BROWN, MATTHEW ISAAC. Evaluating Termination Methods of Four Winter Annual Leguminous Cover Crops for Optimizing Nitrogen Synchrony. (Under the direction of Dr. Julie Grossman). In agroecosystems, synchronizing availability of legume nitrogen (N) to cash crop need is essential to efficiently utilize cover crops as a fertility source. Winter annual legume cover crop termination can be achieved through both tillage and non-tillage methods. However, the chosen approach may affect legume decomposition rate and consequent N mineralization by impacting availability to decomposer soil microorganisms. We predict that termination method in combination with biomass nitrogen content will govern rates of mineralization. Our objective is to evaluate various legume species and termination methods to determine nitrogen release rates in corn following winter annual legumes. In this study, four leguminous winter cover crop species, Austrian winter pea, hairy vetch, and balansa and crimson clovers, were terminated using a roller-crimper, flail mower, disk, or an herbicide. Bi-weekly inorganic soil tests and Plant Root Simulator ion resin probes were used to measure plant available NO3 and NH4 + . Cover crop biomass, total carbon, and total nitrogen were measured for each species prior to termination. Mineralized nitrogen was most available from Austrian winter pea and hairy vetch across all termination methods at six to ten weeks after kill. Disked hairy vetch contributed the greatest plant available nitrogen amongst all 16 combinations. Biomass contributions of cover crops ranged from 2.4 Mg ha -1 to 9.7 Mg ha -1 in crimson clover and balansa clover, respectively. Crimson clover, Austrian winter pea, and hairy vetch averaged greater than 7 Mg ha-1 over three years. Balansa clover was the lowest contributor of both biomass and biomass nitrogen (2.4 Mg ha -1 and 40.3 kg ha -1 , respectively). Hairy vetch had the greatest overall average biomass nitrogen of 226.4 kg ha -1 , while Austrian winter pea averaged 188.71 kg ha -1 and crimson clover averaged 181.1 kg ha -1 . Corn yield was not consistent with inorganic and PRS probe measurements of nitrogen. Results show though termination technique in combination with cover crop species does influence nitrogen contributions from winter annual leguminous cover crops. Evaluating Termination Methods of Four Winter Annual Leguminous Cover Crops for Optimizing Nitrogen Synchrony by Matthew Isaac Brown A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science


Javanese chili (piper retrofraetum vahl), which belongs to the family with pepper and kumekus, is included in the betel-sirihan or piperacea tribe, which is one of the traditional medicinal plants, this plant is a native Indonesian spice plant which is still unknown to many people even though the plant has a lot of it. benefits, both in terms of health and from an economic point of view. Herbal chili plants are mostly found in Java, especially in Madura, Bangkalan, especially in Daleman Village, Nung Malaka Hamlet, which grows wild in the yards of community houses, but unfortunately only a few of them or even they do not know the benefits of the plant in terms of health. which can cure various kinds of health problems as well as economic benefits which are quite high in value compared to the corn and beans which are their livelihood. Judging from the market demand for this herbal chili is very high. Therefore, the prospect of cultivating herbal chilies is needed, in addition to meeting the needs of the traditional medicine industry (herbal medicine) and other domestic needs as well as for foreign markets (exports). this community server present to contribute to the benefits and prospects of cultivating herbal chilies in Nung Malaka, Daleman Village.


Finding a solution to a problem is something doctors do every day. But when the problem is a longstanding practice or belief things can get difficult. This week BMJ Careers features doctors who have challenged the status quo.

Amir Sam, Saira Hameed, and Karim Meeran (http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/Medical\_students\_are\_the\_physician%E2%80%99s_apprentices) find that the common practice of medical students "sitting in" in clinics actually provides them …


The FeCl3-mediated reaction of alkynols with iodine resulted in intramolecular addition of hy- droxyl to alkyne to produce a wide range of iodocycloenol ethers in good to excellent yields (63%~90%) under mild reaction conditions. On the other hand, 1,2-diiodides were obtained generally in good yields (15%~88%) when propargyl alcohols were reacted with iodine in the same condition. The advantages of our procedure include a decreased amount of iodine (0.5 equiv.) as well as short reaction time (3 h). The broad scope, mild reaction conditions, and experimental ease of this transformation have made it a valuable alternative to current available methods for the preparation of iodocycloenol ethers or 2,3-diiodoalkenols. Keywords intramolecular iodoetherification; iron trichloride; alkynol; 2,3-diiodoalkenol


We propose a new method for the detection and characterization of nuclear decay processes. Specifically, we describe how nuclear decay recoil can be observed within small particles levitated in an optical trap with high positional resolution. Precise measurements of the magnitude of each recoil as well as their rate of occurrence can provide accurate information about the isotopic composition of a radioactive sample. We expect that this new technique for nuclear material characterization will be especially useful in the area of nuclear forensic analysis.


This paper demonstrates the ability of ultraviolet laser assisted fluorescent penetrant testing to detect and characterize minute surface discontinuities on industrial materials. The resolution capability of the procedure was measured to be 6 um for line detection and 36 μm for line width measurement.


This study tries to explain the steps or efforts undertaken by the Batu City Election Commission in increasing the political participation of the people of Batu City who have held the election of the Governor and Deputy Governor in 2018. Batu City has a high level of community participation in the regional head election especially PILGUB, the low level of participation in Kota Batu is the reason why the party for democracy is hampered.


A new method that the comparison of pros and cons on variety models was carried out to predict the oil price in different periods.The singularity analysis on the sequences of oil's price was complied by wavelet transform in this article and the time period for the sequences of oil's price was divided into two sections: the time period with singular points and the time period with non-singular points.The multiple regressive model,delayed dependent variable regressive model and neural network model were compared about the forecasting effects and fitting effects in the two different time periods.Finally,it comes to the conclusion that the most reasonable model is neural network model at all time.


The examination of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) continues to play an important role in the diagnosis of inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry are the most commonly used methods for analysis of surface markers on CSF cells. We here compared these methods in the examination of CSF cells from a total of 68 patients with acute and chronic inflammatory CNS diseases. Expression of costimulatory molecules CD80 (B7‐1) and CD86 (B7‐2) as activation markers that are present at low density on the cell surface was analyzed in comparison to CD22 (B‐cells) and CD4 (T‐cell subset), that show high staining intensities. For CD22 and CD4, the results obtained with both methods were similar and reliable. Using flow cytometry, CD80 expression was detected in 6% of CSF cells in patients with chronic inflammatory CNS disease, as compared to 2% using immunocytochemistry, where the reliability of the data was found to be higher. We conclude that for examination of low‐density surface markers on CSF cells, particularly with low cell counts, immunocytochemistry may be more reliable. Diagn. Cytopathol. 1999;21:313–318. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Interfacial thermodynamics with special reference to biological systems electrostatic and electrodynamic properties of biological interphases interfacial interactions proteins at solid surfaces proteins at liquid interfaces polysaccharides at interfaces structure and properties of membranes attempts to mimic biomembrane processes self assemblies of phospholipids - models of biomembranes biosimulation with liposomes and lipid monolayers enzymatic reactions at the interfaces mimicking physics of cell adhesion physico-chemistry of microbial adhesion cell-cell interactions axisymmetric drop shape analysis Brewster angle microscopy ellipsometry the application of neutron and X-ray specular reflection to proteins at interfaces time-resolved fluorescence techniques applied to biological interfaces circular dichroism of proteins in solution and at interfaces infrared spectroscopy of biophysical monomolecular films at interfaces - theory and applications fluorescence microscopy for studying biological model systems - phospholipid monolayers and chiral discrimination effects scanning force microscopy in biology cryo-transmission electron microscopy.


Various shape memory alloys (Ti-Ni-Hf, Ni-Al and Cu-Al-Ni) were elaborated by spark plasma sintering method from the micron, submicron and nano- sized particles prepared by spark-erosion method in cryogenic liquid from preliminary melted master alloys. These alloys are being developed as one of the alternatives for the intermediate temperature applications (100-900 o C). Spark plasma sintering method is express method, which provides lower temperature and shorter holding time of sintering. It makes possible to sinter materials from the pre-alloyed powders and eliminate the intensive grains growth and precipitating processes influencing the mechanical and functional properties of functional materials. The effects of processing parameters on the martensitic transformation and microstructure of the sintered compacts were investigated using XRD and SEM study. Temperatures of sintering were chosen according to the assessed data of the decomposition, oxidation and others processes carrying out in material. Although the precipitating processes were usually not completely depressed, the intensive grain growth was also not found in most cases. Most of the microstructure peculiarities of as processed powder were inherited by the sintered material.


DNA Repair
Glyoxal and methylglyoxal, by-products of sugar metabolism that are present in all cells, can react with, and thus damage, DNA. Indeed, glycation of guanine (G) is as prevalent as the major product of oxidative damage in DNA, 8-oxo-dG. Richarme et al. show that both prokaryotes and eukaryotes have dedicated systems that specifically repair glycation damage (see the Perspective by Dingler and Patel). The parkinsonism-associated protein DJ-1/Park7 and its bacterial homologs Hsp31, YhbO, and YajL direct the enzymatic repair of damaged glycated bases in DNA. The proteins also clean up the more vulnerable pool of free nucleotides in the cell, which are more susceptible to glycation than the nucleotides within DNA.

Science , this issue p. [208][1]; see also p. [130][2]

 [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aag1095
 [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aan8293


PURPOSE: An electrode active material is provided to prevent the moisture adsorption in the process of manufacturing an electrode and a battery as a hydrophobic material-containing carbon coating layer is formed on the surface of a lithium metal oxide, and therefore, to improve the lifetime and a high temperature preservation characteristic of a battery. CONSTITUTION: An electrode active material includes a lithium metal oxide and a carbon coating layer formed on the surface of the lithium metal oxide. The carbon coating layer includes a hydrophobic material difficult to combine with the water molecule. The content of the hydrophobic material is within 0.3-3 parts by weight per 100.0 parts by weight of the lithium metal oxide. The hydrophobic material is positioned on the surface of the carbon coating layer to form a hydrophobic layer. The lithium secondary battery includes an electrode active material-containing electrode and a polymer membrane. An electrode assembly with a structure that the polymer membrane is interposed between an anode and a cathode is built in a battery case.


It is a well-known teaching in the writings of both Plato and Aristotle that wonder (thauma) is the beginning of philosophy. But few philosophers have given wonder much thought—certainly, no philosopher that I am aware of has, like Professor Sallis, returned time and again to think through wonder. Sallis's thinking through wonder is guided by his reading of ancient Greek philosophy, and furthermore, as I hope to show, it opens up a reengagement with Greek philosophers—in particular, with those early Greek thinkers who are known collectively as the "Pre-Socratics." In what follows I hope to make clear, first, what Sallis understands by wonder as the archē of philosophy and, second, how his own "rememorative" thinking of this archē—especially by way of what he calls "the elemental"—remains attentive to the wondrous in such a way as to return us to the insights of Pre-Socratic thought. But to understand wonder in the way that Sallis does requires that we have a sense of what it does not mean for wonder to be the beginning of philosophy. The Elemental Sallis: On Wonder and Philosophy's "Beginning"


In the last three decades, across the world, there have emerged mass movements, uprisings and revolts targeting neo-liberal global capitalism and its radical reorganization of urban hierarchies. As a result, cities have become the central stage for sociopolitical struggles. While the
 scholarship on new social movements has recognized the aesthetic potential of political organizing since the beginning of the anti-globalization movement in 1999, new approaches are needed to understand the aesthetic dissensus of contemporary activism within the urban space. This article theorizes
 aesthetics as a potentially radicalizing force in proposing a democratic citizenship in the city. Indebted to the theories of Henri Lefebvre, David Harvey, James Holston, Mark Purcell and Jacques Rancière, it discusses the new synthesis of political and aesthetic forms, action and experience
 in urban social movement praxis. Taking Gezi Park resistance in Turkey (2013) as a case study, it seeks to understand the relationship of activist aesthetics to changing practices and conceptions of citizenship.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which South African accounting academics use case studies in their teaching and to establish their views on whether this method can be used to transfer soft skills (also known as pervasive skills) to students.

Design/methodology/approach

An electronically administered questionnaire was sent to South African accounting academics.

Findings

Prior research provides evidence of the value of case studies in the transfer of soft/pervasive skills to students. The findings reveal that case studies are used less frequently by South African accounting academics than their international counterparts, because of a lack of awareness by South African accounting academics of the competencies that can be transferred using case studies, and the application of alternative teaching methods.

Originality/value

This paper provides insight into the use of case studies by academics in a developing country whose traditional strengths were in technical teaching, and the reluctance of the majority of South African accounting academics to embrace case studies into their academic programmes.


A field theoretic formulation of the Marinari–Parisi supersymmetric matrix model is established and shown to be equivalent to a recently proposed supersymmetrization of the bosonic collective string field theory. It also corresponds to a continuum description of super-Calogero models. The perturbation theory of the model is developed and, in this approach, an infinite sequence of vertices is generated. A class of potentials is identified for which the spectrum is that of a massless boson and Majorana fermion. For the harmonic oscillator case, the cubic vertices are obtained in an oscillator basis. For a rather general class of potentials it is argued that one cannot generate from Marinari–Parisi models a continuum limit similar to that of the d = 1 bosonic string.


Ride control systems are often implemented to reduce vessel motions. However, modern ride control systems are prone to experiencing a phase lag between the wave-induced motions and the control system's actuation. The phase lag limits the system's ability to dampen vessel motions and reduces the system's effectiveness. To investigate a possible improvement to modern systems, an artificial neural network-based controller, trained by potential flow simulations, was used to prescribe the optimum future actuation of a ride control system. By prescribing the optimum future actuation in anticipation of system delays, phase lag can be mitigated.


denial, persistent somatization, conversion symptoms, anniversary reaction, type A behavior, functional somatic symptoms secondary to a psychiatric disorder, irritable mood, demoralization, and alexithymia. The participants comprised 359 patients: 215 women (60%) and 144 men (40%); mean age 51.88 ± 14.29 years (range 19–82); mean duration of illness 9.89 ± 10.58 years. The patients were recruited in inpatient and outpatient health care settings for asthma (n = 112), hepatitis C virus (HCV) (n = 60), locomotor disease (n = 48), and cardiac disease (n = 86) and in primary care (n = 52). The most frequent syndromes in the study group were health anxiety (n = 107, 29.8%) and illness denial (n = 101, 28.1%). Overall, 106 patients (29.5%) did not exhibit any DCPR syndrome, 95 (26.5%) had 1 syndrome, and 158 (44%) had 2 or more syndromes. The prevalence of 1 or more DCPR syndromes was unrelated to the kind of disease (χ 2 = 6.95, p = 0.54). The DCPR prevalence rates are presented in table 1 . A separate analysis for each syndrome revealed that the occurrence of 4 syndromes was disease dependent. In particular, health anxiety was higher in patients with HCV and lower in those in primary care (χ 2 = 23.54, p < 0.001), illness denial (χ 2 = 10.11, p = 0.04) and conversion symptoms (χ 2 = 11.10, p = 0.02) were higher in patients with heart disease and asthma and lower in those with HCV and locomotor disease, and alexithymia (χ 2 = 15.42, p = 0.004) was higher in patients with asthma and in primary care and lower in patients with HCV. The duration of illness and the number of DCPR syndromes were positively and significantly correlated (ρ = 0.13, p = 0.01). In particular, illness denial occurred more often in patients with longer illness duration (ρ = 0.12, p = 0.03). Biological, psychological, and social factors each contribute to the etiology and maintenance of health and disease. In the light of current knowledge [1] , psychosocial factors play an important role in the causation, development, and progression of any somatic disease. The importance of psychosomatic syndromes is particularly important in chronic diseases, which create the most serious societal and public health problems. Comorbidity of psychosomatic syndromes and somatic diseases can impede the healing process and prolong recovery time. The most recent epidemiological data show an increase in the number of chronically ill, which creates a serious problem in modern medicine [2] . In this study, we examined the prevalence of psychosomatic syndromes in chronically ill Polish patients assessed with the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) [1, 3] in the Polish version [4] : disease phobia, health anxiety, thanatophobia, illness Received: March 4, 2016 Accepted after revision: May 28, 2016 Published online: October 15, 2016


Simple Summary Oral disease involving teeth is a common condition of aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) housed in zoos, although research is limited. Medical records of aardvarks housed at a single zoo in the United States between 1995 and 2021 were evaluated for dental abnormalities. Eight out of ten aardvarks had dental abnormalities, with most cases having mild disease (4/8). Three patients required the removal of abnormal teeth for treatment. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a technology used to create a three-dimensional image of the teeth and skull and was used in two aardvarks. This technology was considered helpful in documenting dental abnormalities in patients with severe disease and may be a valuable tool for veterinarians managing oral disease in aardvarks. Abstract Oral disease involving teeth is a common cause of morbidity in aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) under managed care. Cases can be challenging due to the species' unique skull and dental anatomy and limited veterinary literature. A retrospective evaluation was performed on dental examinations in nine aardvarks housed at a single zoological institution in the United States between 1995 and 2021. The prevalence of dental disease in this population was 88%, with most cases categorized as mild (4/8). Clinical signs were only seen in three cases. Facial swelling prior to surgery was the most common clinical sign (3/8). Dental pathology was more common in the mandibular teeth (27/38) compared to the maxillary teeth (11/38). Dental abnormalities found upon intraoral examination included the presence of dental points (7/8), crown elongation (3/8), purulent material within the oral cavity (4/8), loose teeth (2/8), periodontal pockets (2/8), and oronasal fistula (1/8). Three patients required dental extractions with a lateral buccostomy approach. Diagnostic imaging was performed in most cases (7/8), with two cases undergoing cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) to characterize dental pathology that was difficult to fully evaluate with standard radiography. Tomographic findings are described in both cases. CBCT was found to be a helpful tool for diagnosing and characterizing dental disease in aardvarks.


This paper discusses the evaluation of an empathic robotic tutor, developed in the EMOTE project. It also argues for the adoption of a new evaluation approach for educational robots, called situated evaluation.


Objective To analyze characterization of rpoB mutation in Beijing genotype of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.Methods The 102 Clinic isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were analyzed by IS6110-RFLP and Spoligotyping for genotyping.RpoB gene mutations of rifampin resistance in mycobacterium tuberculosis were detected by reverse-line blot hybridization.Results 73.5%(75/102)of Clinic isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were Beijing genotype.55 of 62 rifampin-resistant isolates had rpoB gene mutations.Codon 526 had the highest mutational frequency.Conclusion Although no statistical different characterization of rpoB mutations were found in strains with different genotypes,but the ratio of resistance to rifampin and the ratio of rpoB mutations were statistical different between Beijing genotype and other genotype strains.Reverse-line blot hybridization assay is useful in rapid primary screening rifampin resistance strains in M.tuberculosis with high sensitivity and specificity.


Abstract In this paper, the implementation of an H ∞ controller, designed in another work for the flow control in communication networks with a single bottleneck, is considered for asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks with multiple bottlenecks. The controller calculates the data sending rates by using the information about the queue lengths at the switches. To observe the performance of the system in real ATM networks, a number of simulations are realised for certain realistic cases and the results are presented.


This work reports the design of Java Dynamic Testing tool by using Instrumentation, which is the statement inserted into the program to count the number of iteration process and conditional statement process in Java Programming by must not affecting the program behavior. In addition, it focuses on Java Source Instrumentation to count the number process of Iteration and conditional statement process by using three main approaches for designing this Dynamic Java Testing tool such as Java controller, Java Iteration and Iteration Counting Process. The Java Dynamic Testing by using Instrumentation is to give the engineer manager the report of counting iteration process which is the main key indicator of knowing the software cost and time as well as the input for estimating project effort which use to calculate productivity and other measurements.


Grammar error correction is one of the most important research fields in natural language processing, while grammar checker is the tool to help people correct grammatical error. We focus our work on researching a better approach to an online grammar checker system to help people correct the grammatical error in their text more precisely, user-friendly, and efficiently. This new method of online grammar checker system is based on neural network model, Transformer, and is able to detect about 25 different types of grammatical errors in the text. We did the evaluation on our new online grammar checker system, and the final experiment results proved that we have found a good approach to the online grammar checker system.


We develop a mathematical model for the spreading of a thin volatile liquid droplet on a uniformly heated surface. The model accounts for the effects of surface tension, evaporation, thermocapillarity, gravity and disjoining pressure for both perfectly wetting and partially wetting liquids. Previous studies of non-isothermal spreading did not include the effects of disjoining pressure and therefore had to address the difficult issue of imposing proper boundary conditions at the contact line where the droplet surface touches the heated substrate. We avoid this difficulty by taking advantage of the fact that dry areas on the heated solid surface are typically covered by a microscopic adsorbed film where the disjoining pressure suppresses evaporation. We use a lubrication-type approach to derive a single partial differential equation capable of describing both the time-dependent macroscopic shape of the droplet and the microscopic adsorbed film; the contact line is then defined as the transition region between the two. In the framework of this model we find that both evaporation and thermocapillary stresses act to prevent surface-tension-driven spreading. Apparent contact angle, defined by the maximum interfacial slope in the contact-line region, decays in time as a droplet evaporates, but the rate of decay is different from that predicted in earlier studies of evaporating droplets. We attribute the difference to nonlinear coupling between different physical effects contributing to the value of the contact angle; previous studies used a linear superposition of these effects. We also discuss comparison of our results with experimental data available in the literature.


The evolution, design and use of an optical probe particularly suited to general use in teaching laboratory science to blind students is described herein. Devices of this type have been frequently conceived, but have not been constructed, for versatility and convenience. Their potential use seems to be overlooked, mostly because they are not suitable devices with which to read. The experience in this particular case was in a physics laboratory not otherwise prepared or equipped for blind students, and the experience showed that a simple pocket-sized light probe with certain necessary features proved to be the missing link to enable ordinary experiments to be done by the blind.


The invention discloses a building material, in particular lightweight foamed concrete, as well as a production method and application thereof. The concrete adopts sediment as a base material; a curing agent is added to the base material and evenly stirred; and then water and a foaming agent are added to the base material and evenly stirred, so as to form the lightweight foamed concrete. The sediment is drawn off from seafloor so as to form the lightweight foamed concrete according to the method of the invention, which can be used for marine reclamation land. The lightweight foamed concrete can be used as a road or bridge foundation filling material, or can be used as a building filling material. The lightweight foamed concrete adopted for marine reclamation land or as the filling material is convenient to get materials and low in cost, can form lands and filling bodies having certain strength and hardness without mechanical tamping, and can avoid settlement and collapse.


Dynamical methods were designed to eliminate the ideal objects abstract algebra abounds with. Typically granted by an incarnation of Zorn's Lemma, those ideal objects often serve for proving the semantic conservation of additional non-deterministic sequents, that is, with finite but not necessarily singleton succedents. Eliminating ideal objects dynamically was possible also because (finitary) coherent or geometric logic predominates in that area: the use of a non-deterministic axiom can be captured by a finite branching of the proof tree. Incidentally, a paradigmatic case has widely been neglected in dynamical algebra: Krull's Lemma for prime ideals. Digging deeper just about that case, which we have dealt with only recently (with Yengui), has now brought us to unearth the general phenomenon underlying dynamical algebra: Given a claim of computational nature that usually is proved by the semantic conservation of certain additional non-deterministic axioms, there is a finite labelled tree belonging to a suitable inductively generated class which tree encodes the desired computation. Our characterisation works in the fairly universal setting of a consequence relation enriched with non-deterministic axioms; uniformises many of the known instances of the dynamical method; generalises the proof-theoretic conservation criterion we have offered before (with Rinaldi); and last but not least links the syntactical with the semantic approach: every ideal object used for the customary proof of a concrete claim can be approximated by one of the corresponding tree's branches.


The authors consider the problems of joint processing of coal- and iron-containing mineral wastes of the mining industry with the use of a thermal field. By forming the composition of a polymineral mix and varying the temperature and conditions of thermal treatment, it is possible to produce new mineral products. In the mix considered, due to the thermal action within a closed working space of the furnace at a temperature of the order of 800 °C, it is possible to convert the iron contained in mineral components to compounds of high magnetic susceptibility. Thermal treatment in conjunction with the reduction process makes it possible to initiate solid-phase reactions of interaction of the resulting products of thermal decomposition of mineral components. The formation of calcium silicates imparts new technological and performance properties to the polymineral system. It has been shown experimentally that by changing the composition of the starting polymineral mix, it is possible to provide the ecological purity of the process of thermal treatment by preventing the evolution of sulfur-containing gaseous products.


We study a supersymmetric version of the seesaw mechanism type III. The model consists of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model particle content plus three copies of 24 superfields. The fermionic part of the SU(2) triplet contained in the 24 is responsible for the type-III seesaw, which is used to explain the observed neutrino masses and mixings. Complete copies of 24 are introduced to maintain gauge coupling unification. These additional states change the beta functions of the gauge couplings above the seesaw scale. Using minimal Supergravity boundary conditions, we calculate the resulting supersymmetric mass spectra at the electroweak scale using full 2-loop renormalization group equations. We show that the resulting spectrum can be quite different compared to the usual minimal Supergravity spectrum. We discuss how this might be used to obtain information on the seesaw scale from mass measurements. Constraints on the model space due to limits on lepton flavour violating decays are discussed. The main constraints come from the bounds on {mu}{yields}e{gamma} but there are also regions where the decay {tau}{yields}{mu}{gamma} gives stronger constraints. We also calculate the regions allowed by the dark matter constraint. For the sake of completeness, we compare our results with those formore » the supersymmetric seesaw type II and, to some extent, with type I.« less


To implement the goals of the 2030 Global Biodiversity Framework, the European Biodiversity Strategy and the EU Green Deal, biodiversity monitoring is a pivotal instrument to achieve accountability and progress in conservation. Monitoring efforts in Europe, however, suffer from gaps and biases in taxonomy, spatial coverage, and temporal resolution, resulting in fragmented and disconnected data which does not provide sufficient evidence for policy making. To assess user and policy needs in biodiversity monitoring, we employed with EuropaBON a four-step user-centred stakeholder engagement process, including an international public stakeholder workshop, a standardised online survey, semi-structured interviews, and an expert meeting with representatives of EU member states, the European Commission and the European Environment Agency. The resulting insights into national and European biodiversity monitoring schemes identify policy needs, current challenges and potential solutions. Based on this in-depth policy and science stakeholder assessment, we recommend the establishment of a European Biodiversity Observation Network through a permanent Biodiversity Monitoring and Coordinating Centre to optimise existing observation efforts, harmonise data, and enhance our ability to predict and respond to key challenges related to biodiversity loss in a changing climate in Europe.


The effect of the physiological analogues of auxin, the compounds TA-12 and TA-14, on the apex development, growth, winterhardiness and productivity formation of the winter oilseed rape var. 'Casino' was studied. Field experiments were carried out in 2002-2004 at the experimental station of the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture, Dotnuva-Akademija. The results showed a positive effect of the compounds TA-12 (2.10 - 3 M) and TA-14 (4.10 - 3 M) on the autumnal development of oilseed rape plants and their preparation for overwintering: they stimulated the conversion of the apex vegetative phase into a generative one, promoted flower formation and further development, intensified monosaccharide accumulation in the root collum, and improved the winterhardiness of this culture. In test variants, the number of perished plants was lower than in the control. Data of our research demonstrated the functional involvement of sugars in the cold acclimation process of oilseed rape. Application of compounds TA-12 (417 g ha - 1 ) and TA-14 (369 g ha - 1 ) to plants in autumn at the 4 -5 t h leaf formation stage not only enhanced winterhardiness but also influenced the further growth in spring and formation of yield components. Under the effect of the compounds TA-12 and TA-14 the number of siliguae on the main and lateral branches racemes and their seed mass increased. All these factors contributed to an extra seed yield by 0.45 and TA-14 by 0.64 t ha - 1 , respectively, the control yield being 3.53 t ha - 1 .


The utility model relates to a rock drilling crawler, which comprises a crawler unit, a chassis, an erecting stage, an engine, a hydraulic system, a control system, an electrical system and a gun-shaped rock drill. The gun-shaped rock drill is provided with a thruster, and a boom to support the thruster and the gun-shaped rock drill. The thruster is connected with the gun-shaped rock drill through a bracket. The front end of the boom is articulated with the bracket; the back end of the boom is articulated with a rotatable post. The rotatable post is arranged on the erecting stage. Regarding the utility model, hydraulic pressure is used as the power for rotation and propulsion of the gun-shaped drill. The utility model drills rock at high speed with low noise, consumes little power; the capacity usage ratio is high. The rectangular coordinate boom is adopted, and the utility model can drill in multiple bearings and angles. An air compressor is arranged in the utility model, the structure is compact, and the maneuverability is flexible. All of actions are achieved in the way that multiway valves are controlled through operation of handles; accordingly, the utility model is operated simply and conveniently.


Energy exports as the main source of national income in OPEC countries and globalization as one of the most controversial issues of today's world economy is the very important factor. This study investigated the effects of globalization and energy exports on economic growth in 1980-2015 in OPEC countries. The results show that, the energy exports and globalization in all aspects have respectively a positive and negative significant effect and on economic growth. Moreover, the exports of energy and globalization variables in all aspects have a significant positive effect on economic growth. Furthermore, fertility rate, life expectancy, government consumption expenditure, money, quasi-money, and gross fixed capital formation have a significant and negative effect on economic growth.


The present invention relates to the field of compounds, particularly, to a rupatadine fumarate compounds, their synthesis and their pharmaceutical compositions. Rupatadine fumarate of the compound using Cu-Kα ray powder X- ray diffraction pattern measured as shown in FIG. The present invention also relates to a method of synthesizing rupatadine fumarate his set, the method using 3-methyl-5-chloromethyl-pyridine hydrochloride as a starting material, simplifying the synthesis step, without performing tedious extraction and other processes, and thus more suitable for industrial production. Rupatadine fumarate of the present invention, high-purity He given compound, stability, bioavailability, is suitable for clinical application.


China is facing a number of challenges, such as environmental pollution, energy security, and slowing down of economic growth. China's total energy consumption has been leading the worldwide consumption for several years. China's annual primary energy consumption accounts for more than 90% of total energy consumption, and the country's utilization of wind energy, solar energy, biomass energy, and other new form of energy remains very low. This research has adopted a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis approach to examine the internal and external factors that affect the competitiveness of the energy industry in China. An extensive and critical review of a wide range of literature was conducted, including academic papers, industry reports, statistical data, relevant regulations, and policy documents. Eighteen factors were identified from the literature review. These factors form part of an integrated framework that provides a useful tool for policy makers and the industry to gain a better understanding of the factors that affect the sustainable development of the Chinese energy industry. The results also provide a useful reference for foreign firms that intend to explore the Chinese energy industry market.


Abstract We have succeeded in completely bleaching a humic acid, extracted from peats and carefully purified, by the action of the peroxoacids, followed by a chlorhydric or enzymic hydrolysis. The degradation products characterized by chromatographic analysis on paper, and by GLC after silylation, contain 3 reducing sugars (glucose, rhamnose, arabinose), a disaccharide and 8 amino acids among which are lysine, serine and tyrosine. The reducing sugar content of the mixture (expressed in glucose) corresponds to a yield of 65% relative to the initial product.


Load frequency Control (LFC) is used for many years as part of Automatic Generation Control (AGC) in power system around the world. In a mixed power system, it is usual to find an area regulated by hydro generation interconnected to another area regulated by thermal generation or in combination of both. In the following study, performance of AGC for Thermal, Hydro and Thermal turbine based power system is examined, including how frequency bias setting influences AGC response and inadvertent interchange. Control performance analysis of three area interconnected systems is simulated and studied through Matlab Simulink software. Integral square error and Integral time absolute error has been used as performance criterion. It is shown that integral time absolute error (ITAE) as performance index leads to faster optimization of controller gain.


The garlic crop in Aguascalientes and Zacatecas is of great socioeconomic importance because of the planted area and of the labor hand needed through the crop growth and the storage


This paper reports on a quest for a language for expressing properties of telecommunication services and features, which may play a part in feature interaction detection. A language is sought with a restricted, but practically sufficient, expressive power, which can be complemented with computer-based tools for verification of models described in SDL with respect to properties expressed in the language. A language is suggested which allows the observer technique to be used for checking whether properties expressed in the language are satisfied by models described in SDL. This language can be viewed as a restricted version of the full branching-time temporal logic ACTL.


We present a method for the interactive segmentation of textured 3D point clouds. The problem is formulated as a minimum graph cut on a k-nearest neighbor graph and leverages the rich information contained in high-resolution photographs as the discriminative feature. We demonstrate that the achievable segmentation accuracy is significantly improved compared to using an average color per point as in prior work. The method is designed to work efficiently on large datasets and yields results at interactive rates. This way, an interactive workflow can be realized in an immersive virtual environment, which supports the segmentation task by improved depth perception and the use of tracked 3D input devices. Our method enables to create high-quality segmentations of textured point clouds fast and conveniently.


The interactive effect of manufacturing induced thermal residual stresses and structural damage on the buckling load of stringer stiffened composite plates is investigated. The study is motivated from the consideration that the thermal effects have been tailored to enhance the plate buckling loads. Thus, it is crucial to understand the influence of and sensitivity to structural damage. Damage is considered either in the form of localized degradation of material properties or as delamination between the plate and stiffeners. Both damage types are characterized in terms of type, amount, shape, and size. It is shown that thermal residual effects may increase or decrease buckling-load damage sensitivity and that the sensitivity is damage location dependent. For all cases, the numerical analyses demonstrate that plates with tailored thermal residual effects have good damage tolerance and that this is a direct result of a redistribution of residual stresses. Thermal residual effects improve the buckling load for both damaged and undamaged plates. A particularly interesting result occurs when a plate with localized damage at its center is considered; the buckling load can actually increase with the introduction of damage when thermal effects are included in the analysis.


We argue that existing digital ad transparency efforts fall short of enabling holistic auditing required to address the growing challenges of online ads. We propose a technical standard for Universal Digital Ad Transparency. We review historical ad transparency regulation in the United States and motivations for a universal standard.We define criteria for determining which ad platforms should comply with Universal Ad Transparency, what content should be made transparent, and technical details about how ad platforms can comply with Universal Ad Transparency. We compare our proposed standard to current voluntary transparency efforts on the part of some digital ad platforms, and current pending legislation in the United States. Lastly, we discuss both potential problems with our proposal, and potential mitigations.


. In structural fire engineering, it is crucial to estimate the global structural behavior in a realistic scheme. This necessity arises from the reason that the single element testing doesn't represent the global behavior of the structure correctly due to the possible load redistribution into alternative load paths and change of static systems in case of global fire. Therefore, hybrid simulation method can be accounted as a key method, which fulfills the possibility of study of the global structural behavior in structure with coupling the numerical simulation and experimental testing. In this method, the numerical simulation procedure of the whole structure is coupled and controlled with the outcomes of the experiment performed on a single part of the structure, which is critical or difficult to study numerically. So far, several attempts have been made to study hybrid fire simulation. There, however, exist severe shortcomings in so-far research: - the correct consideration of the stiffness and material properties for the heated element and their degradation during fire exposure, - retaining the compatibility and the equilibrium between the substructures, - the automatic real-time interaction between the substructures and also - realistic consideration of the thermal coupling


Due to the unbalance between social demands for graduates in music and its increasing number, music-major students of normal universities meet more fierce competition in finding jobs. In view of the present employment situation of music majors, the operational capability has become the key to job-finding. We should make the exploration, analysis and study on the definition and content of the music major students' job-finding, and focus on how to train their operational ability, and explores how to train their operating ability by the way of using micro-teaching techniques.


Abstract Earthquakes occur because of increase of stress and rock fracture. Prior to impending earthquake, physical and chemical interactions in the earth's crust lead to anomalous variations of air temperature (AT). Satellite based remote sensing method allows to determine earthquake precursors over a large tectonic area. Buildup of stresses in a seismically active area manifests as thermal anomaly. In the present study, variations in AT prior to eastern Turkey, Bella Bella (Canada) and Pocito (Argentina) earthquakes were studied by utilizing multi-year background data. The analysis shows strong anomalous variations of AT prior to the seismic events with the highest AT values recorded before the earthquakes. Anomaly plots show that the release of energy was concentrated in the region along epicenter. Descriptive statistics of AT for the earthquakes show significant changes prior to the seismic event. Degassing of gases occur during rock micro-fracturing, which results in air ionization, thereby resulting in AT precursory anomalies.


It was described the important functions, taken an example to introduce the design scheme of UPS in Power SupplySystem, demonstrated the operation principle of UPS parallel mode, the choice of capacitance of UPS and its battery suite.


Objective To study the action of Yiweihumo Granule on the experimental gastric ulcer-and to provide experiential basis for its advance applying.Methods Four kinds of experimental ulcer models including water immersion and restraint stress induce ulcer in rats,pyloric ligation-al ulcer in rats,acetic acid induced ulcer in rats,indomethacin induced ulcer in mice were used to observe Yiweihumo Granule's actions on the experimental gastric ulcer.Results The results showed that the Yiweihumo Granule significantly inhibited ulcer formation induced by water immersion and restraint stress,pylorus ligation,acetic acid and indomethacin.Conclusion Yiweihumo Granule has obvious anti-ulcer effect on rats.The experimental data are provided basis for Yiweihumo Granule's clinical curative effect on gastric ulcer.


I.N. Herstein as well as Susan Montgomery have defined and made many contributions to the algebraic structures of a ring R with involution *. An intrinsic algebraic subset of such a ring is the set of symmetric elements S = {a|a = a � }. A ring R with involution * is self-symmetric provided all its nontrivial ideals are symmetric. This paper will show that all self-symmetric rings with involution * are MP3 (Moore-Penrose 3) rings. In addition, some attempts will be made to characterize the n × n matrix ring, Mn(R) over a self-symmetric MP3 ring.


[1] Shock heating of the Dhofar 378 (Dho 378) Martian shergottite produced melting, vesiculation, and flow of the plagioclase, which upon cooling recrystallized into complex textures. Heating experiments on the similar Zagami shergottite indicate that Dho 378 was shock heated to 1000–1100°C and was cooled at ∼2.5°C/h. An 39Ar-40Ar analysis of Dho 378 plagioclase indicates different Ar diffusion domains and K/Ca ratios. The lower-temperature phase defines an Ar-Ar isochron age of 141 ± 32 Ma. The higher-temperature phase released more 40Ar but does not define an age. The meteorite's thermal history was examined by constructing a generic model to compare cooling rates for objects of different sizes against fractional diffusion loss of Ar for different cooling times. Using gas diffusion parameter values measured for Dho 378, this model indicates that it is improbable that the major shock heating event occurred at the time that Dho 378 was ejected from Mars ∼3 Ma ago. Rather, we suggest that the time of shock heating is probably given by its Ar-Ar age. For Dho 378 to cool sufficiently fast not to lose most of its 40Ar ∼3 Ma ago would require it to have been ejected into space as an impossibly small object. Larger and more reasonable Mars ejection sizes indicate that Dho 378 should have lost most of its 40Ar. On the basis of plagioclase texture and Ar data, we suggest that a major impact event ∼141 Ma ago melted Dho 378 plagioclase, degassed most of its 40Ar, and deposited it in crater ejecta to cool. A smaller and later impact ejected it into space ∼3 Ma ago.


n=2 anz n in U = {z : |z| < 1} and which satisfy the following condition: ∣∣∣∣ (zf ′(z))′ g′(z) − 1 ∣∣∣∣ < ∣∣∣∣A−B (zf ′(z))′ g′(z) ∣∣∣∣, (−1 6 B < A 6 1), where g(z) is convex univalent function in U . It gives a sufficient condition for functions to belong to the class investigated. Moreover, we derive some properties including the coefficient bounds as well as distortion theorem. Some radius problems and relationship with other class are also solved. The results presented here would generalize many earlier work.


Abstract Within a period of a few weeks toward the end of the Allerød Interstadial, the major Plinian eruption of the Laacher See volcano produced some 20 km3 of eruptiva, covering and preserving the late-glacial landscape in the German Central Rhineland over an area of more than 1000 km2. Correlation of terrestrial archives with the Greenland ice-core records and improved calibration of the radiocarbon timescale permit a precise, accurate age determination of the Laacher See event some 200 yr before the onset of the Younger Dryas cold episode. Carbonized trees and botanical macrofossils preserved by Laacher See Tephra permit detailed regional paleoenvironmental reconstruction and show that open woodland were typical for the cool and humid hemiboreal climatic conditions during the late Allerød. This woodland provided the habitat for a large variety of animal species, documented at both paleontological and Final Paleolithic archeological sites preserved below Laacher See deposits. Of special interest are numerous animal tracks intercalated in Middle Laacher See deposits at the south of the Neuwied Basin. This knowledge may help to evaluate possible supraregional impacts of this volcanic event on northern hemispheric environment and climate during the late Allerød.


PURPOSE:To retard hydrolytic reaction at -COO- part by employing a solvent for electrolyte containing such compound as an electron attractive substituent is provided for at least one of hydrogen or vinyl group being bonded with the carbon of a lactone ring. CONSTITUTION:An electrolyte for driving an electrochemical element comprises a solute and a solvent wherein the solvent contains such compound as an electron attractive substituent is provided for at least one of R1-R6 in the formula (R1, R2, R4, R5, R6 represent hydrogen and R3 represents a vinyl group). Consequently, the hydrolytic reaction is retarded at the -COO-part of a lactone ring and the decomposition potential is elevated on the oxidation side of electrolyte resulting in an electrochemical element having long lifetime and excellent in withstand voltage.


To examine the management of intermediate‐ and high‐risk non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), particularly with regard to the use of bacillus Calmette‐Guérin (BCG) therapy, in North America and Europe. To compare NMIBC management practices to European Association of Urology (EAU) and American Urological Association (AUA) guideline recommendations for the management of intermediate‐ and high‐risk NMIBC.


Although the available influenza vaccines are generally safe, they are far from ideal. They have reduced efficacy in the most at risk groups: the very young and the elderly. To address such concerns, the vaccine industry is increasingly turning its attention to the use of adjuvants to enhance the immune responses generated by these vaccines. During the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza outbreak, an adjuvanted influenza vaccine was selected for administration to Canadians; it was formulated with the oil-in-water adjuvant AS03 and consisted of 1/4 the usual antigen dose of vaccine. This study investigated the immune responses generated following immunization with adjuvanted influenza vaccines in aged and young mice. We tested two ages of BALB/c mice (2 months, 1.4 years), two doses of Influenza A/Uruguay H3N2 split vaccine (0.75ug, 3ug), and two adjuvants (alhydrogel, AS03). The use of an adjuvant increased serum HAI titers compared to vaccination with unadjuvanted vaccine. We found no significant difference in using the high dose of vaccine antigen with both adjuvants. At the low dose of vaccine, the AS03 adjuvant gave significantly higher HAI titers in both age groups. Finally, aged mice given a low dose of the AS03-adjuvanted split vaccine showed significantly lower HAI titers than young mice. We are identifying additional differences between the immune responses of young and aged mice with an overall goal to be able to design more effective vaccines, especially for the elderly.


This study was carried out to investigate the mechanism of analgesic and anesthetic activity of xylazine. Radioimmunoassay was used to measure the change of beta-endorphin(β-Ep) in the blood, hypothalamus and pituitary gland when xylazine was given. The rats were assigned to 3 groups and treated as follows: saline control, analgesic groups(25 mg/kg), anesthetic groups(55 mg/kg). The blood β-Ep level of analgesic groups and anesthetic groups increased significantly at 5 min (P0.01) , reached the top level at 30 min (P0.01), and then decreased gradually until 90 min (analgesic groups, P0.01) or 120 min (anesthetic groups, P0.01). But the highest level in hypothalamus and pituitary gland occured 15 min prior to the top level in blood. In the different dose-treated groups, the level of β-Ep in blood, hypothalamus and pituitary gland increased with the dose given correlatively (P0.01). It is inferred that xylazine may enhance the synthesis and excretion of beta-endorphin in hypothalamus and pituitary gland.


We present a recognition system that incrementally generates neural networks to solve the problem of error caused by sample distribution overlap among categories. The first stage neural network performs the easiest task which is to separate mostly nonoverlapping distributions, and leaves the difficult tasks such as separating overlapped distributions to the neural network(s) generated in the following stage(s). The new system improves its performance by assigning tasks to neural networks according to the degree of task difficulty and forms a specialized neural network. The new system achieves higher performance for the recognition of distorted Kanji patterns than the traditional neural networks which consist of only one neural network. The ability of the system to eliminate overlapped distributions is confirmed by analyzing the output distribution of the hidden units.<<ETX>>


In this paper, we study the local behavior of nonnegative solutions of fractional semilinear equations (−∆)u = u with an isolated singularity, where σ ∈ (0, 1) and n n−2σ < p < n+2σ n−2σ . We first use blow up method and a Liouville type theorem to derive an upper bound. Then we establish a monotonicity formula and a sufficient condition for removable singularity to give a classification of the isolated singularities. When σ = 1, this classification result has been proved by Gidas and Spruck (Comm. Pure Appl. Math. 34: 525-598, 1981). Mathematics Subject Classification (2010): 35B09; 35B40; 35J70; 35R11


We introduce a new method (to be referred to as the variational method, VM) for estimating the parameters of Gibbs distributions with random variables ("spins") taking values in a Euclidean space Rn, n > 1, from complete or degraded data. The method applies also to the case of iid random variables governed by exponential families, and appears to be new even in this case. For complete data, the VM is computationally more efficient than, and as reliable as, the maximum pseudo-likelihood method. For incomplete data, the VM leads to an estimation procedure reminiscent of, but simpler than, the EM algorithm. In the former case, we show that under natural assumptions a certain form of the variational estimators is strongly consistent and asymptotically normal. We also present numerical experiments that demonstrate the computational efficiency and accuracy of the variational estimators.


In recent years the foreign language education in Kazakhstan has been undergoing drastic changes connected with the state policy on the tri-unity of the Kazakh, Russian and English languages, on the one hand, and the internationalization of the national educational system as a whole, on the other. The process of changes in the higher education of the country is linked with serious challenges. This paper is aimed at identifying the most common of these challenges and offering the possible ways to tackle them. The detailed analysis of the state regulatory documents on education, as well as personal teaching experience and class observations, have made it possible to reduce the major problems to the three areas. The first is the underestimation of the importance of an EFL program in university curricula and teaching, limited resources for efficient teaching and learning, and insufficient university administration support. The second area has to do with the quality of the EFL teacher training and the professionalism of the EFL teachers. The third domain deals with a lack of interaction and cooperation among the EFL faculty involved in the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of EFL education in the country. The paper presents the results of the research conducted in a number of technical universities of Kazakhstan, which help to define the strengths and weaknesses of the EFL faculty and to find the ways to enhance the former and minimize the latter. All that will contribute to achieve a higher level of EFL proficiency nationwide.


Abstract The promise and excitement that once permeated neurosurgery have yielded too often to an easy acceptance of the status quo that can be traced to a poorly ordered system of neurosurgical education. Current neurosurgical training programs contain 662 trainees, of whom 22 per cent are sponsored by the Educational Council for Foreign Medical Graduates. Most trainees are later capable of generalized practice at a standardized level; few are directed into neurosurgical subspecialties or neurosurgical research which will lead to neurosurgical progress. The development of 95 training programs can be linked in part to the service needs of the teaching institutions rather than to the eventual clinical needs of society. Although neurosurgeons in the United States perform "a total of five to six major operations a month," training programs have failed to limit the number of trainees. Neurosurgical educators — supported by medical schools, educational councils and surgical societies —must develop new systems ...


The utility model discloses an electronic atomization plant with an easily changed atomization core. The electronic atomization plant comprises a suction nozzle, an oil cup component, an atomization core component arranged in the oil cup component, and an electrode component electrically connected with the atomization core component, the atomization core component comprises an atomization core body, a heating wire bracket with a first step part, an oil leakage preventing seal ring and an electrode connecting piece, the heating wire bracket supports the atomization core body, the oil leakage preventing seal ring sleeves the atomization core body and is in tight contact with the first step part of the heating wire bracket, the electrode connecting piece is connected with one end of the heating wire bracket through an insulated ring, the oil cup component comprises an oil cup body part, a first connecting part and a second connecting part, a gas guide tube is arranged in the oil cup body, a second step part is arranged in the second connecting part, and the atomization core component is located between the second connecting part and the electrode component. The electronic atomization plant has the advantages that the atomization core component is easily changed, so that the contact between a power supply device and the atomization core component is excellent, and an unblocked circuit is guaranteed.


This study investigated the effect of experiential learning strategy on biology students' academic achievement in Dutsin-Ma L.G.A. of Katsina State. The study employed a quasi-experimental research design. The population for the study comprised 718 Senior Secondary II biology students. Simple random sampling technique was used in selecting two schools in Dutsin-Ma LGA. Two intact classes were selected from the two schools. One intact class represented the experimental group (N=38) while the other intact class represented the control group (N=31.)The experimental group was taught using experiential Learning Strategy while the control group was exposed to traditional lecture method of teaching. The instrument for data collection was Biology Achievement Test (BAT) validated by experts with reliability coefficient of 0.63. The data was analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test. The result revealed that the Experiential Learning Strategy is superior to the traditional Lecture method in facilitating student's achievement in biology. The study also revealed that males showed higher achievement than females, and the difference in the mean achievement was statistically significant. The researcher recommended that experiential Learning strategy be adopted in senior secondary schools because it enhances academic achievement.


Political clientelism in Southern Italy has shown great persistence and capacity for conditioning the entire Italian political development. Accounting for these characteristics, clientelism is better understood as the product of the incomplete capitalistic rationalization of the Southern economy. Throughout the 19th century in Sicily, the feudo remained the basis of the economic and social structure, while in the continental South the feudal system disintegrated more quickly and widely. The resulting different models of social relationships within the Mezzogiorno, make it meaningful for our purposes to distinguish between two types of clientele, which may be termed clientela mafiosa and Neopolitan clientele.

The second part of the article is concerned with the dynamics of the clientelistic system in post-1945 Southern Italy and more generally with the relationship between clientelism and political development. The transition from the clientelism of the notables to political party-directed patronage is studied both at the local level and in the context of the whole South. It is then argued that clientelism is a very poor tool for political development since it has two effects on the social structure and the political process: these effects will be called disorganic integration and exclusivism.


The second campaign offieldwork at the site of the theater at Tell Farama (ancient Pelusium) was carried out between July and August 5, 2004. 1 The work was generally a continuation of the first season's efforts, focusing particularly on the orchestra area. The latter was greatly aided by the cleaning of a big part of the structure, carried out in the spring season by Dr. Ahmed Taba'ifrom the SCA. Further trenches were located in the western and northern parts of the monument, exploring respectively the entrance to the theater parodos and the area between the scenae frons and the pulpitum {Fig. 1}.


The invention discloses a planar otter board packing type crossflow super-gravity rotating packed bed, as well as the application thereof. The rotating packed bed comprises a rotating packed bed shell, a motor and a rotating shaft; the rotating shaft positioned in the shell is of a hollow structure, the middle of the rotating shaft is inserted with a middle water pipe with an opening, the water pipe is provided with a liquid inlet, and small holes are distributed on the rotating shaft. Planar otter boards are fixed on the rotating shaft, and are horizontally arranged, and axial distances are kept among the otter boards. The planar otter board packing type crossflow rotating packed bed can achieve the mass transfer and the heat transfer between gas and liquid, and improved dust removal efficiency, and can avoid the high loss of gas resistance , so as to obtain higher heat transfer and mass transfer coefficients and higher dust removal efficiency under the lower gas resistance, thereby having the value of being widely spread and applied in the industry.


The emergence of next-generation latency-critical applications places strict requirements on network latency and stability. Edge cloud, an instantiated paradigm for edge computing, is gaining more and more attention due to its benefits of low latency. In this work, we make an in-depth investigation into the network QoS, especially end-to-end latency, at both spatial and temporal dimensions on a nationwide edge computing platform. Through the measurements, we collect a multi-variable large-scale real-world dataset on latency. We then quantify how the spatial-temporal factors affect the end-to-end latency, and verified the predictability of end-to-end latency. The results reveal the limitation of centralized clouds and illustrate how could edge clouds provide low and stable latency. Our results also point out that existing edge clouds merely increase the density of servers and ignore spatial-temporal factors, so they still suffer from high latency and fluctuations. Based on the observations, we propose a robust prototype edge cloud model based on lessons we learn from the measurement and evaluate its performance in the production environment. The further evaluation result shows that edge clouds achieve 84.1% latency reduction with 0.5ms latency fluctuation and 73.3% QoS improvement compared with the centralized clouds.


In a two-tier heterogeneous network (HetNet) where small base stations (SBSs) coexist with macro base stations (MBSs), the SBSs may suffer significant performance degradation due to the inter- and intra-tier interferences. Introducing cognition into the SBSs through the spectrum sensing (e.g., carrier sensing) capability helps them detecting the interference sources and avoiding them via opportunistic access to orthogonal channels. In this paper, we use stochastic geometry to model and analyze the performance of two cases of cognitive SBSs in a multichannel environment, namely, the semi-cognitive case and the full-cognitive case. In the semi-cognitive case, the SBSs are only aware of the interference from the MBSs, hence, only inter-tier interference is minimized. On the other hand, in the full-cognitive case, the SBSs access the spectrum via a contention resolution process, hence, both the intra- and intertier interferences are minimized, but at the expense of reduced spectrum access opportunities. We quantify the performance gain in outage probability obtained by introducing cognition into the small cell tier for both the cases. We will focus on a special type of SBSs called the femto access points (FAPs) and also capture the effect of different admission control policies, namely, the open-access and closed-access policies. We show that a semi-cognitive SBS always outperforms a full-cognitive SBS and that there exists an optimal spectrum sensing threshold for the cognitive SBSs which can be obtained via the analytical framework presented in this paper.


This study proposing a research framework of the relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), Export Market Orientation (EMO), Business Network (BNO) and SME export performance in Pakistan. This framework developed based on extensive literature. There are few studies have attempted to investigate the combined effect of EO, EMO and BNO in a framework with SME export performance, especially in the context of Pakistan. Literature failed to find the consistency relationship between EO, EMO, BNO and SME export performance. This study delivers useful information and adds knowledge to the literature pointing to increase their business performance.


A number of grasses have been identified, which are highly preferred and consumed by the herbivorous fauna, in the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and other wildlife reserves of North Bengal. On the contrary, the famous alluvial "Savannah" grasslands of this region have been found declining due to various interwoven factors. However, it has been found that, the larger varieties of grasses such as Agrostis brachiata, Anthistiria gigantea var. arundinacea, Capillipedium assimile, Centotheca lappacea, Cymbopogon pendulens, Ischaemum aristatum sub. Sp. imberbe Hack., Panicum flvescence, Rottboelia exaltata, Saccharum arundinaceum var ciliaris, S. bengalensis, S. spontaneum L., Setaria palmifolia etc., which are having underground,enormous, drought resistant rhizomes, are very suitable for plantation purposes and restoration of grasslands. The Savannah of Eastern sub-Himalayas, have been found to be of mixed type of vegetation from ecological point of view and therefore, mixed plantations have been recommended. Alternated patches of tree plantation with Dillenia pentagyna, Eugenia jambolana, Ficus sp. Etc., are advisable. A copious growth of dicotyledonous weeds have been detected which should be eradicated to protect these invaluable Savannah grasslands.


an opportunity to confront the general issue of trade union objectives and methods. Rather, the study is confined to a detailed, blow-by-blow account of personal and political intrigue as the key personalities and organizations went about their task of rescuing Italian labour from communism, or attempting to forge alternative alliances. This is something of a pity. There is an obvious paradox in the fact that the leaders of a union movement supposedly committed to 'pure and simple' economic activity have devoted considerable time and resources to covert international political skulduggery in the name of free unionism. The author might therefore have taken the study further, and reflected upon the importance of his work in the general context of the American model of trade unionism-best exemplified in the work of Selig Perlman. He may then have been able to consider whether points of distinction between political and economic models of unionism are generally too caricatured to be relevant.. In short, this is a valuable and scholarly study, and the author should feel proud of his achievement. Nevertheless, it stops short of making a profound contribution to union theory. University of Melbourne RICHARD MITCHELL


No French novelist of the nineteenth century, with the possible exception of Balzac, exercised a more important and pervasive influence upon the development of the English novel than did Gustave Flaubert. George, Moore, George Gissing, Henry James, R. L. Stevenson, Joseph Conrad, Arnold Bennett, Somerset Maugham—all these, together with many minor figures, were inspired by Flaubert's ideals of patient observation, stylistic precision and rhythm, and impassive objectivity. For all this, Flaubert had to wait long for any sort of recognition from the English public and critics; and when such recognition came it was strongly mingled with resentment and abuse. It was not until the middle of the last decade of the century that admiration for his achievements attained any degree of unanimity. In this article, I propose to review the course of his English reception up to the close of the Victorian period.


16. ABSTRACT In the next decade many of the busy urban freeways will be undergoing major repairs. In the past, routine repairs were often carried out over night hours, or weekends, but this may no longer be feasible because the pavement of many of these urban arteries has exceed their design life and needs major reconstruction. Construction work during commuting hours could be quite common in the years to come. Both Caltrans and the traveling public want to know how different types of closures affect traffic and the environment, and how to cope with such closures. Three construction plans for Fix I-5, a 36-day directional closure plan, a 110-day A+B plan, and a 195day lane closure plan were evaluated for their traffic and environmental impact using a state-of-the-art dynamic work zone traffic analysis tool, NetZone, and extensive traffic data collected in a related previous project. It was found that the directional closure plan did not significantly increase the daily peak delay than the other two laneclosure plans in the Fix I-5 case, because drivers made good use of ample alternative routes in the area. Furthermore, all three plans produced slightly higher/lower emissions (<2%) for most pollutant types and consumed slightly more/less fuel (<2%) on a daily basis as compared with the base scenario (i.e., no construction). Considered for the whole project duration, the 36-day directional closure plan is more preferable because the total delay cost was 80% less than the traditional 195-day plan, $21M compared to $109M. The A+B plan is still preferable to the 195-day plan with more than 50% less total delay cost than the 195-day plan, $47.5M compared to $109M. However, it should be cautioned that directional closure should be used only when there is reasonable number of alternative routes to divert traffic to. 17. KEY WORDS


I will present evidence that nature does not optimize in the sense of Fermat's principle of least time, contrary to what Schoemaker's unintentionally ambiguous exposition might suggest. First, Huygens' principle, an alternative nonteleological account of Snell's law, is outlined. Second, I confront Fermat's principle with a substantive conceptual problem. Schoemaker (1991) uses Fermat's principle of least time, which derives Snell's law of the refraction of light, to shed light on the difference between teleological and causal theories. Indeed, to focus on the science of physics in exploring metascientific principles, such as optimality, is a plausible strategy, given that understanding in the area of physics has proceeded to a point where more than plausibility can be appealed to. It is all the more important, however, to be as clear as possible in the interpretation of the results obtained. In that respect, Schoemaker's exposition of Fermat's principle – if we accept for the sake of argument that extremum and optimality principles can be fruitfully examined in parallel – is likely to generate misunderstanding as to the "reality" of optimality. Although Schoemaker grants that "physics, the most sophisticated of the optimality sciences, has the fewest a priori arguments in its [optimality's] favor" (p. 208), who would care, as long as such principles help us achieve "excellent numerical results for otherwise intractable problems" (Schoemaker 1991, p. 206)? (The latter remark was not directly applied to Fermat's principle but to Hamilton's law, which is taken to be a generalization of Fermat's principle among others [p. 206]). (Cf. Bookstein's [1991, pp. 216ff] commentary on Hamilton's law.) Historically, however, Fermat's principle has been rivaled by Huygens's wave theory of light, which in 1678, only 13 years after Fermat's death, likewise derived Snell's law. Huygens' Principle (for the following, cf. Sears et al. 1976) is a geometrical method for constructing the shape of a wave front at t9 from the shape of a wave front at an earlier point t. Consider Figure 1 on the following page. At t, AA9 is our wave front. Crucially, any point on AA9 can be taken to give rise to a secondary wavelet spreading in all directions. Thus, infinitely many circles (of radius n) can be drawn off AA9 to reach the new wave front BB9. BB9 is the surface tangent to the secondary wavelets, called envelope. How to interpret the inner portions of the wavelets need not concern us here. Snell's law of the refraction of light follows. Consider Figure 2. X is the surface between two transparent media, a and b. AA9 is our incoming wave front of light. A9 is chosen so that the circle of the secondary wavelet of magnitude v1t emanating from A9 will cut the surface at B9, AA9, and A9B9, forming a right angle. A is a point on X, and B lies at a distance of v2t from A. We derive the relation between Q1, the angle of incidence, and Q2, the angle of refraction, via the respective sinus functions: sinQ1 5 v1t/AB9, and sinQ2 5 v2t/AB9, which gives us v1t/sinQ1 5 v2t/sinQ2, hence sinQ1/sinQ2 5 v1/v2 or sinQ1 5 v1sinQ2/v2 that is, the formulation of Fermat's principle (Schoemaker 1991, p. 209). Obviously, Huygens' principle is not an optimality principle. The concept of least time is not invoked. Therefore, my first conclusion is that whatever we consider to be a plausible theory of light, we are not justified in taking the "intractability" of Snell's law to favor Fermat's principle. A second area of potential misunderstanding is Feynman et al.'s (1964) discussion of Fermat's principle, which Schoemaker adduces. Thus, light decides which is the shortest time, or the extreme one and chooses the path. But what does it do, how does it find out? Does it smell the nearby paths, and check them against each other? The answer is, yes, it does, in a way. (Schoemaker 1991, p. 209) Here, I would like to concentrate on what it means that quantum theory gives "considerable justification" (Schoemaker 1991, p. 209) to Fermat's principle. "Fermat was ingenious to have formulated a principle that accords so well with a deeper reality that was unrecognized at the time" (p. 209). A weak interpretation of justification, the one intended, I think, by Schoemaker, would be that Fermat's principle provided a useful heuristic. However, Feynman's further remarks, referring to "people who do not like BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2003) 26, 779–783 Printed in the United States of America © 2004 Cambridge University Press 0140-525X/04 $12.50 779 Continuing Commentary Commentary on P. J. H. Schoemaker (1991). The quest for optimality: A positive heuristic of science? BBS 14(2):205–215. Abstract of the original target article: This paper examines the strengths and weaknesses of one of science's most pervasive and flex-of the original target article: This paper examines the strengths and weaknesses of one of science's most pervasive and flexible metaprinciples; optimality is used to explain utility maximization in economics, least effort principles in physics, entropy in chemistry, and survival of the fittest in biology. Fermat's principle of least time involves both teleological and causal considerations, two distinct modes of explanation resting on poorly understood psychological perspectives. The rationality heuristic in economics provides an example from social science of the potential biases arising from the extreme flexibility of optimality considerations, including selective search for confirming evidence, ex post rationalization, and the confusion of prediction with explanation. Commentators are asked to reflect on the extent to which optimality is (1) an organizing principle of nature, (2) a set of relatively unconnected techniques of science, (3) a normative principle for rational choice and social organization, (4) a metaphysical way of looking at the world, or (5) something else still.


Mung bean starch (MBS) is very attractive owing to high amylose content. Often the desired functional characteristic cannot be achieved by using a native starch. The synthesis, optimization, characterization and property of oxidized hydroxypropyl mung bean starch (OHMBS) was studied using propylene oxide as an etherified agent, sodium hypochlorite as an oxidant in this article. The best technology conditions for preparing the OHMBS were as follows: reaction temperature 40C, reaction time 2 h, pH 9. The oxidization improved the freeze-thaw stability of MBS, and increased the blue value of MBS. The hydroxypropylation reduced the blue value of MBS. The hydroxypropylation and oxidization all increased the viscosity stability of the MBS, and changed the thermal stability and melting process of MBS. The introduction of the hydroxypropyl groups into MBS molecules was not in favor of the retrogradation. The retrogradation of OHMBS was in between OMBS and MBS. The onset temperature and peak temperature of OHMBS were intermediate between HMBS and MBS. The end temperature and melting enthalpy of OHMBS were higher than those of HMBS and MBS. The hydroxypropylation could not change basically the crystalline structure of MBS, but the oxidization could destroy the crystalline structure of MBS.

Practical Applications

The oxidized hydroxypropyl mung bean starch has the better combination properties compared with the MBS, and are widely used in many industries. For example, OHMBS, as a food additive, is well applied for food products such as a salad cream, a dough conditioner for the bread and a sealing agent in the confectionaries, etc. In paper industry, it can be used as a sizing agent and a coating agent, which will enhance the tension of the paper, improve the strength of the paper surface and printing function. It is also used as an emulsifier, as a replacer of arabic gum and a binding agent in the batter application.


Polar codes are recursive general concatenated codes. This property motivates a recursive formalization of the known decoding algorithms: Successive Cancellation, Successive Cancellation with Lists and Belief Propagation. This description allows an easy development of the first two algorithms for arbitrary polarizing kernels. Hardware architectures for these decoding algorithms are also described in a recursive way, both for Arikan's standard polar codes and for arbitrary polarizing kernels.


Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is an attractive semiconductor oxide compound due to its good stability properties both in chemical and photochemical. TiO2 in the form of nanofibers offers many advantages such as high surface area, flexibility of structures and mechanical properties such as stiffness and tensile strength. In this study, we reported the synthesis of TiO2 nanofibers using electrospinning technique. TiO2 nanofibers were produced from titanium (IV) iso-propoxide precursor solution at different applied voltages of 10 kV and 12 kV, while the flowrate was kept constant at 0.7 ml/hours during the process. The electrospinning process produced a thin layer of nanofibers which was then calcined for 1 hour at different calcination temperature. Based on the SEM images, we found that at applied voltage of 12 kV uniform and continuous nanofibers had already formed with the average diameter of nanofibers was in the order of sub microns. The diffraction pattern of TiO2 nanofibers shows that at a calcination temperature of 450°C, the phase was dominated by the anatase phase, while at 500°C it has a combination of anatase and rutile phases. Based on UV-Vis spectroscopy, it was found that the energy gap of TiO2 nanofibers calcined at temperature of 450°C and 500°C were 3.32 eV and 3.22 eV, respectively.


n nature, microorganisms rarely exist as monocultures, but live in communities with other microbes. These communities play an important role in the biosphere, primarily in recycling biologically important elements. All the essential biochemical cycles of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur are mediated by communities of microorganisms. Consequently, understanding what microbes in a natural environment are doing, rather than simply which microbes are present, is important to understanding their role within ecosystems. Analytical techniques developed in the last decade offer insights into the nature of these important ecosytem components. Microbial communities include viruses, eubacteria, archaebacteria, fungi, protozoa, micrometazoa, and algae (Margulis et al. 1986). The communities exist throughout the biosphere and even occupy such extreme environments as boiling-hot springs (Brock 1978); the deep sea at high hydrostatic pressure (ca. 1200 atmospheres; Jannasch and Taylor 1984); the cold deserts of Antarctica in the pore spaces of sandstone (Friedmann 1982); deep subsurface Analytical techniques developed in the last decade offer insights into these important


Moringa oleifera, an edible tree found worldwide in the dry tropics, is increasingly being used as nutritional supplementation. Loss of nutrients can be induced by a number of factors. Obviously, losses of vitamins depend on cooking time, temperature, and cooking method. In this study the effect of temperature on vitamin A, vitamin C and protein content of moringa leave was investigated. Fresh samples of Moringa leaves were collected, sorted, dried using two different drying methods viz; oven drying and sun drying methods. The dried plant samples were ground using clean laboratory blender, the powdered plant samples were analysed separately for their protein, vitamin A and vitamin C constituents using appropriate methods. The nutritional content of the moringa oleifera leaves show variation with different drying condition. Drying temperature of 60°C gave the best drying temperature.


Algae over-prosperous(algal blooms) will produce a lot of organic matter and result serious harm,but the role of bacterioplankton in the process of decomposition of organic matter has not yet been sufficiently studied.In the present study,chlorophyll a,different forms of nitrogen and phosphorus concentration distribution in Lake Miaohu were investigated systematically from April to August in 2010.The different forms of bacterial abundance and diversity(for the characterization of the DGGE profiles of DNA) as well as its relationships with activities of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes were also analyzed.The results showed chlorophyll a and total phosphorus concentrations had a highly significant positive correlation in Lake Miaohu,meanwhile chlorophyll a concentrations exceeded 120 μg /L in April and July.During the interval of algal blooms,the abundance of free-living bacteria significantly increased(1.39 × 106-2.72 × 107 ind./mL),whereas attached bacteria kept their quantities in a certain level(7.77 × 105-4.49 × 106 ind./mL).In the early stage of water bloom declines,free-living bacteria and attached bacteria had similar community structure;somehow the differentiation between their community structures gradually came to a significantly varying degree over time.In addition,the abundance of attached bacteria had positive significant correlation directly or indirectly with the activities of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes,therefore,attached bacteria have a more important role in the decomposition of organic detritus from algal blooms.


As development of laser technology, the characteristic of laser atmospheric propagation is always hot spot in laser domain. Using theoretical models of laser atmospheric propagation, a simulation system is researched by implementing a scientific method of software development. This simulation system can simulate the radiate property of laser propagation in atmosphere, and demonstrate the course of laser propagation. This theoretical model of atmospheric propagation is based on Lambert-Beer law, combined with other classic theoretical model such as Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering. Multiple scattering theories are used when simulating the laser propagation in smoke or fog. In calculation, the atmosphere is divided into layer. An appropriate model will be selected for calculation in each layer in order to enhance the stimulation precision. Lastly, the figure of light spot is drawn along with transmission space. Laser atmospheric propagation is demonstrated.


Sir, We thank Golden et al. for their commentary and are pleased to note they are in agreement with our main recommendation:, the establishment of guidelines for the conduct of bitemark analysis in Australia. We agree that the research involves relatively few participants; yet, as we discussed in the paper, this represents the majority of practicing odontologists in Australia. We find it difficult to see how random selection would be applied to this small population, as this technique is only properly utilized when a small sample is taken from a much larger group. Similarly, we cannot understand how the principle of blinding would be relevant to this research. We would also emphasize that grounded theory analysis of semistructured interviews of experts has been recognized as a qualitative method of study for some 30-plus years. Despite their concerns regarding our preconceptions influencing our results, we wish to point out that the very aim of the grounded theory approach is to let the data tell the story, rather than force data into a pre-existing hypothesis. The technique for ensuring that research biases do not affect the qualitative analysis is well described and was followed in this study in keeping with good methodological practice. Golden et al. further suggest that the definitions of "experience" in this study were flawed. We do not dispute that there are other methods of qualifying expertise, however to do so based solely on the number of cases proceeding to court would first result in an even smaller pool of interviewees from which to draw data, and second, would not accurately reflect the population of odontologists who are asked to give opinions on bitemark cases in this country. As our earlier study demonstrated (1), the vast majority of bitemark casework in Australia does not proceed to trial. This however does not mean that odontologists are not actively involved in assessing and analyzing such evidence in many cases that never appear in court. While no research is without flaws, in the absence of any similar studies from the much larger population of odontologists present in the United States, we hope that our work at least offers some suggestions and opportunities for continued research in this field.


Compared to the extensive research focussing on cognitive vulnerability factors underlying the onset and maintenance of major depressive disorder, studies investigating dysfunctional processing of emotional information in bipolar depression remain scarce. Therefore, this experimental study examined the nature and time course of attentional biases for emotional information in depressive patients with bipolar disorder. Fourteen currently depressed patients with Bipolar I Disorder (BD) and 14 nondepressed control participants (NC), matched for age, gender and education level, performed an emotional modification of the spatial cueing task. Cues consisted of angry, positive and neutral facial expressions presented for 200 and 1,000 ms. BD patients showed an enhanced cue validity effect for angry faces and had more difficulties in disengaging attention away from angry as well as happy facial expressions compared to NC participants, who conversely demonstrated a «protective bias» away from negative information. This pattern of differential attentional processing was only found within the early stage of information processing at a presentation duration of 200 ms. These results provide evidence for deficits at the early stages of attentive processing of emotional information in depressed bipolar patients compared to healthy controls.


Presently, the most common method of measuring the surface vibration of a fluid‐loaded structure is through the use of accelerometers mounted on the surface. When the surface of the structure consists of a low‐density, compliant material it is necessary to use small, low‐mass accelerometers to avoid mass loading of the surface. There are a variety of commercially available, low‐mass accelerometers all of which have low sensitivities. For high‐frequency measurements the low sensitivities are not a major problem and the accelerometers are generally acceptable. However, at low frequency, where the acceleration is small, the signal‐to‐noise ratio obtained with the low‐sensitivity accelerometers is generally unacceptable. To address the problem of making low‐frequency measurements of the vibration of a submerged compliant surface the Underwater Sound Reference Detachment of the Naval Research Laboratory has developed a class of neutrally buoyant capacitive displacement sensors. The dynamic mass of these sensor...


TO THE EDITOR: We appreciate very much the comments of Drs. van Houwelingen and Langewouters (3), who bring many years' experience to the discussion of pulse contour analysis (PCA) estimation of cardiac output. As they note, the continuous blood pressure device used on the International Space Station does not have built-in calibration capabilities; this is a major methodological limitation. Contrary to speculation though, placement of the finger cuffs by the astronauts in our experiment was not uncontrolled. The lead author viewed the finger waveform in real time, compared these to the finger waveform for that individual astronaut during preflight baseline testing, and requested repositioning when there were deviations. We agree that the mathematical model of aortic impedance required by the PCA might not be valid in spaceflight. We recently observed increased arterial stiffness (2), and arterial walls have greater intima-media thickness (1) while in space. These changes in wall structure could affect the calculation during PCA, but the predicted direction is actually opposite to observations. That is, with the elevated cardiac output (by rebreathing), one would anticipate a larger finger pulse wave. Calibration against no change or possible reductions in brachial artery blood pressure would not correct our observations. Indeed, a "younger" aorta is required in the PCA model to match the blood pressure waveform to the measured cardiac output. Cardiac output can vary between normal breathing and a rebreathing cardiac output measurement period. However, we did report PCA-derived data during the rebreathing period as well as the data shown in Fig. 2, which were obtained immediately before rebreathing. There was no difference. Even with the expert input of Drs. van Houwelingen and Langewouters, we do not believe we have isolated a cause for the deviation in responses of the finger arterial pressure analyzed by PCA and the rebreathing estimates. The increased cardiac output during spaceflight must go somewhere, the highly compliant splanchnic vascular bed, which can tolerate large variations in flow, is currently the best explanation. This remains an important issue to be resolved for future applications of technology to cardiovascular health during spaceflight.


The learning activities carried out in grade IV A and IV B elementary school in Bekasi were monotonous and teacher centered. It was marked by students who received only material without interaction with both teacher and peer, lack of courage in expressing opinions, asking questions, and answered questions so that student didn't engage during learning. The research aims to see whether there is an impact on the active learning strategy, a type, a flip book with the activation of the study of grade IV student science. It employs a quantitative approach with a type of experimental quasi. The design used on this research is a non equivalent control group. Random samples were taken. The samples is students IV A and IV B at SDN Tridayasakti 03 with a total of 56. The instruments used are pretest and posttest of multiple choice, observation, and documentation. The data analysis consisted of normality test (shapiro wilk), homogeneity (fisher), and hypothesis (independent samples t-test) of a degree of  = 0,05. The results of the hypothesis testing are obtained  7,112  1,683 and sig. (2-tailed) of 0,000 0,05 then  is rejected and  is accepted. This it can be concluded that the influence of active learning strategies is a typical, flip book type help against the science activation of the study the IV class of science students


Interest in the connection between infections and acute myocardial infarction is growing. Noting that cardiovascular deaths are more common in winter than in summer, investigators from Boston University Medical Center used population-based general practice data from the …