Research into environmental migration or, as the authors phrase it, "people movement in the context of environmental change" has focused on understanding the phenomenon itself. However, it is timely to take a less-travelled route and instead study the experts focusing on environmental migration. This brief reports on an online questionnaire of 262 such experts, situating their perceptions of environmental migration within the policy development they help to drive, directly or indirectly. Such a study is important because policy does not develop solely on the basis of objective assessments of the world "out there". Policy is also influenced by the knowledges, values, beliefs, assumptions, cultural contexts and activities of people involved in its development.


This article presents a parallel, effective, and feature-complete recursive SPIKE algorithm that achieves near feature-parity with the standard linear algebra package banded linear system solver. First, we present a flexible parallel implementation of the recursive SPIKE scheme that aims at removing its original limitation that the number of cores/processors be restricted to powers of two. A new transpose solve option for SPIKE is then developed to satisfy a standard requirement of most numerical solver libraries. Finally, a pivoting recursive SPIKE strategy is presented as an alternative to the non-pivoting scheme to improve numerical stability. All these new enhancements lead to the release of a new black-box feature-complete SPIKE-OpenMP package that significantly improves upon the performance and scalability obtained with other state-of-the-art banded solvers.


Flower-like ZnO/SnS2 heterojunction was constructed as photocatalyst. The heterojunction shows hierarchical architecture structure, in which SnS2 nanosheets are uniformly decorated by ZnO nanoclusters. Compared to SnS2, the ZnO/SnS2 heterojunction displays improved photocatalytic efficiency for degradation of organic dye MB and hydrogen evolution. ZnO/SnS2 heterojunction reveals an optimal hydrogen production rate of 346.1 μmol h−1 g−1, about 2.7 times higher than SnS2. The boosting photocatalytic performance is ascribed to the special hierarchical structure and synergetic effect of ZnO/SnS2 heterojunction, which can enhance the specific surface area and promote the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs.


Despite great efforts to achieve ideal atomistic packing of carbon in the pore networks of even the largest pore zeolites, tem - plating inaccuracies are ubiquitous in all presently synthesized zeolite-templated carbon (ZTC) materials. Idealized models suggest that the long-sought schwarzite-like structures could in principle be obtained by zeolite templating if the appropriate zeolite template were chosen ( e.g. , faujasite for D surface schwarzites) and if perfect template fidelity (insertion of a pristine layer of pure carbon directly on the surface of the zeolite) could be achieved. A requirement to achieve such structures is increased carbon density within the zeolite. We report the investigation of a series of alkali metal cation-exchanged zeolites to determine how the periodic trends in the group 1 elements influence zeolite templating, with a specific focus on the metric of structural packing density (SPD) as resolved by ex situ thermogravimetry. In a survey based on controlled synthesis tempera - ture, time, and flow conditions, an increasing SPD was observed with decreasing cation size, an effect that is consistent with the increasing strength of cation-π interactions. This effect could be promising for future work to increase the SPD of ZTCs for the synthesis of closed-tube, schwarzite-like carbonaceous solids.


Read our statement as we approve the first application by Newcastle Fertility at Life for the use of mitochondrial donation to treat patients


The annual health care cost incurred by heart failure patients is about $56 billion, two thirds of which is spent on management of acutely decompensated patients. Remodynamic evaluation is helpful for optimization of treatment, monitoring clinical outcomes, and overall prognostication of heart failure patients, but historically could only be obtained via costly invasive procedures that carry substantial risks. Impedance cardiography (ICG) is a noninvasive and economical outpatient procedure that has been shown to provide reliable hemodynamic values comparable to those obtained from pulmonary artery catheterization. Recent clinical studies involving hundreds of patients have validated the accuracy and reproducibility of ICG compared with invasive techniques. The direct and derived measurements and the clinical applications of ICG in the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure are presented, as are three clinical case studies demonstrating the utility of ICG in the hemodynamic-guided management of heart failure. ICG is a viable, noninvasive technique in earlyand late-stage heart failure that provides assistance in diagnostic evaluation, longitudinal prognostication, and therapeutic decisions. (CRF. 2003;9:241-250) e200J eRF, Inc.


Background: The urgency to enforce the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act is building up within South Africa, triggered by the appointment of the Information Regulator for POPI on 01 December 2016. However, for data management practitioners, the absence of a practical guideline on how to legally process personal information of employees, customers or other juristic persons in line with the POPI Act poses a day-to-day technical challenge, especially for those embarking on a maiden journey to comply with the POPI Act.Objectives: The objective of this article is to explore and analyse the unique perspectives of data management professionals who are vested with the responsibility of driving the successful enforcement of the POPI Act within their respective organisations, with the end goal of formulating a practical guideline for the enforcement of the POPI Act.Method: To achieve the objectives of this research article, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive, convenience sample of 16 data management professionals within companies in South Africa. A recording of their views was obtained through one-on-one interviews and a group interview.Results: From the semi-structured interviews, group interview and response to the questions, several findings and learnings were elicited. Zooming into these findings showed close similarities in the actions taken by data management professionals operating in a similar industry. Based on these results, a high-level sequence of steps on how to enforce the POPI Act was formulated.Conclusion: Based on the formulated sequence of steps, it is safe to conclude that the actions of data management professionals can be used to create a practical guideline to enforce the POPI Act. However, to standardise these guidelines across the data management function, there is a need to perform testing with a wider spectrum of data management professionals.


Electric vehicle (EV) is a clean transportation tool by replacing the traditional internal-combustion vehicles. Photovoltaic power generation is the trend of new energy power generation of environmental protection and green. They will be the effective choice to solve the problem of the current environmental protection, energy, and to ensure that the electric car charging station is very necessary. Photo-voltaic electric vehicle charging stations using photo-voltaic (p-v) as charging power supply, not only need to add energy to electric vehicles, as well as electric cars and electric grid interface. Therefore its construction is the key to the current industrialization of electric vehicles. In view of the photo-voltaic electric vehicle charging station, this paper proposes two feasible design schemes. And through the simulation analysis, the simulation of the operation of the charging station provides reliable support for the construction of the charging station actual.


Over the past two decades, policy makers in education in Germany have acknowledged and promoted an understanding of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as a central element of what constitutes quality education (KMK 2016). As a result, existing guidelines unanimously establish ESD as a cross-cutting topic of education in Germany and demand the implementation of global perspectives in all subjects taught at secondary schools, including English language education (KMK 2016; Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission 2017). On a global level, UNESCO Agenda 2030 explicitly formulates education as a stand-alone sustainable development goal (SDG 4; UN 2015). Qian Tang, UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Education, highlights that


Abstract This study focused on the synthesis of mesoporous aluminosilica monoliths to be used as highly sensitive adsorbents for the removal of U(IV) ions from aqueous solutions. The adsorbents are prepared through functional immobilization of 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPS) followed by a nitrogen containing ligand. SEM, TEM, SAXS, nitrogen adsorption, TGA, TDA, and elemental analysis were used to characterize the prepared mesoporous adsorbent. The uptake behavior of the modified aluminosilica toward U(VI) under different experimental conditions of pH, time, and concentration was studied. Based on our results, these unique features of the adsorbents allow highly efficient removal of U(IV) ions from liquid nuclear waste.


Twenty mosquito species were collected in a low-subarctic area located between Eastmain River and Petit-Opinaca Lake, Quebec (52°15′ N, 76°38′ W). Qualitative and quantitative analyses of larval mosquito populations identified 20 ecological units that served as larval breeding sites. The data revealed typical larval associations such as Aedes canadensis – Aedes decticus, characteristic of the open bog series, Aedes communis – Aedes pionips of alder–willow groves (Salix planifolia – Alnus rugosa), Aedes intrudens and Aedes cinereus in flooded riparian areas. The ecology of species with summer larvae is also described: Culex restuans, Culex territans, Culiseta alaskaensis, and Culiseta impatiens.


From Realization Lemma established by N. Tanaka, differential systems may be regarded as systems of first order differential equations. We characterize the geometric structure of systems of second order partial differential equations of several unknown functions in terms of differential systems and seek a system of equations the Lie algebra of all infinitesimal automorphisms of which is simple.


The introduction of solvent deasphalting (SDA), on different refining schemes, bring to the refineries a very promising solution for desulfurization problems and/or catalytic cracking processes in recent years. In this work, some effective parameters of SDA process such as temperature and solvent and residues nature have been studied on the different residues of an Iranian crude oil mixture (oAPI 19.5) in a bench unit. All produced deasphalted oils (DAOs) were almost free of asphaltene (<0.5 wt%) apart from the feed nature. SDA by means of pentane as solvent reduced the heavy metal content of the feeds up to 85%, sulfur content up to 20% and CCR (Carbon Conradson Residue) content up to 50%, where SDA with butane results in 93% reduction of heavy metals content, 20% reduction of sulfur content and 66% reduction of CCR.


As an important component of weekends project,PE courses have established platform for students to participate in sports events and show their talents in sports.This article researches on weekends project via questionnaire,data query so as to serve health education of college students better.


The conventional modalities in technology transfer have been ameliorated using information communication technology (ICT) so that farmers' access to up-to-date agricultural technologies could be as fast as the click of the mouse. We analyzed how technology transfer modalities in the cyber-villages assisted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) contributed to adopting decision of rice farmers in Infanta, Quezon, Philippines. The study involved 76 rice farmers from three local government units (LGU) - and three non-government organization (NGO)-managed barangays. The farmers were exposed to both ICT-based and conventional techno-transfer modalities. Some of the ICT-based technology transfer modalities were underutilized like the Pinoy Rice Knowledge Bank (RKB) and Nutrient Management for Rice (NMRice) mobile. Conforming to the theory of diffusion of innovation and influence, most farmers were early adopters because they wanted to see good results and to increase yield. Their adopting decisions were influenced by intermediaries whom they placed a high level of trust.


Britain mathematician Kempe gave the first proof of the four color theorem in 1879.Afterten years Heawood pointed that there was a fatal mistake in the proof of Kempe. This was a famousevent in mathematical history. In this paper we look back to the history. Although Kempe made amistake , his idea on solution of the four color problem is very useful to study the problem to going stepfurther .We introduce the Kempe chain and discuss several special cases using it. Moreover we simplify the counterexample of Heawood. In this way we find some interesting results.


Regularly eating fried food is linked with a heightened risk of death from any cause and of heart related death among postmenopausal women, a US study published in The BMJ has found.1

The researchers say that reducing consumption of fried foods, especially fried chicken and fried fish or shellfish, could have a positive public health impact.

Up to a third of North American adults have fast food every day, and previous studies have shown that a greater intake of fried food is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. But evidence about the risk of death …


The primary goal of our work is to establish a method to relate simple measures to a given set of moments. We calculate the moments of squares via linear polynomial weight measures and straight line cuts and use this to calculate the centre of mass of the square. The one-to-one correspondence that is found is needed to represent surfaces with gaps, which can estimate arbitrary measures on squares. From this, a subdivision scheme is developed, which successively quadrisects squares and uses the relation to estimate the new measures in order to provide a good representation of the original surface. One application of this work is for processing point clouds and their related surfaces.


In this article, the author examines prescription opioid use in the U.S. Particular focus is given to whether or not this problem is primarily an issue amongst the white population. Additional topics discussed include how the life expectancy of U.S. white persons has declined as the result of drug overdoses, the history of OxyContin, an opioid drug, and opioid marketing.


Method for controlling a computing system computing system and the power supply voltage. Storing the power supply voltage provided in the computing system an indication of voltage-dependent, and is provided on a power supply voltage of the voltage stored indication associated computing system. Crash detection computing system, and based on this determination for instructing the computing system is adjusted. Indication based on the supply voltage setting adjustment after adjustment, the adjustment and indicating the storage of a computing system for further use.


A method of using any of methane, municipal solid wastes, farm or forest waste, coal or coke from oil shale rock production, petrochemical hydrocarbons, (any carbon-containing charge), water and / or municipal sewage as a source material useful for forming the fuel (such as methanol) of the plasma arc reformer. The high-temperature plasma arc source material depolymerized atoms, rich in CO and H2 (synthesis gas) flow which is formed when the partial cooling. Subsequent molecular filter system for removing contaminants and catalyst stage fuel and generating output. The system of the synthesis gas produced is about a closed loop, where it re-use and the remaining unconverted gas even when the exhaust gas recycling required. CO2 supercritical Rankine (Rankin) loop to capture large amount of heat generated and converts it into electricity, the potential to obtain high efficiency.


This article studies the understanding of redemption in general, and in particular the role of the Messiah in redemption as it is expressed by representatives of two Jewish perspectives: the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) and the Hardal (nationalist ultra-Orthodox). Although both perspectives see the shift from exile to redemption as an event which is brought about by God, both also see ways to accelerate or decelerate that event. Both have developed a strategy according to their respective interpretations of how the shift from exile to redemption will appear. To the Haredim, the solution calls for the Jewish people to repent, live piously and wait for the Messiah to emerge; to the Hardalim, the solution calls for the Jewish people to abandon the passive approach and engage in the process of redemption, which has already begun even though the Messiah delays. Hence, both present a strategy for expediting the End, and can thus be considered messianic.


Newer antidepressant drugs cause fewer, less-severe side effects and therefore usually elicit better patient compliance than do older drugs. The newer drugs have slightly differing mechanisms of action and effects and thus offer additional options for tailoring treatment to the individual patient. Yet they are not completely innocuous and can cause serious drug interactions.


William Ferris, director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, has written a book as deep as the blues: rich in conversation, reference, history, and firsthand experience with blues musicians and the culture that informs the music. The poetry, games, house parties, religious and secular traditions of black life in the Delta are explored in living prose that is also a work of immense scholarship.


We discuss the consistency protocol in the island-based file system [6], a cluster file system designed to provide highly available and scalable data storage to Internet applications. The goal of availability is to maximize the percentage of client requests that succeed despite the failure of one or more islands, the building blocks of the file system. A small portion of the directory system is replicated across islands to allow independent accesses to data in each island. As in any other systems where data replication and updates to replicated data are present, the island-based file system faces the challenge of keeping its replicated directory system consistent across islands.


The ability to infer more accurately the type, timing, and location of folds and faults that develop during the evolution of large-scale geologic structures can help explorationists to interpret subsurface structures and generate new prospects to better assess their risk factors. One type of structural setting that is of importance in many exploration plays is that of the basement-detached normal fault. Key questions regarding such structures are (1) what structures form, (2) where do the structures form, (3) when do the structures form, (4) why do the structures form Clay and finite element models were used to examine the influence of fault shape on the development of folds and faults in the hanging wall of basement-detached normal faults. The use of two, independent methods helps to overcome each method's inherent limitations, providing additional corroboration for conclusions drawn from the modeling. Three fault geometries were modeled: a fault plane dipping uniformly at 45{degree}; a fault plane that steepens from 30{degree} to 45{degree}; and a fault plane that shallows with depth from 45{degree} to 30{degree}. Results from both modeling approaches show that (1) antithetic faults form at fault bends where fault dip increases, (2) faults become progressively younger towards the footwall, (3)more » the zone(s) of high stress and faulting are stationary relative to the footwall, (4) anticlines with no closure form below faults shallow, and (5) closed anticlines form only above the point where faults steepen.« less


Methodology for accounting of ambiguity of reliability indices information on configuration shaping of combined cycle plant (CCP) is elaborated. Ambiguity of calculated failure density of heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG) will have no impact on configuration shaping of combined cycle cogeneration plant (CCCP), if calculated value is about 10-12 percent.


Purpose: To determine whether global health (GH) electives enhanced the development of medical students and to examine the influence on host communities. Methods: A retrospective survey study was conducted with Queen's University undergraduate medical students who had participated in a GH elective. Participants rated the influence of their elective on the aspects of their professional and personal development and their perceived community impact on a scale of 0–5. Results: The highest rated statements focused on the students' personal development and whether the elective provided a valuable learning experience (4.39 and 4.07, respectively). Students also reported a heightened level of awareness of social determinants of health (mean rating of 3.98). The statements with the lowest mean ratings involved students' perceptions of their impact on the communities. Overall, 73.5% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that GH electives are valuable to medical education. Conclusion: GH electives benefit the professional and personal development of medical students. Although students gain significantly from their experience, they are unable to assess the impact of their work on the community. Thus, there is a need to assess the effect from both the perspective of the students and of the community members.


Background Autophagy is important for cells to degrade protein aggregates and organelles. Our preliminary study suggests that ischemia/reperfusion in rabbit hearts promoted autophagic myocardial injury, resulting in no-reflow phenomenon. In this study, we sought to further understand the mechanism and outcome of the upregulation of autophagy in ischemia/reperfusion. Material/Methods We employed a simulated ischemia/reperfusion (sI/R) model in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro, in the presence or absence of antioxidants. Results Our study confirms that sI/R induces autophagy in HUVECs as measured by increased expression of Beclin 1 and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3), electron microscopic analysis, and special biofluorescent staining with monodansylcadaverine. This sI/R-induced autophagy was also accompanied by increased levels of p65 protein expression and cell death. In addition, we detected the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) after sI/R. Moreover, with the application of ROS scavengers that block the release of ROS, we were able to demonstrate that inhibition of autophagy increases cell survival. Conclusions The study suggests that ROS accumulation is involved in the sI/R-induced autophagic cell death in HUVECs.


Vehicle crash is a highly nonlinear transient dynamics event. The crash pulse is among the most important quantities to describe crash behaviour. To meet the need of an analytical tool for quantifying the crash pulse, a 2-step function representation is developed based on crash test data. The essence of this method is the equivalence of occupant responses generated by the full crash pulse curve and by the simple 2-step function. The crash pulse, considered as a key for crash analysis is thus parameterized. This metric can be used to characterize the difference between 2 sets of data, from tests or CAE, the variation of test data, as well as the difference in different vehicles. A regression formula from a DOE simulation is derived and verified. The 2-step function can be used as a design tool for a quick estimate of crash test dummy responses. The parameterized regression formula has also well fitted the needs of the safety optimization process and statistics study where the crash pulse curve plays an important role but is otherwise hard to process automatically.


The purpose of this study was to compare the rate of job burnout among athletic and nonathletic employees of government offices in Damavand. Job burnout as a threatening factor in job performance and health of the employees has been studied in three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduction of personal accomplishment. For this purpose, by a two-stage cluster sampling method, 250 employees were selected within government offices in Damavand. The research method was descriptive and data were collected using the field method. In this study, measuring instrument was the Maslach & Jackson's job burnout questionnaire, containing 22 questions and 6 propositions. Demographic data were collected through a personal information questionnaire. Chi-square and Wilcoxon tests are used for hypothesis testing. Hypothesis test results showed that job burnout in athletes is less than the non-athletes in reduced personal achievement (α= 0.01 & α= 0.05) and emotional exhaustion (α= 0.05) dimensions. Therefore, exercise can be recommended as one of the ways to prevent burnout at work.


Feasibility of Achieving a Zero-Net-Energy, Zero-Net-Cost Homes 1 Sara Al‐Beaini, 1 Sam Borgeson, 1 Brian Cof fey, 1 David Gr egory, 1 Kyle Konis, 1 Corinne Scown, 1 Jelena Simjanovic, 1 John Stanley, 1 Bret Strogen, 2 Iain Walker 1 University of California, Berkeley, CA Berkeley, CA 2 Lawrence Berkeley National Laborat ory Enviro nmental Energy Technolo gies Div ision In door Environment Enviro nment Berkeley, CA 94720 September 2009 This work was supported by the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of the Building Technologies Program, U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE‐AC0 2 ‐05CH11231.


The causal relationships between occupational stress factors and other job related factors such as satisfaction and turnover intention have been extensively researched in tourism and hospitality field. However, no known study has examined how occupational role stress factors can be used to segment customer service employees in the airline industry. A cluster analysis of 3 occupational role stress factors, including overload, conflict, and ambiguity indicated that 318 employees could be classified into four lucrative segments: lack of communication group, high stress group, stress coping group, and lack of role understanding group. The following variables were statistically significant different among the four segments: age, gender, income, education, occupation, marital status, job tenure, job status, supervisor support, emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. This study also discusses managerial implications.


WHEN CLINICIANS TREAT A PARent for depression, they may not realize they have an opportunity to help prevent the development of mental health problems in that person's children. But a growing body of evidence suggests that such an opportunity indeed exists. A new set of recommendations aims to educate clinicians about evidencebased mental health prevention interventions targeting children and adolescents (Beardslee WR et al. Psychiatric Serv. 2011;62[3]:247-254). It also provides practical tips on how clinicians can implement these interventions in their practice or in their community. The recommendations are based on the results of a 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities (http://tinyurl.com/25kwppp), which provided an in-depth overview of the evidence base supporting preventive mental health interventions. Such interventions may promote children's healthy emotional development in communities or schools. They also may target individuals who are at risk or who have begun to exhibit symptoms. "If we wait for someone to walk in the door [of our clinic], we've already missed a primary prevention opportunity," said Peter L. Chien, MD, a coauthor of the recommendations and staff psychiatrist at the Community Mental Health Council in Chicago, which offers case management and psychiatric services to individuals living on the city's south side. Chien explained that by the time most individuals present for mental health care, they are already experiencing dysfunction in their lives. "We need to reach beyond our offices, and think from a public heath perspective how do we promote this," he said. Chien explained that there are simple steps mental health clinicians can take to implement preventive strategies in their practice. For example, they should note when patients are parents and provide support and referral to resources that promote positive, noncritical parenting. They can also set up groups for children who have begun experiencing symptoms. Chien and his coauthors, including William R. Beardslee, MD, encourage clinicians to advocate for evidencebased prevention programs in schools, health care facilities, and other community settings. The authors also urge mental health clinicians to promote public policies that reduce common risk factors for mental illness, such as poverty and violence. For example, the authors note in their report that children and adolescents living in poverty may face crowded, unsafe, or stressful living conditions; endure frequent moves and school changes; lack adequate health care and food; and attend subpar schools. Mark T. Greenberg, PhD, Bennett Chair of Prevention Research at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, who was not involved in the creation of the guidelines, said the recommendations and the IOM report represent a coming-of-age for the field of mental health prevention, and that the recommendations help to outline the challenges ahead. "We now have a set of programs that can reduce pain and suffering, are costeffective, and can prevent disease," Greenberg said. "That's very exciting, but we don't have infrastructure for implementing them in the community," he noted. To move forward, Greenberg said, it will be necessary to create a preventive health infrastructure that can organize individuals across sectors, including mental health, social services, education, religious groups, and parent organizations. Such a community prevention system could help to identify the specific needs of the community, select programs that target those needs, and secure long-term funding. "Mental health clinicians can help represent that sector and help to select the correct programs," he said. Chien and his colleagues note that some steps to creating such an infrastructure have begun as part of health care reform. For example, the health care reform act created the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council to help support prevention efforts at the national level,


Research predicts that 196 million people will be diagnosed with Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) by 2020. People who experience AMD and other vision loss face barriers that affect their Quality of Life (QoL). People experience only modest improvement from technologies (e.g., screen readers, CCTV), tools (e.g., magnifying glasses, tactile buttons), and human help (e.g., friends, blindness organizations). Further, there are issues to accessing these resources based on one's place of residence. To explore these challenges and determine design implications to support people who have experienced vision loss (PVL), we conducted a qualitative semi-structured interview study exploring QoL with 10 PVL. We uncovered themes of supporting creative work, recognizing the impact of one's living in a non-urban setting on QoL, and increasing efficiency at accomplishing tasks. We motivate the inclusion of PVL in the design process because they learned skills while sighted and are now low vision or blind.


In this work, they try to understand the protein folding problem using pair-wise hydrophobic interaction as the dominant interaction for the protein folding process. They found a strong correlation between amino acid sequences and the corresponding native structure of the protein. Some applications of this correlation were discussed in this dissertation include the domain partition and a new structural threading method as well as the performance of this method in the CASP5 competition. In the first part, they give a brief introduction to the protein folding problem. Some essential knowledge and progress from other research groups was discussed. This part includes discussions of interactions among amino acids residues, lattice HP model, and the design ability principle. In the second part, they try to establish the correlation between amino acid sequence and the corresponding native structure of the protein. This correlation was observed in the eigenvector study of protein contact matrix. They believe the correlation is universal, thus it can be used in automatic partition of protein structures into folding domains. In the third part, they discuss a threading method based on the correlation between amino acid sequences and ominant eigenvector of the structure contact-matrix. A mathematically straightforward iteration scheme providesmore » a self-consistent optimum global sequence-structure alignment. The computational efficiency of this method makes it possible to search whole protein structure databases for structural homology without relying on sequence similarity. The sensitivity and specificity of this method is discussed, along with a case of blind test prediction. In the appendix, they list the overall performance of this threading method in CASP5 blind test in comparison with other existing approaches.« less


There is a considerable number of existing reinforced concrete structures in Egypt that do not meet current design standards because of inadequate design and/or construction or need structural upgrading to meet new seismic design requirements. Inadequate performance of this type of structures is a major concern from public safety standpoint. This paper presents an experimental research program aimed at developing a retrofitting technique that utilizes locally available high strength, lightweight, corrosion resistance advanced composites for retrofitting existing reinforced concrete beams of frame structures in Egypt. The proposed technique consists of applying Glass Fiber Composite Laminates (GFCL) to the bottom surface and sides of the concrete beam to increase its stiffness and flexural strength. A total of six full scale reinforced concrete beams were constructed, tested under four points loading representing full dead and live loads and then unloaded to dead load. Under this dead load the beams were retrofitted with GFCL and then loaded till failure. An increase of 8 to 60% in beam flexural strength was achieved using GFCL depending on amount and configuration of the laminates. An increase in the post-cracking flexural stiffness of 75 to 175% was obtained for the retrofitted beams. This study clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed technique in retrofitting reinforced concrete buildings in Egypt.


Alice M. Brues, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Anatomy at the School of Medicine, University of Oklahoma and is a Research Associate in Physical Anthropology at the Oklahoma University Museum. Dr. Brues has served as a staff member of the Southwestern Homicide Investigators' Seminar since 1954 and is available for consultation by law enforcement agencies on the identification of skeletal remains. In this paper the author discusses the various aspects of identification that can be derived from skeletons and human bones-EDITOR.


T. Krishnamacharya's teachings on yoga have spread throughout the world through four of his students: BKS IYENGAR, PATTABHI JOY, TKV, DESIKACHAR, T. SHRIBASHYAM, and the latest two being his sons. I had the privilege to meet TKV Desikachar in 1965 in Gstaad, Switzerland when he was the guest of Jiddu Krishnamurti to whom he was then giving âsana-s and prânâyâma s courses. When I started taking classes with him in 1966, in Chennai, I was surprised and fullfilled when I understood it was 121 courses. Furthermore, during the rather lengthy span of years I returned to study with him, from 1966 to the end of the eighties, I could appreciate the evolution, adaptation and deepening of their teachings, his' and his father's. The first years, the stress was put on learning âsana-s and prânâyâma-s as adaptables tools for health and well-being, together with the in depth study of Patanjali's masterly yoga reference book : yoga sugar. In the course of time, I understood how to apply the numerous means which yoga offers: âsana-s, prânâyâma-s, bandha-s, mudra-s, dharana-s, dhyana, etc. not only as ways to realize the inner self, Consciousness, but also how to help people with physical disabilities or mental illnesses. Moreover it unable me to show a holistic, a deep, a joyous approach to living, helping them to free themselves from fear, addictions, stress and the like.


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One of the most complex civil law relations are the relations of common shared ownership, which is due to the presence of such an object as a share in them. The integrity of the relations of common shared ownership should be ensured by a common understanding of the share in the law and judicial practice, without which a harmonious combination of legal and individual regulation of these relations is impossible. The purpose of the study is to find out whether the share is equally understood in law and judicial practice, and whether there is a need to develop a unified concept of the share from the standpoint of individual and legal regulation of legal relations of common ownership. To achieve this goal, a number of tasks have been solved: the current civil legislation in the part containing the definition of the share has been analyzed; judicial practice has been summarized in the same part and the scientific literature has been reviewed. Accordingly, methods of analysis, synthesis, generalization, induction, and comparison were used. In conclusion, it is concluded that the law and judicial practice understand the share in the right of common ownership differently. The law establishes that the share is part of the right, but at the same time indicates the share as an ideal part of the thing. Judicial practice adds that a share can be a thing (a real part of a thing) or a part of the value. This state of affairs testifies to the discord between the legal and individual regulation of the studied relations, which is theoretically unacceptable and practically counterproductive. In this regard, the science of civil law has a task: to develop a unified concept of a share that would not relate to the concept of a "share in the right", "a real or ideal part of a thing", as well as a "share in value", since they have not fulfilled their task of creating a coherent structure of shared ownership relations.


We suggest a specific new class of low-frequency g-modes in superfluid neutron stars. We determine the Brunt-Vaisala frequency for these modes and demonstrate that they can be unstable with respect to convection. The criterion for the instability onset (analogue of the well known Schwarzschild criterion) is derived. It is very sensitive to equation of state and a model of nucleon superfluidity. In particular, convection may occur for both positive and negative temperature gradients. Our results have interesting implications for neutron star cooling and seismology.


Algerian flora contains a wide range of aromatic plants of great therapeutic interest thanks to their biologically active secondary metabolites which makes them a subject of scientific interest. In this work, we were interested in Ocimum basilicum L. of Lamiaceae family cultivated and harvested in Biskra city located at South-East of Algeria. Phytochemical screening has been per-formed to reveal the presence of flavonoids, tannins, coumarins, essential oil, and other phytochemicals. The contents of total polyphenols, total flavonoids and total tannins have been determined. The obtained essential oil and extracts have been the subject of antibacterial and antioxidant assays. Our outcomes confirmed that Ocimum basilicum L. has a multiplicity of potential phytochemicals with a considerable amount and can be used as an alternative natural source of antioxidant and antibacterial components.


The temperature and magnetic field dependences of the electronic specific heat in the superconducting mixed state as well as the upper critical field have been measured on a (Y,Lu)Ni2B2C series to study the influence of disorder. The electronic specific heat in the vortex state shows deviations from the usual gamma(H) proportional to H-law for conventional superconductors for all samples resulting in a disorder dependent negative curvature of gamma proportional to H sup(1-beta). For samples with disorder at the R site beta and the positive curvature exponent alpha of H sub(c2) are reduced but alpha, beta remain always positive, as distinct from much stronger disorder due to Pt substions at the Ni site where alpha, beta rapidly tend to 0. Alpha shows a minimum at equal Y and Lu concentration. H sub(c2)(00, T sub(c), the curvatures of H sub(c2) and gamma(h), as well as the normal state Sommerfeld constant gamma sub(N) are reduced similarly.


Uncertainities and variations of power generation through photovoltaic (PV) sources are major challenges for their integration with the distribution grid. Voltage rise and voltage drop issues limit the increase in PV penetration and loading levels, respectively. Moreover, it is important to maintain voltage levels as per grid code while ensuring that the PV power generation is not curtailed. In this paper, a voltage control method using smart transformer (ST) via dynamic optimal setpoints and limit tolerance is proposed in a residential distribution network. Performance indicators are developed to understand the impact of the proposed method on the system voltage profile. A method to determine the optimal inputs for voltage control methods depending on the day-ahead predictions of load demand and PV power profiles is developed. Further, a voltage control method of switching among three setpoints based on the voltage that determines the load side ac reference voltages for ST is proposed. The proposed method is compared with the method of switching between two setpoints based on current. The proposed method provides an improved voltage profile in the distribution network, which is tested on a CIGRE low voltage residential distribution network using PSCAD


The title complex, {[Co2(C18H4O10)(C14H14N4)2]·2H2O}n was synthesized from CoCl2·6H2O, 9,10-dioxo-9,10-dihydroanthracene-1,4,5,8-tetracarboxylic acid (H4AQTC) and 1,2-bis[(1H-imidazol-1-yl)methyl]benzene (o-bix) in water. The anthraquinone unit is located about a crystallographic center of inversion. Each asymmetric unit therefore contains one CoII atom and one o-bix ligand, as well as half an AQTC4− ligand and an additional solvent water molecule. The CoII ions are tetrahedrally surrounded by two O atoms from two AQTC4− anions and by two N atoms from two o-bix ligands, forming a two-dimensional coordination polymer. The solvent water molecules are connected to the carboxylate groups by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. Additional weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds are observed in the crystal structure.


This paper provides a description of the BORG team's robotic platform for the competition in the RoboCup@Home league. The robot is being developed at the Artificial Intelligence department of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. The aim of the current design is to perform general service robot tasks as required by the @Home league of the RoboCup initiative utilizing mainly commercially available hardware components, open source libraries and a framework developed at the Cognitive Robotics Laboratory at the University of Groningen. An overview of the hardware and software specifications is given, with emphasis on the architecture and the methods currently being developed to address regular issues found in today's robotics such as navigation, recognition, manipulation and interaction.


Helminths were identified in 38 belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, stranded in the St. Lawrence estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence during 1984–1993. These helminth species were Anisakis simplex, Contracaecinea sp., Pseudoterranova sp., Stenurus arctomarinus, Pharurus pallasii, Halocercus taurica (new host record), Halocercus monoceris (new host record), Hadwenius seymouri, Diphyllobothrium sp., and Bolbosoma sp. (new host record). Of 21 helminths previously reported from populations of belugas worldwide, 7 were found in the St. Lawrence population. Lungworms, such as Halocercus monoceris, may prove useful in identification of beluga populations in the Arctic and may also be an important cause of morbidity and mortality of calves.


This note provides an effective lower bound for the number of primes in the quadratic progression $p=n^2+1 \leq x$ as $x \to \infty$.


Using a bijection between natural numbers and hereditarily finite functions we derive a new reversible variable length self-delimiting code through a bitstring representation in a balanced parenthesis language. The code features the ability to encode arbitrarily nested data types, can represent huge (low "complexity") numbers, and is decodable from its beginning or its end. Besides its possible practical applications to media stream encodings, a comparison with the well-known Elias omega code and a conjecture about its asymptotic behavior under the Kraft inequality suggest it as an interesting object of study for experimental mathematicians.
 The paper is organized as a self-contained literate Haskell program inviting the reader to explore its content independently. Its code is available at http://logic.cse.unt.edu/tarau/research/2010/selfdelim.hs


Gamoheterotopy (the transfer of characters from one sex to another) is very common in animals, and it is quite possible that it also played an important role in the evolution of plant fructifications. The gamoheterotopic origin of the angiosperm gynoecium by a transfer of the bennettitalean microsporophyll structure to the seed-bearing organ is suggested. A bennettitalean ancestry of angiosperms agrees well with other characters (wood, pollen and stomatal structure, etc.) as well as circumstantial evidence.


Language is a special cultural phenomenon in which each language has to be used in a certain social environment and language community that is relatively stable and free of social turbulence, by a certain group of people who share the same identity and cultural basis. What's more, speakers of different languages in a multi-language community should respect and accept each other's languages. All the above are the basic prerequisites for the survival of a language, especially of a vulnerable language. Absence of any one of these factors will lead to survival crisis or even extinction of a language.


The star T Centauri 1 has the shortest period, 91 days, of any star classified as a Mira-type variable. Although its spectrum shows strong TiO bands near minimum light, these bands are very weak or absent near maximum. Consequently, features that would be obscured to some extent by molecular absorptions in most long-period variables can be profitably studied in its spectrum. A coudé spectrogram (dispersion 8.8 A/mm) of this star in the visual region was obtained with the 82-inch telescope of the McDonald Observatory on July 3, 1952, about five days after maximum light. 2 The most notable feature of this spectrogram is the unusual structure of the bright Ha line, which is conspicu-ously double, the shortward component being several times as intense as the longward component, and also considerably wider. It is probable the profile of this line is due to an absorption reversal, rather than to a real duplicity, since the "center" of the entire Ha feature, when corrected for radial velocity, is within of the laboratory wave length of Ha. This "center" was determined by taking the average of the measures of the violet edge of the shortward emission component and of the red edge of the longward emission component. The heliocentric radial velocity, determined from 20 absorption lines, was +24 km/sec, which agrees well with other determinations near maximum light.


Process mining is an analytical methodology that is used to analyze an entity's business processes based on event logs that have been automatically recorded in the accounting information systems prior to the analysis. In order to analyze event logs, five characteristics need to be extracted from the accounting information system (Jans et al., 2014; Chiu and Jans, 2019): 1) activity: business activities in an event (e.g., "invoice receipt" in the procure-to-pay process); 2) process instance: the process instance of an event (e.g., a purchase order number in the procure-to-pay process); 3) resource: individual or party who conducted the activity (e.g., if Vincent signs purchase order A, then he is the "resource" of the activity "sign" in purchase order A); and 4) timestamp: the timestamp of an event (e.g., year, month, date, and time of the event: 2018-01-01 12:09:00). For example, if Vincent signs purchase order 0001 on 2017-12-31 at 12:00 pm, then for this event log, the activity is "Sign", the process instance for this activity is "0001," the resource for this activity is "Vincent," and the timestamp for this activity is "2017-12-31 at 12:00 pm." The example event log for purchase order 0001 is shown in Table 1 (including the aforementioned example). [see Table 1, pg 96]


A specific periodic multilayer has been suggested that is intended for the generation of hard X-ray surface modes of the multilayer. The condition of the effective excitation of these modes is analysed. Possible experimental applications of the X-ray surface modes are briefly discussed.


Inductive electrical components made of massive conductors are usually adopted in the high-power circuit. Since they are not the types of filaments, the diffusion of the electromagnetic fields inside the conductors plays an important role in the transient discharge. Though the behavior of the circuit can be described reasonably using constant electrical parameters, the voltage drop in the massive conductor is not expressed accurately when constant resistance and inductance are used in the analysis of the transient discharge. To obtain a more accurate waveform of the pulsed current, we have used a comprehensive method calculating the correction voltage in the voltage drop. Once the resistive voltage drop and the magnetic flux for a step-function current are obtained either analytically or numerically, the voltage drop in the massive component for any current waveform can be calculated using the Duhamel's integration. The equations of the circuit containing massive conductors can be solved through a few iterations using the method estimating the voltage drop. As an example, the method was applied to an analysis of an RLC circuit containing a massive pulse-forming inductor. Electromagnetic responses of the inductor for a step-function current were calculated numerically with the help of a finite element method. The current waveform calculated using the method of correction voltage showed a good agreement with the measured waveforms.


We report a one-step process for decorating poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) nanofibers with CdSe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs). Using the QD-decorated PTT nanofibers with diameters of 400–800 nm as active subwavelength waveguides, their high photostability for 630 nm red light and low absorption coefficient down to 2.6 cm − 1 were characterized by both evanescent waveguiding excitation and irradiation excitation. Compared with the irradiation excitation, a 200 times enhancement was obtained from the active subwavelength waveguides under the evanescent waveguiding excitation.


Objectives: To view the utility of comparative 2D finite element analysis (FEA) of rhomboid flap models in analyzing how varying skin stiffness and directionality affects closure of a facial defect. Methods: Two-dimensional (2D) finite element models based on prior validated 2D. Nonlinear hyperelastic human skin models of rhomboid surgical flaps were parameterized for reconstruction of a 2 × 2 cm facial defect. Skin stiffness and directionality were varied to simulate several real-patient factors such as age, radiation, sex, etc. ANSYS 12.1 was used to compute the stress/strain and reaction force results. Results: The challenges of defect closure often include intrinsic factors of a patient's skin. As skin stiffness and directionality vary, the stress/strain patterns vary accordingly. FEA gives surgeons the ability to visually see how certain patient-specific skin factors affect closure of a defect, allowing for anticipation of challenges such as dog-earing or high strain fields near critical structures (eye, ear, and hairline). Conclusions: The utility of finite element models for analyzing and planning pre-surgical endeavors has been well-documented. Our study is the first of its kind for comparative surgical planning for varying skin conditions.


Lester D. Friedman, Hollywood's Image of the Jew. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1982. 390 pp. $8.95. Judith N. Goldberg, Laughter through Tears: The Yiddish Cinema. New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1983. 171 pp. $22.50. Although Lester D. Friedman's Hollywood's Image of the Jew and Judith N. Goldberg's Laughter through Tears: The Yiddish Cinema differ in scopeFreidman concentrates on the past as well as the ongoing production of Jewish-American films, Goldberg on the rise and fall of the world-wide enterprise of Yiddish cinemaboth approach their subject from a socio-cultural perspective. Cinema is viewed as a primary means of understanding the aspirations and anxieties of this significant minority. Hence both writers spend relatively little time examining the aesthetic merits of the films they choose to include. Freidman contends that because the American film industry from its inception has been dominated by Jews, an examination of Jews as they are presented in that media reveals "what some Jews thought about themselves, how the image of the Jews in that national consciousness changed over the years, and what Jews were willing to show of themselves to a largely Gentile audience." Friedman believes that since we are all hyphenated citizens in America, the process of Jewish image-making reveals something about not only one prominent minority, but, as Friedman states, "about the American dream, and ultimately, about America itself." Although Goldberg is no less ambitious, her subject is more specialized. For her the Yiddish cinema records "the hopes, joys and disappointments of the Eastern European Jews as they saw their lives changing." She adds, " . . . the films are invaluable for a statement of Eastern European Jewish morality, their reliance on the past, and of the difficulty in adjusting to a new life." Goldberg proposes to examine the diversity of the Yiddish language and to review "the story of a people and culture." Both books promise to be important historical and cultural contributions. Only Friedman's book succeeds, however. Remarkably he provides, intertwined with relevant sociological and historical information, many perceptive readings of a wide range of films which include Jewish characters produced from the silent era to the 1980s. Goldberg's book is a fledgling effort, far too skimpy to achieve what she proposes in her introduction. The book finally resorts to what is essentially an annotated chronological listing of the films produced. Nowhere does she discuss the evolution of the Yiddish language. And what she has to say about Jews as they waver between affection for their special past and their desire to assimilate in a broader society is, at best, obvious. What the reader does gain are facts about the often sleazy individuals who participated in Yiddish filmmaking, an occasional anecdote worth repeating, and mention of worthy films that deserve more insightful scrutiny. Friedman divides his book into chapters which address the emerging image of the Jew in each decade of the twentieth century. Despite exceptions to the rule, which he is careful to document, a clear theme for each period emerges. We learn that Jews did not escape the overall tendency of silent films to stereotype, and in those films the Jew is pictured as a clever and unscrupulous conniver seeking material gains through devious means. Furthermore, in the silent era, intermarriage and the abandonment of old-world religious values were encouraged in favor of assimilation. A series of films known as the Cohens and Kellys films, which pit Jews against Irish, poke fun at immigrant parents and champion a "melting pot" point of view. In the 1930s the Jew almost disappears from American films. Friedman looks to the growing anti-Semitism abroad and the desire on the part of Jewish moguls to maintain an overseas market as the cause. But in the 1940s, during the war years, the films presenting American fighting forces conspicuously include military men from every minority living in the United States. …


Abstract : Ten years ago, no one believed that the Afghan National Army (ANA) would possess the capability to conduct route clearance patrols, build roads, or construct buildings. Today, Soldiers of Task Force Sword have the opportunity to work with Afghan engineers who are determined to establish security for the Afghan people and prepared to meet the challenge of rebuilding their country.


The Letter describes InGaAsP/InP 1.55 μm distributed Bragg reflector lasers monolithically integrated with a laterally tapered waveguide on the output facet. The tapered waveguide region of the devices has a thick partially clad p-InP layer grown by selective growth. The growth and fabrication processing steps were the same as those used to make conventional DBR laser diodes. The lasers demonstrate good lasing characteristics, lowloss coupling of less than 2.8 dB and +/− 2 μm misalignment tolerance with a flat-end singlemode fibre in both the lateral and vertical directions.


The objective of this study is to evaluate efficiency of routing protocols between Dijkistra's and Kruskal's algorithm. The application of routing protocols is presented. It is used to compute complicated routing paths and the efficiency of routing algorithms. Extensive simulations are being carried out with two different algorithms. The network loads in the performance plots are characterized by two important parameters (a number of vertices) - 9 nodes and 10 nodes. The simulation results showed that the performance of Dijkistra's algorithm is better than Kruskal's algorithm when the network loads are increased from 9 nodes to 10 nodes. In this simulation, Dijkstra's algorithm provides the shortest path among the nodes.


A kind of mathematical model for calculation of power consumption by slender body in rotary fluid field is exerted and improved Power loss of scoop is analysed and calculated The result indicates that the energy loss by shock wave to total loss is very large.


ABSTRACT The present study assesses how education impacts religiosity. Education is instrumented using the changes in the Canadian school leaving age laws. The data are from the Canadian General Social Surveys collected between 1990 and 2011. The effects of education on both affiliation status and religious attendance are considered. Education is found to cause a higher likelihood of unaffiliation and a considerably lower frequency of religious attendance. The fall in the religious attendance rates is found to be stronger among Roman Catholics. Possible channels of impacts are explored.


The relationship between new technologies and the environment is a complex one. On the one hand, various human technologies—ranging from "low" technologies like slash-and-burn agriculture, to "high" technologies like nuclear weapons—have done more than their share of environmental harm. On the other hand, new technologies are often cleaner and safer than the older technologies they replace, and may offer ways of remedying environmental harms previously thought of as beyond help. Both of these aspects are likely to come into play with molecular nanotechnology, a technology so new that, in truth, it barely exists yet. But though the actual accomplishments of nanotechnology at this date fall into the workbench or proof-of-concept stage, research is progressing at a speed that outpaces the predictions of the most optimistic prognosticators. (Indeed, nanotechnology has received so much attention—not all of it positive—that some are already pronouncing it a cliché.) If researchers continue to make progress at this rate, nanotechnology will hit the marketplace more quickly than did biotechnology, a field of endeavor to which society is still adjusting. It thus seems worthwhile to begin the discussion now. This all-too-brief essay will outline the basic nature of molecular nanotechnology. It will then discuss the likely environmental benefits (environmentalist Terence McKenna, writing in the Whole Earth Review, called nanotechnology "the most radical of the green visions") and harms (some critics worry that rogue nanodevices will devour the planet) of this technology, and at least seek to begin the discussion of how nanotechnology might be dealt with in a way that will maximize the environmental benefits—which are likely to be enormous—while minimizing the potential harms, which, if allowed to materialize, are likely to be large as well.


Two groups of students, campus counselors and campus officers, were given Christie's (1962) scale of Machiavellianism in interpersonal orientation. Campus officers made significantly higher (more machiavellian) scores than did campus counselors, and a significant interaction effect suggests that the major difference was between female counselors and officers. It is suggested that Christie's scale taps different value orientations toward working with others.


The proposal developed is based on this degree work, seeks to implement corrective transit measures that lead to improve traffic and transportation of the San Gil Municipality located in the Department of Santander, taking into account the population and infrastructure growth of a accelerated way that did not give space to the Political Administrative Authorities to plan in a detailed way a correct growth that would allow an articulation between roads, new infrastructure, public and private modes of transport and, most importantly, the passer-by or ordinary citizen.
Through the analysis of the studies carried out in this project, we were able to establish a solution alternative with which the road decongestion in this Municipality will be achieved both in its internal roads and in the national roads that lead to it. Since the population growth of fixed and latent inhabitants, as well as urban development have not been working in proportion to the capacity of the existing road network, for which short, medium and long-range goals were set, including companies private ones that are in that jurisdiction and that are one of the main causes of the premature deterioration of the roads due to their constant transfers of heavy vehicles on the tracks.

There is the satisfaction of having fulfilled, since many of these identified activities have already been implemented and show effective solutions.


A two successive years (2008- 2009) completely randomized field experiment with four replications on � 15 years old Washington novel orange trees was conducted in a drip irrigated newly reclaimed sandy area at Wadi El- Mollak, Ismailia governorate. Field emission uniformity (Eu) and absolute field emission uniformity (Eua) were determined for the area under study to be 85.6% for Eu and 86.8% for Eua. The irrigation system at the studied area could be considered as good. Although the uniformity of irrigation at the area under sandy has exceeded 85%, great differences were estimated between the discharge of the drippers that adversely affected the uniformity of growth, nutrients uptake, yield and both water and fertilizers use efficiency by the trees. With this respect, differences among the annual amounts of irrigation water received by the trees and consequently fertilizers dissolved in it have reached 43.1%. accordingly, significant variations were calculated to be 27.8% for leaf area, 26.7% for the dry weight of the leaves and 40.6% for obtained yield. Content of nutrients in the leaves of trees that received the maximum amount of irrigation water were higher than those of trees that received the minimum amounts by 18.3, 22.0, 25.8, 18.4 and 30.4% for N, P, K, Ca and Mg, respectively. Consequently, relative uptake of these nutrient took the same trend. Positive differences in this parameter were 45.3, 49.0, 51.8, 46.6 and 56.4% for the aforementioned nutrients, respectively. Values of water and fertilizers use efficiency by the trees were also greatly affected by the uniformity of irrigation. Higher amounts of irrigation water and applied fertilizers adversely affected both parameters. Improving the uniformity of emission of the trickle irrigation system to be more than 90% will lead to uniform fertigation. Uniform production (quantity and quality of fruits for each tree) is expected. (Journal of American Science 2010; 6(7):113-119). (ISSN: 1545-1003).


Classroom management is one of crucial thing in order to create the optimal learning condition. Actually, there are some different response styles in managing classroom. These different response styles produce students" perception. Each student also has different characteristic. They are differed even in their cognitive abilities and language learning aptitude. Furthermore, each student has a different ways to perceive or acquire information from teaching and learning process. This articlepresents the perception of students with different learning style to teachers" response style. This research was descriptive and data were gotten from English teachers and students with different learning styles. Although, students have different learning style in studying but they tend to prefer assertive response style in teaching learning process.


This paper investigates the flocking problem of multi-agents with partial information exchange, which means that only part, but not all, of the agents are informed of the group objective. A distributed flocking model based on the inclusion principle is provided to simplify the design and analysis of multi-agent systems. Furthermore, to reduce the communication energy consumption, an improved flocking algorithm based on the model is proposed to achieve stable flocking for all the agents. The stability of the multi-agent system is then established, with the help of the Lyapunov stability theorem and LaSalle's invariance principle. Especially, considering the individual heterogeneity in both nature and engineering applications, we also investigate the flocking problem of multi-agents with different sensing radiuses and equilibrium distances. Finally, two kinds of simulation results are presented to demonstrate the validity of the proposed results. This work provides an insight not only into the properties of the different species of individual flocking, but also into the theoretical framework for the engineering design of multi-agent systems considering individual heterogeneity.


© 2003 Thomas C Ryckman You will notice that whenever one gets to really close quarters with the theory of error one has the puzzle of how to deal with error without assuming the existence of the nonexistent. I mean that every theory of error sooner or later wrecks itself by assuming the existence of the non-existent. (Bertrand Russell, LA 89-90) CHAPTER 3: BELIEFS, FACTS AND CORRESPONDENCE In Chapter 2 I argued that Russell offered no good reasons to follow him and hold that, in addition to atomic facts, there are either negative or general facts. I also argued that Russell was right to refuse to admit molecular facts into the ontology of Logical Atomism. All of this leaves open the possibility that in addition to facts there are what some philosophers would call "propositions." By the time of his Logical Atomism, Russell had come to doubt that there are propositions. He refused to hold that in addition to facts there are such things as propositions. On Russell's view, one main reason for accepting propositions in the first place was to solve the problem of false belief, but if propositions are to help solve the problem of false belief, we would seem to need to hold that there are objective falsehoods and that at least some objective falsehoods exist prior to anyone's actually believing anything. While I feel the aesthetic pull of Russell's distaste for propositions, but I have another reason for refusing to admit them into the ontology of Revised Factualism.


The sermon text can be regarded as a literary text comprising unique thematic content, meticulously selected diction and distinct compositional form. The core essence of the Vessantara Jataka, known as Mahachat Sermon, and as used in thet laeh or sung-sermon form, lies in revealing the selfless character of the bodhisattva – the epitome of compassion, charity and self-sacrifice. This sermon is deployed by practitioner monks as a tool for stimulating the mind of lay devotees to listen to the story with devotional attentiveness and then apply its moral values in day to day life. In order to delineate the story well and render the narration effective, practitioner monks in Northeast Thailand (Isan) have played a major role in devising different techniques, such as the use of various figures of speech, versification, rhythm, and last but not the least, different narratological techniques. In this paper we focus particularly on the narratological aspects of the Isan Mahachat Sung-sermon. A representation in art, literature or any other discipline is narrative when its theme unfolds as a chain of episodic events, revolving around a core action which progresses both spatially and temporally. In Isan, monks who have a high range voice train themselves to delineate the entire story of the Vessantara Jataka (in 13 sections) in a unique recital style infused with distinct rhythms. The episodic narration of the story is done in such a way that enables the reader or listener to discover the whole from its parts and vice versa. As performer-narrators, sung-sermon practitioner monks follow the story along each of the thirteen sections known as kantha that totals to one thousand verses or katha expanding over time and space. From our close textual and thematic analysis of the text Phimpha Laeh Mahachat 13 Kantha (Samnuan Isan) composed by the well-known sung-sermon practitioner monk, Ven. Phrakhru Sutasarapimol (Phramaha Phimpha Dhammadino) it has been found that nine distinctive narratological strategies viz., interiorisation, cyclicalisation, serialization, elasticisation of time, spatialisation, fantasisation, stylization, improvisation, and contextualization are used in the rendition of the entire story. All these strategic devices are restored to by most sungsermon practitioner monks in order to render vitality, verdicality, conceptual clarity both to the content of the story as well as the actual act of narrativity. In this paper we examine each of these devices by citing examples from the original text in English translations. There is no doubt that all the narratological strategies that are used have a reinforcing effect on the narration of the story. Providing emphasis, freshness of expression, vividness and conceptual clarity, the use of narratological strategies has rendered great vitality to the story and has positively affected the proliferation, preservation and continuation of the vibrant tradition of the Mahachat sung-sermon in Isan as a whole.


(57) Abstract: The present invention relates to cryptographic communications method of protection against fraud of the user in transactions between an application (1) and the electronic chip (2). The method certificate by the electronic chip (2) and the application (1) (Sp, S) process of calculating the (15, 16), wherein the certificate (Sp, S) at least the variable R and the secret key K is the result of the argument (e Process to verify certificate hidden value (Spm) by the application (1) consists of and.


The artificial neural network is applied to college campus safety evaluation.The model of safety evaluation for campus based on three-layer BP-neural network is established using LM algorithm.By reference of the domestic research for campus safety evaluation,the safety evaluation index system of college campus is selected.The network is trained by trainlm function with training samples which have been obtained by experts.The result is consistent with the actual work by the network,and the applicability of the evaluation model is illustrated by examples.This model can use the existing information of campus safety assessment with relatively successful cases,so the judgment and knowledge of experts can be accumulated.


This study was conducted to determine the potential of a prototype feeding stimulant (FS) comprised of amino acids and nucleotides to improve the weaning of Oxyeleotris marmoratus. Two diets (control and FS) were formulated and fed to 2 groups of fish for 14 days. Six fish were in each group. Each fish was in one aquarium and each fish was a replicate. The body lengths were 7.7-9.3 cm. Each fish was given 5-pellet feedings at 17:00 daily and the ingested feedings were recorded the next day at 12:00. Fish fed the FS diet started ingestion on the1st day and attained a higher ingestion ratio of 0.5 and 50% were successfully weaned. However, on the 8th day, fish fed the control diet had an ingestion ratio of 0.17 and 16.7% were successfully weaned. In conclusion, the FS efficiently promoted feed intake and it can be used to improve the weaning of O. marmoratus.


Abstract : A 10-cm-diam calibration sphere was tested in a space simulation chamber under two different background conditions. In one case, the sphere was enclosed in a black liquid-nitrogen (LN2) cooled shroud, while in the other case the sphere was exposed to the chamber walls which contain some sections not at LN2 temperature. In both cases, the sphere was allowed to reach a stabilized temperature while exposed to one solar constant. The final stabilized temperatures were only 2F (1.1C) different, indicating that the 'hot spots' in the chamber walls are not very significant for this type of test article. It is shown that they can be accounted for by computational techniques.


Objective To evaluate the clinical effect of one-visit root canal therapy against multi-visit treatment,and to provide evidence for clinical application in other hospitals.Methods 220 patients from the Department of Stomatology were randomly divided into two groups.The trial group(n=116) underwent one-visit root canal treatment while the control group(n=104) was treated by multi-visit.Cortisomol was prepared for root canal filling in both groups.Results The overall percentage of successful root filling was 87.9% in trial group and 91.3% in control group.There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups.Conclusions The one-visit root canal therapy reduces the number of visits and cost of treatment.The clinical effect between one-visit and multi-visit therapies shows no significant difference.One-visit root canal therapy effectively reduces absences of daily training in the troops,worthy of popularization in clinical practice.


Despite the fact that digital forensics involves strict procedures and complies with fixed regulations and principles, but as this paper presents, there are plenty of opportunities that can be practically employed in digital forensics to make this science greener. Virtualization can cost effectively reduce the number of workstations running forensic tools in the lab. Cloud computing and consolidating
servers and storage devices in green data centers not only facilitate managing and securing services but also decline the number of required network and cooling facilities. Forensic labs can also be optimized with regard to environmental preservation. Using remote protocols and digitalizing paperwork procedures are environmentally helpful practices to accelerate investigation progress as
well. Improving electrical power needs of labs and forensic devices is another issue that should be taken into consideration. Employing storage devices with optimal energy usage in digital forensics may highly reduce energy consumption. This paper study established green technologies particularly in information technology field and suggests a framework for implementing compatible techniques in digital forensics in order to reduce greenhouse gas pollutants, limit carbon emissions, and preserve the environment.


Constrained layer damping (CLD) treatment is a widely used surface damping treatment for vibration and noise control. In this paper, two feasibility studies were conducted using microcellular foam in CLD applications. The first study explores the feasibility of using modified polyethylene teraphthalate (PETG) microcellular foam as a damping material. Two foam configurations were tested: uncompressed (regular) and compressed foam. The second feasibility study evaluated damping performance of CLD with microcellular foam as a standoff layer. Results of the feasibility studies show that the loss factor of PETG foam with densities from 42 kg/m3 to 240 kg/m3 is in the range of 2% to 8%. In addition, there is no significant difference in loss factor between the uncompressed and compressed foams. Also, use of microcellular foam as standoff layer can reduce vibration amplitude up to 80% with only a 2% to 3% weight penalty.


The cornea is located on the outer layer of the eyeball and is very vulnerable to injury. After corneal alkali burn, the epithelial layer of the cornea is seriously damaged due to alkaline saponification. Limbal stem cells, as the regeneration source of corneal epithelial cells, can quickly migrate to the center to cover the wound surface and form new epithelium. This article studies the effect of amniotic membrane transplantation on stem cells of the limbs of alkaline burn rats, which provides strong support for the treatment of corneal diseases. In this paper, ACH was used to encapsulate limbal stem cells to be transplanted to the site of alkali burn of the rat cornea to provide necessary seed cells for the repair of alkali burn of the cornea. To observe its effect on wound repair, it is urgent to provide effective tissue engineering treatment methods for severe corneal alkali burn repair. In this paper, rats were used as the research object. The limbal circular lamelectomy plus central corneal epithelial curettage was used to establish a rat model of complete lack of limbal stem cells in the right eye. The morphology of the ocular surface was observed after 4 weeks. Carrier culture observation, transplantation is performed when the cells are over 90% of the amniotic membrane, the morphology of the right eye of the rat is observed 12 weeks after transplantation, the corneal structure is observed by HE staining, and the differentiation markers of corneal epithelial cells (CEs) are detected by immunofluorescence The expression of CK3+12. After alkali burn of the cornea of rats, the anterior segment of the eye was observed under a microscope, and the corneal turbidity was scored every day. On the 4th, 8th and 12th days after alkali burning, the stained area of the cornea was measured by methylene blue staining to calculate the rate of corneal epithelial healing. The results of the study showed that the corneal repair of rats with alkali burns after 1-3 amniotic membrane transplantation reached a significant standard. The corneal defect area was repaired less than 30%, the matrix infiltration and KP did not decrease and gradually worsened, and a penetrating keratoplasty was given in time.


I an attempt to address the issue of increased pension fund participation in the Canadian business income trust market, the 2004 federal budget issued by Canada's federal government proposed changes to the investment rules for income trusts.1 They included proposals to limit the degree of pension fund participation in the business income trust marketplace. Two key limitations were proposed, one limiting the level of a pension fund's investment in the business income trust market in general and the other limiting the level of investment holdings of a pension fund in any particular business income trust. Those two limitations, the consequences of exceeding them, and the associated transition rules are discussed below.


A longitudinal study on calf management and health problems was conducted in 97 small holder Dairy farms found in Dugda Bora, Arsi Negelle, Shashemene and Kofele districts of Oromia region, Ethiopia, from November 2010 to April 2011. A total of 97 calves (84 local and 13 cross breed) were selected randomly and regularly monitored up to six months of age. Information on potential risk factors was collected by personal observation during the regular visit to farms and from questionnaire survey conducted during the study period. Chi-Square statistics and comparison of proportions were used to analyze the data. Out of 97 small holder dairy farms, 88 (90.7%) follow an extensive type of production system. Out of 97 calves surveyed, 59 (60.8%) were female and 38 (39.2%) were male. Calves were housed separately away from adult animals on 75 (77.3%) of the farms. 86 (88.7%) of the farms practiced a residual suckling feeding system. Based on the questionnaire survey, 26 (26.8%) external parasite infection followed by diarrhea 16 (16.5%). Routine clinical examination of calves for any health problem were also carried out indicating calf diarrhea in 18 (18.6%), tick infestation in 16 (16.5%) and mange mite infection 9 (9.3%). Among the risk factors considered for analysis, hygiene is found to be significantly associated with health problems of calves replied by the farmers (χ2=25.57.6; P<0.12) and result of routine examination (χ2= 27.642; P<0.016). Out of the 97 calves surveyed, 33 (34.0%), 55 (56.7%) and 9 (9.3%) have poor, medium and good body condition scores respectively. Out of the 21 risk factor considered, about 9 were found to be significantly associated with body condition score of calves. The calf health and management problems found in this study can be achieved through creation of awareness among farm owner and implementation of improved calf management practices.


Summary form only given. OTDM networks based on the terahertz optical asymmetric demultiplexer (TOAD) will enable construction of crossbar interconnect systems with aggregate capacities approaching 1 Tb/s. The synchronicity inherent in an OTDM system can be exploited to implement efficient arbitration and control methods that scale linearly with the number of attached nodes. OTDM based interconnect systems challenge the current generation of switching fabrics that use electronic routers by offering low latencies, high bandwidth, and globally visible event ordering. Furthermore, nodes are connected to a central switching hub in a star-like fashion where each node requires two optical fiber connections, independent of the system size. Recent experimental demonstrations of both ultrafast demultiplexing and high-speed time slot tuning will be presented that demonstrate a 100 node network with an aggregate capacity of 100 Gb/s is achievable.


The object of research is the process of determining the coordinates of aerial objects by a small-sized radars. The main hypothesis of the study assumes that combining two small-sized radars into a network could improve the accuracy of determining the coordinates of aerial objects.
It was established that when determining the coordinates of an aerial object by a small-sized radars, the accuracy of determining the range is much better than the accuracy of determining the angular coordinate. To eliminate this shortcoming, a two-position network of small-sized radars and their error ellipses was considered. It is proposed to use the range-finding method in each small-sized radar station of the two-position network.
A method for determining the coordinates of aerial objects in a two-position network of small-sized radars has been improved, which, unlike known ones:
– enables a synchronous survey of the airspace by small-sized radars;
– measures the range to the aerial object by two small-sized radars;
– determines the coordinates of the aerial object by the joint processing of radar information from two small-sized radars.
The accuracy of determining the coordinates of aerial objects in a two-position network of small-sized radars was evaluated. The experimental evaluation was carried out by means of simulation using the method of Monte Carlo statistical tests. Working areas of the two-position network of small-sized radars were calculated. It was established that the two-position network of small-radars works only in the area formed by the intersections of the viewing areas of small-sized radars during their autonomous operation.


Paper rolls were analyzed nondestructively by a computerized tomographic (CT) system. The images of cross-sections of paper rolls were shown as faithfully as if they were observed by cutting them. The tomographic image density (CT value) of a cut paper sheet bundle was proportional to its sheet paper density.In CD profiles of CT values of paper rolls, each had a different CD profile. A paper roll wound at higher tension has a poor CD profile of CT values, which indicated internal stress concentrated locally in the roll. The macroscale MD profile of CT values coincided well with the basis weight profile. The longrange MD profile of CT values decreased gradually from a surface to a core of a paper roll, which indicated that internal stress decreased from the core to the surfce.


Abstract This paper combines ideas from models of electoral competition with forward-looking voters and models of electoral competition with backward-looking voters. Two political parties can commit in advance to policy platforms, but not to a maximum level of rent extraction. In the case without uncertainty, the electorate can limit rents to the same extent as in a purely backward-looking model of accountability, and the policy preferred by the voter who represents the median preferences of the electorate is implemented. In the case with uncertainty about the bliss point of the representative voter, the electorate has to accept higher rent seeking by the incumbent politician, but nonetheless retains some control over rent extraction. The policy positions of the two competing parties do not converge as they do in the case without uncertainty. I show in an example that this nonconvergence can increase the welfare of the representative voter.


ABSTRACT Medical waste management at major hospitals in the UAE was assessed following the WHO guidelines. A questionnaire that accounts for all steps of waste management was distributed among 14 hospitals in the country and direct onsite visits were performed for selected hospitals. Results revealed that the rate of medical waste generated averages 1.95 kg/bed/d, but varies from 0.2 to 4.5 kg/bed/d among the surveyed hospitals. Waste segregation is applied for pathological, sharps, and infectious waste. But, not all surveyed hospitals practice segregation of other types of medical waste. A separate on-site storage room for medical waste exists at many hospitals. Collection of medical waste is conducted using color-coded bags. However, not all surveyed hospitals practice marking on the disposed containers neither are they employ a waste tracking system. Many hospitals do not have pretreatment capabilities for medical waste possibly due to budget constraints or wide use of disposable items. Some hospitals, however, apply pretreatment for pathological and infectious waste using autoclave or chemical disinfection. Incineration is widely used for treatment of medical waste. But, some incinerators are old and poorly maintained. All radionuclides used at the UAE hospitals have relatively short half-lives. Meanwhile, hospitals using radionuclides have special storage facilities for radioactive waste with a decay storage period that varies from 2 to 3 weeks, but could reach 6 months depending on the isotope present in the waste. Guidelines for medical waste management, excluding radioactive waste, have been developed in some emirates, but those for management of radioactive medical waste are greatly lacking. Better management of medical waste can be achieved if a hospital coordinates activities among its different departments. Also, hospitals should train their staff to become aware of the hazards associated with infectious or toxic waste. It is also recommended that hospitals immunize workers at risk and document all cases of infection or poisoning result from exposure to or handling of medical waste. Overall, the system of medical waste management in the UAE is developing.


Approaches to intervention for children and adults with learning disabilities and other handicapping conditions have been developed for over a century. Often these approaches were developed for specific skills or areas of achievement such as reading, decoding, spelling, mathematics, or written expression. In other instances broad approaches such as direct instruction or strategy instruction were developed. Some of these approaches now have a strong research base and were described in the preceding papers. A recent metaanalysis of intervention research, done by Swanson (2000),  provides an excellent contribution to the field.


In recent decades, assessment practices within Australian law schools have moved from the overwhelming use of end-of-year closed-book examinations to an increase in the use of a wider range of techniques. This shift is often characterised as providing a 'better' learning environment for students, contributing more positively to their own 'personal development' within higher education, or, considered along the lines of critical legal thought, as 'liberating' them from the 'conservatising' and 'indoctrinating' effects of the power relations that operate in law schools.
This paper seeks to render problematic such liberal-progressive narratives about these changes to law school assessment practices. It will do so by utilising the work of French historian and philosopher Michel Foucault on power, arguing that the current range of assessment techniques demonstrates a shift in the 'economy' of power relations within the law school. Rather than 'liberating' students from relations of power, these practices actually extend the power relations through which students are governed.
This analysis is intended to inform legal education research and assessment practice by providing a far more nuanced conceptual framework than one that seeks to 'free' law students from these 'repressive' practices, or hopes to 'objectively' contribute to their 'personal development'.


The paper uses the DEA method to evaluate the performance of the agricultural material postal logistics of the leagues and cities in Inner Mongolia,finds its main problems reside in the unbalance of development between the leagues and cities,weak infrastructure and unscientific channel distribution,and at the end provides suggestions such as structural optimization,enrichening product offer,reinforcing channel and staff building,risk control and improving the level of operation and management.


Silver nanoparticles (AgNP) are heavily used in consumer products and medical devices, including face masks to fight against COVID-19. AgNP effects on mammals have been studied both using cellular and...


The gene for estrogen receptor (ER) has been shown to be under complex hormonal control and its activity can be regulated by mRNA alternative splicing. Here we examined the regulation of ER transcription and translation in the rat uterus by ovarian steroid hormones. We examined whether expression of ER mRNA splice isoforms is hormonally regulated in ovariectomized (OVX) and cycling rats. Adult OVX female rats were treated daily with 17-estradiol (E 2 ) (0·05 µg/rat or 5 µg/rat), progesterone (P 4 ) (1 mg/rat) or a combination of both hormones for 4 days. Animals were killed 24 h after the last injection and uterine horns were removed. In order to determine whether ER mRNA isoforms are differentially expressed under various physiological conditions, animals were evaluated at proestrus, estrus and diestrus. The ER protein and mRNA were detected by immunohistochemistry and comparative RT-PCR analysis respectively. The presence of ER mRNA isoforms was evaluated using a nested RT-PCR assay. In OVX control rats, ER mRNA and protein levels were high, demonstrating a constitutive expression of the ER gene in the uterus. When animals received P4 or the high dose of E2, a significant decrease in both ER mRNA and protein was observed in the uterus. However, when rats were treated with the low dose of E 2 , only the ER protein was down-regulated; no changes were observed in ER mRNA expression. In addition to the full-length ER mRNA, OVX control rat uteri expressed three shorter transcripts: 3, 4 and 3,4 (lacking exon 3, exon 4, or both 3 and 4 respectively). Surprisingly, when OVX animals were treated with P 4 , the low dose of E 2 or a combination of both steroids, expression of the 3 isoform was completely abolished. During the estrous cycle, all ER mRNA splicing variants were detected at proestrus and estrus. However, in diestrus, significant low levels of the 3 isoform were observed. In summary, our results suggest a dose-dependent relationship between E2 concentrations and the level of control in the ER transcription–translation cascade. Moreover, the alternative splicing of the ER primary transcript is influenced by the hormonal milieu, suggesting that these events could affect the estrogen responsiveness of the rat uterus during the estrous cycle.


Monitoring performance was compared when subjects were asked to listen simultaneously for two different targets embedded in a sentence and when they listened only for one. The effects of different combinations of targets (phonemes, words, or meanings) were investigated and an attempt was made to separate the effects of particular combinations from the effects of difficulty of the two component targets. Performance was worse when either of two targets might occur than when subjects knew which single type to listen for. However there were no differences attributable to which particular types of targets were being combined. Listening for a phonemic target was as difficult to combine with listening for a semantic target as for another phonemic target. The result is consistent with a central speech analysing system whose limited processing capacity must be shared (at least in this monitoring task) both between and within all relevant levels of linguistic analysis, rather than with relatively independent subsystems for each type of listening.


Till now,time-lapse seismic monitoring of continental thin-interbedding reservoir has not made a remarkable breakthrough,and hence the strengthening of the study and application of the time-lapse seismic method as well as the cross-equalization processing technique is of great significance.As a most effective method for improving the repeatability of time-lapse seismic data,the cross-equalization processing technique has been widely used with excellent results achieved.Through the cross-equalization processing of time-lapse seismic monitoring data obtained in the development of continental heavy oil thin-interbedding reservoir with the use of thermal recovery,it is shown that the cross-equalization processing is helpful to recognizing time-lapse seismic anomaly and determining the position of thermal front.Nevertheless,when the repeatability of original seismic data is very bad,such a processing can only improve the repeatability of time-lapse seismic data,but with no good seismic anomaly detected.The key to the successful performance of time-lapse seismic monitoring for the continental thin-interbedding reservoir is the enhancement of the repeatability of seismic wavelets and seismic data.The amplitude attribute seems to be one of the major criteria for the thinner reservoir.