Ambarella (Spondias dulcis) is a tropical plant which is known to have antioxidant activity. This study aims to determine the antioxidant activity of the n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of S. dulcis leaves through superoxide radical scavenging and to characterize the phytochemical compounds in the extract using LCMS/MS. S. dulcis leaf powder was macerated with n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol. Antioxidant activity was tested through superoxide radical scavengers. The n-hexane extract of S. dulcis leaves had the best antioxidant activity with an IC 50 value of 2080 µg/mL. Based on LCMS/MS, 6 compounds were detected in the n-hexane extract at retention time (Rt) 3.23-9.89 minutes. Compounds


The purpose of this study was to investigate the barriers to the employment and promotion of international teachers at secondary schools in the Mthatha Education District of South Africa. A sample of five principals, five Deputy Principals, five Heads of Departments and five international teachers from five different public secondary schools was used in the study. Face-to-face in-depth individual interviews were used to collect data from participants. Data obtained were analysed thematically. The following common barriers to the employment and promotion of international teachers at secondary schools in the district were revealed in the study: resistance from the local teachers to recognise the cultural similarities and differences that existed between themselves and the international teachers, the element of insecurity in the local teachers concerning the employment or promotion of international teachers, the school governing body's influence which favours the local teachers in any employment situation, the limited promotional posts in the senior secondary schools and the lack of work permits and South African resident permits by the international teachers. Recommendations concerning these barriers were made to ensure equal employments and promotional opportunities for all teachers irrespective of their nationalities. Keywords : International, Teachers, Barriers, Employment, Promotion, Resistance


The frequency and voltage level determines the quality of the power system. The control and stability becomes more complicated in case of a deregulated power system due to multiple bilateral transactions. The inclusion of delay further complicates the load frequency control. This paper deals with the modelling and designing of a controller for load frequency control in an interconnected two area non-reheat deregulated power system considering the effect of time delay. LMI based feedback controller is designed to maintain system frequency. The ascendancy of the LMI based controller over the genetic algorithm optimised integral controller is also demonstrated.


Objective:To evaluate the clinical application of a new type of orbital implant,which was a hollow silicon gel with two ears,and both inside and outside surfaces coated with fine nylon fiber net.Method:In 112 patients(112 eyes),after enucleation,this new type orbital implant was embeded primarily in 101 eyes and secondarily in 11 eyes.The superior and inferior recti were passing through the upper and lower ears respectively,and all the 4 recti were fied with sutures in front of the implant.Results:After embedding of the new type of implant,though the degree of motility of prothesis(3 5%) was less than that after hydroxyapatite and silicon gel (0%),but the cosmatic effects were the same,and the exposure rate (4 4%) and prolapse rate (0 5%) of new type implant were much lower than the old types (14 0% and 10 5%).Conclusion:This new type orbital implant has good tissue compatibility,low exposure rate and very low prolapse rate.It can be used as a substitute for hydroxyapatite orbital implant.


Mold taper is an important control parameter in the continuous casting of steel billets. Properly tapered mold walls compensate for shrinkage of the solidifying strand to maintain good contact and heat transfer between the mold wall and shell surface without exerting extra force on the hot and weak shell. The amount of taper needed varies with steel composition and casting conditions, such as mold length, casting speed, and type of lubrication. Inadequate mold taper leaves an air gap between the mold wall and shell surface which leads to a hotter and thinner shell within the mold. Ferrostatic pressure from the liquid core will bulge the weak shell within and out of the mold and even break out the shell in extreme situations. Excessive taper exerts extra load on the solidifying shell and increases dragging friction. Transverse cracks, shell buckling or even shell jamming and breakouts may occur. Past efforts conducted to assist mold taper prediction includes mathematical models to calculate thermal shrinkage of the steel billet [1-3] and thermal distortion of the mold . These previous investigations assume optimal taper should match the shell shrinkage, presuming this should produce good heat transfer across the interfacial layer between mold wall and billet surface at the face center along the mold axial direction. Corner effects have received little attention.


The market for coffee and coffee machines has experienced changes over recent years, e.g. through the introduction of portioned filter and capsules. Concurrently, the increasing interest in coffee as consumable is creating opportunities for growth and innovation. However, today's competition requires Philips BU Coffee to deliver products quicker and better adapt to shifts in market trends. Roadmaps, a strategical development tool, plays a crucial role in enabling this. As an effort to continue to innovate and meet the changing demands from coffee consumers, the process for roadmapping is needed to improve. Using the A3 methodology, this thesis investigated the current state of roadmapping and project portfolio management. The findings showed a multi-project setting as well as roadmap discrepancies. A root cause analysis was conducted which identified four root causes. Further, a literature study and best practice inquiry were performed to obtain insights on possible countermeasures. Finally, two options were selected after elimination and evaluation of all concepts. The first countermeasure was to introduce an integrated roadmap in the software Planisware to obtain a single source of truth and remove the discrepancies. The second countermeasure was the development of tools to support the process and aid in adhering to it. These proposals were checked with all stakeholders which all gave a positive response. In conclusion, the proposed framework enables Philips BU Coffee to perform portfolio assessments and roadmapping using a single source of truth. The development through Planisware gives transparency and allows for the decision making to be based on objective analysis. The holistic approach ensures that the organization is aligned and have the answers to can, should, and when to innovate. Stepping into the next generation of roadmapping will give Philips BU Coffee the possibility to share their passion for coffee for decades to come.


OBJIECTIVE To establised a method for the determination of S-enantisomer in Tolterodine fumarate by capillary zone electrophoresis.METHOD The total length of fused-silica capillary tube was 68 cm. The length from the inlet to the detector was 60 cm,and the internal diameter was 50 μm. A run voltage of 30 was applied and the temperature was set at 15℃. Samples were introduced into the capillary using pressure (100 mbar·s -1) and UV detection was performed at 204 nm.RESULTS The average recovery of S-enantisomer was 101.29% with RSD of 1.51%(n=9).CONCLUSION Capilary eletrophoresis method is simple, rapid and sensitive with good repriducibility in determination of Tolterodine fumarate.


The outbreak of the Covid-19 in 2020 is an important momentum for of Response Division of Pusat RisetKebencanaan-Universitas Padjadjaran (PRK Unpad) to carry out research and community service activities directly on campus. In the response to the Covid-19 outbreak, 76 active volunteers of PRK Unpad were recorded, consisting of lecturers, education staff and students. This study aims to describethe PRK Unpad movement in anticipating Covid-19 outbreak on campus, as a disaster, through risk disaster communication point of view. This is a qualitative study, using case study as the research method. The data collection technique is using participant observation. The researchers position as part was the key access to the research that held in March until July 2020. Focusing on the existence of PRK Unpad in anticipating Covid-19 outbreak di campus area. We're using in depth interview with several informants, paper trail that relate to PRK's movement, and internet trail that related to the issue. The results showed that in risk communication context, there was transformation in developing activities of PRK-Unpad, a university disaster research center, from a research center of excellence into community service practices throughout the pandemic. © 2021 RIGEO. All Rights Reserved.


A comparison of kinetic models describing the sorption of pollutants has been reviewed. The rate models evaluated include the Elovich equation, the pseudo-first order equation and the pseudo-second order equation. Results show that chemisorption processes could be rate limiting in the sorption step. The pseudo-second order equation may be applied for chemisorption processes with a high degree of correlation in several literature cases where a pseudo-first order rate mechanism has been arbitrarily assumed.


The forward modeling procedure used in this article is formulated with volume integral equation based on tensor Green's function. A cave model containing different quantity of water is designed to test the detectability of transient electromagnetic method (TEM) to saline groundwater. The numerical results show that TEM method is not sensitive to high resistive anomaly, but quite sensitive to low resistive water in the cave. The more the quantity of water is, the larger the anomalous fields. The results not only proved that TEM approach is less sensitive to resistive anomaly than the conductive one, but also illustrate that TEM method is good enough in water exploration as well as dynamic monitoring to the changing of groundwater level.


The formative procedure of five-viscera has been explained for the restriction[相克; 己勝] and the reverse restriction[相侮, 勝己] in five phase theory on the...


We developed the Family Unpredictability Scale (FUS) to better understand the factors that underlie the presence and consequences of family dysfunction. Familial unpredictability is defined as a lack of consistency in family behaviors and regulatory systems. Family researchers and therapists generated and evaluated items, which were self administered by married parents who had children aged 2 to 18 (N = 314). Principal-components analysis yielded four subscales (discipline, nurturance, meals, and money; 22 items total) that were internally consistent; confirmatory factor analysis based on a separate subsample yielded an adequate preliminary representation of this factor structure. The FUS related significantly to known measures of family and individual functioning but not to social desirability. The present study provides preliminary reliability, construct validity, and concurrent validity far this new multidimensional, self report assessment of family unpredictability. Research and clinical implications are discussed. Key Words: dysfunction, family, inconsistency, unpredictability. One important yet overlooked aspect of family functioning is family unpredictability. Family unpredictability is defined as inconsistent family behavior patterns and regulatory systems. That is, family unpredictability occurs when members are unable or unwilling to consistently fulfill their familial responsibilities, such as providing nurturance (e.g., affection and sustenance). Family unpredictability also occurs when regulatory systems or mechanisms for maintaining expectations break down (e.g., rule violations go unpunished). Parents and other primary caretakers are thought to be key contributors to such family chaos or instability. The family unpredictability construct derives from attachment theory and learned helplessness theory. Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969) postulates that infants are influenced by the (un)predictability of caregivers' responsiveness. Infants whose mothers inconsistently respond to their needs develop an insecure-anxious attachment style; they are less willing to explore their environment and are more difficult to soothe during stressful situations (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). In contrast, consistent caregiving fosters secure attachment, which allows children to believe their behavior affects their environment (Lewis & Goldberg, 1969). Thus, a sense of environmental unpredictability or predictability is established at an early age. Learned helplessness is a chronic belief that external forces and persons determine one's destiny (Overmier & LoLordo, 1998), and it contributes to negative emotional and physical health consequences (Cohen, 1980). This belief develops when events are unpredictable and uncontrollable (as opposed to uncontrollable yet predictable; see Tiggeman & Winefield, 1987). Schultz (1976), for example, demonstrated that the predictability, but not necessarily the controllability, of having visitors predicted the well-being of nursing home residents. Family unpredictability relates to Constantine's (1986) Family Paradigms model. Unpredictability is most characteristic of "random" families, compared to "open," "synchronous," and "closed" family types. In random families, "parenting is often erratic and inconsistent in style, tending to be overly lax" (Constantine, p. 307). Random families prefer change. If a random family is more creative than chaotic, it is likely to be healthy, whereas random families that are more chaotic than creative are likely to be unhealthy. Unpredictability appears to be an important aspect of family functioning, as living in a chaotic family has been linked to poorer functioning among children. Gardner (1989) compared children with and without conduct problems (i.e., teachers and mothers had "persistent management difficulties" with them). Compared with mothers whose children did not have a conduct problem, mothers of conduct-problem children exhibited more inconsistent conflict management, such as insisting on a command and then not following through (Gardner). …


As a consequence of children's nearly ubiquitous smartphone use, many parents experience resignation or frustration due to a perceived loss of control over their child's excessive smartphone activities. This perceived lack of control may not only increase children's risk of exposure to online harassment but also affect the relationship between parents and children—both crucial influence factors for children's self-esteem. We tested these relationships using a two-wave panel study of children between 10 and 14 years (NT2 = 384) and one of their parents. Findings revealed that parental lack of control over their child's smartphone use increased the risk of children becoming victims of online harassment and decreased children's perceived parental support over time. However, while lower perceived parental control decreased children's self-esteem over time, exposure to online harassment did not. We discuss implications of these findings for intervention and prevention of parental lack of control over children's smartphone use.


ABSTRACT The Taklamakan Desert in China is one of the major source regions for Asian dust particles. All balloon-borne measurements in this report were carried out in Dunhuang, in the Taklamakan Desert, during calm weather conditions. The aerosol number concentration, size distribution, mass concentration, and horizontal mass flux due to westerly wind were investigated. The measurements were performed on 17 August 2001, 17 October 2001, 11 January 2002, and 30 April 2002. Five channels (0.3, 0.5, 0.8, 1.2, and 3.6 µm in diameter) were used in the Optical Particle Counter for particle measurements. The aerosol number concentration in the winter season (11 January 2002) at 3–5 km was very high. Variation of free-tropospheric aerosols on 30 April 2002 was noticeable. A super-micron range was noticeable in the size distribution of all the measurements. Many variations in temperature and aerosol concentration were found at these inversion points. High values of estimated mass concentration of aerosols were frequently observed in the atmosphere near the ground (i.e., 1–2 km); and interestingly, relatively high concentrations were frequently detected above 2 km from the surface. Wind patterns observed using ERA-Interim data at 500 and 850 hPa showed that westerly winds dominated in the Taklamakan Desert during the observation period. The average horizontal mass flux of background Asian dust due to westerly wind was observed to fall within the range of 58.5–1219 tons km−2 d−1. Vertical profiles of aerosol number concentrations showed that significant transport of aerosols dominated in the westerly region (i.e., 4–7 km). Graphical Abstract


Recent developments in the field of tissue engineering recommend the 3D printing to obtain the complex shape of the final alloplastic grafts (for soft or hard tissues). The medium pressure injection moulding (MEDPIM) technology could be a cost-effective alternative to 3D printing. This paper presents the first studies for the MEDPIM applicability in the case of some alloplastic bone grafts manufacturing. Two biocomposite feedstocks have been researched in order to obtain the injected parts (herein after named green parts). The Ti6Al4V respectively TiH2, both as powder particles, were mixed with hydroxyapatite (HAP) powders in the W 50 EHT measuring mixer. Both powder mixtures contain NaCl as foaming agent as well as some wax-based binders. The MEDPIM process is developed in the laboratory-scale device, designed and manufactured in the frame of the research project BONY. This device replicates, at lab-scale, the MEDPIM process developed by the Goceram MEDPIMOULD equipment, able to work at mass-production scale. The injection moulding tests were performed at the temperature range of 50…110°C, respectively at 30-45 MPa as injection pressure. The green parts quality was evaluated by means of the physical characteristics (dimensional and density measurements) as well as macroscopic evaluation using the stereomicroscope NIKON SMZ 745T. The influence of the biocomposite feedstock type as well as the injection temperature on the green pats quality is studied in this research.


Using and extending the approach in previous studies we demonstrate synchronization of two hyper chaotic cellular neural networks consisting of 25 cells governed by chaotic Rossler dynamics. We guarantee global asymptotic stability of the synchronization manifold by designing a nonlinear observer in such a way that the resulting error system is linear and time invariant. This linear error system is evaluated and a state feedback is designed to accomplish full state synchronization. Analytical as well as numerical simulation results are presented


The British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) has been at the forefront of raising awareness with 'the authorities' of the risks of alcohol consumption in the UK. These risks are not just the concern of hospitals, but of society and policy makers. A survey commissioned by the BSG is our lead-off article in 2012. Using the well-established YouGov polling methodology it depicts the background of what presents to hospitals. The inter-relationship of the drinks industry campaigns and drinking behaviour – across all ages and strata – are starkly brought out, and make sobering reading as we start a New Year.

Helen Bungay in Oxford presents an evidence based, safety minded, financially considered article on imaging for small bowel Crohn's, with …


The term 'BRIC' is a collection of Brazil, Russia, India, and China: the most promising emerging markets. The global investors at the time of making investments and building portfolios across different countries should consider the interlinkages that exist between the countries or the assets concerned. The interlinkages make the stock markets in different countries to co-move in the short as well as the long run, thereby leading to spillover of the returns and volatility. The present study attempted to model the dynamic volatility spillover from the U.S. market to the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries' stock markets during the subprime crisis by employing the ARMA E-GARCH (1,1) model. The results from the E-GARCH (1,1) model supported the spillover of the U.S. volatility to the Brazilian market only. The study revealed that the volatility in the U.S. market did not have a direct impact on the Russian, Indian, and Chinese stock markets.


In 1991 Chile ended the military dictatorship and a democratic government took place eighteen years after the last one that was elected by means of the ballot box. The country was found with serious social and specially housing deficiencies, that were confronted in a moment of high growth in national income and a social housing policy focused on the poorest households. The results were praised by several international organizations. However, Chile has been characterized since then to present one of the most unequal income distributions in the world. Therefore, in this article the results of the Chilean housing policy between 1990 and 1998 is analyzed and the different levels of household income are considered taking into account income deciles. The results bring to discussion the need to consider the income inequality in policy analysis


The goal of the research discussed in this paper was to empirically establish the feasibility and limits of constrained resource photogrammetry for application to large deployable space structures. By constrained resource photogrammetry, we mean having to design photogrammetry with cost and/or and system architecture constraints such as number of affordable imagers, resolution and restrictions on ability to place such imagers in locations amenable to photogrammetry. These restrictions, very common to many space flight demonstrations and mission programs, fundamentally constrain and limit the applicability of, otherwise very attractive, general-purpose terrestrial photogrammetry systems and approaches. This paper contains two groups of studies that were conducted to provide insight into the critical factors relating to the setup of a photogrammetry system. The first group deals with the camera's properties: image quality, image numbers and camera locations. The other group studies the target's properties, such as their size and flatness. The precision results demonstrated the advantages of increasing the standoff distance between the camera and the structure. In addition, several experiments detailed the expected increase in performance with the addition of a third image, especially at the boom end. Other work showed that the use of flat, versus the implemented curved targets, could yield approximate improvements of up to 20%. Finally, it was noted that the best resolution 2-imager case significantly underperforms, in terms of average and worst ratio metrics, the lowest resolution 3-imager case despite the 2-imager case having more overall pixels.


One key issue in optimizing critical current density (J,) in MgB2 is to determine which structural features are the relevant pinning centers. Likely sources of vortex pinning include grain boundaries and intra-grain defects. Detailed studies of the field (H) and temperature (T) dependence of pinning in microstructurally well-characterized samples are required to clarify this point. In this work we explore the influence of microstructures on the vortex dynamics of MgB2 bulk samples prepared either at ambient or at high pressure (HIP). Scanning and transmission electron microscopy indicate the presence of several types of defects. Both un-HIPed and HIPed samples contain a large number of intra-grain Mg(B,0)2 precipitates coherent with the matrix, with sizes ranging from 5 nm to 100 nm, which are very well suited to act as pinning centers. The HIP process further improves flux pinning by eliminating the porosity, dispersing the MgO present at the grain boundaries of the un-HIPed samples, and generating dislocations. We also present a detailed study of the T, H and current density (J) dependence of the normalized time relaxation rate, S=dlnJ/dlnt. The intermediate transition temperature T, - 39K makes MgB2 attractive for exploring vortex dynamics in a regime of intermediate influence of thermal fluctuations. At low T, we observe a linear S(T), from which we extract a pinning energy U, that is weakly T dependent and decreases monotonically with H. The extrapolations to T=O indicate that the quantum creep rate is small. At higher T, the activation energy U(J) shows the divergent behavior at J -> 0 that characterizes the glassy phases. The results are contrasted with the expectations of various collective creep scenarios to extract information on the characteristics of the pinning centers.


This paper investigated the rate of suffer from an illness and the result of the sickness cure of Endemic goiter and Endemic cretinism of Tailal County from March 1979 to June 1999 and analysis the incidence reason, prevention and cure method of Endemic goiter and Endemic cretinism. The main reason was lack of iodine. Therapy of iodine deficiency disorders has gained a striking effect.


Asia's dramatic economic growth and technological progress mask daunting development challenges. Left unaddressed, these challenges jeopardize Asia's gains and undermine its future prospects. Asia is at a critical economic, political, and social juncture, and the changes taking place will determine how the region develops into the future.

David Arnold, President, The Asia Foundation, 2016

Over the past two decades, Asian societies saw abrupt changes in their political, social, and economic spheres. Rapid and sustained economic growth lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Well over half of Asia's residents are now middle class and Asia is the engine of economic growth across the globe. This tremendous growth and its impact, however, are by no means uniform. The extent and type of change varied within and between countries, and many populations did not reap the same benefits as others.

Significant pockets of poverty still exist throughout the region. In fact, two-thirds of the world's poor live in Asia. Recent data suggest that more than 800,000,000 Asians exist on less than USD 1.25 a day and 1,700,000,000 live on less than USD 2 (Kuroda, 2013). Life in Asia is especially challenging for populations living in the margins of ever expanding mega-cities, isolated rural areas, areas affected by conflict, and groups that are marginalized and excluded due to biased government systems and services or social prejudices.

The fast pace of political, social, and economic change in Asia is particularly striking and often presents additional challenges. Technology facilitates or accelerates many changes, often too quickly to fully understand their impact. For example, the economic sphere saw a reduction in the role of agriculture, rapid urbanization, greater industrialization, and, in some areas, growth in the service sector. Wage labor has become the most common form of employment in many Asian countries, yet regular wages often cannot provide basic needs. Other challenges continue to emerge. Asia faces demographic crises with lower birth rates and ageing populations.

Inequality is a critical issue globally, and, with high concentrations of wealth and power increasingly evident in Asia, inequality also takes center stage in the region. Today, profound inequalities in wealth, income, and welfare exist across Asia. Speaking to the Organisation for Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2013 on Asia's challenges, towards the end of his tenure as President of the Asian Development Bank, Haruhiko Kuroda characterized the challenge this way:

In many countries, the richest 1 percent of households account for close to 10 percent of total consumption and the top 5 percent account for more than 20 percent. The Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, has increased in much of the region: taking developing Asia as a single unit, the Gini coefficient has increased from 39 to 46. And the gap is not only in income. Inequality of opportunity is prevalent and is a crucial factor in widening income inequality. For example, school-ae children from households in the poorest income quintile are up to five times more likely to be out of primary and secondary school than their peers in the richest quintile; infant mortality rates among the poorest households were 10 times higher than those among the affluent households; in South Asia, women's [labor] force participation is only 40 percent that of men's; and in Central and West Asia, girls' primary and secondary school enrolment levels are 20 percent lower than those of boys. For developing Asia as a whole, 1.7 billion people (45 percent of the population) lack access to sanitation (Kuroda, 2013).

Across Asia, rising inequality negatively impacts many people's opportunities, income-earning capacity, health, and well-being. In Capital in the Twenty-first Century, the French economist Thomas Piketty suggests that growing inequality between rich and poor is the normal state of affairs in market-based economic systems. Tracing trends back three centuries, Piketty argues that periods in which inequality decreases are the exception rather than the rule (2014). Piketty's argument further complicates the idea of addressing the inequality challenges in Asia.(...)


This paper developed an Object-Oriented (O-O) approach as an open architecture for financial reporting that is based on the notation U nified Modelling Language (UML) and the Rational Rose® tool. The O-O approach integrated into the financial reporting has interoperable building financial statements that must be availabl e to be included in any economic and financial analysis of a corporation. The implementation of an open architecture for developing financial reporting is supported by the systems analyst work that observes and understands the general domain of financial reporting, as well as, input fr om the specialists, directors and stakeholders of t he corporation. Then, with reference to the Portuguese experience, the research scope is towards a basic structure of financial reporting whose result s are applicable to any corporation. The further


In this study we determined the concentration of metals Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in the water lower São Francisco River basin, to evaluate the influence of urbanization and industrialization on environmental changes in the water resource. The sampling stations located near the industrial areas were influenced by industrialization because they presented higher concentrations of Cd, Cr, Ni and Cu. The other sampled locations showed changes with regard to metals probably originating in the soil, like Fe, Zn and Pb. There was a gradual increase in the concentrations of metals, in general, in the period of highest rainfall of the hydrographic network. Overall, except for Zn and Mn, the trace elements exceeded the maximum allowed value established by national legislation (CONAMA). Lower São Francisco River basin has suffered interference from urbanization and industrialization, so awareness programs should be developed so as to control and lessen future problems.


Computer technology is making fundamental changes in psychologi cal testing. Tests can be adminis tered, scored, and interpreted by computer in a single session. Thus, the most salient features of comput erized testing are the practical ad vantages for proctoring examina tions, recording data, scoring responses, and preparing interpreta tive reports. However, the potential substan tive contributions to research and to measurement are less well under stood by psychologists. Computer ized item presentation permits two fundamental differences from paper and-pencil (P&P) tests: Adaptive testing is feasible with the computa tional capabilities, and qualitatively different measuring tasks are permis sible with the item display. Both of these differences have important im plications for both measurement and substantive research. Prior to explicating the potential of computerized adaptive testing, I review briefly the underlying psy chometric methods. Most psycholo gists do not clearly understand the advantages of adaptive testing be cause they are unfamiliar with the psychometric methods that make adaptive testing feasible. Then, I ex amine the impact of both adaptive testing and computerized item dis


The viscous gravity current that results when fluid flows along a rigid horizontal surface below fluid of lesser density is analysed using a lubrication-theory approximation. It is shown that the effect on the gravity current of the motion in the upper fluid can be expressed as a condition of zero shear on the unknown upper surface of the gravity current. With the supposition that the volume of heavy fluid increases with time like tα, where α is a constant, a similarity solution to the governing nonlinear partial differential equations is obtained, which describes the shape and rate of propagation of the current. The viscous theory is shown to be valid for t [Gt ] t1, when α < αc and for t [Lt ] t1 when α > αc, where t1, is the transition time at which the inertial and viscous forces are equal, with $\alpha_{\rm c} = \frac{7}{4}$ for a two-dimensional current and αc = 3 for an axisymmetric current. The solutions confirm the functional forms for the spreading relationships determined for α = 1 in the preceding paper by Didden & Maxworthy (1982), as well as evaluating the multiplicative factors appearing in the relationships. The relationships compare very well with experimental measurements of the axisymmetric spreading of silicone oils into air for α = 0 and 1. There is also very good agreement between the theoretical predictions and the measurements of the axisymmetric spreading of salt water into fresh water reported by Didden & Maxworthy and by Britter (1979). The predicted multiplicative constant is within 10% of that measured by Didden & Maxworthy for the spreading of salt water into fresh water in a channel.


(57) Abstract: A subject of the present invention, at least one formula of (I) enamine: ## STR1 ## The component A1 containing, as component A2 containing at least one carbonyl compound, obtained by mixing before use, medicament for dyeing fibers (A), and, with the dye A, consisting of a component B containing sulfite, stained fibers, subsequent multicomponent for decolorization - kit, and a method for temporarily coloring hair.


One intuitive approach for planning robotic manipulation tasks is to first compute a plan for the manipulated object, as if capable to move on its own, then use the obtained plan to find a sequence of arm maneuvers to take the object along the computed plan. Motion planning queries would be performed in relatively low-dimensional configuration spaces, rather than the full configuration space of a robot's arms and grippers, resulting in a more efficient planning method. However, having a plan for the manipulated object does not guarantee there also exists a feasible sequence of maneuvers for the robot to do the manipulation. Knowing different possible grasps on the object increases the robots chance to find a sequence of grasp switches and maneuvers, but makes the search more time consuming as the grasps need to be tested for usefulness. In this paper, we develop a multi-level architecture for complex manipulation planning of rigid bodies which uses communication between the two levels, one for planning the manipulated object motion, the other to plan for the arms, to improve the efficiency of the method. We store grasp zones in the configuration space of the manipulated object as regions where a given grasp seems promising. We use grasp zones to guide searching for grasp switching maneuvers, and to avoid regions of configuration space where few good grasps exist.


Address for Correspondence / Yazışma Adresi: Uzm. Dr. Hakan Yetimalar, Oyak Sitesi, 2/13 Sokak No: 533. Blok D: 11 Balçova, İzmir, Türkiye Mobile: +90 532 237 18 80 e.mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Objective: Our primary aim was to detect how much importance is given to pap smear test by the health staff. Material and Methods: In this study inquiries including questions about age, marital status, occupation, attitude for applying to gynecology polyclinics as well as questions regarding their knowledge about and attitude to pap smear test and HPV vaccination were delivered to health staff as well as to a control group which was formed from patients applying to our polyclinics. Results: Neither of the groups applied for gynecologic control without having complaints.There was no significant difference between the groups when the rates of having smear test at least once were taken into consideration. In this study we detected that the smear test was not offered routinely to nearly half of the patients.Those patients who were offered the smear test had the test by significantly higher rates. 91,17% of the women in the study group had heard about HPV vaccination. Discussion: The awareness of health staff as well as the non-health staff population about pap smear test is far from adequate in Turkey. Furthermore, gynecologists do not offer smear tests to their patients efficiently.This situation may prevent the reduction of cervical malignancies in the near future. (J Turkish-German Gynecol Assoc 2009; 10: 68-70)


The East Asian growth experience is still not well understood, especially the region's clustered, sequential development and neighbourhood effects linking economies at different levels of industrial development. Moreover, the impact on it of OECD-member policies has never been subjected to systematic analysis. A central question involves how different policy vectors transmitted by OECD countries, notably in trade, investment and aid, may or may not have contributed to the region's progress.


Objectives: To search for the content of urinary catecholamine (CA)and the clinical significance in child patients with frequent ventricular extrasystoles.Methods: There were 30 cases of frequent ventricular extrasystoles (17 males and 13 females) and 30 normal children (14 males and 16 femalcs) in the control group. The 24-hour urinary CA was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC),The statistical analysis of detcrmination rcsults was carried out.Rfsults:The levels of 24-hour urinary CA in child patients with frequent ventricular extrasystoles and normal children were 543. 51±137. 56 mmol /24h and 229. 96 ± 93. 09 mmol/ 24h respectively. There was obvlous difference between the two groups(t=10. 34, P0. 001). In the two groups. there were respectively 26 (86. 7%) and 2 caacs (6.7%) that the levels of 24-hour urinary CA were Increased. The 24-h0ur urinary CA lcvels in 17 cases of extrasystole with myocarditis and 13 cases of simple extrasystole were 553. 14 ±131. 13 mmol/24h and 531. 01±151. 73 mmol/24h (P0. 05). The levels of 24-hour urinary CA in 14 cases with extrasystole ≥10 times /min and 16 cases with extrasytole 10 times / min were 597. 26±128. 73 mmol/24h and 496. 48±134. 18 mmol/24h respetively. There was obvious difference between the two groups (t= 2.09, P<0.05) Conclusions: The 24-hour urinary CA level in the child patients with ventrlcular extrasystoles is obviously increased ,and it has posltlve correlation with the frequency of extrasystoies and has not correlation with the primary diseases.


Focused on profits allocation between supplier and buyer in multi-attribute reverse auctions considering the cost variation,non-cooperative and cooperative game models are constructed,with the conditions analysed to establish and maintain buyer-supplier relationship,and the impact of the cost variation on profits allocation and the conditions for both sides to cooperate with each other discussed.Finally,the optimal proportion of profits allocation is determined.The results show that buyer and supplier will obtain incremental profits in cooperation if the basic conditions of cooperation are met,and the transaction costs and the production costs change within a certain range.The proportion of profits allocation is affected by the risk attitudes of both sides,but nothing to do with their bargaining powers.


The performance of multivariable non-linear stirred tank chemical reactor has been used to compare the practicability of an optimal controller and two types of suboptimal controller. The optimal controller, which by its nature required lengthy calculations, was suitable for open-loop control only and therefore sensitive to modelling errors. By contrast a suboptimal controller, which used the method of quasilinearisation to solve the two point boundary value problem, needed only a small amount of computation time and was capable of on-line implementation. This controller was much less sensitive to modelling errors, and also had the advantage of decoupling the control variables. An extension of this controller incorporated a feedback feature which compensated further for modelling errors and, in addition, unmeasured disturbances. This controller, which is expected to be of interest to the process industries facing inaccurate-model problems, produced responses close to the true optimal response even when the actual model used was in gross error.


Improving the performances of basic optical functions (splitting, directional coupling, phase modulation) is compulsory for the development of new astronomical instruments based on integrated optics. In particular, for the mid-infrared domain, where a number of projects are being developed (ASGAARD-NOTT instrument for VLTI [1], METIS for EELT [2] or future spatial projects such as LIFE [3]), these functions have to be validated in terms of achromaticy, polarization dependence and transmission losses.


The yield of single-strand breaks per single-strand genome measured 0.2 sec after irradiation of Escherichia coli B/r or Pol ${\rm A}{}_{1}{}^{-}$ with 4.3-MeV electrons was found to be 0.9 breaks/krad in anoxia and 3.2 breaks/krad in the presence of oxygen. By following the increase in the number of breaks due to endonuclease action in Pol ${\rm A}{}_{1}{}^{-}$ it was found that 1.3 endonuclease-sensitive sites were present for each radiation-induced break. By adding oxygen shortly after anoxic irradiation it was shown that (i) the presence of oxygen is required for full endonuclease activity and (ii) that oxygen is truly dose modifying with respect to the number of radiation-induced breaks and endonuclease-sensitive sites.


Development of the blended learning environment integrating online and hands-on laboratory practices together with learning of theoretical concepts within engineering course in DSP is described in this paper. The student surveys concerning to Kolb's inventory of learning styles and preferred type of lab exercises are carried out. Survey results were discussed from the point of matching different learning styles with preferred type of DSP lab exercises.


The estimation of the variance function of a linear regression model used in the asymptotic quasi-likelihood approach is considered. It is shown that the variance function used in the determination of the asymptotic quasi-likelihood estimates encompasses the variance functions commonly found in the literature. Selection criteria of the most appropriate estimate of the variance function for given data are established. These criteria are based on a graphical technique and a chi-squared test.


Objective To study the nursing points about the early operation for children with congenital esotropia, and then suppose the suggestion for clinical practice. Method Careful observed the perioperative nursing cares among 46 children with congenital esotropia. Result There were 38 children obtained the successful operation in the first time. Conclusion Emphasis the training for nurses before the operation and the careful postoperative nursing can guarantee the successful operation.


Abstract Loneliness is a robust predictor of aging veterans' health. Even married older adults may experience loneliness if their relationships are of poor quality. We therefore examined facets of marital quality as predictors of loneliness within a sample of aging veterans: (1) companionship (relationship promotes connection to spouse) and (2) sociability (relationship promotes connection to others). We further evaluated whether veterans' PTSD symptoms moderated these associations. We utilized two waves of data from 269 Vietnam-era combat veterans (M age = 60.5, SD = .73) collected in 2010 and 2016. Upon controlling for baseline loneliness, demographics, and chronic conditions, higher companionship and sociability each predicted lower subsequent loneliness. We detected interactions between companionship and PTSD subclusters. For example, companionship protected against loneliness only for veterans with low and moderate (but not high) avoidance. Findings highlight nuances in how marital quality predicts aging veterans' loneliness, some of which are dependent on PTSD symptoms.


Patient safety has become a very important, even global issue. Various cases of accidents that occurred in various health institutions have become a case that worries many parties. Especially for leadership in units in health service institutions such as health centers, health clinics, and hospitals. Characteristics of a hospital that contains 4 types of complete risk factors (biological, ergonomic, chemical, and physical factors) are not easy to control, especially without a system control program. The purpose of this service is to increase knowledge and change the behavior of nurses in implementing patient safety goals. Which method is used in the form of training and mentoring to assess change in nurse behavior? The results of this service after being given a pre and post-test test there is an increase in the knowledge of nurses before and after education regarding patient safety.


The paper describes developments of neutron scattering instruments in J-PARC neutron facility, which is a short pulse spallation source operated at a repetition rate 25 Hz and has a proton power 1 MW. New concept has been adopted to utilize high intensity coupled moderator even for a high resolution inelastic scattering instruments by taking a pulse shaping chopper system. Advanced technique has been also realized by taking an ability of event-recording system altogether with an improvement of a chopper system, realizing multi-Ei method. The paper also touches upon a general design concept for diffractometers in accordance with the source characteristics.


Based on the development of PCB industry and teaching contents,this paper analyzes the students' performance in studying the subject in the design and practice of PCB.Most students show that they failed to handle this subject due to having less interest at the beginning,or lacking of perceptual knowledge.Some methods have been used to break up the traditional mode;some measures have been practiced,such as compiling new appropriate material for students,introducing observation experiments,updating the marking processes etc.These improvements match the characteristics of the subject.Combined with some specific theories,it also successfully helps the students to develop their own abilities in this area and the teaching effects are more satisfied.


This study experimentally demonstrates a Q-switched fibre laser using a new tungsten tri-oxide (WO
 3
)-based saturable absorber (SA). Using the drop and casting approach, we managed to prepare a thin film that contained WO
 3
 powders in polyvinyl alcohol. A small bit of the film was used to form an SA which was placed in a ytterbium-doped fibre laser cavity to generate a Q-switched laser. The laser, operating at 1063.78 nm, was realised at the threshold pump power of 85 mW with a repetition rate of 23.87 kHz and a pulse width of 5.56 μs. At the pump power of 147 mW, the laser produced the maximum pulse energy of 625 nJ, signal-to-noise ratio of 59 dB, the repetition rate of 39.79 kHz and pulse width of 2.37 μs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of using WO
 3
 SA to generate the pulse laser in the 1 μm region.


Editorial by Shaw

Most mentally ill people are not violent, and most violence is carried out by mentally well people.1 Nevertheless psychiatric illness is associated in the public mind with violence.2 3 Psychiatric assessment routinely examines suicidality, but how commonly clinicians ask patients about other forms of aggressive ideation is unclear.

We aimed to measure the prevalence of aggressive ideation among patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals, and how frequently examining psychiatrists asked about such thoughts.

Ethical approval was granted by South Tees Medical Ethics Committee. Over three months, one author (JS) spent one day a week interviewing all available patients admitted to the general psychiatric wards at St Luke's Hospital, Middlesbrough, in the preceding week. We sought individual consent and advised patients that information might be shared with clinical staff. …


Listeners are able to quickly adapt to synthetic speech, even though it contains misleading and degraded acoustic information. Previous research has shown that testing and training on a given synthesizer using only novel words leads listeners to form abstract or generalized knowledge for how that particular synthesizer maps different acoustic patterns onto their pre-existing phonological categories. Prior to consolidation, this knowledge has been shown to be susceptible to interference. Given that labels have been argued to stabilize abstract ideas in working memory and to help learners form category representations that are robust against interference, we examined how learning for a given synthesizer is affected by labeled or unlabeled immediate training on an additional synthesizer, which uses a different acoustic to phonetic mapping. We demonstrated that the learning of an additional synthesizer interferes with the retention of a previously learned synthesizer but that this is ameliorated if the additi...


Zone subsoiling on irrigated land has been successfully used to improve potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) yield and
quality. Zone subsoiling under furrow irrigation may disrupt water flow and influence infiltration and soil erosion. We
hypothesized that zone subsoiling, done appropriately, will maintain integrity of irrigation furrows, improve small grain and
dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) growth and yield, and not adversely affect water flow, infiltration, or erosion on
furrow–irrigated soils. The experiment was conducted at the USDA–ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory
in Kimberly, Idaho. The soil is a Portneuf silt loam (coarse–silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Durinodic Xeric Haplocalcids).
Tillage treatments were disk, disk + paratill, paratill, and no–till.There were no differences in water infiltration, runoff, or
soil erosion among treatments. Bulk density differences among treatments were largest at the 0.15 to 0.20–m depth, and bulk
density was about 16% to 18% greater on disk and no–till treatments than on paratill treatments. The highest frequency of
low cone index (CI) values belonged to paratill treatments (65% to 80% frequency of CI values less than 2 MPa); the lowest
frequency of low CI values belonged to no–till treatment (20% frequency less than 2 MPa). Cone index versus bulk density
relationships depended on soil water content with a slope of 5.81 (r 2 = 0.70) in the wetter year of 1997, and 2.90 in the drier
year of 1995 (r 2 = 0.60). Subsoiling can be accomplished on furrow–irrigated lands with no adverse effects on runoff,
infiltration, and erosion, but under our conditions did not improve crop growth and yield.


We numerically investigate the effect of a delayed control methodon the stabilization of the dynamics of the Elettra storage-ring free-electron laser in Trieste (Italy). Simulations give evidence of a significant reduction of the typical large oscillations of the laser intensity. Results are compared with numerical data obtained with a derivative feedback. The possibility of an experimental implementation of the proposed method is also discussed.


Energetic ions and ultrashort X-rays were generated by an intense ultrashort laser interacting with a copper target. Fast ions up to 3 MeV were observed with CR-39 nuclear track detector sheets when a 7 TW laser was used. Cu/sup 12+//spl sim/Cu/sup 17+/ ions with the energy from 50 keV to 220 keV were detected with a Thomson parabola detector in the case of the laser power of 2.5 TW. Time-resolved X-ray diffraction was carried out using ultrashort X-rays generated from the copper target irradiated by the intense laser pulses. A change of diffraction patterns was observed in the X-ray diffraction from a GaAs[111] crystal irradiated by the ultrashort laser pulses.


This article presents a study about systems that use multiple antennas to transmit and receive information (MIMO systems). This type of system allows in the transmitter and in the receiver, spatial diversity or beamforming, and in environments with large number of independent multipath components, achieves a transmission capacity higher than any other system based on arrays of conventional antennas. The performance of MIMO systems depends on the propagation channel. A full characterization of the propagation channel is an important issue to evaluate the transmission capacity. Here we present some models for MIMO propagation. Two propagation models for the MIMO channel are implemented: the analytical Kronecker model and the physical GSCM model and the results are compared. Keywords: Propagation Channel, spatial diversity, channel capacity, MIMO, propagation models.


To the Editor.—
 The current recommended therapy for patients with meconium aspiration consists of extensive suctioning of the oropharynx and nasopharynx after delivery of the head, with subsequent endotracheal intubation and deep suction with the endotracheal tube as the suction catheter. The upper airway is commonly cleared with a bulb syringe and/or a Delee suction device. With both the Delee and the currently recommended endotracheal suction methods, the physician's mouth is the source of negative pressure.


The system combines the wireless communication technology and medical sensor detection technology, to realize the remote medical monitoring of multiple physiological parameters. As the basis of the Android platform, the mobile health platform construct a health report with physical examination, health guidance for every members in family. After using the corresponding physiological data acquisition sensor module to collect physiological data, the mobile intelligent terminal will send the collected results to the background center server with Bluetooth. The central server is responsible for storing the patient's medical information and providing the data sharing service for other subsystems in the system. Android mobile data collection terminal and server connect together each other with Wifi network, and data services through implementation based on HTTP web server interface. The external terminal get medical information through accessing to the web server. Data storage in the client using SQLite database, server using MySQL database. It mainly record the daily health conditions of the family members, which can effectively manage various chronic diseases and the prevention of disease. At the same time, for some of the family members who have been suffering from chronic diseases, it can help patients manage their daily diet and treatment.


The invention discloses a production technology for profiled dacron FDY bamboo joint yarns. The FDY one-step method production way is adopted in the production technology. The production process comprises the steps of carrying out pre-crystallization on a PET section, drying the PET section until the moisture content of the section is lower than or equal to 20 ppm, and carrying out melt extrusion on the PET section through a screw extruder; adopting a Y-shaped spinneret plate to carry out spinning, wherein the spinning temperature ranges from 290 DEG C to 295 DEG C; carrying out cross air blow cooling on nascent fibers obtained through spinning, wherein the air temperature ranges from 26 DEG C to 30 DEG C and the air speed ranges from 0.4 m/s to 0.5 m/s; applying oil through an oil nozzle, carrying out stretch forming, adding meshes and carrying out winding forming. According to the production technology, broken ends and broken filaments are reduced, the profile degree is guaranteed, the spinnability is improved, the uniformity of thick and thin joints is improved, the production efficiency is improved, the product quality is improved, the product cost is lowered, and labor is saved.


The goal of this thesis is to design a compact multi-band antenna for mobile WiMAX that conforms to the IEEE STD 802.16-2005. The released frequencies for mobile WiMAX in each country is not all the same but basically are located at 2.5GHz、3.5GHz or 5.8GHz. To satisfy those needs in different countries, we have designed three kinds of antennas. The antenna designs start with the strucute of notch antenna. By suitable loading the notch antenna with a wire-type dipole, we are able to accomplish three antenna propotypes that satisfy the frequency bands for mobile Wimax, which include: (1) double-band WiMAX antenna(2.5GHz and 5.8GHz), (2) compact WiMAX antenna (3.5GHz and 5.8GHz) and (3) multi-band WiMAX antenna(2.4~6GHz). This thesis also expounds the diffculties encountered during the designing process, and the ways for resolving the difficulties. The sensitivity of the inner edge for the linear dipole of the compact WiMAX antenna is also investigated. We have proposed the utilization of two layers of FR4 board to sandwich the notch radiator. By using the sandwich structure we are able to increase the effective dielectric constant such that the size of compact WiMAX antenna was decreased to just 20mm×20mm. On the other hand, even only one FR4 board is employed, the size of the multi-band WiMAX antenna is still small about 32mm×24mm.


Electrical resistance tomography (ERT) was used to image the full-scale test emplacement of a thin-wall grout barrier installed by high-pressure jetting and a thick-wall polymer barrier installed by low-pressure permeation injection. Both case studies compared images of electrical resistivity before and after barrier installation. Barrier materials were imaged as anomalies which were more electrically conducting than the native sandy soils at the test sites. Although the spatial resolution of the ERT was insufficient to resolve flaws smaller than a reconstruction voxel (50 cm on a side), the images did show the spatial extent of the barrier materials and therefore the general shape of the structures. To verify barrier performance, ERT was also used to monitor a flood test of a thin-wall grout barrier. Electrical resistivity changes were imaged as a saltwater tracer moved through the barrier at locations which were later found to be defects in a wall or the joining of two walls.


K-Means is one of the popular local area clustering algorithms.Aiming to its defects such as calling for the clustering number input and the sensitivity to initial clustering center,this paper put forward the advanced K-Means on the density and the weight to initialize the clustering center.The algorithm defines the point density function and the clustering center function,and obtains the clustering centers through the definition of the evaluation function.The clustering centers via the algorithm culd have not only high density but also small relevance,and thereby reduce the time of clustering and improve the efficiency.


A characteristic feature of the vertebrate nervous system is the ensheathment of axons by myelin, a multilamellar membrane specialization produced by polarized glial cells. Although the main protein and lipid components of the myelin sheath are well characterized, relatively little is known about the mechanisms of their intracellular distribution to the respective sites of assembly within the myelin sheath. To analyze whether peripheral myelin protein trafficking is mediated by glycosphingolipid/cholesterol‐enriched membranes (GEMs), we studied the association of established myelin proteins, peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22), protein zero (P0), plasmolipin, and myelin basic protein (MBP), with these membrane microdomains. To examine the association of the selected peripheral myelin proteins with detergent‐insoluble GEMs, purified myelin from sciatic nerve of adult rat was extracted with Triton X‐100 at 4°C and 37°C and, in additional experiments, was pretreated with the cholesterol chelator methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin. The material was then centrifuged to equilibrium in sucrose gradients, and fractions were analyzed by Western blotting. Here we demonstrate for the first time that PMP22, P0, and plasmolipin prepared from purified peripheral myelin are associated with GEMs. To characterize whether the association of these proteins is a specialized feature of myelinating Schwann cells, we studied the distribution of PMP22, P0, and plasmolipin in transiently transfected HeLa cells. These experiments confirm the specific association of these proteins with GEMs in both neural and nonneural cell types. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In the study, a total of 898 soil samples and the corresponding crops were collected from paddy field, vegetable land, tea garden and fruit land in Zhejiang province. The total Cd content of soils and crops were chemically analyzed in the laboratory. The difference of the concentration index among the five groups of crop was compared. The result showed that 10.63% of the whole soils were assessed as the pol-luted level according to the second grade of Standards for Soil Environmental Quality of China(GB 15618—1995), and 4.57% of the crops were polluted. The concentration index among the five groups of crops was obviously different, changing from 0.002 to 0.257, while no significant correlation of total Cd content existed between soils and the relative crops.


In the nine years since their first single "Creep" became something of a cult phenomenon, the British band Radiohead has garnered the attention and acclaim of literally millions. With so many people listening to their music, they have obviously struck a chord with a fairly wide audience. But what is it, exactly, that Radiohead is saying through their music? This study sheds light on that question through a textual analysis of the band's lyrics from each of their five studio albums. From this analysis, three major and interrelated themes emerge: alienation, negative self-concept, and the struggles of modem life. All of these issues are of paramount concern within the band's lyrics, and presumably, because so many people are listening to Radiohead, they are also relevant to an ever-increasing segment of the population. Thus, through analysis of Radiohead, we are led not only to a clearer understanding of a particular band and the modem music industry they participate in, but also to broad realizations regarding our modem social world as it is reflected through the lens of the mass media.


Alphonso is the best table variety of mango and has great demand in the global market owing to its keeping quality, aroma, texture and flavour. Due to its inherent physiological disorders like susceptible to spongy tissue disorder we have not been able to achieve the expected export of the fruit. Keeping this in view, experiment was designed to find out suitable remedial measures by using pruning, nutrition and plant growth regulators. Field investigation was conducted for two consecutive years (2017-18 and 2018-19) in the established mango orchard on 7 years old Alphonso mango trees and maintained at 5 X 5 m spacing at Regional Horticultural Research and Extension Centre, Bengaluru. The treatment T4 recorded higher pulp to peel ratio (5.94) and higher pulp to stone ratio (4.68), higher TSS (20.42oB), lower acidity (0.35%) and the highly significant observations like more number of days (15.68) for shelf life and lesser incidence of spongy tissue (6.67%).


Received :10/09/2018 Accepted :28/11/2018 Abstract: The Lake of Reghaïa is an exceptional natural heritage in the Algiers area, it underwent a dramatic pollution by its rejection supply due to the close industrial activities. Since the year 1999. That, encouraged us to accordingly take part in order to present an evaluation of the quality of the grounds of the site as regards pollution in MTE (metallic trac elements) heavy metals. We have selected a ground located on western bank of the lake, of a square surface, limited to 2,500 m2 of a slope of 25%, it is agricultural but not exploited for more than 20 years according to the owner of the ground. That has an advantage of excluding the irrigation by water from the lake. A systematic sampling of triangular grid of thirteen (13) samples with positions GSP (geographical system of positioning) of each point. Quantities of approximately 100g more 1 kg of ground were taken. Analysis by AAS (atomic absorption spectrometry) has shown presence of heavy metals (Ni, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu and Hg), which does not exceed the values of reference on selected surface, of the contents of (Ni and Zn and Hg) exceed slightly the values reference in the superior part of surface located at 64 m of bank of lake, and approximately 20 m in height compared to the surface of the lake, the pollution of the surface of ground were not noted, however, from the contents of (Cr) go beyond the values of reference in all surface marking higher spades in the medium of surface, On the other hand, accumulation Cu is on the level nearest to the lake. Strong Mn concentrations on all the surface particularly they are high on first line close to lake and the limit superior of analyzed surface.


This paper presents the development and performance analysis of model reference adaptive controller using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for Brushless DC motor (BLDC) drives. The model reference adaptive systems (MRAS) have a parameter adjustment mechanism along with the normal feedback loop and hence give better solutions when there are variations in process parameters. Neural networks (NNs) with their inherent parallelism, learning capabilities and fault tolerance have proven to be a promising solution in estimating and controlling nonlinear systems. This paper combines a MRAS with ANN to solve the problems of non-linearity, parameter variations and load excursions that occur in BLDC motor drive systems. The performance of the traditional PID controller based speed control method is compared with the model reference based speed control for BLDC motor drive system using MATLAB Simulink software. Simulation results are presented to prove that the MRAC based model is capable of speed tracking as well as reduce the effect of parameter variations.


Benthic macroinvertebrates are essential components of the marine ecosystem and a source of food and livelihood in many coastal communities. However, a lack of knowledge about their status has resulted in their overexploitation in many areas where they are openly harvested. In this paper, we assessed the species composition, population density, uses, and conservation status of economically important benthic macroinvertebrates in the coral reefs of the West Sulu Sea, Palawan, Philippines. A total of 100 transects from six sites (3–10-m depth) covering a reef area of 25,000 m2 were assessed using scuba diving. There were 15 species belonging to 11 families found in the surveyed sites, with the Crocus giant clam Tridacna crocea Lamarck 1819 encountered in all sites. The mean population density of each species ranged between 0.8–306.4 individuals ha–1. Based on the IUCN Red List, most of the species encountered have "Least Concern" and "Not Evaluated status," whereas two species are listed as "Lower Risk/ Conservation Dependent." Mostly, these organisms are harvested as a source of food, souvenirs, decorations, and jewelry. The absence of some high-value and threatened species may indicate over-harvesting of these species. The results of this study can be used as a basis for formulating a long-term management plan for these benthic macroinvertebrates and their coastal habitats.


The article concerns the history, revalorisation and accessibility of the cultural heritage in the historic town of Provins, located to the southwest of Paris. The town was founded in the early medieval period, and in the 12th and 13th century it was one of the most prominent fair towns in Champagne. Many valuable monuments of that period have survived until the present time, such as the urban layout, the defensive walls, the Cesar tower supposedly relating to the legendary origins of the town dating back to the Roman period, churches and relics of residential buildings. In 2001, the above mentioned buildings were appreciated and distinguished by the UNESCO Committee which inscribed Provins in the World Heritage List. This distinction is not merely a matter of pride for the local authorities, but also an obligation to properly maintain the historic heritage, to revalorise it constantly and to educate the community regarding the protection of the town heritage. It must be stated that the authorities perfectly fulfil their responsibilities, which is worth presenting in this article to set an example of proper cultural heritage management for other historic towns.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine patterns of recent changes in China's international export trade in vegetable products between 2001 and 2005 following China's membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and to measure consequent changes in its export competitiveness. It also aims to consider infrastructural issues in relation to supply chain and food safety issues which may affect China's future potential export growth in vegetables.Design/methodology/approach – The comparative advantage of China's vegetable sector is measured through an export specialisation index. A trade‐shares accounting framework is used to identify the sources of change in China's aggregate market shares. An import demand function for China's vegetable exports is estimated.Findings – The paper finds that China has a comparative advantage in vegetable production and exporting. Although there have been negative structural changes in vegetable imports in many of China's major overseas markets, particularly East A...


The hypothesis about growth of certain types of speleothems from aerosols is becoming increasingly popular. One of the crucial problems with the aerosol mechanism is how does the speleothemic material (e.g., calcite or gypsum) get into the cave air and becomes an aerosol? The most intuitively comprehensible mechanism is the dispersion of water drops falling from a cave ceiling or generated by rapids and waterfalls in cave streams (Gadoros & Cher, 1986). This mechanism, however, is not applicable to many caves that do not contain any dripping or running waters. In 1994-1995 Klimchouk et al. published two papers (one in the National Speleological Society Bulletin) where, among other ideas, they discussed the possibility that cave aerosols are generated under the action of natural radioactivity. In the present article we will evaluate the feasibility of this hypothesis. Four mechanisms of aerosol generation were suggested by Klimchouk et al. (Figure 1): (1) Radioactivity (alpha, beta, and gamma) ionizes the cave air and the ions serve as condensation nuclei. Radon daughters can also behave as light ions and form molecular groups with water, oxygen, and other gas molecules, which can induce condensation. (2) High-energy alpha particles formed in the cave air near the walls (zone 1 in Figure1) dislodge atoms and ions out of bedrock and these dislodged particles become aerosols. (3) Alpha particles formed within the bedrock due to radioactive decay dislodge atoms and ions from a thin nearsurface layer of the bedrock (zone 2 in Figure 1). (4) Alpha particles knock out mineral fragments from the bedrock, generating small-size aerosol particles. Now, let us quantitatively evaluate the possible contributions of each of these processes to the transfer of bedrock Figure 1. Processes responsible for generation of aerosols in caves by alpha particles as suggested by Klimchouk et al. (1995): 1 bedrock; 2 action of radiation; 3 movement of atoms and ions. Numbers in circles correspond to the processes discused in the text. Zones 1 and 2 are explained in the text. The paper evaluates the feasibility of the hypothetical mechanism of cave aerosols generation under the action of natural radioactivity. Analysis has been performed from the standpoints of nuclear physics and aerosol mechanics. The hypothetical mechanism involves dislodgment of atoms and ions and knockingout of larger fragments due to the bombardment of the bedrock by alpha-particles residing in the cave air. Calculations show that the largest amount of atoms and ions that could be generated by alpha-bombardment does not exceed 0.1 g from 1000 m2 of the cave surface per 1 million years a quite negligible value. Presence of any water film thicker than 0.1 micron on the cave wall would completely prevent the dislodgment. The hypothetical mechanism, though physically plausible, cannot play any essential role in the generation of cave aerosols, and much less in the formation of speleothems.


One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative of China is a mega and historical project which facilitates international oil, gas and energy trade and connects people over the world. This article examines the oil, gas, and energy business status under OBOR. It also explores the risk associated with oil, gas and energy business under OBOR initiative of China. The article used secondary sources extensively. The article reveals that China is the top-level energy importing country and the strategy of OBOR is favorable for oil, gas and energy business for all partner countries of OBOR. It also explores the potential risk for oil, gas and energy business under OBOR like political risk, economic risk, investment environment, resource potential, environmental constraints and Chinese factors which can be minimized by using two risk free economic corridors viz. China-Pakistan Corridor (CPEC) and Myanmar-China oil pipeline. The article suggests that a strong initiative should be taken by the government to implement OBOR strategy for creating favorable investment opportunities in China especially for Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan.


Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHc) deficiency is an inborn error of carbohydrate metabolism that is heterogeneous in its presentation and clinical course. Most cases of PDHc deficiency are attributable to mutations in the X-chromosomal PDHA1 gene which encodes the E1α subunit. We report the case of a girl with first symptoms at age 4 months including muscular hypotonia, lactic acidosis and microcephaly. Brain MRI revealed an incomplete corpus callosum and a pronounced generalized cortical atrophy. Muscle biopsy performed for clinically suspected mitochondriopathy revealed normal respiratory chain enzymes. Functional investigation of intact mitochondria from unfrozen muscle tissue showed a deficiency of pyruvate oxidation. Sequencing of PDHA1 gene revealed a heterogeneous mutation c.523G>A resulting in a predicted alanine to threonine substitution at amino acid 175. To the best of our knowledge, this mutation has not yet been reported. However, another mutation in the same codon has been described in a girl with PDHc-deficiency resulting in an amino acid substitution of alanine to proline. The fact that alanine 175 is highly conserved suggests that this substitution is the causative mutation.


where X is the unique (strong) solution of the stochastic differential equation dX t = −μ sgn X μ t dt + dBt, X μ 0 = 0, where sgn x = 1 if x > 0, and sgn x = −1 if x 6 0. Let Xt be a Lévy process and let its measure ν satisfy the condition ∫ |x|<1 ν(dx) < ∞. In this case the number of jumps of the process on any finite interval is finite, and we can define a triplet of infinitesimal characteristics (μ, σ, ν) of X relative to the truncation function h(x) = xI {x ̸= 0}, where I stands for the indicator function. Let us assume that σ > 0, so that the process Xt has a non-degenerate diffusion component, and let St = supu6t Xu. The main result of this note is the following.


Objective to investigate the rational application of tracheotomy in burn patients with inhalation injury.Methods A retrospective case study on all patients for tracheotomy admitted with burn inhalation injury from 1989 to 2000 (n=174) was carried out.Results The time of tracheotomy in mild,moderate and severe inhalation injury group was 27.6 h,18.6 h and 12.7 h postburn respectively;the average day of intubations was 13.8 d,14.7 d and 18.7 d postoperation respectively;the mortality rate was 3.3%,5.8% and 40% respectively.Conclusion The indications of tracheotomy can be lenient for the patients with severe burned face and neck in closure space.Tracheotomy has preventive and therapeutic effects during 24 hours postburn.


I point out that conceptions of particles as mathematical, or quasi mathematical, entities have a longer history than Resnik notices. I argue that Resnik's attack on the distinction between mathematical and physical entities is not deep enough. The crucial problem for this distinction finds its locus in the numerical indeterminancy of elementary particles. This problem, traced by Heisenberg, emerges from the discovery of antimatter.


In this study, 1188 examination questions and answers, between the years 2004-2007, were gathered from the Biology teachers working in Erzurum. The levels of questions and answers by students were classified according to Bloom Taxonomy in terms of "levels of klowledge, understanding, application, analysis, syntheris and evaliation" and cognitive development levels were determined. As fort he results, teachers tend to ask questions with regard to knowledge and in relation to this, students' answers are in paralel to the levels of the questions.


Objective To learn KAP and influencing factors for AIDS among the floating population in inflowing urban areas,and provide scientific basis for the prevention and control of AIDS among the floating population.Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among the floating population including builders,factory workers,self-employers,restaurant workers,home service workers,temporary wage labors,employees in public entertainment in Chenghua district of Chengdu City.Results The rate of knowledge for AIDS was 62.9%.And it was significantly different in different occupation population(χ2=35.164,P0.001).80.0% of the subjects were discriminate against the patients or infectors.8.6% of the subjects had commercial sex behavior last year.The rate of condom use in the latest time was 66.9%,which was correlated with AIDS knowledge score(OR=1.60,95% CI:1.10~2.30),income(OR=0.31,95% CI:0.12~0.85)and IEC(OR=2.89,95% CI:1.16~7.16).51.7% of the subjects used condom every time when they had commercial sex behavior last year.Conclusions The level of knowledge for AIDS among the floating population in inflowing areas is low.Most of the floating population are discriminate against AIDS patients or people who have infected with HIV.The rate of condom use in commercial sex behavior is very low.Health education and intervention for AIDS are urgently needed for the floating population.


The invention discloses a total radiation temperature sensor. The total radiation temperature sensor comprises a housing, a lens, a compensation aperture, a piece of absorption glass, an ocular lens, a copper shell, a glass bulb and a thermopile, wherein the lens is arranged at the front end of the housing; a reaction chamber is arranged at the middle part of the housing; the front and back ends of the reaction chamber are respectively provided with the compensation aperture and the piece of absorption glass; the copper shell is arranged in the reaction chamber; the glass bulb is arranged in the copper shell; the thermopile is arranged in the glass bulb; and small holes are formed in two side walls of the copper shell. The total radiation temperature sensor provided by the invention is simple and is short in response time, and is quick in detection speed, and is suitable for quick temperature measurement.


Abstract : A relatively new counter-jet technique is shown to be suitable for producing thick turbulent boundary layers which may be used to simulate neutral atmospheric surface layers in wind tunnels of moderate length. The increased thickness is achieved by providing large momentum defects at the wall through upstream-oriented, spanwise-discrete wall jets, with changeable jet velocities and controllable jet angles. This technique permits rapid alteration of reproducible boundary layers from outside the tunnel while the experiments are in progress. (Modified author abstract)


The invention discloses a four-effect evaporating device and an evaporating method for medicinal sodium chloride. The four-effect evaporating device comprises an I-effect evaporating pot, an II-effect evaporating pot, an III-effect evaporating pot and an IV-effect evaporating pot. An I-effect circulating pipe, an I-effect circulating pump, an II-effect circulating pipe, an II-effect circulating pump, an III-effect circulating pipe, an III-effect circulating pump, an IV-effect circulating pipe and an IV-effect circulating pump are respectively arranged on the side walls of the I-effect evaporating pot, the II-effect evaporating pot, the III-effect evaporating pot and the IV-effect evaporating pot, the bottoms of the various evaporating pots are communicated with flow guide pipes, and the tops of the various evaporating pots are communicated with steam pipes. The evaporating method implemented by the aid of the four-effect evaporating device for the medicinal sodium chloride includes steps of adding saturated sodium chloride liquor into the evaporating pots; filling the I-effect evaporating pot with steam; filling the II-effect evaporating pot with secondary steam; guiding and conveying sodium chloride crystals and the like. The four-effect evaporating device and the evaporating method have the advantages that the four-effect evaporating device is convenient to operate, repair and maintain, the particle size of the sodium chloride can be obviously increased, and the hardening resistance of products can be enhanced.


Compressed video data is very vulnerable to channel disturbances when transmitted through time-varying wireless channel with high value of BER. In this paper, a novel efficient content-adaptive spatial error concealment is presented. Specifically, we adopt a finite state Markov chain as a mathematically tractable model for wireless channels and investigate the corresponding error patterns of video transmitted under different channel conditions. Then, by analyzing the multiple features extracted from the surrounding available blocks, the proposed algorithm first estimates the characteristics of the error block (EB), and then suitable methods are employed to conceal the EB accordingly. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm may obtain very good subjective quality whether the content in the EB is with or without complex texture, while being superior to existing approaches for countermeasure of artifacts caused by wireless communications. It is also noted that the proposed method is quite applicable in practice due to its low computational complexity comparing with the conventional methods.


The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of compensation, supervision, and transformational leadership on the work affective commitment of employees at the Yogyakarta Industry and Trade Office. The type of research in this research is descriptive quantitative. The population is all employees at the Yogyakarta Industry and Trade Office, with a sample of 56 respondents. The results of this study indicate that compensation, supervision, and transformational leadership have a positive influence either partially or simultaneously on affective commitment


Evapora tion ducts are common phenomena over the oceans,and they severely impair radio w ave systems by changing the paths of electromagnetic waves.A method for detecting the evaporation ducts using hydro m eteorological observations data from coast-based meteorological grads tower is presented,and the detection results are used for comparison with the evaporation duct model,which indicates that the meteorological grads tower is an effective means for evaporation duct detection.The conclusion offers some help for improvi ng the evaporation duct model and forecasting the maximum radar detection range under the condition of evaporation ducts.


An asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-epianastrephin (1) from the chiral benzamide 2 (15 steps, 9.5% overall yield) is described. Birch reduction−alkylation of 2 with methyl iodide gave 3 in 91% yield as a single diastereomer. Cyclohexadiene 3 was converted to olefinic carboxylic acid 6b, and a tandem iodolactonization−radical reduction sequence provided lactone 8 with three contiguous stereogenic centers. Chiral HPLC comparison of diol 12b, the immediate precursor to (+)-epianastrephin (1), with 12b prepared from racemic epianastrephin demonstrated that 1 had been prepared with >98% ee.


This paper is part of a series devoted to the study of the stellar populations in brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), aimed at setting constraints on the formation and evolution of these objects. We have obtained high signal-to-noise ratio, long-slit spectra of 49 BCGs in the nearby Universe. Here, we derive Single Stellar Population (SSP)-equivalent ages, metallicities and α-abundance ratios in the centres of the galaxies using the Lick/IDS system of absorption line indices. We systematically compare the indices and derived parameters for the BCGs with those of large samples of ordinary elliptical galaxies in the same mass range. We find no significant differences between the index– velocity dispersion relations of the BCG data and those of normal ellipticals, but we do find subtle differences between the derived SSP-parameters. The BCGs show, on average, higher metallicity ([Z/H]) and α-abundance ([E/Fe]) values. We analyse possible correlations between the derived parameters and the internal properties of the galaxies (velocity dispersion, rotation, luminosity) and those of the host clusters (density, mass, distance from BCG to X-ray peak, presence of cooling flows), with the aim of dissentangling if the BCG properties are more influenced by their internal or host cluster properties. The SSP-parameters show very little dependence on the mass or luminosity of the galaxies, or the mass or density of the host clusters. Of this sample, 26 per cent show luminosity-weighted ages younger than 6 Gyr, probably a consequence of recent – if small – episodes of star formation. In agreement with previous studies, the BCGs with intermediate ages tend to be found in cooling-flow clusters with large X-ray excess.


The support which is given to RD by finance is extensive and strong,but financial depression still hinders the lifting of RD efficiency,resulting in Macmillan Gap.This paper makes a simple model to analyze the rationale of finance affecting RD,and has found that financial development can promote RD efficiency.This paper adopts Copeland Index Analysis Method to measure the value of TFP so as to avoid the imperfection of Solow Residual Analysis Method and Translog Method.Moreover,it uses panel data from 2002 to 2008 from enterprises in Guangdong to make empirical analysis.Main conclusions are that:external financing promotes RD efficiency significantly,the elasticity coefficients increase in the order of small and middle-sized traditional enterprises,large-sized traditional enterprises,large-sized tech-based enterprises and small and middle-sized tech-based enterprises;different financing sources give different promoting impacts on RD efficiency,and the extent increases in the order of venture capital,FDI,civilian credit,bank and shares;FDI restrains RD efficiency and labors crowd out RD efficiency.These conclusions are basically consistent with our hypotheses.


In 2020, we are facing unprecedented times, and as some form of lockdown continues with no signs of ending feelings of hopelessness are completely natural and understandable. Unprecedented times does not mean that these current issues and struggles have never been faced by humanity before, however. The Spanish Flu which took place after World War One and the Black Death that was rampant in Asia and Europe in the 14th century quickly come to mind as examples of past pandemics, but these are only two examples of devastating diseases throughout human history. The Plague of Athens that was raging during the beginning of the Peloponnesian War in 430 BCE is another such example. Though removed from our current situation by many centuries, its symptoms and the effects it had on the population of Athens have been meticulously recorded by the general and historian Thucydides, giving us the opportunity to compare his account to our own experiences today. The disease may be different, and the image he portrays may be more violent and desperate than our own, but nonetheless we can see similarities in how these two separate societies have reacted to unforeseen hardships. In this comparison, we can come to understand at once our own good fortune at going through a pandemic with the support of modern technology and medicine as well as how universal our reactions are to this type of suffering, thereby making it natural rather than shameful. Humanity has faced a great deal of diversity before, and COVID-19 will likely prove to be no different.


A Thesis Submitted to The School of Public Health and Applied Human Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of The Requirements for the Award of A Degree of Master of Public Health (Reproductive Health Option) of Kenyatta University, June 2019


We use collinear multidimensional coherent spectroscopy to measure van der Waals structures with a nearly diffraction-limited spot size. Encapsulation by boron nitride narrows the homogeneous and inhomogeneous linewidths of excitonic resonances in MoSe2.


In this paper, automatic generation control problem is inspected and different modelling parameters are decided. Initially Genetic algorithm (GA) based parameters of proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is applied to the model. Then Q learning (Reinforcement learning) applied to control the frequency and tie line power deviation by controlling the power mismatch between generators and loads. Area control error (ACE) are used as objective function for PID and RL controller respectively. Q-learning based reinforcement agent is introduced which takes the action according to averaged ACE values. Parameters like step size, discount rate, and exploration rate decides the effectiveness of the RL scheme.


The current study demonstrates the effect of minimum quantity cooling lubrication (MQCL) using MoS2 emulsion-based nanofluid on hard milling of SKD tool steel (52-60 HRC) with coated cemented carbide inserts. The input machining parameters including nanoparticle concentration, cutting speed and hardness on cutting forces are investigated in term of cutting force components by using ANOVA analysis applied for the Box-Behnken experimental design. The results indicate that the hardness and nanoparticle concentration have a strongest influence on cutting forces. The interaction effects of investigated parameters are studied in detail and provide the important direction for using MoS2 nanofluid efficiently with the proper concentration of 1.0-1.1 wt%. Moreover, the cutting performance of carbide tools is significant improved during hard milling process due to the better cooling and lubricating effects of MQCL technique.