A precise self-adaptive multi-peak detection algorithm is proposed in this paper, which is used to process the spectral signal of the distributed fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor systems. The wavelet threshold de-noising method is used to process the original spectral signal, and the Hilbert transform and the Gabor filtering method are introduced for self-adaptive segmentation of the peak region of the multi-peak spectrum. Taking the asymmetric characteristics of spectral peak into consideration, the shift of each peak is determined by the left and right half-peak areas. In addition, the exponentially modified Gaussian function is designed to modify the peak position. The experiments and simulation results show that the proposed algorithm performs better than the traditional algorithms in detection precision and stability for the multi-peak spectral signal. This implies that the proposed algorithm provides a precise demodulation algorithm for the distributed FBG sensor network, and the multi-peak position can be achieved adaptively.


A full wave solution of the propagation and resonant absorption of lower‐hybrid waves in an inhomogeneous plasma using the cold plasma model is carried out and compared with results obtained in an infinite homogeneous plasma medium. It is found that the density gradient coupled to finite poloidal model number allows the lower‐hybrid wave to reach the hybrid layer for the case of purely perpendicular propagation. Such a wave is evanescent in the infinite homogeneous plasma. The analysis also shows that, for the cold plasma model, roughly equal amounts of energy are absorbed by the ions and electrons in the resonant layer. The analysis may have some bearing on the experimental efforts to propagate lower‐hybrid waves into the interior of tokamak plasmas.


Diabetic retinopathy is one of the major complications that affect the eye of the diabetic patient. This is a condition where high sugar levels in the blood damage the blood vessels in the retina and even lead to partial or whole blindness. There are no mild symptoms at the beginning stage, so it is quite hard to find. But if it is not treated initially it severely impacts the vision and sometimes leads to impaired vision. Most diabetic patients are not aware of this condition, and it leads to Severe vision impairment. Diabetic retinopathy requires early diagnosis; otherwise, it paved the way for various ophthalmic problems. Deep learning is one of the booming methodologies nowadays for predicting and diagnosing diseases because of their algorithms which are based on the structure of the human brain. We can find the result of high accuracy for predicting diabetic retinopathy at the initial stage to prevent the patients from suffering from vision loss using deep learning algorithms. "Good health and well-being" is one of the goals of sustainable development, which include targets like 'Reducing mortality from non-communicable diseases. So, this project uses a highly advanced deep convolutional neural network which concatenates the Xception and ResNet50v2 architecture to train and test the data sets of various diabetic patient's eye images to predict diabetic retinopathy at an early stage and diagnose it initially to prevent the patients from further sufferings.


On the circle of radius $R$ centred at the origin, consider a ``thin'' sector about the fixed line $y = \alpha x$ with edges given by the lines $y = (\alpha \pm \epsilon) x$, where $\epsilon = \epsilon_R \rightarrow 0$ as $ R \to \infty $. We establish an asymptotic count for $S_{\alpha}(\epsilon,R)$, the number of integer lattice points lying in such a sector. Our results depend both on the decay rate of $\epsilon$ and on the rationality/irrationality type of $\alpha$. In particular, we demonstrate that if $\alpha$ is Diophantine, then $S_{\alpha}(\epsilon,R)$ is asymptotic to the area of the sector, so long as $\epsilon R^{t} \rightarrow \infty$ for some $ t<2 $.


A. BlackmanIn-Jeong Kim, Emilio Flano, David L. Woodland and Marciahttp://www.jimmunol.org/content/168/8/3958doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.168.8.3958J Immunol€2002; 168:3958-3964; ;Referenceshttp://www.jimmunol.org/content/168/8/3958.full#ref-list-1This article cites 51 articles, 36 of which you can access for free at: Subscriptionshttp://jimmunol.org/subscriptionsInformation about subscribing to The Journal of Immunology is online at: Permissionshttp://www.aai.org/ji/copyright.htmlSubmit copyright permission requests at: Email Alertshttp://jimmunol.org/cgi/alerts/etocReceive free email-alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up at:


The aim of this work was to model a four-port waveguide as a simple circuit,by first starting with a two-port then a three-port waveguide. Duethat the work was based on Nathan Marcuvitz book Wavegu ...


Preface: angiomatous nasal type polyps (SAP ‒ sinonasal angiomatous polyp) are benign lesions. The clinical and radiological picture of SAP may suggest other diseases of the nose and paranasal sinuses. Diagnostic imaging is based on computed tomography and magnetic resonance. SAP treatment involves their surgical removal.
 A case report: he aim of the study is to present diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties in a 17-year-old female patient with an inflammatory polyposis of the angiomatous of the paranasal sinuses. The course of disease, diagnostic difficulties and its treatment are presented. No complications were observed during hospitalization and in the postoperative period.
 Summary: SAP is one of the types of nasal polyps characterized in the histological picture of vascular proliferation with the presence of blood clots. Accurate diagnostic and histological diagnostics allow to determine the final diagnosis and differentiation of SAP with nasal and sinus hyperplasia.


In 10 children with altogether 17 malformed thumbs radiography revealed true triphalangism in 13 of the thumbs and pseudotriphalangism in the remaining 4. Two varieties of triphalangism were distinguished, and clinically significant morphologic variation was recognized also in pseudotriphalangism.


The creation of stable high-yielding varieties of winter wheat, resistant to environmental stress factors and having economic and valuable properties, is currently an important trend in breeding. In this regard, scientific work on the allocation of valuable sources of winter wheat varieties for breeding purposes was carried out in the conditions of ISA-branch of FGBNU FSC VIM in 2016-2018 in the collection nursery. As a standard, a zoned variety of winter wheat Angelina was used. The article presents the results of the study of 19 varieties of yield and its stability, winter hardiness, coarse grain, resistance to lodging and diseases. Selected valuable for a number of features varieties - sources for use in breeding programs to increase the values of individual parameters. On the basis of the conducted researches it was established that the highest resistance to stress, the stability index and the minimum value of the magnitude of the yield have variety Pleada and Mera. With the highest rates of PUSS stood out varieties Lutica - 160,2 %, Pleada - 153,2 %, Mera - 145.5 %. The earing phase of the samples selected by us in different years occurred 2-12 days earlier than that of the standard variety. Moreover, all the selected samples were characterized by high winter hardiness and resistance to lodging. The bulk of the selected varieties belonged to the group of stunted plants. The bulk of the varieties in the experiment formed a large grain of more than 40 g. The analysis of diseases of the selected varieties showed their resistance to fungal diseases.


Since the establishment of Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, there are more than 3,400 listed companies in China, but there are not a few companies delisting due to various problems every year. The research shows that the lack of effective internal control of listed companies is the deep-seated reason for their delisting. Once there are problems in the company's internal control, it will be difficult for the company's business activities to be effectively supervised, and the safety of assets will not be guaranteed. Good internal control is an important link for listed companies to seek sustainable and stable development and achieve business objectives. As an essential part of modern company management, internal control also plays an important role in improving company management level and business performance. *ST Bao Qian is a typical case of failure of internal control and lack of supervision and management of enterprise operation, which has been suspended from listing and is in a precarious state. Taking*ST Bao Qian as an example, based on the internal control theory, this paper deeply explores the internal control problems of *ST Bao Qian and analyzes their causes, and then gives some improvement suggestions, in order to improve the internal control problems of *ST Bao Qian and provide suggestions for other companies.


In the class of scalar type spectral operators in a complex Banach space, a characterization of the generators of analytic C0-semigroups in terms of the analytic vectors of the operators is found.


The research discusses the relationship between the loss of the native land of the native Americans and the loss of the values of motherhood represented by the character of Fleur, the heroine of Tracks .The loss of her rich land of timber and other valuable herbs which is considered as a source of personal pride as well as a source of food as a result of the unjust laws of the government of the United States, forces Fleur to abandon her only child believing that her loss of home\land is a loss of all the other values especially ,motherhood which is connected with the land. The fracture which happens in the relationship of mother\child results in a cultural alienation especially on the part of the child who begins to scorn and hate her mother and refuses to call her "mother". A lot of native children become like this child because they have lost the natural connections with their mothers which results in a great change in the real, traditional meaning of "motherhood", as a result this generation have lost part of its cultural and social heritage and begun to live in a state of alienation or no belonging. ذاتسلأا – ددعلا ) ٢٠٣ ( ةـــــــــــــــنسل ١٤٣٣ ةيرجه ٢٠١٢ ةيدلايم ... The land, the Mother, and the Crisis of Identity in Louise Erdrich's Tracks ٩٩ The land, the Mother, and the Crisis of Identity in Louise Erdrich's Tracks The interrelatedness between the Indian land and motherhood is inseparable in the novel of the native American writer Louise Erdrich(b.1954-) , Tracks. This novel shows very vehemently the impact of the loss of land on the fragmentation of tribal and family systems in the Indian society in general, and on the long lasting relationship between mothers and children in particular. The land, in this respect, is fundamental for identity and belonging. The displacement caused by the loss of the land causes another displacement on the mothering level. Having lost their ancestral or tribal land, mothers were forced to abandon their children due to their inability to sustain them either psychologically or economically. It seems that the loss of Native land comes to represent the loss of the traditional natural home of the Indian people which results in changing the prevailing traditional values. Although most of Erdrich's novels shed light on the devastation of motherhood which is accepted as an inevitable doom, it is only Tracks that tries to investigate the reasons behind this corruption or change that overcomes this sacred relation between mother and child and its association with the loss of the land. I argue that Tracks demonstrates that the loss of the land becomes the epitome for the change in the traditional concepts of home and motherhood that the research tries to show. Tracks icance of Land in The Signif Tracks which is "lauded as Erdrich's most 'Indian' novel in respect to both historical and tribal issues" ( Wilson, p.17) focuses on the story of the loss of a Chippewa mother's land, Fleur, and her desperate attempts to save it. By losing it, Fleur suffers a spiritual and psychological alienation which estranges her from her family and husband leading to abandonment of her daughter, Lulu. Consequently, Fleur suffers the loss of her previous Indian identity and she becomes an outcast. In a sub-plot, Tracks also presents the story of Pauline, who undergoes the atrocities of being a mixed blood woman and whose family has lost their land and as a result their clan. Because she has neither land nor a clan, Pauline attaches herself to the whites in an attempt to gain selfrespect and consequently an identity. Having lost her sense of motherhood, she abandons her child (Marie) because she does not want the latter to connect her with a community that deals with her as an outsider. To put the novel in perspective, Tracks (1988) is the third novel published in a four-novel sequence which includes Love Medicine (1984), The Beet Queen ذاتسلأا – ددعلا ) ٢٠٣ ( ةـــــــــــــــنسل ١٤٣٣ ةيرجه ٢٠١٢ ةيدلايم ... The land, the Mother, and the Crisis of Identity in Louise Erdrich's Tracks ١٠٠ (1986), and The Bingo Palace (1994). In an interview with Louise Erdrich and her husband Michael Dorris who collaborates with her in writing these novels, Dorris states" Tracks was the first one to have the finished draft, but it will be the third one to be published" ( Coltelli, p.51). later on , he says " Tracks, which is the third book, takes the older characters in both Love Medicine and The Beet Queen a generation back into a traditional time"( Ibid, p.43). So, it seems that the novel talks about a certain "traditional" time, life, or even a history that might never return, for after that particular time (1912-1924 which the novel covers) many familial, social and cultural values have changed due to the final loss of the native land which has been usurped by the government of the Unites States of America. Tracks shows how the same tribe comes to divide among itself between those who are " tribal loyalist" like Fleur who does not believe in selling the land and " mixed blood progressives" like some natives called the Morrisseys and Lazarres who believe that their only opportunity of survival rests in selling their ancestral land (Wilson,p.28). Although, Pauline does not have land but, she could be counted on the "progressives" in her attitude towards her native heritage. Because of its "traditionalism", Tracks becomes the only one among Erdrich's novels which establishes the traditional notions of home in its relation with the native land. It portrays people still settle in their ancestral land before losing it. While her other novels depict other notion(s) of home based on the eventual loss of the land and the relocation and assimilation of the Native people. The novel puts a a certain tribe or clan under inspection, it is Fleur Pillegar's tribe called the Ojibwe or Chippewa and also the Anishinaabe ( Erdrich herself belongs to this tribe) and their struggle to survive the hardships of the final loss of their Native land .The Anishinaabe people and Native people in general depended on their land in providing food and shelter. At the same time, land represents for them a spiritual legacy, a well of beliefs and legends. So, there is a very strong bond between them and their land. Indian people believe that they were born from the womb of the Mother Earth, "a natural bonding begins within the misty, generative womb of Mother Earth...The spiritual bond is likened to an attachment to Mother Earth as one sits within her warm womb"( McGaa, p.62). As land becomes fundamental to their world, losing the land makes that world crumble. So, Tracks could be read as a record of" the end of the world as the Anishinaabe had known it" ( Gross,p.1, italics added ).As the novel portrays the striping of the " last" fertile land( the Pillegars' rich land of timber)by Euro-american timber companies. The word "last" is well emphasized by Erdrich's narrator, Nanapush, who repeats the word ذاتسلأا – ددعلا ) ٢٠٣ ( ةـــــــــــــــنسل ١٤٣٣ ةيرجه ٢٠١٢ ةيدلايم ... The land, the Mother, and the Crisis of Identity in Louise Erdrich's Tracks ١٠١ while telling Fleur's daughter the story of her mother and tribe : I saw the passing of times you will never know. I guided the [last] buffalo hunt. I saw the [last] bear shot. I trapped the [last] heaver with a pelt of more than two year's growth. I spoke aloud the words of the government treaty, and refused to sign the settlement papers that would take away our woods and lake. I axed the [ last] birch that was older than I, and I saved the[ last] Pillagers. ( Tracks,p. 2,emphasis added) As the above quotation shows, Erdrich uses old Nanapush to take the place of the Native mother who tells the stories of the past to her children which is a very traditional practice. He begins the story by telling Lulu about the death of his tribe, in general and his own family in particular, because one of the diseases that the contact with the Whites brings to them, namely, consumption:" We started dying before the snow, and like the snow, we continued to fall"( p. 1). It is the same sickness that kills Fleur's family. He tells Lulu the story of her mother, Fleur, whom the young woman seems to refuse to acknowledge or even " call mother"(Tracks, P.2) . Nanapush wants to put the girl in a certain historical perspective that will enable her to understand the reasons behind her mother's abandonment of her. At the same time, he wants to make her find a connection with that " traditional time" which links her with her ancestors ,in other words, " to learn about that history". He tells her: Granddaughter, you are the child of the invisible, the ones who disappeared , when, along with the first bitter punishment of early winter, a new sickness swept down. The consumption it was called...Whole families of your relatives lay ill and helpless in its breath on the reservation, where we were forced close together, the clans dwindled. Our tribe unraveled like a coarse rope , frayed at either end as the old and new among were taken. (pp.1-2) It seems that the young woman has no knowledge of these events and it becomes Nanapush's responsibility to prepare her to acknowledge the importance of her land and understanding her mother's position in an attempt to retain her prior Indian identity. After the loss of Fleur's ذاتسلأا – ددعلا ) ٢٠٣ ( ةـــــــــــــــنسل ١٤٣٣ ةيرجه ٢٠١٢ ةيدلايم ... The land, the Mother, and the Crisis of Identity in Louise Erdrich's Tracks ١٠٢ land, Lulu is sent to a government school due to her mother's abandonment of her, and thus she becomes accustomed to the White culture, When she comes back many years later, Nanapush could hardly recognize her: Your braids were cut, your hair in a thick ragged bowl, and your dress was shabby and smoldering orange, a shameful color like a half-doused flame, visible for miles...The dress was tight, too small, s training across your shoulders...( Tracks ,p. 22 ) To strengthen


In this paper, the statistical characteristics of complex networks are introduced, and basic four kinds of models of complex networks are analyzed. Based on the theory of complex network, it is carried out about the research on the three networks such as road network, bus network and track network in urban transportation system. The topological characteristics of the networks in urban transportation system are accordingly illustrated. The complex network theory for three kinds of network research is discussed according to the topological characteristics from dynamic analysis with two aspects. Finally, the research difficulties and direction are presented.


ABSTRACT Evidence suggests teachers, intentionally and unintentionally, perpetuate racist practices in the classroom affecting students' grades, engagement, opportunities, and mental health. Over time these collective experiences result in generational academic trauma. Within educational settings, school counselors (SCs) work in a myriad of ways to dismantle racist practices. One of the primary tasks of SCs is to promote whole-student wellness by providing equitable opportunities for all students to develop academically, socially, emotionally, and in postsecondary planning. However, it is unreasonable to expect students to flourish in these areas if educational staff, specifically teachers, do not embody, model, and promote culturally affirming social and emotional wellness. Centered in educator SEL, authors propose an integrated and culturally-affirming teacher/school counselor consultation model in which SCs work collaboratively with teachers to champion equity and student success.


This paper examines the problem of determining the statistical significance of an observed spatial distribution vis-a-vis a simulated pattern of the "Hagerstrand type." It is argued that the sampling distribution for a Hagerstrand type simulator is multinomial. The diffusion model considered is logically equivalent to a multinomial experiment with independent assignment of adoptions to areal cells according to a probability distribution that remains fixed for a given time interval. Conventional tests for goodness of multinomial fit are thus appropriate.


Letter from P. Harris to Charles A. Prince discussing the completion of Bills of Sale for the Defense Plant Corporation.


Book Title: Securing Peace: State-Building and Economic Development in Post-Conflict Countries Book Authors:  Richard Krozul-Wright and Piergiuseppe Fortunato (Eds.) Bloomsbury Academic, Published in Association with the United Nations, 2011, x+226 pp.


The title compounds are prepared from the elements by arc-melting and characterized by powder and single crystal XRD, 89Y solid state NMR spectroscopy, and DFT calculations.


An apparatus and a method for performing a paging in a wireless communications system are provided to perform a paging task about a terminal composing P2P network through a representative terminal in the wireless communication system. A base station(200) performs a communication with terminals(210,220,230,240) included in a service area through a cellular network. The terminals perform communication with the base station the cellular network. The terminals perform the communications through the P2P network. Paring with the base station is performed through the representative terminal by designating the representative terminal.


The Friction Riveting (FricRiveting) technique is a new alternative spot joining process developed for polymer-metal hybrid structures. In the technique, a cylindrical metallic rivet is used to join one or more thermoplastic-metal components by means of plasticizing and deforming the tip of the rotating rivet through frictional heating. Advantages of this new technique are short joining cycles, minimal sample preparation, absence of environmental emissions and simple operability. Friction riveted joints have enhanced mechanical performance. This study demonstrates the feasibility of FricRiveting by analyzing a case-study joint on polyetherimide / aluminum alloys. Sound joints on polyetherimide/aluminum 2024-T351 with elevated mechanical strength (up to 93% of the rivet strength) were successfully produced and characterized in terms of microstructure (light optical and scanning microscopy and computer microtomography).


About a century ago, doctors were unable to view the inside of their patient's body other than cutting the body open. However, this changed literally upon the invention of various useful medical imaging techniques, which were able to produce images of the internal organs and bones without causing pain to the patient. Over the years, vast developments resulted in the establishment of several cross-sectional imaging scans. This paper aims to provide a critical review on the use of two of the famous techniques; CT and PET scans. The paper highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each of these techniques along with briefly mentioning the recent developments in this area concerning the use of these techniques. In addition, this manuscript also sheds some light on the novel and hybrid technology of integrating CT and PET.


The Virginia Electric and Power Company (Vepco) first looked at prestressed concrete in 1963 during the construction of the Chesapeake Bay BridgeTunnel. The trestle part of this crossing is made of 54-in. O.D. post-tensioned concrete cylinder piles supporting prestressed concrete roadway sections. Subsequently, Vepco had a 5.1 mile, 115 kv transmission line crossing of Albemarle Sound which was designed and built with rectangular base single circuit steel towers supported by two 54-in. O.D. post-tensioned concrete cylinder piles topped with a precast concrete H-cap. In 1965, upon examination of possible alternatives, a three mile transmission line crossing of Currituck Sound was designed on prestressed concrete poles. Several cross sections for the prestressed concrete poles were considered during the preliminary design work: tapered rectangular, tapered I, and tapered cross. Because the I-section offered the combined advantages of much lower weight and savings in erection costs, it was selected even though the forming cost was greater than for the other shapes. The pole was designed, based on weather bureau records, to withstand an ultimate load of a 165 MPH wind. The ruling span was established at 1500 ft. The crossarms, which are also concrete, were designed for a dead load of conductor weight plus 1⁄2-in, radial ice. The pole, designed by Vepco, was built and load tested by Bayshore Concrete Products Corporation of Cape Charles, Virginia. Twelve of these poles were erected across Currituck Sound, alongside the new Wright Memorial Bridge concrete structure built at the same time to serve North Carolina's Nags Head and Kitty Hawk coastal areas. Next, a tapered square, statically cast, prestressed concrete pole was selected for use. This particular shape required a 140-ft. form that had a constant taper and was fabricated in 10-ft. sections to permit the manufacture of poles of various Iengths and cross sections. This form was not a self-stressing form; it had to be used in a regular stressing bed.


Despite the fact that traffic engineering techniques have been comprehensively utilized in the past to enhance the performance of communication networks, the distinctive characteristics of Software Defined Networking (SDN) demand new traffic engineering techniques for better traffic control and management. Considering the behavior of traffic, large flows normally carry out transfers of large blocks of data and are naturally packet latency insensitive. However, small flows are often latency-sensitive. Without intelligent traffic engineering, these small flows may be blocked in the same queue behind megabytes of file transfer traffic. So it is very important to identify large flows for different applications. In the scope of this paper, we present an approach to detect large flows in real-time without even a short delay. After the detection of large flows, the next problem is how to control these large flows effectively and prevent network jam. In order to address this issue, we propose an approach in which when the controller is enabled, the large flow is mitigated the moment it hits the predefined threshold value in the control application. This real-time detection, marking, and controlling of large flows will assure an optimize usage of an overall network.


Thiamine enhances growth of the meat spoilage organism, Brochothrix thermosphacta. It fulfils some, but not all, of the yeast-extract requirement of this organism. Oxythiamine acts as a growth inhibitor at high concentrations and the inhibition is readily reversed by thiamine. The possible roles of thiamine in the metabolism of Br. thermosphacta are discussed.


Heparin‐binding epidermal growth factor (EGF)‐like growth factor (HB‐EGF) is a member of the EGF family growth factors, which affects multiple aspects of the wound healing process such as epithelialization, wound contraction and angiogenesis. In our study, we measured the serum HB‐EGF levels of 51 systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients, which showed a significant increase compared with those of 20 normal subjects. Further analysis revealed a positive correlation between the HB‐EGF level and pulmonary ground‐glass score but no correlation between the former and pulmonary fibrosis score. Other findings include: a significant increase of serum sialylated carbohydrate antigen KL‐6 levels and significant shortness of disease duration in the diffuse cutaneous SSc patients with elevated HB‐EGF levels; and significantly higher HB‐EGF levels in the presence of Raynaud's phenomenon, in that of telangiectasia, and in the absence of contracture of phalanges in all SSc patients. We then evaluated HB‐EGF mRNA levels of fibroblasts harvested from skin samples of the SSc patients and those of foreskin‐derived fibroblasts treated with transforming growth factor‐β, both of which were significantly higher than each control. In conclusion, we speculate that HB‐EGF plays a pro‐inflammatory role in the active skin and lung lesions of SSc.


Abstract This study employs a systemic functional critical discourse analytical approach to the analysis of integrated theistic worldview of Pakistani social media users. To achieve its end, the study focuses on legitimation strategies, where these strategies serve to construct certain truth claims of the people. So, three thousand comments (comprising 8,401 words and 90,423 words) from online discussion forums of Dawn.com and Zemtv.com were studied and discourse samples were collected for in-depth analysis. The legitimation strategies, it is argued, are condensed and interpersonally charged through certain lexico-grammatical choices which embody people's integrated theistic worldviews. The identity(ies) and identification claims of Pakistanis are found to be internally cohesive, based on theistic legitimation claims. To represent, legitimize and justify their worldviews, Pakistani social media users recontextualize discourses constructed from various combinations of discursive strategies, supported by references to Islamic scripture and popular narratives. The study is a prelude to a more detailed investigation of discursive strategies which represent (de)legitimized worldview and discourses internalized by Pakistani Muslims. Such studies provide deeper insights into (de)construction of (de)legitimation strategies of a society and facilitate further development of systemic functional critical discourse analytical approaches to text and context relations.


The effects of the constant errors, anticipation and habituation, on measurement of visual fields was investigated in 79 Ss. Visual fields were measured using 8 arc positions on a radius perimeter. On all arc positions, especially in the inferior arc positions, the peripheral threshold means, based on inward movement of the stimulus object, were larger (indicative of a larger field) than those based on outward movements. Peripheral threshold measurement, as conducted in this study, was seen to possess high reliability.


At least 24 clinical commissioning groups across England are paying private companies to screen referrals from GPs to specialist care, The BMJ has found.

The BMJ 's investigation found that two fifths of CCGs that responded to its requests for information use a referral management system of some kind,1 despite previous evidence casting doubt on the effectiveness of such systems.2

The analysis—the first to track the number of referral management schemes in operation since CCGs were established in 2013—comes afte r The BMJ recently reported details of North Durham CCG's decision to …


This study reviews the changes in the relationships between political parties and social organisations over time as well as the accompanying research questions (and answers) over time. The focus of our research was on the relationship between the Christian network of organisations and the Christian Democratie Party from the mid seventies until now. The political parties were built on the major cleavages that divided Belgium society and the links between each organisationai network (pillar) and its political party were exclusive, stable, and formal (structural) until the eighties. At the outset of their research on pillarisation, sociologists of religion were surprised by the paradoxical situation that the Catholic network of organisations and 'their' political party flourished during the seventies despite an increasing secularisation of all aspects of life, Several explanations were offered for this paradox: mutual interests, organisationai ties, individual preferences, and a typical collective consciousness or identity, The latter, the so-called 'socio-cultural Christianity', was seen as a secular adaptation to a new cultural reality that was capable of integrating the 'cultural Christians'. At the end of the eighties, pillarization was increasingly criticized by both politicians and sociologists. Pillarization was seen as distasteful because of a number of dysfunctions for the political system. This criticism culminated in the first 'Manifesto of the Citizen' (Verhofstadt) that appeared after the 1991 General Elections. In the nineties, the political scene changed drastically. The links between social organisations are now unstable, informal and more diffuse than in the seventies. Unstable voting is one of the remarkable characteristics of this period. The networks of social organisations, now called 'civil society' ('middenveld'), are highly praised as social Capital. Research is focused on the integrative functions of organisation membership and on the ways to measure this. Some directions for further research are proposed.


The title compound, C10H8O2·C12H8N4O, was crystallized from a methanol and water solvent mixture. In the crystal structure, both types of molecules are linked via intermolecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming one-dimensional chains along the [101] direction.


The aim of the article is to analyze, study and enhance the system of sub-level caving of ore and enclosing rocks at "Rodina" underground mine (PJSC "Kryvbaszalizrudkom") that mines rich iron ores at over 1300 m depths. Deep mining of ore deposits results in increased rock pressure and, consequently, increased requirements to stability of exposures of stopes and compensation rooms. For this reason, when designing stoping at great depths, stability of compensation room crowns is paid considerable attention to. Also, insufficient stability of compensation room crowns results in damage to integrity of deep boreholes drilled over compensation rooms for breaking main reserves of the block and, consequently, in increased output of oversize pieces when breaking. This deteriorates drawing and extraction of rich ores and results in increased costs of ore mining in the block and the underground mine as a whole. The suggested inclined shape of the crown of the compensation room is of increased stability as compared with horizontal exposures and reduces risks of unscheduled caving.


The present invention relates to an electrolysis of water to liberate hydrogen and oxygen electrolyzer device. Cell unit (125) having a disk portion (114) are arranged to overlap, the first form of anodes (90), a second form of sheet cathode cell (98) and the diaphragm (116). Conductive connecting rod (126-131) by the cell sheets (90,98) of the holes (100, 102) for selective electrical connection. Electrolyte and water supplied from the inlet (108, 110) into a flooded cell sheet (90,98). Diaphragm (116) to prevent hydrogen-oxygen mixture (98, 98) adjacent to the cathode and anode released, while allowing ions to flow through. By selectively adjusting the pressure in the water separator (116) on both sides / electrolytic solution, so that the release of the gas mixture through. The released gas is discharged from the outlet (104, 106).


Biofouling is the deposition and growth of micro and macro organisms on submerged surfaces. Fouling of ship hulls, navigational buoys, underwater equipment, seawater piping systems, industrial or municipal intakes, beach well structures, oil rigs and allied structures has often been reported. In the past few decades, the list of affected structures has expanded. Ships show a 10% higher fuel consumption caused by increased drag and frictional resistance resulting from hull and propeller fouling. Many marine organisms themselves face the constant problem of being colonized and overgrown by fouling organisms. Immobile plants and animals are generally exposed to biofouling and International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 08 (2019) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com


Digital technology, which appeared in the '80s and consolidated itself in the following decade with what was called the "third industrial revolution", has transformed not only our daily environment, but also the way in which we produce and experience the artistic work. Digital art, a subcategory of the so-named art of the new media, presents multiple forms and is in continual evolution, parallel to the devices which make it possible; but its commercialisation in the contemporary art market becomes complex, so digital works present a series of characteristics such as the paperless ofice, obsolescence and reproducibility which may be considered to be not particularly profitable by collectors.

Despite this, in recent months the sale of some digital artworks, to which numerous texts are referred to under the name of cryptoart, have increased notably, reaching figures in the millions for the first time in auction houses. The commercial success of these pieces is due to the fact that, together with the work's archive, they include a type of cryptographic certificate, the non- fungible-tokens or NFTs, which collect the the work's data and inscribe them in a blockchain; transforming a multiple and disseminated work into a digital item that is unique and traceable, whose property can be transmitted as one would do with any other object in the offline world. Although they favour in principle the creation and sale of digital art, NFTs present their own problems, especially related to their access, use and sustainability; are NFTs a permanent tool or only a method of fleeting speculation? How does this certification affect property and the author's rights? Is it possible and will it be sustainable to employ them as a strategy for the preservation of digital works?

This article carries out an analysis of the principal characteristics and problems of digital art in a general sense, as well as the solutions and preoccupations which the cryptographic certificates offer in all aspects in the life of a work of art: production, dissemination and preservation.


In answering the question as to what position was held by the Latin Empire in the Byzantine space, with regard to Asia Minor, this chapter focuses on the Empire of Nicaea and the Sultanate of Konya. It refers indirectly to the Byzantine state that was founded by Alexios I Komnenos - the so-called Empire of Trebizond. In the Balkans the authors devote attention to the Empire of Thessalonike, the Empire of Bulgaria, the Principality and subsequently Kingdom of Serbia, the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Russian Principalities. The chapter first examines whether the Latin emperors either subscribed to the foreign policy pursued by their predecessors prior to 1204 or opted for far-reaching innovations. Secondly, we ask ourselves how the neighbouring states looked upon the Latin Empire and to what extent they regarded this empire as the legitimate successor to the Byzantine Empire of pre-1204.Keywords: Asia Minor; Balkans; Byzantine space; Empire of Nicaea; Latin Empire; Sultanate of Konya


Russell offers a new schematization of Quaker history which will undoubtedly prove useful if not applied too rigidly. He recognizes the following grand divisions : (I) The Rise of the Society, 1647-1691, (II) The Age of Quietism, 1691-1827, and (III) The Revival and Reorganization of Quakerism, 1827-1941. Within each of these divisions he distinguishes several periods, each with its special characteristics. The period of Quaker beginnings has hitherto been the chief preoccupation of historians, and here Russell is content for the most part to rely upon the work of others, though not without


—In this paper, we present the form factor measurement in the virtual photon mass range 1 GeV < < 2 GeV in the process. Measurements are based on the data acquired by the SND detector at the VEPP-2000 collider in Novosibirsk. The obtained form factor is approximated in the vector meson dominance (VMD) model. The joint fitting of the form factor obtained in the SND and NA60 experiments is also performed.


The paper proposes wrapped staring spotlight SAR, a method to extend the azimuth steering capability for phased array SAR systems. Based on two TerraSAR-X (TSX) wrapped staring spotlight example acquisitions, the image performance of point and extended and targets is discussed. In the provided examples, the steering is extended until the gain of the grating lobes becomes much stronger than the gain into steering direction. By this, it becomes possible to improve the azimuth resolution by a factor of two when compared to that of the starring spotlight mode implemented in the operational TSX processing chain.


The N otre Dame A rm y ROTC b a tta lio n trudged through the woods and slept unde r the stars th is past weekend w h ile conducting their semi-annual field tra in  ing exercise. The field training, or FTX, is a m il i ta ry tra in in g event intended to prepare jun io rs fo r a leade rsh ip camp the summer before senior year. Over 80 cadets — freshman through juniors — and senior staff left Notre Dame at 1:30 p.m . F rid ay and re tu rn e d Sunday. Despite hold ing previous trainings in Fort Custer, Mich., th is yea r's batta lion kept it local in South Bend.


The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable attitude scale that could measure secondary school students' attitudes towards the Science-Technology-Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This study was conducted in 2017-2018 academic year with 2500 secondary school students studying in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades from fifteen (15) different secondary schools in ten different (10) provinces of seven (7) different regions of Turkey. The study is designed according to the scanning method which is a descriptive research method. When determining the sample of the research, stratified sampling method was taken into consideration. Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were performed to test the validity of the scale structure. KMO in EFA .919, and the Barlett's test χ2 value was found as 26236,010 (p <.001). As a result of CFA to determine the model fit of the scale, chi-square fit value of the factor structure consisting of 33 items and 6 sub-factors (χ ² = 4083.21, Sd = 480, p = 00) was found to be significant and the following was found RMSEA: .0548, RMR: .0486, SRMR: .0486, GFI: .902, AGFI: .885, IFI: .902, NFI: .890, NNFI: .892 and CFI: .902. Since all fit values are within acceptable limits, it is concluded that the six-factor structure of scale is a usable, valid model. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability analyzes were performed to determine the reliability of the scale. As a result, the Cronbach Alpha (α) internal consistency reliability value of the scale was found as 0.887 and the test-retest reliability value was found as 0.804. Based on this, the scale can be said to be highly reliable. It is concluded that the scale consisting of 33 items and six factors is a valid and reliable tool which determines middle school students' attitudes toward STEM.


Objective To compare the fidelity of digital and traditional preoperative planning with hard-copy templating for total hip replacement,and investigate the liability of digital planning in increasing the accuracy of intra-operative choice of component.Methods The preoperative radiographs of 40 cases who preformed THR from January 2005 to June 2006 were divided into two groups randomly.Preoperative planning was performed with digital templating and traditional one respectively.The present study included male and female patients with the average age of(50.1±12.9)years.The differences of sizes of implants,osteotomy line,leg length and offset were compared between the preoperative planning and intra-operative actual ones.Results The coincidences for choice of prosthesis size between the planning using digital one and actual one were better than those between the planning using traditional one and actual one(P0.05).70% of the cases planned with digital template got the same offset as the actual one,compared with 40% of those planned with traditional template.Significant difference of osteotomy line was found between preoperative plan performed with traditional template and actual one(P0.05),but not found for those with digital template.Conclusions Digital planning could increase the fidelity in choosing component sizes.Meanwhile,the exact coincidence of osteotomy line and offset between digital panning and intra-operative actual one illuminated that it was a useful guide which could help the operator to correct leg length discrepancy and offset.


The 1975 Tangshan (China) earthquake killed about 200,000 people. The 1994 Northridge, (USA) earthquake left 57 dead and about 8,700 injured. The country experienced around $42 billion in losses due to it. The 1995 earthquake in Kobe (Japan) caused about 6,000 fatalities and over $120 Billion in economic loss. The August 1996 Izmit (Turkey) earthquake killed 20,000 people and caused $12 billion in economic loss. The 1999 Chi-chi (Taiwan) earthquake caused an estimated $8 billion in loss. The 2006 Gujarat (India) earthquake saw around 18,000 fatalities and 330,000 demolished buildings [1]. The Sichuan (China) earthquake, on May 12th 2008 left 88,000 people dead or missing and nearly 400,000 injured. That earthquake damaged or destroyed millions of homes, leaving five million homeless. It also caused extensive damage to basic infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, roads and water systems. The event cost around $29 billion in direct loss alone [2]. The devastating earthquake of March 2011 with its resulting tsunami along the east coast of Japan is known to be the world's most costly earthquake. The World Bank estimated the cost at $235 billion while government estimates reported the number at $305 billion. The event left 8,700 dead and more than 13,000 missing [3].


This study aimed to evaluate the competitiveness of metropolitan region concerning physical indicators, economical indicators, and social & cultural indicators with the selected 31 criteria. This study are featured in the following terms; functional linkage between the core city and the periphery: the population size: the specialization of socioeconomic factors in metropolitan region. By applying a number of competitiveness-related indicators to domestic metropolitan region, the authors find significant policy implications. Competitiveness by cities, population size, metropolitan region are different. Especially, competitiveness by metropolitan region according to core cities role and periphery's role examined differently.


To obtain the effect of groove parameters on the formation of fragments,AUTODYN-3D was used to simulate the fragmenting of 50SiMnVB steel warhead.The effect of different groove-parameters on casing-fracture was compared and analyzed,and the model of the casing fracture was simplified.Fracture trace and fracture probability of external grooved casing were deduced,and proving experiment was carried out.Results show that external grooved technology is available for 50SiMnVB steel warhead,and the fracture begins from the groove root,and fracture mode is shear fracture.The deeper the groove depth and the wider the groove spacing,the higher the main fragment formation rate and mass ratio.The control efficiency of fragment increases.The probability of fracture followed fracture trace was obtained,and then a feasible method to choose groove parameters was given.


The first successful observation of radiative double electron capture for gas targets is reported. RDEC has been observed for 2.11 MeV/u F9+,8++N2, Ne collisions. Cross sections for both projectile charge states and targets were determined and compared with previous results and theory. This abstract gives an overview of the results found for both gas targets.


The aim of this paper is to study how the institutional environment affects the company liquidity pricing, and the research objects are listed companies. We study the objects comprehensively by theoretical derivation and apply the institutional environment into the model, which is set for the liquidity pricing problem of listed companies. Our findings indicate that changes of policies will promote the company liquidity price, and the wider range it changes, the higher prices will be. This case demonstrates that to improve the value of company's liquidity, we can continuously make the institutional environment better. This paper illustrates a systemic way of improving the value of incorporation liquidity, i.e. improving the institutional environment. Keywords-Institutional Environment; Company Liquidity Pricing; Impact of Random Liquidity; Value of Liquidity; Changes of Lolicy Chun-feng Wang (2010) does a further optimized disposal for relaxing the market assumption based on ACW model, i.e. companies can finance through equity and debt without consideration of external hedge risk, to explore the cash holding strategy which is applied by companies to respond to the liquidity hedge risk, based on no changes of liquidity preference [1]. They argue that if a market does not contain the system of external hedge risk, cash flowing from hedging will fluctuate smaller than that from no hedging behavior. From Liquidity Preference, optimal cash holding in the model should be more than that from ACW. They think ACW underestimates the optimal cash holding because it does not consider that companies with financing restrictions can't hedge the risk of future cash. Foucault and Fresard (2012) form a useful conclusion from in-depth analysis of the strategic incentive, which considers that advantages of holding a lot of cash will appear with rare cash flowing and high-criterion entrance to market [2]. Principal-agent Theory deems that fifth management layer has the motivation and shareholding co-operative system will be a common form of management for modern companies, in which managers are in charge of daily business and management; the board is responsible for making strategic plan. This causes agency problem due to the separation of ownership and management. The purposes of owners and managers are different while managers usually refuse to issue dividends and remain earnings for their own benefits. For the research of CEO's effect of complement incentive, Yixin Liu, David C Mauer (2011) show the positive correlation between CEO's risk tolerance (vega) and cash holding while shareholders have the opposite[3]. So their study further illustrates that creditors certainly expect that higher vega companies suffer more risk, which leads to addition of asset's liquidity. Yanchao Wang (2010) indicates in the study that root cause of cash holding is financing restriction and the existence of premium cash, which usually cause agency problem [4]. Marginal value of cash declines with gradual addition of premium cash. Using A-share companies in China as research objects, the study finds that add 1 unit cash, cash value will decline 0.82 commonly while ownership concentration changes 10%, marginal value of cash will increase 0.2185. Among the companies of which cash holding to assets ratio catches up to 10%, marginal value of private enterprises' cash ranks first; the enterprises directly under the central government rank the second and the last one are district companies. Studying in the nonfinancial listed companies in China, Boyan Liu and Liyan Han (2011 focus on the relations of financing restriction, uncertainty, corporation governance and corporate liquidity [5]. They find that corporation liquidity has a positive relationship with financing restriction, uncertainty and corporation liquidity, also the differences of them are huge. For example, the differences of corporation value are double between a corporation with financing restriction or not under 1-unit corporation liquidity. Bin Xi (2011) does a compressively research about affecting factors for the value of cash holdings [6]. Jian Liao (2011) applies the way of compound option pricing into research on the analysis of pricing for the incorporation liquidity [7]. Studying in the pricing analysis of Chinese equity open-ended funds liquidity, Si Sun (2012) also uses the way of option pricing[8]. Laurent Fresard and Carolina Salva (2010) study American multinational corporations and major in investigating behiviors and procedures whether companies' internal managers turn companies' cash into private benefits by transferring risk [9]. The result illustrates that benefits International Conference on Education, Management, Computer and Society (EMCS 2016) © 2016. The authors Published by Atlantis Press 452 from investment of premium cash in American multinational corporations are more, and the root because of it accounts for not only the information disclosure system and laws and regulations, but also the government's rigid informal supervision for listed companies in America. In this paper, we will study the problem in the way of analysis and framework from Tirole (2011). To study the incorporation liquidity pricing under the institutional environment, we put the system of obligation, property rights system and the companies' liquidity into sustained investment model and derivate it. Hypotheses are proposed as follows: Hypothesis 1: Borrower company has a project in stage 0 and needs investment I with company's own asset A (0 ) A I   , so it needs investment from external investors I A  , in which I and A can be cash or liquid securities. Hypothesis 2: After stage 0 but before stage1, the government adopts a policy  that is profitable and 0   , borrower company should be responsible totally for each unit investment cost ˆ( ) r  , and at this time, the success probability of project investment is p   . For convenience of derivation, it can be hypothesized that: / H a p   At this time, ˆ ˆ ( ) ( ) ( ) H r a r p a r    Hypothesis 3: the borrower company will face the random liquidity shock   in stage 1 and , L H   , i.e. the random liquidity shock can be divided into two kinds: lowly intensive random liquidity shock, at this time, L     ; the highly intensive random liquidity shock, at this time, H     . The random liquidity shock means that it is faced by the company under the unit investment. Hypothesis 4: The probability of the occurrence of lowly intensive random liquidity shock is L f , and the probability of the occurrence of highly intensive random liquidity shock is H f . What's more: 1 L H f f   Hypothesis 5: the borrower company will reserve current assets in stage 0 to respond to the random liquidity shock which may happen in stage 1. At the moment, each unit current asset can bring the marginal utility s , and , L H   , i.e. under the lowly intensive random liquidity shock, marginal utility of each unit liquidity is L s held by borrower company; under the highly intensive random liquidity shock, marginal utility of each unit liquidity is H s held by borrower company; Hypothesis 6: Under the lowly intensive random liquidity shock, and the borrower company can handle a situation with ease. So it has no demand for external liquidity, 1 L s  ; Under the highly intensive random liquidity shock, it cannot handle by itself, so it needs external liquidity, and at this time, 1 H s  . Hypothesis 7: Two kinds of companies called conventional and unconventional companies can be assumed for simplifying the model. For two kinds of companies, they both have 0 L   . Before government policy changes, expected certifiable income of project investment is 0  , and expected total income of project investment is 1  ; after government policy changes, expected certifiable income of project investment is 0 (1 ) a   , and expected total income of project investment is 1 (1 ) a   . Conventional companies demand liquidity when facing highly intensive random liquidity shock, i.e.: 0 1 0 (1 ) (1 ) L H a a           And for unconventional companies, it can supply liquidity when facing highly intensive random liquidity shock, i.e.: 0 1 0 (1 ) (1 ) L H a a           Because of the small proportion for unconventional companies, total liquidity is short when they face the highly intensive random liquidity shock. Hypothesis 8: Given that under no consideration of project's initial finance , borrower company's net earnings is y , and , L H   , i.e. net earnings under lowly intensive random liquidity shock is L y ; it is H y under highly intensive random liquidity shock. Hypothesis 9: For the finity of external investment, the condition as follows should be satisfied: 0 0 [(1 ) ] (1 ) 1 L L L f a f a         Under Tirole's framework of analysis, time sequence of actions is as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Time Sequence of Actions


OBJECTIVE: To study the drug resistance of pseudomonas aeruginosa so as to provide references for rational use of antibiotics in the clinic.METHODS: The clinical distribution and the susceptibility test results of pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from Beijing Tiantan Hospital in 2006 were analyzed retrospectively.RESULTS: The resistance rate of 334 strains to imipenem stood at 39.8%.The pseudomonas aeruginosa strains were mainly isolated from three important departments(neurological,respiratory and neurosurgery),the resistance rates to imipenem in the above three departments in descending order were as follows: department of respiratory(48.3%),department of neurological(40.2%),and neurosurgery(17.0%).CONCLUSION: The Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from Beijing Tiantan Hospital were highly resist to imipenem reduced and the strains isolated from different department varied in bacterial resistance,suggesting the drug resistance of antimicrobial surveillance should be emphasized in some key departments to keep the drug resistance under control.


Ubiquitous learning (u-learning) is a new educational paradigm that takes place in a ubiquitous computing environment and allows proper content for learning at convenient place and time, thus matching the student features and needs. The development of u-learning applications requires considering the user characteristics and necessities and the complex set with multiple ways of mobility, diverse mobile technology, diversity of carriers, and also the diversity of learning situations that might happen. The agent technology and the Semantic Web with ontologies offer efficient tools to manage this problem. On the other hand, the complexity inherent in this kind of application requires adequate strategies to manage the multiple components and interrelations. In this chapter, a model-based development approach is proposed to obtain a generic model of the system, and the architecture of it as a set of software agents. Elena B. Durán Departamento de Informática, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnologías, Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero, Argentina Margarita M. Álvarez Departamento de Informática, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnologías, Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero, Argentina Silvina I. Únzaga Departamento de Informática, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnologías, Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero, Argentina DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-4490-8.ch049


The Paper summarizes the terms of reference of the Joint Planning Study and describes the role of the transport work in the light of those terms. The objectives of the transport work are set out. The Paper considers the timetable of the study and the problems posed by it in relation to the availability of data upon which to found the transport analysis. Reference is made of the overall framework of evaluation used in the study. The framework of transport assessment is described and a comparison made between this framework and the original objectives. The models used to forecast traffic flows on the road and rail networks in the region are also described.


Perhaps it's no coincidence that former historian Jon Kingsdale, PhD, finds himself overseeing one of the most progressive healthcare initiatives in the country, the Massachusetts Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority. The Connector facilitates the purchase of health insurance for individuals and small businesses across New England.


HCV core induces loss of polarity and down-regulates SHIP2 and Dlg1 expression. SHIP2 and PtdIns(3,4)P2 are localized at the basolateral membrane of polarized cells. SHIP2 siRNA and its catalytically inactive mutant disrupt epithelial polarity, and SHIP2 rescues core-induced loss of polarity through RhoA activation.


Silk and wool fabrics have been dyed employing extract of seeds of annato (Bixa orellana) in absence and presence of magnesium sulphate, aluminium sulphate and ferrous sulphate. Colouration of both the fibres is found to be most effectively accomplished at pH 4.5 commonly in the absence and presence of such inorganic salts. Colour uptake for wool is found to be more than that for silk under all the conditions studied. The use of ferrous sulphate produces significant improvement in colour uptake when both the substrates are treated with such salt prior to application of annato. Coloured protein fibres, in general, produce light and wash fastness ratings of 2-3. Ferrous sulphate, however, improves colour fastness properties and colour retention on washing of wool and silk fibres.


Pyrene :p-benzoquinone (C16H 10:C6H4O2) crystallizes in the tetragonal system, with cell constants a = 7.698(2), c = 25.570(5) Å, space group P41 and four formula units per unit cell. The structure was solved by direct methods and refined to an R value of 0.048 for 778 observed reflexions. The pyrene and p-benzoquinone molecules are arranged alternately in mixed stacks, with interplanar spacing of 3.49 Å and an angle of 1.1° between molecular planes. The mixed stacks are arranged in sheets parallel to (001), successive sheets being related by the 41 axis. This type of arrangement of mixed stacks has not been encountered previously among π-molecular compounds. Neither the stacks nor their arrangement are centrosymmetric; as the component molecules are both centrosymmetric this constitutes a second unusual feature of this crystal structure.


Morality has been the social ideology for a long time.In fact,it has social functions as the social ideology in the class society.Morality possesses the culture,value,and practice features.The transformation of moral outlook has the great significance for the innovation of Chinese modern ethical perspective,methodology,and system.We believe that the scientific ethical method should be analysis,reflection,and innovation.It is essential to have the objective attitude toward realistic life.Chinese modern ethic should focus on the scientific attitude and methodology.


With the increasing applications of data-driven techniques in Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaking, outlier detection has drawn more attention than before. By removing outliers in EAF datasets, the performance of methods of process monitoring, process control, and system modeling can be improved. To overcome the drawback of single detection technique, several outlier ensembles have been proposed. However, structures of these outlier ensembles are fixed and only variance reduction is considered. From the perspective of bias-variance tradeoff, we can also construct outlier ensembles in terms of bias reduction to obtain stronger outlier ensembles. To this end, we propose an iterative outlier ensemble, in which heterogeneous base learners are used. By pruning the training set iteratively, we will obtain an effective ensemble since the influence of outliers has been alleviated. We apply the proposed outlier ensemble to EAF datasets to verify its performance. The experimental results have shown that our detection method outperforms other ensembles and single models in most cases.


Cloud computing revolutionized the information technology (IT) industry by offering dynamic and infinite scaling, on-demand resources and utility-oriented usage. However, recent changes in user traffic and requirements have exposed the shortcomings of cloud computing, particularly the inability to deliver real-time responses and handle massive surge in data volumes. Fog computing, that brings back partial computation load from the cloud to the edge devices, is envisioned to be the next big change in computing, and has the potential to address these challenges. Being a highly distributed, loosely coupled and still in the emerging phase, standardization, quality-of-service management and dynamic adaptability are the key challenges faced by fog computing research fraternity today. This article aims to address these issues by proposing a service-oriented middleware that leverages the convergence of cloud and fog computing along with software defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) to achieve the aforementioned goals. The proposed system, called "Software Defined Fog" (SDFog), abstracts connected entities as services and allows applications to orchestrate these services with end-to-end QoS requirements. A use-case showing the necessity of such a middleware has been presented to show the efficacy of the SDN-based QoS control over the Fog. This article aims at developing an integrated system to realize the software-defined control over fog infrastructure.


Editor's Note: Comforted that one out of five Americans believe in an "alternative" to Galileo's heliocentric theory and that a good majority of Americans believe that intelligent design is a theory "complementary" to Darwin's, officials at NCAAM have issued an RFP (Request for Proposal) for studies of intelligent design. Letters of Intent flooded in for the program, "Rigorous Test of Intelligent Design" (CAM//shaft AD 1632/1859). One example of such a Letter, written in NCCAM preferred style, has been submitted by Professor Bruce Cronstein of New York University School of Medicine. Prayer and spirituality for the benefit of health are relied upon by many Americans. NCCAM seeks to develop strategies to bring the most rigorous and detailed scientific approaches to studying these and other CAM practices so that we can understand the health impact that these practices


By and large extension organizations in developing countries have two major problems when it comes to having face-to-face contacts with the farmers and researchers: first, physical distances and the second, lack of transportation facilities. Information technology (IT) is already making headway in the area of rural and agricultural development. The phone-in technology can bypass these physical barriers to a great extent. The article explores the potential contribution of ICT to livelihood of farmers of various categories and efficiency of agricultural sector in India. Specific objectives of programmes are as: (i) Content analysis to understand the nature of farmers queries (ii) To understand the diverse social and economic issues arising out from this programme, and (iii) To classify the received phone-calls on states and districts-wise. It was found that this technology can give better results among well organized learning community in the form of farmers' associations, cooperatives, women's groups, etc. It is hoped that it may open up the existing limitations and will encourage every farmer to access the facility across the state boundary.


PRODUCING BOLLYWOOD: INSIDE THE CONTEMPORARY HINDI FILM INDUSTRY Tejaswini Ganti. Durham: Duke University Press, 2012, 440 pp.In recent years, Hindi popular cinema-or "Bol- lywood," as it is commonly known-has been the subject of a growing number of quality scholarly studies. Tejaswini Ganti's Produc- ing Bollywood: Inside the Contemporary Hindi Film Industry, an ethnography-based study examining how Bollywood evolved over the last two decades to become the global brand we know it as today, is a welcome addition to this corpus of literature. Drawing on a decade of participant-observation fieldwork, Ganti's study reveals how the neoliberal restructuring of Bombay's film industry has transformed the way films are made, as well as the kinds of films that are made, as the industry moves to satisfy the tastes of India's resident middle class and diaspora. Ganti's past work on Hindi cinema includes an ethnographic study of how the storylines of American films are adapted for Indian remakes and a classroom-ready intro- ductory guidebook to Bollywood. In Producing Bollywood, rather than pursuing the meaning of individual films through a study of their textual elements as some scholars might, the author has concentrated on how directors, producers, and others within Bombay's film industry see their work, their audiences, and the place of Bollywood within Indian and global society.The idea of studying how participants within a film industry view that industry may seem ambitious or unwieldy as a project, especially when the industry in question is one of the largest and most prolific of its kind in the world (and when, of necessity, to conduct such a study, the researcher must study "up" socially-study the thinking and desires of some of the richest and most sought-after entertainment figures in the world). To narrow the scope of her study and thereby overcome the first of these problems, Ganti opted for an inventive, if unlikely, solution: she would focus her research on the quite small roster of A-list Bollywood directors, stars, and other decision makers. Astonishingly, she was able to pull this approach off, and over the course of her field- work, she interviewed or observed many of the industry's elite at work, including the megastar Shah Rukh Khan, whom, she reports, she was able to interview "in a variety of locales, from . . . film sets to rehearsal halls, his car, and his home" (195).Over the book's nine chapters, Ganti elabo- rates on her basic premise-that since the early 1990s, the Hindi film industry has been restructured and gentrified "to conform to middle-class taste" (4)-from a range of van- tage points. With regard to the business side of filmmaking, she argues that over this period, production processes have been rationalized to reduce the financial risk associated with mak- ing films, and the industry has moved to purge itself of the influence of organized crime and unsavory tax-evading investors. At the same time, the industry has pressed for greater social respectability and has sought to be seen as "cool" by elite audiences. On this theme, Ganti delivers a captivating account of how, over roughly two decades, Hindi cinema has moved from being viewed as kitschy and low-brow by India's respectable "classes" to the position it occupies today-profitable, chic, attracting middle-class ticket buyers, and recognized by the Indian government as an engine for the nation's economic growth. As any viewer of recent Bollywood fare already knows, this drive for respectability is evident onscreen in a de- cline in film plots that focus on "class conflict, social injustice, and youthful rebellion" (79). Thus, whereas peasants, workers, or others of modest economic means were often the onscreen heroes in films from earlier times, within the gentrified Bollywood of today, these figures have been replaced by designer clothes- wearing, middle-class heroes. …


Recently, the Berkeley group reported the precise and excellent experimental result on the e+ spectrum end point in /1+ decay.') In order to get the lower limit for the possible heavier (righthanded) gauge boson mass M( Wz»380 GeV, they have used the following assumptions made by Beg, Budny, Mohapatra and Sirlin;Z) (i) the manifest left-right symmetry in the charged current sector, (ii) no mirror leptons, (iii) the CP invariance, (iv) the smallness of all neutrino masses (Ll j =(mjlmp)4{.l), m" being the f.I. mass. In this note, we shall reinterpret this Berkeley result from the viewpoint of the massive Majorana neutrino, and show the information which we can draw from this result for the case where the right-handed Majorana neutrino (Nn+k) has a quite large mass mn+kl m,,~ 1. Namely, the fourth assumption (Ll j 4{.l) is reexamined by taking into account the effect due to the neutrino mixing. In order to be self-contained, we shall start from the effective lepton-hadron weak interaction Hamiltonian to treat the 7[+ decay;


In this article, we compare four methods for constructing approximate confidence intervals on the among group variance component for the unbalanced one-way variance component model. A simulation study is conducted to compare the estimated coverage probabilities of these intervals. Two of these methods, the one by Park and Burdick [Park, D.J. and Burdick, R.K., 2003, Performance of confidence intervals in regression models with unbalanced one-fold nested error structures. Communications in Statistics Simulation and Computation, 32, 717–732.] and the one by Li and Li [Li, X., Li, G., 2005, Confidence intervals on sum of variance components with unbalanced designs. Communications in Statistics Theory and Methods, 34, 833–845.], appear to be the best in all cases considered.


A display order of the plurality of objects displayed on the screen, to ensure that the user can easily change. Icon column is displayed in the A on the screen. It is possible to change the order of the icons column using switch input means capable direction input. When the input of the first direction is, to scroll the display so that each object is successively located at a specific position, or scrolls the display so as to straddle the specific position. When the input of the second direction is, it retracts the object at a particular position to the retracted position, or is inserted into a specific position. .The 16


By means of novel volume-diameter aspect ratio diagrams, we ponder on the current conception of crater morphogenesis analyzing crater data from beam explosions, hypervelocity collisions and drop experiments and comparing them with crater data from three moons (the Moon, Callisto, and Ganymede) and from our own experimental results. The distinctive volume-diameter scaling laws we discovered make us to conclude that simple and complex craters in satellites and planets could have been formed by granular vs. granular collisions and that central peaks and domes in complex craters were formed by a dynamic confinement of part of the impacting projectile, rather than by the uplift of the target terrain. A granulometric analysis of asteroids and central peaks and domes inside complex craters, shows boulder size distributions consistent with our hypothesis that crater internal features are the remnants of granular impactors.


Groundwater plays an important role in shaping the economic and social health of urban and rural population throughout the globe, however the distribution of good quality groundwater is quite uneven. In many parts of the world, especially in the South and South-East Asian nations, manifold higher concentrations of arsenic (As) than the WHO permissible limit has been reported. Still it seems that the extent of the As contamination is not known completely, as in the case of North-Eastern Indian states where very limited studies has been conducted till date. A systematic study has thus been undertaken to assess the groundwater quality of Thoubal and Bishnupur district of Manipur. In total 26 water samples have been collected and analyzed for various elements, including the arsenic. More than 45 % of collected water samples have shown As concentrations well above the permissible limit (10μg/L) prescribed by WHO for drinking water. The highest concentration of arsenic (535μg/L) has been reported from Ngangkha Lawai Mamang Leikai area of Bishnupur district which is fifty fold higher than the WHO limit and tenfold higher than the Indian permissible limit (50μg/L) of As in drinking water. The study indicates that these two districts are severely affected by as contamination in the groundwater.


This work aims to reflect on the configuration of an algorithm, updated with the recent regulatory reforms undertaken in our air sector, that allows those interested in exploring this modal to develop the capacity to constitute and organize an airline taxi company according to the requirements of the Brazilian civil aviation authority. The requirements and terms used in the regulations are often not easily understood and enforced. Thus, in addition to providing an accessible interpretation, clarifying topics that contain unfamiliar terms for people who are not intimate with this topic, it is intended to expose details and situations that are not addressed in Brazilian civil aviation legislation. This paper describes the phases and sequences of the certification process, its requirements and difficulties, especially the most significant ones, such as the personnel requirements and production of the manuals, whose purpose is to guide all the operations intended by the company, within the standards established by Brazilian civil aviation regulations. Also, details are described regarding the main sectors, essential for the opening of the company, its operation and maintenance. Therefore, in order to achieve this work, a descriptive-explanatory methodology was constructed based on the elaboration of a roadmap that would allow those interested in exploring the air sector to obtain certification of an aerial taxi company, along with Brazilian civil aviation authority. Thus, this monograph covers a wide range of issues related to the certification of a public air transport company in the air taxi mode, as well as what is necessary for its continuity.


My argument here is that the rules have changed far more than is commonly thought. The central fact of contemporary world politics, and the central dilemma of US security policy toward Russia, is the rise of the "new tribalism"--the weakening of existing states and the transfer of people's loyalties to narrower, "tribal" groups. This combination of relatively weak states and strong tribes creates a security situation fundamentally different from that of the Cold War, a situation in which the old paradigms of realpolitik and economic integration are obsolete. The greatest current threat to European stability is the rise of violent dissident tribalism within states, and the greatest threat of war involves the problem of fighting between states and tribes. Weaker states leave more room for non-governmental institutions to operate, often destructively, as Cossacks or gangsters provide "security" while "mafias" replace lawful businesses.


Thin film iron oxides prepared by a new pyrolisis technique are studied by means of CEM spectroscopy and Faraday rotation measurements. It is shown that Fe 3 O 4 spinel oxides are obtained when the deposition is performed under Ar atmosphere. These spinel-ferrite films present an important magnetization component perpendicular to the film plane. It is also shown that the Fe 3 O 4 films are converted to γ-Fe 2 O 3 by oxidation in air while retaining a uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. We interpret this induced magnetic anisotropy as arising from a magnetoelastic coupling with the substrate. Faraday rotation hysteresis loops confirm the existence of a strong induced uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in these films.


This research elaborates the joint influences of the position relative to the accented prosodic component and syllable composition on the stops VOT in Japanese. Monosyllables and disyllables start with three types of plosives, namely bilabial, alveolar, and velar, are studied on different positions in prosodic sentences—pre-focus, on-focus, and post-focus. Results show that narrow and contrastive focus prolong the voiced on-focus stops (including bilabial, alveolar, and velar) which bear positive values in broad-focus sentences; but compress the on-focus voiceless consonants (including bilabial, alveolar, and velar) which have negative values neutrally. On the position of pre-focus, voiced consonants shorten the VOT towards to zero, especially for the velar voiced consonants; the voiceless ones follow this pattern exactly. On the position of post-focus, noticeably, the voiced and the voiceless plosives always show the opposite patterns—both of narrow and contrastive focus elicit a longer VOT on following voiced stops but reduce the VOT of voiceless consonants following them. The voiced alveolar show the most apparent compression at pre-focus, which always close to zero. Kinds of results describe significant interaction influences among different factors that bear the potential to change consonant VOT in Japanese.This research elaborates the joint influences of the position relative to the accented prosodic component and syllable composition on the stops VOT in Japanese. Monosyllables and disyllables start with three types of plosives, namely bilabial, alveolar, and velar, are studied on different positions in prosodic sentences—pre-focus, on-focus, and post-focus. Results show that narrow and contrastive focus prolong the voiced on-focus stops (including bilabial, alveolar, and velar) which bear positive values in broad-focus sentences; but compress the on-focus voiceless consonants (including bilabial, alveolar, and velar) which have negative values neutrally. On the position of pre-focus, voiced consonants shorten the VOT towards to zero, especially for the velar voiced consonants; the voiceless ones follow this pattern exactly. On the position of post-focus, noticeably, the voiced and the voiceless plosives always show the opposite patterns—both of narrow and contrastive focus elicit a longer VOT on following ...


Temperature variation of the drill bit in the process of rock drilling was studied systematically.Through the analysis of heat transfer process of the drilling in rock drilling,differential equations which described the temperature fluctuations in the process of rock drilling were established and various factors which affected the temperature fluctuations of the drill bit were also analyzed.Based on the analysis of the conversion between thermal and power in rock drilling,analytical method for temperature computation of the drill bit was given.Analytical equation of the bit temperature was derived associated with the analytical expression of cutting temperature.The results show that the temperature of drill bit is influenced by geometry condition,thermal properties,drilling element,and so on.The average rising temperature is proportional to the square root of forward speed v of the drill bit when the other conditions remain unchanged.


Commentary on: Guo B, Zuo X, Li Z, et al . Improving the quality of bowel preparation through an app for inpatients undergoing colonoscopy: a randomized controlled trial. J Adv Nurs 2019. doi: 10.1111/jan.14295

Colonoscopy is the standard method for screening, diagnostic evaluation and treatment of colorectal lesions.1 Quality of bowel preparation greatly impacts the success of colonoscopy in diagnostic yield, adenoma detection and patient safety.1 2 Multiple studies have shown that inpatients are more likely to have poor bowel preparation.2 Improving bowel preparation by combining conventional tools with newer technology can result in greater efficiency. …


Entomopathogenic fungi in the control of Hedypathes betulinus and evaluation of persistence. Hedypathes betulinus (KLUG, 1825) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is the main pest of "erva-mate" ( Ilex paraguariensis ) culture. Focusing its control, it was evaluated i n laboratory and field the entomopathogenic fungi using. In laboratory, it was evaluated the infectiveness of the strains of the following fungi: Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuillemin, B. brongniartii (Sacc.) Petch, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.), Sorokin and Paecilomyces (= Isaria ) sp. Bainier, in adults specimen of H. betulinus . The insects were immersed in a conidial suspensio n at a concentration of 10 7 conidia mL -1 . After the application the insects had been kept at laboratory for mortality register. It was verified that B. bassiana (CG 716) was more infective, reaching to 100% of mortality. It estimated LC 50 of isolated CG 716 of B. bassiana with five concentrations and a variation of l0 5 to l0 9 conidia mL -1 , along the control plot. The estimated LC 50 was 2,0 x 10 6 conidia mL -1 , ranging from 6 x 10 5 to 5 x 10 6 conidia mL -1 . The persistence of strain CG 716 of B. bassiana - formulate oil was evaluated in field, producing the highest mortality , at the first three weeks after the application of t he fungus, with a variance of 95 to 78 %, with a decreasing of 65 to 47% , along one and two months after the application , respectively.


We introduce MobiTOP (Mobile Tagging of Objects and People), a map-based application which allows users to contribute and share geo-referenced multimedia annotations via mobile devices. An important feature of MobiTOP is that annotations are hierarchical, allowing annotations to be annotated to an arbitrary depth. MobiTOP's interface was designed using a participatory design methodology to ensure that the user interface meets the needs of potential users. In an evaluation, a group of student-teachers involved in a geographical field study were tasked to collaboratively identify rock formations using the MobiTOP system. The students who were in the field were guided by their lab counterparts on the tasks required to identify the rock formations. Results suggest the potential of the MobiTOP system for information sharing.


We systematically construct realistic mass matrices for the type-I seesaw mechanism out of more than 20x10{sup 12} possibilities. We use only very generic assumptions from extended quark-lepton complementarity, i.e., the leptonic mixing angles between flavor and mass eigenstates are either maximal or parametrized by a single small quantity {epsilon} that is of the order of the Cabibbo angle {epsilon}{approx_equal}{theta}{sub C}. The small quantity {epsilon} also describes all fermion mass hierarchies. We show that special cases often considered in the literature, such as having a symmetric Dirac mass matrix or small mixing among charged leptons, constitute only a tiny fraction of our possibilities. Moreover, we find that in most cases the spectrum of right-handed neutrino masses is only mildly hierarchical. As a result, we provide for the charged leptons and neutrinos a selected list of 1981 qualitatively different Yukawa coupling matrices (or textures) that are parametrized by the Cabibbo angle and allow for a perfect fit to current data. In addition, we also briefly show how the textures could be generated in explicit models from flavor symmetries.


We examine the interactions of a black hole with a massless scalar field using a coordinate system which extends ingoing Eddington-Finkelstein coordinates to dynamic spherically symmetric-spacetimes. We avoid problems with the singularity by excising the region of the black hole interior to the apparent horizon. We use a second-order finite difference scheme to solve the equations. The resulting program is stable and convergent and will run forever without problems. We are able to observe quasi-normal ringing and power-law tails as well an interesting nonlinear feature.


The aim of this work was focused on the photocatalytic degradation of alachlor from aqueous solution using 10%wt Fe-TiO2, as 0.1%wt of Fe doped into TiO2 structure, immobilized on granular activated carbon (GAC) under black light irradiation. The extended photocatalytic conditions were studied as functions of catalyst loading, number of black light, and initial pH of solution using Response Surface Method (RSM) based on Box-Behnken design (BBD). Characterizations of the photocatalyst by TGA-DTA, and XRD were investigated. Photocatalyst was calcined at 400°C under nitrogen atmosphere. As a Result of calcinations, photocatalyst consisted of only graphite crystallite while the crystallite phases of TiO2 were not observed. The degradation results showed that the photocatalytic process gave the highest percent degradation comparing with adsorption and photolysis processes. The effects of three operating variables which are catalyst loading, number of black light, and initial pH of solution on the degradation efficiency of alachlor were examined. Photocatalyst loading was only significant parameter effecting for photocatalytic degradation of alachlor. The photocatalytic degradation slightly increased with increasing of number of black light while pH of solution did not affect photocatalytic degradation of alachlor. The photocatalytic process and adsorption process were affected from the initial alachlor concentrations as well.


The basal plane (bp) cylindrical symmetry breaking magnetoelastic stress (MS), Mγ, has been measured for the series of superlattices (SL) (Dyn/Y15) and (Erm/Lu10), with n=5, 15, 25, and m=10, 20, 30 atomic bp, from 10 K and in applied magnetic fields up to B=12 T, using a capacitive cantilever technique. Field induced transitions are observed. For both series of SLs an effective strong interfacial MS is determined at 10 K and 12 T, up to about one order of magnitude larger and of the opposite sign than the bulk MS. Mγ (12 T) scales with the power m3 of the reduced magnetization m confirming its crystal electric field origin.


In this paper, a non-linear quadratic expression of the coefficient of friction at both entry and exit sides have been derived from the equations of rolling load in Hot Rolling Bland and Ford's program (HRBF). The study developed a numerical model for the estimation of coefficient of friction for steel (HC SS316) of different thicknesses on two high reversing mills. The equations for coefficient of friction on entry and exist sides of the mills were modelled from Hot Rolling Bland and Ford's program (HRBF). The equations were modelled such that the friction coefficient can be expressed as a function of process parameters measurable during rolling. The capability of the model was verified by using a number of specimens of HC SS316 with predetermined hot rolling experimental data. A good agreement was noted between the predicted friction coefficient and the measured one.


Agreement to being gifted is one of Pope Benedict XVI's most beautiful thoughts. Before a young pedagogue assumes responsibility for another man, he has to find this vocation, has to experience being gifted, he has to allow the act of being gifted in his own life. Accompanying a pupil in his life one has to discover the truth that in order to give one has to know what he himself has; in order to start a fire one has to burn himself.  The concept of "pedagogy of bestowal" appears as a concept of formation of a young person who aspires to achieving a mature personality. At the basis of bestowal there is the primacy of accepting something from God. Its aim is to discover God's gifts, to accept them, to experience this richness, and to pass it to other people, in the sense of responsibility. According to Ratzinger the discovery of being given by God is the beginning of any true life with God and in God. It is also the basis for the formation of any human person. The man lives by a gift, no matter if he realizes it or not. Starting from life which is the "first" gift, he uses gifts that he comes across in his life, until the last gift, that is death. Benedict XVI points to five main goals in pedagogy of bestowal: faith, love, hope, responsibility and truth.


The effect of convective melt motion on the growth of morphological instabilities in crystal growth has been the focus of many studies in the past decade. While most of the efforts have been directed towards investigating the linear stability aspects, relatively little attention has been devoted to experimental and numerical studies. In a pure morphological case, when there is no flow, morphological changes in the solid-liquid interface are governed by heat conduction and solute distribution. Under the influence of a convective motion, both heat and solute are redistributed, thereby affecting the intrinsic morphological phenomenon. The overall effect of the convective motion could be either stabilizing or destabilizing. Recent investigations have predicted stabilization by a flow parallel to the interface. In the case of non-parallel flows, e.g., stagnation point flow, Brattkus and Davis have found a new flow-induced morphological instability that occurs at long wavelengths and also consists of waves propagating against the flow. Other studies have addressed the nonlinear aspects (Konstantinos and Brown, Wollkind and Segel)). In contrast to the earlier studies, our present investigation focuses on the effects of the potential flow fields typically encountered in Hele-Shaw cells. Such a Hele-Shaw cell can simulate a gravity-free environment in the sense that buoyancy-driven convection is largely suppressed, and hence negligible. Our interest lies both in analyzing the linear stability of the solidification process in the presence of potential flow fields, as well as in performing high-accuracy nonlinear simulations. Linear stability analysis can be performed for the flow configuration mentioned above. It is observed that a parallel potential flow is stabilizing and gives rise to waves traveling downstream. We have built a highly accurate numerical scheme which is validated at small amplitudes by comparing with the analytically predicted results for the pure morphological case. We have been able to observe nonlinear effects at larger times. Preliminary results for the case when flow is imposed also provide good validation at small amplitudes.


In this paper, Solidworks was used to do a conceptional design of an box of an electric saver in order to manufacture an electric saver having a different performance and model. Based on this, analysis was made considering weight concentrated on an box. 3-dimensional finite element analysis code, ANSYS was applied to obtain stress, strain and deformation in order to secure durability and these data was reflected to a detailed drawing.


Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major causative agent of severe lower respiratory tract disease and death in infants worldwide. The epithelial cells of the airways are the target cells for RSV infection and the site of the majority of the inflammation associated with the disease. However, despite five decades of intensive RSV research there exist neither an effective active vaccine nor a promising antiviral and anti‐inflammatory therapy. Recently, peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ (PPAR‐γ), a member of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily, has been shown to possess anti‐inflammatory properties. Therefore, we hypothesized whether the detrimental increase of intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) on RSV‐infected lung epithelial cells (A549 and primary normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE)) might be modulated by natural and synthetic PPAR‐γ agonists (15d‐PGJ2, ciglitazone, troglitazone, Fmoc‐Leu). Our data show that all PPAR‐γ agonists under study significantly down‐regulated the RSV‐induced expression of ICAM‐1 on A549‐ and NHBE cells in a dose‐dependent manner resulting in a reduced β2 integrin‐mediated adhesion of monocytic effector cells (U937) to RSV‐infected A549 cell monolayers. In contrast, the PPAR‐α agonist bezafibrate had no impact on the RSV‐induced ICAM‐1 expression. The reduced ICAM‐1 expression was associated with a diminished ICAM‐1 mRNA level and binding activity of nuclear factor‐κB (p65/p50) in A549 cells. These findings suggest that PPARγ agonists have beneficial effects in the suppression of the inflammatory response during RSV infection and therefore might have clinical efficacy in the course of severe RSV‐infection.


Professional development programs might affect teachers' perceptions of how STEM disciplines are interconnected. The purpose of this research was to examine the change in perceptions of science teachers particularly in disadvantageous schools, who participated in a practice-based professional development program offered in Turkey, about STEM, entrepreneurship, and E-STEM, and their experiences related to E-STEM. This qualitative research had a phenomenological design. The participants were totally 30 science teachers who were teaching in each of the seven geographical regions of Turkey. The data were collected through semi-structured pre- and post-focus group interview forms finalized after the expert review and pilot study. Furthermore, the science teachers were asked to keep a diary about the implementation process throughout the research. The data collected through focus group interviews were examined using content analysis and the data collected through the diaries were examined using descriptive analysis. The findings of the study indicate that the science teachers defined E-STEM as a process containing the aspects of entrepreneurship (communication, perseverance and determination, self-confidence, motivation, risk-taking, presentation, and marketing) more comprehensively compared to the pre-interviews.
Keywords: STEM education, E-STEM education, science teacher, teacher education


The present work aims to develop a tool based on machine learning that allows the estimation of the nitrogen status in the leaves of a gulupa crop using multispectral images, for which a methodology was carried out that includes sampling, image capture with the help of a dark box and the multispectral camera Parrot Sequoia that delivers five images, four of them multispectral (red, green, near infrared and red edge), The samples were taken to the laboratory so that their nitrogen percentage could be evaluated by means of the Kjeldahl method. Segmentation techniques were used to obtain data only from the object of interest, i.e., the leaf. This segmentation was useful to find NDVI , GNDVI and OSAVI vegetation averages indices. Texture features were also extracted from the four multispectral images generated by the camera. Five classical machine learning algorithms were implemented and dataset obtained from feature extraction was used to achieve prediction between two classes, which were assigned as two nitrogen percentages ranges, based on chemical tests results.