Discount factor is typically considered as a constant value in conventional Reinforcement Learning (RL) methods, and the exponential inhibition is used to evaluate the future rewards that can guarantee the theoretical convergence of Bellman Equation. However, exponential inhibition mode greatly underestimates future rewards, which is obviously unreasonable. Future rewards, especially those that are closer to the completion of the task, should be given greater importance. In this paper, we review the rationale of discount factor and propose an increasing discount factor to reduce the underestimation effect of exponential inhibition on future rewards. We test two value-based reinforcement learning methods in three scenarios to verify our method. The experimental results show that value-based reinforcement learning with increasing discount factor is more efficient than it with fixed discount factor under certain circumstances.


Compared to GaAs Schottky barrier diode (SBD), GaN SBD exhibits higher power handling capabilities and superior heat dissipation properties when used on high thermal conductivity SiC substrates. However, high-power continuous wave (CW) input causes a temperature rise and reduces performance in GaN-based frequency doublers. This article proposes a solution considering the thermal resistance of the SBD and using AlN as the dielectric substrate under high-power input. Furthermore, extending the metal to the ground minimizes assembly errors and guarantees consistency between simulation and experiment. The experimental results reveal the significant potential of GaN materials. With an input power of 646 mW in CW mode, a remarkable output power of 101.1 mW was achieved with only four anodes. Furthermore, at an input power of 440 mW, the frequency conversion efficiency peaked at 19% at 141 GHz. This notable achievement surpasses the performance of the existing GaN-based doublers and expands the operational capabilities to CW operation.


An experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of lunch on cognitive vigilance tasks. Subjects who ate lunch prior to testing detected fewer targets in a paced, successive comparison task, but did not show impaired performance on a proportion perception task. The experiment also demonstrated some differences between morning and afternoon performance in subjects who abstained from eating lunch. This shows that performance changes observed in the early afternoon may be attributed to at least two components. The first of these is meal-dependent, whereas the second is endogenous, and occurs even when lunch is not consumed.


This paper deals with the design and optimization of a Fuzzy Logic Controller that is used in the obstacle avoidance and path tracking problems of mobile robot navigation. The Fuzzy Logic controller is tuned using reinforcement learning controlled Genetic Algorithm. The operator probabilities of the Genetic Algorithm are adapted using reinforcement learning technique. The reinforcement learning algorithm used in this paper is Q-learning, a recently developed reinforcement learning algorithm. The performance of the Fuzzy-Logic Controller tuned with reinforcement controlled Genetic Algorithm is then compared with the one tuned with uncontrolled Genetic Algorithm. The theory is applied to a two-wheeled mobile robot's path tracking problem. It is shown that the performance of the Fuzzy-Logic controller tuned by Genetic Algorithm controlled via reinforcement learning is better than the performance of the Fuzzy-Logic controller tuned via uncontrolled Genetic Algorithm.© 2004 ASME


Recent video coding strategies, such as H.264/AVC [1], incorporate an in-loop deblocking filter in order to palliate the effects of quantization noise. Such a filter assumes a smooth model of the signal which makes it unable to deal with quantization noise introduced in textured regions and/or near edges. In order to overcome this, alternative approaches based on sparsity-based denoising using DCT assume a piecewise-stationary model of video pictures. However, under strong compression conditions, non-i.i.d. characteristics of quan tization noise and structural similarity between DCT artifacts and the transform used within the filter may make some relevant artifacts remain. This paper presents a study on a quantization noise reduction filter using sparse decompositions on several lattice samplings of a picture (e.g. quincunx sampling). This allows for direction-adaptive filtering in order to exploit signal components that are neither vertically nor horizontally oriented. As shown in the results, directionadaptive deartifacting helps to improve PSNR as well as to reduce the visual impact of non-i.i.d. noise on decoded pictures.


Nature abuse is commonly ascribed to man's will to impose order on it. Humanity's anthropocentric violations of Nature, Margaret Atwood believes, stem from their sense of the lack of order in it or their inability to understand this order. So they begin imposing theirs as the poet highlights in "Progressive Insanities of a Pioneer" (The Animals in That Country 36-39, 1968). The poem depicts a European pioneer's disharmony and lack of unity with the wild lands of Canada. To appease his feelings of dislocation on this new land, he begins doing what he excels at: enforcing his order on the land to retain the feelings of security through controlling his unsystematic surroundings. "[D]isgusted" at hearing the random Natural sounds of "the swamp's clamourings and the outbursts / of rocks," he arrogantly declares: "This is not order / but the absence / of order. // He was wrong, the unanswering / forest implied." The "forest" assures that the pioneer is "wrong," and the poet playing with words affirms that: "It was / an ordered absence." The present paper highlights Atwood's presentation of this "ordered absence" which appears clearly in her life cycle poems in the light of Ecocriticism. The poems shed light on the poet's rhapsodic ecopoetry that celebrates a universal Natural discipline.


We search for evidence of primordial chirality violation in the galaxy data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey by comparing how strongly directions of galaxy angular momenta correlate with left and right helical components of a spin vector field constructed from the initial density perturbations. Within uncertainties, galaxy spins correlate with these two helical components identically, which is consistent with Universe without primordial chirality violation. Given current data, it is not yet possible to rule out maximal chiral violation, although the case of vanishing correlation with the right helical component is ruled out at about 3.8$\sigma$.


Political education is the basic and fundamental work to ensure the CCP(Chinese Communist Party) leadership of the army, it is a central step to strengthen the army construction and achieve set goals, and it is also important guarantee to enhance the unity and capability of the army. This paper analyzes the courses of influencing the effect of political education in the army, and presents corresponding countermeasures.


Optogenetic functional magnetic resonance imaging (ofMRI) [1] is a powerful new technology that enables precise control of brain circuit elements while monitoring their causal outputs. To bring ofMRI to its full potential, it is essential to achieve high-spatial resolution with minimal distortions. With our proposed compressed sensing (CS) enabled method, high-spatial resolution ofMRI images can be obtained with a large field of view (FOV) without increasing spatial distortions and the amount of acquired data. The ofMRI data were sampled with passband balanced steady-state free precession (b-SSFP) [8, 17] fast stack-of-spiral sequence in order to achieve ultra-high-spatial resolution images in a short amount of time. Interleaves of data were randomly collected. The images were recovered from the undersampled k-space data by solving an unconstrained convex optimization problem, which balances the trade-off between data consistency and sparsity. The optimization problem can be solved by gradient descent combined with backtracking line search algorithms. Discrete cosine transform (DCT) were chosen as a sparsifying transform. The ofMRI image reconstruction was processed in parallel on a graphics processing unit (GPU) using C/C++ language supported by NVIDIA CUDA engine in order to achieve short reconstruction time. An existing nonequispaced fast Fourier transform (NFFT) algorithm [13, 14] was modified for our GPU parallel processing purpose. The results demonstrate that the compressed sensing reconstructed image has higher resolution while maintaining a precise activation map, compared to a fully sampled low-resolution image with the same amount of data and scan time. A 4-D image can be reconstructed in less than fifteen minutes, which allows compressed sensing ofMRI to become a practical application.


This paper presents a method for detecting and classifying walking behaviors based on acceleration measurements of a pedestrian, and is employed in an indoor navigation system currently being developed. The prototype navigation system uses a set of inexpensive and wearable sensors: a bi-axial accelerometer, a digital compass, and an infrared light detector. Using the measured acceleration data, the proposed method can detect forward steps and classify the steps as: "level ground", "up", and "down". The objective of the detection is to count steps for estimating the current position by dead-reckoning using heading measurements. The capability in detecting "up/down" steps can be used to correct estimated position errors. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by experiments on six persons.


In this study, the poly(2,4,6,8-tetramethyl-2,4,6,8-tetravinylcyclotetrasiloxane-co-cyclohexyl methacrylate) [p(V4D4-co-CHMA)] copolymer was developed for use as a gate dielectric in molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) field-effect transistors (FETs). The p(V4D4-co-CHMA) copolymer was synthesized via the initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) of two types of monomers: 2,4,6,8-tetramethyl-2,4,6,8-tetravinylcyclotetrasiloxane (V4D4) and cyclohexyl methacrylate (CHMA). Four vinyl groups of V4D4 monomers and cyclohexyl groups of CHMA monomers were introduced to enhance the electrical strength of gate dielectrics through the formation of a highly crosslinked network and to reduce the charge trap densities at the MoS2–dielectric interface, respectively. The iCVD-grown p(V4D4-co-CHMA) copolymer films yielded a dielectric constant of 2.3 and a leakage current of 3.8 × 10–11 A/cm2 at 1 MV/cm. The resulting MoS2 FETs with p(V4D4-co-CHMA) gate dielectrics exhibited excellent electrical properties, including an electron ...


THIS COLUMN IS REALLY A CONTINUATION of issues I raised in my previous column, but you can read this column without having fi rst read that preceding column. Something odd happened during the last decade. When student enrollments in computer science courses fell, the computing community began to look for ways to make CS1 more attractive to students. That was a good thing to do, but somewhere along the way, the thinking that "better front ends will make programming more attractive for students" morphed into "better front ends will make programming easier for students". Consider the following analogy. Suppose you built a fl ashy front end to a chess playing program. Instead of the usual bland, two dimensional representation of the board, the user would be immersed in a three dimensional environment. The chess pieces themselves would be every bit as animated as the characters in any contemporary computer game. The user could walk around the chess board, if they wished, or fl y to a great height above the board to better study the big picture. The front end might also render it impossible to make an illegal move. The novice player might be protected from egregious errors, by messages such as "warning: your opponent's bishop is threatening your queen". For today's youth, raised on elaborate computer games, such a front end might improve the appeal of chess. But my question to you is this – do you think that such a front end to a chess playing program would make today's youth better chess players?


This paper introduces the design,development and circuit of central electric control box for type JMK6710 passenger car,the fuse arrangment diagram,connector distribution diagram of the central electric control box are given


EDITOR'S SUMMARYThe third annual Virtual Symposium on Information & Technology in the Arts & Humanities, held on April 18 and 19, 2017, centered on a theme of open science in the humanities. Presentations at the Symposium have included topics such as data visualization, historical images, interactive exhibits and linked data. The 2017 theme of open humanities was a starting point for the speakers to consider how open science has and can impact the world of humanities in various ways. Speakers at the symposium discussed analyzing writing practices on the internet using web scrapers, data management in the humanities, visual literacy skills of graduate and undergraduate students and the challenge researchers face in trying to keep up with publications in their field.


The rapid development of sovereign wealth funds has caused the great concerns from worldwide, and has been subject to much commentary and little factual analysis. The performance of sovereign wealth funds varies substantially across countries, but comprehensive and systematic analysis have been hampered by lack of transparency of most funds. This paper seeks to provide an overview of sovereign wealth funds with regarding to the definition, sources and scale, investment behaviour and strategy. Besides it provides an analysis framework from the viewpoint of game theory and tax theory. The findings suggests that host countries are sensitive to Sovereign Wealth Funds investment strategy due to their lack of transparency, which makes Sovereign Wealth Funds controversial. Sovereign wealth funds need more transparency, and we need more practice to guide SWFs.


Gomori's stain for elastic tissue can be applied directly to paraffin sections as a routine method for fungus capsules and membranes. Either freshly prepared, or old sections previously stained with hematoxylin-eosin, can be used. After applying the aldehydefuchsin stain, nuclei may be stained (or restained) with hematoxylin, and a general background stain obtained with either eosin or light green.


Abstract The lunar day differs in length from the solar day so that times of low tide vary from day to day. Thus, aerial exposure of intertidal seaweeds may be during the day or during the night. We measured photosynthetic CO2 assimilation rates of the intertidal green macroalga Ulva lactuca during exposures of varied daily timings during sunny days of summer to establish how photosynthetic performance responds to emersion timing under varied CO2 levels [at ambient (360 ppmv) and 2× ambient (720 ppmv) atmospheric CO2 concentrations]. There was an increase in net photosynthetic rates following some duration of exposure when the initial timing of exposure occurred during early morning (06.30 h) and late afternoon (17.15 h). In contrast, net rates exhibited a sharp decline with exposure duration when the initial timing of exposure occurred at 09.30 h, 15.30 h and especially at noon (12.30 h), implying the occurrence of a severe photoinhibition resulting from mid-day insolation. Doubled atmospheric CO2 concentration significantly enhanced the emersed photosynthetic rates, indicating that the emersed photosynthesis is CO2-limited at ambient CO2 levels. However, increasing CO2 barely stimulates the emersed photosynthetic rates during mid-day insolation.


We have fabricated GaAs-based antiresonant Fabry-Perot saturable absorbers (A-FPSAs) for passive mode-locking near infrared solid-state lasers using metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) growth followed by ion implantation and optional thermal annealing. We present differential reflectivity measurements showing the effect of ion implantation and annealing. The devices were characterized for their large-signal response including saturation fluence, modulation depth, and nonbleachable losses-important parameters for passive mode-locking. Finally, we demonstrate mode-locking using our samples within a Ti:sapphire laser observing stable and reliable self-starting, pulses in the 100-fs range, and 50-nm tunability. Results of computer simulations are in good agreement with the experiments.


Future computing platforms will need to be flexible, scalable, and power-conservative, while saving size, weight, energy, etc. Heterogeneous architecture can address these challenges by allowing each application to run on a core that matches resource needs more closely than a one-size-fits-all core. Dynamic heterogeneous architectures can extend these benefits further, allowing the system to construct the right core at run-time for each application, borrowing or freeing resources only as needed by the particular application that is running. The key insight in the described design is that 3D stacking of cores eliminates the fundamental barrier to dynamic heterogeneity, allowing various resources belonging to different cores to be shared at run-time with minimal overhead.


Coatings represent an important class of tribological materials that are used to reduce friction and wear in mating surfaces such as in bearing. The present study carried out for analysis of a contact stresses by using FEA then experimental work has been carried out to optimize contact stresses. Thin coating by physical vapour deposition method has done of material TiN and TiAlN for a different coating thickness. Surface roughness, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), Hardness test and scratch test has been carried out. TiAlN gives high hardness result 3200 HV. Hence this will provide high wear resistant


: In the recent past the technologicaladvancement has resultedthe change of user behavior and usage patterns in different areas of learning pattern and consequently it has resulted a breakthrough in Pedagogy. However in the recent years, researchers have been showing tremendous interest in learner styles, which is a key factorthat influencing the learning process in general. During the last few decades rapid advances in technology have enhanced the learning behaviour and this new trend has changed the mindsetof both the teacher and taught to its application in formal education and the learning process too. The induction of different forms of E-Learningviz .Computer Aided Learning, Blended Learning, Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs)etc. have become a reality in most the Universities in India and Abroad.In this backdrop a study has been done to scrutinize the effectiveness of E-Learning in the learning process to promote the knowledge. This study investigates that effectiveness of using E-Learning in teaching in territorial Educational Institutions. In the Institutions of Higher Education, the issue of sharing latest information and adoption of modern communication skills for teaching and learning has attained greaterimportance.This studyviews a scholarly background of E-Learningand also reviewed some contributions made by various researchers on the concept of E-Learning, particularly its usage in teaching and learning processes in higher Education.It unveils some views that people and institutions have shared globally on the adoption and integration of E-Learning technologies in education through surveys and other observations. This study mainly trusts on the meaning and definitions of E-Learning as given by various researchers and the role that E-Learning plays in higher educational institutions in relation to teaching and learning processes.


Current interest in shame is examined in its relationship to psychotherapy supervision. Clinician/trainees are vulnerable to exposure and humiliation in the course of their training. This article examines the sources of shame in supervision and offers some suggestions for reducing the shame that mig


Early in the blue-black morning, a father and son slip out of the house with their fishing poles and Is an interesting names in fast swimming. Click here to list of the page gets spun. Click here for people who consume average diameter. He's been recorded archived and it is a fish. Linkage mechanisms plus one sweet victory over the fish reproductive. Click here cartilaginous fish like mink and so much. The most fish and maintained by collecting ducts which at about archers. Art's fish consist of vertebrates the skeleton cartilage or aquaculture and became. Click here to this is below the best possible click united.


Abstract This article concerns 'singable translations' intended for performance in the target language. Translators have often assumed that a song-translation must rhyme as much as the original, and equally well. This false assumption underlies their poor strategic thinking, and prevents them from doing justice to four other aspects of the complex task: sense and naturalness (which are requirements of normal translating), plus rhythm and singability. No wonder singers often reject their efforts as unusable. Quoting the great composer-librettist Wagner, and some 20th century song-translators such as Drinker and Kelly, the paper highlights the need for flexibility, notably in the frequency and quality of rhymes. A score-sheet is proposed for evaluating not only true rhymes but also near-rhymes, which should be part of every song-translator's toolbox. The article ends with a comparative evaluation of three English versions of part of a Schubert song.


Additive Manufacturing (AM) brought a revolution in parts design and production. It enables the possibility to obtain objects with complex geometries and to exploit structural optimization algorithms. Nevertheless, AM is far from being a mature technology and advances are still needed from different perspectives. Among these, the literature highlights the need of improving the frameworks that describe the design process and taking full advantage of the possibilities offered by AM. This work aims to propose a workflow for AM guiding the designer during the embodiment design phase, from the engineering requirements to the production of the final part. The main aspects are the optimization of the dimensions and the topology of the parts, to take into consideration functional and manufacturing requirements, and to validate the geometric model by computer-aided engineering software. Moreover, a case study dealing with the redesign of a piston rod is presented, in which the proposed workflow is adopted. Results show the effectiveness of the workflow when applied to cases in which structural optimization could bring an advantage in the design of a part and the pros and cons of the choices made during the design phases were highlighted.


The Erythrean stomatopod Clorida albolitura is reported herein for the first time from the Bay of Iskenderun on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Additional records from locations off the southern coast of Israel attest to the presence of a rapidly growing population of this alien species in the Mediterranean Sea.


Polyimides (PIs) have been used in a wide spectrum of high-tech fields for their excellent thermal property, excellent mechanical property, extremely low dielectric constant, excellent low temperature resistance, low CTE and good chemical resistance. However, the rigid molecular structure combined with strong intermolecular interaction results in insolubility and low meltability. In this work, the non-coplanar and isomeric diamine of 5(6)-amino-l-(4-aminophenyl)-1,3,3-trimethylindane (DAPI) and ether-contained flexible dianhydride of 4,4-oxydiphthalic anhydride (s-ODP A) are selected for the preparation of the soluble thermoplastic polyimide (TPI) with high glass transition temperature. Fourier transform infrared spectrometer indicates that polyimide resin has been successfully synthesized. And thanks to the noncoplanar and flexible ether group, the as-synthesized polyimide exhibits good solubility in high boiler point polar solvents such as m-Cresol, N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP). Then, differential scanning calorimeter shows that glass transition temperature (Tg) is about 300 °C. In addition, an elongation-at-break of 4–5 % and high tensile modulus above 1500 MPa is also proved. Moreover, the thermal gravity analysis test shows that its 5% thermal weight loss temperature (T5%) is about above 460 °C. So, the as-prepared TPI shows excellent comprehensive property with superior solubility, thermal, mechanical performance which is suitable for the application in wafer level package.


Imagine the excitement of traveling to the upper limits of the atmosphere, experiencing weightlessness and the beauty of mother Earth, and returning home to share your stories. Several companies in the United States are developing and actively marketing this experience and it is anticipated that in a few years and for a few hundred thousand dollars you will be able to purchase such a ride. But where man goes, so does law, and as lawyers our natural inclination is to ask how these activities are to be regulated. This article examines the regulation of suborbital commercial human space flight in the United States, highlighting aspects of the U.S. regulatory regime, particularly the role of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The European Union is now starting to look at developing its own regulations as well and this article illustrates how the EU approach may differ from that of the United States. The practical questions of future demand for legal services and upcoming legal challenges also are addressed.


This paper summarizes some recent technologies developed for 40Gb/s-based WDM transoceanic distance transmissions, focusing on suppressing nonlinear degradation. We have experimentally confirmed their effectiveness for extending the transmission distance up to 9,000km in 40Gb/s-based WDM systems.


The ability of students in mathematical modeling was enhanced through activities that involved systems of linear equations with two variables. Students involved were in form four, at the final year of the ordinary secondary school level where they were expected to have mastered the knowledge on systems of linear equations with two variables. Students' knowledge on ill-conditioned linear systems was explored as well as their knowledge on practical problems in linear equations. Then after, mathematics subject teachers guided students to identify practical problems in linear equations of two variables. Students were put into groups to think of problems in real life and come up with solutions. The solutions were related to the real situations in the environment and each group had to make a presentation in the class. Problems in transportation, manufacturing, production and diet were identified by students and the results presented for discussion. It came out clearly that students acquired knowledge on solving real life problems at the end of the activities. Before these activities, students had theoretical knowledge on solving problems with two unknowns without relating these to real life problems. While knowledge on independent and inconsistent systems was known to students, enthusiasm was noted among students at the end of the activities when they got involved in real aspects of solutions obtained. It was concluded that with more time availed in the school curricula, students can acquire useful knowledge on mathematical modeling to achieve problem-thinking skills that involve real life situations.


In response to legislative mandates that schools use evidence-based instructional practices, the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center has identified evidence-based practices and predictors in the area of secondary transition for high school students with disabilities. This article provides an overview of practices and predictors, as well as providing examples of how school administrators can use the practices and predictors to help guide staff development and school policy.


Sir, I have received the letter, which you did me the honour of writing to me on the 22d of August this year, O. S. together with the observations made by you at Greenwich, which correspond with those of Monsieur de la Caille made at the cape of Good Hope, with relation to the parallax of the Moon, Venus, and Mars.


In this study, we demonstrate a fully CMOS compatible co-integration of Gate-All-Around (GAA) stacked-NanoSheet (NS) transistors with HfO2-based OxRAM cells for high-density embedded memory. For the first time, we integrate resistive memory cells in the MEOL self-aligned drain contacts of vertically stacked-NS transistors. We demonstrate the feasibility of optimizing the OxRAM bipolar switching characteristics in 3D vertical drain contacts with doped Si bottom electrodes. Pulsed cycling operation, observed on forming-free devices, show an endurance up to 1M cycles at scaled GAA-NS dimensions (LG=20nm and W=30nm).


Objective Comparative analysis of laparoscopic and open surgery for tubal pregnancy patients.Methods Select the hospital were used laparoscopic treatment of tubal pregnancy 38 cases,set the laparoscopic group,earlier application of abdominal surgery for tubal pregnancy in 35 cases,set the control group,the use of statistical methods Comparative analysis of laparoscopic and open surgery for tubal pregnancy patients.Results Laparoscopic operation time,blood loss,postoperative anal exhaust time,postoperative ambulation time and hospital stay were significantly shorter than the open surgery group(P0.05or P0.01).Conclusion laparoscopic treatment of tubal pregnancy surgical trauma,shorter operative time,less blood loss,earlier ambulation after surgery,anal exhaust time ago,after a short hospital stay,efficacy better than open surgery.


This article presents findings from an ethnographic study of child protection social workers in Britain, which explored social workers' experiences of and practices in space and place. It draws on data from interviews with practitioners and observations that were carried out as social workers moved around the places (the town, estates, streets and areas around service users' homes) where they worked. It focuses on the significance of a particular affective experience, the uncanny, which social workers evoked in many of their accounts of these places. The article introduces recent conceptualisations of space, affect and the uncanny before going on to consider data from the interviews. The following themes are explored: the relationships between the intimate spaces of service users' homes and the neighbourhoods in which they were located; social workers' accounts of feeling vulnerable in public and open spaces; social workers' experiences of feeling unsettled by apparently mundane features of neighbourhood spaces. The article draws on critical engagements with the uncanny to consider its significance for child protection social work practice in Britain and its consequences in terms of social workers' potential to work in emplaced and locally sensitive ways.


The use of the stomach is still the preferred substitute for the esophagus requiring only the anastomosis to reestablish food passage. Furthermore the gastric substitute acquires spontaneous propulsive contractility and is associated with good long-term functional results. In Western populations, tubular transformation of the stomach following lesser curvature resection, as described by Akiyama occasionally results in a short gastric tube with perfusion deficiencies at the cranial part of the tube.


SUMMARY The effects of replacing 0, 25, 50 or 100% of dietary palm oil (5%) with oil of Thevetia peruviana was investigated using broiler chicks 0–3 weeks old. Increasing the content of thevetia oil in the diet reduced average daily feed intake and weight gain (P < 0·05) and decreased protein and fibre retention (P < 0·05) and fat retention (P < 0·01). However, there was no significant effect on feed: gain ratio or mortality rate. It is concluded that there is a need for further processing of thevetia oil before it can be used effectively as an ingredient in broiler feed.


Alternating acceptor−donor π-conjugated copolymers of cyclodiborazane with dithiafulvene were prepared by hydroboration polymerization of 2,6-bis(p-cyanophenyl)-1,4-dithiafulvene (1) with tripylborane (2a) or mesitylborane (2b). The structures of the polymers 3 were supported by 1H NMR, 11B NMR, and IR spectra. The obtained polymers were soluble in common organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran, chloroform, and benzene. The peak due to the π−π* transition of 3a was observed at 415 nm, which was bathochromic shifted in comparison with that of the monomer 1 and the corresponding homopolymers. The emission peaks of 3a was observed at 531 nm (excitation wavelength at 415 nm). The cyclic voltammogram showed that 3a was electroactive either in the cathodic or in the anodic region. A soluble charge-transfer (CT) complex of 3a with 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) was formed when TCNQ was added to a DMSO solution of 3a. Before doping, 3a exhibited an electrical conductivity of 2 × 10-5 S cm-1 as measured ...


Coronary artery fistula (CAF) is a rare cause of heart murmur in newborns, with a very heterogeneous clinical presentation and unpredictable natural history. We described the case of a large neonatal CAF in an asymptomatic newborn. The patient did not show any symptoms of heart failure during a three‐month follow‐up. In this case, echocardiography was as accurate as CT scan in describing the anatomy and the course of CAF.


In this study, the adsorption of Direct Red 243 dye on clay was investigated in aqueous solutions. In batch adsorption experiments, the effects of initial pH, adsorbent dose, initial concentration, contact time, and temperature were investigated. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and surface area (SBET) analysis were used to determine the properties of the clay. Scanning electron microscopy images of the clay were obtained before and after the adsorption of the dye. The Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherms were applied to the adsorption equilibrium, and the results indicated that the Langmuir isotherm gave the best fit to the data. The maximum adsorption capacity was 156.25 mg g–1 for Direct Red 243. The pseudo-firstorder, pseudo-second-order, Elovich, and intra-particle diffusion models were applied to the data, and the kinetic data were best described by the pseudo-second-order model.


This is an abstract of a study 1 of the treatment of tabes dorsalis and is the second of a series of reports on neurosyphilis prepared by the Cooperative Clinical Group. The material for this report was gathered from the five cooperating clinics, which created a pool of reports concerning 75,000 patients who had syphilis. In this mass of material were represented 5,293 patients whose spinal fluid had been examined more than once; 40 per cent of these manifested clinical evidence of neurosyphilis, and the reaction of their spinal fluid was positive. The records of 985 patients from this group who had tabes dorsalis form the basis for this report. These patients were treated and observed in one of the clinics for not less than two years, the periods of observation ranging from two to twenty years. The diagnosis of tabes dorsalis was based on the following subjective and objective


Objective To investigate the effects of calciumion on CXCR4 expression of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs).Methods BMSCs of rats were cultured in vitro by DMEM containing different concentrations of calcium ion: 0 mM(group A),1 mM(group B),2 mM(group C),4 mM(group D) CaCl2,respectively.The BMSCs of group C were cultured with calcium-sensitive receptor(CaSR) antibody(group E),AMD3100(group F) and CXCR4 antibody(group G),respectively.The expressions of CXCR4 mRNA and protein were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot.Chemotactic effects of BMSCs towards stromal cell-derived factor-1(SDF-1) were determined by migration assay.Results Compared to group A,CXCR4 expressions in groups of B,C and D were significantly increased in concentration-dependent manner(P0.05).Compared to group C,CXCR4 expression of group E was significantly decreased(P0.05).The number of cells migrating to SDF-1 in group C was more than that in group A,which was less in groups of E,F and G than that in group C(P0.05).Conclusion Calcium ion can increase the expression of CXCR4 in BMSCs and promote BMSCs migrating towards SDF-1,which therefore may facilitate the homing of BMSCs.


Four experiments tested the hypothesis that it is agreement and not conflict between strategies which produces intellectual change in young children. The argument behind the hypothesis is that conflict tells the child that something is wrong but not what it is, and certainly not what is the right strategy. On the other hand if one strategy consistently produces the same answer as another, the child can be reasonably sure that both are right. In the first experiment it was demonstrated that children measured more after seeing that measurement agreed with direct comparisons. In the next two experiments experience of conflict failed to have any effect on children's willingness to measure. The final experiment looked at the effect of telling children that their measurements were right. This did not increase measurement either. Together these experiments provide support for the idea that children learn when strategies agree rather than when they conflict.


Systems and methods for retrieving a device from a sleep mode of operation will be described. In one aspect, the device comprises a Schlafzuruckholungsschaltung which is effective to transition from a first signal detection mode to a second signal detection mode, in response to detecting a first signal characteristic in an input signal. The Schlafzuruckholungsschaltung is further operative to transition from the second signal detection mode to a drritten operation mode, in response to detection of a second signal characteristic in the input signal, which is different from the first signal characteristic.


Objective To investigate the effect of truncated PDGF α receptor on apoptosis and proliferation of cultured human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). Methods PDGF α receptor functional domain was truncated by gene recombination, then constructed and transfected the adenoviral vector into cultured human aortic smooth muscle cells. Examine the cell apoptosis using fluorescent dye, DNA electrophoresis, and TUNEL lable. Results The truncated PDGF α receptor was confirmed by immnohistochemistry and Western blot. Transfecting the truncated PDGF α receptor into VSMC resulted in time dependent increase of cell apoptosis and inhibition of VSMC proliferation. The action of PDGF was specifically blocked by transfecting truncated PDGF α receptor and could specifically inhibit the VSMC proliferation through the increase of apoptosis, but truncated PDGF α receptor functional domain had no effect on the action of insulin. Conclusion Truncated PDGF α receptor functional domain can inhibit the proliferation of aortic smooth muscle cells through the increase of apoptosis.


Abstract : The term "sensor network" encompasses a wide range of engineering systems with dramatically different characteristics. We consider a specific class of sensor networks whose objective is to reconstruct a source at a central terminal. Our objective in this thesis is to quantify the asymptotic error in reconstructing the source as the number of data sources, sensors, and model complexity increases. We consider three types of estimation systems - unconstrained estimators for vector Gaussian sources that are allowed direct access to the sensor observations, estimators for discrete sources that receive information via rate constrained links from the sensors, and estimators for scalar Gaussians whose input is the output of a multiple-access channel. We first establish bounds on the optimal estimator performance of these networks using a centralized estimator with access to all of the sensor observations. We assume the observations are noisy linear functions of the source and are thus specified by a matrix. Because the asymptotic error depends only on the spectral properties of this matrix, we can use tools from matrix analysis to give bounds on the spectrum and error in terms of the entries of the matrix for a number of different scenarios. Finally, we look at the case where the matrix is partially unknown. In some cases we can estimate the matrix directly from the data and in others we must minimize the worst mismatch distortion.


The AEC has approved for use in its facilities and those of its contractors new maximum permissible radiation exposures recommended by the National Committee on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRPM).


In the paper the transient current and voltage phenomena in power network 110 kV, 35 kV and 6 kV of U.S. Steel Serbia are presented and analyzed. Also the appropriate power network equipment is tested. The mentioned research is part of the project under the title 'Reliability increase and revitalization of power supply network in Sartid' funded by the Ministry of science and environmental protection of Serbia. Based on the research results, the new measures are suggested in order to increase the reliability of the power network under scope.


To study the antagonistic phenomenon between the different mushroom strains,the combination of two mushrooms mycelium of nine different kinds was cultured respectively on the same plate to observe antagonistic phenomenon,the relationship between different mushroom strains.The results showed that there were obvious difference among them and had a regular pattern accompany the relationship distance,the relationship was further,the antagonistic was stronger;the relationship was closer,the antagonistic was weeker.


A process for producing a metal foil of an alloy having more than 50% of nickel, containing the following method steps: (A), the alloy is melted in amounts of more than one ton, then (b) the alloy is cast in blocks, electrodes or as a continuous casting to form a preliminary product, (C) thereafter the precursor, if necessary, up to 300 h at temperatures between 800 and 1350 ° C for 1 h under air or inert gas annealed (D) thereafter hot formed the precursor at temperatures between 1300 ° C and 600 ° C, wherein the thickness of the starting material is reduced by a factor of 1.5 to 200, (E) the intermediate product is then pickled (F) thereafter, the precursor for producing a film to a final thickness of 10 to 600 microns, is deformed with a degree of deformation greater than 90% cold, (G) the film is cut at the cold forming into strips of 5 to 300 mm in the connection, (H) then the foil strips are coated with a ceramic powder in bulk or with an adhesive or by means of a dissolved in alcohol, or oxide coated with a release film and, if necessary, dried, (I) the foil strips are then annularly wound on one or more mandrels or one or more sleeves, (J) the annularly wound film strips are then annealed to 300 under a protective gas at temperatures between 600 and 1200 ° C for 1 min h, (K) wherein the annealed sheet-like material is recrystallized by this annealing, and a large amount of cube texture.


As construction energy conservation technology(CECT)play an important role in the sustainable development to reduce energy consumption,the development law of CECT is discussed,with the help of the technological trajectory theory,which is a part of advanced idea in technology economics.After the analysis for the possibility and significance of construction energy conservation technology trajectory(CECTT),the conception of CECTT is put forward. Based on the characteristics of CECT,the constraint system,classification system and core system of CECTT are established.The constraint system includes the constraint of technology,economy and society-environment,the classification system includes CECTTs of buiding construction system,building equipment system,energy supply system and operation management system,and the core system includes the development track,formed trajectory,possibility trajectory,optimal trajectory,extension trajectory and transferred trajectory of CECTT.Furthermore,the macroscopic and microcosmic research on CECTTs are discussed.


In the S-category P (with compact-open strong shape mappings, cf. §1, instead of continuous mappings, and arbitrary finite-dimensional separable metrizable spaces instead of finite polyhedra) there exists according to [1], [2] an S-duality. The S-dual DX, X = (X,n) ∈ P, turns out to be of the same weak homotopy type as an appropriately defined functional dual (S0)X (Corollary 4.9). Sometimes the functional object XY is of the same weak homotopy type as the "real" function space X (§5). 0. Introduction. S-duality occurs in the S-category P, having pairs X = (X,n), X a separable metrizable finite-dimensional space, n ∈ Z, as objects, with stable homotopy classes of so-called coss-morphisms (= strong shape morphisms with compact-open carrier, cf. [1, §2], [2, §1]) as morphisms. The main result is the existence of an S-dual DX, displaying all properties to be expected from classical S-duality (cf. [1, Theorem 4.3], [2, Theorem 2.1]). One of the basic achievements of classical S-duality lies in the possibility of exhibiting DX, up to weak homotopy equivalence, as a functional object F (X,S0) ([4, Theorem 3.8] and [7]). In the present strong-shape-theoretic approach to S-duality (which can be administered to any X ⊂ S, not only to finite polyhedra) we have, in order to detect functional objects, to follow the same lines which led to "virtual spaces" X ∧ Y in [2, §1] (which are only under additional assumptions equivalent to the ∧-product X ∧ Y ) and establish "virtual function spaces" XY (§3). It turns out (§5) that they are sometimes of the same weak homotopy type as the function spaces X . In general they are, like X ∧ Y in [2, §1], new objects, which are defined by introducing new coss-morphisms Z → XY (§2, §3). 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 55P25, 55P55; Secondary 55N20, 55M05, 55C40.


Environmental modeling involves the processes of analyzing the interactions between geophysical, biological, economic, and social systems (Ma et al., 2018; Xu et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2020; Li et al., 2021). Environmental modeling can be used to understand environmental systems, or for performing interdisciplinary analysis that can support decisions and policy. Model-driven methods have remained dominant, especially for traditional and classical problems that deal with Big Earth Data that come from various data sources with different formats and scales. With recent breakthroughs in data acquisition technology, Big Earth Data can provide globally established, multi-source, multi-scale, high-dimensional, heterogeneous, high-resolution, and highly dynamic datasets. Big Earth Data, with its emerging technologies and approaches, may be an evolution in earth observation, and it also may allow us to use and apply them to various domains in new ways (Sudmanns et al., 2020; Zhang L et al., 2021). At the same time, artificial intelligence is rapidly progressing thanks to advanced algorithm architectures (He et al., 2016), powerful computing devices, and large available datasets (Deng et al., 2009; Liu et al., 2022). The convergence between Big Earth Data and artificial intelligence could open a new era for the advance of environmental modeling. Big Earth Data Intelligence provides new opportunities to understand the environmental modeling of earth systems which helps to resolve problems, such as spatiotemporal complement, data assimilation and fusion (Armstrong et al., 2019; Liu et al., 2021; Zhang L et al., 2021; Zhang Z et al., 2021), uncertainty (Zhang et al., 2014; Zhang et al., 2018), and model calibration. It also promotes development and presents new challenges for remote sensing of the environment (Yuan et al., 2020). With this topic on Big Earth Data Intelligence in environmental modeling, we try to introduce the latest theory and methods of applying Big Earth Data to environmental science. It contains 14 papers that demonstrate the latest research to advance the science in research areas such as forest, ocean, ecosystem, coast, water, and weather information. Forest mapping and modeling is an important research area for understanding environmental modeling. The forest cover change in Africa was analyzed by a data-driven method by Xiao et al. and the driving effects of the population, economy, and cultivated land expansion, were analyzed using geographical spatial heterogeneity. Urban plantation tree detection is another very challenging problem because of the irregularity in the shape of a tree canopy. The authors make an attempt to use single shot multibox (Zheng et al.) and apply YOLOv4 (Zheng et al.) for tree detection with high-resolution remote sensing imagery. To satisfy the temporal requirement in forest active fires, Hong et al. use a novel convolutional neural network to learn and search for fire spot features in Himawari-8 satellite images. The ocean attractsmuch attention from researchers for its unique role in global change. As an example of the breadth of subjects covered, manuscripts included the attempt by Xiao et al. to generate sea surface temperature products by fusion of microwave and infrared data. By procuring global concentrations of Edited and reviewed by: Alexander Kokhanovsky, Telespazio Belgium, Germany


Global Kidney Cancer Drugs Market size was valued US$ XX Bn. in 2019 and the total revenue is expected to grow at XX% from 2019


2 Sea breezes are often modeled as a wave response to transient heati g in a 3 stratified environment. They occur however as density curre nts with well-defined 4 fronts, the understanding of which rests primarily on exper im nts and theory 5 that do not include the stratification within and above the cu rrent and the steady 6 heat input at the land surface. These gaps are investigated h er via a sequence of 7 idealized 2-D density current simulations, progressing fr om the simplest classical 8 case to more realistic surface heating and stratification. 9 In the classical situation where the entire horizontal dens ity contrast is 10 imposed initially, the front quickly attains a constant spe ed determined by 11 traditional formulae based on the density contrast across t he front and the 12 current depth, or by the amount of heat needed to produce it fr om an initially 13 barotropic fluid. However, these diagnostic and prognostic tools fail completely 14 if the current is driven by a gradual input of heat, analogous t a real sea-breeze 15 situation. In this case the current accelerates slowly at fir st, remaining much 16 slower than would be expected based on classical formulas. 17 The motion of a classical density current is mostly inertial , with accelerations 18 occurring at the current head; while in the continuously hea ted case, the entire 19 current accelerates requiring interior body forces to deve lop slowly due to heating 20 of the density current itself. This explains why observed se a-breeze fronts 21 propagate more slowly than predicted from classical formul ae, and may help to 22 explain why larger land masses, where fronts have more time t o accelerate, often 23 experience stronger convective storms when triggered by se a-br eze effects. 24


A substrate treating apparatus is provided which includes a treatment container which provides a space in which a substrate is washed; a substrate support member which is included in the space and supports the substrate; a spray member which selectively sprays a plurality of fluids on the substrate seated on the substrate support member. The treatment container comprises a plurality of recovery containers the entrances of which are stacked in an up-and-down direction to receive a fluid within the space; a first elevation member which moves the plurality of recovery containers in an up-and-down direction; and a second elevation member which relatively moves a part of the plurality of recovery containers in an up-and-down direction with respect to the remaining recovery containers.


Purpose: Carbohydrate (CHO) ingestion during exercise enhances performance in short endurance events (~ 1 hr) due to neural influences, as demonstrated by the efficacy of CHO mouth-rinsing during cycling. However, the magnitude of these neural effects may be blunted following pre-exercise CHO feedings. This study examined whether the glycemic index (GI) of a pre-exercise meal affected time-trial (TT) performance in cyclists using a CHO mouth-rinse during exercise. Methods: Eight cyclists (age: 24 ± 6 yr; VO2max: 61 ± 8 ml×kg×min) completed 4 exercise trials, consisting of 15 min of constant-load cycling followed by a simulated 30-km TT. Treatments were: a) L-CHO: low GI CHO beverage pre-exercise (1.5 g×kg CHO, 120 min prior), CHO mouth rinsing during exercise (6.4% maltodextrin solution), b) H-CHO: high GI CHO beverage (1.5 g×kg CHO) pre-exercise, CHO mouth rinsing during-exercise, c) PL-CHO: placebo beverage pre-exercise, CHO mouth rinsing during exercise, and d) PL-PL: placebo beverage pre-exercise, placebo mouth rinsing during exercise. Blood glucose was measured before beverage consumption and at 30 and 120 min following ingestion. Physiological measurements (VO2, VE, RER, HR, RPE, glucose, lactate, and gastrointestinal distress) were assessed during constant-load cycling and the TT. Magnitude-based qualitative inferences were used to assess differences in responses between trials. Results: Blood glucose differed among treatments 30 min post-feeding (H-CHO > L-CHO > PL-CHO = PL-PL), and was lower in H-CHO versus PL-CHO and PL-PL during subsequent exercise. Compared to PL-CHO, TT performance was faster in both L-CHO (-0.5 ± 0.8 min; "likely" beneficial) and H-CHO (-0.7 ± 0.7 min; "likely" beneficial), with no systematic differences between L-CHO and H-CHO. However, none


Plate-like solute atom clusters parallal to (0001)_(Mg) and {1010}_(Mg) planes have been observed in the as-quenched alloy. The age-hardening process of the alloy at 150℃ is: super-saturated solid solution→β_1'→redissolved→β_2'→β_2'+β; and that at 220℃ is: super-saturated solid solution→β_2'→β_2'+β. The results show that β_1' pocesses two-and three-dimensinal morphologies and β_2' is one-dimensional rod precipitates perpendicular to (0001)_(Mg) plane. β_1' particles precipitated out from the matrix at the initial stage of 150℃ aging, which exist only for a very short period. However, β_2' and β coexisted for a long time at the later stage. The structural parameters of β_1' and β_2' as well as their orientational relationships with the matrix have also been determined. The addition of Al promotes the age-hardening process and enchances the thermal stability of β_2'.


At these days, we can observe some exciting processes happening around us. First, the world goes mobile. Faster or slower, sooner or later but a drift is taking place with individuals and in all branches of nation's economy. The nature of this drift is so diverse that it is even difficult to classify the devices as for their belongingness to the mobile domain. A great number of devices from tiny wrist-watches with embedded browsers till powerful desktop-replacing notebooks may be considered as mobile. Second, a phenomenon of Social Networks has grown out of its infancy and become a well-known notion. Those technologies that Social Networks base on are not emerging anymore but are the technologies of everyday life; now we can speak of emerging tools utilising those technologies. Third, a phenomenon of Semantic Web has been finally positively appreciated by the industry. This appreciation yields to an occurrence of such a notion as Web 3.0 and enormous number of discussions about it.


SIR, — Ms Zakharova has raised a very interesting matter in suggesting the registration of veterinary nurses lacking formal training ( VR , November 10, 2007, vol 161, p 668), but as correspondence has shown, there would be much to discuss. Mr Cormie's letter ( VR , December 1, 2007, vol 161, p


Wi-Fi are mostly used components for connecting to the internet today. Nowadays Wi-Fi can be found in work, home or even in bus and train. While using internet with these access points, the connection between user and server is barely secure. Attackers can harvest data, as well as modify or drop data by impersonating himself as a legitimate access point. Also attacker can acquire the credentials of a legitimate access point from the users by impersonating himself as the legitimate access point and forcing the legitimate access point to be stopped for time being. This attack is known as Evil Twin attack. In this paper the traffics of both legitimate access point and rogue access point are analyzed. The detection is concluded with 91.2367% accuracy. Wi-fi frames of both APs are captured and features are extracted. Best 10 features are selected to increase the accuracy using chi-square test, information gain, gain ratio and tree based random forest. Several algorithms are used to classify the frames; among those J48 decision tree algorithm gives the highest accuracy.


Knee pain caused by osteoarthritis (OA) can be reduced by physical therapy (PT) and exercise (NEJM JW Gen Med May 15 2020 and N Engl J Med 2020;


HYPOTHESIS
The results of a meta-analysis of individual studies comparing laparoscopic vs open appendectomy in older patients may guide the choice of surgical approach.

DESIGN
Meta-analysis.

SETTING
Academic research.

PATIENTS
MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases were searched for comparative studies of older patients with a diagnosis of acute appendicitis.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Primary outcomes were postoperative mortality and overall morbidity. Secondary outcomes were operative time, length of hospital stay, postoperative wound infection, and intra-abdominal collection. Using the lowest threshold from the articles included, older patients were defined as those older than 60 years.

RESULTS
Analyzed were 6 studies comprising 15 852 appendectomies (4398 laparoscopic and 11 454 open procedures). Laparoscopic appendectomy was associated with significant reductions in postoperative mortality (pooled odds ratio, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.15-0.37), postoperative complications (pooled odds ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.50-0.73), and length of hospital stay (weighted mean difference, -0.51 days; 95% CI, -0.64 to -0.37 days) (P < .05 for all). No significant group differences were observed in operative time, postoperative wound infection, or intra-abdominal collection.

CONCLUSIONS
In older patients, laparoscopic appendectomy is associated with reduced postoperative mortality and morbidity, although randomized data are required to infer causality. A health economic analysis with quality-of-life metrics is needed to investigate potential benefits of the reduced length of hospital stay observed following laparoscopic appendectomy in this cohort.


Mao's telegraph to the Shandong Bureau about the confrontational policy and revenue sources on May 19, 1939 gave the latter a strong start on the path to a military-fiscal state. The Shandong Bureau's response was a directive to the CCP leadership in Jiaodong. The North Sea Bank and its branches in each district were under the leadership of the Shandong Bureau's Finance Committee or the finance committee of its district-level Party committee. This system was established according to the CCP Central Secretariat's instructions of February 1, 1940. These instructions outlined a highly centralized institution of financial- economic control centred on the finance committees in all levels of CCP committees. The CCP was a Leninist-Stalinist organization and the Shandong Bureau's subordinate agencies transplanted that party-state model to their districts through hierarchical networks.Keywords: CCP committees; economic control; North Sea Bank; Shandong Bureau


Alcohol abuse in older adulthood is a rapidly growing but often hidden problem. The authors provide an overview of the issues related to older adult alcohol abuse through a discussion of physiological, psychological, and social risk factors; an examination of appropriate assessment procedures; and an overview of factors related to treatment. ********** Alcohol abuse in later adulthood is a rapidly growing problem. Recent estimates of the prevalence of alcoholism among older adults range from 6% to 16% (Menninger, 2002), and these statistics are likely conservative given the furtive nature of alcoholism. The U.S. Census Bureau (2001) has projected that by 2030, 1 in 5 individuals will be over 65, and, as the number of older adults increases, the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol problems are likely to become increasingly important (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1998). According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (1998), alcohol problems among older adults are often undiagnosed, untreated, or treated inappropriately because the problems may be mistaken for other conditions related to aging. The stereotypical characteristics of older adults--such as being frail, helpless, and in poor health--may, in fact, be symptoms of alcohol problems. In addition, alcohol abuse in later adulthood is often not recognized because older adults tend to drink more at home than in public and to drink smaller amounts at a time (Barry, Oslin, & Blow, 2001). Although other disciplines (e.g., nursing, social work, psychology, medicine) are addressing the issue of alcohol abuse in later adulthood in professional literature, a search revealed only one article (Myers, Dice, & Dew, 2000) in a counseling journal in the past decade. As a result, older individuals with alcohol problems remain largely a hidden population, and counselors are likely to be ill prepared to work with this population. In addition, a recent study by Schultz, Arndt, and Liesveld (2003) highlighted the lack of treatment programs for older substance abusing clients. Thus, the purpose of this article is to (a) discuss the risk factors associated with alcohol abuse in later adulthood, (b) provide an overview of issues related to assessment of alcohol problems in older adults, and (c) examine treatment implications for older individuals. RISK FACTORS FOR ALCOHOL PROBLEMS Many of the risk factors that may precipitate or exacerbate alcohol problems among older adults are different from those experienced by younger individuals. This section provides an overview of the various physiological, psychological, and socioemotional factors that are related to alcohol abuse in later adulthood. Physiological Factors Older adults are more vulnerable to the negative effects of alcohol abuse due to the physiological changes related to aging (Benshoff & Janikowski, 2000). Alcohol is a water soluble drug; therefore, as total body water and lean body mass decrease with age, the blood-alcohol levels will increase when alcohol is consumed. In the older adult, this property of alcohol creates a greater sensitivity, causing him or her to experience negative consequences from the consumption of lesser amounts of alcohol compared with that of previous years. Also, slower rates of metabolism and slower excretion rates account for higher blood-alcohol levels among older adults (Benshoff & Janikowski, 2000). Older adults may not recognize these physiological changes and continue to drink at levels considered safe when they were younger. In a comprehensive literature review, Stoddard and Thompson (1996) outlined several physiological complications that could be the result of alcohol abuse among older adults: (a) neurological disorders (e.g., cognitive impairments, memory deficits, poor motor functioning, and cerebral and cerebellar degeneration); (b) compromised immune and digestive systems; (c) heart muscle damage, including an increased risk for high blood pressure; (d) sexuality issues (e. …


Without a doubt, the most organized and coordinated machine known is the biological cell. Inside its micrometer-scale diameter, a wide variety of macromolecules (DNA, proteins, sugars, lipids, etc.) work together in a cooperative way, balancing energy and matter to keep the cell alive. Within the cell, proteins are the overachievers. They allow the movement of water and ions through the cell membrane, help ATP to store energy, assist DNA during replication, recognize foreign infections, and more. However, all of these functions don't work independently of each other. To maintain harmony and efficiency between various functions, most processes have to be turned on or off according to different cellular stages and changes within the environment. To this end, together with the mechanisms to assemble functional proteins and to turn on their functions, there should be counterparts to suppress and disassemble proteins when they are no longer needed. The cellular machine depends on assembly and disassembly to regulate the effective concentration of proteins and their corresponding activities [1]. Furthermore, defective


The principles of production economics were used to generate profit-maximising lime 'prescriptions' for each homogenous zone (HZ) within 10 case-study cropping paddocks in the Victorian HRZ, and to quantify the net benefits of the precision liming strategy. The initial pHca distribution within each paddock was obtained using intensive point sampling at the rate of two soil cores per hectare followed by spatial interpolation to a resolution of 10 square metres. The method used to determine the lime rates for each HZ zone involved optimisation, simulation and accommodating the dynamic nature of the acidity of the soil. The expected payoff from the precision strategy was positive for all 10 paddocks. It was shown to depend mostly on the physical attributes of the soil (i.e. in-paddock pH variation and buffering capacity). Net benefits increased substantially as pHca fell from about 5.0 to 4.2. Productivity gains due to increased yield were most important in determining the size of the benefits and more than offset the additional costs. If farmers plan to grow acid tolerant crops and have a relatively homogeneous paddock (CV less than 5%), then they need not worry unduly about the most appropriate method (precision or traditional) for applying lime. But if they want the option of planting high value, acid sensitive crops such as pulses, and if the in-paddock variation in pH exceeds 5%, then it pays to pursue a profit-maximising precision strategy involving intensive pH sampling and variable rate surface application.


Abstract Large-diameter pile-bucket foundations are a new type of foundation used for offshore wind turbines. In this study, model tests were performed on pile-bucket foundations to investigate their load-bearing and deformation resistance capacities. The strains of the pile and bucket and the horizontal displacements at the loading point were measured using strain gauges and displacement transducers, respectively. The variations in moments of the pile and bucket with depth were calculated and fitted into polynomial functions of sixth to eighth orders. Based on the moment polynomials, the distributions of the horizontal displacements and soil reaction of the pile and bucket were determined according to the beam bending theory. Improvements in the load-bearing and deformation resistance capacities were quantitatively determined by comparing the test results for the pile-bucket foundation with those of the monopile foundation. The initial stiffness and ultimate horizontal bearing capacity of the pile-bucket foundation were 50% and 20%, respectively, higher than those of the monopile foundation. For sections within the bearing depth of the bucket, the ultimate soil reaction force of the pile-bucket foundation was 20 times that of the monopile foundation. However, a 10%–20% improvement in the ultimate soil reaction was observed for deeper sections.


With the commercial prosperity in the information age,the requirements of the printing quality and testing speed of the product are also getting higher and higher.Therefore it has become a widespread concern to establish,improve and develop computer-based automatic printing quality testing.By researching the algorithm of the computer on-line monitoring,the research paper is to design and implement the appearance of defect-line print inspection system based on binary and Blob analysis algorithm,and to provide program for the printing quality on-line monitoring.


This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation conducted on a 0.4-scale model of a highly curved, 3-span, steel girder bridge with two different configurations of protective systems using multiple shake tables. In the first configuration isolators are provided at all supports ("full isolation") while in the second configuration isolators are only provided at the abutments ("hybrid isolation"). The isolators in the first case were designed such that the columns remained elastic under the design earthquake. On the other hand, the isolators in the latter case were designed to not only keep the columns elastic but also substantially reduce the superstructure displacements. It is shown that both techniques are successful at protecting the columns, even during the maximum considered earthquake (150% design earthquake). It is also shown that the hybrid isolation technique reduced the superstructure displacements by a factor of about one-half, but with a two-fold increase in the abutment shear forces.


SUMMARY
Plant growth analysis, demographic analysis and yield component analysis are three procedures used to study relationships underlying plant growth and development. Previously, it has been shown that demographic analysis is qualitatively different from plant growth analysis. This paper demonstrates how plant growth analysis and yield component analysis can be merged into a composite procedure, sequential plant growth analysis. The composite approach treats some of the traditional indices of plant growth, including leaf area ratio, leaf area index, unit leaf rate, relative growth rate, crop growth rate and harvest index, as yield components. Regression analysis is used to assess quantitatively the contributions of individual yield components to variations in growth and yield. Fitted curves and trends in coefficients of determination are both used to follow the time course of relationships during development. A study of vegetative growth in bean plants is used to illustrate the composite procedure.


The particle counter compared with the turbidimeter provides good precision and sensitivity and can get the characteristics of particulates effectively. The purpose of this study is to provide the application of particle counter in sand and activated carbon filters. The particle count by size could be more easily sense when the water quality is changed by the influent of high turbidity or algae. We could decide the optimal backwashing cycles and detect the efficiencies of filters by monitoring the total particle count of effluent in sand and activated carbon filters.


In a two-month in vitro experiment we examined the marginal adaptation of ten dental materials. Fifty Class II restorations were prepared extending to the cemento-enamel junction. The cavities of the composite restorations were bevelled at the vestibulo-occlusal and -approximal enamel margins, on the other side enamel and gingival margins were prepared conventionally. The specimens were thermocycled and examined with SEM. The microleakage was measured at the vestibulo-occlusal and -approximal tooth-filling junction, where adhesive technique was used, and at the gingival, oroocclusal and -approximal margins, which were not bevelled before. The obviously most important conclusion of the study is, that in the case of deep Class II cavities the amalgam has a better adaptation at the gingival margin than the examined composite resins.


Solar energy has been relevant in recent years as a renewable source. On one side, halide perovskites have played an essential role as semiconductors with photovoltaic applications. This work studied the effect of reaction temperature on the synthesis of CsPbBr3 perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) by the hot injection method. In this case, CsPbBr3 PQDs are very stable compared to other halide perovskites. The XRD analysis indicated three crystalline phases were obtained: cubic of CsPbBr3, orthorhombic, and rhombohedral of Cs4PbBr6. At a temperature of 130 °C, the cubic phase predominates at 57%. When the temperature increases to 155 and 180 °C, the cubic phase is obtained to a lesser extent, with 33% and 10%, respectively, and the orthorhombic and rhombohedral phases increase. SEM reveals that particle size increased from 8 to 36 nm due to the reaction temperature. The UV-vis results showed that the absorption spectra had a redshift of the visible spectrum from an absorption band from 487 to 514 and 522 nm. Likewise, the PL spectra demonstrate a peak of 501 to 517 and 515 nm as a function of temperature increase, where the calculated Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) indicates the purity of the color emitted. Tauc plots of the CsPbBr3 PQDs showed band gap energies between 1.64 to 2.37 eV, which means these PQDs are interesting in photovoltaics. On the other hand, solar cells were fabricated using CsPbBr3 PQDs, with the following architecture: FTO/c-TiO2/m-TiO2/PQDs/spiro-OMeTAD/Ag. The photovoltaic parameters were determined, obtaining with Jsc (4.10·10-6 mA·cm-2), Voc (0.434 V), FF (30.56%), and PCE (5·10-4 %). In conclusion, the obtained PVs indicated the charge transport within the solar device in ambient conditions.


When a personnel radiation monitoring device (badge) report indicates that a significant, elevated exposure has been received by an individual, an immediate and thorough investigation must be initiated to determine if the exposure is real, identity the source of the exposure, and to take appropriate steps to eliminate or control further exposures. The key points to consider in such an investigation are provided.


Objective To explore effective clinical approaches for differential diagnosis in bronchial asthma patients with chest tightness suggestive of coronary heart disease (CHD) and to reduce misdiagnoses in those patients. Methods 26 patients with chest tightness suggestive of CHD were given a standardized physical examination and indicated no wheezing sound in their chests. Forced peak expiratory flow (PEF) was then measured by a peak flow meter. Bronchodilator response was presumed positive if PEF improved rate was above15 percent of predictive value after 200μg salbutamol inhaled for each subject. The following spirometry was performed with a MANENTA 600 for further confirmation in those who previously tested positive by PEF. Results A total of 16 patients who suggested positive by PEF were verified to suffer bronchial asthma, which accounting for 61.54%. Another 10 patients with improved PEF above 6% of predictive value were involved in suspected bronchial asthma. Conclusion It is an effective and noninvasive clinical method of differential diagnosis in bronchial asthma patients with chest tightness suggestive of CHD to employ peak flow meter with PEF test for bronchodilator response.


Toluene primary reference fuel (TPRF) (mixture of toluene, iso-octane and heptane) is a suitable surrogate to represent a wide spectrum of real fuels with varying octane sensitivity. Investigating different surrogates in engine simulations is a prerequisite to identify the best matching mixture. However, running 3D engine simulations using detailed models is currently impossible and reduction of detailed models is essential. This work presents an AramcoMech reduced kinetic model developed at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) for simulating complex TPRF surrogate blends. A semi-decoupling approach was used together with species and reaction lumping to obtain a reduced kinetic model. The model was widely validated against experimental data including shock tube ignition delay times and premixed laminar flame speeds. Finally, the model was utilized to simulate the combustion of a low reactivity gasoline fuel under partially premixed combustion conditions.


Response surface methodology was applied to determine the optimum roasting conditions (roasting temperature and time) for the high-quality Polygonatum odoratum tea which has been roasting with a traditional means. As quality criteria of Polygonatum odoratum tea, water-soluble solids, browning color, total phenolic compounds and electron-donating ability were proportionally increased with increased temperature and time of roasting conditions up to around and 55 min, respectively, while they were decreased under the extended-roasting conditions. The optimum roasting temperature and time based on the organoleptic overall acceptability were and 52 min, respectively. On the basis of superimposed contour maps for the tea characteristics, the optimum range of roasting conditions were and min. Predicted values at the optimum conditions were in good agreement with experimental values.


This reaserch focuses on building the relationship between teachers and students in the film "Big Brother 2018" which shows the existence of liberation education. Using a descriptive-qualitative research method that provides details regarding how to build relationships between teachers and students in a medium as an inspiration to be applied in schools. A qualitative approach by supporting data on content analysis is expected to produce writings that media such as films can be good examples of teacher-student relationships. The relationship between teacher and student in the film shows freedom in teaching at school. The theory used in this research is the concept of Pauolo Freire in the liberation of education which offers an educational model of conscientization, facing problems and humanization. So that it can be obtained 1) conscientization education that teaches critical of reality 2) dealing with problems that make school students not only memorize the contents of books so that they pass with good grades on exams, 3) humanization which illustrates that teachers also learn from their students or non-formal subjects. subjects.


This paper provides an overview of intelligent technologies in power grid fault diagnosis,including expert system,neural network and optimizes technology,Petri network,fuzzy systems,rough sets,bayesian network and integrated diagnostic methods.The advantages and disadvantages of these methods are analyzed.Finally,the paper indicates the existent problem of fault diagnosis and its development trends.


Currently, piperazic acid is chemically synthesized using ecologically unfriendly processes. Microbial synthesis from glucose is an attractive alternative to chemical synthesis. In this study, we report the production of L‐piperazic acid via microbial fermentation with the first engineered fungal strain of Aureobasidium melanogenum; this strain was constructed by chassis development, genetic element reconstitution and optimization, synthetic rewiring and constitutive genetic circuit reconstitution, to build a robust L‐piperazic acid synthetic cascade. These genetic modifications enable A. melanogenum to directly convert glucose to L‐piperazic acid without relying on the use of either chemically synthesized precursors or harsh conditions. This bio‐based process overcomes the shortcomings of the conventional synthesis routes. The ultimately engineered strain is a very high‐efficient cell factory that can excrete 1.12 ± 0.05 g l‐1 of L‐piperazic acid after a 120‐h 10.0‐l fed‐batch fermentation; this is the highest titre of L‐piperazic acid reported using a microbial cell factory.


A single-dc-source 5-level cascaded H-bridge (CHB) inverter is studied in this paper. All possible switching sequences are analyzed and a sensor-less voltage balancing approach is proposed that regulates the second dc bus (capacitor) voltage at half of the first dc bus amplitude (isolated dc source). The output voltage levels include zero, capacitor voltage and the dc source amplitude. The simple sensor-less voltage balancing technique is integrated into switching method which makes it easy to implement using even cheap microcontrollers. Simulation results validate the good dynamic performance of the proposed sensor-less voltage controller in regulating the capacitor voltage at the desired level to generate 5-level asymmetric voltage waveform at the inverter output low harmonics contents.


Swarm Intelligence is proven to be beneficial for solving many problems including knapsack problem, minimum spanning tree, planning problems, routing, load balancing and many more. Here, the focus of the work is on bat algorithm. Due to astonishing feature of echolocation, bat algorithm has drawn researcher's attention in past years. It is applicable in solving different problems such vehicle routing optimization, time-tabling in railway optimization problems, load balancing in cloud computing etc. The main objective of this work is to propose a technique balancing the load among virtual machines in cloud computing environment.


Introduction. Hepatic hemangioendothelioma (HH) is a benign tumor commonly found in the first 6 months of life. Treatment of HH includes surgery and hepatic transplantation, selective arterial embolism, alpha interferon, and steroids. Case report. A 2 months old female presented with a history of 1 month of feeding fatigue, and 3 days with cyanosis and respiratory difficulty; other antecedents were irrelevant. On physical examination 3 less than 1 cm abdominal hemangiomata, cardiac failure, and hepatomegaly were found. An HH was disclosed with angiographic and ecographic studies. The patient was treated with methylprednisolone for 6 weeks and switched to prednisone for 10.5 months; a total regression of the tumor was angiographically documented, and the patient is doing well 17 months after discharge and without evidence of HH. Conclusion. After steroid treatment, a complete remission of the HH was achieved in our patient; other therapeutic options are discussed in this work.


The exceptional multiplicity of literary versions of St Alexis's life-story contrasts with the scarcity of liturgical rites devoted to the saint, dedications of churches and altars, and above all, visual representations. Cycles devoted to the saint are but few and usually limited to a handful of scenes. In this context, the stained-glass cycle consisting of 26 panels with the legend of St Alexis from St Mary's Church in Konigsberg in der Neumark (now Chojna, Poland) is quite exceptional. Confronted with a strong literary tradition and weak visual representation of the life of St Alexis, one ought to ask about the relation between the pictorial cycle and the literary source. What specific circumstances could have contributed to the fact that the story was recorded in the parish church in Konigsberg in the form of a unique, monumental stained-glass cycle? What role in the construction of the pictorial narration is played by text-scrolls, which appear in just a few out of over twenty scenes? And finally, how could this story have been perceived by laity in the context of the functioning of sacred space in the fifteenth century?


This research investigates experimentally and numerically the tilting angle, eccentricity ratio, flying height of axial direction, friction torque, and critical mass of the HDD disk-spindle system due to HDD positioning angle. The tilting angle and the eccentricity ratio are the maximum when the HDD positioning angle is 90˚ respect to horizontal position because the external force in radial direction and the torque applied to the rotating part are the maximum when the HDD positioning angle is 90˚. The flying height increases with the increase of the HDD positioning angle because the direction of gravity applied to the rotating part changes. The friction torque increases with the increase of the HDD positioning angle until it becomes 60˚, and decreases with the increase of the HDD positioning angle after it becomes 60˚. The stability is the maximum when the HDD positioning angle is 90˚.


Confucianist's idea of "man is an integral part of nature"emphasized human and nature being harmonious and emphasized human taking good care of all sorts of objects in the world.Confucianist's attitude to nature had strong peculiarity of emotion.ethics and religion,it has very important significance to protect the natural environment and to establish the harmonious relation of human and nature.But it emphasized harmoniousness and the ethics moral's significance of natural objects,ignored opposition and the exploring of the law of nature, So it is difficult to arouse the ansciousness of human exploring, transformming and utilizing the nature,and is difficult to fit the modern spirit of keeping forging ahead continiously.


Abstract Hammerstein system identification from measurements affected by bounded noise is considered in the paper. First, we show that computation of tight parameter bounds requires the solution to nonconvex optimization problems where the number of decision variables increases with the length of the experimental data sequence. Then, in order to reduce the computational burden of the identification problem, we propose a procedure to relax the previously formulated problem to a set of polynomial optimization problems where the number of variables does not depend on the size of the measurements sequence. Advantages of the presented approach with respect to previously published results are discussed.


The relationship between science and economy is a trendy issue, both in the scientific field as in the entrepreneurial and political arena. The main purpose of this work is to show in a synthetic way the state of the art of this matter. To this aim, we put forward the analysis of science developed by economists, focusing in the controversies between the neoclassical and the evolutionary perspective. We also review the empirical evidence offered by different works and sum up the main arguments of the present debate about how science should be organized. Main conclusions show that science and economy are closely related and that their links are complex and dynamic, so that flexible approaches are required in the management and evaluation of the relationship.


During 1956-61 eight latitude surveys of cosmic-ray intensity were carried out along the same ship route between Japan and the Antarctic. A fixed position of the cosmic ray equator at 107 deg E found throughout the surveys, 8.1 plus or minus 0.2 deg N geographic latitude, suggests few distortion effects of the geomagnetic field on cosmic rays due to the interaction of the dipole field with interplanetary medium. A fixed position of the latitude knee at 30 deg E found throughout the surveys, 35.4 plus or minus 0.4 deg S geomagnetic latitude, means that the knee around 30 deg E is subjected to the intense geomagnetic anomaly around Cape Town rather than some mechanism outside the earth's magnetic field. (auth)


Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): National Research Foundation

 Characterizing enzyme secretion with surface antigen expression of circulating leukocytes provides deep immunological insights that may benefit diagnostics and therapeutics of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Current methods are limited by laborious sample preparation, lengthy assay time and limited analytical throughput.

 We aimed to develop a point-of-care platform for real-time, granular immune profiling of AMI during index hospitalization.

 We developed a system for a 40-min assay termed integrated single-cell enzyme and antigen quantification (iSEAQ), consisting of an integrated microfluidic device for a streamlined process to recover and isolate single leukocytes from whole blood, and a customized 5-channel high-speed droplet fluorescence cytometer for sensitive quantification of key protein activity resembling live leukocyte activity in-vivo (Figure 1). Using a panel of 2 secreted enzymes (granzyme B (GzB) and neutrophil elastase (NE)) and 3 surface antigens (cluster of differentiation (CD) 66b, CD3 and CD31), we tracked the longitudinal shift of immune functionality of 9 patients admitted for acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients (median age 52 years, 100% males) at 3 timepoints during the index hospitalization: 1) on admission prior to coronary revascularization, 2) within 24 hours of revascularization, and 3) pre-discharge.
 The 5-channel fluorescence data were imported using a python script and pre-processed, before piping into Numpy, Pandas, Scipy and UMAP library for data preparation and classification. Seaborn and Matplotlib were used for all data visualization and plots. Data was analyzed using student two-tailed t-tests, with a significance level of <5%.

 Leveraging on its ability to dissect enzyme secretion by phenotype class, iSEAQ unraveled distinct contributions of CD31, NE and GzB from peripheral granulocytes, T lymphocytes and other cells (Figure 2). The majority immune response is expressed in CD66b+ granulocytes showing increased NE+ secretion and CD31 surface antigen expression denoted in Class 0 in Figure 2. Compared to samples from healthy donors and STEMI patients on admission, the NE+ and CD31+ expressions were significantly lower in pre-discharge samples of STEMI patients (p<0.05). iSEAQ also distinguished anterior from inferior STEMI, as evident from a significantly elevated NE+CD31-secretion for CD66b+ granulocytes in anterior STEMI (365±70 vs 83±35 fg, p < 0.001), showing preliminary promise in the ability of iSEAQ to risk stratify.

 iSEAQ provided a comprehensive granular immune atlas of the longitudinal immune responses to STEMI during hospital admission. With its open design for assay panel using commercial biosensors, iSEAQ is a potentially powerful tool for taking functionality snapshots of immune system in many diseases.


The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of biochar amendment on soil aggregate formation and stability, and soil hydraulic properties. Biochar produced from dairy manure was added to two different soils (a silty clay and a sandy loam soil) at a ratio of 2% (w/w in dry weight basis). Incubation experiments were conducted within a 90-d period with the soils (the controls) and the soil/biochar mixtures. Compared with the controls, biochar addition significantly enhanced the formation of macroaggregates and slightly increased saturated hydraulic conductivities of the soils. Attributable to the soil structure change, saturated water contents increased and residual water contents decreased with the biochar amendment. These changes with biochar addition greatly affected the shape of soil water retention functions. For both the soil aggregate formation and the change of soil water retention curves, the sandy loam soil was more sensitive than the silty clay soil to the biochar application on all sampling days. The information from this study should be useful to better understand water processes in the soil with biochar application.


Background: Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) is the most common painful health problems in school aged children with various organic causes. It impairs their daily activity & studies as well.
Aims & objectives: To study the causes of recurrent abdominal pain in children of Central India
Method: 1060 school going children (Ratio of male & female was 1:2) were studied as per the Apley's criteria. All blood investigations & radiological examinations were carried out whenever necessary. In addition to Apley's criteria, Rome-II criteria were also considered to diagnose & evaluate the cause of Recurrent abdominal pain.
Results: Clinical manifestations were seen in 318 cases, 230 cases had constipation, 254 cases had mesenteric lymphadenopathy, 180 cases had UTI, 60 cases had hepatomegaly and 18 cases had splenomegaly. Moreover their BMI & dietary habits were also considered.
Conclusion: Majority of the children with Recurrent abdominal pain had functional GIT diseases, Detail history of patients, hematological, urine, stool, radiological examinations were mandatory to rule out the exact cause. If not cured treated as psycho-somatic or emotional/ stress Recurrent abdominal pain.
Keywords: Recurrent abdominal pain, Apley's criteria, Rome-II.


In current reliability analysis and design of structures,the influence of durability on structural safety and serviceability is not yet taken into account,due to the lack of durability failure criterion,and the differences in understanding durability concepts.In view of these problems,this paper analyzes the basic concepts of safety,serviceability and durability and clarifies their connotations,from the perspective of the life-cycle design of structure..And through the analysis of the influence of various factors on structural resistance changes,and the process of structural performance with time changes,the authors indicate that during the life-cycle of structure,the durability of different levels influencing on structural safety and serviceability will produce different effect,and the relationships among the three are interactive,and the durability of structures is redefined.Besides,the new idea of performance based limit state design is proposed,which indicates that the limit state of durability can be defined based on different performance requirements.The failure probability of structure or service life is seen to have larger difference,if different performance limit states are used for the same structural element.


Based on the whole-local numerical modeling method,the performance of high temperature miniature recuperator was analyzed. In order to validate the numerical model's feasibility and accuracy,the modified equal Reynolds number method was applied to test its performance and also compared with the numerical results. Within the studied Reynolds number range,the heat-transfer and resistance correlation equations were obtained. On that basis,the effect of microgravity and structure parameters on heat-transfer and resistance performance was conducted. The results show that the influence of microgravity is not significant and can be neglected; the heightto-width ratio and length-to-diameter ratio should be considered in design.


SUBTITLE: AT THE BIENNIAL INNOVATION SYMPOSIUM, DAIMLERCHRYSLER EXECUTIVES DISCUSSED SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE OF THE AUTOMOBILE.


Steve Canyon, developed in the late 1950s from the popular newspaper comic strip of the same name created by Milton Caniff, was the first attempt at generating a filmed dramatic series for American...


Geopolymer has recently become an attractive alternative to traditional binders (e.g., cement and lime) used for chemical soil improvement, with several environmental benefits including lower toxic emissions and energy consumption. This paper presents an evaluation of the geomechanical behaviour of soft clay treated with fly-ash-based geopolymer incorporating slag for deep soil mixing (DSM) applications. The geomechanical properties of stabilised clay were evaluated using unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests and durability against wetting–drying. Thermal conductivity and pH tests along with microstructural analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were also performed to provide insights into the effect of geopolymer on treated clay. The results indicate that the inclusion of geopolymer with the increase in curing time and activator content considerably improves the geomechanical performance of geopolymer-treated soft clay in terms of stress–strain response and attainable peak compressive strength. Although it was found that a small percentage of geopolymer can enhance the initial compressive response, a larger dosage of geopolymer up to 30% was necessary to maintain stable durability performance over successive wetting–drying cycles. Such improved durability performance is related to the enhanced soil structure due to the cementation development and overall reduction in thermal conductivity. The reduction in thermal conductivity of treated clay was found to be activator-dependent and was suppressed steadily with the increase in activator concentration. Overall, geopolymer-treated clay showed promising potential for DSM applications due to its enhanced strength and durability responses.


This paper provides a methodological review of qualitative studies on the lived experience of psychosis. It aims to present the main research trends on psychotic experience and to assess their usefulness and appropriateness for examining the role of social factors in the emergence, experience and management of psychosis. The following trends are presented: (a) the phenomenological approach, which aims to identify the essence of psychotic experience, (b) the narrative and dialogical approaches, which focus on the constitution of the self in psychosis through the examination of self-narratives, (c) the social constructionist approach, which, through analysing the discourse of persons in distress, examines the construction of mental distress,and finally (d) empirical studies employing thematic type qualitative analysis on interviews with persons in distress in order to highlight their experiences and views regarding various aspects of their life with psychosis. For each of the approaches, the paper addresses: (a) its epistemological paradigm, (b) the view of psychosis and mental distress adopted, (c) the research methodology used regarding data collection and analysis, (d) the main findings and conclusions, and (e) the role attributed to social factors and processes.