Evaluating and developing the electroplating production process is a key challenge in this type of process. The process is influenced by several factors, such as process parameters, process costs, and production environments. Analyzing and optimizing all these factors together requires extensive analytical techniques that are not available for real-case industrial entities. This paper presents a practicebased framework to improve the electroplating production line performance in order to reduce product flow time and waiting time while increasing total throughput with minimum number of defective products so as to establish sustainable operations and improve system performance. The proposed approach respectively uses Design of Experiments (DOE), Discrete-Event Simulation (DES), and Theory of Constraints (TOC) to identify the most significant factors affecting the production process and simulate a real production line to recognize the effect of these factors and assign possible bottlenecks. Several scenarios are generated as a corrective strategy for improving the production line. Following that, Data Envelopment AnalysisCharnes, Cooper, and Rhodes (CCR) input-oriented DEA model is used to evaluate and optimize the suggested scenarios.


Method and system for debugging using replicated logic and the trigger logic is described. Circuit representation is compiled. One or more of the signals for triggering is selected, the trigger logic is inserted into the circuit. A portion of the circuit representation is selected for replication. And selected portions of the circuit is duplicated, delay logic is inserted to delay inputs to the replicated portion of the circuit. Circuit representation is recompiled is programmed into the hardware device. Then, it is possible to start the debugger. One or more of the trigger signal is selected. For each trigger signal selected, one or more of the state setting up is selected trigger condition. Then, it is possible to run the hardware device. When the trigger condition occurs, so that the copied portion of the circuit is suspended. Then, it is possible to record the state of the register in the copied portion of the circuit, and a sequence of steps that led to the trigger condition. .The


A growing number of papers in the areas of both manufacturing and marketing have emphasized the integration of several decisions between the two functions. This paper proposes a structural equation modeling using AMOS to evaluate the relationship between manufacturing and marketing integration, combinative competitive capabilities and business performance. Data were collected from 199 manufacturing firms of various size, location, and industry to develop the instrument and test the relationships in the framework. The results show that two of the three hypothesized direct effects are significant at the 0.01 level. Manufacturing and marketing integration positively influences combinative competitive capabilities and combinative competitive capabilities positively influence business performance. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the influence of manufacturing and marketing integration on business performance is partially confirmed because of the insignificant statistics.


A new design and implementation approach for the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and discrete cosine transform (DCT) is discussed. The approach, called memory-based approach, is based on a design concept of combining and exploiting both the advantages induced from the systolic array architectures and the efficient implementation techniques of substituting multipliers by read-only-memory (ROM) together. Based on this approach, the proposed arrays feature high computing speeds, low complexity and hardware cost of the processing elements (PEs), and low I/O cost. Moreover, high regularity both among and inside the PEs can be found in the proposed arrays. These merits make the proposed designs much more feasible for VLSI implementation.<<ETX>>


Autonomic systems encompass elements, components, and sometimes smaller autonomic sub-systems. Composition, integration and orchestration at different levels of such autonomic systems are significant issues in the interoperability of their constituent elements. This research focuses on orchestration as an important process of interoperability in an abstract autonomic system model. Policy-based management has potential to play an important role in orchestrating constituent components of autonomic systems/elements, and also to fill the gap between business and IT objectives. This research applies policy-based orchestration using crisp and fuzzy policies to reach the business goals of the system, and to obey the constraints defined by the service level agreement (SLA). First, a simulated model has been used in MATLAB/Simulink environment, and then the system is implemented by Agent Building and Learning Environment (ABLE) in Java


This paper analyses the process of internet diffusion and economic growth using a dataset of 116 low and lower middle income countries during 1990 to 2004. The countries are stratified by those with (without) stock exchanges and show that the internet diffusion process is characterised by an S-shape curve for both groups. Countries with stock exchanges show a steeper diffusion curve and have higher growth patterns than those without. The paper further explores the relation between internet diffusion and economic growth at the country and firm levels. The findings show this relation to be significant in countries where investor protection, trade, and governance are increasing and where market liquidity and foreign equity holders are higher relative to others.


Background: Widening social inequalities are a noted feature of the epidemiology of SUDI. An increasing proportion of SUDI now occur among families experiencing issues including substandard housing, unemployment, substance abuse, multiple partners and domestic violence. Preliminary analysis from an 11-year retrospective cohort study of SUDI in Queensland indicates that families' experience of vulnerability impacts on infant care in more complex ways than can be addressed by a blanket approach to safe sleeping education. To date, no Australian studies have specifically investigated the social environments of SUDI infants. Attempts to tell the SUDI story from the perspective of the vulnerable parent are also noticeably lacking from Australian and international research. The qualitative value of narrative records, including coronial records, has been well recognised in other areas of death prevention. There have been no qualitative studies of SUDI using narrative records to examine the wider social context of the infant death and/or parents' perspectives and experiences. Objectives: To explore the wider social context in which SUDI in socially vulnerable families occur, and to examine the perspectives and experiences of those connected to the event (i.e. parents and caregivers). Methods: This was the second phase of a large mixed methods study involving retrospective analysis of all SUDI in Queensland between 2004-2014. The study design was a qualitative content analysis of witness statements from socially vulnerable parents, provided in the course of a coronial investigation. Preliminary findings are presented as case study analyses of two SUDI. This provided a rich and detailed account of the different experiences and perspectives of socially vulnerable families who experience a SUDI in a way that is different from, yet complimentary to, the knowledge obtained through quantitative analysis. Results: The two cases discussed were families from different backgrounds and different places, linked by the sudden, unexpected death of an infant, and by complex needs and stress factors that acted as barriers to family functioning. Through the use of case study, this paper highlights the multifaceted vulnerability that may be experienced by SUDI families. This paper also demonstrates that while there are considerable similarities in the issues faced by socially vulnerable families, there are also notable differences, both in their individual circumstances and their engagement with and use of health services. Points where the reach of existing services might possibly have been extended to both build on the strengths, and respond to the risks, inherent in each family dynamic are also explored. Conclusions: Narrative approaches have been used to provide a rich and detailed account of the subjective experience of a SUDI, and the ways in which social vulnerability may impact on families' infant care practices. This case study approach provided a number of contextual factors that would have been likely to influence the effectiveness of routine safe sleeping education, which would not have been obtained from quantitative methods alone. In this context, qualitative analysis of death story narratives may provide a new understanding of infant deaths in socially vulnerable families.


Eggplant (Solanum melongena) is the third most important vegetable in Asia and of considerable importance in the Mediterranean belt. Although global eggplant production has been increasing in recent years, productivity is limited due to insects, diseases, and abiotic stresses. Genetic engineering offers new traits to eggplant, such as seedless parthenocarpic fruits, varieties adapted to extreme climatic events (i.e., sub- or supra-optimal temperatures), transcription factor regulation, overexpressing osmolytes, antimicrobial peptides, Bacillusthuringiensis (Bt) endotoxins, etc. Such traits either do not occur naturally in eggplant or are difficult to incorporate by conventional breeding. With controversies, Bt-expressing eggplant varieties resistant to eggplant fruit and shoot borers have already been adopted for commercial cultivation in Bangladesh. However, to maximize the benefits of transgenic technology, future studies should emphasize testing transgenic plants under conditions that mimic field conditions and focus on the plant's reproductive stage. In addition, the availability of the whole genome sequence, along with an efficient in vitro regeneration system and suitable morphological features, would make the eggplant an alternative model plant in which to study different aspects of plant biology in the near future.


Background: Etomidate drug is commonly used for procedural sedation in the emergency department (ED). The incidence rate of etomidate-induced myoclonus is 33%.

Aims and Objectives: In this study, we aimed to contradict that etomidate-induced myoclonus is less significant than the reported incidence rate.

Materials and Methods: This prospective study was performed between June 2016 and November 2016 in the ED of Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, a tertiary care hospital. In the ED, procedural sedation was carried out by the physician. Adult patients receiving etomidate were enrolled for the study.

Results: The presence of myoclonus was noticed, and its duration was reported using the myoclonus scale. A total of 166 (116 males and 50 females) patients enrolled in the ED for procedural sedation with etomidate were taken. The dose administered was 0.3 mg/kg. Myoclonus was observed in 4 (2.4%) of 166 sedations. The mean age was observed to be male and female. During procedural sedation, etomidate-induced myoclonus in ED was less significant than the reported values.

Conclusion: From this, we came to the conclusion that the incidence to occur myoclonus with administration of etomidate is less when compare with other ED studies.


This study aims to determine the extent of decision-making priorities by using green supply chain management model in overcoming the problem of food waste. This research focused on entities involved in supply chain management and identified their opinions in selecting the level of importance of green supply chain management model. This research applies AHP analysis and using Microsoft Excel which based on Windows 7 to analyse the priorities. Sub-criteria criteria are source, make, deliver, and return. While the sub-criteria are reliability, responsiveness, agility, cost and asset. After doing the research, sub criteria that dominates the formation of food waste is sub criteria deliver, then followed by sub criteria make, source and return. This research found that sub criteria deliver more dominant in donating food waste, followed by source, make and return. Then, in the criteria, the cost criteria are the dominating criteria, then followed by responsiveness, reliability, agility, and asset. This research is useful to acknowledge where the process on supply chain management that causes the occurrence of food waste, so that companies or other organizations can overcome the inefficiency of food in certain process.


The poem, Barak Muslu Mezarlığı, by Atilla İlhan, who wrote his poems from the point of social realsim in the republican eraTurkish literature, was studied in terms of content and form. The poet deals with the recognition of war of Anatolian geography, where he lived, and its sufferings experienced in the past in the story of verse form. Deaths caused by the war and ordinary deaths are compared. Barak Muslu cemetery is filled with the graves of ordinary people. However, those who were buried there later can visit the garaves of their ancestors. Those who died in the war even have no graves. Bringing innovation to the Turkish poetry in terms of form, the poet pioneers many poets coming after him. Although the subject dealt with cultural values with a new perspective that refuses to spelling and punctuation are not left aside. The poet assimilates narratorhero realms of world with his own world of thoughts. The poet who has large use of image makes use of symbols as well. Poet uses a unique style and oratory style and also choose the plea. Per verse repeats and repeats intra-verse add harmony to poetry. The harmony within the sound similarities also increases the whole harmony of the poem. He uses a style of expression very close colloquial language.


The growth of crops depends on many factors, not least the nature of the soil. It is, therefore, important to be able to describe soils in unequivocal terms, much as living organisms are precisely defined according to the binomial taxonomic system originated by Linnaeus. The very complex and varied nature of soils makes this a difficult problem but since the 1950s it has been vigorously tackled by the US Soil Taxonomy programme. The hierarchical system developed is reviewed here.


The article's objective is to investigate the direct and indirect managerial capabilities on policy planning and performance in small-to-medium-sized companies. The paper explores the hypotheses that there is a significant relationship between: manager's work experiences, educational background as their capabalities and policy formulation; and the impact of them on their firm's performance. The paper's methodology is an empirical research designed with structural equation modelling. The sample consisted of 200 SMEs using questionnaires, which resulted in 178 completed responses. This research is singular, because it is one of the first researches that has clearly identified and successfully measured the impact of managerial capabilities. The creative contribution concerns, the manager's capabilities and its effect on the policy making process. It has special value for decision processes of SME and entrepreneur's support preparation towards entrepreneurship success development. This research provides a tool to measure the effectiveness of capabilities of the owner managers in SMEs.


The concentration of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) in rooms depends not only on emission and ventilation rates, but also on sorption by the room surfaces. The use of sorptive building materials on room surfaces seems effective for decreasing VOCs concentrations that have the possibility of affecting human health. In this study, we evaluated the effects of sorptive building materials with respect to decreasing toluene concentrations in air using a small test chamber. Air containing a low concentration of toluene was supplied, and the decrease in toluene concentration was measured at the exhaust. We examined how the toluene concentration, the air exchange rate of the chamber, the loading factor of the sorptive materials, and the convective mass transfer rate influenced the sorptive performance, which was well reproduced experimentally with the CFD simulations.


The distribution of the aflatoxin contamination was studied among four maize fractions, separated according to Brazilian grading rules for maize. The fraction that contained fermented, moldy, heated and sprouted grains normally had the highest levels of aflatoxin. However, the fraction contribution to the whole sample contamination level took into account the contamination fraction level and its weight to the whole sample. Considering this, the fraction that contained insect damaged, hollow, up to ¼ fermented and grains damaged by other causes was normally the fraction responsible for the total contamination level in the samples. Nevertheless, the fraction contributions were variable from sample to sample. Therefore, in conclusion, it was not possible to establish a standard behavior for grain fraction-type contribution for different maize lots. The Brazilian grading by qualitative types applied to samples did not show statistic correlation with aflatoxin contamination levels (P<0.05). Two type-1 samples (the best quality type) presented contamination of 380 and 146ng/g. The number of samples with contamination levels above those allowed by Brazilian law (20ng/g) was the same for qualitative types 2, 3, and BS (Below Standard).


The present invention is a method for producing a molded article by molding the thin steel sheet using a press-molding die press, initiating and then heating the steel sheet to a temperature above the Ac


Empirical research requires some form of data collection or evidence in order to test a hypothesis. Conducting research in the area of strategic management invariably necessitates data collection from an organisation's most senior executives but such activity is becoming increasingly difficult. So how can researchers improve their prospects of accessing these most valuable of resources? This paper is based on a particular research study which required responses from executives involved in a specific area of the international services sector. The results show that a combination of techniques had to be deployed in order to attain the targeted sample, including customised 'gentle reminder' phone calls. Moreover, the techniques selected must be tailored to the characteristics of the respondent in question. Management researchers may well benefit in their empirical endeavours by following the recommendations put forward. Limitations and future research recommendations are also outlined.


In a wireless network adopting a cooperative decode and forward protocol, malicious nodes may not forward packets when requested. In this letter we propose to exploit cooperation also to detect malicious nodes. Each node monitors other nodes' transmissions and apply an adaptive quickest detection (AQD) technique to form an opinion, which is however affected by channel fading. In order to reduce false alarms, opinions are merged with a consensus algorithm at a fusion center, which then blocks malicious nodes. The possibility that malicious nodes report false opinions in order to avoid of being detected is taken into account in the design of the consensus algorithm.


first-best Pareto-optimal configuration of the economy. In effect, idealized market institutions are interpreted as the "means" through which the marginal equivalences for the general optimum of production and exchange are met. The theory makes clear, however, that institutional means other than market capitalism could just as easily be used to realize the basic optimality conditions *, and the general impression conveyed is that institutional arrangements play an inconsequential role in the optimization process. But this orthodox approach is open to question. Recent developments in microeconomic theory suggest that transaction costs, and hence economic institutions, exert significant influence on market outcomes and efficiency. It is of interest, therefore, to consider the extent to which the traditional conclusions concerning the Pareto efficiency of a competitive capitalist system are disturbed by the new line of institutionalist thinking. During the postwar years, dissatisfaction with the standard neoclassical model led to a growing revisionist literature focused on property-rights/transaction


Single-phase trioctahedral brittle micas (clintonite, xanthophyllite, brandisite) of compositions ca(Mgr*,Alr-'XAl.-,si,oroxoH), with z from 0.6 to 1.4 were synthesized on the join cao:3Mgo:Alror: 2SiO, + xHrO-CaO:MgO: 3AlrO, * xHrO (substitution AlIv + Alvr : MgSi) at 600-g70" at 2 kbar water pressure. The ca analog of phlogopite, i.e., caMgr(Alrslor)(oH), could not be synthesized. solid solubility of the trioctahedral towards dioctahedral calcium micas (e.g., margarite) was studied on two joins starting with z : l.l7 and z : 1.o. These two joins involve the compositions ca(Mgo u-*Al"-o rr) (Al4-,Si,O,oXOH), and Ca(Mg._r,Al")(Al.-,Si.Or0XOH), (substitution 2Mg + AlIv : Alvr + Si), respectively. Maximum solid solubility towards the dioctahedral component on these joins was found to be l0 mole percent (1.17 < z < 1.27) and 24 mole percent (1.0 < z < 1.24), respectively. All mrcas synthesized were of the I M (or 3 I) polymorphic type. Their lattice constants a, b, c, V decrease with decreasing z in the strictly trioctahedral micas and also with increasing dioctahedral component' B remains constant. The solid solubility encompasses and, on the alumina-rich side, even exceedsihe var iat ion in natural calc ium micas.


The cover layer of the pavement can be functioned as a structural layer or non-structural layer. Improvement of road surface conditions is done by overlay with additional layers above it or stripping the surface layers of the road. Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) or asphalt stripping results into a new problem of aggregate asphalt waste. Utilization of material from the pavement surface layer can reduce environmental pollution and can save maintenance cost. Research has been done by knowing the content of asphalt and gradation of aggregate from stripping asphalt through the extraction process. A few modified asphalts as Asbuton Retona Blend-55 (Asbuton-R) and fresh aggregates have been added to obtain the aggregate bitumen mixture on the specification type of Asphalt Concrete Wearing Coarse (ACWC) mixture. Crumb Rubber (CR) of used tire rubber has been added to the new aggregate and mixed with the old asphalt mixture, and then added asphalt modified Asbuton-R. Crumb rubber (CR) of 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 3% were added to each variation of asphalt content ranging from 1.5%; 2%; and 4%. The result of the recycled aggregate asphalt mixture was tested with Marshall Standard and Marshall Immersions on the optimum Asbuton-R content. The deformation resistance of pavement mixture to weather changes has been simulated using Wheel Tracking Machine (WTM) at 26° C, 30° C, 35° C. The results showed that RAP content of more than 80% can still be utilized in the recycling process. The asphalt pavement mixture resistance to rutting deformation due to temperature change, with the addition of 1.5% of optimum Asbuton-R content has shown an increase.


THE TESTS DESCRIBED IN THIS PAPER WERE DESIGNED TO: IDENTIFY THE MECHANISM BY WHICH CORROSION OF STEEL IS INITIATED, PROVIDE QUANITATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF CHLORIDES, AND DETERMINE IF A PREDICTABLE THRESHOLD OF CORROSION EXISTS. LABORATORY STUDIES ARE REPORTED ON THE CORROSION OF BARE STEEL RODS IN ENVIRONMENTS SIMULATING POROUS CONCRETE CONTAMINATED WITH CHLORIDES. THE INITIATION OF CORROSION IS SHOWN TO REQUIRE FREE OXYGEN AT THE STEEL SURFACE AND A RATIO OF CHLORIDE TO HYDROXYL ION ACTIVITY OF AT LEAST 0.6. A PROBABILITY MODEL IS USED TO EXPLAIN THE CHLORIDE EFFECT AND TO PREDICT THE THRESHOLD VALUE CAUSING CORROSION. /AUTHOR/


Aminopeptidase N(APN) is an enzyme that readily hydrolyzes protein or neutral amino acids at the N-terminal of an oligopeptide.It is mainly distributed in the brush border membrane vesicle of midgut epithelial cells of lepidopterous insects and is the important receptor of Bacillus thuringiensis crystal toxins(Cry).To investigate expression patterns of APN family genes,Real-time PCR was employed to analyze the differential expression of APN family genes in larva migut tissue of different silkworm(Bombyx mori) varieties and the expression level of various family members in larva midgut tissue of the same silkworm variety.The results showed that APN family genes were expressed in larva midgut of all tested silkworm varieties.The expression level of APN genes were significantly different between silkworm varieties having different voltinisms(P0.05).However,there was little difference between silkworm varieties having the same voltinism(P0.05).The expression levels of APN 2,APN 4 and APN 5 genes were relatively higher in larva midgut tissue of the same silkworm variety,whereas those of APN 1 and APN 3 were relatively lower.The obtained results would facilitate further study on functioning mechanism of silkworm APN family genes,and provide theoretical basis for breeding silkworm strains resistant to Bacillus thuringiensis.


The recent positron excess observed in the PAMELA satellite experiment strengthens previous experimental findings. We give here an analysis of this excess in the framework of the Stueckelberg extension of the standard model which includes an extra $U(1{)}_{X}$ gauge field and matter in the hidden sector. Such matter can produce the right amount of dark matter consistent with the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) constraints. Assuming the hidden sector matter to be Dirac fermions it is shown that their annihilation can produce the positron excess with the right positron energy dependence seen in the HEAT, AMS, and the PAMELA experiments. The predictions of the $\overline{p}/p$ flux ratio also fit the data.


To investigate the correlation between middle cerebral atherosclerosis and capsular warning syndrome (CWS) and assess the value of higher‐resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in prognostication.


Introduction: Our institution im- plemented a minimally-invasive surgery program that included a thorough preoperative assessment and planning to provide the patient with an appro- priate correction of the radiographic parameters as well as esthetic satisfaction, together with a shorter hospital stay and less analgesic use. Material and methods: Retrospective, comparative, longitudinal and observational clinical trial. The study period was from January 2002 to December 2007; 40 pa- tients with hallux valgus underwent minimally in- vasive surgery, 12 of them underwent bilateral sur- gery, for a total of 52 feet with hallux valgus; 100% of them were females. Patients with mild hallux val- gus were 59.6% (31 patients) and those with moder- ate hallux valgus represented 40.4% (21 patients). Radiographic measurements were assessed in the pre- and postoperative periods; the AOFAS test was performed in the pre- and postoperative periods and 6 months later. Central trend and scatter mea- surements and Student's t-Test were performed. Re- sults: A significant difference was found in both the pre- and postoperative measurements. In both groups the postoperative results were within the normal ranges and there was no significant differ- ence between them in the 6-month postoperative as- sessment. Discussion: Any failed correction of some of the intrinsic and extrinsic components may cause a recurrent deformity. Certain parameters cannot be corrected with this method and therefore the or- thopedic surgeon should be familiar with more than


Objective: To review the literatures of methodologies on health financing equity.Methods: Papers of health financing equity published in literature review journals either in Chinese or in English were collected.Methodologies of health financing equity were analyzed through calculation method,limitation,data requirement,outcome categories,measuring view and other methods.Results and conclusion: There were about seven methods for health financing equity estimation based on literature review.Health Financing Contribution(HFC) and Fairness of Financing Contribution(FFC),introduced by WHO in 2000,should be adjusted in application in China.Redistribution Effect(RE) is one of good ways in some researches.However,it's hard to collect the good data in China.Kakwani Index is widely used in health financing.Catastrophic expenditure household analysis can be used to estimate financial protection from health care utilization.However,it is not a good indicator of health financing equity for the health system.


¡Por Vida! (PV) is a healthy menu logo and recognition program originally developed for restaurants in 2010 but expanded to institutional food services in 2011. This study objective was to compare PV implementation across these two settings. Data collected included an environmental assessment, patron awareness survey, and key informant interviews. Participants included key stakeholders, 5 restaurant brands with locations throughout the city,5 institutions, and patrons at participating institutions and restaurants. Results from the patron survey suggest that visibility of the PV logo was important in food selection; however, 58.5% of institutional patrons saw the logo when ordering, but 87% indicated no impact on food choice. Of restaurant patrons seeing the logo, 74.6% selected PV items. The environmental assessment indicated a variety of marketing techniques in both settings and frequency of marketing techniques across all sites were observed. Greater frequency of the PV logo and supporting information was observed in the institutional settings. Lastly, restaurant stakeholders indicated a need for more information of the PV program. Both settings requested additional training and support. Institutions reported initiating their own PV promotions. In conclusion, positive findings were observed in both settings; key differences were observed in implementation, marketing, and patron behavior.


Flip the NLO switch! A straightforward access to hexadithienylethene-based photochromes by using a coordination-chemistry approach through the combination of bis(dithienylethene)bipyridyl ligands and metal ions (M = Zn, Fe) is reported. The photostability of the isomeric forms of the iron(II) complexes allows the photoswitching of second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) responses (see figure), and the results are rationalized with the help of time-dependent density functional theory.


An accurate prediction of pile behaviour under axial loads is necessary for safe and cost effective design. This paper presents the development of a new model, based on artificial neural networks (ANNs), to predict the load-settlement relationship of driven piles in sand and mixed soils, and subjected to axial loads. ANNs have been recently applied to many geotechnical engineering problems and have shown to provide high degree of success. Two models are developed; one for steel piles and the other for concrete piles. The data used for ANN models development are collected from the literature and comprise a series of in-situ driven piles load tests as well as cone penetration test (CPT) results. Predictions from the ANN models are compared with the results of experimental data, and statistical analysis is conducted to verify the performance of ANN models. The results indicate that ANN models perform well and able to predict the pile load-settlement relationship quite accurately.


Improving teaching quality and having the characteristics of higher vocation have always been a major problem in the course of the development of higher vocational colleges.We should seek new development modes on the basis of unified the relationship between quality and features.


Bottom-gated, top-contact organic field effect transistors (OFET) based nitrogen oxide (NO2) gas sensors were fabricated by incorporating a hybrid organic semiconducting (OSC) layer, which consisting of 6, 13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-pentacene) and Graphene Oxide (GO). By carefully optimizing the proportion of GO in the OSC layer, a tremendous improvement of sensing performance was obtained when exposed to NO2 analyte. Compared with OFET devices based on pure TIPS-pentacene OSC layer, the sensitivity of OFET sensors with hybrid OSC layer had a tenfold enhancement. By analyzing the semiconducting layer through utilizing X-ray diffraction (XPS) and atomic force microscope (AFM), the enhanced sensing performance was attributed to the absorption of the NO2 gas molecules through a porous OSC layer and a preferable interaction between functional groups on the edge of GO sheets and NO2 gas molecules. The improved sensing performance by the hybrid OSC layer also suggests the possibility of GO for the further application in high performance OFET based gas sensors.


The growth of gaseous neutral species and positive ions has been investigated in the downstream region of perfluorocompounds plasmas by mass spectrometry. As a result, there were several series of CnF2n+1+, CnF2n-1+ and CnF2n-3+ for the positive ions and CnF2n+2 and CnF2n for the neutral species up to 400 amu in the Ar/CF4 plasmas. The logarithmic plots of the CnF2n+1+ intensity at n≥2 and the CnF2n-1+ intensity at n≥3 with respect to the mass number in the CF4 case were decreased linearly with increase of the mass number. Such property in the plots can be explained by considering the rate equations for the addition reactions of CF2 to CnF2n+1+ at n≥2 and CnF2n-1+ at n≥3 under the steady-state approximation. Nano-particle formation using the macromolecules growing in the downstream region of the Ar/c-C4F8 plasma was confirmed through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy.


Purpose. The problem of a non-zonal vortex layer on the β-plane in the Miles – Ribner formulation is considered. It is known that in the absence of the β-effect, the vortex layer has no neutral eigenmodes, and the available two ones (varicose and sinusoidal) are unstable. Initially, generalization of the problem to the β-plane concerned only the zonal case. The problem for a non-zonal vortex layer is examined for the first time in the paper. It is known that in the WKB approximation for the linear wave disturbances (regardless of whether a zonal or non-zonal background flow is considered), there is an adiabatic invariant in the form of the law of the enstrophy flow (vorticity) conservation. For the zonal vortex layer, the enstrophy conservation law also holds, and no vorticity exchange occurs between the waves and the flow in the zonal case. The non-zonal vortex layer has qualitatively different features; particularly, it does not retain enstrophy. Thus, as a result, there appears a new class of solutions which can be interpreted as pure radiation of the Rossby waves by a non-zonal flow. Generalizing the vortex layer problem on the β-plane to the non-zonal case constitutes the basic aim of the present study. Methods and Results. A new class of linear stationary wave solutions, namely the Rossby waves, is found. It is shown a non-zonal flow can be directed in one way, whereas the stationary wave disturbances can move in the opposite (contrary) direction. The coexistence of such solutions for the shear non-zonal flow and stationary wave disturbances takes place due to the influence of the external force and mathematically comes from a non-self-adjoint character of the linear operator for a non-zonal background flow. Conclusion. There exists a new class of solutions that can be interpreted as pure radiation of the Rossby waves by a non-zonal flow. There is no such solution for a zonal flow. It is just non-zoning that gives the effect of pure radiation and corresponds to the classical definition of radiation. This approach makes it possible to eliminate inconsistency in terminology, when instabilities are mistakenly called radiation, and radiation – pure radiation.


The first prenatally diagnosed case of 49,XXXYY is reported. The pathological findings of the fetus included bilateral clinodactyly, decreased carrying angles (OO), and hypertelorism, slightly low set ears and mildly prominent forehead. A minimum of two independent non‐ disjunctional events are postulated for this polysomy to arise.


Elimination of apoptotic cells is an important mechanism to maintain proper embryonal morphogenesis. The class A scavenger receptor type I, II (CD204), one of the major receptors expressed on macrophages, is a receptor actively involved in recognition and ingestion of apoptotic cells. To clarify the role of CD204 in embryonic morphogenesis, we performed immunohistochemical and immunoelectron microscopic studies using CD204‐deficient mouse embryos. In control mice, almost all macrophages expressed CD204 from embryonic day 9.5 (E9.5). Phagocytes engulfing dead cells in the E13.5 interdigit region showed strong expression of CD204, indicating that CD204 was actively involved in apoptotic cell clearance. However, CD204 is not essential for the embryonic clearance of apoptotic cells, because CD204‐deficient embryos developed normally without any retardation in footplate remodeling. Up‐regulation of CD36 in CD204‐deficient fetal macrophages suggested that CD36 substitutes for CD204 function. We also found that mesenchymal cells frequently engulfed apoptotic cells especially in early embryonal stages. These data suggest that CD204 is partially but not essentially involved in apoptotic cell clearance in embryogenesis. During early embryonal development, mesenchymal cells, rather than macrophages, play a major role in apoptotic cell clearance. Developmental Dynamics 232:64–74, 2005. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The importance of nitric oxide (NO) in vascular biology is well established. NO produces vasodilation, inhibits platelet aggregation, prevents smooth muscle cell proliferation, reduces lipid peroxidation and inhibits adhesion molecule expression. NO is scavenged by superoxide (SO) with the concomitant production of the noxious peroxynitrite anion. As peroxynitrite can oxidize tetrahydrobiopterin, the critical cofactor for NO production by endothelial nitric oxide synthase, the bioavailability of NO is determined largely by the levels of SO. There is now a striking body of evidence that an oxidase(s), similar, if not identical, to the neutrophil NAD(P)H oxidase is found in the vasculature and is the major source of vascular SO [1]. The phagocytic oxidase is responsible for the SO generated in the respiratory burst and a crucial component in the attack against infection. The subunit composition is well characterized, with a membrane bound cytochrome b558 consisting of gp91phox and p22phox and cytoplasmic units p47phox, p67phox and the small g protein, rac. Activation involves phosphorylation of p47phox and migration to the membrane [2]. The vascular oxidase, which is less well characterized, has been linked to cardiovascular diseases [1] and implicated, in particular, in the development of atherosclerosis [3±5]. More recently, attempts have been made to establish the role of the vascular NAD(P)H oxidase in the development and progression of hypertension. It appears to be an ideal candidate. Generation of SO is increased in blood vessels from animal models of hypertension, including the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR-SP) compared to their respective normotensive controls [6,7]. As would be anticipated, the bioavailability of NO is reduced in the SHR-SP. Analysis of the subunits of NAD(P)H oxidase in hypertensive models has shown increased expression of p22phox and gp91phox [8]. Zalba et al. identi®ed polymorphisms in the promoter of the p22phox gene in SHR, proposed to have effects on expression levels, which are not present in the normotensive counterpart [9]. Treatment of SHR-SP with irbesartan showed that the blood pressure-lowering effect was accompanied by improved endothelial function, reduced SO generation and concomitant decrease in expression of NAD(P)H oxidase (Brosnan, in press). Thus, the emerging evidence is suggestive of a role in of NAD(P)H oxidase in hypertension in animal studies. But what do we know of the clinical importance?


The COVID-19 pandemic has affected screening, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. During the first lockdown in Bavaria, Germany, hospital admissions, surgery, and other procedures were postponed (20 March to 15 May 2020). Studies in Germany and other countries have shown: ● Declines in cancer incidence and referrals for suspected cancer (1, 2) ● Delay of elective surgery (3) ● Reductions in systemic treatment (4) and radiotherapy (5). We set out to describe the effects of the first COVID-19 wave on incident cancer cases and cancer treatments. In particular, we focused on surgery for early-stage cancers (stage I).


A new formalism for studying electromagnetic scattering on nonspherical axisymmetric particles is presented. The main advantages of this formalism are the strong similarity to the well-known Mie theory, the simple convergence behaviour and the use of expansion functions that are better adapted to the nonspherical scatterer geometry than spherical harmonics. Numerical results for the scattering characteristics of an ellipsoid and a sphere in the microwave region will be given.


The purpose of this paperl is to estimate shadow prices of capital and labour for use in the social evaluation of projects.2 The Harberger approach [7] has been used here to estimate the shadow discount rate. Apart from being one of the few demonstrations of the empirical estimation by this approach in'literature this is the correct method of. estimating the shadow discount rate where the marginal social value is not equal to the marginal social cost of funds at market equilibrium due to the presence of various distortions


New Orleans: It's taken nine years, but some 7,000 former New Orleans school workers - teachers, principals, secretaries, social workers, para-professionals and others - may be headed for a multimillion-dollar win of back wages and penalties this fall.


Although the pathogenesis of the newly discovered 2019 coronavirus disease is still unknown, it has several extrapulmonary manifestations, such as cutaneous lesions. Among those who took Covid, the American Academy of Dermatology reports that 22.2% of patients had morbilliform or pernio-like rashes; 17.8% had papulosquamous purpura; 16.8% had macular erythema, and 7.8% had retiform purpura. According to the available information, around 450 patients with (COVID-19) infectious disease have developed a variety of skin lesions. While it's understandable that dermatology consultations have been scarce during this pandemic and that the primary focus has been on systemic manifestations of covid, it's also far from surprising that cutaneous lesions have gone undiagnosed. The patient's ages ranged from 2 months to 75 years (The condition is most commonly encountered in elderly persons).
 Cutaneous symptoms are less common in India. According to reports compiled from various sources, skin lesions are more common in Albinos, Scandinavians, and Caucasians than in Indians, Mongolians, and Africans. On the other hand, skin lesions were more prevalent during India's second COVID-19 wave (most likely due to an increment in the number of people affected). Patients with a mild form of the disease were more likely to have pernio-like lesions, while critically ill patients only had retiform-purpura (those who required ventilator support and were on the verge of organ failure). Individuals with COVID-19 have been found to have urticarial rash, erythematous/morbilliform rash, papulovesicular exanthem, chilblain-like patterns, livedo reticularis, and purpuric-vasculitic patterns, among other dermatological issues. Chilblains and the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS) in children (2-15 years) are also skin manifestations of (COVID-19), which are more commonly seen in the UK and Western Europe. During the second wave, there were two cases of a multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with chilblains in India.  Covid-19 cutaneous presentations occur in 0.2% to 19.4% of people, but the frequency and timing are difficult to pin down. There is also a variable degree of association between the severity of the illness and specific skin manifestations.


© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2021. No commercial reuse. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. DESCRIPTION This 79yearold woman was involved in a road traffic collision in which another driver rearended her stationary car at a speed of around 70 m/h. She was transferred to the nearest Major Trauma Centre, where her observations remained stable and initial primary survey was unremarkable. She had a full trauma CT that revealed extensive bilateral rib fractures with flail of 8+9 on the left, a C4-5 body fracture and, most significantly an acute traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the thoracic aorta and associated pneumomediastinum. The CT images show transverse and coronal views of this pseudoaneurysm. On the coronal views(figure 1), you can see a bulging of the anterior wall of the thoracic aorta, just below the level of the isthmus. On the transverse view(figure 2), you can see the lumen of the aorta (indicated by an arrow), with a false lumen demonstrating dissection of this vessel. A discussion was held with interventional radiology, who recommended endovascular stenting of the injured aorta under general anaesthetic to minimise the chances of future rupture. The anaesthetic team however deemed her very high risk given her trauma burden coupled with her advanced age and significant preexisting comorbidities. They advised us that she was unlikely to survive a general anaesthetic. This was discussed fully with the patient who did not want to risk a general anaesthetic, due to the low probability of survival, before she has had the chance to see her family. She was therefore admitted to the ward with an Aspen collar for her C4-5 fracture and


In 1928 a description of the morphology of three strains of Heterodera schachtii attacking beet, oats and potatoes respectively, was published in the Journal of Helminthology by the present writer. This was followed in 1929 by a second publication in which the morphology of strains of the nematode attacking beet, oats, hops, mangolds and potatoes were described. In the earlier paper it was noted that cysts of the potato-strain in Hertfordshire were smaller both in average and maximum dimensions than were cysts in soil from South Lincolnshire. The Hertfordshire land had been infected by the addition of South Lincolnshire soil and the reduction in cyst-size occurred in adjacent portions of the plot to which the infection had spread during the cultivation of two successive potato crops. It was concluded that this decrease in size was a reaction to the difference in soil type, possibly associated with available oxygen.


The invention relates to a fixture assembly sequence planning method based on an ant colony algorithm. The fixture assembly sequence planning method comprises the following steps: firstly carrying out product assembly modeling based on a directed graph, thus establishing a foundation for solving assembly sequence planning by using the ant colony algorithm later; constructing the ant colony algorithm oriented to the fixture assembly sequence planning according to the fundamental principles of the ant colony algorithm, utilizing the advantages of the ant colony algorithm to optimize the assembly sequence of fixtures, using redirection times and tool change times as evaluation indexes, and searching out the optimum assembly sequence in numerous feasible assembly sequences; using Matlab programming to realize the optimization procedure of the ant colony algorithm on the fixture assembly sequences to obtain the optimum assembly sequence. The fixture assembly sequence planning method can improve the design efficiency of enterprises, reduces the production cost, shortens the production period, and enhances the market competitiveness.


This paper describes a design of high performance antenna with EBG for WAVE communication systems. The main goal of the WAVE communication systems is to create a wireless network for V2V and V2I systems. The proposed WAVE antenna shows improvement of about 18.4 dB in return loss and 3 dB max over FOV in radiation beam pattern.


As the scope of pharmacy broadens, there is increasing pressure - and opportunity - for pharmacists to provide professional patient care services to the community. It is important that these professional services are delivered to a desired high standard and quality.


PURPOSE: An advertisement paper inside a book is provided to increase advertisement efficiency by extending the usage range of advertisement. CONSTITUTION: An advertisement printing unit(110) prints a letter or a picture on one side. A bookbinding unit(120) is bound with one side of the advertisement printing unit together with a bookcase. The bookbinding unit has a smaller area than the bookcase. The bookbinding unit dose not leave a mark when being separated from the book.


A few soil types were studied at the south-west coast of West Spitsbergen Island during 2004–2018. The article discusses the morphological features and properties of the most common soil types in the surveyed area, including Folic Sceletic Umbrisols, Sceletic Umbrisols of the polygonal complexes, Histic Gleysols and Folic Gleysols of tussock bog, and Sceletic Dystric Regosols.


In this scientific paper, the authors tried to make an Online Course Registration Applications at PT. PLN (Persero) Education and Training Services using Mambo CMS. This application includes information on schedules and training materials, training registration process, participant account information, and payment processing training (excluding employees of PLN). This application is made with the aim to facilitate the prospective participants of the course to obtain schedule information and course materials and online registration


The Dutch Manual of Muller, Feith and Fruin is the basic work of modern archival theory and practice and widely considered to be the "Bible of a modern archivist". It was published the first time in Hungarian in 2019. Is it a late honour for the past of this profession with some significance just for archival history? How can the permanent influence of the book be explained? The principle of provenance has to be reconsidered at190any time when the archival profession faces new challenges. This study summarizes the most topical challenges of our times generally and for Hungarian archivists particularly to identify fields where the Manual seems to be highly inspiring in. We have to find new ways of arranging and representing archival information, and Dutch Manual seems to offer useful reference in the digital age too.


The main objective of the research is to study the effect of some plants essential oils , which include ( dill seed essential oil , parsley seed essential oil and their mixture ) to treat liver disorder using experimental animals. Maturemale albino rats weighing 200 – 250 g were obtained from the Laboratory of Animal Colony, Institute Research Alrmdi , Giza , Egypt . The animals were divided into 8 equal groups; one group was kept as a ( Control ve ), while the other 7 groups were injected by carbon tetrachloride ( CCL4) in paraffin oil 50 % V ∕ V (2ml ∕ kg B. Wt. ) twice a week for two weeks to induce chronic liver damage . Rats with liver intoxication were disported into 7 equal groups ( n = 6 rats ) using two doses ( 200 and 400 mg ∕ kg of dill seed oil , parsley seed oil and mixture of them ). At the end of experimental period ( 28 days ) , blood samples were collected for serum separation to determine serum liver enzymes ( GOT , GPT ) total protein , albumin , globulin , albumin ∕ globulin ( A ∕ G ) ratio and random blood sugar . Results of the present study revealed that all tested plants essential oils showed a significant enhancement in liver intoxication and all tested parameters . According to these results , dill seed essential oil , parsley seed essential oil and their mixture could be used for impaired liver function


With the 2008 elections approaching, some Catholics are seeking principles to guide their voting. Others are already aware of rich insights from the Catholic moral tradition, some of which are communicated in shorthand through principles. When some mistakenly equate Catholic morality with the application of principles to situations, they neglect the significance of the Catholic moral imagination. Whether one is trying to better understand the tradition or the contemporary situation, the power of images should not be underestimated. In Faithful Citizenship, the image of a table invites the Catholic imagination to reflect about political responsibility and about the implications of being a eucharistic people. Since Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship does not engage the moral imagination to the same degree as the previous statement on political responsibility, pastoral ministers will need to be more intentional about sharing Catholic social teaching in ways that bring the tradition to life and help Catholics see the contemporary situation. Commemorating the tenth anniversary of Sharing Catholic Social Teaching, this article invites pastoral ministers to consider ways in which they might engage the Angela Senander is assistant professor of moral theology at Washington Theological Union.


Christina N. Cordeiro Mitchell (2021) Primary prevention of sickle cell disease using preimplantation genetic testing and in vitro fertilization is cost‐effective (https://doi.org/10.1002/ajh.25974). The above article, published online on 20 August 2020 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) as an Accepted Article, has been withdrawn by agreement between the authors, the journal Editor in Chief, and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The article has been withdrawn after the accepted article was posted online, the authors received independent feedback that has prompted them to review their analysis in the article to ensure that the original conclusions are accurate.


We systematically study total reaction cross sections of carbon isotopes with $N=6\text{\ensuremath{-}}16$ on a proton target for wide range of incident energies. An emphasis is put on the difference from the case of a carbon target. The calculations include the reaction cross sections of $^{19,20,22}\mathrm{C}$ at $40A$ MeV, the data of which have recently been measured at RIKEN. The Glauber theory is used to calculate the reaction cross sections. To describe the intrinsic structure of the carbon isotopes, we use a Slater determinant generated from a phenomenological mean-field potential, and construct the density distributions. To go beyond the simple mean-field model, we adopt two types of dynamical models: One is a core$+n$ model for odd-neutron nuclei, and the other is a core$+n+n$ model for $^{16}\mathrm{C}$ and $^{22}\mathrm{C}$. We propose empirical formulas which are useful in predicting unknown cross sections.


(57) from a roll (122) of the Abstract tubular thermoplastic material, to provide a pneumatic cushion filling machine (100) for forming a packaging pneumatic cushions (10). The machine includes a film supply section (120) and the cushion forming section (130). Cushion forming section, means for applying a means for delivering the tubular thermoplastic material to cushion forming section, the web tension of the tubular thermoplastic material while air is introduced into the tubular thermoplastic material ( 137a) and a. Means for introducing air into the region between the tensioning means is provided to fill the air cushion. When filled, the sealing band (150) to be moved laterally across the pneumatic tubular thermoplastic material to form the top and bottom of the next cushion one cushion seals the lower end. Before forming the cushion, the wall of the tubular thermoplastic material separate from each other in residual air from the filling operation of the previous cushion. Each cushion may be provided perforations basis weight knife to separate from the next cushion (160).


Abstract In this paper we define the spacelike and the null lightcone Smarandache curves of a spacelike lightcone curve α according to the lightcone Frenet frame of a α in Minkowski 3-space. We obtain the lightcone curvature and the expressions for the lightcone Frenet frame's vectors of a spacelike Smarandache curve of α. We prove that if the null straight line is the lightcone Smarandache curve of α, then α has non-zero constant lightcone curvature. Finally, we give some examples of lightcone Smarandache curves.


THIS is an admirable edition of a book which has waited long for its editor. The Commentary of Hipparchus on Aratus claims our attention for many other reasons than because, out of all the works of the great astronomer it alone survives, preserved in the irony of fate by its connection with a third-rate poem. It is interesting as a fine and early specimen of polemical writing, his demolition of the older commentator Attalus showing that Hipparchus not only, as Ptolemy says of him, loved toil and truth, but also delighted in controversy with a zest not unknown to modern science. It has some bearing on the literary, as well as the scientific culture of its day; and the passage in which Hipparchus decides between the two readings, 8e •n-A.aTces and S' dirXarMs, is remarkable not only astronomically but because the common reading, known to a later scholiast, is neither one nor the other, but ctarAavees. I t has still an interest not purely archaeological for the astronomer; no one for instance, who knows that the star 6 Ursae Majoris is ranked to-day among those with an extraordinarily large proper motion can fail to be struck by the remark of Herr Manitius that its position, as given by Hipparchus, appears to be wrong, while those of the stars culminating with it are right. And startling at least is his suggestion that a star in Cassiopeia, called ' bright,' which can hardly be identified with any now visible to the naked eye in that constellation may actually be the famous ' new star' of 1572, which to-day is perceptible only with the aid of a telescope. If so, it had disappeared by the time of Ptolemy. But of course the work is valuable chiefly to the student of astronomical history i : general, and of uranography in particular—how valuable may best be seen by applying some of the facts contained in it to the theories of those who have attempted to do without it. No one who has really studied it will have any difficulty, for instance, in appreciating at its true worth such an attempt as Mr. Robert Brown made, a few years back, before the Congress of Orientalists, to find a Chaldaean date for the globe of Eudoxus. The excellent preliminary essay of Herr Manitius on the MSS. of flipparchus is in Latin, as are also the footnotes referring to the text, and the several indices, while the translation and the explanatory notes are in German. His edition of the text seems to me in all respects satisfactory. A work in which many words, such as the zodiacal names, are constantly recurring at short intervals, gives every excuse to the copyist for occasionally missing out a line or two: on the other hand the context generally makes it clear how the gap thus created is to be filled up, and indeed what look at first sight like audacious interpolations by Herr Manitius turn out on examination to be merely the actual words of Hipparchus introduced from corresponding passages in other parts of the book. Of the German translation little more need be said—except so far as the identification of stars is concerned—than that it is clear, and wiil be found helpful in the few cases where the Greek of Hipparchus presents any difficulty. But one complaint must be made against Herr Manitius, and that is for his systematic use of the word ' Mondbreite' to translate the /̂AWTĴ IOV which Hipparchus employs to measure small angular distances, as those of culminating stars just east or west of the meridian. His argument is that a ' cubit,' which he takes as equal to two degrees—more exactly, as Schjellerup and Epping have shown, it was two degrees and a third—contained twentyfour " digits," twelve of which were supposed to measure the apparent diameter of the moon. It is indeed highly probable that the Babylonian inventors of this measure made the natural, and at first almost inevitable, mistake of overestimating the apparent size of moon and sun. But it is surely an injustice to Hipparchus, who knew as well as we that the real breadth of the moon is only about half a degree, to represent him as continually using an expression which would imply that he took it to be a whole degree.


Orbital drag errors adversely impact many space missions including providing collision avoidance warnings for manned spaceflight and other high-value assets, accurately cataloging of all orbiting objects, predicting reentry times and estimating satellite lifetimes, on-board fuel requirements and attitude dynamics. Uncertainties in neutral density variations are the major satellite drag limiting factor for precise low-Earth orbit determination at altitudes below about 700 km. We review current efforts in empirical and theoretical models dedicated to meeting evolving stringent operational satellite drag requirements. New data sets from orbital drag, satellite-borne accelerometers and remote sensors now provide unprecedented capabilities for modeling thermospheric variability vs altitude, latitude, day of year, local time and solar-geomagnetic conditions. This effort is greatly enhanced by an AFOSR-supported Multi-University Research Initiative. Scientific community efforts are providing steady, previously unattainable, progress supporting Air Force research for an accurate assimilative and predictive operational first principles satellite drag model. There remains a critical need for comprehensive measurements of the thermosphere and relevant heating inputs.


The invention discloses a task dispatcher based on a programmable logic device, comprising the programmable logic device, a power auxiliary circuit and a peripheral interface circuit, wherein the power auxiliary circuit and the peripheral interface circuit are connected with the programmable logic device; the programmable logic device is provided with a microprocessor; the microprocessor is connected with multiple user task interface circuits and multiple clock trigger circuits; the multiple user task interface circuits are in one-to-one correspondence with the multiple clock trigger circuits; the multiple clock trigger circuits are all connected with a clock manager; and the clock manager outputs clock signals to the user task interface circuits. The invention replaces the traditional software algorithm with programmable logic hardware design, realizes the task dispatch based on clock edges and can achieve the task dispatch precision of 1/16 nanosecond, realize the complete real timeof task processing and determine the number of the user task interface circuits according to use needs.


Nowadays, business processes are increasingly supported by IT services that produce massive amounts of event data during the execution of a process. This event data can be used to analyze the process using process mining techniques to discover the real process, measure conformance to a given process model, or to enhance existing models with performance information. While it is essential to map the produced events to activities of a given process model for conformance analysis and process model annotation, it is also an important step for the straightforward interpretation of process discovery results. In order to accomplish this mapping with minimal manual effort, we developed a semi-automatic approach that maps events to activities using the solution of a corresponding constraint satisfaction problem. The approach extracts behavioral profiles from both the log and the model to build constraints to efficiently reduce the number of possible mappings. The evaluation with an industry process model collection and simulated event logs demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach and its robustness towards non-conforming execution logs.


The mean intracluster gas fraction of X-ray clusters within their hydrostatic regions is derived from recent observational compilations of David, Jones & Forman and White & Fabian. At radii encompassing a mean density 500 times the critical value, the individual sample bi-weight means are moderately (2.4er) discrepant; revising binding masses with a virial relation calibrated by numerical simulations removes the discrepancy and results in a combined sample mean and standard error !gas(rsoo) = (0.060 ± 0.003) h -312. For hierarchical clustering models with an extreme physical assumption to maximize cluster gas content, this value constrains the universal ratio of total, clustered-to-baryonic mass ~/~ :::;;23.1 h3/Z. Combining this with a maximal value of ~ from primordial nucleosynthesis results in ~ h 1/Z < 0.76. A more physically plausible approach based on low deuterium abundance inferences from quasar absorption spectra and accounting for baryons within cluster galaxies yields an estimate of ~ hZ/ 3 = 0.30 ± 0.07, with sources of systematic error involved in the derivation providing approximately 30 per cent additional uncertainty. Other effects which could enhance the likelihood of the Einstein-de Sitter case Om = 1 are presented, and their observable signatures discussed.


Bluetooth devices are a rich source of travel time data for transportation engineers. Like any other source, however, Bluetooth devices can generate outliers that may bias travel times and corridor speeds. In this study, the proposed, innovative statistical methodology is capable of real-time deployment when travel time and vehicle speed outliers collected from Bluetooth data collection systems are detected. The proposed statistical methodology identifies outliers by using a data point's standard residual in a robust Greenshields model. The efficiency and the feasibility of this statistical methodology are evaluated for both Interstate highways and urban arterial corridors. These roadways are selected because they display a wide range of traffic patterns and outlier generators. The effectiveness of one methodology, especially on a wide range of traffic patterns, would improve the potential for widespread implementation. Four subsets of the collected data are provided within this study to highlight the efficiency and capability of the methodology. The results of using the Shapiro–Wilk statistics show that in both Interstate highway and urban arterial deployment the proposed method is effective at identifying Bluetooth outliers and is capable of working in a real-time environment. A second comparison between the two road types shows that the methodology performs better for Interstate highways than urban arterials, for which the added performance is based on the higher volume of hits and less fluctuation.


Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the internal limiting membrane (ILM) inverted flap technique (IFT) in large macular hole (MH) surgery. Material and Methods: Retrospective analysis of eyes of patients with large MHs who underwent vitrectomy with ILM IFT between January 2013 and December 2014, with a minimum follow-up of 6 months. Myopic macular holes were excluded. We evaluated best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), hole closure documented by OCT and complications. We compared preoperative and postoperative values. The Wilcoxon test was used for comparing BCVA (p <0.05). Results: 17 eyes of 17 patients with a mean age of 63.24 years were studied. 76.5% of eyes had primary MHs, 11,8% post-vitrectomy and 11,8% post-traumatic. Mean minimum MH diameter was 578,5 ± 147μm and the mean MH duration was 35,9 months. According to lens status, 47,1% were phakic, 11,8% had cataract and 41,2% were pseudophakic. Concomitant cataract surgery was performed in 47,1% of cases. At the mean follow-up of 7,76 months, closure rate was 100%, with BCVA improving from 1,20 ± 0,48 to 0,68 ± 0,36 logMar units.  All patients improved BCVA, with 64,7% gaining two or more Snellen lines of BCVA. Complication rate was 5.6%. Conclusions: ILM IFT is an effective and safe technique in MH surgery. In this study, with large MH, the anatomic success rate was 100% and BCVA improvement was significant.


In this paper, I argue that political economy variables play a crucial role in the evolution of federal states. More specifically, I argue that changing political economy variables influence the contours and working of political parties, the main organization of interest aggregation and articulation in contemporary democracies, in a way that can promote important change in federal states. Since constitutions are often a poor guide to the evolving working of federal states, I follow Erk's advice and investigate the working of the federal system through an analysis of specific policy sectors. I look at the evolution of responsibility over components of the welfare state and the necessary financial resources to finance it in Australia and Canada, two federations that share a common British political and cultural heritage. It is especially interesting to study processes of institutional change in these two federations considering their contrasting trajectories.


ITO (indium-tin oxide) conductive glass plates were used as a support of Titanium dioxide films. TiO2/ITO films were prepared by sol-gel and dip-coating method with cheap inorganic salt TiCl4 as a precursor. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the photocatalytic decomposition of acetic acid in aqueous solution. Results showed that the photocatalytic activity of TiO2/ITO films was 20% higher than that of TiO2 nanopowders for the degradation of acetic acid. The removal rate of acetic acid (25 mg/L) was about 80% after 6h irradiation, while TiO2/ITO film calcined at 500℃ for 1h with 4-coating times was used as photocatalyst. Furthermore, 74% of the total organic carbon was eliminated after 6h irradiation. It was founded that when the initial concentration of acetic acid was smaller than 40mg/L, the photodegradation of acetic acid accorded with first-order kinetic pattern.


Currently, the Russian-Chinese relations of strategic partnership have a tendency of progressive and systematic development, the leadership of both countries pays special attention to regional cooperation, mutually beneficial use of comparative advantages of border regions, sustainable economic development of border territories. This paper analyzes the dynamics of trade relations between the Far Eastern Federal District and China. There is a positive trend in the growth of foreign trade between Russia and China. China ranks first in the volume of Russia's foreign trade turnover. The border territories of Russia and China are traditionally considered the basis of Russian-Chinese relations. The analysis of trade relations between the Far Eastern Federal District and China demonstrates that China has been the most important trading partner of the Far Eastern Federal District for a long period of time. The three northeastern provinces of China have the closest trade ties with Russia. Regional cooperation between Russia and China provides ample opportunities for the development of cross-border economic ties.


Concerns about climate change and energy security have prompted some countries to revive dormant nuclear fission power programs to meet growing energy demands and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. However, this so-called nuclear renaissance based on fission would have major drawbacks in the areas of safety, security, and nonproliferation. Nuclear fusion, however, is portrayed by its proponents as mitigating these drawbacks, and scientists continue to pursue fusion's promise with two large-scale projects: the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), and the Laser Inertial Fusion Engine (LIFE) reactor. Although supporters often hail fusion as proliferation resistant, the technology could be used to create weapons-usable fissile material. This article explains how fissile material could be created in ITER or LIFE and analyzes other nonproliferation implications of fusion; the authors discuss the various challenges faced by ITER and LIFE.


On August 19,1818, Captain James Biddle, U.S.N., by order of the Presi dent, officially took possession of the basin of the Oregon or Columbia River. Spain had formerly established forts along the Oregon coast, but these had been abandoned before 1800, although Spain retained a claim to the area.1 Negotiations were in progress in 1818 and early 1819 between Spain and the United States, toward a treaty to settle various differences, including the location of the boundary line between this country and the Spanish posses sions.2 During those treaty negotiations many different lines were proposed and discussed through a series of compromises. In much of the discussion, Latitude 41 ? was the line considered for use as the boundary west of the Rocky Mountains, but in the final treaty 42 ? was adopted.3 By this treaty Spain ceded Florida to the United States and relinquished claim to Oregon. In 1828, Mexico and the United States concluded a treaty in the same terms.4 Later, after the line between the United States and the British territories had been settled, Oregon Territory was established by act of the United States Congress in August 1848, with the 42 d parallel as its southern boundary.5 California and other territory having been ceded to the United States by Mexico in the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in 1848, the Constitution of California, adopted by convention in 1849, specified latitude 42 ? as the northern boundary of the state. That constitution was approved by Con gress, and the state admitted to the Union on September 9,1850. During all that time the boundary line seems not to have been surveyed, although the treaties with Spain and Mexico made provisions for the ap pointment of joint commissions to survey and mark the line. Soon after the admission of California as a state, a dispute developed about the Althouse and Sailor Diggings mining camps, which were claimed by both California and Oregon. The legislature of California in 1854 appropriated $3,500 for a survey from the coast to the vicinity of Pilot Knob.6 Thaddeus P. Robinson, county surveyor of Klamath County, was ap pointed to make the survey.7 He was assisted by George H. Van Cleft and 368


In this paper,the stability of capsicum pigment′s chroma from Shaanxi Fengxiang were studied.The results showed that the solubility of the pigment in the water was very small,but the solubility in the organic solvent was large.In the acetone solution,its maximal absorption peak was at 465 nm and presents good photostability.The heat endurance,antacid and alkalinity of the acetone solution containing 0.006% capsorubin pigment′s chroma would be improved if the temperature was below 80 ℃.The Na+,K+ and Fe3+ did not produce a significant effect on the stability of the pigment′s chroma.The Cu2+,Fe2+,Al3+and Ca2+ led to the maximal absorption peak of the pigment′s chroma red shift.The pigment′s chroma had better endurance capability against oxidizing agents and had less resistance capability against reducing agents.Glucosehas had no significant effect on the stability of the pigment′s chroma.Lemon acid had some destructive effect on the stability of the pigment′s chroma.


In the RCC tissues, there were abundant tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, and compared with PBL, the subpopulations of TIL were mainly composed of activated T lymphocytes. To enhance the survival rates of patients with RCC,a better understanding not only of the tumor cells themselves but also of the adjacent cells, including TILs, is essential.


We attempted to identify change patterns in total factor productivity(TFP)for family forestry operators in Fujian,Zhejiang and Jiangxi,China since forest tenure reform was implemented. We conducted a comparative analysis of TFP changes calculated using the DEA-Malmquist model with the input variables of forestland area,labor and capital,and the output variable of total forestry output value. We identified the key influencing factors of TFP changes in each of the three provinces using Tobit regression. Data used in this analysis were drawn from annual surveys of 237 farmer households from 2004 to 2009. We found that technological progress was the main driving force of TFP growth. Fujian,Zhejiang and Jiangxi forestry technological annual change rates were-4.3%,13.4% and 8.9%,making the TFP annual growth rates-4.4%,9.1% and 5.8%,respectively. Variations in the TFP change rate among individual households were all large and differed considerably from province to province,pointing to an urgent need to extend reform benefits to more social groups. These variations mainly came from variation in the scale efficiency change rate and pure efficiency change rate,rather than the technology change rate.Although key factors affecting family forestry TFP growth were differed across the three provinces,household heads' education,forestry operating conditions,funding channels and implementation of forestry policy affected two provinces significantly. Advancing forestry technology promotion,accelerating forestland transfers, encouraging farmer cultivation, strengthening forestry infrastructure,broadening forestry financial channels,regulating forestry policy implementation and reducing forestry taxes were conducive to the sustainable growth of family forestry TFP.Developing forestry cooperation organizations,regulating forestland transfer processes and promoting communication among foresters would increase the number of recipients of reform benefits.


The performance of an imaging proportional counter (IPC) 30cm square is evaluated in this paper. The scaling effects involved in the construction of such a device were investigated using an electrode array alone and a xenon-methane filled IPC. In the IPC, a spatial resolution of 1.2mm FWHM was achieved; and as expected this limitation is shown not to be due to the electronic signal to noise ratio, but to the widely dispersed secondary avalanches initiated by ultra violet photons emitted by excited xenon atoms.


The slope control design is usually concerned with three main parameters: interval,cross section dimension and anchoring length.At present,the pile interval has been discussed much,but seldom for the section dimension.As the pile section dimension affects the engineering safety and cost,it is necessary to find the optimum design method.Taking Erliban landslide in Xingshan County of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area as an example,the paper first introduces the conception of the optimum pile section dimension based on the analysis of the relationship between section dimension and the internal force as well as the relationships between section dimension and the expense of concrete,fore shaft and dado,steel bar and the total expense of a single pile.Then it suggests the reasonable method to determine the pile section dimension according to the pile structure requirement.When the optimum section dimension satisfies the pile structure requirement,it will be the design section;other wise,the dimension with the minimum cost will be the one.This result will be meaningful for landslide improvement.


The purpose of this article was to describe an initial step developing a new scale to identify individuals with learning disabilities (LD) and test anxiety. Eighty-eight students answered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). The participants were drawn from the following three groups: (a) adults with LD and test anxiety, (b) adults with LD but no test anxiety, and (c) adults with no LD and no test anxiety. Each answer of the MMPI-2 was assessed using one-way ANOVA, and 37 items were selected. Additional ANOVA with both Bonferroni and Tukey post hoc tests at the .01 significance level reduced the new scale to 18 items. The final step assessed the reliability and convergent validity of the new scale with 18 items, by comparing it with the Test Anxiety Inventory. The authors discuss the relationship between the conventional classification of test anxiety ("Worry" and "Emotionality") with the new scale.


When processing knowledge rules described by natural language are used in computer,it is necessary to convert nonstructured language to structured one.Especially,for the particular domain rules with spatial information,to eliminate semantic obstacle of spatial information between the two kinds of language is a difficulty for transformation.Taking domain rules in urban planning as examples,a concept of knowledge unit was proposed in the paper,a knowledge unit system was constituted and the combination patterns of knowledge units were abstracted.Based on them,the authors constructed an analytical model for natural language.Applying this model,rules described by natural language could be structured into combination pattern based on knowledge units,subsequently,be transformed into structured computer language for GIS inquiry,analysis and manipulation.


Introduction: Despite controversial, ultrasonic therapy (UST) is commonly applied in sports rehabilitation practice to accelerate tissue repair after muscle damage. Muscle injuries have a negative influence on the mechanical properties of skeletal striated muscles and some scientific evidence shows that UST could have a positive effects on tissue repair and, therefore, on its mechanical properties. Objective: To analyze the effect of UST on muscle repair by evaluation of the mechanical properties of rat muscles after cryolesion. Methods: We used 30 adult Wistar rats which were divided into three groups: CG (control group), IG (injured group) and IGUST (injured plus UST) (frequency of 1 MHz; intensity of 0.5 W/cm2; pulsed to 50%; four minutes daily) for seven consecutive days. The mechanical properties obtained through mechanical tests were evaluated in a universal testing machine. Results: Data were statistically analyzed with a significance level of 95% (p<0.05). After seven treatment sessions, we found significant improvement in the mechanical properties of load at the proportionality limit, load at maximum limit and resilience in IGUST compared to IG (p<0.05). Conclusion: The UST was effective in the tissue repair process, giving higher tensile strength and energy absorption to the muscle tissue.


This paper explores dynamic load balancing algorithms used by asynchronous many-task (AMT), or 'taskbased', programming models to optimize task placement for scientific applications with dynamic workload imbalances. AMT programming models use overdecomposition of the computational domain. Overdecompostion provides a natural mechanism for domain developers to expose concurrency and break their computational domain into pieces that can be remapped to different hardware. This paper explores fully distributed load balancing strategies that have shown great promise for exascale-level computing but are challenging to theoretically reason about and implement effectively. We present a novel theoretical analysis of a gossip-based load balancing protocol and use it to build an efficient implementation with fast convergence rates and high load balancing quality. We demonstrate our algorithm in a next-generation plasma physics application (EMPIRE) that induces time-varying workload imbalance due to spatial non-uniformity in particle density across the domain. Our highly scalable, novel load balancing algorithm, achieves over a 3x speedup (particle work) compared to a bulk-synchronous MPI implementation without load balancing.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the cycle time of a semiconductor device with expanded data outputting mode shorter by switching the connection between an internal input - output bus and a data outputting line with a signal generated by synthesizing the front end and rear end of a column address strobe signal by delaying the front end by time (a) and rear end by time (b) (a<b). SOLUTION: In an expanded data outputting mode, an output buffer 19 is always maintained in an enabled state and connects output lines (DO and DOB) to an output terminal 20. In addition, a sense amplifier 14 amplifies the data read out from a cell array and transmits the amplified data to input - output buses (pro and DIOB). A control signal generating section 22 generates a control signal CPL by synthesizing the front and rear ends of a column address strobe signal by delaying the front end by time D1 and rear end by time D2 (D1<D2) and outputs the signal CPL. A bus control section 16 stores the data from the buses DIO and DIOB in response to the signal CPL and outputs the stored data to the lines DO and DOB. Therefore, the cycle time of a semiconductor memory device can be shortened in the mode E and the speed of tCAC can be secured. COPYRIGHT: (C)1996,JPO


The influence of tip clearance on pump performance and the impact of the rotor-stator interaction on cavitation are investigated by numerical means, respectively. Firstly, the SST model is employed in numerical anaylsis, and the numerical investigation of the pump performance based on a different turbulence model is compared with the experimental data. Secondly, the pump performance at different tip clearances is investigated, and the numerical results indicate that the smaller tip clearance the better performance of keeping the head stable at a low mass flow rate. Thirdly, as the NPSH-Head curves are computed at different tip clearances, the conclusion can be drawn that the smaller the tip clearance, the stronger the capability of preventing cavitation. Lastly, the effect of the rotor-stator interaction on cavitation is performed at a design case, when the φ = 9°, the volume fraction of cavitation is maximum, however, when the φ = 120°, the volume fraction of cavitation is minimum. Besides, the blade loading is studied at a corresponding φ value. When the φ = 44°, the blade loading is minimum, however, when the φ = 120°, the blade loading is maximum. The cavity all appears from the leading edge to the 20% chord length for a different φ value, which indicates that the cavitation zone grows along the normal direction of the suction surface.


The relationship of resource efficiency actions and firm performance has been analyzed by different researchers where the large firms have, all the times, been considered mostly however the small firms have been neglected generally. The prior studies concluded with no common consensus to comprehend the direction of this relationship. In this study, the primary intention is to examine the impact of resource efficiency actions on financial performance of SMEs. The cross section quantitative data of ninety firms has been gathered for the year 2019 by questionnaires. The dependent variable is firm performance and seven resource efficiency actions of saving water, saving energy, renewable energy, saving material, minimizing waste and selling scrap material to another company, are the independent variables whereas the eco-investment and production cost are the moderating variables. The correlation techniques and ordinal regression analysis have been implemented. This study concludes a negative and insignificant relationship between resource efficiency actions and financial performance of small firms for the short run. The eco-investment negatively but significantly whereas the production cost positively and significantly moderates the link of resource efficiency actions and firm performance. The results can vary if the subject matter is analyzed by accumulating the panel data and if other subdivisions of this sector are also included to extend the sample size.


Mobile agents are programs that travel autonomously through a computer network in order to perform some computation or gather information on behalf of a human user or an application. In the last several years numerous applications of mobile agents have emerged, including e-commerce. However, mobile agent paradigm introduces a number security threats both to the agents themselves and to the servers that they visit. This paper introduces two new concepts: a "scout mobile agent", whose primary purpose is to determine the itinerary required for accomplishing a given task, and a "routed mobile agent", which operates with an itinerary known in advance. This enables the routed agent to incorporate several security mechanisms, including a new coupling technique that we propose in this paper and which relies on the "reputation" of the hosts in the itinerary. Together these techniques ensure that the agent succeeds in accomplishing its task with a high probability.


Abstract : The effects of sonic boom interaction with several topographic configurations and with inertial and thermal turbulence have been investigated in reduced scale utilizing an acoustic horn type test facility. Operations of the facility and the specific modifications required to generate the inertial and thermal turbulence are desired. Eight topographic model configurations were tested over a range of model orientations and wave incidence angles corresponding to Mach numbers ranging between 1.0 and 1.4. Regions of significant over-pressure on the model surface, arising as a consequence of wave reflection phenomena were studied in particular. Good agreement, both as to the magnitude of the over-pressure and the time of occurrence of the pressure peaks, was obtained with the predictions of linear acoustic theory. (Author)


The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set aspirational objectives for governments, international organizations and other stakeholders seeking to support sustainable development to achieve by 2030 or before, as well as indicators to facilitate measurement of attainment levels. Chapter 19 is the first of three chapters exploring provisions from over 110 innovative bilateral and regional economic treaties that could facilitate achievement of certain SDGs and their associated targets, to enable countries to maximize opportunities for their economic accords to assist in effectively contributing towards achievement of the SDG targets, particularly in a time of post-pandemic economic recovery. This chapter addresses trade and investment agreements provisions relevant to a first set of SDGs which target 'basic needs' challenges: eradicating poverty (SDG 1); ending hunger (SDG 2); promoting health and wellbeing (SDG 3); ensuring quality education (SDG 4) and achieving gender equality (SDG 5). The chapter canvasses the requirements of each goal and provides examples of treaty provisions that address each SDG.


PROBLEM: Antisperm antibodies (ASAs) associated with the sperm surface can significantly influence oocyte fertilization. We initiated a prospective trial comparing the effect of serum‐medium dilution on ASA binding and/or distribution following ejaculation and on subsequent pregnancy rates following intrauterine insemination (IUI).


We study the spatial distribution and evolution of the slope of the emission measure (EM) between 1 MK and 3 MK in the core of the active region (AR) NOAA 11193, first when it appeared near the central meridian and then again when it reappeared after a solar rotation. We use observations recorded by the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) aboard Hinode, with a new radiometric calibration. We also use observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). We present the first spatially resolved maps of the EM slope in the 1–3 MK range within the core of the AR using several methods, either from approximations or from the differential emission measure (DEM). A significant variation of the slope is found at different spatial locations within the active region. We selected two regions that were not greatly affected by lower temperature emission along the line of sight. We found that the EM had a power law of the form EM ∝ T b , with b = 4.4 ± 0.4, and 4.6 ± 0.4, during the first and second appearance of the active region, respectively. During the second rotation, line-of-sight effects become more important, although difficult to estimate. We found that the use of the ground calibration for Hinode/EIS and the approximate method to derive the EM, used in previous publications, produce an underestimation of the slopes. The EM distribution in active region cores is generally found to be consistent with high frequency heating, and does not change much during the evolution of the active region.


A new type of scaffold with bamboo separated by steel was proposed,and aiming at the traditional scaffold construction scheme and the new scaffold construction scheme,two fire scenarios were designed to simulate the temperature and heat flux.The simulation results showed that maximum temperature of the scaffold boards at 1.8mfrom the fire floor in the traditional scaffold construction scheme exceeded 300 ℃,and heat flux were more than 16kW/m2 in the simulation time of 400 s.In the new scaffold construction scheme,the maximum temperature of scaffold boards 3.6 mfrom the fire floor was lower than 250 ℃in simulation time of 400 s,and the heat flux was lower than 5kW/m2.According to relevant criterion,the risk of being ignited of traditional scaffold was higher,and that of new scaffold was lower.Due to a non-combustible steel fence scaffold boards as a barrier,the new scaffold construction scheme had reduced the risk of fire spread in vertical.The new scaffold construction scheme had better fire safety than traditional scaffold construction scheme.


Proliferation of the concert repertoire for piano left-hand in the early 20th century is predominantly accredited to the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein. Resolved to cultivate a musical career despite the amputation of his right arm in WWI, Wittgenstein commissioned some of the most eminent composers of this period, including Ravel, Prokofiev, Britten, Korngold, Schmidt and Richard Strauss. Despite Wittgenstein's unalloyed espousal of conservative music, he often chose progressive composers to promulgate his career; an enigmatic decision which remains unsolved. Wittgenstein's disability and opinionated nature provided a myriad of compositional obstacles culminating in a profound overhaul of stylistic, musical, technical and orchestral approaches for the composers he approached. His career and commissions construct a consequential portrait of the rarefied art of left-hand piano championed by Wittgenstein, depict the demands of this type of performance and the delineate the impact of his disability on his public reception in the early to mid – 20th century.
Academic inertia on this topic was largely due to the inaccessibility of the scores, but with the auction of the Wittgenstein archive by Sotheby's in 2002, many of these works have filtered into the public arena. Generalised inventories of his life and works have been undertaken, but little scholarly analytical work has been carried out on the musical riches he bequeathed us. Consideration of the genre of left-hand piano as a whole, its technical requirements and tropes, has likewise eluded substantial academic consideration. The composers under review in this thesis: Ravel, Prokofiev and Britten, each expounded a disparate sense of musical modernity, all in opposition to Wittgenstein's own taste. An exploration of the varying approaches to this unique compositional challenge is pertinent not only to our understanding of these venerated composers, but crucial to our growing comprehension of the genre of left-hand piano. The unique transactional relationship between the composition and performance of a left-hand work, moulded decidedly by the physical restrictions of one-hand at the piano, require the consideration of both aspects, and their relationship to one another in order to understand more comprehensively the extraordinary technical demands and compositional idiosyncrasies of left-hand piano. The central part of this thesis reviews these left-handed concertos in the context of each composers individual output, and ascertains through comparative study of earlier works, the incorporation and exposition of new left-hand techniques. Common structural, technical and musical elements employed by the composers in question are identified to work towards a more defined understanding of the external and internal workings of the left-hand piano genre.


Sabina vulgaris Antoine is natural evergreen creeping shrub,which is a kind of excellent and good vegetation construction species and has been paid much attention in recent years.The following aspect of S.vulgaris: bioecology characteristics,reproductioin and renewal,drought resistance,chemical constituents,cytology characteristic,community succession and comprehensive utilization,and prospects were discussed.