity, they could again viewpoint


Introduction: Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic condition characterized by an impaired ability to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine into tyrosine, a precursor of dopamine and other neurotransmitters [1]. Whereas early and continued dietary treatment significantly reduces the impact of PKU on a patient, individuals with early-treated PKU (ETPKU) continue to experience neurologic and cognitive disruptions [2]. The most widelyreported neurologic finding in ETPKU is that of white matter abnormality as visualized on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan [3]. More recent studies utilizing diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) methods have reported a decreased rate of water diffusion (as measured by apparent diffusion coefficient or mean diffusivity value) in the white matter of individuals with ETPKU as compared with individuals without PKU [4]. Importantly, the majority of these past studies have relied on region-of-interest (ROI) analyses, which rely on a priori hypotheses and are limited to selection of a few white matter tracts. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate white matter fiber tract-specific changes in individuals with ETPKU compared to healthy non-PKU individuals by means of tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) approach (FSL, Oxford, UK). We hypothesized that white matter compromise in individuals with ETPKU would be distributed across many cortico-cortical as well as subcortico-cortical tracts.


Based on the four-phase sphere model, a five-phase sphere model predicting the elastic modulus of FRP-confined concrete was built up, by considering the effect of FRP sheet. The model can describe the elastic modulus of the FRP, the stirrup ratio, the aggregate volume fraction, the aggregate size and the interfacial transition zone (ITZ), et al. on the development of the elastic modulus of FRP-confined concrete with age. By comparing with the experimental data, the five-phase sphere model evaluates the tests well


Theme - Advancing (by discovering and creating, developing innovative ideas and strategies, including and incorporating the learning and perspectives of others):Strategic thinking can and has enabled the benefits of early intervention and prevention of legal problems and their escalation. This goes beyond one-to-one case work and can address problem at their core. This paper will explore easy, useable, relevant and replicable results of research evaluations undertaken by Curran of what is effective legal service action that has prevented the public from having to go through the same problem and thus enhancing service impact. Reflective practice is a key way to inform strategic action and continuous learning and how this can be done will also be explored. This paper examines case studies from CLCs, good practice, responsiveness, strategic thinking and processes that foster having significant impact. It will share how to, up to date action research, facilitate sharing of experiences through the session's interactive approach. The session will take an adult learning approach to delivery meaning it will involve centres in discussion about their experiences rather than being in a traditional or lecture mode of delivery. People in the room have expertise and skills that can be shared by all in participants in the session.


A zero-strain insertion material of Li2Ni0.2Co1.8O4 having a spinel framework was synthesized and showed very small dimensional change during charge–discharge reaction with large volumetric capacity.


Few plays endorse the social and cultural value of theatre as explicitly as Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Country's Good. like Thomas Keneally's novel The Play maker, on which it is based, Our Country's Good recounts an historical event, the first production of a play in Australia: The Recruiting Officer, performed by convicts in Sydney Cove in 1789. The convicts' participation in the rehearsal and performance of George Farquhar's play reforms their manners, enables them to become a community that cares about and is prepared to make sacrifices for something larger than the individual, allows them to undermine at least in small ways oppressive authority, and gives to each of the actors a sense of self worth and hope for the future. The production of the play also transforms Ralph Clark, the officer who directs it. From a timid, self-serving individual who originally undertakes the task to curry favor with the Governor, he becomes someone willing to make a personal sacrifice for the play and able to appreciate the convicts as individuals with their own points of view. Our Country's Good concludes with the beginning of the first scene of The Recruiting Officer performed to the music of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and the laughter and applause of the First Fleet audience, in which the actual theatre audience joins. In accordance with the author's wishes, Wertenbaker's play shows ''how theater can be a humanizing force" for victims of brutalization. Theatre critics in both London and New York have generally praised Our Country's Good as a celebration of "the redemptive powers of theatre.,,4 Several academic critics, however, have noted some problematic erasures and unresolved tensions underlying the optimistic progress and triumphant conclusion of Our Country's Good. For one, Wertenbaker


Resistance to, or intolerance of, imatinib mesylate in patients with CML has encouraged the development of other Bcr-Abl inhibitors. AMN107 is a novel oral aminopyrimidine ATP-competitive inhibitor of the protein tyrosine kinase activity of Bcr-Abl. Following oral administration to animals, AMN107 is well absorbed, has a good pharmacokinetic profile, and is well tolerated. The activity of AMN107, relative to imatinib, in both imatinib sensitive (KBM5 and KBM7) and corresponding imatinib-resistant (KBM5-STI571 R1.0 and KBM7-STI571 R1.0 ) cell lines was studied. KBM5 cells contain multiple copies of the Ph chromosome but lack the normal c-ABL. KBM7 cell line is near haploid. KBM5 and KBM7 cells differ in their response to imatinib exposure: no apoptosis with G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in KBM5 cells in contrast to apoptosis in KBM7 cells. KBM5-STI571 R1.0 and KBM7-STI571 R1.0 have an imatinib IC 50 (concentration that kills 50% of the cells) about twenty times higher then the value in the corresponding parental cell line. KBM5- STI571 R1.0 have a marginal increase in the BCR-ABL gene copy number, modest increase in p210 protein expression, but a highly imatinib-resistant Bcr/Abl tyrosine kinase activity associated with the acquisition of a single C-T change at ABL nucleotide 944 (T315I). KBM7-STI571 R1.0 cells have no mutations within the ATP-binding domain of the Bcr/Abl, but have amplification of BCR/ABL gene and increased levels of expression of Bcr/Abl p210 protein, with decreased inhibition of the Bcr/Abl tyrosine kinase activity by imatinib, and loss of apoptotic response to imatinib. AMN107 showed higher potency in KBM5 cells than imatinib in suppressing cell growth (MTS assay) with IC 50 values of 11.3 nM and 480.5 nM respectively. With KBM5-STI571 R1.0 , IC 50 were 2418.3 nM and 6361.4 nM for AMN107 and imatinib, respectively. The IC 50 for AMN107 and imatinib treatment in KBM7 cell line were 4.3 nM and 259.0 nM, respectively. In KBM7-STI571 R1.0 IC 50 were 97.2 nM and 2497.3 nM for AMN107 and imatinib, respectively. In experiments focused on cell cycle analysis and caspase-3 activity, the cell cycle distribution and apoptotic responses induced by imatinib and AMN107 appeared generally similar in all four ell lines, but at significantly lower concentrations of AMN107 (corresponding to findings in MTS assay). At a concentration of 2.5 mM, imatinib inhibited completely Bcr-Abl phosphorylation in both KBM5 and KBM7 cells, while AMN107 achieved the same effect at 125.0 nM In imatinib-resistant cells imatinib did not completely inhibit Bcr-Abl phosphorylation even when doses as high as 10.0 mM were applied, while AMN107 inhibited Bcr-Abl phosphorylation at 2.5 mM. The survival of SCID mice bearing KBM5 cells treated with AMN107 was significantly extended when compared with controls. Irradiated female five weeks old SCID mice were injected intraperitonealy (ip) with 2.4 x 10 7 KBM5 cells on Day 0. Treatment with AMN107 started on Day 20 and was given daily ip for 20 days. T/C survival ratios were 144%, 159%, and 182% for groups treated with 10, 20, and 30 mg/kg, respectively. AMN107 has significant activity against imatinib-sensitive and - i matini b resistant CML and warrants investigation in patients with CML.


We report lattice and molecular dynamics studies on the vibrational and thermodynamic properties of PuO2. We have used a transferable interatomic model to understand the properties of the compound. Our computed elastic data, structure and specific heat are in good agreement with reported experimental and first principles results. We observe that plutonium dioxide exhibits fast ion conduction at around 2500 K. The mean square displacements of the oxygen atoms are an order of magnitude greater than that of Pu. The greater amplitude and smaller size of the oxygen ion facilitates its easy diffusion. This behavior is in sync with similar fast ion conduction in other nuclear oxides like UO2 and ThO2.


The study aims to explore the effects of microRNA‐206 (miR‐206) targeting IGF‐1 on the activation of hippocampal astrocytes in aged rats induced by sevoflurane through the PI3K/AKT/CREB signaling pathway. Wistar rats and astrocytes were divided into the normal/blank, sham/negative control (NC), sevoflurane (sevo), miR‐206 mimics+sevo, miR‐206 inhibitors+sevo, miR‐206 NC+sevo, IGF‐1 shRNA+sevo, and miR‐206 inhibitors+IGF‐1 shRNA+sevo groups. The Morris water maze test was exhibited to assess the cognitive functions. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression was detected by immunofluorescence assay. Western blotting and RT‐qPCR were used to detect the expression of miR‐206, IGF‐1, PI3K, AKT, CREB, pPI3K, pAKT, pCREB, cytochrome‐c (Cyt‐c), and caspase‐3. Cell viability and apoptosis were detected by MTT assay and annexin V/PI double staining respectively. Mitochondrial transmembrane potential (MTP) were determined by flow cytometry. The IGF‐1 shRNA+sevo group showed reduced miR‐206 expression. Compared with the normal/blank group, the sevo, and miR‐206 NC+sevo groups showed decreased miR‐206 and GFAP expressions, cell viability and MTP but increased expressions of IGF‐1, PI3K, AKT, CREB, pPI3K, pAKT, pCREB, Cyt‐c and caspase‐3, as well as cell apoptosis. Similar trends were observed in the miR‐206 inhibitors+sevo group when compared with the sevo group. The study provides evidence that miR‐206 alleviates the inhibition of activation of hippocampal astrocytes in aged rats induced by sevoflurane by targeting IGT‐1 through suppressing the PI3K/AKT/CREB signaling pathway.


This article examines the PRC's post-Cultural Revolution project of legal development, the largest such undertaking in world history. It commences with a review of the achievements and shortcomings of legal construction in the PRC over the past two decades. The article then probes the rationale for and nature of this project, in so doing endeavoring to situate it historically. In its final section, the article suggests ways in which we might think of assessing China's efforts at constructing a legal system within a single generation.


Aims We report the case of a male infant who presented following a normal pregnancy with typical symptoms of X-linked infantile spinal muscular atrophy including hypotonia, weakness, areflexia and respiratory insufficiency, however contractures were absent. X-linked infantile spinal muscular atrophy (SMAX2), OMIM 301830, is a rare, severe form of spinal muscular atrophy, caused by variants in the Ubiquitin like modifier-activating enzyme 1 (UBA1) gene1. Clinical features reported to date include marked hypotonia, areflexia, arthrogryposis, contractures, myopathic facies, tongue fibrillations and cryptorchidism2. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of SMAX2 to present without contractures. Methods This infant was born at 40+4 weeks following a normal pregnancy to non-consanguineous Irish parents. Intermittent stridor was noted following delivery, laryngomalacia was diagnosed following review by ENT. At 8 weeks old there was an acute event at home with colour change and poor feeding for 2 days. On presentation to ED, there was marked increased work of breathing, weakness, absent deep tendon reflexes, hypotonia, myopathic facies and weak cry. Eyes were bright and there was no ophthalmoplegia or contractures. A significant family history of neuromuscular disease on the patient's maternal side was noted, with several male relatives all dying before the age of six months. Creatine Kinase was mildly elevated, MRI Brain was normal and neurophysiological testing revealed a diffuse motor neuronopathy. Genetic testing for SMN1 gene was normal. UBA1 sequencing revealed a maternally inherited hemizygous familial variant [c.1681G>A p. (Asp561Asn)], which has not been previously reported. Results To our knowledge, only six families with SMA2 have been confirmed at a molecular level to date. Conclusions After ruling out 5q SMA,×linked infantile spinal muscular atrophy should be considered in male patients with anterior horn cell disease in the absence of contractures.


A cooler-equipped printed circuit board (10) in which electronic devices (3) arranged in a matrix form on the printed circuit board are covered with a sealed case (20) held in liquidtight contact with the board and having a coolant channel from an inlet port (61) and an outlet port (62) made in the case. Barriers (24) are provided in the coolant channel to change the direction of flow of the coolant to stir it and make its temperature uniform throughout it. In further embodiments, components mounted on both sides of the circuit boards are cooled by providing a through hole in the board, and providing board (see e.g. Fig.8A). Also, components which require less cooling can be located outside the case and be subjected to air cooling by a fan (see Fig.12).


When is having no previous contract better than having one, if ever? When should a manufacturer/retailer take over part (or all) of the other party's operation, instead of considering just a contract? How about the opposite situation? This paper responds these questions in the context of a Supply Chain under a single period scenario where both the manufacturer and the retailer can exert uncontractible effort that may or may not be specific to the relationship. We thus contribute to the Supply Chain Literature with a new application of the economics' incomplete contract approach to vertical integration.


We discuss the geometry and arithmetic of higher-dimensional analogues of Châtelet surfaces; namely, we describe the structure of their Brauer and Picard groups and show that they can violate the Hasse principle. In addition, we use these varieties to give straightforward generalizations of two recent results of Poonen. Specifically, we prove that, assuming Schinzel's hypothesis, the non-m powers of a number field are diophantine. Also, given a global field k such that char(k) = p or k contains the p roots of unity, we construct a (p + 1)-fold that has no k-points and no étale-Brauer obstruction to the Hasse principle.


Background. COVID-19 disease is often severe, and therefore it is rational to use vaccination. But many men have concerns about its effect on fertility, which requires clarification. Aim. Evaluation of the quality of the ejaculate and the levels of total testosterone during the use of the Gam-Covid-Vac vaccine (Sput-nik-V). Material and methods. The pilot observational prospective study included 30 men with normozoospermia and 30 with pathozoosper-mia, who have been vaccinated with Gam-Covid-Vac. The study period was from March 2021 to June 2021. The total blood testosterone level and parameters of ejaculate quality were determined. The comparisons were carried out in dynamics, the differences were considered statistically significant at p<0.05. Results. The effect of vaccination on total testosterone levels was not revealed. The effect of vaccination on the parameters of the ejaculate quality in patients with pathozoospermia was not revealed. In the group of patients with normozoospermia among patients with impaired sperm motility, which was –5[–7;–3]% and had no clinical significance, an increase in temperature after vaccination was statistically significantly more frequent. Conclusion. There was no negative effect of the vaccine on total testosterone levels and ejaculate quality. © 2021, Media Sphera Publishing Group. All rights reserved.


Model-Based Design with automatic flight code generation is used to develop a variety of aerospace electronic systems including integrated avionics, jet engine controls, and flight control systems. The software deployed in these systems undergoes rigorous verification and validation because the consequences of software failure are severe. New code checking and analysis tools have recently emerged with tight integrations to the modeling and code generation environment provided by Simulink.


The seedling experiments of nine Zenia insignis provenances from their major distribution districts were conducted.The results showed that there existed extreme differences in leaf width,length and area among provenances in seedling stage,which correlated with the seed size and thousand-seed weight.There were not significant difference in seedling height,basal diameter and biomass among provenances.Z.insignis adapts sunshine and was heat-tolerance.The basal diameter increment in July and August took 47.38%~51.90% of the annual total,while the height increment took 62.82%~69.06% of the annual total.So,the cold-tolerance trait should be the key factor in Z.insignis provenance selection.The individual selection was the key to cultivate fast-growing fine varieties.


The Stratton Ridge salt dome is a large salt diapir located only some ten miles from the currently active Strategic Petroleum Reserve Site at Bryan Mound, Texas. The dome is approximately 15 miles south-southwest of Houston. The Stratton Ridge salt dome has been intensively developed, in the desirable central portions, with caverns for both brine production and product storage. This geologic technical assessment indicates that the Stratton Ridge salt dome may be considered a viable, if less-than-desirable, candidate site for potential expansion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Past development of underground caverns significantly limits the potential options for use by the SPR. The current conceptual design layout of proposed caverns for such an expansion facility is based upon a decades-old model of salt geometry, and it is unacceptable, according to this reinterpretation of salt dome geology. The easternmost set of conceptual caverns are located within a 300-ft buffer zone of a very major boundary shear zone, fault, or other structural feature of indeterminate origin. This structure transects the salt stock and subdivides it into an shallow western part and a deeper eastern part. In places, the distance from this structural boundary to the design-basis caverns is as little asmore » 150 ft. A 300-ft distance from this boundary is likely to be the minimum acceptable stand-off, from both a geologic and a regulatory perspective. Repositioning of the proposed cavern field is possible, as sufficient currently undeveloped salt acreage appears to be available. However, such reconfiguration would be subject to limitations related to land-parcel boundaries and other existing infrastructure and topographic constraints. More broadly speaking, the past history of cavern operations at the Stratton Ridge salt dome indicates that operation of potential SPR expansion caverns at this site may be difficult, and correspondingly expensive. Although detailed information is difficult to come by, widely accepted industry rumors are that numerous existing caverns have experienced major operational problems, including salt falls, sheared casings, and unintended releases of stored product(s). Many of these difficulties may be related to on-going differential movement of individual salt spines or to lateral movement at the caprock-salt interface. The history of operational problems, only some of which appear to be a matter of public record, combined with the potential for encountering escaped product from other operations, renders the Stratton Ridge salt dome a less-than-desirable site for SPR purposes.« less


was medium or tall., averaging about x.670 metres (5 ft. 53 in.) to about 1.7o8 metres (5 ft. 73 in.). Roughly speaking, the whole of Africa south of the equator, with the exception of the dwindling flashmenand Hottentot elements,was inhabited by Bantu-speaking peoples, who wereextremelyheterogeneous, but who exhibited sufficient similarities in physical and cultural characteristics to warrant their being grouped together; the true Negro might be regarded as a race, the Bantu were mixed peoples. The physical characteristics of the Bantu varied very considerably. The skin colouw was said to range from yellowish-brown to dull slaty-brown a dark chocolate colour being the prevalent hue. The character of the hair called for no special remark, as it was so uniformly of the ordinary Negro type. The stature ranged from an average of about 5 ft. 4in. to 5 ft. 71 in. The Bantu peoples might be roughly divided according to culture into two groups-a western zone, which skirted the West African region and extended through Angola and German West Africa into Cape Colony; and an eastern zone. (I) The western Bantu zone was characterized by beehive huts, the absence of circumcision, and the presence of wooden shields (plain or cornered with cane work) in its northern portion, though skin shields occur to the south; (2) in the eastern Banta zone the huts were cylindrical, with a separate conical roof. The natives lived in rounded huts with pointed roofs ; their weapons comprised spears, bows, with bowstrings of animal products, elub and skin shields, but slings were usually absent; knocking out of the lower incisors was general, circumcision was common; ancestor worship was the prevalen-t form of religion, fetishism and polytheism were undevelopedmasks and r.epresentations oI human figures were rare, ana there were no secret societies; anthropophagy was sporadic and usually temporary. The mixture of Hamite with Negro, which gave rise to the primitive Bantu stock, might have originated somewhere to the east or north-east of theVictoria Nyanza. A factor of great importance in the ,evolution of the Bantu was to be found in the great diversity of climate and Boil in Equatorial East Africa. The earliest inhabitants of South Africa of whom we had any definite information were the dwarf Bushmen, who undoubtedly represented a primitive variety of mankind. In a land abounding with game, they devoted themselves entirely to the chase, supplementing their diet with fruit and roots. There was reason to believe that in early days the Bushmen were divided into a number of large tribes, occupying tolerably viell-defined tracts of country, each being under the jurisdiction of a paramount chief. The tribes were subdivided into groups under captains. They showed great attachment and loyalty to their chiefs, and exhibited a passionate love for their country. For hundreds of years these poor people had been harried, and their hunting grounds taken away from them, and hence we must not judge the race by the miserable anarchic remnant that still persisted in waste places. When the written history of South Africa began the Bushmen were already being encroached upon by the Hottentots, who tbemselves sprang from a very early cross of Bantu and Bushmen. Culturally, as well as physically, they might be regarded as a blend of these two stocks. But the Hottentots could not prevail against the colonists; their improvidence was increased by alcohol, and their indifference to the possession of land, due to their inherent love of wandering, completed their ruin. The Bantu were cattle rearers who practised agriculture. The former industry probably was transmitted from their Hamitic forefathers, who were herdsmen on the grassy uplands of north-eastern Africa, while the latter aptitude was probably due in part to their Negro ancestry. This duality of occupation led to variability in mode of life. The history of the prolidc Bantu peoples on the whole indi' cated that they were as loosely attached to the soil aswere the ancient Germans, and like the latter, at the slightest provocation, they would abandon their country and seek another home. In certain lands of the Old World, north of the equator, there was a progressive evolution from the stone ages, through a copper and a bronze age, to that of iron; but the stoneworiker of South Africa appeared to have been introduced to iron-smelting without having passed through the earlier metal phases, since the occurrence of copper implements was too limited to warrant the belief that it represented a definite phase of culture. The similarity of the processes employed in working iron by the different tribes of Africa, south of the equator, indicated that the culture was introduced from without-a conclusion supported by the universal use of the double bellows; a similar instrument was in use in India and in the East Indian Archipelago. Some ethnologists held that Africa owed to India its iron industry and other elements of culture, as well as the introduction of the ox, pig, arid fowl. At all events) they would probably not be far wrong if they assigned a fair degree of antiquity to the knowledge of iron in tropical and southern Africa. The characteristic mnetal of South Africa was gold, and its abundance had had a profound effect on the country, although it was not employed by any of the native races on their own initiative. The hundreds of ruins scattered over a large extent of country, and the very extensive ancient workings, testified to the importance and the long continuance of this industry; for there could be no doubt that the builders of these wonderful remains came to this country mainly for the sake of ite goldfields, though there must also have been an important trade in ivory, and incidentally in other local produce. Further, the discoverers must have come from a country where quarrying and metal-smelting were practised, and this implied the organization of labour, for in early times, as history abundantly proved, mining was always undertaken by means of forced labour. The gold-workers, who probably came from Southern Arabia, belonged to a much higher social order than any of the peoples with whom they came into contact, and with their discipline in war and their industrial training they were able to subdue the Bantu inhabitants over -immense tracts between the Zambesi and the Limpopo, to reduce them to slavery, to organize the working of the gold mines, and to establish a chain of forts and a system of communication with the coast. It was greatly to be deplored that in the past irresponsible prospectors had been permitted to rifle the ancient ruins for gold, with the result that not only had very numerous specimens of archaeological interest been cast into the melting-pot, but at the same time collateral evidence had been destroyed, and thus valuable data lost to science. Even now the situation was not without its dangers, for the recently-awakened interest in the ruins, and appreciation of their historical value, might lead to unconsidered zeal in excavation.


Thspaperintroduces theconcept ofregenerative dampingin vibraio ncontrot thestorage ofengynormally dissipatd bya assive visoDus damper. Adevice, theVariable Linear Transmission, isproposed toaccomplish this task. Analysis ofthepoposed device asadampinatypical passenger vehicle isconducted forthecases inwhichthe device's active compo operat ideally andwithactation dynamics included. Results indicate thatregenerative vibration control isfeasible andcanprovide damping nealy identical tothat ofapassive visous dampewhile storing the d energ. Introducto Aneedfor moreenagy efficiaet ur vehicles motivates theanalysis ofallenerydissting vehicle elements as potenial sources ofenergy recovy. eshock ab is onesuchehtment Regeneration ofwasteenargy iscommon toavamety of hamcal systems. Automobis prhefuel andwarmtheir passenger conmartments using wasteengine heat. egenerative traking systems we icporated inelectric autbilsinhelOs andareusedinelectric commuter rail systems t mproveenergy efficncy. Increased public andgovermeat sensitivity towastefl energy usehasl to stricter fuel economy requirements forautomobiles and subsequently thei in9fmoreenergydemices inautomobtil. Allenergy dissipate mechanical devices are subject toanalysis aspotential energy sources, theviscous shockQ absorber notexcluded. Anautomotive suspension disspates energy tofacilitate passenger isolaton, incorprating viscous dampers (shock absorbes) asprimary dissngelmts.Simulaion studies conducted bySe and iao-Pei [1]indicate that approximately 200Wattofpower aredissipated bythefour ockabsorbers ofapassener cartrversing apoormadway at13.4m/s(30mph).Direct measurements ofpower dissipated inapassenger carshock absorber 2]indicate that onatypical urban roadway, approximately 4 to60Watts of power canbedissipated bythe-fou shock absorbers combined. Although these ouu semsmall, Browne andHanb 121 conclude that r eneration ofthis poweriswarranted oir circumstances schasusebyelectric vehicles orasapower sourceforlowpoweraccessories likedefrosters and windshield wipers. Motivation forfurther investigation ofthe shock absorber asaregenerative element isbased onreasons including shear available power. Several reasonsledtoanalysis ofregenerative vibration control. Although recovery ofnormally dissipated vibration control energy appears tobeaformidable task, research may indicate otherwise. Ifaninexpensive regenerative damper can bemadeavailable, thepower itproduces maybeconsidered worthitsaddition toavehicle design. Several usesfor regenerated energy existPehaps themostpromising is-its rease atthesteofcollection bythesuspension. Luxury cars arecurrnty being fited withfuly active suspension systems. These systems areknwwn todissipate energy aswell asrequire anenergy source. Afairly efficient regenerative damper may supply i thepowernecessry tooperate theactive portion of thefully active suspension, eliminaung theneedfor anexternal powersource.Redfield [3] showsthat fortypical design ranges ofactive damping, anactively damped vehicle operated overarandomroadway willrequire less thanhalf ofthe energy dissipated bythepassive viscous damper tooperate the active portion ofathesuspension. Figure 1showstheratio of powerr equired bytheactivedamDer topowerdissipated by thepassive damper. Thisratio isplotted asafuniion ofthe raio ofacivedanging coefficient tornminal passive dan coefficient, BAIB,wheretypical desvalues range trom 0.5to2.0.Thisdesign range iswhereactive damping is effective, Inthisapplication, theregenerative damper produces moreenergy onaroughroadwhentheactive suspsion requres moreenergy amdproduces less energy ona smooch roadwhenless energy ineeded. Thus, thesource pruestheprop r tion ofeergyataltintduring opfaa DAMPING FOCERATIO - ACTIVE/PASSIVE


Service robots need to be able to recognize and identify objects located within complex backgrounds. Since no single method may work in every situation, several methods need to be combined so that robots can select the appropriate one automatically. In this paper we propose a scheme to classify situations depending on the characteristics of the object of interest and user demand. We classify situations into four categories and employ different techniques for each. We use SIFT, kernel PC A (KPCA) in conjunction with support vector machine (SVM) using intensity, color, and Gabor features for four categories. We show that the use of appropriate features is important for the use of KPCA and SVM based techniques on different kinds of objects. Through experiments we show that by using our categorization scheme a service robot can select an appropriate feature and method, and considerably improve its recognition performance. Yet, recognition is not perfect. Thus, we propose to combine the autonomous method with an interactive method that allows the robot to recognize the user request for a specific object and class when the robot fails to recognize the object.


Studies focusing on the relationship between periodontitis and systemic diseases have suggested a possible association between these two chronic and inflammatory disorders. We aimed to comparatively investigate the salivary oxidative status, biomarker levels, clinical findings, and the microbial load on subgingival biofilm samples in psoriasis patients and controls.


This paper presents the particular issues associated with a financial flow control, cash flow management techniques, and the issue of using the logistic approach to control financial flows.


Introduction: Pan-Asian Ideology and the Fifteen Years' War Conceptual Roadmap: Tea, China, and Leadership Prelude to the Fifteen Years' War From Internationalism to Pan-Asianism Manchukuo, a Case of Pan-Nationalist Imperialism The China War and Its Pan-Asian Rescue The Ozaki-Sorge Incident: The Spy Ring and Its Pan-Asianist Recourse The War of 'World-Historical Significance' Pan-Asianism in the Co-Prosperity Sphere Conclusion: From Tea to Co-Prosperity


To solve the problems that the auto-disturbance rejection controller(ADRC) has too many parameters and it is very difficult to calculate a set of optimal parameters without determinate tuning algorithms,an intelligent simulated annealing (SA) algorithm combining with some known tuning rules is proposed.The proposed algorithm improves the search rules of the original simulated annealing algorithm,and increases the parameter search range and efficiency.At last,a simulation example is given to prove the validity of the improved intelligent simulated annealing algorithm.


Injection-molded component (1) with integrated septum (2), wherein a circumferential edge of the septum (2) directly with the material of the injection component (1), and wherein during the production of the injection component (1) of the shrinkage produced by the cooling of the injection molded part ( 1) generates a defined radial and axial compression in the septum (2).


Due to difficulties in obtaining consistent and/or reliable measures of deoxynivalenol (DON) in complete swine diets, we investigated whether measuring DON in biological samples could be used as an indicator of DON ingestion in pigs. In this study, graded levels of DON (1, 3, or 5 ppm) were fed to grower-finisher pigs for a period of 77-d. On d 35 and 77 of the study, urine samples were quantitatively collected over a 24-h period and blood samples were collected between 3 – 4 h after the morning meal on each of those days for serum DON analysis. For direct quantification of DON in urine, high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was performed. For serum samples, indirect quantification of DON was performed via enzymatic hydrolysis. We observed that DON content in urine increased linearly as intake of DON increased (Fig.1A; P < 0.05). Analysis of DON in serum follow a similar trend, where serum DON content was increased as DON intake increased (Fig.1B; P < 0.05). An average of 30% of DON ingested was recovered as DON in urine over a 24-h period. In summary, there was a linear relationship between DON intake and DON content in both urine and blood serum, therefore, analyzing DON concentration in serum and urine could be used as a tool to estimate for DON exposure in pigs under controlled conditions.


The objective of the present study is the defined intervention in the process and system technology for controlling the current, temperature, and compressive stress functions over the entire length of the weld during high‐frequency welding of locally hardened materials. Special objectives of this study are to determine and optimise the effects on locally hardened material zones. An effective technique for analytically determining the effect of the system technology (for instance, the design of the clamping devices) on the target parameters under investigation is the finite element method. As an example, one of the FEM models developed within the scope of the current project for determining the current density and temperature distribution in the welded components is described in the present article.


Machining technology is one of the most important sectors influencing mechanical products' manufacturing quality and manufacturing efficiency directly. The scientific and rational machining technology design is the key to determine mechanical products' cost-performance ratio and whether the design is successful. For decision-making of the design scheme of machining technology is one important and complicated process influenced by many different factors directly, the decision-making methodology of determining the scientific and rational design scheme of machining technology is proposed based on fuzzy logic. The goal of determining the optimum design scheme of machining technology is achieved by application of the methodology of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. Finally, an example of decision-making of design scheme of machining technology based on the methodology of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation on one certain workpiece is represented for the illustration of the proposed methodology, and the result indicates that the optimum design scheme of machining technology is provided by the methodology of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation.


A manuscript in the journal recently cited experimental rat data from two manuscripts to support plausibility of a thesis that ochratoxin A might be a cause of human testicular cancer. I believe that there is no experimental evidence that ochratoxin A produces testicular cancer in rats or mice.


The following narrative describes the experiences of women in small-scale mining and other economic activities at Kefetia, in the Upper East region of Ghana. The ways in which economic activities of women are influenced by social factors—such as the culturally determined position of women in the Ghanaian society—are discussed. The cultural challenges faced by these hardworking women account for their vulnerability in the mines.


For a finite abelian group $G$, we compute the $G$-equivariant formal group law corresponding to the $G$-equivariant complex cobordism spectrum with its canonical complex orientation.


A cyber attack modifies the behavior of its target application or system such that it is outside of its intended or desired range of behavior. The challenge is that one cannot predict the attack mechanism that will cause the modified behavior or when and how the target's behavior will diverge. Thus, if one restricts one's sensors to a particular aspect of the system or looks for specific malicious behavior, one is likely to miss the attack. This paper describes an approach for simultaneously examining multiple network and host abstraction layers to discover anomalous behavior and then correlating anomalies to determine whether an attack is taking place and, when applicable, select an automatic response. We have used this approach to implement host-based and network-based intrusion detection systems, HIDAR and NIDAR, for enterprise networks, as well as sister systems for tactical networks. We discuss both the potential performance of the approach and our real-world experiences. In this venue, we focus on our NIDAR experiences in government and corporate networks under both experiments and live operation.