Competing styles of Statistical Mechanics has been introduced as a practical succedaneous to the conventional well established Boltzmann-Gibbs statistical mechanics, when in the use of the latter the researcher is impaired in his/her capacity for satisfying the Criteria of Efficiency and/or Sufficiency in statistics [Fisher, 1922], that is, a failure in the characterization (presence of fractality, scaling, etc.) of the system related to some aspect relevant to the given physical situation. To patch this limitation on the part of the observer, in order to make predictions on the values of observables and response functions, are introduced unconventional approaches. We present a detailed description of their construction and a clarification of its scope and interpretation. Also, resorting to the use of the particular case of Renyi's unconventional statistics is built a nonequilibrium ensemble formalism. The uncon-ventional distribution functions of fermions and bosons are obtained, and in the follow-up article we describe applications to the study of experimental results in semiconductor physics and in electro-chemistry involving nanometric scales and fractal-like structures, and some additional theoretical analysis is added. More than twenty years ago Montroll and Shlesinger wrote that in the world of the investigation of complex phenomena that requires statistical modelling and interpretation several competing styles have been emerging, each with its own champions [1]. In the intervening years up to this beginning of the 21st century, a good amount of effort – with a flood of papers – has been dispensed to the topic. What is at play consists in that in the study of certain physico-chemical systems we may face difficulties when handling situations involving fractal-like structures, correlations (spatial and temporal) with some type of scaling, turbulent or chaotic motion, small size (nanometric scale) systems with eventually a low number of degrees of freedom, etc. These difficulties consist, as a rule, in that the researcher is unable to satisfy Fisher's Criteria of Efficiency and/or Sufficiency [2] in the conventional, well established, physically and logically sound Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics, meaning an impairment on his/her part, to include the relevant and proper characterization of the system. To mend these difficulties, and to be able to make predictions (providing an understanding, even partial, of the physics of the system but of interest in, for example, analyzing characteristics of devices technologically relevant, as illustrated in the follow up article) one may resort to alternative statistics other than the Boltzmann-Gibbs one, which are not at all …


This paper studies the chaos caused by Kalman filter algorithm and its control.Taking the integrated navigation system of an inertial system and an altitude gauge as an example,the paper shows that when a body is driven by a period signal,a chaotic result may be formed because of the Kalman filter algorithm.The reason is that the sampling frequency is not suitable.Therefore the navigation accuracy of the system will be lowered.The paper proposes that this kind of chaos can be controlled by a parameter adjusting method(varying step).


This paper discusses the use of end-point feedback to improve the position control performance of manipulators that have lumped sources of flezibility within the drive trains or joints. The links are assumed to be rigid. Four different control strategies are discussed and compared. Classical control using only position and rate sensors colocated at the motors gives limited performance and poor rejection of disturbances at the end-effector. Linear-Quadratic-Regulator full-state feedback with end-point position and rate sensing dramatically improves performance and disturbance rejection, but only for a certain class of trajectories in which linearized models are effective. Robust controllers designed for larger regions of motion improve the average performance of the manipulator but at the cost of specific performance. None of the above three constantgain controllers performs well for a large class of desired trajectories in which the non-linear dynamics dominate. Non-linear computed-torque methods offer better performance for these cases. An ezperimental two-link manipulator has been constructed and ezperimental verification of these control strategies is in progress.


A series of glass samples has been prepared from mixtures of Na2B4O7, and Fe2O3. Measurements have been made of the d.c. conductivity as a function of temperature and composition. These results have been interpreted in terms of the activation energy, which increased with a small addition of Fe2O3 (0.5 mol.%) in Na2B4O7 glasses but decreased again with further addition of Fe2O3. D.c. conductivity measurements have revealed a mixed conduction phenomenon in which ionic as well as electronic conduction occur in the glass. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as a function of Fe2O3 content is also measured.


The invention discloses a method for testing vision with a mobile phone and the mobile phone. The testing method includes the following steps: (1) using the mobile phone to receive a horizontal distance (S) between eyes of a tester and the mobile phone, (2) adjusting a currently tested icon from a standard size on a standard vision test table into a testing size with the mobile phone so as to be output onto a display screen of the mobile phone in accordance with the horizontal distance (S) which is received in the step (1), (3) receiving the tested results of the tester with the mobile phone, (4) judging whether the mobile phone tested results are correct or not, entering a test of a next testing icon to repeat the step from (2) to (3) if the tested results are correct, and converting the smallest size of the icon which the tester can recognize correctly into a visual value for outputting so that the test is over if the tested results are not correct. By the aid of the method for testing the vision with the mobile phone and the mobile phone, the tester can test the vision at any time and at any place, the fact that others testers detect and show the icons does not need extra standard test space also does not need, and thus the method for testing the vision with the mobile phone and the mobile phone are very convenient and practical.


The claim that gender is an authority relationship is an advance on the widely held view that psychologically at least gender is an attribute, part of someone′s character. However because this claim is counter intuitive the case for it must be carefully made. One way this may be accomplished is through a feminist reconstruction of organization theory. Through inspections of the historical origins of bureaucracy and the history of its interpretation we may find that it is not efficiency which pervades, marginalizing women facing other claims on their time. Instead it may be the requirements of gendered social power of which organizations are but one arena.


We introduce a circuit for ultrafast measurements with coplanar waveguide transmission lines. The circuit contains photoconductive switches that allow tunable generation and reception of a coplanar waveguide's two propagating modes. The circuit has fewer discontinuities than other circuits with similar capabilities and does not require airbridges. We show how the photoconductive switch can be biased to compensate for pump laser beam misalignment, and that a circuit composed of two chips making up a hybrid has only 4% broader temporal resolution than a circuit integrated on a single chip. We measured a minimum temporal resolution of 2.4 ps.


A comparison of the total ssc magnitudes at MAGSAT altitudes (325--550 km) and at ground observatories indicated equality, implying virtually no ionospheric contribution and instead, a predominantly magnetospheric origin, at dusk and dawn hours.


The Committee met in Vancouver, Canada during the 2002 International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) Congress. Some changes to the classification documented in Blood Group Terminology 1995 [1], and updated in 1996 [2], 1998 [3] and 2000 [4], were agreed and are described below. The full updated classification can be found on the Blood Group Terminology website at http://www.iccbba.com/page25.htm New antigens were added to the Rh, Lutheran, Kell, Cromer and Knops systems. In addition, three new systems – I, Globoside and GIL (systems 27–29) – were created (Table 1). A new terminology for epitopes of RH1 (D) and variant RH1 antigens was agreed, and this will be published separately [5].


Recent studies have demonstrated that behavior can be established and maintained in experimental animals using direct electrical stimulation of the brain as reinforcement (Delgado, Roberts, & Miller, 1954; Olds & Milner, 1954; Sidman, Brady, Boren, Conrad & Schulman, 1955). Following the original observations by Olds and Milner that localized brain stimulation could serve as a reward for lever pressing (Olds et al., 1954), several reports have described interaction effects involving electrical self-stimulation of selected brain areas and a wide variety of behavioral, physiological, and anatomical factors (Brady, 1957; Brady, 1956; Brady, 1958a; Brady, 1958b; Brady, Boren, Conrad & Sidman, 1957; Lilly, 1958; Miller, 1958; Olds, 1958a; Olds, 1955; Olds, 1956a; Olds, 1956b; Olds, 1958b; Olds, Killan & Bach-y-Rita, 1956). However, surprisingly little attention has been directed toward an analysis of the interrelationships between the physiological events associated with self-stimulation and the behavior of the self-stimulating animal. Toward this end the present study provides preliminary experimental observations correlating electroencephalographic and behavioral activity accompanying self-stimulation of several limbic system structures in monkeys.


The theoretical model and underlying physics described in this thesis are about the interaction of femtosecond-laser and XUV pulses with solids. The key to understand the basics of such interaction is to study the structural response of the materials after laser interaction. Depending on the laser characteristics, laser-solid interaction can result in a wide range of structural responses such as solid-solid phase transitions, vacuum phonon squeezing, ultrafast melting, generation of coherent phonons, etc. During my research work, I have modeled the systems irradiated by low-, mediumand high-laser intensities, and studied different types of structural dynamics of solids at various laser fluences. In the high fluence regime, I have studied warm dense matter [F. Cheenicode Kabeer, E. S. Zijlstra, and M. E. Garcia, Phys. Rev. B 89, 100301(Rapid Communication) (2014); E. S. Zijlstra, F. Cheenicode Kabeer, B. Bauerhenne, T. Zier, N. S. Grigoryan, and M. E. Garcia, Appl. Phys. A 110, 519 (2013)]. The changes in the bonding properties of warm dense noble metals, in particular copper and silver, are analyzed by performing electronic-temperature-dependent density functional theory (DFT) calculations using the all-electron full-potential linearized augmented plane wave code WIEN2k. I found that the extreme hardening of phonon modes shown by noble metals in the warm dense regime cause their relaxation processes to be 3 to 6 times faster than the theoretically expected values. I also found that such a system relaxes thermally (not nonthermally) into a plasma state. Vacuum phonon squeezed states can be generated at intermediate laser intensities depending upon the electron-phonon coupling and bonding properties of the systems upon laser excitation [F. Cheenicode Kabeer, N. S. Grigoryan, E. S. Zijlstra, and M. E. Garcia, Phys. Rev. B 90, 104303 (2014)]. I have computed the laser-excited potential energy surfaces of noble metals, namely, copper and silver, by all-electron ab initio theory and analyzed the resulting quantum lattice dynamics. The incoherent lattice heating due to electron-phonon interactions are considered using the generalized twotemperature model. I found phonon hardening, which I attribute to the excitation of s electrons. I demonstrate that this may result in phonon vacuum squeezed states with an optimal squeezing factor of ∼ 0.001 at the L-point longitudinal mode. This finding implies that ultrafast laser-induced bond hardening may be used as a tool to manipulate the quantum state of opaque materials, where, so far, the squeezing of phonons below the zero-point motion has only been realized in transparent crystals by a different mechanism. On the basis of my finding I further propose a method for directly measuring bond hardening.


High quality low-rate digital audio signal, a musical signal or the like transform coding, each sound sampling period by adaptively selecting an optimal transform window function and transform block length to achieve the code conversion time resolution and frequency resolution the best tradeoff between force. It applies to all discrete orthogonal transformation. Ensure orthogonality reproduced by normal / inverse transform accurate signal, the block length is adaptively selected orthogonal transform without loss of information, i.e., without quantization errors. Preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is also a non-adaptive technique using orthogonal transform with the block length adaptively selected to maintain the conversion characteristic; (1) in the absence of coefficient quantization errors completely eliminates aliasing; (2) critical sampling. Selecting transform phase term to cancel time-domain aliasing.


Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the bond strength of artificial teeth to different types of denture base resins when submitted to thermomechanical cycling (TMC). Methods: Sixty artificial mandibular first molars (Trilux, Vipi) were randomly divided into 3 groups according to denture base acrylic resins (Vipi Wave, Vipi Cril, and Vipi Cril Plus, Vipi). The teeth were fixed onto self-polymerizing acrylic resin bars (0.5 cm2 cross-section x 2 cm height), and the set was included in a metal flask using dental stone/silicone. After the dental stone was set, the bar was removed, and the denture base resin was packed and processed according to the group studied (Vipi Wave: 180 W/20 minutes + 540W/5 minutes; Vipi Cril and Vipi Cril Plus: Water bath at 74ºC for 9h). After polymerization, the samples were divided into 2 groups (n=10), according to the TMC treatment received (simulation of 5 years of mastication or not). The samples were submitted to tensile bond strength test (1 mm/min), and the data (MPa) were statistically analyzed (2-way ANOVA, Bonferroni, α=0.05). The fracture interfaces were evaluated using a stereomicroscope (50x). Results: The bond strength results showed no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) between the resins studied. TMC was significant (p<0.05), demonstrating lower values for the bond strength of artificial teeth to Vipi Cril Plus. The predominant fracture type was cohesive in resin. Conclusions: It was concluded that there is no difference in bond strength between artificial teeth and the resins used for denture base. However, TMC decreases the bond strength values of artificial teeth and crosslink thermo-polymerizable acrylic resin.


The predominantly Negro college occupies a paradoxical position in the United States today. Literature, accordingly, is devoted mainly to speculations about its future role, but the social and cultural conflicts of this transitional situation of f'reverse integration" have been largely neglected for the study of the integration of Negroes into "white" situations. This paper seeks to illuminate one important aspect of the foregoing condition conflicts in enthusiasm for discussing the subject of race in predominantly Negro college classrooms.1


Intracellular contents of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in phytoplankton cells are traditionally measured using concentrates containing thousands to millions of cells. In this study we have used ...


This article shows that the challenge for Belgian sheltered workshops is to keep the social goal – providing disabled persons with adequate jobs – and simultaneously to use economic activity as a mean to achieve that goal.


Wedding cakes are time consuming and difficult. Use these hints to make your investment worthwhile and your end product beautiful.


Abstract Objective: To evaluate the validity of the National Acoustic Laboratories procedure for determining percentage loss of hearing as a measure of hearing disability. Design: The percentage hearing losses of war veterans who had hearing ranging from normal to profound deafness were determined and compared with their scores on two hearing questionnaires. Study sample: A self-report hearing questionnaire was completed by 282 war veterans and 154 of those veterans were given the hearing measurement scale in the form of a structured interview. Results: A percentage loss of hearing of 0 agreed well with the questionnaire scores representing the limit of normal hearing, and a percentage loss of hearing of 100 agreed well with the questionnaire scores representing total loss of hearing. Percentage loss of hearing accounted for 83% of the variance in scores on the hearing questionnaire and 81% of the variance in scores on the hearing measurement scale. Conclusion: The National Acoustic Laboratories procedure for determining percentage loss of hearing provides a valid measure of hearing disability.


Ability of a set of 24 microsatellite markers for individual identification and their potential for breed assignment of individuals was evaluated in 2 Indian pig populations. The cumulative probabilities of identity of 2 random individuals within a population, even with selected set of 5 loci (CGA, S0026, S0228, S0355, SW936) were 2.87×10–8 (Assamese) and 9.66×10–8 (Anakamali) and from 2 different population was 1.13×10–12. However, the population assignment precision even with all the 24 loci was only 80 (Assamese) and 88% (Ankamali). These results suggested that although this set of markers can be safely employed for identification of individuals but their utility for breed allocation in Indian pigs needs further authentication before they can be practically used for such purposes.


This paper investigates for the first time the effects of oil demand shocks and oil supply shocks on stock order flow imbalances leading to changes in stock returns. Through the estimation of a structural VAR model, positive oil demand shocks are able to explain almost 36% of the observed variation in the daily average stock order flow imbalances measured by the buy/sell trades ratio; which consequently lead to a negative rather than positive stock returns reaction. In contrast, oil supply shocks exhibit a negative and marginally significant effect on stock order flow imbalances. Our aggregate analysis suggests that positive shocks on stock order flow imbalances are negatively related to stock returns. These effects are stronger for oil-related sectors when compared with the rest of the equities sectors.


time sequence of extension. When S, is extended against S, (which is dead), the upper bound W* should be reduced from 2 W + 3 to 2 W + 2 if not already so due to paths outside this part of the diagram. 2) There is now a change of the TZtype if the state receives a path of opposite T2-type having weight less than the first path to the state (algorithm steps 12), 13)). Originally this was not done but, as the example in Fig. 3 shows, this is necessary. The path S4,S5&,SZ having weight 2 W would never be found if the T2-types of Se and Ss were not changed when SZ and S,, respectively, were extended. 3) The stop-condition (step 3)) includes the possibility of all states being dead before 2W, 2 W*. The necessity of this can be shown by a fairly simple code. Tests have shown that the changes introduced here affect the efficiency of the algorithm very little. ACKNOWLEDGMENT


1H-MRS is increasingly used in basic and clinical research to explain brain function and alterations respectively. In psychosis research it is now one of the main tools to investigate imbalances in the glutamatergic system. Interestingly, however, the findings are extremely variable even within patients of similar disease states. One reason may be the variability in analysis strategies, despite suggestions for standardization. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate whether the basis set configuration -- which metabolites are included in the basis set used for analysis -- would affect the accuracy of the spectral fit and estimated glutamate concentrations in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and whether any changes in levels of glutamate would be associated with psychotic-like experiences and autistic traits. To ensure comparability, we utilized five different exemplar basis sets, used in research, and two different analysis tools, r-based spant applying the ABfit method and Osprey using the LCModel. Our findings revealed that the types of metabolites included in the basis set significantly affected the glutamate concentration. We observed that three basis sets led to more consistent results across different concentration types (i.e., glutamate in mol/kg, Glx (glutamate+glutamine), Glu/tCr), spectral fit and quality measurements. Interestingly, all three basis sets included phosphocreatine. Importantly, our findings also revealed that glutamate levels were differently associated with both schizotypal and autistic traits depending on basis set configuration and analysis tool, with the same three basis sets showing more consistent results. Our study highlights that scientific results may be significantly altered depending on the choices of metabolites included the basis set, and with that the importance of carefully selecting the configuration of the basis set to ensure accurate and consistent results when using MR spectroscopy. Overall, it emphasizes the need for standardized analysis pipelines and reporting.


We employ Malliavin calculus techniques to compute the Delta of European type options in the presence of stochastic volatility. We obtain a general formula for the Malliavin weight and apply the derived formula to the well known models of Stein-Stein and Heston in order to show the numerical accuracy and efficiency of our approach.


Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) usually occurs in the lower thoracic spine, and is rare in the cervical region. We report the case of a 67-year-old woman who presented a seven month's history of progressive weakness and paresthesia in her right upper extremity. MRI and CT scans of the spine revealed the presence of ossified ligamentum flavum from C3-C4. A cervical laminectomy resulted in a good post-operative improvement of muscle strength.


The sign of the high-frequency gain of a nonlinear system provides the control direction,which cannot be precisely measured in solving actual problems.In this paper,a global robust output regulation problem of a class of uncertain nonlinear systems with an unknown control direction and a nonlinear exosystem was considered.Through an internal model,the robust output regulation problem was converted into a robust stabilization problem.Furthermore,a dynamic output feedback controller was designed by combining the procedures from the Nussbaum gain technique,adaptive control method,and robust stabilization technique.Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.


The role of inflammation in all phases of atherosclerotic process is well established and soluble TREM like transcript 1(sTLT1) is reported to be associated with chronic inflammation. Yet, no information is available about the involvement of sTLT1 in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.  Present study was undertaken to determine the pathophysiological significance of sTLT1 in atherosclerosis by employing an observational study on human subjects (n = 117) followed by experiments in human macrophages and atherosclerotic apoE-/- mice. Plasma level of sTLT1 was found to be significantly (p<0.05) higher in clinical (2342{plus minus}184pg/ml) and subclinical cases (1773{plus minus}118pg/ml) than healthy controls (461{plus minus}57pg/ml). Moreover, statistical analyses further indicated that sTLT1 was not only associated with common risk factors for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) in both clinical and subclinical groups but also strongly correlated with disease severity. Ex vivo studies on macrophages showed that sTLT1 interacts with FcɣRI to activate SYK mediated downstream MAP kinase signalling cascade to activate NF-kB. Activation of NF-kB induces secretion of TNF-α from macrophage cells that plays pivotal role in governing the persistence of chronic inflammation. Atherosclerotic apoE-/- mice also showed high levels of sTLT1 and TNF-α in nearly occluded aortic stage indicating the contribution of sTLT1 in inflammation. Our results clearly demonstrate that sTLT1 is clinically related to the risk factors of CAD. We also showed that binding of sTLT1 with macrophage membrane receptor, FcɣR1 initiates inflammatory signals in macrophages suggesting its critical role in thrombus development and atherosclerosis.


Abstract Thermally-grown silicon dioxide (SiO2) layers have been irradiated at room temperature by high energy, O, Ni and Xe ions with doses up to 1014 ions/cm2. These experiments allow to cover a wide range of electronic stopping power values (from 2 to 60 MeV.cm2/mg). The infrared (IR) absorption spectrometry has been used to evaluate the changes in the atomic arrangement of the SiO4 tetrahedra and to determine the damage production cross section A and the track radii in the amorphous SiO2 films as a function of the electronic stopping power.


The corridor is significant to Pakistan's economic progress as well as the growth of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. The corridor is a major transportation connection between Beijing and Islamabad that links them through land and rail routes; this project benefits the Asian and Middle Eastern countries by promoting trade and tourism between Pakistan and China. On April 20, 2015, it started with a $46 billion budget and had since grown to a total budget of $62 billion in 2017. Pakistan includes a road and rail network, power plants, and a unique economic sector. This proposal makes it possible to resolve oil and gas shortages, as well as economic and geopolitical scope. This massive project encourages stability, economic development, energy fortification, sustainable progress, and job creation.


ir Abstract performance oftheestimation isreduced whentarget moves Inthis paper, a newcombined schemeispresented to ataconstant velocity. A generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) overcome somedrawbacks ofthehighmaneuvering targetmethodformanoeuvredetection andestimation was tracking problems byusing themixedFuzzylogic andthe presented byKom,Gully andWillsky (5). Thisalgorithm standard Kalmanfilter. Thisschemeisconsist oftwo proposed theuseoftwohypotheses, nullhypothesis fora important aspects; atfirst absolute valueofdifference target without manoeuvre, andalternative hypothesis fora between last target course andthepresent observation targettarget withmanoeuvre. Whentheloglikelihood ratio isover course andthesecondaspect istheabsolute valueof athreshold, amanoeuvre isdetected. Thissystem needs a measurement residual. Theresults compared withthe bankofcorrelators todetect themanoeuvre onsettime. In augmented method andanother combinedfuzzy logic method somesituations, theKalmanfilter solves thetarget tracking whichhavebeenreported in(8)and(16), respectively. problem byincluding theparameters aspart ofanaugmented Simulation results showahigh performance oftheproposedstate tobeestimated (8,11,12). Inmanypapers suchfilters innovation method andeffectiveness ofthis scheme inhigh arecalled "full state" estimator. maneuvering targets trackingproblems.


Abstract. We propose a microwave photonics system for radio frequency self-interference cancellation using optical techniques. With a simple structure, this system employs two low-cost directly modulated lasers and a balanced photodetector to subtract the strong self-interference signal from a corrupted received signal. For commonly used wireless applications, 40-dB cancellation within 900-MHz band and 33-dB cancellation within 2.4-GHz band are experimentally obtained, both over 400-MHz bandwidth. Moreover, for ultra-wideband cancellation, this system achieves more than 27-dB cancellation over 6-GHz bandwidth. The experimental results show good recovery of the weak signal of interest buried by strong self-interference after the cancellation.


Co-responsibility transfer programmes (CTPs) seek to reduce poverty by combining a short-term objective (to increase the resources available for consumption to meet the basic needs of beneficiary families) with a long-term objective (to build human capital to prevent the intergenerational transmission of poverty) (Britto, 2006; Cecchini and Madariaga, 2010; Cohen and Franco, 2006a; Leon, 2008). Typically, CTPs achieve these objectives by three means: (i) cash transfers, to increase incomes; (ii) making transfers conditional upon the use of certain social services, to promote human capital accumulation; and (iii) focusing on poor and extremely poor households. They are intended to address the material and cognitive aspects associated with situations of poverty in holistic manner, recognizing the importance of combining non-contributory social protection with social promotion efforts (Levy and Rodriguez, 2005), in addition to implementing cross-sector interventions (Cohen, Franco and Villatoro, 2006).


In his restriction of prioritarianism to cases in which the same people would exist in all the possible outcomes, Parfit stakes out an unstable position, both for himself and more generally. There is no plausible rationale for a prioritarianism that is so restricted, which is consistent with the key features of Parfit's elaboration and defence of this view and his other commitments. The principles that might be appealed to, in an attempt to justify such a restriction, give rise to a different view—one that is sensitive to the presence or absence of the competing claims of different individuals, where both the existence and the magnitude of these claims are determined by gains and losses to individuals in a manner that is not fully captured by Parfit's prioritarian weighting.


Inversion is one of the important parts of grammar that should be understood by the students to understand the position of subject and verb that reversed for some purpose or on some situations. The writer chose the topic "The Mastery of Inversion Sentences of the Fourth Year Students Faculty of Letters Gunadarma University", because some students of English Department still have difficulties in understanding inversion sentences. The problems of this study are: How is the ability of the fourth year students Faculty of Letters Gunadarma University in understanding inversion sentences?, and in what area(s) of inversion sentences do students encountered the problems in understanding inversion sentences?. The aims of the study are: To know t h e ability of the fourth year students Faculty of Letters Gunadarma University in understanding inversion sentences and to know the area(s) of inversion sentences do students encountered the problems in understanding inversion sentences. The method employed in this research was descriptive quantitative method. The samples were 30 students, of the fourth year students Faculty of Letters Gunadarma University. The result of this research is the level of understanding of the fourth year students Faculty of letters Gunadarma University on inversion sentences is on the level E = failing or unsatisfactory, it less than 60%. The problems of the students are: they do not understand enough the theories of inversion sentences and kinds of inversion sentences. Finally it is concluded that the students still have problems in understanding inversion sentences. Tanggal Pembuatan : 19 Februari 2011


Interface-coupled dissolution-precipitation (ICDP) reactions during the diagenesis of sedimentary rocks, broad of diagenetic ICPD pseudomorphic carbonate and sulfate minerals, primary and secondary phases Phosphate-rich rocks in sedimentary rocks of all the Early Proterozoic. The origin of some of these phosphate-rich rocks to diagenetic the of whether ICPD reactions involving the interaction between P-rich aqueous solution and mineral phases common in sediments may have played a role in their formation. we the hydrothermal interaction between anhydrite, a common component of evaporites, and phosphate-rich aqueous solutions during times set between and 72 hours the temperature regime between and The characterization of the reacted samples by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy, Infrared and Raman spectroscopies anhydrite crystals are partially to totally replaced by mixtures of hydroxyapatite and β -tricalcium phosphate in proportions that vary with time and temperature. The initiates at the surface of the anhydrite and advances inwards, defining a sharp reaction front.


This article conducts an explorative analysis of creating the first-class universities for nationalities and proposes the necessity of creating the first-class universities for nationalities.It indicates the strategies of creating the first-class universities for nationalities and analyzes the thought divergence.


Abstract : Purpose: The novel Concept that is being tested in this project is that allelic imbalance (Al) in tissue obtained at prostate biopsy can serve as a sensitive and independent marker for staging and predicting disease recurrence in prostate cancer. Scope: The two Aims of the project are to(i)determine whether the number of sites of Alin biopsy predicts pathological staging following prostatectomy and (ii) to determine the independence, positive and negative predictive values, sensitivity of Al in biopsy tissues as a prognostic marker for prostate cancer. Major Findings: The number of sites of Al has been measured in DNA from 131 prostatectomy tissues, 102 tumor adjacent, histologically normal prostate tissues, 75 biopsy specimens with a positive diagnosis of prostate cancer, 22 tumor adjacent, histologically normal biopsy specimens and II normal prostate tissues from men without disease. The results demonstratethat Al is increased (i)in tumor and tumor-adjacent prostate tissues relative to normal prostate tissues, (ii) as a function of Gleason Sum and (iii)in recurrent prostate tumors. Significance: Allelic imbalance in prostate cancer tissues may provide a novel diagnostic and prognostic marker.


The conclusion of the previous presentation at SAREK was that rotary disk was not effective for SO₂ removal efficiency but stationary vane was promising. Therefore impeller scrubber was made of two stage stationary vanes in this study. In order to know the relation among the SO₂ removal efficiency, scrubbing liquor flowrate, NaOH wt.%, gas volume and pressure drop of the reactor, the SO₂ removal efficiency experiment has been conducted in several condition(differentl scrubbing liquor flowrate, pH. gas volume, pressure drop of reactor condition and reuse the scrubbing liquor).


Abstract In this paper, the occurrence of some interesting species in the circum‐Sicilian islands Linosa and Pantelleria is reported. The species from Linosa are: Pseudocrossidium obtusulum (Lindb.) H. A. Crum & L. E. Anderson, second report from Sicily and Italy, and Gymnostomum lanceolatum M. J. Cano, Ros & J. Guerra, second report from Sicily and third one from Italy. The species from Pantelleria are: Campylopus brevipilus Bruch & Schimp., which is newly recorded in Sicily and southern Italy, Calymperes erosum Müll. Hal. and Trematodon longicollis Michx., whose range is extended. The occurrence of numerous chorologically significant species at Linosa and Pantelleria contributes to the consideration of these islands as Important Plant Areas.


The use of the registry on the computer is usually to make arrangements that are systematic. Usage could cause the system to a very severe loss due to device application on windows exposed to the virus and weaken ordinary data processing on windows. Windows Registry is a central database for managing applications and other information required by applications and systems that are running on Windows Operating System and all the settings are arranged in the form of keys and numbers. In the registry there are three things you can do is: read, write and delete the key that serves to optimize the performance of windows. There are two ways to run a registry that is write regedit in the run menu and use additional applications such as software. Based on the description above, the design of this author have entitled Care RegEdit Application v0.1 using netbeans 6.8 J2SE programming language. This application is addressed to all people who have problems with viruses, registry errors et


A data set consisting of chemical (chlorinity) and geo-electrical measurements was compiled from existing studies and archives to obtain an overview of the large-scale subsurface salinity distribution in the coastal area of the Netherlands. A critical review of all possible salinization mechanisms shows that the origin of the brackish and saline groundwater is related to former transgressions. The vertical salinity distribution of the groundwater indicates that connate seawater dating from the Pliocene to Early-Pleistocene is not the source of the brackish to saline groundwater in the overlying Pleistocene fluvial aquifers. Instead, it derives from Holocene transgressions. The salinization mechanism is discussed in relation to the paleogeographical development during the Holocene and the occurrence of low-permeability strata. Finally, freshening of the aquifers following retreat of the sea is briefly considered.


Abstract— The effects of α1‐and α2‐adrenoceptor agonists on smooth muscle tone and on cholinergic excitatory and non‐adrenergic, non‐cholinergic inhibitory responses to field stimulation have been investigated in the rat gastric fundus in‐vitro. None of the α‐adrenoceptor agonists tested, noradrenaline, phenylephrine, cirazoline, guanoxabenz or UK‐14,304 showed any contractile effects at concentrations up to 30 μM. In preparations where tone was raised by barium (0.5‐2 mM), the mixed α1‐and α2‐adrenoceptor agonist noradrenaline (0.01–10 μM), and the selective α1‐adrenoceptor agonists cirazoline (0.01–10 μM) and phenylephrine (0.01–10 μM) produced concentration‐dependent relaxations which were antagonized by the α1‐adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin (0.01‐1.0 μM). The selective α2‐adrenoceptor agonists UK‐14,304 (0.03–30 μM) and guanoxabenz (0.03–30 μM), had no relaxant effects in raised tone. UK‐14,304 (0.03‐1.0 μM) produced a concentration‐dependent inhibition of cholinergic nerve‐induced responses which was antagonized by the α2‐adrenoceptor antagonist idazoxan (0.03‐1.0 μM) but not by prazosin (0.03‐1.0 μM). Noradrenaline (0.03‐1.0 μM) also produced an inhibition of cholinergic nerve‐induced responses which was antagonized by idazoxan (0.03–10 μM). A small component of the noradrenaline inhibitory effects was antagonized by prazosin (10%). Cirazoline (0.03‐1.0 μM) produced a small inhibition of cholinergic nerve‐induced responses which was antagonized by prazosin (0.03‐1.0 μM). The prazosin‐sensitive components of the inhibitory effects of noradrenaline and cirazoline occurred at concentrations which also produced post‐junctional relaxation. UK‐14,304 (0.03‐1.0 μM) also attenuated non‐adrenergic, non‐cholinergic (NANC) inhibitory nerve‐induced responses and this effect was antagonized by idazoxan (0.03‐1.0 μM). The effects of α1‐adrenoceptor agonists on NANC nerve‐induced responses proved difficult to assess since these agonists caused post‐junctional relaxation which itself reduced the size of the inhibitory nerve‐induced responses. It is concluded that α‐adrenoceptor mediated responses in the rat gastric fundus in‐vitro consist of post‐junctional α1‐adrenoceptor‐mediated relaxation of the smooth muscle and pre‐junctional α2‐adrenoceptor‐mediated inhibition of both cholinergic excitatory and non‐adrenergic, non‐cholinergic inhibitory nerve‐induced responses.


In this paper, control of an anode purge process for a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is addressed. Water management in a PEMFC is of the utmost importance as the occurrence of liquid water in the anode chamber has a strong negative impact. However, as a power converters, keeping a high energy efficiency is crucial. To reach this goal, an analytical optimization will be performed.


(EDITOR'S NoTE: The American Printing House for the Blind is the oldest national agency for the blind in the United States and the largest publishing house for the blind in the world. Located at I839 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville 2, Kentucky, the institution has grown in its ninety-three years of existence from a small printshop, located in the basement of the Kentucky School for the Blind, and publishing only a few textbooks a year, to its present leading position. The role of this unique institution in the over-all pattern of service to the blind is so vital that the publishers of the Outlook for the Blind believe that the story of its development should be presented to Outlook readers. We pay tribute to its founders and its past and present leaders for their unswerving and tenacious adherence to the agency's original objective -a loyalty to purpose which has made the American Printing House for the Blind a pillar of strength.)


The chemical composition of Mexican wild plants has been investigated from the nutritional point of view. The approach of this study was to select the samples with medium to high concentration of crude fat and determine the caracteristics and fatty acid content of the fat. Linoleic acid was in high concentration in most of the seeds. Taking into consideration their characteristics and fatty acid content, these fats could be classifield as edible fats for animal and human consumption


We have fabricated a single GaAs nanowire photodetector, which has an extremely low conduction current in dark and shows resistor-like linear conduction behavior under illumination. A highest responsibility was obtained as 1.58×10-3 A/W.


A numerical simulation of flow control by an artificial heat actuator is presented. Investigation is performed for supersonic flow over an axisymmetric annular cavity under aerodynamic hysteresis conditions. The simulation is carried out using the FlowVision computational software package. The comparison of results of numerical simulation and experimental values is performed. The influence of position, power and width of heat pulse on the gas flow is studied.


The total length of the water diversion tunnel in Beijing urban section of middle main line of South-tonorth Transfer Projet is 12.64km.Its design discharge is 30 m3/s.This project has following features: ①The tunnel passes through soft and weak strats of Ⅴ grade,② The overburden above tunnel is thin,only from 8m~12m,③ The urban's buildings are dense above the tunnel line,④ The underground pipes are concentrative around tunnel.Aiming at the actual project situation,the method of tunnel-undercutting with shallow overburder for construting this water diversion tunnel is adopted.In the paper the concrete construction method and construction safety supervision are introduced.


In this work we consider spread of information which motivates the hearer to perform some specified action. The time to completion of an action is assumed to be a random variable and the main focus is on the number of completed actions by time t, X(t). Some models, which reflect different degree of centralization in the spread process, are analyzed and the distribution of X(t), as well as that of some other stochastic processes of interest, are obtained. The relevance to propagation of epidemics is pointed out. All models are solved by employing two interrelated concepts, namely, the order statistics property of stochastic processes and the binomial closure property of collections of distributions. In this respect, the work also serves as an illustration of the application of these useful concepts.


This paper sketches two dam types, the concrete face rockfill dam and roller compacted concrete gravity dam, and through the comprehensive comparison of the landform and geological conditions of the dam site, the damming materials, the construction conditions, the main quantities of the construction, and the total investment, etc., selects the concrete face rockfill dam as the basic type of the dam.


The present invention provides a signal by the gain profile of the profile material or pumping higher order mode (the HOM) signal matching the more effective the amplified signal. By doing so, a more efficient energy extraction.


As the fast pace of mobile banking innovations continue to permeate the socio-economic context of many African countries, there is a need for more in-depth research in this particular area. This paper focuses on mobile banking services and seeks to unearth the decision criteria associated with its choice among Kenyan small and medium enterprises (SMEs). While treating the area of focus as an impact evaluation phenomenon, the study employs ethnographic decision tree modeling to understand how target users make decisions concerning mobile banking services. The paper in particular seeks to answer the question: What decision criteria and constraints do Kenyan SMEs evaluate when deciding to register or not register for mobile banking services? Given the chosen research methodology, the study which is carried out in a developing country context is underpinned by the theory of real-life choice in order to make sense of the economic and socio-cultural context of Kenyan SMEs' appropriation decisions in relation to mobile banking technologies. The study contributes to the on-going discourse on information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) impact research by looking at the adopters' and non-adopters' decision criteria and yields vital knowledge for mobile banking service providers.


Phase-change absorption has shown a promising application prospect for acid gas capture because only the gas-rich phase needs to be transported to the stripper for recovery, which could drastically reduce the energy consumption of the regeneration process. In this study, the liquid–liquid phase-change behavior of a new recyclable ternary system, composed of 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-ene (DBN)/hexadecane/hexanol, was evaluated for capturing H2S. The absorption adduct was the [DBNH]+[SH]− salt, and the cause of the phase change was attributed to the polarity difference between the upper and lower phases. Furthermore, considering that only the lower phase needed to be heated for regeneration, the gravimetric absorption capacity was calculated to be 0.205 g H2S/g lower phase at 1 bar and 293.15 K. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest gravimetric absorption capacity for H2S capture obtained to date. Additionally, when the absorption reached equilibrium, DBN, hexanol, and H2S were concentrated i...


Heat‐denatured DNA from HeLa cells interacts with natural as well as synthetic polysaccharides. Glucose does not inhibit the interaction nor will it produce it. Polysaccharides with a molecular weight of 10000 or greater are required before the interaction takes place.


For the shortage of big data and incremental data processing in static algorithm, the dynamic rule extraction algorithm based on rough-decision tree was constructed to diagnose rotating machinery faults. Through the combination of rough set with decision tree, the sample selections were made by the method of incremental sampling. Through dynamic reduction,decision tree construction, rules extraction and selection, matching, four steps of loop iteration process, dynamic rule extraction was achieved, which improved the credibility of the extracted rules. Meanwhile, by applying the algorithm to the dynamic problem: rotating machinery fault diagnosis, the effectiveness of the algorithm was verified. Finally, the efficiency of the algorithm was compared with static algorithm and incremental dynamic algorithm. The result demonstrates that the proposed algorithm can obtain more implied information in the most streamlined way.


iv CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW 1 1.1. General Introduction 1 1.2. Literature Review 3 References 41 CHAPTER 2. SEPARATION OF CHIRAL SULFOXIDES BY LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY USING MACROCYCLIC GLYCOPEPTIDE CHIRAL STATIONARY PHASES Abstract 72 2.


In this article, a novel scheme based on region growing segmentation is presented to detect features. This method provides solution to automatic seed selection in region growing segmentation, thus aims to segment the region of interest in an uneven background in industry X-radiography images. Otsu and Kittler's thresholds are employed for the automatic seed selection. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by the relative foreground area error metric and compared with other existing segmentation methods. The performance measures show that the proposed method is capable of providing the required segmentation of features.


Payroll system in PD Usaha Baru are still using manual systems.  This manual system makes payroll processing in PD Usaha Baru  to be slow.  Therefore, researcher conducted a study to produce a computerized system that can support a payroll system in PD Usaha Baru.  With the computerized system will simplify and streamline operations within the company. The method used in this research is descriptive method.  Data collected by observation, interview, and literature study.  Researcher used data flow diagram in data analysis techniques and using the Visual FoxPro 9.0 in the engineering system design. Researcher designed a computer-based information systems that can help process the payroll data processing PD Usaha Baru, so as to produce data and information quickly and accurately. The system can also help improve the quality of service to customers and improve the quality of information in the form of submission of the report to the leadership so as to assist leaders in making better decisions. The conclusion that can be concluded in this study is the application of computer-based technology can help improve the quality of data and information processing, increase data security, and enhance the company's performance. To obtain optimal results in the payroll information system, the researchers suggest the company to implement a computer-based information systems payroll, and training for employees, and perform system maintenance to run properly.


In this paper the "Hardware in a Loop" concept is introduced for the design of wireless communication systems. The aim is to verify the algorithm design at a very early stage of the design flow. This is done by a step-by-step hardware implementation of the simulated algorithms. Signalion provides a rapid prototyping platform to enable this algorithm verification on a hardware with a minimum of additional effort. This approach helps to identify design errors and implementation faults even before the first system tape-out. Thus, it reduces time to market and development costs by helping to avoid numerous chip redesign cycles. It is shown, that the hardware platform can be used for complex PHY-implementations such as MIMO-OFDM modems. Keywords— Rapid Prototyping, MIMO-Systems, MIMOOFDM, Smart Antennas


Summary An efficient protocol is outlined for the establishment of proliferating cell cluster cultures using a bioreactor, and subsequent regeneration of the aromatic plant, Lavandula angustifolia 'Munstead'. Red calli were obtained by culturing leaflet explants on basal MS medium supplemented with 0.23 µM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic (2,4-D) and 2.22 µM 6-benzylaminopurine (BA), and subsequent sub-culturing. Calli were then transferred to basal MS liquid medium containing 0.23 µM 2,4-D and 2.22 µM BA to initiate suspension cultures. Cell clusters were obtained by sieving the initial suspensions and sub-culturing them in basal MS liquid medium supplemented with 0.23 µM 2,4-D plus 2.22 µM BA and 1.89 µM abscisic acid, by means of shake culture, or bioreactor culture. After 20 d of culture, cell clusters were transferred to basal MS medium containing 1.14 µM indole-3-acetic acid and produced a high number of regenerated plants, which were successfully transferred to soil.


Two ecological models of nitrogen processes in treatment wetlands have been evaluated and compared. These models have been implemented, simulated, and visualized in the Modelica language. The diffe ...


Although robotic vision systems offer a promising technology solution for rapid and reconfigurable in-process 3D inspection of complex and large parts in contemporary manufacturing, measurement accuracy poses a challenge for its wide deployment. One of the key issues in adopting a robotic vision system is to understand the extent of its measurement errors which are directly correlated with the calibration process. In this paper, a possible source of practical and inherent measurement uncertainties involved in the calibration process of a robotic vision system are discussed. The system considered in this work consists of an image sensor mounted on an industrial robot manipulator with six degrees of freedom. Based on a series of experimental tests and computer simulations, the paper gives a comprehensive performance comparison of different calibration approaches and shows the impact of measurement uncertainties on the calibration process. It has been found from the error sensitivity analysis that minor uncertainties in the calibration process can significantly affect the accuracy of the robotic vision system. Further investigations suggest that inducing errors in image calibration patterns can have an adverse effect on the hand–eye calibration process compared to the angular errors in the robot joints.


After drilling operations at the offshore plant, crude oil is producted under high pressure. After that time, oil recovery is reduced, because the pressure of the pipe inside is low during the secon-dary produce. At that time injection sea water at the pipe inside through water injection pump that the device increase to recovery. A variety of mathematical analysis during the detailed design analysis was not made through the dynamics characteristic at the domestic


The utility model relates to a jetting type heat pump without a receiving chamber. The jetting type heat pump comprises a nozzle, a mixing chamber, a throat pipe and a pressurization chamber, wherein the mixing chamber, the throat pipe and the pressurization chamber are sequentially connected along a shaft; an air suction port is formed at the bottom of the mixing chamber; and the nozzle is arranged in the mixing chamber. The structure of the jetting type heat pump is simplified; the production cost is saved; the coaxiality of the heat pump can be well guaranteed; and the using effect is good.


Background: The endemic Italian roe deer (Capreolus c. italicus) is threatened by introgressive hybridization with the introduced and expanding European subspecies Capreolus c. capreolus. Population genetic surveys show that some populations in central Italy are not yet admixed with the introduced subspecies. Question: Is it possible to identify and map the distributions of native and admixed roe deer populations? Methods: We obtained and analysed diagnostic mitochondrial DNA control-region sequences and individual genotypes at 11 autosomal microsatellite loci in 1051 roe deer samples collected from the entire distribution of Italian roe deer and from reference populations of European roe deer. We used classical and Bayesian statistical approaches to describe the genetic substructure of roe deer populations in Italy. We used admixture analyses and landscape genetic tools to map the fine-scale distributions of Italian roe deer populations and locate their admixture zones. Results: A very few fragmented patches of the Italian roe deer do survive in central Italy. Although these populations are seriously threatened by hybridization with expanding European roe deer, they can be genetically identified and, by means of translocations, saved from genetic extinction. Discussion: TO FOLLOW - 4 LINES ALLOWED.


Studies on the decay and production of meson are briefly reviewed. Considering RUN-II of Tevatron and the schedule of LHC, the theoretical studies of Bc meson will jump to a new stage not only for itself but also to implement the studies of the heavy quarkonia etc.


The search for competitive differentials in the current industry has required conceptual changes in in new product development processes. In this way, evaluating the product functions and associating them with its aspects of manufacturability has been crucial for cost reduction and for obtaining a better balanced of the design regarding the value perceived by the customer and the real manufacturing costs to meet each of the functions. However, there are not relevant studies showing the current state of the art for methods that cyclically interact with the phases of an integrated product development process (IPDP) assessing the issues of product functions, perceived value by the consumer, solutions definition and manufacturing costs. Thus, the objective of this paper is to seek the border of knowledge regarding methods and studies that specifically encompass the design phases that define the functions and phases that define the solutions in a concurrent engineering environment. And, from these results, cross that border with the proposal and application of a method over a real case of design optimization in a product subset from the consumer goods industry. Thus, this study applied and evaluated a new method, its gains and limitations. As well as, verifying the influence of the method in the balance between the value and the cost of each set function, in addition to the direct comparison of the final cost of the solution with the version without the method application. Among the results, this article presents a report showing the relevance of the information collected, the method viability, its particularities, impacts and limitations.


Potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) is a risk factor for drug‐related problems (DRPs) and an important inpatient safety issue. PIM‐Check is a screening tool designed to detect PIM in internal medicine patients.


Tan Qiao and his work Hua Shu occupied an important position in ideological history of Taoism.With the facts the article explains that Tan Qiao and Tan Zi-qiao were one person in Five Dynasties,his work Hua Shu was not only an important classics of Taoism,but also a general plan for running a country.It put forward that the ruler should use the transformation of Taoism,skill,virtue,benevolence,food and frugality to make society transfer to good development,to realize peace and tranquility over the world and to construcet a frugal and harmonious society having impartiality in economy,justice in politics,and tolerance in ideology.


The cationic organic flocculant N-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan (HTCC) was used for flocculation of pectin, which was an impurity widespread in Chinese medicine water extractions, and the effects of the flocculant dosage, the pectin concentration, pH value, and the solution temperature on the flocculation efficiency were studied. FTIR spectra of pectin and its flocs were analyzed to determine the flocculation mechanism. The results showed that HTCC effectively flocculated the high-methoxyl pectin (HMP) and low-methoxyl pectin (LMP). The removal rate of HMP and LMP were above 85% and 90%, respectively. The flocculant dosage and pH value were the key influential factors. The pectin flocculation mechanism was mainly adsorption bridging and charge neutralization by hydrogen bonding, electrostatic adsorption, and hydrophobic interaction. The optimal flocculation conditions of HMP and LMP by HTCC were achieved. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


This paper analyses a predator-prey model with Holling type II response function incorporating Allee and fear effect in the prey. The model includes intra species competition among predators. We find out the local dynamics as well as Hopf bifurcation by considering level of fear as bifurcation parameter. The condition for diffusion-driven instability and patterns are then demonstrated in relation to the system's ecological parameters and diffusion coefficients. Intra-specific competition affects the dynamics of the system and Turing pattern formation. Moreover, output of results is verified through numerical simulation. Thus, from a dynamical standpoint, the considered model seems to be relevant in the field of ecology.


Performance, efficiency and stability of electrodes in electrochemical energy and storage devices, such as batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors etc., crucia lly depends on binding and wiring of electroactive part icles. As the particles size decreases from microto nano scales, both features become more and more importan t because, at smaller dimensions, efficient binding a nd wiring is not possible without introducing appropri ate interaction between active particles and binders (o r conducting additives). In the case of insertion Li insertion batteries, bi nding in electrodes is usually achieved by addition of polym eric binders, such as teflon, poly(vinilydene fluoride) or different kinds of resins. Despite the obvious prac tic l importance of these additives, very little is known about the mechanisms through which the matter is held tog ether in the presence of binders. For example, no clear a nswer has been given to basic questions, such as: Is the binder only a »passive« phase which holds the particles to gether by forming networks into which particles are caught (Fig. 1, on left) or does the binder interact with the pa rticles forming bridges as sketched in Fig. 1 (on right)? Similarly: What are the binding forces of various k inds of binders? Even less fundamental, but very important questions from the energy density point of view, ha ve been hardly tackled, e.g.: What is the minimum bind er content which yields acceptable electrode performan ce?


Both chronic trauma and shame, as well as the relation between them, are understudied phenomena. This is despite particularly high levels of both traumaand shame-related psychopathology in South Africa (Edwards, 2005). I conducted a qualitative study exploring experiences of trauma, shame, post-traumatic reactions and coping mechanisms in single interviews with 19 South African survivors of chronic trauma (intimate partner violence) using narrative analysis. Results from the categorical content analysis indicated that all but one participant reported a history of physical violence perpetrated by her intimate partner. Sexual and emotional violence were also reported by the majority of the participants. The most significant reported mental health outcomes were persistent fear, depression and suicidality, dissociation and somatic complaints. Coping mechanisms included religion, support from family, counselling and substance misuse. Using smiling as a mask to conceal difficult feelings and keeping occupied were cited as the most effective defenses. Shame was viewed as a social emotion, and often described as humiliation (and sometimes embarrassment), which required the presence of a mocking, hostile audience. This was interpreted in socio-cultural terms. Eleven women presented with a split self – the authentic self who admitted to a great deal of shame when asked indirectly, and the false self who was described in surprisingly positive terms. I analysed this split using categorical content analysis and narrative analysis from a social constructivist point of view at individual (clinical) level, organisational (micro-cultural) level, and broader cultural level. I used Gee's (1991) categorical form analysis to analyse five long complex shame and trauma narratives with the aim of determining if psychic fragmentation presents at linguistic level. I also analysed three short, compressed trauma and shame narratives. The structure of the short narratives tended to be circular, erratic, disjointed, and interrupted (Scarry, 1985; Simon, 2008). The three short, compressed trauma narratives were characterised by long pauses or silences, hesitations, avoiding eye contact, hunching over, covering the face with clothes, whispering, so making the narrative almost inaudible, crying, and defensive leaning in towards me, and laughing. These women were exceptions – most women expressed an urgency to talk about their experiences in great detail. Although the longer narratives are essentially fractured chaos narratives at linguistic level, they contain predominant traumaand shame-related themes that are consistent throughout the narratives and that remain intact in spite of the signs of linguistic disruption and fragmentation. They are, in order of Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za


Nabokov's autobiography and the title of his first English novel suggests a distinction between autobiography and fiction. Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited is an excruciatingly self-conscious and self-directed appellation for a book, for "^peak, Memory" is a mock-classical address from the author to his own memory, as if his recollections had unto themselves not only personality but also language; "An Autobiography Revisited" is Nabokov's extremely arch way of saying that the present text is the revised edition of Conclusive Evidence. But the comedy, as always with Nabokov, cuts considerably deeper. If autobiography is a physical place to which one can return, and if memory has words with which to communicate, then consciousness is tangible and the imagination is real. Into one titular phrase Nabokov has compressed the central motif of his memoir. The Real Life of Sebastian Knight is an equally "loaded" title, for "real life" implies that lived life, rather than remembered or imagined life, is real: that here?the naive novel-reader thinks?we're going to get the goods on a writer's "real life," as if the life of an artist were to be found anywhere except in his work. In a book about half-brothers, "Sebastian" must be taken as a reference to Viola's twin brother in Twelfth Night, and "Knight" is a triple pun on "night," "chess knight," and "dubbed knight." Note the differences: we interpret both titles, but the novel-title makes references to the world as well as to literature, whereas the autobiography-title is militantly hermetic. Furthermore, the novel-title assumes a sophistication beyond the reader and hence an implicit an tagonism toward us, for certainly the reader is deceived who approaches The Real Life of Sebastian Knight with the expectation that we're going to "get" the "real life" of Sebastian Knight. The autobiography-title, on the other hand, takes the reader into its confidence; explains the entire, ensu ing book in its five-words-and-a-colon; acknowledges and reveals, via its


Nonylphenol (NP) is an endocrine disruptor and causes feminization in various organisms. This study aims to determine the water quality criteria for NP in China based on species sensitivity distribution (SSD) models considering both reproductive and traditional toxicity effects. A total of 17 chronic values with reproductive endpoints and 14 chronic values with traditional endpoints tested with aquatic species resident in China were found in published literature, among which six values were from marine species. As chronic toxicity data for marine species were limited, the acute-to-chronic toxicity ratio methodology was employed to extrapolate from acute-to-chronic toxicity values. The SSD models were then built with a whole set of chronic toxicity values for NP. Based on model simulation, the chronic water quality criterion in fresh water was calculated as 1.37 μg/L and 4.29 μg/L for reproductive endpoints and traditional endpoints, respectively. The criterion in seawater was derived as 1.68 μg/L for traditional endpoints. Although these criteria were derived by a third-party organization not affiliated with the Chinese authority for criteria development, they were obtained from a scientific point of view and can be used to evaluate water quality and ecological risks of nonylphenol in various water bodies.


The article dwells on the XVI-th session of the Supreme Council of Tajikistan Republic (November 1992) which opened the way to peace and consent for Tajiks. Designing on the premise of concrete factual material the author shows that this session has laid the grounds of national concord and mutual understanding. Into the bargain, the article presents a versatile scientific analysis of the national reconciliation of Tajiks as a visual example for a settlement of an inner national conflict. It is emphasized that the policy conducted by the state and the Government of Tajikistan Republic promotes widely an overcoming of political, social-economic and spiritual crisis in the country.


Aim: This study aimed to determine the prognostic value of baseline serum vaspin for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in a cohort of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) referred for coronary angiography. Methods: Serum vaspin was measured in 191 subjects (CAD patients: n=88; controls: n=103) who were followed up in following 2 years for MACE including unstable angina pectoris (UAP), non-fatal myocardial infarction, revascularization with either percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting, ischemic stroke, death and rehospitalization. Results: The serum vaspin was significantly lower (0.25±0.393 ng/ mL vs. 0.96±1.901 ng/mL, P=0.037) in MACE group than in non-MACE group. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that MACE was negatively correlated with vaspin (B=-0.408, RR=0.665, P=0.039), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and positivelywith systolic blood pressure (SBP). Analysis with receiver operating characteristic curves confirmed that serum vaspin could predict MACE (area under the curve =0.768, P<0.001). The incidence of MACE was significantly reduced inhigh-vaspin group (cut-off value: 0.283 ng/mL) as compared to low-vaspin group (45 [46.88%] vs. 4 [4.44%], P<0.01). In addition, subjects inhigh-vaspin group were more likely to have bettercardiac function (LVEF-drop: 3.37±6.144 in low-vaspin group vs -3.30±11.636 in highvaspin group, P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a significantly reduced MACE-free survival rate in subjects with high serum vaspin. Conclusion: Lower baseline serum vaspin is independently associated with an increased risk for MACE in 2 years in a cohort of CAD patients with different severity, and Non-CAD subjects.


This paper presents the first cycle of a design-based study at Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences, Finland, during which a video-supported forum-theater approach was implemented and evaluated. Students enrolled in the Drama course in the Civic Activities and Youth Work degree program produced and recorded forum-theater performances about elderly people's use of alcohol, with the recordings used first as learning tools for themselves and later as video cases for social work students enrolled in the Substance Abuse course. The study sought to refine the design of these courses by analyzing the Drama course students' experiences of the video-supported forum-theater approach from the viewpoint of meaningful learning and then the Substance Abuse students' experiences of the video cases. The results indicate that, according to the Drama students, videosupported forum-theater facilitates both teaching and meaningful learning, enhancing the acquisition of domain-specific knowledge, methodological skills, and the ability to solve every day social problems. The Substance Abuse students perceived the video cases as useful for learning. According to students, the videos were authentic and represented working life well. The results suggest several practical refinements to both the Drama and the Substance Abuse course designs and to the teaching activities.


ABSTRACT A molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was conducted to study the adsorption behaviour of a nonionic surfactant adsorbed on low-rank coal. Owing to the complicated chemical component and structure of the coal surface, a modified graphite surface with hydroxyl, carboxyl, and carbonyl groups was utilised for a representation of the subbituminous coal surface model. The compositions of the hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carboxyl groups on the coal surface were found to be at a proportion of 25:3:5 according to the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results. The interaction of nonylphenol ethoxylate with 8 ethylene oxide groups (NPEO-8) using this coal model in an aqueous phase was then simulated. It was revealed that the nonionic surfactant molecules were adsorbed at the interface between water and coal. This agminated structure of the surfactant molecules on the surface of the coal demonstrated an attachment of the surfactant ethoxylate groups to these solid surfaces and an extension of the remaining hydrophobic portions into the solution. Therefore, a coal surface with greater hydrophobicity was created. The dynamic properties of the water molecules characterised through self-diffusion coefficients indicate greater water mobility resulting from the existence of NPEO-8.


and thorough examples of theoretical application, such as creative problem solving techniques. A sound ethical perspective runs through the book, not only in the specific chapter addressing ethical considerations, but woven into areas of application, such as providing expert witness testimony and acting as a consultant in a crisis. Several of the chapters address themselves to organisational change and project management within a range of forensic settings; the perpetual challenge for us all. Although much is written about change management, these papers highlight the role of psychological theory and practice in the successful implementation of change. Practical techniques in and of themselves are only effective if grounded in theory about behaviour change. What looks useful on the surface may well not deliver if it is not soundly research evidence-based and a detailed example of implementation within a law enforcement agency demonstrates the processes involved. This leads on to consideration about performance within forensic settings and the challenge to make changes from within, in improving employee engagement, and fromwithout, in the form of inspection. The aim, as described by the authors, is not necessarily to work harder but to be more effective. To engage with a challenging population, and challenging feedback, requires effort that needs to be smart and sustainable. These essays address themselves to the role of the psychology practitioner in evaluating, inspecting and implementing change in a way that promotes positive outcomes for both staff and clients. Throughout the book, the authors have drawn on a wealth of theoretical and practical experience. The book guides the reader through a wide range of relevant application of this experience and aids the consultant to be prepared, informed and to fully use their psychological and professional expertise.


In this paper, the influence of different ratio of polyol and MDI on the absorption coefficient and acoustic parameters of polyurethane was studied. Ratio of 100:40 and 100:45 show the best sound absorption performance, and the change trend of transmission loss and sound absorption coefficient are opposite. The flow resistance increased with the increasing of the ratio of polyol and MDI, the greater the flow resistance, the worse the high frequency sound absorption property of the polyurethane. When the ratio of polyol and MDI keep 100:45, the minimum porosity of sample, the polyurethane porosity increase with the ratio of polyol and MDI increase.


Bilateral control is a remote-control technique that can transmit the reaction force received by a slave as feedback to its master. However, it poses several problems; hence, bilateral control using functional electrical stimulation (FES) has been proposed as a solution. Generally, in bilateral control, position synchronization and establishing the force actionreaction are considered the control targets for an acceptable force sense transmission. In this study, bilateral control using FES based on a dynamic model is proposed to achieve position synchronization and force action-reaction. The approximation of the relationship between the stimulus value and the exerted torque by the dynamic model is expected to simplify the creation of inverse models and improve the force control performance. The results obtained through comparison with other methods indicated that the proposed method reduced the angle and torque tracking errors between the master and slave. The results also revealed that the proposed bilateral control system achieved highly accurate position synchronization and force action-reaction in bilateral control using FES.


Social scientists make a fundamental assumption about the nature of the relationship between theory and fact. For them, theories are seen, not as guides to individual behaviour, but as tools for the clinical investigation of social processes. The end of this search is a better theory. A theory has most chance of acceptance if it seems elegantly to order a very large number of hitherto unrelated facts.


PURPOSE: To provide a method capable of manufacturing safety shoe box toes which are light in weight, homogeneous and high in strength without giving rise to the variation in strength and appearance defect of molded goods at a high yield with good productivity. CONSTITUTION: The method of manufacturing the safety shoe box toe comprising putting filament reinforced thermoplastic resin pellet materials into a pseudo box toe mold 11a, compressing the materials under heating to primarily mold the pseudo box toe 1, disposing the resultant pseudo box toe into a safety shoe box toe mold 11b and pressurizing the same under heating thereby compression molding the safety shoe box toe is provided. The safety shoe box toe which consists of the filament reinforced thermoplastic resin and is 70 to 100% in the reinforcing fiber content of a skirt section with respect to a main body section is obtained.


I anticipate earning academic credit for this project as follows (10 units maximum): Course number Fall Units Winter Units Spring Units ========================== Please attach a one page description detailing your thesis project. ========================== SIGNATURES: I have read the Honors Thesis Policy document (see reverse) and acknowledge that this thesis topic should include extensive physics content. I have assisted in defining and outlining the thesis topic. If approved, I agree to supervise the work, and submit a grade for this thesis.


The quantitative shape–activity relationship (QShAR) methodology, based on accurate three‐dimensional electron densities and detailed shape analysis methods, has been applied to a Lemna gibba photoinduced toxicity data set of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules. In the first phase of our studies, a shape fragment QShAR database of PAHs was developed. The results provide a very good match to toxicity based on a combination of the local shape features of single rings in comparison to the central ring of anthracene and a more global shape feature involving larger molecular fragments. The local shape feature appears as a descriptor of the susceptibility of PAHs to photomodification and the global shape feature is probably related to photosensitization activity.


Background: Depression and anxiety is prevalent among patients with dementia but the extent to which these conditions are treated with antidepressants has not previously been investigated. Methods: Nationwide register-based data in Denmark were used to identify all patients diagnosed with dementia or osteoarthritis at hospital admission or at first outpatient contact during the period 1995–2000. Rates of subsequent purchase of antidepressants from pharmacies were then calculated. Further, the rate of antidepressant use for patients with dementia was compared with the rate in a gender-, age-, and calendar-matched sample of the general population. Results: In total, 24,137 patients with a main diagnosis of dementia and 100,378 patients with a main first diagnosis of osteoarthritis were incorporated in the study. A total of 43.2% of patients with dementia received antidepressants during follow-up compared to 16.0% of patients with osteoarthritis. Among patients with a diagnosis of dementia, the rate of subsequently purchasing antidepressants was 4.17 times higher (95% CI = 4.05–4.29) than that of patients with a first diagnosis of osteoarthritis, and 8.85 times higher (95% CI = 8.68–9.03) than that of a gender-, age- and calendar-matched sample of the general population. The rate was increased in all subgroups of patients regardless of gender, age, socio-economic group and time since diagnosis. Conclusions: The findings challenge the widely held contention that depression and anxiety in patients with dementia is underdiagnosed and undertreated in clinical practice.


Beriberi heart disease does not constitute a rigid syndrome because the severity of cardiac failure, associated peripheral neuritis, other concomitant signs and symptoms, and response to treatment are variable. Five patients with peripheral neuritis, edema and evidence of cardiac failure are presented. All improved after treatment, and, in two instances, there was marked reduction in cardiac size. Beriberi was thought to be the most likely diagnosis in each case, since there was no evidence of other etiology.


This study was done to identify the relationship of perceived health status, pain and quality of sleep for elderly people for each gender. Female elders were significantly lower perceived health status score, higher pain score than male elders. Quality of sleep had significant negative correlation with perceived health status for male elders. In female elders, quality of sleep had significant positive correlation with pain and negative correlation with perceived health status. Findings of this study provide a comprehensive understanding of sleep quality and related factors for elders in Korea. Also, these results could be used in developing sleep promotion program. Sleep is a fundamental activity from which humans recover physical functions, maintains health, and mentally recharge, and that positively affects individual well- being and quality of life. However, not everyone takes an appropriate sleep, and many experience sleep disorders (Driscoll et al., 2008). Elders, especially, are the age group that report sleep disorders the most often, and sleep disorders have become a crucial issue for rapidly increasing elderly population. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding change in sleep due to aging is necessary and a solution for improving sleep quality of elders is demanded. Insufficient sleep is related to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, psychological depression, and other chronic conditions (Centers for Disease and Prevention, 2013), and elders with sleep disorders run into sick leaves, emergencies, hospitalization, and other medical services (Novak, Musci, Shapiro, Rethelyi, & Kopp, 2004), demonstrating the relation between sleep and health. Moreover, pain is a factor affecting sleep and seems to be another common problem among the elderly population. Lindstrom and other (2012) found that elders who have experienced pain in four weeks experienced sleep disorders more commonly than elders who have not, and in case of elders with more severe pain, those who receive analgesics experience sleep disorders more often than those who do not. This study suggests that in order to improve sleep quality of elders, pain


Many applications that rely on phase data, such as: synthetic aperture radar (SAR), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and interferometry involve solving the twodimensional phase unwrapping problem. The phase unwrapping problem has been tackled by a number of researchers who have attempted to solve it in many ways. This thesis examines the phase unwrapping problem from two perspectives. Firstly it develops two new techniques based upon the principles of Genetic Algorithms. Secondly it examines the reasons for failure of most of the common existing algorithms and proposes a new approach to ensuring the robustness of the phase unwrapping process. This new method can be used in conjunction of a number of algorithms including, but not limited to, the two Genetic Algorithm methods developed here. Some research effort has been devoted to solving the phase unwrapping problem using artificial intelligence methods. Recent developments in artificial intelligence have led to the creation of the Hybrid Genetic Algorithm approach which has not previously been applied to the phase unwrapping problem. Two hybrid genetic algorithm methods for solving the two dimensional phase unwrapping problem are proposed and developed in this thesis. The performance of these two algorithms is subsequently compared with several existing methods of phase unwrapping. The most robust existing phase unwrapping techniques use exhaustive computations and approximations, but these approaches contribute little towards understanding the cause of failure in the phase unwrapping process. This work undertakes a thorough investigation to the phase unwrapping problem especially with regard to the problem of residues. This investigation has identified a new feature in the wrapped phase data, which has been named the residue-vector. This residue-vector is generated by the presence of a residue, it has an orientation that points out towards the balancing residue of opposite polarity and it can be used to guide the manner in which branch-cuts are placed in phase unwrapping. Also, the residue-vector can be used for the determination of the weighting values used in different existing phase unwrapping methods such as minimum cost flow and least squares. In this work, the theoretical foundations of the residue-vector method are presented and a residue-vector extraction method is developed and implemented. This technique is then demonstrated both as an unwrapping tool and as an objective method for determining a quality map, using only the data in the wrapped phase map itself. Finally a general comparison is made between the residue-vector map and other existing quality map generation methods. i Two-Dimensional Phase Unwrapping Acknowledgement Acknowledgement It has been an honour and a privilege to be associated with Professor Michael Lalor and Professor David Burton for carrying out the research work towards my PhD degree. I have greatly benefited from their deep insight and expertise into the subject. With their professional guidance, invaluable advice, patience, constant support and encouragement, throughout the different stages of the project I was able to publish my work presented in this thesis in two international journal papers and to be recognized in the field of research by many researchers. Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and sincere thanks to them. Also, I acknowledge valuable time spent by Dr. Francis Lilley in helping me correct and edit my papers I have published. I would like to express my thanks and appreciation especially for his quick response for help. I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Munther Gdeisat, for his help, time, encouragement, advice and motivation that he provided me through the period of my PhD degree. Besides, learning his engineering techniques and understanding the project. Again, I would like to express my deep thanks and gratitude. On a more personal note, I must thank my parent for their endless support throughout my studies. Without their constant assurance and assistance, completion of this project would have not been possible. Their enthusiasm, drive, strength of character, tenacity and determination have inspired me to carry out this research work. And as a sign of my love, gratitude and affection I dedicate this work to them. I want to thank my wife for her support and motivation in the completion of my PhD degree.


Methods: We performed CRF procedures on DRG in 8 subjects (7 males; mean age 39 years, range 31‐53 years) with intractable spasticity that impeded activities of daily living and caregiving, although they had maximal tolerable doses of anti‐spastic medications and active rehabilitative treatment. All subjects underwent CRF (90 seconds at 90°C) at multiple lumbosacral and/or cervical DRG. Muscle tone of the extremities was measured by the modified Ashworth scale (MAS) before and one month after procedures. Functional goals were established at baseline, and subjects' satisfaction levels were categorized one month after procedures.


propose that the positive emotions consumers experience in the self-design process are attached to the outcome of this process. Therefore, at the time of evaluation, process affect contributes to consumers' preference for their self-designed product. In this research, we experimentally simulated self-design creation and subsequently measured self-designed product evaluation. We manipulated the format of the creation task and the delay of the evaluation task. We measured consumers' memory and preference for their self-design. We propose that, first, if outcome accuracy is the major determinant, because this construct is enduring and contextindependent at the times of creating and evaluating the self-design, neither format nor delay should have an effect on memory or preference. Second, if mere authorship is the major determinant, because this response bias is a context-dependent construction at the time of evaluation, both format and delay should have an effect on memory or preference. Moreover, these effects should be mediated by the recognition of the self-design. Third, if process affect is the major determinant, since this affect is generated by the self-design process, different types of format of the self-design creation task should have an effect on memory and preference. Depending on how long this effect can last different lengths of delay of the self-design evaluation task could also have an effect. However, these effects should not be mediated by recognition. Our study used a 2 (format of self-design creation: online vs. paper-and-pencil) x 2 (delay between self-design creation and evaluation: one-week vs. four-week) between-subject design. 192 participants performed the online design task and 164 performed the paper-and-pencil task. Participants in the online design task were directed to a webpage at Nike's website, where they were able to selfdesign a Nike iD sports shoe of a pre-selected model for themselves. They could either start with one of four gender-specific "inspirations" (existing styles created by Nike's professional designers), modifying it into a new style or, alternatively, start with an all while shoe model, creating their own style from scratch. The self-design task involves choosing a color from a palette of colors (ranging from 6 to 12 in number) for each of the seven shoe components (i.e., base, secondary, swoosh, accent, lace, lining, and "shox"). Participants in the paperand-pencil design task were given a coloring book and a set of color pencils, through which they were also able to self-design a sports shoe of the pre-selected model for themselves. Although the solution space for both design task formats was manipulated to be identical, the paper-and-pencil format lacks the interactivity, vividness, and user-friendliness that are unique to the online format. Before and after the self-design task of both formats, self-design process measures were taken including perceived ease, performance, and enjoyment of the design task. Participants unexpectedly received an email inviting them to participate in the evaluation task either one week or four weeks after they had completed the self-design task. A set of 30 different shoe designs was prepared as stimuli. It consisted of ten "cluster designs," ten "random designs," nine professional designs, and one self-design. The ten cluster/random designs were created/selected based on the pool of 156 self-designs collected in a pretest conducted on a separate group of 156 participants. The nine professional designs were the eight inspirations (four for men and four for women) and the all white shoe model that participants encountered in the design task. The self-design was specific to each participant. Without being informed whether their self-design was included in the set, participants rated each of the 30 designs in terms of initial liking (yes/no), preference (1-100 scale), and likelihood of being their self-design (1-100 scale), as well as identified their self-design among the 30 designs. Results showed that the number of unique self-designs equaled the number of participants. This high level of preference heterogeneity seems to argue for the role of mass customization in shoe industry because the larger the heterogeneity of consumers' preferences, the larger they can gain from customization the increment of utility of a product. Participants in the online self-design task format reported a significantly higher level of process affect than participants in the paper-and-pencil format. Moreover, participants demonstrated an accurate memory and a high preference for their self-design, relative to the other 29 designs in the set that were created by professional designers or by their peers. The memory rating for the self-design tripled the average rating over the 29 designs. The preference rating for the self-design doubled the average rating. Over two third of participants correctly identified their self-design. Further, we found a format and a delay effect on memory, as well as a format and a delay effect on preference as mediated by the recognition of the self-design. The pattern of results generally supports the proposed three-factor model.


A number of carbonate reservoirs show hydrothermal dolomite imprint, however little information exists on the geometry and distribution of dolomite bodies in these reservoirs. The spectacularly exposed Latemar platform (Northern Italy) represents an outcrop analogue for carbonate reservoirs affected by hydrothermal dolomitization genetically linked to igneous activity. Detailed lithological information obtained from digital outcrop dataset and outcrop observations of a hydrothermal dolomitized carbonate platform has been used to constrain the detailed modelling of the 3D dolomite body architecture. PluriGaussian Simulation (PGS) has proved useful in other instances to model carbonate reservoirs and is an improvement of previous effort to model the Latemar dolomites by Sequential Indicator Simulation because it allows modeling multiple lithologies and preserving their connectivity. Six detailed pseudo-wells were "drilled" in the digital outcrop, and used as the data to constrain the modelling. The quantitative architectural information derived from the digital outcrop consists of the variograms of the observed lithologies (high-permeability dolomite, low-permeability limestone and magmatic dikes) and the cross-variograms between these three. The input to PGS consists of vertical proportion curves of the lithologies, and truncation diagrams or lithotype rules, which are used to constrain the transitions between lithologies. The lithotype rules are a graphical representation of facies or lithology relationships. The models obtained with PGS satisfy the vertical proportion curves, truncation diagram and (cross-) variograms. In this study, different lithotype rules are tested and compared to determine the most representative rule for modelling hydrothermal dolomite bodies. The resulting 3D model conforms outcrop observations and shows dolomite bodies which are elongated in dike-parallel directions and a preferential transition from dike to dolomite, with some degree of randomness allowing direct limestone to dikes transitions. The 3D model, after truncation by the digital outcrop topography, shows a satisfying resemblance with the real outcrop. This study shows that PluriGaussian simulation has the potential to be applied more generally to subsurface cases of hydrothermal dolomitization. Also, other plays where diagenetic fluids come up along faults and alter the surrounding rocks would benefit from a similar approach.


This paper mainly focuses on the study of the uniform exponential stability for a class of non-smooth slowly varying unstable linear systems which A(t) is supposed to be Lipschitz continuous in the systems.


Despite diplomatic efforts in Washington and Tokyo at the end of World War I, contention and discord surfaced between the United States and Japan as both countries sought to secure their position and prestige in China. A little-known confrontation between American soldiers and Japanese police and civilians in Tientsin, China, contributed to strained diplomatic relations between the two countries. Diplomats, the press, soldiers, and history contributed to the fracas in Tientsin, which was interpreted differently by the United States and Japan. The Tientsin incident involved a clash between American soldiers and Japanese police and civilians in which two Americans were injured and detained illegally. Both sides had different explanations for the fracas. Japanese officials claimed that American soldiers raided Japan's concession in Tientsin and harmed their nationals. Americans disputed such an accusation and argued that their troops were attacked in the French concession by a mob of Japanese. In Washington, Peking, and Tientsin, diplomatic officials had difficulty obtaining complete facts related to the incident and two years would pass before the conflict would be settled. Although the Tientsin incident did not become an international crisis, it provided a representation of the tension and animosity found in China among American and Japanese populace, soldiers, press, and diplomats. In 1919, most Americans were unaware that the 15th U.S. Army Infantry had been based in northern China since 1912, after the uncertain founding of the Chinese Republic. Fearing instability and xenophobia in China in 1912, the United States decided to safeguard its citizens by exercising the authority granted under the Boxer Protocol of 1901, which included a provision that allowed foreign nations to station troops in China to secure passage for their civilians between Peking and the sea in order to avoid repeating the crises of the 1900 Boxer Uprising. Stationed in a sovereign country and part of an international force, the U.S. regiment had to juggle relations with the Chi-