In recent years, the number of product variants has steadily increased in numerous industries to accommodate customer-specific requirements. At the same time, rapid technological changes have led to shortening product lifecycles and greater volatility in product portfolios. In manufacturing, the high level of product variety is reflected in greater process diversity and material flow complexity, making it harder to exploit economies of scale and utilize resources efficiently. In order to stay competitive under increased cost pressure, manufacturing companies try to counter these effects, but often lack transparency on product variety to successfully implement modular systems and standardization measures. As existing methods for capturing product variety are labor intensive and impractical for larger portfolios, this paper presents a data-driven approach by computing similarities between products based on their geometrical features. To capture product variety and create transparency, the similarities are visualized through a dendrogram and multidimensional scaling methods.


The filler used in improving the water resistance and the glued strength of the urea resin adhesive in the production of plywood was prepared.


Background: Research on coping with chronic pain has focused on exploring the impact of different coping responses on various aspects of living with chronic pain. The aim of this study is to determine whether certain coping responses can be identified as predictors of the level of pain intensity reported by the chronic pain patient, as well as predictors of these individuals' psychosocial functioning. Methods: One hundred and seventy-two individuals suffering from chronic pain completed both the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory and the Coping Responses Inventory – Adult Form. The prevalence of the use of Avoidance and Approach Coping, and the relationship between these responses and psychosocial functioning (Pain Severity, Interference, Support, Life Control, and Affective Distress) were explored. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed in order to determine the amount of variance explained by the specific predictor variables. Results: The findings of this research suggest that coping responses do impact upon the psychosocial functioning of individuals with chronic pain, and more specifically, on the level of interference, severity of pain, perceived amount of control over life and the amount of emotional distress experienced by these patients. Conclusion: The outcomes of this study appear to contradict the general consensus in literature that regards Approach Coping responses as being associated with decreased pain severity and improved psychosocial functioning. The manner in which specific components of each type of coping response relates to specific aspects of psychosocial functioning was investigated; an aspect that was found to be lacking in most research regarding coping and chronic pain. Peer reviewed (Submitted: 2009-02-03, Accepted: 2009-09-29) Introduction The experience of chronic pain can be viewed from a biopsychosocial perspective, where chronic pain is regarded as emanating from multidirectional interactions between biological, psychological and social factors, with the contribution of each domain regarded as equally important. An individual's emotional status, the particular nature of their attention to nociceptive stimuli, their beliefs and expectations with regard to pain, the degree of control they perceive to have over their pain, their individual background and past experiences with pain, as well as their general physical and psychological health, may affect their perception of pain. Furthermore, the value of psychosocial functioning as a prognostic indicator in chronic pain should not be underestimated. In one study 59% of the variance in the disability experienced by the participating chronic pain patients could be attributed to their psychosocial functioning. The physiological experience of pain is associated with many comorbid stressors such as interpersonal, emotional and other psychosocial problems. Thirty per cent to 54% of individuals treated for chronic pain in the USA are diagnosed with comorbid depression, while anxiety and anger are also commonly reported by these patients. Not only has the experience of chronic pain been found to influence patients' emotional wellbeing, but the process and outcome of their pain treatment also influences their emotional state. Consequently, chronic pain could be regarded as a psycho-physiological disorder most often presenting primarily as psychosocial impairment. Deficient social support is associated with both the incidence and severity of depression among chronic pain patients. This may be indicative of the possible predisposing role that low levels of social support (including marital conflict and lack of family support) play in the development of depression in patients with chronic pain. However, the relationship between social support and depression may best be conceptualised as interactive, rather than causal, in nature. Coping refers to the cognitive and behavioural attempts at dealing with internal or external demands perceived as threatening to overwhelm the individual's resources and entails adapting cognitive and behavioural attempts to deal with these internal or external demands. Coping is a dynamic process and the type of coping response used depends upon the changing psychosocial environment and context. Higher levels of perceived social support have been associated with the use of approach coping responses. Hence the conclusion can generally be drawn that active or approach coping responses, where the stressor is acted upon or action is taken to improve resistance to stress, are associated with reduced pain severity and improved psychosocial functioning. Patients who present with elevated levels of pain severity, life interference and affective distress, while displaying low levels of life control and activity, tend to present with less adaptive psychosocial functioning. These patients are also more prone to using avoidance coping responses. In contrast, individuals who utilise adaptive coping strategies tend to display lower levels of pain severity, life interference and affective distress, and higher levels of life control and activity.


Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been shown to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular complications. However, the role and mechanisms of ER stress in hypertension remain unclear. Thus, we hypothesized that enhanced ER stress contributes to the maintenance of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). We investigated this hypothesis by suppressing ER stress in SHRs and their normotensive controls, Wistar‐Kyoto rats (WKYs) with ER stress inhibitor (taurine‐conjugated ursodeoxycholic acid, TUDCA). Sixteen‐week old male SHRs and WKYs were treated with TUDCA (100 mg/kg/day, IP injection) or PBS (control, 300 μl/day, IP injection) for two weeks. There was a decrease in systolic blood pressure in SHR treated with TUDCA but not in SHR treated with PBS. The myogenic response is potentiated in coronary arteries of SHRs compared to WKYs. Interestingly, treatment of ER stress inhibitor normalized myogenic responses in SHRs. These data were associated with an increase in ER stress marker expression (Bip, CHOP, ATF6, XBP‐1, and phosphorylated‐eIF2α) in coronary arteries of SHRs, which were reduced by TUDCA treatment. In conclusion, ER stress inhibition decreases systolic blood pressure and normalizes myogenic response in SHRs. Moreover, ER stress inhibition reduces expression of ER stress markers. Therefore, we suggest that ER stress could be a potential target for hypertension.


Abstract This paper proposes a conceptual model of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) in small and medium enterprises (SME) using blockchain technology (BT). With growing focus on sustainable business process, research on SSCM is gaining prominence. BT, being a disruptive technology, has potential to impact the SSCM. Using the extant literature, the antecedents of SSCM using BT have been identified. Multiple-criteria decision-making has been deployed to develop the conceptual model. Various managerial and theoretical implications along with scope for future research have been discussed.


The present invention relates to a mixing apparatus and a method for comminuting coarse components within a mixing apparatus. The mixing device for the production of product mixtures in the form of suspensions comprising at least one raw material inlet for the raw materials to be mixed, a mixing tool and a product outlet for the product mixture. In the product outlet a comminuting device is arranged.


In this paper, in order to evaluate quantitatively the stochastic characteristics of the fluctuating signal, a generalized n-th order fluctuation rate index is first proposed. Then, the high order equivalence relationship between two time constants of the ideal and the exponential type mean square operations is derived based on the proposed n-th order fluctuation rate index. More concretely, this equivalence relationship is newly discussed especially concerning the third order fluctuation rate index which occupies the first fundamental position in case of hierarchically evaluating the non-Gaussian property, and the well-known equivalence relationship T≅2γ(T: time constant of an ideal type mean squaring operation, γ: time constant of an exponential type mean squaring operation) is again found in a special case with n=2 from the different viewpoint in the time domain under the above same fluctuation rate index. The effectiveness of the proposed theory has been confirmed well experimentally by the applications to the actual sound data.


discuss Russell's paradox, at least some of my students seem to gain a greater appreciation for the intricacies of set theory (the others just give me a baffled look). I can now add another paradox to my repertoire of paradoxes that I can use to try to get students interested in mathematics. This paradox is one that has only recently come to light and is being called Parrondo's paradox, after physicist Juan Parrondo [2]. The paradox involves the playing of two games, both of which are losing games (i.e., if played repeatedly, one should expect to lose more often than win). The paradox, however, is this: if we play a third game, which consists of randomly switching between playing the two losing games, we actually end up with a winning game (i.e., if we randomly play the two losing games repeatedly, switching between the two games, one can expect to win more often than lose). In this article, I will demonstrate how Parrondo's paradox works, and provide an explanation of the mathematics underlying it. I will first describe how each of the three games is played. Each of the games involves flipping a coin, with heads a win and tails a loss. We will assume that we start each game with $0 and the gain or loss in a round is $1. Game 1 Game 1 consists of flipping a biased coin one time. The coin is weighted so that the probability of winning is slightly less than 0.5, say 0.5 - a. Then the probability of losing is 0.5 + a. Clearly, this is a losing game.


Objective To evaluate texture data of the torn supraspinatus tendon (SST) on preoperative T2-weighted magnetic resonance arthrography (MRA) using the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) for prediction of post-operative tendon state. Materials and Methods Fifty patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair for full-thickness tears of the SST were included in this retrospective study. Based on 1-year follow-up, magnetic resonance imaging showed that 30 patients had intact SSTs, and 20 had rotator cuff retears. Using GLCM, two radiologists measured independantly the highest signal intensity area of the distal end of the torn SST on preoperative T2-weighted MRA, which were compared between two groups.The relationships with other well-known prognostic factors, including age, tear size (anteroposterior dimension), retraction size (mediolateral tear length), grade of fatty degeneration of the SST and infraspinatus tendon, and arthroscopic fixation technique (single or double row), also were evaluated. Results Of all the GLCM features, the retear group showed significantly higher entropy (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001), variance (p = 0.030 and 0.011), and contrast (p = 0.033 and 0.012), but lower angular second moment (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002) and inverse difference moment (p = 0.027 and 0.027), as well as larger tear size (p = 0.001) and retraction size (p = 0.002) than the intact group. Retraction size (odds ratio [OR] = 3.053) and entropy (OR = 17.095) were significant predictors. Conclusion Texture analysis of torn SSTs on preoperative T2-weighted MRA using the GLCM may be helpful to predict postoperative tendon state after rotator cuff repair.


This paper aims to discuss the solvability of some perturbed generalized variational inequalities with both the mapping and the constraint set perturbed simultaneously in reflexive Banach spaces, under some coercivity conditions. In particular, a new result that the set is directional perturbed is presented. The main results generalize and extend some known results in this area.


Abstract 4142 Background: VEGF is one of the most specific and critical regulators of angiogenesis. It regulates normal endothelial proliferation, permeability, and survival, but is also an angiogenic mediator in tumours, and has been implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of cancer. Elevated serum VEGF (S-VEGF) levels have been associated with unfavourable outcome in different hematologic malignancies including DLBCL. However, to our knowledge there is no data about the prognostic relevance of S-VEGF levels in the rituximab era. The aim of this study was to determine if pretreatment S-VEGF levels and VEGF gene expression in the DLBCL tissue correlate with survival of patients treated with chemoimmunotherapy. Patients and methods: Study population consisted of DLBCL and follicular lymphoma (FL) grade 3 patients, who were less than 65 years old and had high-risk (aaIPI 2–3) disease. All patients were treated in the Nordic phase II protocol with six courses of R-CHOEP14 followed by systemic CNS prophylaxis with one course of high-dose methotrexate and one course of high-dose cytarabine. Pretreatment serum was available for VEGF Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA) from 112 trial patients. VEGF gene expression could be analyzed from the exon-based microarrays of 41 pretreatment biopsies. In the present report of the 112 patients with a median follow-up of 37 months, (range 17–64 months), 3-year relapse free survival (RFS) was 76% and overall survival (OS) 82%. Results: S-VEGF levels at diagnosis varied from undetectable to 2000 pg/ml, median concentration being 530 pg/ml. 10 patients had values higher than the highest standard, 2000 pg/ml. 28 patients (25%) had S-VEGF level higher than 925 pg/ml (highest quartile). According to Kaplan-Meier analyses, RFS at 3 years was poorer among the patients with high (the highest quartile) than low S-VEGF-levels (59% vs 82%, p=0.005) The risk of relapse was 2.9 fold among the patients with high S-VEGF level (95% CI 1.34–6.26, p=0.007). In contrast to serum data, VEGF gene expression in the lymphoma tissue of the same patients did not associate with outcome. Furthermore, no correlation between S-VEGF levels and VEGF gene expression was found. To validate the gene expression results we used microarray data from an independent set of 233 DLBCL patients treated with a combination of rituximab and CHOP-like chemotherapy (Lenz et al., 2008). Again, no correlation with VEGF gene expression and outcome could be observed. Conclusions: High pretreatment S-VEGF level is an adverse prognostic factor for young high-risk DLBCL/FL grade 3 patients treated with chemoimmunotherapy, whereas VEGF gene expression in the lymphoma tissue correlates neither with the S-VEGF levels nor the prognosis. The results suggest that S-VEGF does not necessarily arise from the lymphoma tissue but may instead reflect host response to lymphoma. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Mixing microwave frequencies with optical devices has many applications in communication systems with fiber-optic links, to upconvert or downconvert the RF signal frequency for transmission or receiver processing respectively. Generally, mixing is achieved by the use of optical intensity modulators (laser diodes or external optical modulators) in different configurations : one modulator working in a non-linear regime or two cascaded modulators biased at quadrature [l, 21. We study here another technique using a frequency modulated semiconductor 1 aser and an interferometer to convert frequency modulation into intensity modulation [3]. We investigate two specific interferometers, a Mach-Zehnder and a Fabry-Perot. The performances of these two systems are compared in terms of conversion Loss, bandwidth .... Experimental results that demonstrate the validity of the theoretical analysis are reported with a Michelson interferometer.


Baguley and Andersson have created a definitive resource on hyperacusis which summarizes present knowledge from both psychological and auditory neuroscience perspectives for a clinical audiology au ...


: During six days of full flowering of artichoke at La Londe les Maures (Var, France), female M. flavifrons (Fabricius) visiting these flowers, were marked. From recaptures during the following days the local population size was estimated. Moreover, this method provided the possibility to evaluate the presence of haemorrhoidalis-characters without killing large numbers of wasps. It is concluded that the high frequency of haemorrhoidalis-characters, observed in 1985, has been a transient phenomenon.


iii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review 4 2.1 Importance of Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 4 2.2 A Review of the Existing Research: Factors Related to PTSD 5 2.3 Implications 22 Chapter 3: Methodology 24 3.1 Participants 24 3.2 Materials 24 3.3 Design 26 3.4 Procedure 29 Chapter 4: Results 31 4.1 Scoring and Analysis Investigating PTSD Symptoms 31 4.2 Scoring and Analysis Investigating Problem Severity 32 4.3 Scoring and Analysis of Defensiveness 33 4.4 Supplemental Information 34 Chapter 5: Discussion 36 5.1 Conclusions Regarding Extreme Stress and Substance Use in Sample 36 5.2 Limitations 39 Future Research 41 References 43


We investigate the electrocatalytic activity of PtAu alloy nanoparticles supported on various chemically modified carbon morphologies towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The surface-modification of graphene nanosheets (f-G), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWNTs) and (graphene nanosheets-carbon nanotubes) hybrid support (f-G-MWNTs) were carried out by soft functionalization method using a cationic polyelectrolyte poly-(diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride). The Pt and PtAu alloy nanoparticles were dispersed over chemically modified carbon supports by sodium-borohydride assisted modified polyol reduction method. The electrochemical performance of all electrocatalysts were studied by half- and full-cell proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) measurements and PtAu/f-G-MWNTs catalyst comparatively yielded the best catalytic performance. PEMFC full cell measurements of PtAu/f-G-MWNTs cathode electrocatalyst yield a maximum power density of 319 mW cm−2 at 60 °C without any back pressure,which is 2.1 times higher than that of cathode electrocatalyst Pt on graphene support. The high ORR and MOR activity of PtAu/f-G-MWNTs electrocatalyst is due to the alloying effect and inherent beneficial properties of porous hybrid nanocarbon support.


A microprocedure for the estimation of urinary 4-pyridoxic acid which is apparently specific, yet simple enough for routine clinical use, has been adapted from the Fujita et al. (16-17) and Reddy et al. (22) procedures. Average values for urinary 4-pyridoxic acid for 7 women ranged from 3.8 to 6.9 µM/24 hr. by this method. These values are compatible with average daily intakes of vitamin B6 and indicate that by this method interfering fluorescent substances have been removed by chromatography. Good agreement was obtained with replicate analyses.


A medical imaging system for acquiring medical imaging data of a patient in a position, includes a console connected to the system, the console comprises a computer, which is programmed to enable a first user, a first object on the system by means of the perform console and to allow a second user to perform a second object simultaneously with the first object by means of a remote device.


The programme ValReCon20 has demonstrated the possibility of replacing up to 100% of coarse virgin aggregates with coarse recycled concrete aggregates (CRCA) in concrete of strength class C25/30. Recycled concrete from building demolition is a heterogeneous material, resulting in a higher standard deviation of many properties of CRCA. One of the important properties of CRCA, needed to design concrete mixes, is water absorption, but the heterogeneous nature of CRCA makes it harder to predict the actual amount of water that will be absorbed by CRCA during the mixing process. This paper compares the effects of over- and underestimation of the water absorption of CRCA. Various properties were investigated and the results show large differences in the workability and density of fresh concrete, water absorption by submersion and capillarity of the hardened concrete, dynamic modus of elasticity and mechanical strength properties.


We report the observation of electroluminescence from intersubband transitions in the valence band of Si/SiGe quantum cascade structures. The samples were grown by molecular beam epitaxy at 350 degree(s)C and reveal good crystal quality as determined by transmission electron microscopy and high resolution x-ray diffraction. The 4-fold quantum cascade structure is repeated 3 times interspersed by two Si spacer layers to reduce the high strain. Electrical contact is provided by the doped back and top contact layers. The electroluminescence of three samples is investigated. The peak energy of 130 meV to 150 meV is found to be close to the calculated value of the intended heavy hole (HH) 2 to HH1 transition of the respective sample. The luminescence signal is TM polarized as expected for intersubband transitions between HH levels. By comparison with a III-V quantum cascade structure the lifetime of the upper state could be determined; it was found that it depends strongly on the design, but it can reach values comparable to III-V quantum cascade structures.


Although pulsating and chaotic regimes in injection-locked semiconductor lasers have been described often in the literature, so far their relative abundance has remained poorly explored. Here, for two popular laser models, we report detailed Lyapunov phase (stability) diagrams characterizing the extension in parameter space of pulsating phases. Our phase (stability) diagrams discriminate regular from chaotic laser emissions and indicate where multistability is to be expected in injection-locked semiconductor lasers.


It is illustrated that active carbon powder is put into the aeration tank, the reason is analyzed that the treated efficiency of this process is higher than that of the traditional active sludge process. The mechanism and effect of active carbon powder are discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of this process are pointed out.


This article reflects on findings from research involving case studies of four novice lecturers enrolled on a one-year university teaching development programme. The study sought to contribute to an understanding of the process of pedagogic change and the influences which affect it. Findings suggest that key aspects of the lecturers' experience 'disturb' core beliefs, producing tensions between beliefs. As a result of this, the lecturers' pedagogic perspective, that is their sense of what is possible, plausible and desirable, is adjusted. In this way the dialogue between an individual practitioner's lived experience and their pedagogic perspective can be said to play a significant role in the way in which the potential for change is individually defined. On the basis of my findings, I identify implications for the design and delivery of university teaching development.


ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Bracing is the most effective nonoperative treatment for adolescents with Scheuermann's kyphosis; however, its outcome is not equal for all patients. The effects of potential predictive parameters for the outcome of bracing have not been well evaluated in the literature. The aim of the study was to investigate the potential prognostic factors that affect in-brace curve correction in adolescents with Scheuermann's kyphosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this prospective cohort study, patients with thoracic Scheuermann's kyphosis treated with the Milwaukee brace with a curve of 55° to 86° were included. The primary prognostic factors for in-brace curve correction, including brace compliance and daily exercise by log book, pad pressure by a modified sphygmomanometer, joint hypermobility by Beighton's scale, patients' sex, and initial Cobb angle were measured. Analyses considered multiple linear regression and independent sample t-test. RESULTS Nineteen boys (13.74 ± 1.55 years) and 33 girls (13.67 ± 1.61 years) were included in the study. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that the degrees of in-brace curve correction were significantly associated with brace compliance and initial Cobb angle (R2 = 0.48). The results of the independent t-test showed a significant difference in average curve correction, brace compliance, and in-brace pressure between girls and boys. CONCLUSIONS Results of the current study indicated that the amount of in-brace curve correction is primarily affected by brace compliance and initial Cobb angle. Brace compliance, curve correction, and pad pressure in boys were significantly higher than in girls.


To study the emission of D/sup 0/ from the periphery of a tokamak plasma, a low-energy neutral particle spectrometer optimized for (16 < E < 500 eV) has been built and employed on the Impurity Study Experiment (ISX-B) tokamak. The diagnostic utilizes a cesium vapor cell to form negative ions from the incident D/sup 0/ neutrals and a four-channel electrostatic analyzer to energy analyze the negative ions. The spectrometer was absolutely calibrated using D/sup 0/ beams formed by electron capture by positive ions in a gas cell and by photo-detachment of negative ions by a yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser. For the observation region chosen on ISX-B (120/sup 0/ toroidally away from the limiter, near the gas puff), the neutral particle flux has a two-component nature. These data are well fit by two separate exponential distributions of equivalent temperatures 6 to 8 eV for particle energies below about 80 eV and 70 to 80 eV for particle energies above 80 eV. For ohmically heated discharges, the measured particle flux in the energy range 25 to 700 eV is approx. 2.5 x 10/sup 15/ cm/sup -2/.s/sup -1/; the mean particle energy is approx. 70 eV, and the calculated flux at the wall is approx.more » 30 mW/cm/sup 2/. The major effect of neutral beam heating is to increase the particle flux in the 25- to 700-eV range by a factor of 3.« less


This study intended in evaluating as well as validating the importance of customer trust and commitment in mediating the impact of omnichannel perceived value (OPV) and customer involvement on electronic loyalty at BUKU IV bank's customers in Jabodetabek. Descriptive quantitative is the method used in this research with the assistance of a causal approach with a total sample of 245 respondents which were then analysed by PLS-SEM (Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Model). The results of this research found that omnichannel perceived value, as well as consumer engagement both partially and cooperatively, had positive and significant effect on the trust of Customers at BUKU IV banks in Jabodetabek, OPV, consumer engagement and trust of customers both partly or cooperatively have a positive and significant effect on the commitment of customer at BUKU IV Banks in Jabodetabek. Moreover, trust and commitment either partially or jointly have a positive and significant effect on e-loyalty of Banking customer at BUKU IV banks in Jabodetabek. The implication of this research reveals that in order to increase the e-loyalty of the customers, it requires boosting OPV, engagement of consumers, trust, and commitment of the customer.


Abstract The elite sport environment is one where athletes strive to find a competitive edge, through improved recovery modalities, cognitive performance or physical capacity. Due to this, non-scientifically evidenced and/or pseudo-scientific alternative remedies are ever popular. Snus (an oral tobacco based product containing the highly addictive compound nicotine) is one alternative 'physical and psychological performance enhancer', purported to act as a 'mental and physical booster', 'relaxative' and even as an 'appetite suppressor'. Despite snus having serious adverse health effects, along with no proven benefit to physical or mental performance, observations by the authors working in professional sport, along with several reports in the mainstream media, would suggest that the use of snus in elite sport appears to be increasing. Perhaps most worrying, the use of snus has been reported to be prevalent within younger athletes. It is crucial that athletes are fully educated with regards to the health implications of snus and other oral tobacco-based products, whilst practitioners should be aware of its growing prevalence in sport with strategies in place to discourage its use.


To obtain the information upon which this brief report is based, the following questions were submitted to the executives responsible for the laboratory activities of twenty‐four commercial geophysical prospecting organization.


The enhancement factors β1 and β2 of electric field applied on surface atoms are obtained by means of electrobath and resistance network analogue computer. The results are in good agreement with experimental results by field ion microscope. Field-evaporation end patterns of tungsten at wide temperature range are investigated in connection with cohesion of surface atoms. The step heights are calculated for various planes of tungsten, molybdenum and tantalum, which are necessary to the calculation of local radii of curvature.


Innovative approaches are driving the stabilization, development, and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The introduction of smart concepts has a favourable impact on their activities. At present, urban areas and urban projects are more preferred and supported. The importance and benefits of rural areas and SMEs' engagement therein is underestimated in terms of country development at the European level. This contribution aims to point out innovative approaches that contribute to the development of SMEs and smart cities or regions using best practice examples from abroad with a focus on specific rural areas in the Czech Republic—where this issue is gaining momentum. The analysis of best practice examples and expert opinions in this field was used to make comparisons and to summarise the knowledge gained. This contribution also serves as a basis for mapping the factors that can support regional development and growth, as well as provides recommendations for future follow-ups and new concepts for the coming years in Czech rural areas, or areas that are culturally similar, such as Slovak rural areas.


On a Relation Between the Hardy-Hilbert and the Gabriel Inequality (V. Adiyasunen, T. Batbold).- Mathematical Models of Mechanical Fields in Media with Inclusions and Holes (M. Bryla, A.V. Krupoderov, A.A. Kushunin, V. Mityushev).- A Note on the Functions that are Approximately p-Write Affine (J. Brzdek).- Multiplicative Ostrowski and Trapezoid Inequalities (P. Cerone, S. Dragomir, E. Kikianty).- A Survey on Ostrowski Type Inequalities for Riemann-Stieltjes Integral (W.S. Cheung, S.S. Dragomir).- Invariance in the Family of Weighted Gini Means (I. Costin, G. Toader).- Functional Inequalities and Analysis of Contagion in the Financial Networks (P. Daniele, S. Giuffe,k M. Lorino, A. Maugeri, C. Mirabella).- Comparisons of Means and Related Functional Inequalities (W. Fechner).- Constructions and Extensions of Free and Controlled Additive Relations (T. Glavosits, A. Szaz).- Extremal Problems in Polynomials and Entire Functions (N.K. Govil, Q. M. Tariq).- On Approximation Properties of Szasz-Mirakyan Operators (V. Gupta).- Generalized Hardy-Hilbert Type Inequalities on Multiple Weighted Orlicz Spaces (K. Jichang).- Inequalities for the Fisher's Information Measures (C.P. Kitsos, T.L. Toulias).- Applications of Functional Equations to Dirichlet Problem for Double Connected Domains (V. Mityushev).- Sign-Changing Solutions for Nonlinear Elliptic Problems Depending on Parameters (D. Motreanu, V.V. Motreanu).- On Strongly Convex Functions and Related Classes of Functions (K. Nikodem).- Some New Algorithms for Solving General Equilibrium Problems (M.A. Noor, Th.M. Rassias).- Contractive Operators in Relational Metric Spaces (M. Turinici).- Half-Discrete Hilbert-Type Inequalities, Operators, and Compositions (B. Yang).- Some Results Concerning Hardy and Hardy-Type Inequalities (N.B. Zographopoulos).


This work had the aim of analyzing the role of the Functional Performance Evaluation of the servers from the Judicial Secretariat of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). This is a case study that investigated the mechanisms of a formal system of performance appraisal and deployed in your organization who recently underwent a makeover. The methodology consisted of questionnaires, documentary analysis of the legislation establishing the Supreme Court in the performance evaluation and review of the literature regards the subject. A descriptive survey was administered to a sample of 50 servers, a general framework composed of 194. Sought to verify the practices adopted by the evaluators and the possible alignment with policy objectives of management people from the Supreme Court. The results showed that the Judicial Secretary, the process of Functional Performance Evaluation, evaluated from the perspective of, does not meet the expectations of the policy of managing people. Coexist in the Judicial Department of a participatory management practices and traditional management practices, adopting procedures exceeded. Procedures that do not meet the needs of modern public administration. Noted also that the traditional management is that which prevails in the unit studied.


The use of case-based instruction in professional fields, such as law has been around since the late 1800s; however, the use of cases in engineering has only been around since the 1950s with their earliest implementation in Civil and Chemical engineering. Research on the implementation of case studies in engineering has mainly focused on student perception at the end of a course. There is limited research on students' perceptions of case studies as compared to traditional lecture approach. This paper presents results from a study that examined this relationship between students' perceptions and actual learning performance for lecture and case-based instruction. Specifically, we addressed the following research question: To what extent do students differ in their perceptions of their learning confidence and engagement connections across lecture and case-based instruction? We found that overall students found cases to be more engaging as compared to traditional lecture; however, in one case students found lecture to increase their learning more than cases.


DETERMINING A CURRENT A power Supply circuit having a converter circuit and method for determining a current flowing into the converter circuit. A (76) Inventor: Alan R. Ball, Gilbert, AR (US) converter circuit includes an amplifier and a current-to-cur rent converter module. The amplifier has a current sensing (21) Appl. No.: 12A632,600 element coupled between its inverting and noninverting input y x9 terminals. The amplifier generates a sensing signal from a charging current flowing through the current sensing element. (22) Filed: Dec. 7, 2009 The sensing signal is input into the current-to-current con Verter module, which scales the charging current and modu Publication Classification lates the scaled charging current. The current-to-current con Verter module converts the modulated current to a charging (51) Int. Cl. Voltage that is representative of the charging current. The H02M II/00 (2006.01) charging current is converted to a current that is representative of the input current to converter circuit. The input current to the converter circuit is added to an auxiliary load current to (52) U.S. Cl. ........................................................ 327/103 yield the current of the power supply circuit.


During the onset of polar winter in the stratosphere, before the formation of nitric acid ice clouds (referred to as polar stratospheric clouds, or PSCs), sulfate aerosol particles may catalyze heterogeneous chemical reactions that redistribute chlorine from reservoir species to more active forms. This activated chlorine can lead to ozone destruction in the fall and early winter, prior to the formation of PSCs, at middle and high latitudes over the winter half-year in both hemispheres. During periods of slow cooling, a significant fraction of ambient chlorine nitrate (ClONO2) may be processed into active chlorine through its reactions with water and HCl at the surfaces of dilute supercooled sulfuric acid droplets. This mechanism for chlorine activation may explain the occurrence of widespread regions of reduced ozone abundance in the Northern Hemisphere at high- and middle-latitudes outside of the polar vortex. Following major volcanic eruptions, a large increase in the surface area of sulfate particles could lead to significant repartitioning of chlorine species via the reaction of ClONO2 with H2O, even under midlatitude conditions, which may explain in part the detection of ozone reductions in volcanic clouds. Chemical transformation of other compounds may also be accelerated by the presence of dilute supercooled sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere, including the reaction of HOCl with HCl, and the hydrolysis of COF2 to HF; however, neither of these latter processes appear to have first-order significance for the chemistry of the stratosphere.


People in Quebec and elsewhere who have watched with fascination and trepidation the proceedings of the Consultation Commission on Accommodation Practices Related to Cultural Differences [CCAPRCD], or read its 2008 final report, 1 will this find this book refreshing and intellectually stimulating. Gopika Solanki, an assistant professor of political science at Carleton University, is a rare breed. Trained as a political scientist, she approaches her research question— "How do multireligious and multiethnic societies construct accommodative arrangements that can both facilitate cultural diversity and ensure women's rights?" 2 through an "ethnography of legal adjudication of marriage and divorce across formal and informal arenas in Mumbai." 3 While her book is being published as part of the Cambridge Studies in Law and Society, it could, arguably, easily have been published under another disciplinary imprint. While it is common sense to want to study family law through the lenses of state law and its formal court proceedings and decisions, in a country as multireligious and multiethnic as India any observer would miss the everyday life reality of adjudication, which occurs not only in courtrooms but also in a multitude of other sites such as religious communities, civic organizations and women's groups; in fact family law in India is not based on legal centralism but instead on legal pluralism, meaning that the family is governed through a sharing of authority between the state and ethno-religious groups. Adjudication is thus shared—for instance, the state governs interreligious marriages, allows citizens to opt out of religious laws, but retains the authority to enforce the division of property—and because of that it allows diversity, dialogue and negotiations within and between religious and ethnic groups. It is the process of negotiation that ultimately defines the boundaries of the autonomy enjoyed by religious groups and how far the law of the state will reach. Of course, it is not because group claims can be accommodated and multicultural policies implemented that there will not be any conflicts, confrontations or contestations. The challenge is to avoid the latter problems, as Solanki makes clear, through the construction of "policies that can facilitate equality between and among diverse ethno-religious groups while ensuring gender equality within these groups in the matter of religious family


AbstractIn this study, data collected by the Atmospheric Imaging Radar (AIR) are analyzed in conjunction with WSR-88D data (KFDR) for a tornado near Tipton, Oklahoma, on 16 May 2015. The analysis presented herein utilizes PPIs from both radars, polarimetric data from KFDR, time–height plots from the AIR, and a ground-based velocity track display (GBVTD) analysis. This study is novel in that it uses high-resolution mobile radar data (update time of 6–7 s) in tandem with polarimetric data from KFDR in order to identify possible areas of debris, including a debris ring contained within the outer vortex circulation. Leveraging the high spatiotemporal resolution of the AIR with the polarimetric capability of KFDR leads to analysis of reflectivity distributions, debris lofting, kinematic changes, and oscillations in tornado intensity during a portion of the mature stage of the tornado, with a particular focus on the relationship between changes in the reflectivity field and dynamical changes around the tornado....


The conception of ammunition technical life was introduced.Influence of ammunition technical life was analyzed.The basic thought and steps of evaluation index system construction was put forward.Ammunition technical life evaluation index was analyzed with AHP method.The evaluation index system was established,which has hierarchy structure,with four rules and fourteen evaluating index.


Let ƒ and λ be positive integers and p a positive odd prime. Suppose further that P is an ideal of norm p f in a finite extension F of the rational field. In (2), which will also be referred to as I in the present paper, we obtained the number of solutions Ns(m) of the quadratic congruence,


The principal focus of this Commentary is the late preterm (LPT) infant and, especially, the generally underappreciated, enormous burden of neurodevelopmental disability (NDD) observed subsequently in these infants. LPT infants, defined by birth at 34–36 completed weeks of gestation, i.e., at 34–366/7 weeks, comprise by far the largest proportion of preterm infants (37 weeks' gestation or less). In 2019 in the US LPT infants accounted for 7.46% of the 3,745,540 live births in the US, i.e., approximately 280,000 such infants and approximately 75% of all preterm births [1]. The rate of LPT births has increased steadily over the past 5 years. LPT infants have increased rates of perinatal morbidities as well as subsequent NDD (see later). However, importantly, a major proportion of the NDD occurs in the absence of recognized perinatal problems [2]. The absolute number of LPT infants with subsequent NDD yearly is approximately 3,500 [3]. The enormous emotional and financial costs for families and


The upcoming shortage of general practitioners in Switzerland will be a big challenge for medical out-of-hours services. Regionally ver different exists only few datas about organisational matters of and problems seen in "out-of-hours" care and "urgent consultations". Our Pilot present the prevalence of "out-of-hours care" in a general practitioner setting describes and classifies the problems seen using ICPC-2.


We propose new parameters to characterize a whispering gallery mode spectrum, which can be regarded as reliable independent biodetection indicators for an instantaneous microsphere's spectrum. With these parameters, since there is no need for spectral comparison to an analyte-free reference, three-dimensional stirring of fluorescent microspheres in fluidic setup is allowed. Through an analysis of fluorescent microspheres in the presence of bacterial spores, we found five insightful quantitative independent parameters for biodetection. Unveiled by this analysis, we demonstrate the possibility to discriminate between analyte presence and homogeneous variation of the solution's refractive index.


Systems can be described either in the time or in the frequency domains. Here methods using the frequency domain are treated, namely, frequency response, their representations as well as their relationships to the differential equation and the logarithmic characteristics of these leading to the Bode plot representation, transfer function, poles and zeros, and root locus representation. A typical simple example is given.


Recent real-world measurements in dense congested radio environments have pointed out the inefficiency of frame error-based bit-rate adaptation mechanisms, which significantly reduce network capacity by misinterpreting frame errors due to collisions. These effects are likely to be amplified with the heavy use of media applications. Fortunately, traditional SNR-based rate adaptation, and the more recently proposed throughput-based, and collision-aware rate adaptation algorithms are expected to provide more robust performance in these scenarios. To our knowledge, however, their performance has never been experimentally validated in a congested environment. In this paper, we report our implementation experiences with rate adaptation in a dense, congested IEEE 802.11 network. We find that throughput-based adaptation, contrary to expectations, also suffers from poor bitrate selection. Due to an increase in physical layer capture, while using lower bitrates, nodes can increase their individual throughput at the expense of cumulative network throughput. SNR-based rate adaptation performs well in static environments but the lack of sufficient precision in RSSI measurements makes accurate rate selection in dynamic radio environments dfficult. The use of RTS/CTS, in the spirit of collision-aware rate adaptation, shows throughput improvements for frame error-based algorithms and, additionally, for throughput-based algorithms as well. However, results are below expectations likely due to RTS/CTS implementation issues on the Atheros 5212 platform.


Abstract : The objectives of this study were (1) to demonstrate the feasibility of replacing standard field methods for fuel analysis with a rapid analytical technique based on near-infrared spectroscopy, (2) to design a system that could provide real-time monitoring of fuel being distributed from a bulk fuel farm, and (3) to provide the United States Marine Corps (USMC) with a system for tracking fuel inventory


The present invention comprises a first probe housing and the second probe to imaging the human body through the ultrasonic probe installed on the housing visually needle guide menstrual blood tamcheuk for guiding tamcheuk the menstrual blood and allows the needle to the menstrual blood tamcheuk position can be invasive ultrasound It relates to probe devices, and more specifically, but comprising a recline is installed is needle penetrates, and installed in the middle so as to be movable parts adjusting the angle of the housing, through an angle adjustment to vary the direction of the movement and the angle of the needle and that the technical feature.


The October 2008 issue of PS published a symposium of presidential and congressional forecasts made in the summer leading up to the election. This article is an assessment of the accuracy of their models. The presidential election forecast made with the Fiscal Model three months before Election Day put the incumbents' share of the two-party vote (VOTE2) at 48% (Cuzán and Bundrick 2008). As of the time of this writing, it appears the incumbent-party ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin took a little less than that (around 46.5%). At 1.5%, the error is less than 2.3%, which is Campbell's (2008, 680) "benchmark" for a "quite accurate" forecast. This is the second time in a row that the Fiscal Model ranks among the best performers (Campbell 2005, 23).


Objective To investigate the curative effect of atypical hyperplasia of endometrium by transcervical resection of endometrium(TCRE) and progestogen.Methods Clinical data of 28 cases with atypical hyperplasia of endometrium were analyzed retrospectively in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from January 2000 to December 2010,who were treated by TCRE.Prognosis and outcome of endometrium were followed up.Results Twenty six cases′ operation was smoothly,2 cases were completely resected by hysteroscopy after 3 months due to intraoperative suspicion of endometrial cancer and pathology diagnosed severe atypical hyperplasia.There were no serious complication in all 28 cases.Menstruation and anemia of 28 postoperative patients were significantly improved,the total effective rate was 92.86%.After 1 a in 1 patient was lost due to work mobility,2 a 1 patient died of car accident after 2 a.6 months after surgery,the improvement rate of 28 patients was 100%(28/28);after 1 a,postoperative improvement rate was 85.71%(25/28),the recurrence rate was 14.29%(3/28),the malignant transformation rate was zero;after 2 a postoperative,the improvement rate was 80.76%(21/26),the recurrence rate was 19.23%(5/26),malignant transformation rate was zero;after 3 a,postoperative improvement rate was 85%(17/20),the recurrence rate was 10%(2/20),malignant transformation rate was 5%(1/20);after 4 a,improvement rate was 72.22%(13/18),the recurrence rate was 16.67%(3/18),malignant transformation rate was 11.11%(2/18).Conclusion On the condition of the patients with follow-up,TCRE combined with progestin treatment of atypical endometrial hyperplasia is an effective method.


The design of a lightweight and ultra‐wideband absorber for C and X bands is still a challenge as the dimension of the absorber is relatively large in such a relatively low‐frequency band. Herein, an ultra‐wideband and lightweight metamaterial absorber (MMA) is presented for C‐ and X‐band applications. The unit cell of the proposed MMA consists of four copper sectors loaded by lumped resistors and a continuous copper ground plane, which is printed on two FR‐4 substrates. Furthermore, an airgap separating the FR‐4 layers is used as the active substrate medium of the MMA to achieve both ultra‐wideband absorption spectra and lightweight design. The MMA is investigated by simulation and measurement, showing that a good agreement is achieved. The result indicates that the absorptivity of the MMA under both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations is greater than 90% in a wide range from 3.7 to 13.6 GHz for all polarization angles. Compared to other reported broadband absorbers, the proposed MMA shows an ultra‐wide absorption bandwidth and a lightweight design, which demonstrates a great potential for C‐and X‐band applications.


Abstract : An investigation of the stress-dependence of the indirect absorption edge in semiconductors such as Si can yield information concerning the relative contributions of the phonon-assisted electron and hole scattering mechanisms to the absorption mechanism. Once the relative coefficients are known a fit to the absorption coefficient can be made in order to determine the absolute values for electron-phonon and hole-phonon deformation potentials. It has been demonstrated that in the case of Si these two processes are affected differently by the applied stress and hence it is possible to separate them. Utilizing the sensitive technique of wave-length modulated transmission we have undertaken an investigation of the stress-dependent intensities of the indirect transition in Si. (Author)


The Metropolis Monte Carlo (MMC) technique performance is compared to the performance of an iterative deconvolution method. In the MMC approach to deconvolution two Monte Carlo Procedure (MCP) are run at the same time. In one the blurred data is used as a distribution function for selection of pixels. And the second MCP decides whether to place a grain in the true data (true input) or not. We show that this approach improves the reconstruction process. The blurred data is obtained by convolving a 24 points input signal that has three peaks with a 21 points wide Guassian impulse response function (IRF). The Mean Squared Error (MSE) is used to compare the two techniques. The MSE is calculated by comparing the reconstructed input signal with the true input signal. The Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNR) studied range from 10 to 150. The type of noise used in this study is Gaussian Distributed additive noise.


Pratima Tiwari. This research paper aimed at to look the use of internet and its effects on adolescents. Internet plays an important role in our lives. It provide us with a method to connect to important others in our lives.this study was conducted to establish the kinds of activities that adolescents performed on the internet and length of the time they spend on the internet in order to know the effects of internet on adolescents. The study was conducted on 100 adolescents comprising 50 boys and 50 girls of Guru Nanak Academy school of faizabad. The result revealed that boys used more internet as compare to girls. There is both positive and negative effects of internet on girls and boys. Boys had spend more time on internet than girls. Adolescents engage in internet chat rooms and reveal their personal information to people they meet online. The positive impact of Internet includes increase in knowledge, awareness and gain of more confidence. The negative aspects of the Internet include Internet addiction as well as online risks such as exposure to sexually explicit material and online victimization including harassment or cyber bullying and sexual solicitation.


Objective To evaluate the clinical results of posterior decompression,pedicle screws instrumentation and staged-injection vertebroplasty in treatment of thoracolumbar fractures.Methods 28 cases were treated by posterior decompression,pedicle screws instrumentation and staged-injection vertebroplasty,including McAfee classification:1 type 15 cases,2 type 10 cases,and 3 type 3 cases,and observed the compression ratio of anterior and posterior edge of the function unit of spine with the center of injury vertebrae body,the invasion rate of vertebral canal and Cobb′s angle.Results All cases were followed for 12~16months and began to ambulate 2 weeks postoperatively.No postoperative complications were found such as nails breaking,shaft breaking and second vertebral body compression.The body height and physiological curve recovered satisfactorily.The obvious difference exists in comparision with preoperative and 2 weeks postoperative observations including the compression ratio of anterior and posterior edge of the function unit of spine with the center of injury vertebrae body,the invasion rate of vertebral canal and Cobb′s angle.There was no obvious difference with postoperative 2 weeks and 12 months.Conclusion Treatment of thoracolumbar fractures with posterior decompression,pedicle screws instrumentation and staged-injection vertebroplasty can earlier recover the spine stability of anterior and posterior column,avoid the risk of nails breaking and shaft breaking of purely posterior pedicle screws instrumentation.Patients can early ambulate with no back pain and gain satisfactory clinical results.


As a large amount of renewable energy is injected into the power grid, the source side of the power grid becomes extremely uncertain. Traditional static safety analysis methods based on pure physical models can no longer quickly and reliably give analysis results. Therefore, this paper proposes a deep learning-based static security analytical method. First, the static security assessment index of the power grid under the N-1 principle is proposed. Secondly, a neural network model and its input and output data for static safety analysis problems are designed. Finally, the validity of the proposed method was verified by IEEE grid data. Experiments show that the proposed method can quickly and accurately give the static security analysis results of the source-side high uncertainty grid.


Due to the enormous disaster of the heavey rainfall in Hainan caused by the Tropical depression,the process is investigated based on the NCEP/NCAR re-analysis.The results show that a declining westward updraft from bottom to top forms in the rainstorm area because the inverted trough in the middle level of the tropical depression moves more rapidly than low level.And there were symmetric instability in the upper air of the rainstorm area.Inclined updraft causes symmetric instability energy to release and make the declining convection development.These content the dynamical and unstable conditions of rainstrom occurring.the tropical depression moved tardily owning to the surrounding of the west Pacific subtropical high,north mainland high the Tropical depression in Nanhai.The south stream from the southwest part of the subtropical high and the southeast or east stream in 850 hPa transported the vapor to the depression continuously,which was propitious to the maintenance of its intensity.It is found that plenteous vapor,intense vertical convection and strong convergence of the low level stream have advantage for the heavy ranfall by analyzing physical factor field.


In this study, the authors perform a genome-wide methylation analysis to define epigenetic signatures for murine ILCs and to assess similarities and differences to CD4+ T cells. Models of IL-33–mediated inflammatory challenge reveal tissue-specific epigenetic changes within ILC2 signature regions.


Considering the current agile supply chain performance evaluation methods of automobile manufacturing has defects such as low accuracy, complex computing. This paper proposes the agile supply chain performance evaluation of automobile manufacturing based on regression analysis. Firstly, the index system of agile supply chain performance evaluation of automobile manufacturing is established. Secondly, the agile supply chain performance evaluation model is build based on regression analysis. Finally, the feasibility and availability of this model are verified combined with the numerical examples.


This research is a study that aims to perform a "DIAGNOSIS AND PROSPECTS journalism as a profession and service to the community."
The concern of media professionals and graduates in this field is the question of the possibility that the values defined in the professional world today, do not fit in the new guidelines of the communication law. Since in the different media in the province of Loja news general information is disseminated, and there is a space for discussion and opinion regarding the content of this bill it is considered of social interest.
The overall objective was to make a diagnosis and determine the prospects of journalism as a profession and community service in the city of Loja.
To meet the objective was necessary to base the methods, hypothetical-deductive based on experience and general knowledge will allow to meet the objectives and methods that have been proposed, inductive-deductive the same as from general data accepted as valid to reach a conclusion of a particular type and vice versa, and for mathematical and statistical analysis and interpretation of the survey. Techniques such as the survey determined, preferences etc., by the lojana community. And the interview that yielded the information from managers of the media.
The analysis and synthesis in order to join parts of the project that will enable a minimum degree of decoding error in all of it. From the results it was determined that the Social Communication professionals, 52% have a regular job; 39% of respondents said that their first job he did on some means of social communication, however 66% of 388 respondents said that locally provided services. With regard to the knowledge acquired in university classrooms, 77% of respondents say that if you served them for their professional life, and 66% said that work on what you want, or in some media and also indicate your prospects as journalists in the community are excellent (46%). In regard to local labor supply 43% believe that if there are areas where labor.
A management level, show that if there are good professionals in the area of social communication, but also require a lot of ongoing training and upgrading the use of current information technology.


The large-area Compton camera (LACC)[1] achieves both high imaging sensitivity and high imaging resolution by using large monolithic scintillation detectors. In each detector of the LACC, the interaction energies and positions of the gamma radiation for image reconstruction are estimated using the 36 channel signals from 6×6 photo-multiplier tubes (PMTs) array[2]. In order to process the signals, the current signal processing system utilizes time-division multiplexing, reducing 36 channels to 5 channels. This approach, however, not only increases system dead time, but also makes the system response unstable at high event rate situation mainly due to pulse pile-ups. In the present study, a new high-speed multi-channel data acquisition system, which directly digitize the signal from the preamplifier was developed to address the aforementioned issues. The developed system was then implemented in the LACC to compare the performance with that of the current system.


There is provided a bag comprising two opposing side pieces (2a, 2b) , a first and a second side piece, said side pieces being interconnected at each side edge (4a, 4b) of the bag and at a bottom (3) thereof, said bag further comprising two reinforcing pieces (6a, 6b) , a first and a second reinforcing piece, said first and second reinforcing pieces (6a, 6b) being connected to the first (2a) and second side pieces (2b) , respectively, at an upper part of the bag, thereby forming first and second reinforcing flaps (6a, 6b) with each flap having one or more connection seams (7) . The connection seam(s) (7) of each flap forms/form at least one reinforcing curve (7) , and for at least one reinforcing curve (7) of one or both flaps, the total length of the connection seam(s) forming a reinforcing curve is longer than the shortest distance between the two outermost points of the formed reinforcing curve . The reinforcing curve (7) of one or both flaps may form a substantially sinusoidal formed curve or an arched formed curve .


The attachment of pendent olefin groups to oxygen-ligated zirconium complexes using olefin-substituted phenols and alcohols and readily accessible zirconium reagents is described. Syntheses of three crystallographically characterizable complexes isolable in 55-90% yield are reported. Eugenol, HOC(6)H(3)(OMe-2)(CH(2)CH=CH(2)-4) (HOAr) reacts with [Zr(O(i)Pr)(4)(HO(i)Pr)](2) in toluene to form [((i)PrO)(2)(ArO)Zr(&mgr;-O(i)Pr)](2), 1. CH(2)=CHCH(2)OH reacts with [Zr(NMe(2))(4)](2) in the presence of 2,6-dimethylphenol to form the mixed ligand salt, {Me(2)NH(2)}{[(2,6-Me(2)C(6)H(3)O)(3)Zr](2)(&mgr;-OCH(2)CH=CH(2))(3)}, 2. The potassium salt derived from eugenol, KOAr, reacts with "Zr(OEt)(4)" in THF to form [K(2)Zr(OAr)(4)(OEt)](2)(O), 3.


The multi-classifier ensemble with combination features is a means to improve the off-Line handwritten character recognition rate.This research uses two groups which have statistical characteristics of combination features for the recognition of offline handwritten Yi characters.The first group adopts the extensive application of the elastic mesh features and stroke density features;the second group adopts the directional line element feature and projection feature.The research presents a new feature extraction method for the structural characteristics of Yi Characters that are based on the rough-cutting stroke features.Finally,the multi-classifier ensemble project output has obtained the results which are satisfactory in terms of recognition.


Spatial and temporal variations in hydrological series are affected by both climate change and human activities. A scientific understanding of the impacts of these two main factors on runoff will help to understand the response mechanism of the water cycle in a changing environment. This study focused on Poyang Lake Basin, which contains China's largest freshwater lake. Several approaches, including the Mann-Kendall trend test, cumulative anomaly method, Hurst exponent analysis, and slope change ratio of cumulative quantity (SCRCQ) method, were adopted to explore the characteristics of runoff variations and the respective impacts of climate change and human activities on runoff variations in the five subbasins. The results indicated that (1) from 1961 to 2015, the runoff throughout the basin fluctuated, and it decreased significantly in the 2000s. (2) Different baseline periods and measurement periods were identified for each subbasin to analyse the spatial and temporal responses of runoff to climate change and human activities. (3) The runoff of each subbasin will exhibit anti-persistent features with different persistence times in the future. (4) Compared with those in the baseline period, in the first measurement period, precipitation was the main factor driving the runoff increase in the Ganjiang, Fuhe, Xinjiang and Raohe subbasins, with contribution rates of 50.91–63.47%, and human activities played a supplementary role. However, in the second measurement period, as human activities intensified, they became the leading factor causing changes in runoff, with contribution rates between 59.57% and 92.49%. Considering water shortages and the intensification of human activities, the impacts of human activities on runoff variations will require more attention in the future.


Groundwater (GW) constitutes by far the largest volume of liquid freshwater on Earth. The most active part is soil moisture (SM), recognized as a key variable of land/atmosphere interactions, especially in so-called transition zones, where/when SM varies between wet and dry values. But GW can also be stored in deeper reservoirs than soils, in particular unconfined aquifer systems, in which the saturated part is called the water table (WT). The latter is characterized by slow and mostly horizontal water flows towards the river network, with well-known buffering effects on streamflow variability. Where/when the WT is shallow enough, it can also sustain SM by means of capillary rise, thus increase evapotranspiration (ET), with potential impact on the climate system (including temperatures and precipitation). The large residence time of GW may also increase the Earth system's memory, with consequences on the persistence of extreme events, hydro-climatic predictability, and anthropogenic climate change, particularly the magnitude of regional warming.


Properties of terahertz (THz) spectroscopy system with 1.5 /spl mu/m compact fiber laser have been investigated to build the THz compact system. Maximum frequency components of THz radiated field from the emitter as InAs and InSb were achieved to be 4 THz. We also have successfully built the THz compact system with the bandwidth of 4 THz.


This paper has investigated the Korean Catholics' economic base in the middle of the 19th century through their occupations. Among the believers whose occupations were known, agriculture was commonest, which was followed by commerce, by wage labor, by handicraft, by medicine, and by teacher. Most of those who were involved in agriculture have resided in Chungcheongdo province while most of those involved in commerce have lived in Seoul. The reason why the Catholics who has a specific occupation has concentrated on Chungcheongdo and Seoul is that Naepo(Chungcheongdo) had the Catholics most and that Seoul was in the process of being developed into a commercial city at that time. This paper has also investigated the characteristics of each occupation that the believers were involved in. First, the agricultural works included the rice fanning as well as cultivation of burnt-off lands and tobacco fanning. Second, the believers involved in commerce and industry had various occupations. Some of them had actively participated in the commerce activities including ginseng smuggling. Among them, some had sound economic base compared with those involved in other occupations. It has been found that the business of pottery was the important economic base for the local believers. Third, in case of the believers involved in wage labor, many of them lost or threw away their own economic base because of the social and economic situations(such as losing parents early in life or losing husband) and religious persecution or religious life.
Fourth, some of the Catholics were soldiers and petty officials of provincial town. The reason why the church targeted them for their missionary work was basically to rescue their spirits, but secondarily, it was to escape from the threat of religious persecution. The soldiers were in difficult situation in terms of economic base, but the petty officials of provincial town seemed to have money.
Fifth, those who were involved ill medicine actively worked on propagation just like the early church, and they also had quite good economic base. In case of the teaching job, economically mined noblemen worked on it.
In conclusion, the Korean Catholics in the middle of the 19th century were involved in various occupations, but in general, they seemed poor. However, every believer was not poor. Some of them had more wealth than the average, and based on this economic power, they were active to work for the church. They were involved in every important work of the church and they were in the position to contact with missionaries, which shows correlation between economic power and church works.


We test the relationships between corporate expatriate supporting practices, cross-cultural adjustment, and expatriate performance. Specifically, we propose that the facets of cultural intelligence moderate the expatriate supporting practices–expatriate adjustment relationship. Analyzing 169 expatriates residing in Singapore, we found that expatriate supporting practices were positively related to adjustment as well as performance. Further, we demonstrated that metacognitive and cognitive cultural intelligence negatively moderated the links between expatriate supporting practices and adjustment, while motivational cultural intelligence had a positive moderating effect. These findings have implications for organizations providing support for expatriates and the expatriate selection and training processes.


The globalisation of tourism as a major activity has produced increasing demands for new tourist experiences, including the growing importance of shopping. As part of this trend, tourists have a strong interest in enjoying shopping, particularly for luxury items in major retail complexes or purpose-built shopping malls. Increasingly, this link between tourism and retailing is becoming important as a competitive advantage in the international competition of different global tourism destinations. However, few detailed studies have been directed at such experiences as part of the global tourism experience. This qualitative study sought to explore shopping experiences among international tourists in Malaysian shopping malls. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with international tourists visiting several states in Malaysia. The international tourists were interviewed using a mall intercept survey in major shopping complexes in around Malaysia. They were asked to describe their shopping experiences as well as their expectations of visiting the mall. Their experiences and expectations provide a perspective on how international tourists perceive the nature of such shopping experiences. The data were analysed using content analysis. The findings disclose the item suggested for quantitative analysis relating to the shopping experiences of international tourists. This study can be beneficial for mall retailers wishing to capitalize on the international tourist market.


Internet seems to provide Greek companies with new opportunities to escape the ongoing financial crisis by enhancing their existing export activities or by targeting new foreign customers. The main focus of this study is twofold: a) to identify the factors of successful Internet use for exporting purposes, and b) to assess the overall influence of the financial crisis in Greece on Internet use for exporting activities. Data were gathered via a self-administered mail survey of 77 Greek exporting companies identified as having a corporate website (fully operational) for at least 18 months prior to the collection of the questionnaires. The findings indicate that the level of IT and Internet literacy within the firm have a significant positive impact on export performance of Greek companies. The level of management's entrepreneurial orientation and enthusiasm in promoting Internet use and foreign customers' need for personal contact with the firm also had a significant positive impact on export performance. Finally, the results revealed that the vast majority of the companies were already using Internet for exporting purposes before 2009, and they were either positively or not at all influenced by the financial crisis in terms of Internet use for their exporting activities.


In this paper, the adaptive forecast and control of the market economic system with fuzzy inputs is discussed. A new method which is adapted for the adaptive forecast and control of this kind of system is introduced. Through a living example the better result is explained concretly.


CORAW2L observations of time-dependent turbulence in RR Lyrae are presented. Varintion in the width of the mean velocity correlation function implies turbuleDt velocities that peak at 10-16 km/see for a brief interval of phase near minimum radius. Comparison with a nonlinear pulsation model shows that these amplitudes of the turbulent velocity are expected near the hydrogen ionization cone, again only near ❑inimum radius.


The pharmacologic properties of desamino-oxytocin, which differs from oxytocin only at the 1 position, where the free amino group in the half-cystine residue is replaced by hydrogen, are compared with those of oxytocin. It has been found that the free amino group is not required for manifestation of the biologic activities of oxytocin which are studied herein. Replacement of the amino group in the oxytocin molecule by hydrogen results in an enhancement of its avian depressor, rat oxytocic, and rat antidiuretic activities and a decrease in its rat pressor activity. Milk-ejecting activity in lactating rabbits is not appreciably affected. The patterns of response to equivalent units of oxytocin and desamino-oxytocin are practically identical. Increased antidiuretic and decreased pressor activities also occur upon replacement of the amino group in the 1 position of lysine-vasopressin with hydrogen to give l-desamino-8- lysine-vasopressin.


Out of the theories proposed by earlier workers, the calor-electric effect is found to be more satisfactorily explained by the theory of the massive formation of negative ions near a water-cooled electrode. An attachment mechanism, operative below 100°c, is proposed to account for this massive formation. Calor-electric voltages up to 1–9 v are observed for the atmospheric CH4-O2 flame at thermodynamic equilibrium. A calculation method, utilizing double probe data, gives tho maximum expected value as 3 v under the assumption of complete attachment of electrons near a water-cooled electrode. The variation of the calor-electric voltage with the equivalence ratio of the flame shows a sharp maximum at stoichiometric proportions of CH4 andO2.


Renovascular hypertension affects ~1–4% of the hypertensive population and represents the second‐leading cause of secondary hypertension. There is an urgent clinical need to gain insight into the aetiology of renovascular hypertension to form the basis of new treatment targets. We hypothesize that high blood pressure in these conditions aims to sustain perfusion thus optimising organ blood flow and tissue oxygen homeostasis.


Learning disability is a life-long condition that can affect academic functioning, everyday life and social life. In multiple areas, academic and other, students with LD often underachieve, and often with pervasive negative consequences. This study compared self-efficacy and hope in 30 elementary school (sixth grade) children with learning disabilities (LD) and 30 their peers without LD. An ex post facto design was used. Statistical population comprised of all students in elementary schools (sixth grade) in, Harsin, Iran, during the 2012-2013 academic year. Students with learning disabilities were randomly selected. The students with LD had been diagnosed by Colorado Learning Difficulties Questionnaire (CLDQ). The students completed the Wechsler Memory Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Children's Hope Scale. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20) was used for computing descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Differences were found between the groups on the self-efficacy and hope. The study demon  strated the important role of self-efficacy and hope for students with LD.


Coma is a relatively common condition in critical pediatric care nurses need to a quire a wide range of theoretical and practical knowledge in order to provide the appropriate level of care for pediatric patients. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of training program on nurses ' knowledge and practice toward care of children with coma at Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Research design: A quasi-experimental design was used. Setting: This study was conducted at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Benha Specialized Pediatric Hospital. Sample: A Convenient sample of nurses (n=43) and purposive sample of comatose children (n=80) were included from the above mentioned setting. Those children were divided equally into two groups (study and control).Tools of data collection: Two tools were used namely; a structured interviewing questionnaire format, nurses' knowledge and practice regarding care of children with coma. Results: Revealed that, there was significant improvement in nurses' knowledge and practice toward care for children with coma as well as after program implementation, Moreover, Most children in the study group was improvement feeding and scores of Glasgow scale coma rather than the control group. Conclusion: The study was concluded that, the theoretical and practical an educational intervention had a positive effect in improving nurses' knowledge and practice toward care for children with coma at PICU. There was also a positive correlation between levels of nurses' knowledge as regards their practice. Recommendation: Nurse's educators should develop educational intervention provided to all nurses caring for unconscious pediatric patient to improve and update their knowledge and practice.


This paper describes the process of redesigning access to a range of sub-acute ambulatory care services at Melbourne Health, which is a major public health provider in Victoria, Australia. The redesign process includes the establishment of a single point of entry for referrals. The context is one of high demand for the services with referrals from a broad range of sources. These sub-acute ambulatory care services require specialised areas of expertise for effective service delivery and optimal client outcomes. Government and organisational requirements of optimising efficiency, effectiveness and accountability of all services and clinicians, have been drivers for change in the existing processes. This paper describes and evaluates the previously existing system. It then outlines the development of the integrated model with a single point of entry, the establishment of the triage process and the implementation of the model.


The theoretical and technological study of controlled release dosage forms has been widely divulged, mainly in the last four decades, as confirmed by number of published works. The purpose of controlled release dosage forms is to increase the pharmacological action period of a therapeutic substance and/or release it on a specific site. The extended release improves the dosage of drugs optimizing the patient compliance. However, only some drugs are good candidates to this objective. Various alternatives for the development and evaluation of controlled release dosage forms are available. The aim of this work is to review alternatives used to evaluate the mechanisms of release and in the quality control of these formulations. Models of dependent and independent analyses are showed.


Radial velocities of Cyg X-2 derived from Kitt Peak and Lick Observatory spectrograms are shown to fit a period near 0.86 days with a semiamplitude of 112 km s/sup -1/. Both the apparent spectral type and the He II lambda4686 emission vary with phase; the earliest type coincides with the strongest emission. The implied model is one in which an F star is strongly heated on the side facing the X-ray source (a neutron star). The most probable masses are M/sub F/approx.2M/sub sun/, M/sub x/approx.1 M/sub sun/, if no X-ray eclipses are present (i< or =70degree). (AIP)


Machining processes have various restrictions related to cost, material, production method etc. and design for manufacturability is the key success factor for constructing the best equilibrium between the different aspects of production. In the present paper, to improve manufacturability of a part design, a research on design recommendations for turning, milling and drilling operations was made. This research provided the database for the further step of creating a TRIZ-alike matrix-based access tool. TRIZ is a problem-solving methodology developed by Russian patent inspector Genrich Saulovich Altshuler that takes technical problems as a contradiction of two system properties and uses standard principles to remove the contradictions of the systems. The ultimate aim of the TRIZ is to reach the ideal systems. In order to create the matrix-based access system, technical properties of a chip removal process were defined. Following this step, technical properties are organised in the matrix form and compared with each other. Consequently, contradictions that prevent an ideal chip removal process have been observed and design recommendations, which can eliminate or minimise these contradictions, were placed into the intersections of technical properties. With this study a knowledge database for various contradictions of chip removal process has been established.


A graphite (carbon) composite solid electrode, prepared from graphite powder and epoxy resin, was used as a working electrode for anodic stripping voltammetry. The underpotential deposition effect, which appears at metallic electrodes, was clearly observed on this type of electrode as well. In the case of a simultaneous deposition of two metals on the surface of the composite solid electrode, the anodic dissolution of the metal, which is anodically dissolved at more negative potentials, is substantially influenced by the presence of the other deposited metal. This effect was exploited for the determination of lead in the presence of other metals by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. The article presents possible applicability of such a type of very simple composite electrode to studies of the underpotential deposition effect as well as for analytical purposes.


An analytical method based on two-scale analysis is developed to solve the combined boundary and initial value problem describing the ballooning modes with frequency comparable to the parallel ion acoustic one in toroidally rotating plasmas. A sonic rotation is shown possibly to be harmful for the stability. A subsonic rotation is anticipated to always play a role of stabilizing the strong ballooning modes. But, the stabilizing effect of a subsonic rotation on the weak ballooning modes is negligible. A comparison with the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) analysis is presented. The scheme for including the kinetic effects into the MHD analysis is given. The different features of the ion temperature gradient modes [L.-J. Zheng and M. Tessarotto, Phys. Plasmas 3, 4610 (1996)] and the ballooning modes in the presence of toroidal rotation are also discussed.


Objective To investigate the morphology and rate of apoptosis in normal cochlear hair cells in vitro.Methods Twelve healthy guinea pigs were used for the study,divided into two groups(each 6 animals, 12 ears).The cochlear hair cells were isolated from strips of the organ of corti in Hank′s solution after reacting with collagenuse.According to the Zenner′s viability criteria of isolated hair cells and morphology of apoptosis cells,the number of the isolated viable cochlear hair cells and that of apoptosis in cochlear hair cells were counted at various times.Results(1)There were morphologic differences between the apoptosis cells and the viable cochlear hair cells.The apoptosis hair cells presented membrane shrinkage and spraining with reduced refractive power.The cilium of the hair cell became bob or down,Brown′s movement was found in cytoplasm.The nuclear location was normal.Under the fluorescene microscope,the apoptosis of cochlear hair cells showed red or red-yellow fluorescene,and the membrane was not broken.(2)The number and rate of apoptosis of isolated cochlear hair cells were increased with the isolation time.The rate of apoptosis of hair cells was(4.83±1.96)% at 1h after isolation;that at 4h was(31.15±6.25)%.Statistic analysis showed that the rate of apoptosis of isolated cochlear hair cells in various periods had significant difference(P0.05).Conclusions(1)The apoptosis of isolated cochlear hair cells had specifically morphologic changes in vitro,which was different from the necrosis or viable in cochlear hair cells.(2)The rate of apoptosis of cochlear hair cells was increased with the isolation time.


Laboratory for Radiation Chemistry and Physics - GAMMA with 60 employees is one of the largest laboratories in the VIN A Institute of Nuclear Sciences. Currently, 26 researchers with Ph.D. degree, 6 with M.Sc. degree and 13 graduated students are working on ongoing projects in experimental research in the field of nanoscience and modifications of materials by irradiation. Laboratory is well equipped for synthesis of nanoscale materials as well as for different types of their characterization. This Laboratory has excellent and long lasting tradition in scientific activities. Based on outstanding results in radiation chemistry, in the Laboratory GAMMA exists radiation unit for industrial sterilization of food and medical equipment.


The authors are involved with the development of a system which is model based and proceeds from data collection with artifact and interference recognition and handling, through data fusion to detection and description of EEG characteristics. Because of its ability to monitor and report all important characteristics of the EEG, it offers hope of being optimally useful in predicting the outcome for babies with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HTE) and in monitoring response to brain rescue treatments.


The onset of Darcy–Benard regular and chaotic convection in a porous medium is studied by considering phase-lag effects that naturally arise in the thermal non-equilibrium heat transfer problem between the fluid and solid phases. A new type of heat equation is derived for both the phases. Using a double Fourier series and a novel decomposition, an extended Vadasz–Lorenz model with three phase-lag effects is derived. New parameters arise due to the phase-lag effects between local acceleration, convective acceleration, and thermal diffusion. The principle of exchange of stabilities is found to be valid and the subcritical instability is discounted. The new perspective supports the finding of an analytical expression for the critical Darcy–Rayleigh numbers representing, respectively, the onset of regular and chaotic convection. The understanding of the transition from the local thermal non-equilibrium situation to the local thermal equilibrium one is also best explained through the new perspective. In its present elegant form, the extended Vadasz–Lorenz system with three phase-lag effects is analyzed using the largest Lyapunov exponent and the bifurcation diagram. It is found that the lag effects not only give rise to a quantitative difference in the above two metrics concerning chaos, but also present a qualitative difference as well in the form of the very nature of chaos.


In order to solve the bottleneck problem of the large-capacity,long-distance image transmission in the test system using digital cameras.We explain the basic principle of video image transmission technology,presents the specific implementation schemes for high-speed and long-distance transmission.It uses the method of photo-electric and the technology of FPGA(Field Programmable Gate Array),completes the optical fiber transmission system design for large-capacity and high-speed video image and simulation,achieves the digital video long-line transmission.


The invention relates to a hot rolling mill, with at least one flatness measuring roller, pertaining to at least one rolling bed, arranged before and/or after one of the stands, which influences the settings of at least one of the stands. The aim of the invention is to improve the arrangement of the roller bed working rollers and the flatness measuring roller, such that the flatness measuring roller may be, optionally, either brought into operation, or be withdrawn into a protected position, whereby, in this case, the gap in the rolling bed thus formed can be closed. Said aim is achieved, whereby the flatness measuring roller may be stored, away from its working position, behind a screen and that the rolling bed is completed with at least one retractable working roller.


This study sought to determine the factors that influence the preference of maritime students in choosing the college degree program. Descriptive type of research was utilized with 154 maritime students as respondents of the study from one private maritime institution in the Philippines. Results showed that environmental factor has higher level of influence to the decision process of the students in choosing a college degree followed by behavioral factor. Those from public SHS have significantly higher motivation to pursue the program because of their ambition and they feel more ready to face the challenges of the program than those students from private schools. those students from private senior high schools have personally chosen maritime as their college degree while those students from public senior high school have decided to choose maritime with their parents and other relatives. The findings of the study provides some insights on the career planning of the maritime students gearing towards the fulfillment of their profession. Advice of the parents is important aspect in developing the career of their children while the personal preference of the children must also be given equal value.


Use of Euclidean or rectilinear estimates of travel distance between pairs of points for location modeling can be inaccurate in a city with major barriers to travel. Euclidean distances are consistently lower than the actual travel distances. Rectilinear distances, on the other hand, could be higher or lower than actual travel distances. In order to improve distance estimation for location modeling, without resorting to the use of shortest-path algorithms based on the road network, a method based on Euclidean distance, that makes allowance for barriers, is proposed. This method considers the distance between two points, that are on different sides of a barrier, as the sum of the Euclidean distances: between the first point and the nearest barrier crossing, and between this barrier crossing and the other point. The method is tested for the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and found to produce improved distance estimates.


In order to obtain hgher efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cell, shading loss needs to be minimized by constructing narrower and thicker finger electrodes on the front surface of acrystalline silicon solar cell


That water-sensitive stratum's fresh surface exposed by engineering machine are softened and argillizated by water will cause the deformation of rock increasing and lead the hole (pit) wall to be unsteady. Experiments indicate that non-solid phase stabilizing fluid of macromolecule polymeric of low polymerization degree, non-ion and good crystallization is able to produce dialytic and absorbent cementation on the inner and outer surfaces of the rock with rapider competitive absorption rate and form a film under a irreversible agent. Therefore, PAA non-ionic polymers can be used to solve hole (pit) wall collapsing problems caused by a great quantity of free water filtered from mud and the mud skin easy to fall off since they restrain water's softening, argillizating and calving.


The conversion of racemic terminal epoxides into either (+)- or (-)-diol gamma- and delta-lactones is described with hydrolytic kinetic resolution (HKR) as the key step.


This note challenges the stereotypes that define the role of prenuptial agreements in contemporary American society. Specifically, this note questions the assumption that only the rich, the selfish, or the mercenary can benefit from a prenuptial contract. Allison Marston examines the increasing use of prenuptial agreements over the past twenty years and describes the types of people who should consider drafting them. Ms. Marston summarizes the law about prenuptial contracts and the kinds of provisions that courts will and will not enforce. She then places prenuptial agreements in a legal, historical, and psychological context. Ms. Marston argues that the villification of prenuptials is a curious, and even irrational, response to a document that merely supplants state-written contracts governing the disposition of assets at the end of a marriage, has a long history in Anglo-American society, and potentially improves communication on important issues before marriage. Nevertheless, this note acknowledges that many prenuptial agreements have been signed that disproportionately hurt one of the marital partners. Ms. Marston argues that the solution to this problem is not to limit the enforcement of these agreements but to seek to ensure that each party has full knowledge of his or her rights and has the opportunity to negotiate the terms of the contract. To this end, she concludes that courts should require that each party entering into a prenuptial agreement have had the benefit of consulting with independent counsel prior to the signing of the contract. This reform, not yet embraced by any jurisdiction, would preserve parties' freedom of contract while preventing the coercion possible in negotiations that take place in the highly-charged atmosphere of an impending wedding. *888 "All is prepared for sealing and signing,


CDs/TiO2 composites were prepared using pineapple juice as a green precursor through one pot hydrothermal method. The obtained CDs exhibited green-blue fluorescence under UV radiation and abundant of surface functional groups. The absorption spectra of CDs/TiO2-200 and CDs/TiO2-120 was red shifted towards visible and NIR region after loading with CDs. Pure anatase and graphite phase were detected in CDs/TiO2. Insignificant emission peak was observed when CDs were excited with wavelength above 540 nm which demonstrated the absence of upconversion photoluminescence (UCPL) properties in CDs. Both of CDs/TiO2-200 and CDs/TiO2-120 fully degraded BPA solution in 150 and 180 mins, respectively. The photocatalytic performance of both CDs/TiO2-200 and CDs/TiO2-120 were 2.5 times of that using P25 under solar irradiation. The presence of CDs in TiO2 composite effectively suppressed the charge recombination and enhanced visible and NIR light absorption.
Keywords: carbon quantum dots, TiO2, solar light, Bisphenol A, pineapple, green precursor.


Dental environment may be a source of stress for young children. Such stressful conditions may provoke fear and anxiety in children. Therefore stress factor is high in children visiting dentists and this stress may increase or decrease in the subsequent visits that follow dependent upon to what they are exposed to. Cortisol, called also "stress hormone" participates in organism"s response to stress situations and enters into complex interactions with the hormonal and immune system of a man.The salivary cortisol levels were investigated in 60 children who were divided into study and control groups respectively. The control group was not subjected to any treatment except for collection of saliva. Children belonging to the study group were subjected to dental scaling and the procedures were completed in three appointments. Saliva samples were collected from all the children during all the appointments. Salivary cortisol levels were evaluated using the ELISA kit supplied by Salimetrics. The results indicated that the salivary cortisol levels increased in the study group when compared to the control groups and within the study group the salivary cortisol levels in the second appointment were on a higher level when compared to the first and third appointments.


The invention discloses a blackboard eraser. The blackboard eraser comprises a first blackboard eraser and a handle; the first blackboard eraser comprises a blackboard eraser body and brush parts; the first blackboard eraser body communicates with a cavity in the handle; the brush parts and through holes in the first blackboard eraser body are formed alternatively; a collector, a draft fan and a fan motor are arranged in the cavity of the handle; and in the working direction of the draft fan, produced dust flows to the collector via the through holes and the cavity of the first blackboard eraser body. With the blackboard eraser, the dust problem is well solved, high-position erasing and low-position erasing are facilitated by the aid of the structure of the handle, the blackboard eraser is applicable to erasing of different areas, the dust amount is measured by a counterweight structure, and the method is convenient and simple.