This is the 1st regional study (Phase II 1980-1982 of a project conducted in 1977-1979) to provide a systematic comparative study of ethnic differentials in fertility and cultural factors affecting it in the 5 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)--Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore and Thailand. 20 groups were studied on a cross-sectional basis based on survey data. A main focus was on ethnic identification and national integration versus ethnic segregation. Regarding integration Singapore and Malaysia have progressed the most in reducing ethnic differentials in fertility behavior and contraceptive use patterns. The Maranaos of the Philippines by contrast provide the best example of how ethnic separateness has governed their unique fertility preferences and behavior (claiming increased family size is necessary for socioeconomic improvement) when compared to the other more privileged Filipino groups. Thai Muslims and the Indonesian Christian Bataks are similarly set apart from the cultural majority. However the Chinese minorities have a lower fertility level than that of other ethnic groups in their respective countries because they view economic pragmatism rather than family size as the key to their groups strength. Thus the minority or majority status of a group does not in itself predict fertility outcomes. While rural-urban residence marriage and child mortality significantly influence fertility religious beliefs and womens status have little direct impact. Ethnic differentials in contraception are caused by differences in access to family planning. Fertility behavior is theoretically explained best by the assimilationist process in some countries whereas it is best explained by a groups structural position in others. Population policies should take into account the need for 1) improved access to family planning facilities; 2) improved health care to reduce child mortality; 3) more research on cultural bias toward traditional contraceptive methods; 4) counteracting son preference with for instance equity of opportunities for both sexes; and 5) an awareness of cultural and political differences of the groups concerned.


This study was undertaken to estimate the antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolated from raw chicken. From November 2003 to April 2004 a total of 120 chicken carcasses were collected from 36 randomly selected sale points (supermarkets, traditional market, poultry slaughter house, flocks) in the urban and periurban zones of Dakar, Senegal, and examined for the presence of Salmonella. Salmonella was isolated from 75 (62.5%) of the examined samples. Out of the 90 Salmonella isolates obtained, twenty one serotypes were identified, from which the most prevalent were S. Kentuchy 30%, S. Muenster (13.3%), S. Brancaster (8.8%), S. Enteritidis and S. Hadar (6.6%). All Salmonella isolates were tested for their susceptibility to 16 selected antimicrobial agents by the agar diffusion method. Seventy one (78.9%) isolates were resistant to one or more antimicrobials. Out of 71 resistant Salmonella isolates, 33 (46.5%) showed multiple resistance to five or more different antimicrobials. Resistance to ampicillin, trimethoprim, trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole, tetracyclin and sulphonamides was the most frequent. We found 36 different patterns of multiresistant strains. The high level of antibiotic resistance of foodborne Salmonella isolates in the present study is an indication of indiscriminate and continuous use of subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics in animals. Furthermore, the results showed the possible significance of chicken meat as a source of multiple antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella for human infections and suggest the need for detailed epidemiological study.


Three experiments evaluated the impact of a stereoscopic television (STV) system on teleoperator performance. In the first, subjects performed P.M. Fitts' tapping task (1954) by hand using direct binocular, direct monocular, STV, and mono-image television (MTV) viewing. In the second, subjects performed the same task with a teleoperator using STV and MTV. In the third, subjects performed a prototypical task using STV and MTV. The results indicate that STV sometimes conferred a performance advantage, but the amount of the STV impact varied greatly across tasks. The results are discussed from the perspective of information availability during teleoperation and the need for a multimeasure approach to performance assessment.<<ETX>>


The equation for the radial diffusion and slowing down of fast ions in a plasma is solved by a finite-difference technique. The terms included are ion source, radial diffusion, electron and ion drag. From the ion density at the radial boundary, the loss flux is calculated and used to model the signals in a lost-ion diagnostic. The code is also used to model the density of {alpha}-particles in future DT experiments. This information is used to predict the features to be seen by alpha diagnostics.


of expense, if on no other, or in some centres patients are receiving more effective (or more dangerous) treatment than in others. Unfortunately no data confirm that carotid surgery definitely improves the outcome in these patients. The only randomised clinical trial was inconclusive since the apparent long-term benefit after successful surgery was balanced by the immediate risk of surgery.' Our own differing attitudes towards carotid surgery and our concern that they are so very different have been highlighted by the overall risk of stroke and/or death in 24°" of the 41 patients undergoing carotid surgery after randomisation. Our series is, however, small, the 95°() confidence limits around the 24°O risk estimate are quite large, and a population risk considerably below this figure remains plausible. Our results differ greatly from the risk reported in other papers, in which, with a few exceptions,8 9 the risk of stroke and/or death is under 10%,O. If our findings truly reflect the general situation in Britain it is unlikely that the perioperative risk of stroke and/or death is better than the risk in non-operated but similar patients over several years of follow-up, the natural history studies of transient ischaemic attacks giving an approximate annual risk of stroke and/or death of 10O0.I' Possibly too few endarterectomies are being carried out in some centres to maintain an acceptable surgical mortality and morbidity and patients should be referred to other centres with more experience. Some of us believe that if the surgical risk of stroke and/or death in our institution is less than about 5"' patients with transient ischaemic attacks should be exposed to the risk of angiography with a view to carotid surgery. Others who have had unfortunate results with patients referred for surgery seldom recommend angiography. Still others hold views, more or less uncomfortably, between these two extremes. In fact, many in our group prefer randomly to allocate patients in the British and French carotid artery surgery trial which has recently begun in 16 institutions. We hope this trial will resolve some of the uncertainty surrounding the usefulness of the procedure, and we believe it is this very uncertainty which explains the enormous variation in our individual referral policies for angiography and carotid surgery.


Access to large web content hosted all over the world by users of Internet is contributing massively in the form of congestion to the Internet traffic. Various approaches have been adopted to solve the quality of service (QoS) issues in Internet traffic particularly the problem of congestion. To provide guaranteed QoS for Internet applications researchers are facing challenges to develop performance evaluation techniques to device novel efficient mechanisms to control the congestion caused by increasing Internet traffic. This paper provides an overview of various approaches to congestion avoidance and congestion control of Internet traffic. It emphasizes mainly on the active queue management (AQM) scheme for congestion control at routers. The analysis will specifically focus on the analysis of a threshold based queue with bursty external traffic modeled by continous time Markov modulated Poisson process (CT-MMPP). Numerical experiments have been carried out to show the impact of thresholds on various performance metrics.


Ultrahigh-vacuum (UHV) studies show that UV irradiation (193 nm) of carbon tetrachloride adsorbed on a MgO surface produces phosgene both with/without coadsorbed water. Isotope studies show the oxygen required for the phosgene formation comes from the MgO lattice in the absence of water and from the water when coadsorbed. The reaction kinetics differ strongly between the wet and dry conditions. The observations suggest that UHV studies can reproduce important features seen in bulk studies of oxides for destruction of environmental hydrocarbons and that surface reactions may play a more important role in air or aqueous photocatalytic destruction of hydrocarbons than typically assumed.


The catalytic behavior of fluorinated bis(phenoxy−imine)titanium complexes bearing a series of substituents ortho to the phenoxy oxygen was studied for ethylene and ethylene/higher α-olefin (i.e., 1-hexene, 1-octene, and 1-decene) (co)polymerizations. Independent of the magnitude of steric bulk of the ortho-substituent, all the complexes that were investigated produced polyethylenes (PEs) and ethylene/higher α-olefin copolymers with very narrow molecular weight distributions [e.g., PEs, Mw/Mn = 1.05−1.16, Mn = 44000−412000; ethylene/1-hexene copolymers, Mw/Mn = 1.07−1.19, Mn = 49000−102000, 1-hexene content 3.2−22.6 mol %], indicative of living polymerization. The incorporation ability for higher α-olefins is highly dependent on the nature of the ortho-substituent, and Ti complexes with a sterically less encumbered ortho-substituent incorporated a higher amount of higher α-olefins. A number of unique block copolymers consisting of highly linear PE and ethylene/1-hexene copolymer segments were prepared usi...


In this two part paper the phenomenon of part span rotating stall is studied. The objective is to improve understanding of the physics by which stable and persistent rotating stall occurs within high speed axial flow compressors. This phenomenon is studied both experimentally (part 1) and numerically (part 2).The experimental observations reported in Part 1 are now explored through the use of 3D unsteady RANS simulation. The objective is to both to validate the computational model and, where possible, explore some physical aspects of the phenomena.Unsteady simulations are presented, performed at a fixed speed with the three rows of variable stator stagger vanes adjusted to deliberately mismatch the front stages and provoke stall. Two families of rotating stall are identified by the model, consistent with experimental observations from Part 1.The first family of rotating stall originates from hub corner separations developing on the stage 1 stator vanes. These gradually coalesce into a multi-cell rotating stall pattern confined to the hub region of the stator and its downstream rotor. The second family originates from regions of blockage associated with tip clearance flow over the stage 1 rotor blade. These also coalesce into a multi-cell rotating stall pattern of shorter length scale confined to the leading edge tip region. Some features of each of these two patterns are then explored as the variable stator vanes are mismatched further, pushing each region deeper into stall.The numerical predictions show a credible match with the experimental findings of Part 1. This suggests that a RANS modelling approach is sufficient to capture some important aspects of part span rotating stall behavior.© 2014 ASME


A method for the estimation of proton transfer activation energy for low temperature proton conductors based on structural data is suggested; examples of proton transfer for some specific substances are discussed.


The taxonomic status of the Southeast Asian spotted barb, Barbodes binotatus (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) has puzzled researchers due to large but inconsistent geographic variation of its body melanin marking pattern. In this study, we appraise the differentiation of Barbodes binotatus and two closely related species, Barbodes rhombeus and saddle barb, Barbodes banksi, in Peninsular Malaysia using mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Our results reveal that the Peninsular Malaysia populations of each of the three species form largely reciprocal monophyletic lineages that differ from each other by a minimum of 2.3% p-genetic distance using COI gene. However, specimens of B. binotatus in Peninsular Malaysia are only distantly related to specimens of B. binotatus in Java (type locality). The monophyly of B. banksi is not refuted although specimens of Peninsular Malaysia are genetically distinct from those of Sarawak (type locality). We discuss alternative hypotheses whether each of these three valid species is a single species or each of the main five genetic lineages revealed in this study represents a distinct species. Preliminary investigations reveal a mito-nuclear discordance at one locality in Peninsular Malaysia where B. binotatus and B. banksi co-occur. Further studies should inform on the extent of reproductive porousness between these two lineages and others. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Harbor detection is an important aspect for remote sensing ocean application research.Fast and accurate harbor detection can greatly improve the ability of automatic interpretation for remote sensing image shipside buildings and ships inside ports.By having a detailed research on harbor object disposal,this paper established harbor model and advance knowledge,and proposed a harbor detection method of remote sensing images based on model.Besides,aiming at the shortage that proposed method has a little far in locating harbor range,this paper defined the principal axis of harbor object and calculated harbor circum-rectangle which has a higher location precision.Compared with an existing harbor detection algorithm,our experiments show that novel method has a whole harbor detection,exact location and better universal.


In mountainous regions, rockfall represents one of the most common geomorphological processes and has extensively been studied in the past. During the last few years, research has increasingly focused on hazard assessment and risk analysis. Input data on past rockfall activity were gathered from archives or were obtained through frequency–volume statistics. However, detailed information on frequencies (how often), volumes (how large), spatial distributions (where) or the seasonality (when) of rockfall activity remain scarce and most of the time very fragmentary. Similarly, tree-ring analysis has only exceptionally been used to investigate past rockfall activity. It was therefore the aim of this PhD study to assess intra-annual differences in rockfall activity and to investigate spatial and decadal fluctuations of rockfall activity on forested slopes with dendrochronological analysis. Furthermore, the vertical distribution of scars was investigated and the visibility of scars determined, before other strengths and weaknesses of dendrochronology in rockfall research were evaluated with extensive datasets from existing studies.


I. Scitovszky's conclusions, 91. — II. Samuelson's criteria and the utility-possibility function, 92. — III. Increasing costs and a suitable tariff or quota, 93. — IV. Tariffs or quotas, free international trade plus domestic lump-sum taxation, and completely free trade considered in the situation sense, 96. — V. Lifting the assumptions of fixed factors indifferent between their different uses and increasing costs, 97. — VI. The all-or-none discrimination situation, 98. — VII. Summary and qualifications of the welfare analysis, 99.


The Versatile Array of Neutron Detectors at Low Energy (VANDLE) is a new array of plastic scintillator bars under development for measurements at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The array is highly modular allowing the configuration of the individual elements to be optimized for particular experimental requirements, such as (d,n) and beta‐delayed neutron‐decay measurements with neutron‐rich rare isotope beams.


This study was aimed at analysizing the diverse aspects of what is called 'digital Homo-ludens', a new human in the reality of our life and literary productions, based on the relationship of recently digital technology and playing. First, reinterpreting some of the things, on the theory of Johan Huizinga, Roger Caillois, Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno, Guy Debord, consequently affirms that playing makes momentous changes taking place in cultural life, makes inroads into all most forms of culture. Especially, digital technology, cell phones, notebook computer, digital camera, internet, and more, makes dramatic restoration and expansion of playing-culture. As a using of digital technology, there is no difference between the labor and the play, and modem peoples can meet with experiences of playing at any time. It also sets its sight on the fact that the synthesis of art forms bring forth the new aesthetic models, pursue new aesthetic experiences. As shown in this study's examples, digital technology and new playing-culture not injures the purity of cultural creation and experiences, but replace the experiences of chaos with the aesthetic experiences of truth. In the literary, one's latest works positively accepts digital Homo-ludens to apply in character. In the dynamic interaction of playing and digital technology, new characters of recently novel, takes a triangular position oneself as the subject of playing, creates a space-time continuum of playing, no matter what it's rated trivial round of daily life. The sprightly cultural sensibility of digital Homo-ludens, give a shock to the prior condition of culture pattern, because each attempts enter into the tense, complementary relation. It is valuable significance that this trial breaks through the possibility of culture in the new direction. We stand at the portals of a new age, develop from the rigorism to the luminosity, from the regulation to the participation, from the grade of rank to the network, from the break to the communication.


The article discusses the methodological methods of teaching children physical activity in the process of physical education and the methodological methods used in teaching children physical activity.


Despite its widespread use, density functional theory (DFT) has several notable areas of failure; perhaps the most well-studied of these failures is self-interaction error (SIE). Density corrected DFT (DC-DFT) was proposed as a potential solution to systems where SIE causes traditional DFT to fail. The Hartree-Fock (HF) density is then used for cases where the DFT energy is suitable but the self-consistent density is erroneous. In this study, we investigate the utility of the higher quality orbital optimized MP2 densities in DC-DFT for barrier heights and halogen bonded complexes. For functionals such as PBE and r$^2$SCAN, find that these densities yield worse results than the HF density due to favorable cancellation between the density-driven and functional-driven errors, confirming a recent study. Error decomposition reveals functional driven error, not density driven error, to be the primary cause of inaccuracy in DFT calculations where SIE is prominent. We therefore advise caution when using HF-DFT, because the only rigorous way to remove large functional-driven errors in lower rungs of Jacob's ladder is by climbing to higher rungs that include exact exchange. We recommend that better functionals be improved by using a better density in SIE-sensitive cases. Examples support the value of this variant of DC-DFT. We also emphasize that DC-DFT potential energy surfaces have first derivative discontinuities at Coulson-Fischer points, in contrast to the second derivative discontinuities in SCF solutions.


The article aims to find out how the teleological approach is used by journalists who should, of course, adhere to the journalistic ethics code at TVRI Jakarta. And in the field of journalism is the ethical code of journalism is important?. This research method employs qualitative methods and uses interview instruments with two sources from the TVRI station in Jakarta. The result is that this teleological approach is often used by journalists at TVRI Jakarta in carrying out its duties, and of course, its use should be consistent with a journalistic code of ethics.


Educating Responsible Citizens in theInformation SocietyGary MarchioniniContributing EditorIntroductionRecent decades have witnessed repeatedelaborations on the trend towards an informationsociety. From the efforts of visionaries such asVannevar Bush (1945) (Memex) to more recentacclamation of the information society arrival byauthors such as Daniel Bell (1973) (post-industrial society) and John Naisbitt (1982)(Megatrends), the popular culture hasincreasingly accepted that the industrializedworld is being transformed into a knowledge-based world. The proliferation of electronicinformation technologies for computation andcommunication has accelerated thistransformation in the workplace and moredeliberately in the school. As with any socialchange, there are conflicting goals, perceptions,and developments associated with emphasis onabstractions such as information rather than ontraditional tangibles such as the production offood and material goods.On the one hand, the promises of the informationsociety include increased productivity, enhancedcollaboration and participatory democracy, andimproved health and quality of life. Thesepromises are based upon:•rapid and comprehensive access toinformation (e.g., online resources, personaland corporate monitoring, and transactionlogging);•new storage and organization tools andtechniques (e.g., disk arrays and opticaldiscs; powerful indexing techniques, andinteroperable indexes);•powerful analytical tools (e.g., spreadsheetsand statistical packages; textual parsers forspelling, grammar, and pattern feedback;data mining procedures); and•global communications (e.g., universal e-mail, teleconferencing, chat rooms,MUDs/MOOS).On the other hand, our present experience withthe information society has also brought a host ofnew challenges to productivity, democracy, and


The autonomy is one of the basic authorities of patients.It isn't only an ethical concept,but also can help enhance the efficacy and compliance to a certain extent.The autonomic behavior of the patients isn't as optimistic as we think.The patient's autonomy can be influenced by many factors.We should base on the principles,advantage,respect and communication,to encourage patients to make an appropriate and unbiased decision and change into a collaborative,patient-centered doctor-patient relationship model.

Key words:
Autonomy;  Medical behavior


Optical networks based on a combination of 'clockwork' routing and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) have significant advantages for applications such as the internal interconnection networks of very large supercomputing systems in which latency and scalability are critical. The absence of optical buffers and elimination of centralized contention arbitration are beneficial in terms of latency, whilst the use of wavelength division multiplexing provides large scalability. This approach allows scaling in size to interconnection networks as large as 2048 optical nodes in a single-stage architecture. This paper describes the first detailed analysis of traffic in such a large-scale network, and presents throughput and latency statistics obtained by simulation.


A method for controlling an audio output and a digital device using the same are provided. The digital device adjusts an output level of an audio signal to a first level if it is determined that an audio output device, which is connected to an audio output terminal of the digital device, is of a first type, and adjusts the output level of the audio signal to a second level if it is determined that the audio output device is of a second type. Therefore, an audio signal is transferred to various types of audio output devices through a single audio output terminal, thereby adjusting the output level of the audio signal to a proper level according to the type of the audio output device and transferring the audio signal having the properly adjusted level.


By using autoregressive integrated moving average model and on the basis of Chinese textile and clothing export data from January of 2000 to December of 2004,this paper carries out forecast analysis for the Chinese textile clothing export tendency of 2005 and 2006.


The increasing speed of railway traffic has produced the need of hundreds of railway underpass bridges and that is also the reason for the demand of more effective and economical construction methods. An effective application for that purpose is a non-abutment bridge on steel pipe piles without expansion bearings.


The author's premise is that the voice industry will not return to the United States. Reflecting the analysis presented in previous chapters, this chapter offers a dim prognosis for those who wish to bring call center jobs "back home." As the author notes, the value proposition simply isn't there. Countries such as India and the Philippines offer labor that is both cheap (relative to the West) and skilled enough (when it comes to English fluency). The Philippines in particular has emerged as a call center "nirvana," as a stable labor market assemblage in which firms find workers and workers find jobs offering strategic and sustainable solutions to their dilemmas.


Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) is a powerful quality tool, widely used in industry, for the identification of failure modes, their effects and causes. In this work, we investigated the utility of FMEA in the education field to improve active learning processes. In our case study, the FMEA principles were adapted to assess the risk of failures in a Mechanical Engineering course on "Theory of Machines and Mechanisms" conducted through a project-based, collaborative "Study and Research Path (SRP)" methodology. The SRP is an active learning instruction format which is initiated by a generating question that leads to a sequence of derived questions and answers, and combines moments of study and inquiry. By applying the FMEA, the teaching team was able to identify the most critical failures of the process, and implement corrective actions to improve the SRP in the subsequent year. Thus, our work shows that FMEA represents a simple tool of risk assesment which can serve to identify criticality in educational process, and improve the quality of active learning.


Femtosecond pulse shaping and pulse envelope modulation make it possible to see very weak nonlinear signatures in tissue. Here we discuss imaging of melanins, hemoglobins, and other endogenous markers.


Plant derived oral green vaccines eliminate expenses associated with fermenters, purification, cold storage/transportation and sterile delivery. Green vaccines are expressed via the plant nuclear or chloroplast genomes. Chloroplast expression has advantages of hyper-expression of therapeutic proteins (10,000 copies of transgene per cell), efficient oral delivery and transgene containment via maternal inheritance. To date, 23 vaccine antigens against 16 different bacterial, viral or protozoan pathogens have been expressed in chloroplasts. Mice subcutaneously immunized with the chloroplast derived anthrax protective antigen conferred 100% protection against lethal doses of the anthrax toxin. Oral immunization (ORV) of F1-V antigens without adjuvant conferred greater protection (88%) against 50-fold lethal dose of aerosolized plague (Yersinia pestis) than subcutaneous (SQV) immunization (33%). Oral immunization of malarial vaccine antigens fused to the cholera antigen (CTB-AMA1/CTB-Msp1) conferred prolonged immunity (50% life span), 100% protection against cholera toxin challenge and inhibited proliferation of the malarial parasite. Protection was correlated with antigen-specific titers of intestinal, serum IgA & IgG1 in ORV and only IgG1 in SQV mice, but no other immunoglobulin. High level expression in edible plant chloroplasts ideal for oral delivery and long-term immunity observed should facilitate development of low cost human vaccines for large populations, at times of outbreak.


The present invention provides a light control sheet for uniform (uniform) or converged (converging) the light emitted from the light source, the tubular unit lens and a placed to the emission side of the lens surface increases the number of parallel configured lens unit . Of the lens surface of the cylindrical lens unit, a long direction perpendicular (perpendicularly) cross section in the direction of the unit lenses indicates an asymmetric shape. Lens surface of the unit lens has a plane surface formed by a plane, a curved surface formed by a portion of cylindrical surface portion.


The container vehicle-truss bridge coupled vibration greatly affects the automated container terminals' (ACT) structural safety and handling efficiency. Using free-interface component mode synthesis (CMS) method, the coupled vibration time-domain responses, under self-excitation including track irregularity and hunting movement as well as environmental excitations such as wind and seismic load, were obtained. Stochastic simulation of track irregularity and fluctuating wind time-history was generated based on the numerical simulation method of multidimensional homogeneous process. A scale model test was introduced to validate the CMS method's effectiveness and vehicle speed's influence on coupled vibration response. In this case, the vehicle-bridge vertical vibration is caused mainly by the vehicle moving load, and self-excitation is a major factor. Wind, seismic load will greatly enhance the lateral vibration. And the sensitivity of the response to the seismic load is greater than operational wind load. As vehicle velocity, fluctuating wind mean velocity or ground motion intensity increase, the responses increase. Then, the structural safety, running safety and stability were assessed by the indicators such as deflection-span ratio, acceleration response etc., under wind load only and under operational wind and ground motion excited simultaneously. It is proved by both prototype simulation and model test results that, lead rubber bearing (LRB) can effectively reduce the acceleration response of both the vehicle and the bridge; therefore, can raise vehicle speed limits for structural and running safety.


[sup 31]P and [sup 27]Al NMR spectroscopies are used to characterize the distribution of soluble aluminophosphate species in aqueous solutions of tetramethylammonium (TMA) hydroxide, phosphoric acid, and aluminum chloride. Solution compositions range from 0.1 to 1 mol % P, P/Al = 0.1-5, P/(TMA)[sub 2]O = 0.37-10. For solutions of 1 mol % P, a phase diagram is constructed for various concentrations of TMAOH and Al. The phase diagram is divided into three regions: a high-pH region (pH [ge] 6), a medium-pH range (2 [le] pH [le] 10) in which stable solid phases exist, and a low-pH region (pH [le] 2). In the low-pH region, soluble aluminophosphate complexes form between P species (H[sub 3]PO[sub 4] acid dimers, H[sub 3]PO[sub 4] molecules, and H[sub 2]PO[sub 4][sup [minus]] ions) and Al species (Al monomers as [Al(H[sub 2]O)[sub 6]][sup 3+] cations, and Al dimers as [Al[sub 2](OH)[sub 2](H[sub 2]O)[sub 8]][sup 4+] cations). Specific [sup 31]P NMR and [sup 27]Al NMR peaks are assigned to P and Al nuclei in aluminophosphate complexes which are stable in the low pH range. In the high-pH region, soluble aluminophosphate complexes form between HPO[sub 4][sup 2[minus]] ions and Al species. Also at high pH, [sup 31]P NMR spectra displaysmore » a series of sharp resonances (from [minus]2 to 5 ppm) assigned to P atoms in aluminophosphate complexes. [sup 27]Al NMR spectra of the same solutions display broad features centered at 5 ppm assigned to octahedrally coordinated Al bonded through oxygen to P, at [approx]45.5 ppm to pentacoordinated Al bonded through oxygen to P, and at [approx]65 ppm to tetrahedrally coordinated Al bonded through oxygen to P. Independent Al-O-P bond counts from [sup 31]P and [sup 27]Al NMR spectra of aluminophosphate solutions of high pH ([ge]6) indicate that each octahedrally coordinated, pentacoordinated, and tetrahedrally coordinated Al nucleus is bonded primarily to only one phosphate ligand. 21 refs., 13 figs., 2 tabs.« less


In fire monitoring systems, Internet of Things sensors allow predicting the area of fire in combination with machine learning. This article provides an insight into the use of machine learning models in predicting steppe fires. The work uses statistical methods for forecasting time series, methods of regression analysis and forecasting techniques. This project explores a data mining approach for predicting steppe fires. Several different data mining methods are considered and at least five different special methods of feature selection (spatial, temporal, Fire Weather Index components, weather attributes and our own developed classes). At the moment, data mining software systems have been tested on real data collected in the southern regions of Kalmykia. The study used open data from meteorological stations, our own database time series collected over the past 3 years, tested various data mining methods and at least five meteorological inputs, which will allow predicting a burnt area of small and medium fires, an area of dust storms, etc. The results show that the k Nearest Neighbor model is the most appropriate choice for the steppe fire forecasting model. The chosen model takes into account both meteorological data and images for early forecasting of FIRMS fires.


Nanocomposites are a relatively new class of materials with unique properties typically not shared by conventional microcomposites. The dispersion of nanometric organic or ingorganic particles in polymer matrix, may cause an increase in performances of composite materials and give new functional properties. The interest in polymer nanocomposites depends on the potential applications of these materials. Dealing with flexible or rigid films, packaging is a potential application because of the material transparency and the oxygen-barrier properties. In the present work, dynamic mechanical properties of polyester–montmorillonite nanocomposite thick films, prepared by the in situ intercalative polymerization method, were evaluated in a tensile mode. A fast fabrication procedure was chosen according to industrial applications and tensile DMA results permitted to study the interaction between nanofiller and matrix.
Surface coatings are used in different engineering applications, from scratch-resisting coatings to thermal barriers. Nanocomposites have the potential for being high-performance coatings. As surface damage and interfacial failure may affect the final coating performances, the reliable characterisation of the coated film strength is critical. Recent scientific contributions mainly deal with the nanoindentation of nanocomposite coatings or bulk materials. In this work the use of instrumented macro-indentation is suggested for mechanical characterization of polyester–montmorillonite nanocomposite coatings deposited on aluminium and high-density polyethylene substrates by the spin coating method. Macro-indentation is less sensitive to material non-homogeneities and provides reliable information about the coating strength. Moreover, the sample preparation is less critical than for nanoindentation. In the appendix a particular instance of the use of macroindentation test is reported, instrumented macroindentation test was used to measure the effect of the local filler content in polymer functional graded materials .
After the study of nanocomposite coatings and films, the study of bulk nunocomposites was performed to investigate the material beahviour. In fact, bulk samples exhibit different properties than coatings, moreover the study of bulk materials is easier and allow to deepen several scientific aspects.
The combination of functional nanoparticles and foaming technology has generated a new class of lightweight, high strength, and multifunctional materials: the nanocomposite foams. Nowadays, the challenge is to find new fast and cheap production processes that are able to provide complex nanocomposite structures on a large scale. A new foaming technology called 'solid-state foaming' has recently been developed to foam thermosetting materials without using any external agent. This new technology is very easy and special equipments are not necessary. In the present work, this method was used for fabricating nanocomposite foams.
Nowadays, the development of advanced materials for tribological purposes is becoming a pressing demand of manufacturing industries. Polymer-based composites have the capability of operating for a long time without lubrication in conditions of cryogenic and elevated temperatures. Components, such as gears and cams are typically produced by injection molding of thermoplastic matrix composites. In fact, the ease and economics of manufacturing complex parts by injection molding are well recognized, but the effect of the injection molding process on the bulk properties of nanocomposites is still under investigation. In this study, the author evaluated the tribological and mechanical behavior of neat and nanofilled functional polymers (PA6, PA66 and POM) produced by injectiono moulding.


Introduction: Neonatal sepsis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality most remarkable in the third world nations. Early diagnosis and subsequent therapy for the infected infants may play a vital role in lowering such mortality and morbidity rates. Aim: To study the clinical profile of neonatal sepsis in a tertiary care hospital and to correlate the findings with quantitative C-reactive protein (CRP) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6). Settings and Design: A total of 296 neonates admitted in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of sepsis were studied. Based on their age the study population was divided into early onset sepsis (EOS): age group less 72 hours and late onset sepsis (LOS): age group more than 72 hours. Also healthy neonates who had no signs and symptoms of sepsis were taken as control for the study. Material and Methods: Blood culture was carried out using BacT/ Alert-3D automated system. Quantitative CRP by nephelometry and IL-6 by ELISA was done in all culture positive cases and controls. Correlation of detection of cases of sepsis by quantitative CRP and IL-6 with blood culture was carried out. Statistical analysis: Statistical parameters such as sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, accuracy and significance levels were calculated Results: In EOS the sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) of IL-6 was 62.32% and 33.33% respectively as compared to sensitivity of 27.5% and NPV of 26.47% of CRP. Conclusions: IL-6 is a good marker for early onset sepsis than CRP detecting a greater number of sepsis cases.


Limited feedback enables the practical use of channel state information in single user and multiple user MIMO (multiple input multiple output) wireless communication systems. Using the limited feedback concept, channel state information at the receiver is quantized by choosing a representative element from a codebook known to both the receiver and transmitter. Unfortunately, achieving the high resolution required by multiuser MIMO communication is challenging due to the large size codebooks required. This paper proposes a progressive refinement concept that uses a base codebook quantization followed by a progressively scaled local codebook to enable high resolution quantization and reconstruction.


Nandi Theunissen's The Value of Humanity tackles the distinctively modern topic announced in its title – one most famously associated withKant's moral philosophy – by providing an account that is explicitly inspired by the ancients. According to Theunissen, Plato and Aristotle held that what it is for anything to be good, or valuable, is for it stand in a relation of benefit to something. Theunissen's book is an extended argument for the application of this general conception of value to human beings in particular. Theunissen thereby hopes to provide an alternative to the Kantian understanding of human value, which she takes to be centered around the claim that human beings differ from all other things of value in virtue of being good 'in themselves', i.e., independently of any relation they stand in to anything else. In Chapter 1 Theunissen makes a series of distinctions concerning value – including the relational/non-relational distinction central to the book – and defends the idea that the ethical significance of human beings is best explained as a species of recognition they are due in virtue of their being valuable. She goes on to voice initial skepticism in Chapter 2 about the Kantian notion of 'absolute' or non-relational value before defusing the argument, in Chapter 3, that states some things must be valuable in themselves if a vicious regress is to be avoided. She concludes that there need be no such regress if we recognize that something can stand to itself in a reflexive relation of selfbenefit. Chapter 4 gives a positive account of the all-important relation inwhichwe stand to ourselves.Theway inwhichwe benefit ourselves is by exercising our capacity to lead good lives – which capacity is the


Strain FM11-1 was isolated from flowers of Solanum torvum that were collected in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand and was characterized using a polyphasic approach as Gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic with short chains and catalase-negative cocci. This strain produced L-lactic acid from glucose and was closely related to Enterococcus durans NBRC 100479T, Enterococcus faecium NRIC 1145T, Enterococcus hirae ATCC 9790T, Enterococcus lactis LMG 25958T and Enterococcus ratti DSM 15687T (98.92-99.73 %) based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. The draft genome of strain FM11-1 had 2,784,928 bp and contained 2,586 coding sequences, with a genomic G+C content of 38.07 mol%. Values of ANIb, ANIm and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) between strain FM11-1 and the closest strain, E. lactis LMG 25958T were 97.23%, 98.30% and 83.7%, respectively. The predominant cellular fatty acids were C19:0 cyclo 8c and C16:0. This strain was identified as Enterococcus lactis using polyphasic characterization and genome analysis. Strain FM11-1 contained genes involved in carbohydrate fermentation and specialty genes of antibiotic resistance. This strain showed adhesion ability (0.43±0.11) on Caco-2 cells but had no cytotoxicity against Caco-2, HepG2 and Vero cells.


In order to assess degradation trends of lambda-cyhalothrin in different kinds of eco-environment planted apple.The field trail were conducted in suburbs of Taiyuan,Kunming and Beijing city,the apples and soils were analyzed by gas chromatography with ECD detector.The result showed that the degradation behaviors of lambda-cyhalothrin accorded with first order kinetics,the half life were from 17.8 to 24.0 days in apple,12.1 to 15.8 days in soil respectively.The last application was done 21 days before harvesting,the residues in apple and soil were not more than 0.2 mg/kg that was the maximum residues limits.The rate of degradation in three sites related to the air temperature and soils characteristic of physics and chemistry,but the difference was not significant.so it is safe to apply lambda-cyhalothrin.


Over the last few years, there has been a growing concern among academics and practitioners about the slow pace in which sustainability transformations unfold. While most socio-technical transformations tend to happen over extended periods, research shows that unless some dramatic changes are introduced, we are risking damaging the critical earth systems that sustain human life. In this context, understanding why and how transformations happen at a much faster pace in certain places than in others is of crucial importance. This paper investigates the rapid transformation of Panzano, from traditional wine production to organically produced wine. Using a combination of document analysis, participant observation, and face to face interviews in Panzano in 2019, this article examines the role of the territorially embedded innovation ecosystems facilitating this fast transformation. The study looks at place based-structural preconditions and different forms of agency at different stages in the transformation. Our findings illustrate that a place-based agency is paramount for accelerating sustainability transformations.


BACKGROUND
Serofluid dish, a traditional Chinese fermented food, possesses unique flavors and health beneficial effects. These properties are likely due to the sophisticated metabolic networks during fermentation, which are mainly driven by microbiota. However, the exact roles of metabolic pathways and the microbial community during this process remain equivocal.

RESULTS
Here, we investigated the microbial dynamics by next generation sequencing, and outlined a differential non-targeted metabolite profiling in the process of serofluid dish fermentation using the hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography column ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadruple-time-of-flight mass spectrometry method. Lactobacillus was the leading genera of bacteria, while Pichia and Issatchenkia were the dominant fungi. They all accumulated during fermentation. In total, 218 differential metabolites were identified, of which organic acids, amino acids, sugar and sugar-alcohols, fatty acids, and esters comprised the majority. The constructed metabolic network showed that tricarboxylic acid cycle, urea cycle, sugar metabolism, amino acids metabolism, choline metabolism, and flavonoid metabolism were regulated by the fermentation. Furthermore, correlation analysis revealed that the leading fungi, Pichia and Issatchenkia, were linked to organic acids, amino acid and sugar metabolism, flavonoids, and several other flavor and functional components. Antibacterial tests indicated the antibacterial effect of serofluid soup against Salmonella and Staphylococcus.

CONCLUSION
This work provides new insights into the complex microbial and metabolic networks during serofluid dish fermentation, and a theoretical basis for the optimization of its industrial production. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Recently, robots have seen rapidly increasing use in homes and warehouses to declutter by collecting objects from a planar surface and placing them into a container. While current techniques grasp objects individually, Multi-Object Grasping (MOG) can improve efficiency by increasing the average number of objects grasped per trip (OpT). However, grasping multiple objects requires the objects to be aligned and in close proximity. In this work, we propose Push-MOG, an algorithm that computes "fork pushing" actions using a parallel-jaw gripper to create graspable object clusters. In physical decluttering experiments, we find that Push-MOG enables multi-object grasps, increasing the average OpT by 34%. Code and videos are available at https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/push-mog.


This paper introduces a kind of industrial robot based on CAN and implements the interface between the communication bus and the system's modules. It also brings forward communication protocol. The industrial robot controller takes full advantage of the characteristic of the CAN field bus. So the various modules can be configured neatly, and expanded easily. The technique promotes the state of the art industrial robot's performance.


Several local and nonlocal exchange‐correlation functionals are tested through accurate Kohn–Sham self‐consistent calculations for six nobel gas atoms and three isoelectronic series (with two, four, and ten electrons and atomic numbers up to 20). The calculated exchange, correlation, and total energies have been compared with those from accurate Hartree–Fock calculations and accurate estimates of correlation energies available recently. Improvements over local‐density approximation are found for all the tested nonlocal exchange‐correlation functionals. In particular, nonlocal correlation energy functionals are shown to perform significantly better than the local approximations when both are used in conjunction with the nonlocal Becke's exchange energy functional. However, in most cases, all the functionals fail to predict the correct trends of exchange and correlation energies as the atomic charge increases.


A semigroup approach to regular asymptotic expansions with applications to Black-Scholes equations University of Oxford A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MSc in Mathematical Finance


Previous research has shown that a technique called error-correcting output coding (ECOC) can dramatically improve the classiication accuracy of supervised learning algorithms that learn to classify data points into one of k 2 classes. In this paper, we will extend the technique so that ECOC can also provide class probability information. ECOC is a method of converting k-class supervised learning problem into a large number L of two-class supervised learning problems and then combining the results of these L evaluations. The underlying two-class supervised learning algorithms are assumed to provide L probability estimates. The problem of computing class probabilities is formulated as an over-constrained system of L linear equations. Least squares methods are applied to solve these equations. Accuracy and reliability of the probability estimates are demonstrated.


The Bubbly Creek filtration plant at the Chicago Union Stock Yards requires no introduction. It has stood in a class by itself purifying probably the most polluted supply of any water purification system in the country. It was at this plant that hypochlorite of lime was first used on a practical scale for water disinfection, in the summer of 1908. Numerous articles have appeared about this plant, its operation and the wonderful results obtained. The results have been uniformly good. To many people, the results have been almost unbelievable. The Bubbly Creek water softening plant is in its infancy and needs an introduction. At the present time the record of the filtration plant is much better than is that of the softening plant, as will be explained later. The plants are one and the same. An agreement was entered into with the city of Chicago several years ago about the use of the filtered water from the Bubbly Creek plant. Since that time, the filtered water has not been used for watering live stock but its use has been confined to mechanical purposes. At no time, however, has the purification been discontinued, as much care is being used now to obtain a satisfactory degree of purity at all times as was used formerly. The conditions and problems to be met with in order to soften the water with this plant were somewhat novel and peculiar to local conditions. The power house of the Union Stock Yard and Transit Company, the same company that owns the filtration plant, is nearby.The boilers there require about 125,000 gallons of water per day. Previously they have been supplied with the returns from the heating system, some 50,000 or 60,000 gallons per day, and the balance of the water was taken from the Permutit system softening city water. The Chicago Junction Railway has some 50 or 55 locomotives operating in the Stock Yards. They have been supplied with filtered water that was not softened. The amount


Excerpt of talk: "A fairly stable system of scholarly communication -- with defined roles for libraries, university presses and scholarly societies -- arose along with the modern American university. Digitization is only the most prominent force stressing that system and altering the interaction of its components. To make sense of this shifting kaleidoscope we need to think again on the missions of the several actors."


This collection of critical essays covers a range of literary forms and discusses the political, historical and ethnic contexts of lusophone writings. The book features general essays about national literatures, as well as articles devoted to writers including Luandino Vieira and Agostinho Neto.


ABSTRACT This article addresses the transmission history of biographies of St. Augustine to China during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is divided into two parts: Catholicism and Protestantism. Hagiographic styles influenced Augustine's Catholic biography, in general taking Augustine as a saint to be commemorated, or as a saintly teacher in the Church to be studied. Protestant accounts of Augustine are close to modern-day biography, but it is also influenced by the writers' missionary stances, laying particular emphasis on the missionary goal and context. When translating and introducing the type of content, the authors show their religious inclination.


I am continuing my series of sample articles for the Tricks Wiki (http://gowers.wordpress.com /2007/09/11/what‐might‐an‐expository‐mathematical‐wiki‐be‐like/) with one that is intended to represent a general class of such articles. It is common practice in lecture courses (at least if the ones I attended as an undergraduate are anything to go by) to state useful theorems, lemmas, propositions, etc., without going to much trouble to explain why they are useful. Of course, there are many ways to pick up this further understanding: taking note of where and how such results are used, doing carefully designed exercises, and so on. Nevertheless, it is often the case that more could be done to help people recognise the signs that indicate that a particular result can be applied.


Abstract : Contents: Moral and ethical foundations of military professionalism; Ethics in the military profession: The continuing tension; Competence as ethical imperative: Issues of professionalism; Modernism vs Pre-modernism: The need to rethink the basis of military organizational forms; and The six-million dollar G-3: Army professionalism in the computer age.


We analyze recent trends in extreme daily precipitation in the Southwestern Alps. We consider a high-resolution precipitation dataset of 1 x1 km2 for the period 1958-2017. A robust method of trend estimation is considered, based on nonstationary extreme value distribution and a homogeneous neighborhood approach. The results show contrasting trends in extreme daily precipitation depending on the season. In autumn, the trends are significantly increasing in most of the Southwestern Greater Alpine Region, with an increase up to 100% the average maxima for the 20-year return level between 1958 and 2017, while the French Alps show mainly decreasing extremes. Knowing that autumn experiences most of the largest maxima, the increase in the Mediterranean area is of concern for risk protection.  In winter, the valleys and medium mountain areas surrounding the Northern French Alps show significant increasing extremes, while the inner French Alps, the Swiss Valais and the Aosta Valley show significant decreasing trends. In the other seasons, the significant trends are mostly negative in the Mediterranean area, while the French Alps show less organized and contrasting trends.  For all seasons, part of the significant changes in extremes can be related to changes in the dominant atmospheric influences generating the maxima, particularly in the Mediterranean influenced region that shows the most organized trends. In particular, the strong positive trends in autumn in Southern France are concomitant with an increase in Mediterranean influence generating the maxima. However some exceptions are notable with counter-intuitive trends in extremes given the trends in dominant influences.


At the present time a diagnosis of Pellargra is based wholly upon clinical features. These clinical features are not always constant, hence in the state of our present knowledge it is often difficult to say where the pellagrous process begins or where it ends. In view of these facts the term, recurrent attacks, used in this paper calls fo,r some qualification. It appears to be the custom to consider the dermatitis as the one characteristic symp tom, and if error is to be avoided a diagnosis should not be made without its presence. In observing the course of the disease, it would be fair to presume that a case going through the summer in fair health, without developing the dermatitis when exposed to the sun, is no longer a pellagrin. Likewise it is to be concluded that a case de veloping the dermatitis under the same conditions is a pellagrin. Because of the diagnostic significance of the dermatitis this symptom is used as an index to the state of the patients, i. e., when a given case has had an annual recurrence of the dermatitis, this is termed a recurrent attack of the disease or if a case goes through the year without dermatitis, it is held that he has not had a recurrence. In doing this we will not lose sight of the probability that Pellagra is a chronic disease, characterized by peculiar exacer bations due to climatic and other influences. Thus, in speaking of attacks, we mean an incident which al ways denotes the presence of the disease, yet there are probably cases in which this characteristic lesion never occurs. The etiologic features that will be discussed are corn and cottonseed oil consumption, and incidentally age, sex, residence and season. These factors as they appear in one hundred cases will be the basis for our remarks. By referring to the table it will be observed that the oil and lard consumers who had no attack in 1912 are placed first. Be-


Throughout life, the human body is constantly exposed to stressful factors. The influence of stress reduces the overall state of the body (especially the immune system), reproductive capabilities, performance, memory, and leads to premature aging. Especially affected are people whose professional activities are associated with unfavorable factors (daily duties, psychoemotional overstrains, physical exertion, violation of the diet), which leads to early professional burnout. Therefore, it is necessary to search for substances that increase the body's resistance to stress and the possibility of using them for preventive purposes. This article presents the results aimed at studying the antistress properties of the N-phenylacetyl-L-prolylglycine compound. The substance was synthesized in the Research Institute of Pharmacology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. The study was conducted on rats with a high level of anxiety of two ages (3 months old, 1.5 years old), since they are the most sensitive to stress influence. For the selection of animals, the following physiological tests were used: the "Porsolt swimming test", the "open field" test. A 30-minute swim at a water temperature of 28-30°C was used as a stress factor. The neuroprotective properties of the aminoacid additive were determined by indicators of peroxidation and activation of the antioxidant system. The content of malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase, the activity of ceruloplasmin and catalase, the concentration of extra-erythrocyte hemoglobin, the total peroxidase activity was evaluated. The aminoacid additive (N-phenylacetyl-L-prolylglycine) was found to develop neuroprotective properties. In all animals, the use of an aminoacid additive reduces the intensity of the processes of lipid peroxidation and activates the antioxidant systems. However, in young rats the changes in indicators were significantly positive. The results of this study may be the basis for the use of aminoacid additives as functional ingredients with neuroprotective properties in the production of food in the food industry.


This is an open microarticle. We are issuing an open invitation for new contributions to this article in order to join forces and strengthen the field of openness of science and to promote a worldwide culture that might lead to unprecedented growth of scientific discoveries, which may spark a permanent revolution in science and technology in the near future. The guidelines for participating in this open project by co-authoring this work are described herein. Open Science (in any field of knowledge) can succeed extraordinarily solely by virtue of two simple elements: people willing to collaborate and a suitable online platform. We believe that science would progress substantially if we unite open researchers worldwide using nowadays technology in a clever way so that the results meet the standards required for high-level publications demanded by our current society. We present a simple way to accomplish "Open Science in Open Access Forums."


In light of recent calls to integrate gender equality and social equity (GESE) strategies into development projects, researchers have begun to explore the gender-related inequalities in aquatic agricultural systems (AAS) and agriculture. This literature review addresses a gap in existing research by identifying the role of GESE-related communication components in AAS and agricultural interventions. This critical review of peer-reviewed and gray literature in AAS and agriculture will identify opportunities for future work and inform the design and implementation of relevant communication interventions.


Background: The relevance of obesity and hypertension as an important public health challenge is increasing worldwide. This research work was carried out to determine the Glycemic index of bean products.
Methods: Four beans products (Beans served with stew, Akara, Moinmoin and Ofuloju) from the same cowpea specie (Vigna unguiculata) with different processing methods (boiling, steaming, frying) were evaluated. 50 g Oral glucose–D was used as standard food. Mineral analysis and Glycemic index were determined using standard method.
A total of ten (10) healthy volunteers were used in the study. The volunteers consisted of three (3) males and seven (7) females. Sociodemographic, Body Mass Index (BMI) of the subjects were assessed using a structured questionnaire and weighing scale respectively. A total of four bean products namely, Beans served with stew, Akara, Moinmoin and Ofuloju were given to the subjects after which blood sample was collected using a glucometer (on-callplus).
Results: The result of the socio economic characteristic shows that the age of the subjects ranged from 23-30 years, Height ranged from 1.57 - 1.48 m, weight ranged from 45-56 kg while their BMI were between 20.27 - 23.81 kg/m2. The result of the mineral analysis showed that Moinmoin had the highest iron content (5.7) while Akara had the lowest content (0.02), Akara had the highest Magnesium content (3.5) while beans served with stew had the lowest Magnesium content (2.9). Beans served with stew had the highest zinc (0.05) while Akara had the lowest zinc content (0.02). The Glycemic Index (GI) of beans served with stew was 56, Akara was 44, Moin-moin was 41 while Ofuloju was 54.
Conclusion: The GI results revealed that bean product can be consumed with restriction.


The solution of the Baer-Kouri-Levin-Tobocman many-body scattering equations by means of a finite basis expansion method has been carried out for a simple three-body system. Various versions of the Baer-Kouri-Levin-Tobocman formalism and approximations to it were compared. The distorted wave Baer-Kouri equations was the version that worked best. The finite basis method was found to yield accurate values for binding energies and transition amplitudes only when continuum intermediate state contributions were small.


This article provides guidance to laboratories on how to meet the requirements for competence and qualitythat are particular to medical laboratories contained in ISO 15189:2003. This guide describes the basic principles of astep by step process to build a quality system within a medical laboratory. The guide is equally applicable to newlyestablished and existing laboratories. It encompasses both the management and technical requirements of ISO 15189:2003.


In this paper we recall our concepts of n th -Power Set of a Set, SuperHyperOperation, SuperHyperAxiom, SuperHyperAlgebra, and their corresponding Neutrosophic SuperHyperOperation, Neutrosophic SuperHyperAxiom and Neutrosophic SuperHyperAlgebra. In general, in any (cid:12)eld of knowledge, one actually encoun-ters SuperHyperStructures (or more accurately ( m; n )-SuperHyperStructures).


We employ the lowest-order radially polarized axicon fields of a Gaussian laser beam to demonstrate that electrons may be accelerated from rest in vacuum to a few GeV. Petawatt power laser beams focused onto micron-size focal spots result in multi-TeV/m electron energy gradients.


The second in a new series about mental health in old age, this article reviews policies and research evidence on services for people with dementia at the end of their lives, and looks at future commissioning priorities


Time at target blood pressure A secondary analysis of data in a randomised trial of a combination pill in patients with mild to moderate hypertension suggests that an outcome of time spent at target blood pressure is a better indicator of effectiveness than whether the target was achieved at the end of the trial. Physical activity in people with coronary artery disease A systematic review combined data from nine prospective studies that included 34 000 patients to show that physical activity is highly beneficial in people with established coronary artery disease. A systematic review and meta-analysis of data containing more than 2 million person years of observation concludes that, even at levels below usual public health recommendations, physical activity protects against depression.


The paper is well written and of generally good quality. The paper is very short, matching the requirements for a brief communication. There are no unnecessary repetitions compared with the original publication, which is good. The results reveal a negligible effect on the aerodynamic force distribution while substantially reducing the computational costs. Hence, the add-on to the original formulation is of very high interest for


Worldwide, about 100 million tons of bitumen are used per year. Mainly from petroleum refining, although bitumen can exist in natural form, this material is used because of its unique combination of properties: adhesion, impermeability to water and specific thermo rheological behaviour. Due to petroleum dependency, the future of petroleum-based bitumen is uncertain, especially in road construction field [1], [2]. In this context, alternative bitumen binders from renewable resources are most likely to be an issue [3]. The Algoroute project funded by the French National Agency for Research (ANR) tries to mimic the geological process of petroleum formation in a faster way. This process started with the sedimentation of microalgae biomass in oceans' depths which then turned progressively into petroleum by the increased of both temperature and pressure. Algoroute partners have shown microalgae biomass can be converted via hydrothermal liquefaction into an hydrophobic product having similar rheological properties with petroleum bitumen [3], [4]. However the similitude between the geological formation and hydrothermal liquefaction also suffers from some distinctions. If reaction temperature and time seem to be important factors, some other less explored factors, such as heating/cooling rate, algae/water ratio or loading level of reactor might have a significant impact on quality and yield of the hydrophobic phase. One of the aims of this project is to fully understand the physical and chemical phenomena taking place during hydrothermal liquefaction. To do so, hydrothermal liquefaction is studied with three different reactor scales: i) High pressure DSC crucibles (30 µL.) are used to perform thermal analysis during hydrothermal liquefaction in a Differential Scanning Calorimeter. ii) A commercial stirred pressure reactor (300 mL) was instrumented with 9 thermocouples in different locations inside the reaction media, allowing to monitor the temperature fields together with global pressure, and stirrer's rotation torque. Fast heating and quenching of the reaction media are obtained with an induction coil and a mixed air/water spray cooler (figure A). iii) The same system is used with intermediate scale Swagelok non-instrumented reactors (30 mL.) allowing the screening of reaction temperatures and residence time on typically 3g of biomass batches. These reactors were used to study the hydrothermal liquefaction of Spirulina residues. This microalgae is currently the main one produced worldwide, with identified residues from extraction of high added value molecules (pigments). Hydrothermal liquefaction of the microalgae biomass leads to three separate components: a gas phase, an aqueous phase and a hydrophobic phase. This hydrophobic phase, which mimics the rheology behaviour of petroleum-based bitumen, is made of a mixture of an oil phase, and insoluble solid residues. Oil and solid residues form a complex matrix, where the effects of both on the rheological response allow the potential formulation of different grades of bio-bitumen mimicking petroleum bitumen grades. (Figure B). Although previous studies have reported that the optimal reaction temperature is around 260°C [3]. Yet, no detailed kinetic studies have been made about the reaction time impact on the rheological behaviour. Therefore, the combination of high heating/cooling rates and different reaction times was used to investigate the hydrothermal liquefaction
kinetic of biomass waste conversion into bio bitumen.
That's what it's all about. Controlling the operating parameters to better understand the oil and solid residues
formation's kinetic, and then understanding the contributions of these fractions in the bitumen-like behaviour.


We consider theoretically the perpendicular upper critical field ${H}_{c2}$(T) versus temperature T for a proximity multilayer structure consisting of two superconductors, a and b, whose critical temperatures obey ${T}_{\mathrm{ca}}$g${T}_{\mathrm{cb}}$ but whose intrinsic upper critical fields obey ${H}_{c2a}$(0)${H}_{c2b}$(0). The latter condition can be satisfied if metal b is sufficiently dirty while metal a is relatively clean. The system's phase boundary, ${H}_{c2}$ versus T, may have a large positive curvature in the temperature domain where ${H}_{c2a}$(T)\ensuremath{\approxeq}${H}_{c2b}$(T). This curvature becomes sharper with increasing thickness.


Disclosed is an electromechanical brake system. The electromechanical brake system includes an electric motor, a reduction gear to transfer power of the electric motor, a screw spindle connected to the reduction gear, the screw spindle being rotatably provided, a spindle nut coupled to the screw spindle, the spindle nut being linear-movably provided, a brake pad to move toward the disc, as the spindle nut applies pressure thereto, and a self-locking structure to limit movement of the spindle nut and thereby prevent the spindle nut from being moved in a reverse direction, when the brake pad contacts the disc.


The chicken anemia virus-derived protein apoptin induces apoptosis in human tumor cells via a p53-independent pathway, while leaving normal cells intact. Moreover, apoptin treatment in preclinical animal studies leads to reduced tumor growth or remission without a detectable effect on healthy tissues. Apoptin is activated by a still unknown tumor-specific kinase activity. The mode of action of apoptin is under intense investigation, as certain features make it a promising tool for discovering early events in tumorigenesis, identifying druggable targets for antitumor treatment and possibly serving as an antitumor therapy in itself.


Previous researchers (Hoare and Hesp 2000, Hesp 2003, Chailleux and Mouillet 2006, Chailleux et al. 2007) have used the Single-Edge Notched Bending (SENB) Test, a fracture mechanics-based test commonly used in metals and other materials, to obtain the fracture properties of asphalt binders at low temperatures. They succeeded in grading a broad range of materials with different levels of modification. The SENB test follows ASTM E399 standard and assumes that linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) conditions hold.


The article analyses the state of Biology teachers training of the higher educational establishments of Ukraine (1944-1946). The system of higher educational establishments that were training teachers is determined, the peculiarities of forming the academic staff, renovation of resource base, organization of educational process are disclosed. The author defines important moments of historical experience in particular those concerning the organization and conducting pedagogical practice in certain higher educational establishments of Ukraine which can be used in modern conditions.


Certiorari—the process by which the Supreme Court sets its docket—is a mystery. The Supreme Court's rules explain that it may hear any sufficiently "important" case—a standard that seems hopelessly vague. In previous work, I tried to bring some coherence to this standard by way of a text and data analysis of thousands of Supreme Court opinions. Here, I expand that prior work to include the Supreme Court's 2019, 2020, and 2021 Terms. This update is revealing. For one, it uncovers new certiorari priorities in the Roberts Court, such as property-rights cases. This updated study also confirms the Roberts Court's historically unparalleled interest in using its docket discretion to select cases for the purpose of revisiting, and perhaps overruling, precedent. I present and consider these updated results against the backdrop of Stephen I. Vladeck's Childress Memorial Lecture (to which this symposium essay responds). The Lecture reminds us to look beyond the Supreme Court's merits decisions to the Court's broader context—say, its shadow docket, which includes certiorari decisions. Doing so can both yield important insights regarding the Court's own priorities and help organize the responses of the political branches. * Robert and Nanci Corson Assistant Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. As I describe below, this Essay's analysis draws heavily from my prior work in Certiorari in Important Cases, 122 COLUM. L. REV. 923 (2022). I thank Steve Vladeck, Sam Jordan, and Mikayla Lewison for the invitation to this symposium on the 2022 Childress Memorial Lecture, and I thank Morgan Hazelton, Ben Johnson, and Khushali Narechania for comments on this draft and on my symposium remarks. For excellent research assistance, I thank Mathew Cha, and I reiterate my thanks to Ilya Akdemir and Ankur Jain, whose technical assistance was critical to the analyses I reprise here. SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW 588 SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 67:587


This paper studies the impact of adding space to existing housing units on housing price and the probability that owners will sell their unit afterwards. This space adding is part of a large scale urban renewal and upgrading program in Singapore, and is carried out if sufficient residents vote in favour of space adding. Using administrative data on unit transactions, we exploit time and cross-sectional variation in implementing the program and identify its causal impact after restricting sample to narrow margins around the voting threshold. We find that adding 6 square meters of space to a unit increases its resale price by 7.68% and slightly reduces the probability that the unit will be sold. Using a distributed lag model, we find that the resale price starts rising about 40 months after residents vote to proceed with space adding.


The paper analyses and discusses the CPC's historical experience of partial governance in revolutionary base of Shan-Gan-Ning,containing thinking highly of political power building and strengthening it,paying attention to the peasant's land issue,attaching importance to develop production and advancing economic building,taking the culture and society building seriously.The most important is that the Party and the soviet government must do practical works for the people and each decision and measure must be based on the people's benefits and needs,only which can the base be consolidated and developed.


Recently there are new challenges and opportunities for manufacturing industry, and logistics systems. Highly competitive pressure forces single purpose manufacturing systems to change into adaptive and flexible enterprises. Industrial enterprises create enterprise networks with a highly developed management and improved technology and supply chain (SQ. The focus is on achieving of efficiency in enterprise network through collaboration by integrating and using standards such as web services, open and service oriented architectures, and associated protocols. The paper deals with the problem of sharing knowledge within industrial enterprises network and with inter-enterprise collaboration.


We study random elements of subgroups (and cosets) of the mapping class group of a closed hyperbolic surface, in part through the properties of their mapping tori. In particular, we study the distribution of the homology of the mapping torus (with rational, integer, and finite field coefficients, the hyperbolic volume (whenever the manifold is hyperbolic), the dilatation of the monodromy, the injectivity radius, and the bottom eigenvalue of the Laplacian on these mapping tori. We also study mapping tori of punctured surface bundles, and various invariants of their Dehn fillings. We also study corresponding questions in the Dunfield-Thurston model of random Heegard splittings of fixed genus, and give a number of new and improved results in that setting.


When a retired carpenter stepped on board the old Broome pearling lugger 'Sam Male' he decided he needed to build himself a replica.


Program Description: Patients with facial nerve paralysis suffer significant cosmetic and functional morbidity. Management of the eye involves both loading the upper eyelid and tightening the lower eyelid. Mid face reconstruction can be addressed by midface lifting or by nasal valve repair. The lower face functions to allow for proper articulation and deglutition. Reconstructive options are either dynamic, using a temporalis muscle sling, or adynamic with acellular suspension. Each panelist in this multidisciplinary presentation will present his preferred method of rehabilitation, and case scenarios will then be used to explore subtleties of each surgical approach. Educational Objectives: 1) Rehabilitate the paralyzed upper eyelid. 2) Assess and manage the nasal airway in patients with facial paralysis. 3) Apply a management paradigm for the lower face that will allow comparison of dynamic and adynamic reconstruction.


To evaluate the potential role of several clinical and pathological parameters in prediction of seminal vesicle invasion in patients with clinically localized prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy. We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients who undergone radical prostatectomy from January 2005 until November 2010. Patients age, prostate volume, PSA, PSA density, percent of cancer in prostate biopsy material, Gleason summary, 1 Gleason pattern, 2 Gleason pattern and the presence of high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia were studied for their predictive ability. Two hundred and seventeen patients analyzed and 13.8% of them had seminal vesicle invasion in the final histopathological examination of the surgical specimen. A significant difference in PSA values, PSA density, percentage of cancer in biopsy material, biopsy Gleason score and 1 Gleason pattern was noticed between patients with and without seminal vesicle invasion. In univariate analysis, PSA, PSA density, prostate volume, percentage of cancer in biopsy material, biopsy Gleason score and 1 Gleason pattern found significant. However, in multivariate analysis, only PSA (p=0.008) and prostate volume (p=0.027) were found to be significant predictors. PSA ≥10 ng/ml and prostate volume ≤41 ml was shown to be the optimal cut-off values for seminal vesicle invasion in receiver operating curve analysis. PSA and prostate volume should be considered significant predictors for adverse pathology of the seminal vesicles in patients planned for surgical treatment of prostate cancer. This is of great concern especially in cases that a seminal vesicle sparing technique is planned. © Charles University in Prague – Karolinum Press, Prague 2011 Mailing Address: Stavros Sfoungaristos, MD., Department of Urology, University Hospital of Patras, Building A, 4 Floor, Rion, 26500 Patras, Greece; Phone: +302 610 999 367; Fax: +302 610 993 981; e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com 264) Prague Medical Report / Vol. 112 (2011) No. 4, p. 263–271 Sfoungaristos S.; Perimenis P. Introduction Seminal vesicle invasion (SVI) represents an adverse pathologic and prognostic factor and increases the rates of prostate cancer (PCa) specific mortality (Han et al., 2001; Eggener et al., 2011). Consequently, the complete removal of seminal vesicles (SV) is included in radical prostatectomy (RP) standard technique. In the pre-prostatic specific antigen (PSA) and in early PSA era, when screening and diagnosis of PCa was based solely on digital rectal examination, the incidence of SVI was reported in 19–26% of RP specimens (Mukamel et al., 1987; Villers et al., 1990). However, stage migration has decreased the rates of SVI and this has resulted in the suggestion that SV may be safely left untouched during RP without compromising prognosis and cure (Korman et al., 1996). Furthermore, because of the close relationship of SV and bladder base arterial supply, trigonal nerves and proximal neurovascular bundle, sparing techniques may decrease the rates of post surgical impotence and incontinence by avoiding damage in these close neighbour structures (John and Hauri, 2000; Colombo et al., 2001; Walz et al., 2010). Although SV sparing RP can be a potential surgical modification, even though the benefits on continence and erectile function have not been well established yet, patients' selection for such treatment modifications is of great concern, in order not to harbour the oncological outcome. Preoperative clinical and pathological data should be used for clarifying the appropriate candidates that will mostly benefit by SV spare during RP, in terms of functional results, without influencing the oncological parameters (biochemical recurrence, survival). Based on this concept, the aim of our study was to analyze several preoperative factors and evaluate their predictive potential for SVI in patients undergoing RP for clinically localized PCa. Material and Methods A retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients who underwent a RP with the diagnosis of clinically localized PCa was conducted. Our study included patients who operated between January 2005 and November of 2010. Any preoperative therapies, in terms of active surveillance, hormone therapy or radiation were exclusion criteria. Patients diagnosed after transurethral resection of the prostate and patients with incomplete records were excluded as well. Preoperative PSA was measured before any prostate manipulation (digital rectal examination, transrectal ultrasound, biopsy). In all patients, the PCa diagnosis was made after transrectal ultrasound biopsy and positive for malignancy histological examination of the obtained cores. The preoperative value of 1 and 2 pattern and concomitant Gleason summary, the percentage of cancer found in the biopsy cores material (% CM) and the presence of high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) were recorded from histological examination report, as well. An open or laparoscopic extraperitoneal RP was performed in all patients by 4 experienced surgeons. The surgical specimen was then sent for pathological Prague Medical Report / Vol. 112 (2011) No. 4, p. 263–271 265) Predictors of Seminal Vesicle Invasion examination and a report concerning prostate dimensions, pathological stage and Gleason grade of cell atypia was obtained. Based on the information of the prostate dimensions, the pathological volume was calculated. A formula (D1×D2×D3×π/6) based on the prostate ellipse dimension theory was used, where D1 is the maximum transverse diameter, D2 is the maximum anteroposterior diameter, D3 is the maximum longitudinal diameter and π is a mathematical constant with a value of 3.14. Consecutively, the value of PSA density was estimated by dividing preoperative PSA and pathological volume of prostate gland. The preoperative parameters which analyzed for their predictive ability for SVI were comprised of preoperative 1 and 2 Gleason pattern and Gleason summary, age, preoperative value of PSA, prostate volume, PSA density, % CM and the presence of HGPIN. Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS version 17 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The descriptive statistics are presented as the mean ± standard deviation (SD) and interquartile range (IQR) for continuous variables and as the absolute and percent frequency for categorical variables. The normality condition of the numerical variables was studied by means of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. None of them had normal distribution. For this reason, the Mann-Whitney test was used to compare means between numerical groups. The chi-square χ2 test was used for categorical variables. A univariate analysis was performed to identify the predictive significance of age, preoperative PSA, prostate volume, PSA density, preoperative 1 and 2 Gleason pattern, Gleason summary, % CM and the presence of HGPIN in biopsy cores in prediction of SVI. A multivariate analysis was performed then for the variables identified as statistically important in univariate analysis, using logistic regression. The optimal cut-off values, sensitivity and specificity for quantitative variables, found to be significant predictors for SVI in multivariate analysis, were estimated by using receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis. Furthermore, ROC curve was used for determination of accuracy for predicting SVI for significant variables found in multivariate analysis. Positive [true positive/(true positive + false positive)] and negative predictive value [true negative/(true negative + false negative)] were estimated as well. All tests were 2-tailed with p<0.05 to be considered as statistically significant. Results The data from 217 patients who underwent RP for the treatment of localized PCa were analyzed. Patients' age was ranged from 46–79 (66.94 ± 6.30, 9). Preoperative median PSA value was 8.50 ng/ml (10.89 ± 8.31, 5.50) and median PSA density was 0.23 ng/ml2 (0.32 ± 0.36, 0.19). Prostate volume, measured based on prostate dimensions obtained by the pathologoanatomic report, had a median value of 40 ml (43.49 ± 21.35, 24.85). Prostate biopsy data analysis revealed that the median % CM was 20.00 (28.78 ± 25.11, 33.00), while in 121 cases (55.8%) the presence 266) Prague Medical Report / Vol. 112 (2011) No. 4, p. 263–271 Sfoungaristos S.; Perimenis P. of HGPIN was noticed. Atypical small acinar proliferation was noticed in 7 patients (3.2%) and due to the limited number did not enter the analysis. SV pathologic analysis after RP has shown that there was cancer invasion in 30 patients (13.8%). The clinical and pathological characteristics of the patients found to have or not SVI are shown in Table 1. A statistically significant correlation Table 1 – Clinical and pathological characteristics of patients according to seminal vesicle invasion Characteristics SVI – SVI + P no. of patients (%) age (years) mean ± SD (IQR) prostate volume (ml) mean ± SD (IQR) PSA (ng/ml) mean ± SD (IQR) PSA density (ng/ml2) mean ± SD (IQR) % CM mean ± SD (IQR) GS, n (%) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1st pattern, n (%) 1 2 3 4 5 2 pattern, n (%) 1 2 3 4 5 HGPIN, n (%) no yes 187 (86.2%)


The effect of administration of aqueous root extrac t of Fadogia andersonii(FA) was evaluated on sperm count, motility and epididymal weight of the adult male Wi star rats. Twenty rats were randomly divided into fgroups (Group A, B, C and D) of 5 rats each. Group A serve d as the control and was administered 0.9% normal s group B, C and D served as the treatment groups and received oral dose of 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg of the extract, respectively for 20 days. Sperm counts , sperm motility and epididymal weight were evaluat ed. Results of the experiment revealed a dose dependent significan t increase (P < 0.05) in the sperm count and sperm motility. Thus, the plant had a spermatotrophic action demons trated by the increase in sperm count and sperm mot ility.


Abstract : The report discusses the results of a serological survey carried out at the 'Colonia Penal Agricola de Araracuara,' Colombia, during March, 1966. A total of 396 sera from persons never vaccinated against yellow fever were studied; 262 of them had been brought to the area when over fourteen years of age, and 134 were Indians native to that region who had never left it and who live a nomadic existence collecting natural rubber. The rate of persons with neutralizing antibodies against yellow fever was high (47.7%), particularly among the natives, who had a rate of 67.8%; non-natives had a rate of 37.4%. The general immunity rates in the hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test for other agents were: Mayaro, 19.4%; Ilheus, 19.9%; and St. Louis, 18.7%. These also showed higher values among the Indians. Ilheus virus was isolated from one subject. Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) virus apparently is not present in the area, as the Indians had no antibodies to it and only 4.6% of the non-natives had neutralizing antibodies. The St. Louis results, 6% positivity in the neutralization test, are also discussed. As for Mayaro (and/or Una), it seems to be constantly active, with an immunity rate of 44% in the HI test for Indians and 6.5% for non-natives. (Author)


Text classification technology and text tendency classification technology are firstly introduced in this paper.Information of book review based on text tendency classification is then analyzed.Finally,in the research of the application of machine learning techniques to book review classification,the establishment of a book evaluation model is proposed.


In The Illusion of Equality: The Rhetoric and Reality of Divorce Reform, Martha Albertson Fineman collects and connects five law review articles that she published during the last decade. The volume is well worth reading for its basic thesis: Women and children are not well served by a law of divorce based upon formal equality of the spouses, a law that posits degendered spouses rather than husbands and wives. It is a critical point and one that has not been adequately developed in the literature of feminist legal theory or family law. Fineman's collection of essays makes a good start, but it does not fully cover the necessary ground. Fineman tracks the effects of formal equality, or sameness of treatment, which she also calls equal treatment and rule equality, in two central areas of divorce law: wealth allocation and child custody. In wealth allocation, formal equality treats wives and husbands as though they were economically equally-situated; in child custody, formal equality considers fathers and mothers equally deserving of child custody. In this review-essay I shall confine myself to the first issue, wealth allocation at divorce, because it is the area with which I am most familiar and because it presents more difficult issues than those posed by child custody.'


According to recent WHO reports, heart failure is one of the biggest killers in the world, with one in five people developing heart failure with deadly consequences. To solve this growing issue, HAYA Therapeutics has chosen to attack the problem head-on, addressing the heart failure process directly. The startup, spun out of the Experimental Cardiology unit at the CHUV, discovered a new way to target a heart-specific long noncoding RNA (ribonucleic acid), known as Wisper, that is a heart specific regulator of cardiac fibrosis. RNA – an essential molecule assembled as a chain of nucleotides, much like DNA – transfers genetic code and can directly interfere in organ malfunctions. Using its extensive knowhow and first-in-class approach, HAYA Therapeutics developed a pharmaceutical solution capable of blocking myocardial fibrosis and treating heart failure, potentially saving millions of lives.


In this paper, we propose the hardware architecture of compression using two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform (2D DWT). The DWT uses the Daubechies' (9,7) bi-orthogonal filter, and The existing hardware architecture uses multipliers in the filter block. In comparison with other 2D DWT architectures, the advantages of the proposed architecture are the reduction of the hardware complexity and improvement of the required timing by using shift-and-adder instead of multiplier which occupies major parts of the hardware. The proposed system is designed by the hardware description language


Gothic is a twisting lens, an amplifying mirror; however, the pictures it shows to us have authenticity, and cannot be grasped in ordinary forms. At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, this genre was the only truthful alternative for psychology and the historical sciences, the only method to reach and understand those fierce territories where penetration of knowledge was restricted or late. Romantic writers broadened the range of gothic positively whilst providing a greater understanding of the connections between terror and other aspects, violence, spectatorship, the body, imagination, and cultural politics of emotions. Including Graveyard Poetry, the subtle and the sublime, and sentimentalism, the origin of the Gothic goes parallel to the origins of the novel. Furthermore, the research also unveils that my selected writers, by using the elements of fear and loathing have manifested people's double standards, who want to rule the world by not giving space to other creatures; nonetheless, want to use other creatures for their benefit and ease. Keeping in a trial the scholarship on gothic theory given by David Punter and Aristotle's view of tragedy this qualitative study critically examines the selected Romantic texts to trace the elements of fear and loathing bringing horror for some and tragedy for others.


The contribution of carbonyl deformation co-ordinates to normal modes is discussed in the context of the Raman optical activity of chiral molecules containing a carbonyl group attached to a cyclic system. A comparison of the Raman optical activity spectra of 3-methylcyclohexanone and 3-methyl methylenecyclohexane provides convincing evidence for the dominant role of carbonyl deformations in the generation of the large couplet at about 500 cm−1 in 3-methyl cyclohexanone. The spectra of nopinone, β-pinene and 5-methylcyclohex-2-ene-1-one are also discussed. Finally, a model bond polarizability theory of Raman optical activity in carbonyl deformations is presented.


Air gap breakdown is the result of the synthetic effect of electric field distribution and atmospheric environment. The breakdown voltage prediction model of rod-plane air gaps under rain conditions was established by support vector machine (SVM). The electric field features and atmospheric parameters were taken as the input of the prediction model. Based on the idea of binary classification, the withstanding or breakdown of an air gap under applied voltage was characterized by −1 and 1, which was taken as the output of the prediction model. 9 training samples were selected based on the idea of orthogonal design, and the power frequency breakdown voltages of other 29 test samples were predicted by the proposed model. The predicted results coincide well with the experimental values, and the average error of the 29 test samples is only 0.74%. The influence rules of the atmospheric parameters on breakdown voltage obtained by analysing the predicted results are almost the same with those obtained by experiments, which validates the accuracy and rationality of the proposed method. The research results can provide reference for breakdown voltage prediction and discharge characteristic study of air gaps in complex atmospheric environment.


The identification of socio-economic determinants of the development of small urban centers functioning in the conditions of transformation and metropolization of space constitutes a significant research problem in the area of urban geography. In this study, the problem is discussed in the context of East Germany. The aim of the article is to characterize the most important contemporary determinants and factors influencing the development of small cities in the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. This characterization is based on analyses involving over 100 cities and refers to the spatial and population development of individual urban centers in the years 1990–2015. The research also used statistical material and spatial data sets published by official German national and regional institutions. In the course of the analyses, it was established that the conditions determining the development of small urban communes within the research area are very complex. This results from the overlapping of transformation determinants and factors universal for the whole area and the determinants resulting from the metropolization processes, whose nature and impact diversify in space.


The present study is focused on the factors leading to a happily married life. The sample included a married woman drawn from convenient sampling. Semi-structured interview was conducted to investigate her experience of being happily married and what factors she thinks are important to be happily married. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was applied as a research method. Sixteen categories emerged after coding the data were Similarities of Religious Sects, Satisfaction, Compromise, Love, Care, Trust and Understanding, Communication, Age Differences, Sincerity and Respect, Sharing, Forgiveness, Spouse Temperament, Strength through Children, Family Structure, Education and Status, and Positive In-Laws Relations. This study has important implications for married couples and counselors.