SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
Introduction Plasma Techniques Used in Slurry Analysis
Importance of Slurry Particle Size on
Analytical Performance Slurry Preparation Grinding Methods
Dispersion of Slurries Magnetic Stirring and Vortex Mixing
Ultrasonic Agitation
Solid Particle Size Distribution Measurements Influence of Slurry
Concentration Modifications to the Sample Introduction System
Nebulizers
Spray Chambers
Torches
Use of a Sheathing Gas
Use of a Tandem Source
Use of Flow Injection
Use of an Inverted Geometry Plasma
Calibration Techniques Aqueous Calibration
Use of Internal Standards
Use of Standard Additions
Use of Empirical Correction Factors
Use of Intrinsic Internal Standardization
Use of Standard Slurries
Optimization Use of Mixed Gas Plasmas Matrix Effects Fundamental
Studies Aerosol Formation, Transportation and Loss
Temperature Measurements
Applications of Slurry Sample Nebulization into Plasmas References


This research purposed to optimize, investigate and evaluate the influence of xanthan gum, sodium bicarbonate-citric acid as effervescent components and hardness on floatation behavior and drug release of gastro-floating captopril tablet with floating system. A 2 3 full factorial design (8 runs) was applied to optimize the floating captopril tablet using xanthan gum (X 1 ), ratio of effervescent components (X 2 ) and hardness (X 3 ) as independent variables. Optimum area was determined by superimposed contour plot of floating lag time (Y 1 ), cumulative drug release at 60min (Q 60 ) (Y 2 ) and drug release constant rate (Y 3 ) using Design Expert ® software. Xanthan gum, effervescent components and hardness were affected the floatation behavior and drug release. Hardness was the most dominant factor affected the floatation behavior and drug release. Based on superimposed contour plot, the optimum area was in range of xanthan gum 58–100mg, sodium bicarbonate 45–63mg, citric acid 7–25mg and hardness at 70–98N.


Preliminary results on the infiltration of semiconductor materials, such as CuInSe 2 (CIS), onto porous silicon (PSi) templates, by using electrodeposition (ED) are presented in this work. PSi was prepared by electrochemical etching of p-type c-Si wafers in an electrolyte solution based on HF and ethanol. PSi monolayers were then used as templates to prepare semiconductor materials by filling up the pores, in this way nanobars (NBs) or nanowires (NWs) of CIS can be obtained, exploiting thus the large specific surface area of PSi. The ED of CIS onto the PSi templates was carried out using an acidic aqueous buffered bath that contains the three active ionic species.


Blends of poly(sulfone of bisphenol A) (PSU) with poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) were obtained by direct injection moulding across the composition range. The two components of the blends reacted slightly in the melt state, producing linear copolymers. The slight changes observed in the two glass transition temperatures indicate that the copolymers were present in the two amorphous phases of the blends. The observed reactions and the high viscosity of the matrix of the PSU-rich compositions led to a very fine morphology which could not be attained in the PBT-rich compositions due to the low viscosity of the matrix and the direct injection moulding procedure used. This procedure is fast and economically advantageous, but leads to poor mixing. The different morphologies influenced neither the modulus nor the yield stress, which tended to follow the rule of mixtures. However, the low fracture properties of the PBT-rich compositions contrasted with the ductility behaviour, and even the impact strength of the PSU-rich blends, which also tended to be proportional to the blend composition. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry


Many of the critiques stem from a lack of understanding as regards the specific research questions and methodological approach adopted in our research. That is understandable to the extent that this level of detail was not included within our joint response to the Issues Statement. But there are several serious misstatements of what our original submission contained, notwithstanding Mr Kenny"s acknowledgement that "It may be that the details of that methodology would mitigate some of the concerns above." 1


Patricia Townsend explores the complexities of what it means to be an artist in her book Creative States of Mind: Psychoanalysis and the Artist's Process by questioning the internal and external states of an artist and their approach to art-making as it relates to psychoanalytic theory. Drawing from the work of psychoanalysts such as, Donald Winnicott, Melanie Klein, and Christopher Bollas, Townsend provides insight into the stages of the creative process as it evolves from the artists unconscious into a finished artwork. Townsend's background is in both art and psychoanalysis. Her art practice centers on moving image, photography, and installations. She obtained a PhD from the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, where she completed much of her research on this topic. In the introduction, Townsend states that she is "interested not only in what artists do as they make a new work but also how they feel" (p. 2). Throughout the book, she argues that there are multiple stages to an artist's creative process. She breaks down these stages chapter to chapter starting with the "pre-sense" or first unconscious connection an artist may have with a potential idea for an artwork, to its final release into the world for exhibition. Her investigation leads us into the internal and external influences of how an artist develops an idea. Beyond the "pre-sense" and development of an idea, later stages include the artists relationship to their medium, state of mind during creation, experiences of playfulness and also aggression, and how the space of their studio or canvas can act as a container for creative productivity. Her research methods into the artist's process consist of a heuristic study on Townsend's own experience as an artist, interviews with 33 artists she has direct access to, and an extensive literature review of psychoanalytic theory as it relates to the research subjects. For example, Townsend draws a connection between early childhood attachment, or the mother-infant relationship, and how an artist forms a relationship to their artwork. She discusses Winnicott's concept of a transitional object and transitional phenomena as the transition an artist might have during the "pre-sense" stage, where their unconscious connection or spark of artistic inspiration becomes a potential idea that requires further investigation. In each chapter, Townsend provides detailed examples of artists experience along with theoretical text that bring into question the artist's process, making it easily digestible for the reader. She encompasses the artist experience in what it means to be human as the artist yearns to connect with themselves and the outside world through visual expression. As an art therapist, I find there is a dual identity between the artist and therapist self within our field. Townsend infuses the two, allowing us as clinicians the space to question our own relationship to art-making and the therapeutic value it holds. It would be interesting to know more about Townsend's professional identity as a psychoanalyst as it relates to her art practice. I would be curious to know if it influences her creative process more than her artist counterparts in this book. Although she speaks firsthand about her own artistic process, I found she highlights the act of creating from an artist lens without significant regard for her background in psychoanalysis. Overall, I would recommend this book for any creative, professional artist, or therapist interested in understanding the psychoanalytic theory behind what it is like to be an artist and how an artwork comes into fruition.


Combining ethnographic, press, and archival materials, this thesis offers a socio-historical and sociological analysis of the police control of prostitution in Paris between 1946 and 2008. From the perspective of the police, the thesis highlights the absence of a unified and coherent sexual policy. The sociohistory of the vice squad shows that the issue of "vice" in the police control gradually waned during the 2nd half of the 20th century. The loi pour la securite interieure, in effect since 2003, constitutes a case in point for studying, through the analysis of different professional groups, a legal framework that is contradictory and indeterminate : police routines and professional hierarchies produce the law from the bottom up. Moreover, this research contributes to a political and moral anthropology : the tension between compassion and repression that is inherent to contemporary prostitution policies is analyzed through the practices of "street-level bureaucrats" of moral evaluation and categorization of individuals. This enables a nuanced description of how the moral and professional dimensions intersect in the daily interactions that constitute the police control of prostitution. By paying close attention to categorization processes, the research elucidates how the police definition of prostitution contributes to producing gender for both the controlled populations and those who control. By analysing the ways in which the police's professional rhetoric absorbs the public discourse as well as the production and circulation of the police's know-how, it shows how the State develops its categories of thought "from the bottom up" in the case of the prostitution control.


Polymeric carbon nitride is a promising candidate for metal-free photocatalysis, but it is hampered by low activity due to poor carrier separation efficiency and lack of active sites. We have constructed a bifunctionally-modified structure, containing cyano groups internally and carboxyl groups on the surface, that was about 205 times more active than unmodified carbon nitride. The internal cyano groups enhanced the photoelectric performance of carbon nitride, while the surface carboxyl groups acted as active sites to promote hydrogen production. It is anticipated that this work will inform the rational design of polymeric carbon nitride and inspire similar attempts to modify polymers.


Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) has been developed and applied quickly for the past ten years. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Association of American State Geologists (AASG) are discussing and proposing to build a national LiDAR database for the entire USA. China is in a period of fast urbanization and dramatic land use conversion in its eastern region, while a large portion of western China does not have topographic maps under rapid economic growth. The significant change in China's topography requires timely update and production of topographical maps. LiDAR is a most direct technique for real time, high accuracy acquisition of large scale 3D topographical data that are urgently needed at the national, regional and local scale. Through proper planning and assignment of various tasks involved, the national, local government agencies and private enterprises should join hands in constructing a national LiDAR database for China. This paper introduced the technical character of LiDAR, the scientific requirements and application of LiDAR data, commercial operating problem which were discussed in "Second LiDAR for the nation meeting" of USA. Combined with the developing trends of LiDAR, data requirements of surveying and mapping, land use change monitoring and other scientific problems in China at present, it analyzed the application prospects of LiDAR technology in China.


An ecological optimal aquaculture mode was established which included four aquaculture areas with different functions to culture prawn,fish,shellfish and macroalgae respectively,one water treatment area and one emergent off-taking area.Bio-manipulation of water quality can be achieved by stocking complementary organisms in different ponds within the closed circulation system.The results indicated that COD,the contents of suspension,ammoniated nitrogen and nitrated nitrogen were much lower than those of monoculture ponds (P0.01).The final drainage of the reused water was not eutrophicated (E1).The commercial benefit was obvious.Totally 0.667kg prawns,0.037kg tilapia,0.738kg oyster,and 0.437kg Gracilaria tenuistipitata were harvested with the input of 1 kg feed,with a net profit increase of $2.01 yuan.The ratio of input to output was significantly reduced from 0.709 of monoculture to 0.235 of ecoculture of prawns.Not only the bio-manipulation of aquaculture environment and null discharge of culture water were implemented,but feed conversion ratio and economic benefits were increased notably with advantages of illness-resisting,environment-protection and high-efficiency.


ABSTRACT The effect of shaliness on sand quality is of great importance in the evaluation of Gulf Coast and offshore reservoirs. The amount of shaliness needs to be determined so that proper hydrocarbon producibility potentials can be assessed for economic and completion decisions. The use of thermal and epithermal neutron measurements, in conjunction with standard methods, increases the accuracy of shale measurements in Gulf Coast formations. Thermal neutron measurements are the most common neutron measurements used in well logging. The thermal measurement characterizes the rate of decrease in the thermal neutron population as a function of source-to-detector distance by "migration length," which can be related to porosity but is influenced by many environmental effects. The epithermal measurement characterizes the rate of decrease in the epithermal neutron population as a function of source-to-detector distance by "slowing-down length," which is principally related to hydrogen content of the formation. Comparison of the two measurements leads to more accurate porosity and shaliness determination by taking advantage of thermal neutron absorption associated with clays and other minerals and by avoiding the thermal diffusion phase of the thermal measurement that is not associated with hydrogen content. The calibration of a gamma ray, SP, and thermal neutron-density crossplot to the additional parameters resulting from thermal-epithermal comparison leads to more accurate and consistent results. Neutron data are processed by "ratio" and "count-rate" methods. The ratio of count-rates of "near" and "far" detectors is commonly used for neutron porosity computation, and environmental corrections are applied to this computed porosity. A newer method of count-rate processing applies the environmental corrections to the count rates prior to computation of porosity values. An additional benefit to count-rate processing of individual detector measurements lies in "thin-bed enhancement" of the computed porosity data. Wireline logging techniques are revised to provide maximum data quality. Log examples from the coastal Wilcox and the offshore Flexure trend demonstrate this improvement in shaliness evaluation.


Organic photovoltaic (OPV) degradation remains a complex challenge and previous studies have shown the degradation to be a function of multiple stresses, so it can be inaccurate to predict failure rates using single stress tests. In this paper, a new testing methodology whereby multiple stresses are applied simultaneously using a "design of experiment (DOE) approach" is reported and used for predictive aging of modules. Multistress data are used for predictive aging of OPV modules under different stress levels; a general log-linear life model has been adapted and applied in order to predict the life of OPV modules and this is compared to experimental data, which show that a close estimation of simulated lifetime is obtained (within 18% accuracy). The life test models can be used for predicting aging of OPV modules in different geographic locations and could be used to account for different degradation rates due to seasonal climatic variations. Furthermore, by using the DOE data, we show how the major stress factors can be screened and their statistical significance upon degradation quantified using analysis of variance. One of the potential benefits of using this approach for OPV degradation studies is that additional factors could be added to study the impact on degradation to provide a more comprehensive study.


This work details the construction and application of a simple and inexpensive continuous-flow hydride generator for ICP-OES analyses. Experimental conditions were optimized for the determination od As, Sb, Bi, Se, and Te. The technique was applied to the the analysis of NIST and NRC standard reference waters


We investigate why employee-friendly firms often benefit from lower costs of debt financing. We theorize that banks use employee treatment as a screen to assess firms' trustworthiness, which encomp...


We used a Zeiss-Linnik interferometer to obtain interferograms of fusion-spliced optical fibers. A common feature is the presence of buckling of the fiber material on both sides of the splicing point. This resulted from the fusion splicing process. Their heights ranged from 1 to 10 μm, some 300 μm apart for graded-index optical waveguides of 50-μm core and 125-μm clad diameters. Few cases showed the presence of buckling 140 μm from the point of fusion splicing. The power loss resulting from fusion splicing for the specimens examined interferometrically was measured. It is found that the greater the buckling, the greater the power loss. A height of 2λ or less (λ = 535 nm) gave no detectable loss.


This research attempts to measuring the degree of customer satisfaction in of  Electronic Certificate of  Origin at Batam goods traffic office through the quality of service Electronic Certificate of  Origin website. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling. Total of sample are 196 respondents. Data were analyzed by using quantitative descriptive statistics. Data were analyzed by using quantitative descriptive statistics. Importance Pefomance Analysis (IPA) diagram shows that services item dimensions were spread among three a quadrant, That is 6 in a quadrant "main priority", that is 7 in a quadrant "keep up the pace the performance of existing at the present time". 5 other items was at quadrant "low priority". And 3 item was at "Emphasis overblown" position.


Continuous antipyretic prophylaxis following FC has not been studied, nor is it advisable to conduct such a trial. Two equally effective antipyretic drugs. acetylsalicylic acid and paracetamol (46, 47), have been used extensively to lower temperature in febrile children. However, there have been few controlled trials on the efficacy of these drugs, if given at times of fever, in reducing the recurrence rate in children with FC. Camfield et al. (48) studied in a double-blind, randomized trial the recurrence rate following simple FC by comparing continuous phenobarbital plus acetylsalicylic acid or paracetamol at times of fever with placebo plus acetylsalicylic acid or paracetamol. The 12-month recurrence rate was 5% and 25%, respectively. The results suggest that antipyretic therapy at times of fever does not reduce the recurrence rate significantly. However, the trial is open to criticism. The sample is small and selected. The antipyretic drug used, the number of doses given and their timing as well as the number of febrile episodes was not monitored. Moreover, an untreated control group was not included. Thus, intermittent antipyretic drug prophylaxis with paracetamol, being extremely safe in therapeutic doses, has not been adequately evaluated. The same is true for newer antipyretic agents with promising pharmacokinetic and clinical properties (49). Knudsen (15) showed that the most powerful factor for further febrile fits was subsequent frequent febrile episodes. These findings suggest that preventing high fever in susceptible children to some extent may prevent new convulsive attacks. Concurrent antipyretic and anticonvulsive therapy at times of fever has not been used extensively (50). Continuous anticonvulsant prophylaxis


The development of catalytic materials for the hydrogen oxidation, hydrogen evolution, oxygen reduction or oxygen evolution reactions with high reaction rates and low overpotentials are key goals for the development of renewable energy. We report here Ru(0) nanoclusters supported on nitrogen-doped graphene as high-performance multifunctional catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), showing activities similar to that of commercial Pt/C in alkaline solution. For HER performance in alkaline media, sample Ru/NG-750 reaches 10 mA cm-2 at an overpotential of 8 mV with a Tafel slope of 30 mV dec-1. The high HER performance in alkaline solution is advantageous because most catalysts for ORR and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) also prefer alkaline solution environment whereas degrade in acidic electrolytes. For ORR performance, Ru/NG effectively catalyzes the conversion of O2 into OH- via a 4e process at a current density comparable to that of Pt/C. The unusual catalytic activities of Ru(0) nanoclusters reported here are important discoveries for the advancement of renewable energy conversion reactions.


All representations and characters studied in this paper are taken over the complex numbers, and all groups considered are finite. For basic definitions concerning projective representations see [1]. If G is a group and or is a cocycle of G we denote by Proj(G, α) = {ξ1, …, ξt} the set of irreducible projective characters of G with cocycle α, where of course t is the number of α-regular conjugacy classes of G; ξ1, (1) is called the degree of ξ1. Also as normal, M(G) will denote the Schur multiplier of G, [α] the cohomology classof α, and [1] the cohomology class of the trivial cocycle of G.


The article is dealing with wood dust particle size problem in consideration of their fire and explosion. The aim of the thesis is statistical evaluation of wooden particles of Palisander (Jacaranda Mimosifolia) and Oak (Quercus robur L.). The samples were taken from the operation of the production furniture, in which dust is formed during the technology. Measurement was carried out by laser analyzer. Measurements were carried out on samples in specific time interval. Values, which were acquired, were evaluated of characteristics of the Weibull Distribution and treated in statistical program. It has been found by means of measurement and evaluation that sample of Palisander (Jacaranda Mimosifolia) has finer grain than sample of Oak (Quercus robur L.), therefore the has greater assumption to the creation of fire and explosions in process at the wood processing. We note in comparison with other sizes of wood particles, that the percentages are comparable.


In this paper, how magnetic hysteresis loop and magnetic Barkhausen noise (MBN) measurements can provide non destructive information about the evolution of the microstructure during the annealing of cold rolled low carbon steel sheets is shown. The effect of recovery and recrystallization processes on hysteresis loop and MBN signal measurements is analysed and related to the microstructural changes produced due to these softening processes, which have been previously characterised by optical and transmission electron microscopy. The results obtained prove that the coercive field and the remanent induction from hysteresis loop measurements, as well as the total number and average amplitude of pulses of the MBN signal could successfully be employed to non-destructively monitor the kinetics of recovery and recrystallization processes in cold rolled low carbon steels. These parameters are sensitive to the reduction in the dislocation density taking place during recovery and to the combined effect of the decrease in the dislocation density and the average grain refinement during recrystallization. Additionally, some correlations are considered between parameters derived from hysteresis loops, and from MBN measurements that are satisfied during recovery, and can also be used to distinguish recovery from recrystallization.


This paper reports results from SICAS, an experimental programme to evaluate the effectiveness of the equivalent initial flaw size (EIFS) approach in managing the structural integrity effects of pitting corrosion. Fatigue crack growth and life tests were conducted on anodized and pre-corroded 7010-T7651. The corrosion pits that initiated fatigue were then measured using the SEM. These data were analysed statistically to identify the pit geometric parameter(s) that influenced fatigue life. Projected pit area had the strongest effect, while pit depth and pit width were each statistically insignificant. The EIFS distribution for corroded 7010-T7651 was then calculated. Examination of the probability distribution of the ratio of EIFS area to pit area allowed the derivation of a scatter factor that gave safely conservative fatigue life predictions for the corroded material.


In this paper, we consider a non-regenerative MIMO two-way relay system with imperfect channel state information (CSI). We employ a stochastic approach to model the channel uncertainties and address the robust joint source and relay optimization problem based on the minimum mean squared error (MMSE) criterion. With imperfect CSI, the self-interference (SI) cannot be completely canceled at destination nodes. Hence, both channel uncertainties and residual self-interference should be considered. We develop an optimization framework that unifies both frequency-division duplex (FDD) and time-division duplex (TDD) systems despite their different channel statistical properties. Two robust algorithms are proposed to minimize the sum mean squared error (MSE) averaged over channel uncertainties. The first algorithm adopts alternating optimization to update the source precoders, relay precoder and destination receivers iteratively with guaranteed convergence. In the second algorithm, only the relay precoder with certain structure is considered. Then the relay precoder design is reduced to the simple power allocation problem. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithms provide robustness against channel uncertainties, especially when the signal-to-noise ratio is high.


Abstract : This report summarizes the development of an improved Human-System Interface (HSI) for space operators, and the development of a testbed for evaluating this and other new HSI concepts. This work was performed under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to Monterey Technologies, Inc. A task analysis was performed to identify bottlenecks in the current HSI. It was found that controllers were limited by the number of manual and visual actions required, by the organization and presentation of the data from the satellite, and limited availability of tools that aid the controller. The design of the HSI focused on elimination of these bottlenecks. The HSI developed to address these issues is multi-modal. It features voice synthesis and recognition, touchscreen capabilities, as well as a conventional keyboard and mouse interface. This HSI was implemented in a testbed that allows collection of controller performance data during a simulated support of a DSCS type satellite. The testbed architecture was designed to facilitate integration and evaluation of new, emerging HSI concepts and devices.


The hydraulic oil filter is one of the components contained in the hydraulic system which functions to filter the impurities contained in the oil so that it does not circulate into the system. The purpose of this study was to determine the performance of the original and non-original filters in relation to the damage that occurred to the control valve. The results indicated that the damage to the spool valve was caused by hydraulic oil contaminated with water, resulting in corrosion on its surface. Visual inspection of the hydraulic oil filter reveals particles found in the filer element.


In mid-1990, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and Bonneville Power Administration embarked on a Columbia River system operation review. Ten technical work groups were formed to cover the spectrum of interest and to evaluate the alternative operations. The focus of the water quality technical work group is the impact assessment, on water quality and dissolved gas saturation, of the various operations proposed by special interests (i.e., hydropower, navigation, flood control, irrigation, recreation, cultural resources, wildlife, and anadromous and resident fisheries).


Objective
To explore the related factors with skin flap necrosis, we concluded the cases of patients with skin defects after free flap plantation.

Methods
From 2001 to 2016, 188 cases about 20 influencing factors were analyzed (The characteristics of patients: age, sex, smoke, diabetes, high blood pressure; Preoperative factors: injured sections, injured causes, preoperative wound infection, preoperative wound osteomyelitis, the time from injury to operation; Intraoperative factors: operator, operation time, anesthesia time, intraoperative rehydration fluids, the way of vascular anastomosis, the number of venous anastomosis, the area of flap; Postoperative factors: flap hematoma, flap infection, vascular crisis) and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between these risk factors and flap necrosis.

Results
All 188 cases were treated with free anterolateral thigh flap to repair soft tissue defect and it was revealed that the 174 cases were successful (92.55%) and 23 cases were occured vascular crisis (12.23%), 8 cases were arterial crisis, 11 cases were vein crisis, 4 cases were ateriovenous crisis. After the treatment, the rescue was successful in 5 cases (38.46%). After the analysis we made the conclusion that the number of venous anastomoses, flap hematoma and vascular crisis were related with the skin flap necrosis.

Conclusion
The number of venous anastomose (≥2) will increase blood return to make the flap easier to survive. Intraoperative stanching and drainage tube placement work will reduce the skin flap hematoma as a result of reducing the skin flap necrosis. Artery and venous crisis handled in time, can enhance the survival rate of flap.

Key words:
Femoral anterolateral flap; Vascular crisis; Necrosis; Regression analysis


Summary from only given. We show the major influence that the laser resonator has on the phase noise, and hence timing jitter, and for similar cavity Q show the connection of the timing jitter between the semiconductor modelocked laser and that of modelocked fiber lasers.


We discuss deployment solutions for e-Government Interoperability Frameworks (GIFs). We concentrate on the italian SPCoop, a prominent example of a middleware-oriented architectures, where middleware modules act as intermediaries among information systems. We review the SPCoop architecture, and two popular open-source implementations, called OpenSPCoop and freESBee. The two solutions follow radically different philosophies in terms of their internal architectures, which we call "container-bound" and "container-independent". We compare the two systems with respect to one of the main problems in largescale deployment of SPCooop-like GIFs, namely the need to quickly deploy a large number of middleware instances over a relatively small number of servers. We report a number of experiments to discuss how the different design choices


The present invention relates to the amino acid sequence of HER3 for (as defined herein), as well as to compounds or constructs, in particular proteins and polypeptides comprising one or more such amino acid sequences or consist essentially of the sequences (herein also referred to as "the amino acid sequence of the invention", "compounds of the invention" and "polypeptide of the present invention"). The present invention further relates to nucleic acids encoding such amino acid sequences and polypeptides (also referred to herein as "nucleic acids of the invention" or "nucleotide sequence of the invention"); a process for preparing such amino acid sequences and polypeptides directed for ; relates to host cells expressing or capable of expressing such amino acid sequences or polypeptide; relates to compositions, particularly, to a pharmaceutical composition, said composition comprising such amino acid sequences, polypeptides, nucleic acids and / or host cells; and relates to such the use or the amino acid sequence of polypeptides, nucleic acids, host cells and / or compositions, in particular for the prevention, treatment, prophylaxis or diagnostic purposes, the use of therapeutic or diagnostic purposes mentioned herein, for example.


ing place in recreation research today. The four general trends discussed are: (1) The highly discursive treatments based upon relatively unstructured and impressionistic observation seem to have diminished somewhat; (2) Definite emphasis now is in the direction of quantitative studies; (3) Explanatory research seems to be playing an increasingly important role in research efforts; (4) It is increasingly difficult to obtain funding for studies dealing with specific and non-generalizable problem situations, thus they have diminished significantly. Four specific trends are then mentioned: (1) The simple user preference study is giving way to more sophisticated studies that hold the possibility of making a theoretical contribution. (2) A number of serious attempts at identifying the visual components of the environment contributing most to an aesthetically pleasing experience have been conducted recently. (3) Economic research seems to be giving major emphasis at the present to: a) research related to


Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) is the perception of sound in the absence of an auditory stimulus. Tinnitus is perceived by about one in 10 adults, and for at least 1 in 100 tinnitus severely affects their quality of life. Objective is to present a review of pathophysiology and treatment approaches for the patients with tinnitus. Currently available options range from medications to the cognitive behavioral rehabilitation and the use of hearing aids. The review provides the overview of the approaches to tinnitus patients, based on national experience and national and international guidelines.


Purpose – this article investigates the impact of knowledge acquisition on the leading knowledge management processes such as knowledge storage, application, and creation in higher education institutions. Research methodology – scientific literature review and hypotheses were used to develop the research model. The re-search data was collected from 202 academics from Lebanese higher education institutions. The structural questionnaire and structural equation modeling techniques were employed to test the research hypotheses. Findings – the findings confirmed the knowledge acquisition process's leading role with the highest impact on knowl-edge creation and provided valuable insights for scientists in the knowledge acquisition field. Research limitations – this study's results are primarily applicable in Lebanon and can't be generalized to other coun-tries. Therefore, a further researcher should encompass diverse countries to generalize the findings on a global level. Practical implications – the results emphasize more attention for higher education institutions' administration to focus on higher education institutions' knowledge management cycle, particularly on the knowledge acquisition process. Originality/Value – in this study, the significant influence of knowledge acquisition on other knowledge management processes in the Lebanese higher education institutions has been revealed, as no prior research in Lebanon is found. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/cibmee.2021.646


Summary

Many isolates of cocoa swollen shoot virus (CSSV) have been found in Ghana. Relationships between these isolates have been based on symptom expression and limited serological information. This paper reports on the serological relationships between 44 accessions of CSSV using the virobacterial agglutination test. The CSSV group is differentiated into eight groups using seven antibody 'types'. The largest group comprising those isolates closely related to CSSV 1A is sub-divided into four further groups. These groupings are compared with previous results. Differences are seen between accessions of the same isolate which may be due to contamination of the source plants. These serological results can be used for studying mixed isolate infections as well as for determining the most closely related CSSV mild isolate for appropriate cross-protection against severe isolates.


Purpose: The current study sought to establish the trends in financial re-engineering and financial performance of SACCOs and present existing knowledge gaps that need to be filled based on studies done in other contexts.
Methodology: The study adopted a desktop literature review method (desk study). This involved an in-depth review of studies related to financial re-engineering and its effects on financial performance of SACCOs. Three sorting stages were implemented on the subject under study that is financial reengineering and financial performance of SACCOs, in order to determine the viability of the subject for research. After an in-depth search into the top key words (financial strategies, financial innovation, financial reengineering and financial performance of SACCOs), the researcher arrived at 15 articles that were suitable for analysis.
Results: The study noted that from the survey, majority of the studies were based and cited most between the year 2012 and 2018, implying the relevance of the subject in the current decade. From the analysis, most of the publications on financial reengineering and financial performance of SACCOs, were from the renowned Journal published under various journal platforms. This is an indication of the credibility of the subject under review by many scholars. In addition, the survey provides evidence as to why the subject under review is of importance in the African context since majority of the studies under review were from the European and Asian regions.  A trend analysis was conducted indicating that over the period the studies were researched. Financial reengineering and performance subject have been receiving the concerns by various authors. This was drawn from the upwards increasing trend in the subject of the study since 2012 to 2019. The survey likewise found that descriptive research design was the trending technique to survey studies on financial reengineering and performance. Majority of the studies from the analysis revealed a positive relationship between financial reengineering and financial performance of SACCOs.
Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: Based on the survey findings, the study recommended that financial reengineering effect on financial performance in SACCOs is a maiden study that other authors from other parts can use to base future studies on. Findings from this study may be used to shape policy in the area of managing financial performance in SACCOs. Currently, the existing financial strategies are weak, not standard and not competitive since the competition from other related financial institutions is stiff. The findings would help to further develop an adaptive strategy for to step up in the competition in the financial sector.


The Six Functionals Fixed Point Theorem is a generalization of the Five Functionals Fixed Point Theorem as well as the original triple xed point theorem of Leggett-Williams. In the Six Functionals Fixed Point Theorem, none of the functional boundaries are required to map above or below the boundary in the functional sense. As an application, the existence of at least three positive solutions to a second order right focal boundary value problem is considered by applying both standard and non-standard choices of functionals. An extension to multivalued maps is provided for completeness. AMS (MOS) Subject Classication. 47H10.


Abstract: The Lindeberg theorem is derived on stratified nilpotent Lie groups; that is a normal convergence theorem for a triangular system of pr obability measures in case of bounded (homogeneous) moments of second order. By us ing necessary and sufficient conditions for convergence of convolution semig roups of probability measures on Lie groups a Lindeberg-Feller theorem is proved on t he Heisenberg group.


Context: Among the hot topics of Engineering Design research, creativity enhancing techniques play a key role with abundancy of approaches, methods and tools proposed by different authors to address a range of objectives such as exploring new product opportunities, suitable framing of ill-defined problems, overcoming mental inertia and design fixation phenomena, improving co-creative activities etc. Typically, those research activities claim some advantages with respect to the existing literature through case studies or sometimes through controlled experiments. However, the impact of the application context, the attitude and background of participants, but even the variability of the design task of the experiment have a dramatic impact on the performance of the subjects. Consequently, it is very hard identifying regularities and common aspects to draw some general conclusions and make a step ahead towards the definition of comprehensive models and related educational approaches. A further limitation is that variability of testing conditions and observation means make it difficult to replicate those experiments to scale-up the investigation with more significant data sets. Purpose: This study aims at proposing a reference set-up for design experiments, suitable to test creativity-enhancing techniques under controlled conditions. Approach: The proposed testing framework can involve either students or practitioners, working in teams or as individuals, divided in different groups of treatment, one of which receives no treatment and plays the role of control group. Each group should count a sufficient number of individuals or teams receiving the same treatment to allow for analysis of statistical significance of the results. The experiment consists of two rounds: the first does not involve the application of any treatment to check whether the testing groups show homogeneous performance in terms of idea generation capabilities. In the second round, all groups but the control one, receive some specific instruction or set of stimuli, suitably differentiated, to observe the impact of the creativity-enhancing techniques under study. A panel of experts assesses groups' performance by means of the evaluation of all the generated ideas, according to four reference metrics. Results: The proposed experimental set-up proved to be applicable in several contexts, to compare the impact of different creativity enhancing techniques. So far, it allowed to compare the effects of: (i) creative stimuli based on analogical thinking; (ii) information extracted from patents as a trigger for idea generation; (iii) the introduction of external knowledge from biology represented with different functional/causal modelling techniques. Conclusions: The paper proposes a structured experimental approach to test creativityenhancing techniques in terms of impact on design performance and usability, as well as to monitor the learning process of target groups. The tests carried out so far have mostly explored the applicability of the experimental set up varying different creative techniques and operational environments; the structured definition of the experiment enables the replication of a test by different researchers with controlled changes on the experimental conditions.


DIRECT comparisons of the effects on pupils of different types of school organization are fraught with difficulties. Enormous differences occur among schools of any one type and it would obviously be foolish to equate the attainment and attitudes of pupils in a large grammar school in London with those of pupils in a rural grammar school in the West of England, or a well equipped secondary modern school in a new town with a converted all-age school in a decaying inner urban area of an industrial city. Even in sociologically similar areas, differences among schools of the same type of organization are sometimes greater than differences among schools of different types, as Miller (1961) and Currie (1962) have shown. Further complications arise in the case of comprehensive schools. A synonym for 'comprehensive' in this context should surely be 'nonselective', in the sense that none of the children in the catchment area of the school have been 'selected' to go to other schools on the grounds of high ability. Yet many city comprehensive schools have been in the past, and in some areas it appears will be increasingly in the future, merely enlarged secondary modem schools in building and organization, with the addition of a 'selective' stream-a few children of above average ability who have been unable to find places at the local direct grant or independent grammar school, but. who in no way suffice to make a balanced entry. The Inner London Authority (1966) quote figures for January, 1966. In the area covered by that authority there were at that time:


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro release and ex vivo penetration of baclofen following incorporation into a 2% poloxamer lecithin organogel. Franz cells were utilized for both the release and penetration studies. Semi-permeable dialysis membranes were used as the model skin for the penetration study. Baclofen release and penetration at predetermined time points were assessed using high-performamce liquid chromatographic analysis. Results demonstrated that baclofen release from the poloxamer lecithin organogel was significantly higher than its penetration through porcine skin. The amount of baclofen released by the poloxamer lecithin organogel was linear up to 12 hours. Approximately 20% of applied drug was released over the duration of the study period. In comparison with drug released, the ex vivo penetration of baclofen through porcine skin was very low with only minute detectable quantities (significantly less than 1%) after the 12-hour study period. These results suggest that the request to include baclofen into a compounded poloxamer lecithin organogel should be approached cautiously by compounding pharmacists.


F t v ( a bstract ulpal inflammation is primarily caused by coronal cares, and leads to root canal therapy (RCT). Chronic nflammation has been associated with various cardioascular diseases. This study evaluates the association etween pulpal inflammation (using RCT as a surroate) and incident coronary heart disease (CHD). We eport results among males from the Health Professionls Follow-Up Study (HPFS), excluding participants with rior cardiovascular disease or diabetes. We obtained CT data from the HPFS cohort (n 34,683). Comared to men without RCT, those with 1 RCT had a ultivariate RR of 1.21 (95% CI 1.05-1.40) for CHD. he association was limited to dentists (RR 1.38; 5% CI 1.14-1.67). There was no association among ondentists (RR 1.03). Dental caries was not assoiated with CHD. The results suggest a possible modest ssociation between pulpal inflammation and CHD. (J ndod 2006;32:99–103)


The invention discloses a powered rotary fishpond feed scattering device. According to the invention, a power cabin is arranged in a boat body, and is arranged at the head of the boat body. A stand is arranged at the head of the boat body. A wireless control device is fixedly connected with the stand through a bolt. A camera is arranged on the right side of the stand, and is electrically connected with the wireless control device. A manipulator is arranged on the tail end of the boat body. A feed scattering device is fixedly connected to the boat body through steel wires. A feed scattering disc is fixedly connected with a rotation shaft. A retainer ring is arranged on the outer circumference of the feed scattering disc. Rotor blades are integrally connected with the feed scattering disc. According to the powered rotary fishpond feed scattering device, with the wireless control device, the feed scattering device can be remotely monitored and controlled, such that an intelligence degree is high, and the device can satisfy the need of the rapid development of current farming industry. The device has the advantages of remote monitoring, high automation degree, simple operation, convenient and practical application, reasonable structure, and the like.


In order to study the role of phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase (PI3K), PKB, FRAP, S6 kinase, and MAP kinase in insulin‐stimulated glycogen synthesis, we used a specific inhibitor of PI3K, LY294002, the immunosuppressant inhibitor of FRAP, rapamycin, and the inhibitor of MAPK kinase (MEK)/MAPK, PD98059, in rat HTC hepatoma cells overexpressing human insulin receptors. The PI3K inhibitor LY294002 completely blocks insulin‐stimulated glycogen synthesis by inhibiting glycogen synthase, PKB (Akt‐1), and FRAP (RAFT) autophosphorylation, as well as p70 S6 kinase activation, whereas insulin receptor substrates tyrosine phosphorylation and MEK activity were not affected. However, rapamycin only partially blocks insulin‐stimulated glycogen synthesis by partial inhibition of glycogen synthase, whereas it completely blocks S6 kinase activation and FRAP autophosphorylation, but does not affect either PKB autophosphorylation, MEK activity, or insulin receptor tyrosine phosphorylation. Insulin‐stimulated glycogen synthesis and glycogen synthase were not affected by the MEK/MAPK inhibitor PD98059. These data suggest that the PI3K, and not the MAPK pathway plays an important role in the insulin‐stimulated glycogen synthesis in the hepatocyte, partly mediated by FRAP and S6 kinase activation. However, the inhibition of FRAP and S6 kinase activation is not sufficient to block insulin‐stimulated glycogen synthesis, suggesting an important role of a branching pathway upstream of S6 kinase and downstream of PI3K, which is probably mediated by PKB in the signaling of the insulin receptor in hepatoma HTC cells. J. Cell. Physiol. 182:182–188, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Personal potentials of modern managers are characterized by the average values of the mental potential, by the tendency of internal locus of the control, the expressed purposefulness and the persistence, moderately expressed by resoluteness, self-control, initiative. The revealed characteristics of communicative potential of managers are not typical: the received results show the individual originality of respondents.


The paper is about new types of spatial concentrations of business. We may differentiate among traditional agglomerations, traditional clusters and dynamic clusters according to the types of participating organizations, types of interactions and the aims of cooperation. Various forms of clustering spontaneously started in the real economy. Due to their success cluster initiatives became fashionable policy tools, though cluster policies are usually subordinated to other more general policy areas like SME development, regional policy, innovation policy, etc. Thus, emphasis and content of cluster policies may vary substantially. At the same time, the basic rationale of new forms of spatial business concentration may get lost. Hungarian experience is a good example of how little the original rationale of synergy producing collaboration is considered when designing cluster policy measures. As a result, many times newly formed clusters and participating firms regard this organization as an additional possibility of milking state resources.


Many different companies have decisively embraced the New Business Narrative focused on the Stakeholder Theory and it has been part of the ethos of leading companies worldwide for some time now. However, a systematic process has not been developed to identify an organisation's withdrawn or distributed value for its different stakeholders in monetary terms. Accounting is inadequate for this purpose and the current information system therefore needs to be expanded. This article reflects on Stakeholder Accounting [SA]. Based on the multi-faceted model, it proposes broadening the value concept to also include price-based transactions, transfers performed in a non-market environment (and without consideration), and emotional ones. Moreover, it proposes expanding from a one-dimensional perspective, focused on shareholders, to a multi-dimensional including all the stakeholders of the organisation. The rest of the article reflects on the multiple experiences generated over the last ten years, along with the applicability, the potential and the implications of this accounting both for organisations and for their stakeholders.
Received: 11 November 2021Accepted: 18 February 2022


A consecutive three-component activation–alkynylation–cyclization reaction of (hetero)aryl glyoxylic acids, oxalyl chloride, arylacetylenes, and hydrazides efficiently forms 1,5-diacyl-5-hydroxypyrazolines in moderate to good yields. The structures were unambiguously corroborated by comprehensive NMR spectroscopy and X-ray structure analyses of selected derivatives.


This paper presents a novel method for moving sound source localization and describes its performance evaluation in actual room environments. The method is based on MUSIC (MUltiple SIgnal Classification) which is one of the highest-resolution localization methods. When using MUSIC, computation of eigenvectors of correlation matrix is required for estimation, which often results in a high computational cost. In particular, in the case of a moving source, this is a crucial drawback, because estimation must be performed at every observation time. Furthermore, since the correlation matrix varies its characteristics due to spatial-temporal nonstationarity, the matrix must be estimated using only a few observed samples, which degrades the estimation accuracy. In this paper, PAST (Projection Approximation Subspace Tracking) is applied for sequential estimation of the eigenvectors spanning the subspace. In PAST, eigen-decomposition is not required, and therefore it is possible to reduce the computational costs. Several experimental results in actual room environments are presented in order to demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed method. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 94(7): 17–26, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.10333


Postmortem examination remains an important investigation in perinatal, infant and child deaths, with additional findings provided in 30–40%.1 Though additional investigations, including genetic testing, are now available, until recently the autopsy procedure had evolved little over centuries. However, the combination of advances in imaging technology, development of less-invasive sampling techniques and expansion of 'omic' approaches for fluid and tissue samples, together with reduction in parental acceptance of traditional autopsy are likely to change the way paediatric deaths are investigated.2 It is important that clinicians are aware of changes to postmortem practice, since requests for minimally invasive approaches from bereaved parents and religious communities are likely to become increasingly common. The aim is to appropriately consent for the investigation after death that will best answer the clinical question while being acceptable to parents. This article summarises current and future areas of paediatric autopsy research, including postmortem imaging, molecular biology and discovery-based laboratory approaches such as proteomics and transcriptomics.

Current trends in autopsy research focus on improving acceptability of the postmortem examination, empowering parents who do not accept traditional autopsy for various reasons. Postmortem MRI (PMMRI) shows the greatest promise, as part of a minimally invasive approach; PMMRI with placental examination and other adjunctive investigations (without incisions) …


'Under the wave off Kanagawa' by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), or 'The Great Wave' as it is commonly known, is the most famous Japanese woodblock print in the world. It was produced in the early 1830s and is part of the series 36 Views of Mount Fuji, which depicts Mount Fuji from different places and in different weather conditions. In this print, a huge wave is about to engulf three fishing boats with their occupants crouching and hugging the deck (Figure 1). The main subject of the print, Mount Fuji, is present in the background but can easily be mistaken for another ocean crest.


We present a deep reinforcement learning framework for an automatic trading of contracts for difference (CfD) on indices at a high frequency. Our contribution proves that reinforcement learning agents with recurrent long short-term memory (LSTM) networks can learn from recent market history and outperform the market. Usually, these approaches depend on a low latency. In a real-world example, we show that an increased model size may compensate for a higher latency. As the noisy nature of economic trends complicates predictions, especially in speculative assets, our approach does not predict courses but instead uses a reinforcement learning agent to learn an overall lucrative trading policy. Therefore, we simulate a virtual market environment, based on historical trading data. Our environment provides a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) to reinforcement learners and allows the training of various strategies.


It was a defining moment of the [Mind & Its Potential] conference. The neuroscientist activated his laptop and the overhead screen sprang to life with a video image of an EEG recording the electrical pulses of an active brain. The neurocorrelates of consciousness, the tell-tale signatures of neurons firing and connecting to one another as the brain of the subject reacted to experience, were there to see. But this was not a human brain, the neuroscientist told us, this was a cockroach. "I don't stand on cockroaches either, because their neurons are just as good as ours!" he remarked.' This side-bar from a conference on the science of the mind provides a tantalizing insight into how advances in neuroscience are providing illuminating linkages to Buddhist conceptions of mind and the nature of sentient beings. It is too early to suggest that neuroscience is validating Buddhist teachings, however, at the least, it is providing material that may prove useful to today's generation of Western Buddhists, who are well-schooled in the terminology of science. For example, the interchange with the scientist above showed scientific evidence for and acceptance that cockroaches have nervous systems, and thus perhaps minds, but there is still no agreement among scientists that cockroaches or any other animal for that matter have feelings.' For neuroscience and Buddhism, humans have a special place in the realm of sentient beings. Humans are unique


---------------------------------------------------------------------***--------------------------------------------------------------------Abstract Body Area Networks are stated as "a communication standard optimized for power devices and operation on, in or around the human body to serve a variety of applications including medical, consumer electronics/personal entertainment and other." This technology came into exsistence in 1995 implementing communication over the human body. Few years later it was also considered for communication in the immediate proximity of human body. Typically body area networks consists of small sensors, a control unit and a transceiver which helps in gathering health related information continuously. BAN face many difficulties related to requirements in terms of delay, power, temperature and network lifetime which need to be taken into serious consideration in design of different protocols. Since routing protocols plays an important role in overall system performance of BAN. This paper provides a survey of body area networks, its working, applications and brief study of routing issues.


The usefulness of Home Energy Rating Systems (HERS) is primarily derived from the accurate analysis of the present energy efficiency of a home and the cost effectiveness of the measures that are recommended for improving its efficiency. The Energy Efficient Mortgage is predicated on the concept that the mortgage money spent to improve the efficiency of a home will cost less per months to finance that the utility bill savings that are generated. Computer simulation programs are used to estimate the annual energy used for heating, cooling and domestic hot water. A large sample of rated homes in San Jose California was analyzed to compare predicted energy sue with actual bills. The HERS predictions for both heating and cooling were found to significantly overestimate the energy use of low rated homes compared to efficient homes. Cooling energy use of low rated homes with air conditioning was actually lower than for efficient homes with air conditioning. Significant correlation between family characteristics and home efficiency are thought to be part of the reason for this dilemma. A number of areas are proposed for further work to improve the HERS estimates.


Petroleum systems analysis and maturity modelling is used to predict the timing and locations of hydrocarbon generation in the underexplored offshore Zambezi Delta depression and Angoche basin, northern Mozambique. Model inputs include available geological, geochemical and geophysical data. Based on recent plate‐tectonic reconstructions and regional correlations, the presence of Valanginian and Middle and/or Late Jurassic marine source rock is proposed in the study area.


The study on three Pb Ca Sn Al alloys with 0.08%, 0.4% and 1.0% of Ce indicates that the addition of Ce results in an obvious increase in the tensile strength and hardness of the alloys, an increase in the overpotentials of hydrogen and oxygen evolution and the corrosion resistance as well. The study on the corrosion film formed on the alloys by cyclic voltammetry shows that the addition of Ce slows down the formation of corrosion film. It is therefore concluded from the experimental results that the addition of Ce can increase the tensile strength and HB of Pb Ca alloy and the tensile strength and HB of the alloy increase with the increase of Ce; the addition of Ce also increases the hydrogen and oxygen evolution overpotentials of Pb Ca alloy, and when the content of Ce is 1.0%, the alloy has the highest hydrogen and oxygen evolution overpoteatials; the addition of Ce improves the anticorrosion capability of the alloy, and when the content Ce is 1.0%, the alloy has the best anticorrosion capability; and the addition of Ce also slows down the formation of corrosion film.


Is America an empire? For years, this question has preoccupied scholars of diplomacy and political pundits alike, from mainstream academics such as Andrew Bacevich, Niall Ferguson, and Jeremi Suri to outsider enfants terribles such as Pat Buchanan, Noam Chomsky, and the maverick libertarian Ron Paul. Given the pervasiveness of imperial models in contemporary diplomatic history, it is easy to lose sight of their relatively recent provenance. James G. Morgan's Into New Territory is essentially the history of an idea—or, more precisely, the origins of an idea— namely, that American foreign policy is, and has always been, to a substantial degree, imperial. Morgan, an independent scholar based in London, explores how the University of Wisconsin revisionists of the 1950s and 60s (the socalled Wisconsin School of Diplomatic History) were pioneers in developing the study of imperialism as an analytical prism through which to understand American foreign policy. This revisionism was then modified by the radical New Left, whose Marxist analysis burned bright for a few years but showed little staying power. Morgan seeks to separate the Wisconsin School's longer-lived, nuanced assessments from the New Left's more ephemeral critiques. The book will interest scholars and graduate students working in the history of diplomacy, politics, ideas, and the 1960s, and it will serve as a great resource for diplomatic history PhD students studying for their comprehensive exams. The book's title is a bit misleading. Morgan is largely concerned with the historians of the 1950s and 60s and their intellectual antecedents. He only briefly addresses the revisionists' long-term impact, in a somewhat perfunctory conclusion. The book's central character is the revisionists' doyen, William Appleman Williams, whose The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (World Pub. Co., 1959) is widely considered to be the Wisconsin School's essential text. Also prominent are the school's founder, Fred Harvey Harrington, and Williams's acolytes Walter LaFeber, Lloyd Gardner, and Thomas McCormick, all of whom went on to illustrious careers. Morgan also introduces Progressiveand Depression-era scholars such as Charles Beard, Frederick Jackson Turner, and Scott Nearing, whose work inspiredmuchmidcentury revisionism. The Wisconsin School took a broad view of American diplomacy, giving particular attention to economic factors, the intertwining of domestic and foreign policy, and the influence of pressure groups. Although the United States clearly was not a colonial power a la Britain and France, Williams defined economic expansion—the search for markets, the exporting of American goods, and the extension of American capital—as imperial in nature and, indeed, as the linchpin of American diplomacy. The Open Door, he argued, was no less than the "strategy of American foreign policy in the twentieth century" (90). The Wisconsin scholars did not illuminate an imperial master plan, notes Morgan. Rather, they argued that American empire was a gradual process of economic expansion in response to domestic economic troubles. This critique was not only original, but also quite unpopular, especially compared to the liberal consensus histories of contemporaries such as Louis Hartz, Richard Hofstadter, and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. One of Morgan's more interesting vignettes is his exploration of the radical pedigree of Madison, Wisconsin. For a variety of reasons, midcentury Madison was a cauldron of academic dissidence—in Morgan's words, "the most likely place for a radical critique of U.S. imperialism to emerge during the Cold War" (60). The university's history department resisted the intellectual conformity of the 1950s, in part because Senator Joseph McCarthy himself was wise enough not to attack his home state's flagship school. As Morgan demonstrates in an interesting intellectual biography of Williams, the scholar was not particularly keen on Madison's 1960s activists. His preference for evidence-based conclusions and reasoned argument put him (and Harrington, who was university president in the sixties) at odds with the student radicals, who favored more direct challenges to the status quo. Into New Territory has a few shortcomings. Morgan could more thoroughly explore the problem of terminology, especially the use of imperial as a heuristic for understanding interstate competition and national aggrandizement. On occasion, he implies that the imperial critique was natural and inevitable, as when he cribs Amy Kaplan's term "paradigm of denial" to describe pre-Williams historiography (8, 14). In addition, Morgan's habit of not attributing quotes in the text often leaves the reader to wonder who, exactly, is speaking. These are minor faults, however, in what is otherwise a well-written and interesting account of the Wisconsin revisionists and their milieu. Whether or not America is an empire is still an open question, but this book is an engaging addition to the conversation.


ABSTRACT Five multivalent β-D-GalNAc-(1→4)-β-D-Gal oligomers were selected and synthesized as probes for investigating the adhesin-receptor interactions of P. aeruginosa pili with multivalent receptors. They were synthesized by the amide coupling reactions of 8-(N-2-aminoethyl)carboxamidooctyl 4-O-(2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-D-galactopyranosyl)-β-D-galactopyranoside (7) with EDTA dianhydride, EDTA, Kemp's triacid and adipic acid with EDC, DIC and DCC combined with HOBt as coupling reagents and by the reaction of per-O-acetylated 7 with 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl trichloride followed by de-O-acetylation. These resulting multivalent compounds contain flexible C9 spacer arms as linkers attached to either flexible hydrophilic moieties or rigid hydrophobic cores.


This paper introduces a Genetic Programming-based method for band selection and combination, aiming to support remote sensing image classification tasks. Relying on ground-truth data, our method selects spectral bands and finds the arithmetic combination of those bands (i.e., spectral index) that best separates examples of different classes. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is very effective in pixel-wise binary classification problems.


Concerns about climate change and fuel prices have led to an increased interest in walking and biking. At present, walking and biking make up only a small share of trips taken overall, though the shares of trips taken by foot or bike for work or errands increased significantly between 1995 and 2009. This study shows that a little less than a quarter of American households believe that it is important for them to be able to walk or bike to work. However, only 5% of Americans actually do walk or bike to work, showing that there is a large number of potential cyclists or pedestrians who would bike or walk to work if they had the option.


The invention relates to a control device (D) to be associated with a charger (CH) for an electrical battery (BA) of a system (V), said charger having input ports coupled to a charging station (PC) that is connected to a general supply network (RA) providing a main alternating voltage differential, and to the electrical battery (BA) via at least lines (L1, L2). Said device (D) comprises i) measuring means (MM) coupled to at least one of the lines (L1, L2) in order to measure at least first and second values of at least one electrical variable relating to said lines (L1, L2), in the presence respectively of different first and second current consumptions of a set consisting of the charger (CH) and the electrical battery (BA), and ii) processing means (MT) arranged so as to force said set (CH, BA) to carry out the first and second current consumptions, then to estimate a parasite impedance and/or a parasite non-linear effect between the input ports and the general supply network (RA) according to the first and second values and the first and second current consumptions, and to determine a value of the charging current of the electrical battery (BA); according to the estimated parasite impedance and/or the estimated parasite non-linear effect and the main alternating voltage differential.


This study examined the response of carbon (C) sequestration and evapotranspiration (ET) to nitrogen (N) fertilization during the four post-fertilization years (2007–2010) in a Pacific Northwest chronosequence of three Douglas-fir stands 61, 22 and 10 yr old in 2010 (DF49, HDF11 and HDF00, respectively). An artificial neural network (ANN) for time series analysis was employed to identify and estimate the complex nonlinear relationships between C and water exchanges and environmental variables. To test the performance of the ANN model, it was trained against multi-year monthly climate variables and EC-measured C and water fluxes for 1998–2004 and the trained model was then verified using data obtained in 2005 and 2006. The optimized model which showed high reliability (linear regression analysis: for C and water fluxes, R 2 > 0.93, slope = 0.96–0.99, p < 0.000) was then used to calculate the C and water fluxes for 2007–2010 assuming the three stands were not fertilized. The calculated C and water fluxes (for non-fertilized conditions) were compared with the measured fluxes (for fertilized conditions) to quantify the effects of fertilization during the post-fertilization four years. Results showed that N fertilization increased gross primary productivity of all three stands in all four years with the largest absolute increases in the 10 yr-old stand (HDF00) followed by the 22 yr-old stand (HDF11). Ecosystem respiration increased in all four years at HDF00, but decreased over the last three years at HDF88, and over all four years in the 61 yr-old stand (DF49). As a result, fertilization increased the net ecosystem productivity of all three stands with the average increase being the largest at HDF88 followed by DF49. In addition, fertilization caused a small increase in annual ET in all four years at DF49; a small increase in the first year and a decrease in the next three years at HDF88; and no consistent effect at HDF00. Consequently, fertilization exerted only a small impact on water use efficiency in the oldest stand (DF49) but a significant increase in the two younger stands (HDF00 and HDF88). Furthermore, N fertilization increased light use efficiency in all three stands, especially in the 10 yr-old stand.


Porosity and permeability are the two most important of reservoir rock characteristics particularly in sandstones. They are controlled by rock fabric, mineralogical composition, diagenetic evolution, etc. To address the unknowns, this investigation examined 98 of core, core plug and side wall core samples taken from oil fields of block 15-2 in Cuu Long basin. The samples were analyzed via thin section, Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and measured helium porosity and Klinkenberg permeability. The results showed that most of sandstones in sequences BH1.2 and C1 are arkose and lithic arkose and sporadically interbedded by feldspathic greywacke and carbonate cemented sandstones while feldspathic greywacke and zeolite cemented sandstones are commonly present in sequences D1 and E1. The clean sandstones with moderately-well grain sorting have higher porosities and permeable abilities than the very poorly-poorly sorted sandstones. The medium-coarse grained sandstones have a higher porosity and permeability than the very finefine grained sandstones. The diagenetic processes of sandstones are progressively growing with the increasing burial depth as smectite transfers into illite and the amount of illite tends to increase while kaolinite reduces and transfers into dickite. Feldspars and lithic fragments are highly leached and sandstones are heavily restricted by cementation and compaction at deeper. The grain sorting, grain size, compaction and cementation cause to decrease the porosity and permeability of the sandstones. Additionally, clay minerals as illite and chlorite have a negative effect and cause highly decreasing permeability.


This review summarises clinical development and patents, claiming anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) and anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy, published from 2001 to April 2004. The majority of patents described in this review are new drugs and new treatment strategies, including several combination therapies. In addition, many patents reporting chemical processes and pharmaceutical formulations of nucleoside analogues and new HCV inhibitors have also been published. Also, there are some clinical trials related to anti-HBV and anti-HCV infection treatment.


materials in which several thousands at.ppm of helium is estimated to be generated during reactor operation. It is well known that a small amount of helium enhances irradiation embrittlement of austenitic steels 1-3) and some vanadium alloys 4,5) in the tests at relatively high temperatures accompanied by the change in the fracture mode from transgranular to intergarnular cracking. Microstructural observations revealed that many bubbles, which were considered to be helium bubbles, existed at grain boundaries, indicating that the helium atoms in the matrix of these materials diffused to form bubbles at grain boundaries during irradiation and/or testing at a high temperature. In contrast, it was reported that the martensitic steels were highly resistant to helium bubble-induced grain boundary embrittlement 6-8) at high temperatures. High resistance to the bubble formation in the martensitic steels is considered to be attributed to trapping of helium atoms and point defects in the martensitic structure or dislocations, lath boundaries and carbides in high density which prevent helium atoms segregating to form helium bubbles at grain boundaries. Ductile-brittle transition behavior is characteristic to martensitic steels, and irradiation hardening usually results in an increase in the transition temperature. It is expected that the trapped helium atoms in the martensitic structure would enhance irradiation hardening of the matrix and resultantly transgranular embrittlement at low temperatures. As for the effects of helium on the ductile-brittle transition behavior of the martensitic steels, there have been done several studies relating to the effects of so called


Tubitak Uzay has started a spaceborne hyperspectral imager development project two years ago. As hyperspectral remote sensing is getting popular, Tubitak Uzay has R&D projects both on hardware development and software applications of hyperspectral imaging. Project is at the PDR level now. Many trade-off cases are evaluated during the system engineering and preliminary design phases. We are presenting a summary of trade-off cases and lessons learnt during those studies. Optical, mechanical and electronical designs are also shown at the end of paper.


The critical shear stress and erodibility of soil are fundamental parameters for modeling embankment breaching. Unfortunately, very few studies have examined the erosion characteristics of soils consisting predominantly of particles larger than sand. This report presents results of an experimental study in which the erosion characteristics of gravelly soils were measured. A flume apparatus was developed in which 0.45-m-square samples were extruded into confined flow. A mechanical laser system allowed the measurement of scour in real time, resulting in a continuous and automated erosion test. The critical shear stress of a uniform gravel was found to match the expected values based on the Shields diagram, while tests that were composed largely of gravel but contained other soils, such as sand, silt, and clay, varied significantly with the critical shear stress and erodibility, depending highly on the characteristics of the finer soils.


Objective: In this study, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory effect of Elettaria cardamom oil and the underlying mechanism using in vivo models of inflammation.Methods: Male Sprague–Dawley rats, 4-6 weeks old, weighing 120-130 gms are used for the study. The anti-inflammatory study of E. cardamom oil was studied by injecting 0.1 ml of 1% carrageenan to the subplantar region of the right hind paw of rats. The development of acute inflammation was measured at the end of every 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th h using plethysmometer.Results: As results from the above study, E. cardamom oil at a dose of 0.175 ml/kg was less significant than that of E. cardamom oil at a dose of 0.280 ml/kg when given orally. A p<0.05 shows a significant decrease in paw edema. It also reduced the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor I±, interleukin (IL) 1, and IL 6 levels in the serum. The histopathology results also showed a significant reduction of congested blood vessels with no marked impression for inflammation.Conclusion: E. cardamom oil possesses anti-inflammatory activity in dose-dependent manner as they inhibit the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines.


Combining with the engineering examples,the paper adopts the static precipitation preloading and dynamic drainage consolidation to undertake the soft foundation treatment,introduces the basic principle,the design parameter,and the construction craft,has the comprehensive analysis of its settlement,the side movement,the pore water pressure supervision,and the static sounding inspection data,and proves by the analysis result that the method has better treatment effect of the soft foundation,so it has broader future.


This paper introduces an innovative computational design tool used to edit architectural geometry by addressing the problem of irregular vertices. An irregular vertex is a special kind of vertex, which is connected with less or more edges than regular vertex on a mesh surface. Such vertices create problems with further surface rationalization, as well as structural analysis and constructability of the surface. Geometry created by other tools is remeshed upon import. Using the developed tool, the user is able to identify irregular vertices, and interactively change type, move or remove these irregular vertices. The background of our research and related work on architectural geometry and mesh editing are explained. A case study for a Building Information Modeling (BIM) competition is used to illustrate the workflow. The advantages and disadvantages of editing mesh topology on architectural geometry design including the limitations are discussed at the end.


ION The value of Water Quality Index (WQI) is a good indicator of water quality. The objective of this study is to assessment of Index of Aquifer Water Quality (IAWQ)for irrigation and livestock purposes for the Dammam confine aquifer in the western desert.The values of (IAWQ) are shown of chemical parameters which can delineate the areas of natural pollution especially in discharge areas. In spite of presence of pollution for such contaminated parameters correlate with presence of source rocks of theses parameters, it can be noted that most of groundwater samples over study area were permissible for irrigation. As a conclusion, the Index map shows that ground water lies within permissible-polluted for agriculture purposes. As a conclusion, the Index map shows that ground water lies within good for livestock purposes. The GIS technique was used to prepare IAWQ maps of study area to show the distribution of Index values for individual locations of samples over the study area.The IAWQ index together with GIS serve or benefit the decision makers for drill the wells in the area to get ground water with a less pollution and land use planning with a less danger from pollution. The groundwater in the study area is generally alkaline in nature with pH ranging from 7.02 to 8.50 for two seasons. The TDS values range between 880 to 2000 and 1030 to 2270 mg/l for wet and dry seasons. The analyses indicate much variation between the two seasons, where major ions and heavy metals have high concentration for wet than dry seasons. The SO4 2 – was the most pollution parameters the effects on ground water for different uses. On the basin of the value of IAWQ was applied for agriculture purposes and for livestock purposes in study area, the ground water lie within permissible-polluted for agriculture purposes and lie within good for livestock purposes.


Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen responsible for listeriosis. The inhibitory effect of essential oils (1% v/w) of Thymus daenensis Celak (Lamiaceae), Thymbra spicata L. (Lamiaceae) and Satureja bachtiarica Bunge (Lamiaceae) applied to the surface of chicken frankfurters was determined on L. monocytogenes inoculated at low (10 3 CFU/g) and high (10 6 CFU/g) populations and stored for seven and 14 days. The results showed that L. monocytogenes populations increased during seven and 14 days of storage at 4 °C on control frankfurters without essential oil. The application of 1 % essential oil (v/w) of herbs to frankfurter surfaces can significantly reduce (p<0.05) the L. monocytogenes populations as compared to control in two inocula treatments after seven and 14 days of storage at 4 °C.


Although substantial effort has been dedicated to analyzing the Higgs (amplitude) mode in superconducting systems, there are relatively few studies of the Higgs peak's dispersion and width, quantities which are observable in spectroscopic measurements. These properties can be obtained from the location of the pole of the longitudinal (Higgs) susceptibility in the lower half-plane of complex frequency. We analyze the behavior of the Higgs mode in a 2D neutral fermionic superfluid at $T=0$ throughout the crossover from Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) to Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) behavior. This occurs when the dressed chemical potential $\mu$ changes sign from positive to negative. For $\mu>0$, we find a pole in the Higgs susceptibility in the lower half-plane of frequency and demonstrate that it leads to a well-defined peak in spectroscopic probes. For $\mu<0$, the pole still exists, but is"hidden,"not giving rise to a peak in spectroscopic probes. Extending this analysis to a charged superconductor, we find that the Higgs mode is unaffected by the long-range Coulomb interaction.


Abstract Objective: The goal of this study was to compare mechanical (cold scissor) and electrosurgical metroplasty (bipolar twizzle) in terms of feasibility and pain scoring during ambulatory-based hysteroscopic metroplasty for short, narrow-based uterine septae. Materials and Methods: Forty women, with recurrent abortions or infertility, with short narrow-based septae <2 cm diagnosed by transvaginal ultrasound and hysterosalpingogram (HSG) were included in the study. The patients were randomized into two groups of 20 patients each. In group A, metroplasty was performed with a cold mini-scissor (mechanical resection). In group B, metroplasty was performed with a bipolar twizzle (electrosurgical resection). None of the patients were given anesthesia or analgesia. Metroplasty was scheduled in the early proliferative phase of each patient's menstrual cycle, without pharmacologic preparation. The Versascope® hysteroscopy system was used. Through the expanding plastic collapsible channel, insertion of a 7-Fr ...


SigFree online signature-free out-of-the-box application-layer method for blocking code-injection buffer overflow attack messages targeting at various Internet services such as web service. Motivated by the observation that buffer overflow attacks typically contain executables whereas legitimate client requests never contain executables in most Internet services, SigFree blocks attacks by detecting the presence of code. SigFree is signature free, thus it can block new and unknown buffer overflow attacks. SigFree is also immunized from most attack-side code obfuscation methods. We focus on buffer overflow attacks whose payloads contain executable code in machine language, and we assume normal requests do not contain executable machine code. We shows that the dependency-degree-based SigFree could block all types of code-injection attack packets tested in our experiments with very few false positives. Keywords— Intrusion detection, Buffer overflow attacks, code injecting attacks,


In his seminar 'Cultural Spirals' at the Stout Research Centre on 24 September 1997, Peter Cleave described the use of Maori images by Cordon Waiters and other pakeha artists and mentioned in passing the activities of Theo Schoon and Rex Fairbum. Frank Rogers here gives more detail of the involvement of these two men in recording and using the Maori rock drawings. These works do not appear to have been claimed by iwi as taonga so that they have not been subject to the kind of restraints upon pakeha use as Peter Cleave has described in other cases.


The closure of banks at the time of the depression can be regarded as an economic innovation which diffused throughout our society, culminating in the national bank holiday. The propagation of such events would seem likely to reveal the structure of the system. One may postulate that the general organization of the society has not changed in the last forty years, although the banking industry has been modified in its details. One would expect that technological innovations in today's society spread in a manner analogous to bank closures in that earlier period, probably at a somewhat accelerated rate.


(57) Abstract: at least one semiconductor chip having contact pads, the plurality of substrate layers, a semiconductor component which is formed from components contacts and conductor have been proposed, the conductor paths, the at least one semiconductor chip electrical connection is formed between the contact pad and the component contacts. The substrate layer, the conductor paths and / or at least one opening is provided, in which each opening has at least one semiconductor chip. Multiple substrate layers are bonded to each other to overlap. Conductor tracks of each substrate layer terminates at the edge region in the region in the vicinity of at least one semiconductor chip and each of the substrate layers.


This study is focused on the power deposition in microplasma jet discharges generated by application of radiofrequency (RF) excitation to a hollow needle electrode. The plasma jet is initiated at atmospheric pressure in open air with a flow of helium through the electrode. We show that in this configuration, a significant part of the injected power is dissipated in electromagnetic radiation. Many recent works have demonstrated the potential of either cold plasma jets or of RF radiation for applications in medicine, and therefore a source that produces both a cold plasma jet and RF radiation could be of interest.


High-temperature oxidation of heat-resistant alloys with small amounts of sulfur and reactive elements (Y, Hf) was studied for 1800ks in air at 1273K by mass change measurements, observation of surface appearance of the alloys, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and electron probe X-ray microanalysis. Mass change of the alloy with 7ppm of sulfur showed low value because of marked spalling of the oxide film on the alloy. Mass changes of the other alloys with sulfur increased with increasing sulfur up to 491ppm of sulfur. Mass changes of the alloys with sulfur and yttrium were 4.3-5.1×10-3kg/m2. Mass changes of the alloys with sulfur and hafnium were 2.3-5.2×10-3kg/m2.


57 ABSTRACT A method and apparatus for converting input synchro data, received in the form of a pair of signals representing, for example, the sine and cosine of a synchro shaft angle whose quadrant is predetermined, into a weighted binary number accurately identifying the synchro angle. Circuitry performs two successive steps of angle subtraction from the input synchro angle until a resultant angle between 0 and 11.25 is obtained for which an accurate linear approximation can be made.


The article substantive provisions of research of an investment climate of the territorial formations causing character, tendencies and rates of the social and economic and investment processes shown at territorial level are considered. The positions resulted in work represent itself as a methodical substantiation of expediency of formation of complex indicative toolkit of an estimation, forecasting and modeling of an investment situation at territorial level.


A small size, low-profile, ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna with (WLAN/Wi-MAX) band notch behaviour is proposed for microwave imaging applications. The designed UWB antenna consists of a microstrip line feed of 50 $\Omega$, rhombus-shaped monopole radiator, and a rectangular ground surface. In order to achieve a miniaturized antenna configuration, the two edges of the ground plane are modified by using the Koch fractal shape of second-order. Further, in the radiating element of the UWB antenna, elliptical-shaped complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR) is loaded to notch the interfering Wi-MAX (3.5 GHz) and WLAN (5.5 GHz) signals. The designed antenna covers a bandwidth $\left(S_{11} \leq-10 \mathrm{dB}\right)$ of 3-12.8 GHz (9.8 GHz) with two notches at 3.5 GHz (3.3-3.7 GHz) and 5.5 GHz (5.3-5.7 GHz).


Inspired by Three-Dimensional Concurrent Engineering (3DCE) (Fine, 1998), the authors propose the concept of multidimensional collaboration and establish a System Dynamics (SD) model to analyse the effect of multidimensional collaboration on Collaborative Product Development (CPD) cycle time through a case study of a Taiwanese high-tech electronics company. We also induce five key decision factors of implementing multidimensional collaboration in the CPD process: Product Data Management (PDM) maturity, collaborative Engineering Change Management (ECM), Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) information platform readiness, Supply Chain (SC) concurrency and IPR concurrency. After deploying the operational definitions of the factors and finishing SD modelling, the authors conduct expert interviews in S company in Taiwan's thermal module industry to elicit practical data. Through computer simulation and Design of Experiment (DOE), which helps modellers identify significant experimental factors, we can observe their effects on reducing the CPD cycle time. In this way, the authors wish to consolidate the SD model to approach as closely as possible the operational context in the real world and enhance learning for the practitioners of CPD in high-tech sectors.


The honeycomb structure is a natural or man-made structure (material) that has a honeycomb geometry, which is aimed at lightweight construction material companies, also getting a quality level from the material selection. The purpose of this study was to analyze the energy absorption ability of the statistical pressure tester. Energy absorption is a method of how an object attenuates due to external pressure. The energy absorption test was carried out by means of a statistical press test, the test object made from aluminum plates in the form of a honeycomb structure with different hexagonal size variations. This section will compare the results of the stress-strain and energy absorption data on each tested specimen to see which one is more efficient among the three specimens with different hexagonal sizes. The final result of this tester will use a graph of vertical stress - strain and energy absorption capability by horizontal and vertical testing. Therefore the results of the greatest energy absorption are in the horizontal test position with a hexagonal size of 2 mm, and the energy placement is in a vertical test position with a hexagonal size of 6 mm.


Purpose: This work aims to present treatment and long-term follow-up of a 31-year-old woman with dermatomyositis who presented with hemorrhagic retinal vasculitis and macular edema. Methods: A retrospective case report is presented. Results: A 31-year-old woman with dermatomyositis treated with systemic immunosuppression was evaluated for acute, reduced vision. Best-corrected visual acuity was hand motion in the right eye and 20/200 in the left eye. Fundus examination revealed diffuse intraretinal hemorrhages, cotton-wool spots, and vascular sheathing with a frosted branch angiitis–like appearance. Optical coherence tomography revealed significant macular edema and subretinal fluid that quickly resolved after admission and treatment with intravenous steroids. Multimodal imaging at 7-year follow-up disclosed long-term sequelae including peripheral nonperfusion and retinal neovascularization. Conclusions: When vasculitis associated with dermatomyositis is treated aggressively with intravenous steroids at initial presentation, good visual acuity outcomes can be achieved, but long-term consequences of retinal nonperfusion and neovascularization persist.