OF DISSERTATION THE USE OF A NARRATIVE SIMULATION IN RURAL RESIDENTIAL FIRE PREVENTION: A PRELIMINARY STUDY IN CHANGES OF BEHAVIORIAL INTENTION Rural Kentucky residents suffer twice as many fire residential deaths than the national average. Fire prevention programs are primarily aimed at elementary school children however these children do not make the decisions nor take the precautions necessary to alter these conditions; their adult parents do. There is little research into the development of fire safety instructional interventions that need to reach these rural at-risk adults. In this study, a well-designed story simulation Uncle Charlie's Christmas was developed to provide an instructional intervention to prevent injury and fatality from rural residential fires. An intervention-control repeated measure research design was conducted to investigate participants': (1) exposure to fire hazard risk, (2) the knowledge of risks and (3) safe practices in the event of a fire and also (4) participants' behavioral intentions to make changes to prevent fire through hazard reduction and to understand decision making in the event of a fire. The Uncle Charlie's Christmas narrative simulation instructional materials were effective at engaging participants in decisionmaking situations they might encounter in an actual fire emergency situation. Participants' responses to the simulation demonstrated knowledge of hazards, however, a sub-group of responses did reveal many 'bad' decisions (resulting in failure to exit or other unsafe practices) during the use of the simulation. The Thinking Talking and Acting (TTAS) proxy measure of behavioral intention had high internal reliability at a .93 Chronbach Alpha, demonstrating the utility of the measure for future research. A limitation was a low participation rate (n=52), requiring Wilcoxon non-parametric analyses. There were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups on the pre-post TTAS behavioral change proxy measure. There were significant pre-post (2 week) differences within the intervention group when the Thinking, Talking and Acting scales scores were analyzed. These trends suggest that further research with a robust sample size is needed for a generalizable assessment of the effectiveness of the narrative simulation instructional materials. Low literacy levels of participants suggest alternative audio formats may also improve utility of the instructional approach in real-world community settings to reach those at risk of exposure to rural residential fire hazards.


An experiment was conducted during summer of 2016 to study the effect of sulphur and boron application on nutrient content and uptake pattern of N, P, K, S and B in groundnut. The experiment showed that increase in application of sulphur led to an increase in the concentration and in turn uptake of N, P, K, S and B in pods and haulm up to 45 Kg/ha. However, the increase in nutrient concentration and uptake parameters with the increase in sulphur from 30 Kg/ha to 45 Kg/ha showed no significance. Owing to boron application similar trend was followed in N, P, K, S and B concentration and uptake by the crop. However, it was found that higher levels of sulphur and boron showed antagonistic effect on nutrient content and uptake of summer groundnut at pod harvesting stage. The study suggested that soil application of sulphur and boron in clay loam soil in waghai, Dangs increased the availability of primary nutrients in addition to sulphur and boron causing their absorption by summer groundnut.


The problem of joint channel and power allocation in a downlink spectrum sharing cognitive radio network is investigated. The objective is to minimise the average outage probability of the secondary users (SUs). In this regard, a joint channel and power allocation scheme is proposed. The obtained numerical results show that the proposed joint channel and power scheme greatly improves the performance of the SUs.


. In low-lying coastal areas floods occur from (combinations of) fluvial, pluvial, and coastal drivers. If these flood drivers are statistically dependent, their joint likelihood might be misrepresented if dependence is not accounted for. However, 10 few studies have examined flood risk and risk reduction measures while accounting for so-called compound flooding. We present a globally-applicable framework for compound flood risk assessments using combined hydrodynamic, impact and statistical modeling and apply it to a case study in the Sofala province of Mozambique. The framework broadly consists of three steps. First, a large stochastic event set is derived from reanalysis data, taking into account co-occurrence of, and dependence between all annual maxima flood drivers. Then, both flood hazard and impact are simulated for different 15 combinations of drivers at non-flood and flood conditions. Finally, the impact of each stochastic event is interpolated from the simulated events to derive a complete flood risk profile. Our case study results show that from all drivers, coastal flooding causes the largest risk in the region despite a more widespread fluvial and pluvial flood hazard. Events with return periods larger than 25 year are more damaging when considering the observed statistical dependence compared to independence, e.g.: 12% for the 100-year return period. However, the total compound flood risk in terms of expected annual damage is only 20 0.55% larger. This is explained by the fact that for frequent events, which contribute most to the risk, limited physical interaction between flood drivers is simulated. We also assess the effectiveness of three measures in terms of risk reduction. For our case, zoning based on the 2-year return period flood plain is as effective as levees with a 10-year return period protection level, while dry proofing up to 1 m does not reach the same effectiveness. As the framework is based on global datasets and is largely automated, it can easily be repeated for many other regions for first order assessments of compound 25 flood risk. hazard. The compound flood risk in terms of EAD based on observed statistical dependence was found to be 0.55% larger compared to the assumption of statistical independence, while the assumption of full dependence leads to an overestimate of the flood risk. The small difference is attributed to events with return periods larger than 25 year, which are relatively more damaging, e.g.: 12% at the 100-year return period. This total difference between full dependence and independence is, however, relatively small due to the limited physical interactions occurring in the simulations between the drivers in areas with significant exposure. Zoning is the most effective risk reduction measure. We find that zoning based on the 2-year return period flood plain is similarly effective to levees with a 10-year return period protection level, while dry proofing up to 1 m does not reach the same effectiveness. For this case we found that the compound flood risk is not sensitive to the time lag between flood drivers. However, this and other required assumptions in an event-based compound flood risk approach should be further validated in future studies.


The method for notifying the user preferred program in the electronic device, and an electronic device is disclosed. According to one embodiment the electronic device includes a communication unit, and collects user viewing history, and determines the user's preferred program according to the user viewing history on the collected, the determined user preference broadcast the user a notification indicating that it is started selectively by the program a control unit for outputting to.


Aiming at the conflict between MPPT control strategy and (storage) battery charging management, super capacitor was used in photovoltaic system to form the compose hybrid energy storage system with storage battery, according to their characteristics. An improved MPPT control strategy was proposed by combining constant voltage method and adaptive variable step-size conductance increment method. Simulation and experimental results have been reported to validate the improved MPPT control strategy could reach the maximum power point quickly, steadily and accurately.


–The importance of flow through sudden change in flow passages lies in the numerous industrial applications such as, polymer processing, injection molding, biomedical instruments, extrusion, thermoforming etc. In this work, fluid flow through an axi-symmetric sudden contraction flow passages has been carried out using commercial CFD tools. Flow in the inverse direction, which represents flow through a sudden expansion, has also been simulated for the same conditions. A comparison has been established between the two flows occurring in the opposite direction. A twodimensional computational domain has been chosen for the analysis considering steady, laminar flow and Newtonian fluid. The effects of flow rates are investigated with constant diameter ratios to understand the flow characteristics for sudden expansion and sudden contraction geometry. The size of the recirculation zone, flow reattachment length, redevelopment of flow, recirculating flow strength depends on several parameters, primarily on flow rate i.e. Reynolds number, expansion/contraction ratio and flow direction. Flow tends to become unstable at lower Reynolds number for high expansion ratio. Keywords––Sudden Contraction, Sudden expansion, Recirculation, Flow Separation, Flow Reattachment.


Multi protocol label switching has become the core technique on NSP's network. And virtue private network based on MPLS would also be mainstream application. The paper introduces and works over the technique of MPLS, and introduces the application of MPLS on CRC's IP backbone network.


The stability analysis and voltage regulation in distribution systems, as well as power quality problems such as voltage sags, swells, due to connection and disconnection of large loads, short circuits and the presence of non-linear loads, require of the consideration of adequate technical solutions. In this paper, a Dynamic Voltage Restorer ( DVR ) model based on a power converter scheme for voltage compensation due to the presence of sags of amplitude since 0.1pu to 0.9pu and swells with amplitude from 1.1pu to 1.9pu, and power factor correction in distribution networks is proposed. The results are verified through MATLAB & Simulink.


Two field experiments were carried out during two successive winter seasons (2016/17-2017/18) at Agricultural Research Station, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, Agricultural Research Center, to study the effect of twenty four treatments which were a combination of eight weed control treatments (i.e., Against, Against with hand hoeing once, Floro, Floro with hand hoeing once, Stomp extra, Stomp extra with hand hoeing once, hand hoeing twice and unweeded check) and three planting population including 120, 180 and 240 thousand plants/fad on weeds control, growth characters, onion production and its quality. All tested weed control treatments significantly increased onion growth characters and yield during the two seasons. Weed control treatment by Floro at rate of 750 cm/fad+ hand hoeing once at 45 days after transplanting, reduced percentage of dry weight of broad-leaved, grassy and total weeds at 60 and 90 days after transplanting by (97.08 & 96.39 %), (90.50 & 90.50%) and (96.20 & 95.20 %) in the average survey in 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons, respectively, compared to unweeded check. The same treatment produced the highest average bulb weight, marketable and total bulbs yield per fad by about 45.67, 74.56 and 59.78 % when compared with unweeded check in the average of both seasons, respectively with best storability along with bulbs quality at low cost of onion production, demonstrate that weed control is very important in the onion fields. Also, onion plant grown at 180 thousand plants/fad revealed a very promising effect for marketable and total yield with the average of 17.89 and 20.24 % in conjunction with a great reduction in the total weed biomass/m at 60 and 90 days after transplanting by about 25.51 and 25.77 % in the two seasons compared to 120 thousand plants/fad., respectively. The maximum values of total soluble solids, percentage of dry matter in bulbs, and remaining marketable bulbs after storage for six months were achieved under the density of 120 or 180 thousand plants/fad in both seasons. Total bulb yield/fad showed highly significant negative correlation with each of dry weight of broad-leaved, grassy and total weeds as well as culls yield/fad. Therefore, the use of integration between Floro EC 24% as post-emergence herbicide at rate of 750 cm/fad (21 days after transplanting) followed by hand hoeing once at 45 days after transplanting plus plant density of 180 thousand plants/fad is the best choice for the onion farmers of this area to achieve maximum onion bulb yield/fad, storability and quality of onions with higher economic returns.


MAE of a dilute Fe-N system in the range of 200480K was investigated by measuring the disaccommodation of its initial susceptibility at vac rious temperature T with or without preceding demagnetization of specimen. The results suggest that magnetic relaxation spectrum in the range of 350480K is induced by the metastable Fe8N phase transformation. It is composed of a structural relaxation induced by pinning and depinning of the domain walls through precipitation and resolution of FegN and a thermal-activated relaxation due to N atoms $lose to the precipitates. A single cold work m w netic peak was observed at L430K from a cold worked specimen.


Predatory publications are increasing in scholarly communications. These publishers use questionable business practices, minimal or no peer review and/or limited editorial oversight to publish journals that are below a minimally accepted standard of quality. These publications have potential to alter the results of knowledge syntheses.The objective of this project was to determine if papers published by a major predatory publisher in the health and biomedical sciences were cited in systematic reviews.


The condition of enterprises in Russia under conditions of globalization is assessed, in relation to state policies, and relations with domestic and foreign economic actors and processes. The question of the future of Russian enterprises is considered in relation to the options of closing off, or opening further up, economic relations. Lastly, the impact of scientific‐technological progress, integration processes, and the world economic‐financial crisis on Russian enterprises is assessed. A balance sheet is outlined of negative and positive developments in light of policies initiated by the Primakov government.


We consider gradient coding in the presence of an adversary controlling so-called malicious workers trying to corrupt the computations. Previous works propose the use of MDS codes to treat the inputs of the malicious workers as errors and correct them using the error-correction properties of the code. This comes at the expense of increasing the replication, i.e., the number of workers each partial gradient is computed by. In this work, we reduce replication by proposing a method that detects the erroneous inputs from the malicious workers, hence transforming them into erasures. For s malicious workers, our solution can reduce the replication to s+1 instead of 2s+1 for each partial gradient at the expense of only s additional computations at the main node and additional rounds of light communication between the main node and the workers. We give fundamental limits of the general framework for fractional repetition data allocation. Our scheme is optimal in terms of replication and local computation but incurs a communication cost that is asymptotically, in the size of the dataset, a multiplicative factor away from the derived bound.


In this research, we investigate the impact of human capital on labour productivity in European Union member states using panel data analysis. Results of the paper are estimated using the Pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and Fixed effects model (FEM). The results show that human capital is positively significant in improving the growth of labour productivity in the EU. Our estimates also suggest that the impact occurs after three times lags in case of education expenditure.


The subject of controlling an integrator via a communication network finds many applications in modern control systems. Stability conditions in closed form are derived for the arising feedback system, which consists of a controller, an integrator and time-variant links between integrator and controller. It will be shown, that these derived stability conditions are not conservative and easily applicable, even for systems with long delays. In order to draw from a recent result on time-variant discrete system stability, FIR controllers are assumed.


An orthogonal estimation algorithm has been implemented for the identification of fuzzy logic controllers for the control of unknown processes. Linear difference was applied to collected input/output data records and the data records were partitioned across the operating ranges according to the specified membership functions. An orthogonal estimation algorithm was then applied to the partitioned clusters to obtain rules governing the control of the process, The identified fuzzy logic controliers can have a variety of formats and are effective in setpoint tracking and output load rejection.


We compare how experienced procurement managers and students solve the newsvendor problem. We find that managers broadly exhibit the same kind of pull-to-center bias as students do. Also, managers use information and task training no better than students. The performance of managers is positively affected by the level of their education and their level in the organizational hierarchy. We discuss implications for theory and for how ordering might be improved in practice.

This paper was accepted by Teck Ho, decision analysis.


A 68-year-old patient with a medical history of hypertension and donor nephrectomy was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) bullectomy, partial pleurectomy and pleurodesis.

The patient initially presented at the emergency department with right-sided


The subject of my bachelor thesis is Staff assessment as an instrument of personnel management at the TTCE s. r. o. company. In the first part of the thesis, I have stated theoretical knowledge concerning the development of personnel work and the applied methodology. On the basis of these facts, several hypotheses have been defined. The second part of the bachelor thesis is divided into the analytical and the project part. The information on the sphere of personnel management at the TTCE s. r. o. company has been recorded, and the inseparable intercultural features of the influence of the company's Japanese management are reflected in my work, as well. The final section of the analytical part is devoted to a survey of information gathered in the company and to the confirmation or refutation of the defined hypotheses. On the basis of a comparison of the theoretical and the analytical part, I have discovered five spheres to be improved in the system of staff assessment applied at TTCE s. r. o. I have suggested several measures to solve these shortcomings, and I have individually assessed their economic intensity and possible implementation risks.


At the Eighth International Symposium on Mathematical Programming (August 1973 at Stanford), Hugo Scolnik suggested a line of reasoning leading to an algorithm which he thought might solve the linear programming problem in polynomial time. The algorithm which Scolnik contemplated would construct an optimal basis one column at a time, in such a way that once a column is selected to be in this basis, it need never be thrown out later; after t basic columns had been selected, the algorithm would first use two rejection criteria (a) and (b) to reduce the number of candidates for the (t+1)st column and would then use a selection criterion (c) to choose one of the remaining candidates.


In developing countries, intestinal parasites like protozoa and helminths are highly prevalent in preschool children. There is also poor understanding of the mother's knowledge, attitude, and practices towards parasitic infections. Therefore, this study is designed to assess the prevalence of intestinal parasite and maternal knowledge, attitude and practice on the prevention and control of intestinal parasites. Cross-sectional study was conducted on preschool children in Senbete and Bete towns. Stool specimens were collected and examined for intestinal parasites by using Kato-Katz and formol-ether concentration technique. Mother's knowledge, attitude, and practice data were collected using a per-tested structured questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS-20 and P values less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant value. Among 214 preschool children, the overall prevalence of intestinal parasite was 52.3%. The predominant parasites was Hymenolepis nana (23.8 %), followed by Giardia lamblia (19.6%). Among 214 interviewed mothers 129 (60.3%) had knowledge on prevention and control of intestinal parasites. And also 120(56.1%) of the respondent had positive attitude on the prevention and control of intestinal parasites. Moreover, 95(44.4%) of the mothers used toilet or container to dispose their children's faeces and 186(86.9%) mothers gave drug for their child. High prevalence of intestinal parasite was found. Maternal education level, open field defecation and playing with soil were significantly associated with intestinal parasitic infections. Therefore, health education program to improve maternal knowledge, attitude and practice should be implemented.


Recycling of Nd–Fe–B magnets is an ongoing challenge regarding circular economy. State‐of‐the‐art magnet production methods, such as hot deformation, have limitations with respect to direct recycling of magnet scrap particles that differ from pristine melt‐spun Nd–Fe–B powder. Recent work has shown that a combination of presintering by field‐assisted sintering technology/spark plasma sintering (FAST/SPS) and hot deformation by flash spark plasma sintering (flash SPS) has the potential to directly produce Nd–Fe–B magnets from 100% scrap material. Both processes have the capability to adjust and monitor process parameters closely, resulting in recycled magnets with properties similar to commercial magnets but made directly from crushed and recycled Nd–Fe–B powder that partially or completely replaces pristine melt‐spun Nd–Fe–B powder. Herein, a systematic study is done inserting recycled magnet particles into a flash SPS deformed magnet, considering the effects of different weight percentages of scrap material of varied particle size fractions. In some cases, coercivity HcJ of >1400 kAm−1 and remanence Br of 1.1 T can be achieved with 20 wt% scrap material. The relationship between particle size fraction, oxygen uptake, and percentage of recyclate in a final magnet are all explored and discussed with respect to magnets made from pristine material.


But re-designing or optimising packaging involves a great deal more than simply making technical changes or packaging processes. In most cases, a total packaging solution will be called for, involving primary, secondary and tertiary pack functions, plus merchandising and on-pack messaging to the consumer. Trials may also have to be held to test customer perception and acceptance of the new packaging.


VEN-STEPHEN AS A RHYMING colloquial phrase, an expression for 'equal' (like fifty-fifty or handy-dandy), is somewhat out of the ordinary for English slang. Though it seems to incorporate a Christian name, it has no specific reference to human behavior or personality, as do other formations such as silly-Billy.' However, it may be argued that the phrase is not without discernible historical origins and that, like willy-nilly, even-Stephen was not originally based upon a name but made sound grammatical and semantic sense. The earliest instance of even-Stephen quoted by the Oxford English Dictionary Supplement is from Swift's Journal to Stella, 20 January 1710/ 1711: "Now we are even, quoth Stephen, when he gave his wife six blows for one." The OED places this example in brackets, to indicate it is "given for what may be called subsidiary purposes," in this case, because the citation does not include the form as a single word. Yet, it seems unlikely that Swift should by chance have hit upon the components of an expression that occurs with frequency in later writers. If earlier instances could be adduced, Swift's usage would appear more authentic. Indeed, it may be that Swift is here playing on an established colloquialism whose origins escape him. We may perhaps understand the origins of even-Stephen better if we first turn to a number of analogous phrases. A lyric in the Vernon manuscript (later fourteenth century) implores its reader: "Loke thou bere the feir and euen ... / For ofte men meten at vn-set steuen."2 Steuen here derives from Old English stefn meaning 'turn, occasion, set time'. The rhyme euenlsteuen and the phrase vnset steuen 'unawares, out of turn' are significant collocations; it is noteworthy that they are proverbial and occur frequently in the writings of the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. The most familiar instance is undoubtedly in Chaucer's "Knight's Tale" (A. 1524): "It is ful fair a man to bere him evene, / For al day meeteth men at unset stevene."3 Here again even and steven rime, and unset stevene contrasts, at least implicity, with a set steven or even steven. Other fourteenth-century examples occur in Sir Eglamour of Artois (ca. 1400): "Hyt is soth sayd, be God of heuen, / 'Mony meten at vnsett steuen' ";4 and in the Proverbs of Wisdom (ca. 1400): "Att vnsett steven men may mete."5


Films of (100) EuIG doped with Sb or Ca:Ti and (100) EuYIG doped with Sb were grown with various Pb contents from a PbO:5.5 B2O3 (mole ratio) based flux. The large Pb‐induced uniaxial anisotropy, which occurs in (100) Pb:EuIG films was not reduced significantly by Sb or Ca:Ti additions. The l‐parameter decreased from 0.07 for undoped films to about 0.04 to 0.05, for doped films at Pb contents between 0.6 and 0.8 moles/formula unit. These data suggest that Sb and Ti had substituted for the octahedral Fe and had increased the magnetization. The Q‐factor for films with these l‐parameters was about 2. It is further assumed that Pb is incorporated as Pb2+ and Pb4+ on different cation sites according to the model of Scott and Page. A comparison of our calculated and measured values of Δa support this model.


This paper presents the direct clustering method in fuzzy clustering diagnosis. This approach can greatly reduce the work of clustering, shorten the time of operation, economize the storage, and so effectively strengthen the capacity of real time operation of fuzzy clustering diagnosis.<<ETX>>


Abstract The increasing recognition of the importance of information security has created institutional pressures on organizations to comply with information security standards and policies for protecting their information. How such pressures influence information security compliance in organisations, however, is unclear. This paper presents an empirical study to investigate the impact of institutional pressures on information security compliance in organizations. With the use of structural equation modelling for analysing the data collected through an online survey, the study shows that coercive pressures, normative pressures, and mimetic pressures positively influence information security compliance in organizations. It reveals that the benefits of information security compliance motivate management to strengthen their commitments at information security compliance. Furthermore, the study finds out that social pressures do not have a significant impact on management commitments towards information security compliance. Theoretically this study contributes to the information security research by better understanding how institutional pressures can be used for enhancing information security compliance in organizations. Practically this study informs information security policy makers of the major institutional drivers for information security compliance.


This paper analyses the thermal design of power transmission line overhead earth wires and other earthing conductors in an attempt to match the thermal rating of such conductors to the requirements of growing system fault levels. The criteria for a satisfactory performance from earth wire conductors are detailed and the selection of other basic design criteria, such as system fault levels and appropriate transmission line protection operating times, is discussed. Consideration is then given to the determination of the short-time current capabilities of the various earth wire conductors that are available. Computer programs have been written to permit the calculation of the zero sequence current distribution along a transmission line for single phase to earth faults at any point along the line. This enables the determination of the maximum fault current that any element of the earth wire system will be required to withstand. Overhead earth wire types and arrangements are then chosen to match the fault current under the worst conditions. Possible earth wire designs for new lines and means of uprating inadequate designs are evaluated. Finally some generalised results of the fault current distribution program, that are of interest to both substation and transmission line designers, are discussed.


Due to present problems during the development of companies,based on the excellent supply chains management practices which have made great achievements in Hong Kong Li Fung,this paper gives an effective development model,in which companies should focus on the customers′ values and continuously optimize the supply chains to strengthen their core advantages,and achieve the winnings together in the innovative cooperation way that have symbiosis effect.


Long before the Atlantic and the Pacific became theatres for commerce and conflict, the Indian Ocean was home to considerable commercial and cultural intercourse. Most recent literature has, however, focused on maritime security and sea power while greater attention ought to be paid to economic development around the Indian Ocean. India's plans for the development of the 'Blue Economy' augurs well for the region. In an essay I had written for the First Indian Ocean Conference (Singapore, 2016) I had drawn attention to the fact that long before the Pacific and the Atlantic had become arenas of commerce and conflict the Indian Ocean was alive with commercial and cultural intercourse. The maritime historian K.M. Pannikar noted in his classic monograph, India and the Indian Ocean: An Essay on the Influence of Sea Power on Indian History (1945), 'Milleniums before Columbus sailed the Atlantic and Magellan crossed the Pacific, the Indian Ocean had become an active thoroughfare of commercial and cultural traffic.' Yet, much of the focus of academic literature and policy analysis for a long time has been on maritime security, sea power and naval strategy, with little attention paid to pan-ocean economic development, investment in maritime infrastructure, maritime connectivity and commerce. India's more recent focus on the development of a 'Blue Economy' augurs well and should help redress the balance.


Rapid urbanization and climate change effects may cause dramatic changes in ecosystem functions in cities, thereby inevitably affecting the growth performance of old trees. Few studies have explored species diversity and spatial differentiation in Benin urban areas. This study aims to explore this dimension of urban ecology in order to build resilience to climate change in the city of Cotonou. Its objective was to determine the predominant level of tree diversity in the city's land use units. The urban green frame was subdivided into six land use units, namely, establishments, residences, green spaces, commercial areas, administrative areas, and roads. The forest inventories were carried out in 149 plots with surfaces evaluated at 2500 m2 each. The IVI, an index that highlights the relative density, relative dominance, and relative frequency of species, has been used to characterize the place occupied by each species in relation to all species in urban ecosystems. This shows ecological importance through the diversity and quality of ecosystems, communities, and species. A total of 62 tree species in 55 genera and 27 families were recorded. The results show that the flora of the city of Cotonou is characterized by a strong preponderance of exotic species with some differences in species presence. The most abundant species with high ecological importance (IVI) in the different types of land use of the city are Terminalia catappa (IVI = 121.47%), Terminalia mantaly (IVI = 90.50%), Mangifera indica (IVI = 64.06%), and Khaya senegalensis (IVI = 151.16%). As the use of ecosystem services is recommended to tackle urban climate hazards, this study shows that direct development of this urban vegetation could improve the resilience of urban life to climate hazards through the provision of urban ecosystem services, potential ecological infrastructure foundations, and urban nature-based solutions.


Customized bus is a kind of new type of public transport service which is tailor-made for the people whose travel has a similar location, time, destination and so on. In 2013, it has appeared in China and landed in various cities successively. But the development around the situation is different, the study about this problem is few. Based on the immune optimization algorithm and particle swarm optimization algorithm, combined with the advantages of genetic algorithm, the paper forms a hybrid immune optimization algorithm and hybrid particle swarm algorithm. Considering the custom bus station settings, line planning and other aspects, we take custom bus in Wuhan City, Hubei Province as an example, and try to give a scientific and practical guidance to the development of customized public transport nowadays, so that it can get a further theoretical and practical basis on mathematics in its development and operation.


High temperature high quality polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7-x superconductor bulk was prepared by solid state reaction method.The laser induced voltage(LIV) effect in YBa2Cu3O7-x bulk was investigated for the first time and LIV signal was observed with the angle of 20°.The amplitude voltage of 26.7 mV,the rise time of 30 ns and the full width of half maximum of 56 ns were detected when irradiated by a ultraviolet pulse laser with the energy density of 47 mJ/cm2.The peak voltage depends on and shows a linear relationship with irradiated laser energy density,which indicates that the thermoelectric anisotropy is responsible for voltage signals.The voltage in bulk is much smaller than that in YBa2Cu3O7-x thin film.


Multimedia contents can easily be replicated and spread in the Internet. for the verification of copyright of digital audio, digital watermark may be embedded in the audio. Compared with traditional watermarking technologies, zero-watermarking technology does not result in quality degradation, and thus can avoid the conflict between imperceptibility and robustness. in this paper, we calculate the bi-level characteristic sequence of audio signal by using the MDCT coefficients. Coupled with bi-level watermark image and the secrete key provided by an impartial third party, a private key is generated for subsequent intellectual property right verification of the copyright owner. to evaluate the robustness of the proposed zero-watermarking scheme, this study measured the accuracy of reconstructed watermark from audio signal after watermark attacks by various signal processing methods. the experimental results indicate that the proposed zero-watermarking method has better robustness as compared with methods proposed in literature. the proposed scheme is efficient and can be applied in the protection of intellectual property rights of audio signals.


Damage to buildings seen in Denmark tends with some delay to turn up in Greenland. This makes it relevant to study buildings with moisture-related problems in Denmark and how they are dealt with in the Danish Building Regulations to prevent the problems from being copied in Greenland. As the requirements concerning moisture control are function-based, the construction client and the authorities are entrusted with interpreting requirements in a specific case, which caused the introduction of a guideline based on humidity risk classes. This paper presents the Danish requirements and guideline and gives examples of moisture-related problems in buildings in Greenland. Requirements and guidelines are needed in Greenland in order to deal with moisture in the construction phase, but as the conditions for constructing houses and the way that houses are used in Greenland are different from Denmark, an adaptation to the specific conditions in Greenland is needed.


The aim of this study is to assess both environmental performance and cultural, historical and social aspects of the refurbishment of a historical building. This work has been conducted within of an Italian project named "ARACNE". The main aim of this project was to study and eco-design eco-friendly building materials with higher technological properties extending their application to a historical building restoration process. Within this project, the Fiorano Modenese's Town hall (Modena, Italy) has been selected as case study. Furthermore, the recovery and restoration process considered the installation of innovative building products such as nanomaterials, i.e. nano-TiO2 functionalized float glass and nano-TiO2 polyurea resin applied on aluminum panel. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been adopted to model these issues. A preliminary definition of social, cultural and historical indicators (e.g. historical evidence, cultural instances, human well-being local traditions, social fabric, identification of the population in the analysed building and so on) in the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) stage has been carried out. Moreover, preliminary attempts to evaluate the potential risks that nanomaterials could provoke to human health and environment has been taken into account.


An approximation to the solution of the induction log deconvolution problem is developed. The approach is unusual in that it is an attempt at solution of this nonlinear problem by linear means. A segmented method based on modification and synthesis of a signal from its short-term Fourier transform is applied in the procedure. The method, referred to as weighted overlap-addition convolution, is a modification of several methods often used to describe speech and other quasi-stationary signals. This method is shown to be versatile, relatively accurate, and easy to apply. The error associated with the application of this method is known to be small. Median filtering, a process that preserves discontinuities in the data while attenuating noise, is shown to provide some benefits when applied in conjunction with this method.


We report the rational solvothermal syntheses and crystal structures of three new antimonato-polyoxovanadates, {Zn(phen)3}2[V14Sb8O42(H2O)]·0.5 phen·17 H2O (1), [{Zn(en)2}2V14Sb8O42]·7 H2O (2), and {Fe(phen)3}2[V14Sb8O42(H2O)]·11 H2O (3), using the water-soluble {Zn(en)3}3[V15Sb6O42(H2O)]·3en·10H2O as synthon. The solvothermal reactions are fast and product formation is finished within 24 h. Adjustment of the pH value by application of an ammonia buffer avoided crystallization of the {V15Sb6O42} core containing products. In the structure of 1, the en ligands of the starting compound are in situ exchanged by phen molecules. In 2, one en ligand of the [Zn(en)3]2+ complexes of the educt is emitted under the reaction conditions, leading to crystallization of a layered structure formed by V–O–Zn–O bonds. Finally, in compound 3, the initially Zn2+-centered complexes are exchanged in situ by Fe2+-centered complexes with phen ligands. In all three structures, short intercluster Sb···O separations indicate weak in...


Since 1970s, most states in the U.S. removed restrictions on intra-state branching and inter-state banking, which intensified bank competition and increased credit supply. We assess whether renters are more likely to become home owners after banking deregulations. By exploiting the cross-state variation in the timing of intra-state and inter-state banking deregulations over a 10-year period, we find that credit competition induced by the removal of the barriers to branching within state and to out-of-state bank entry from banking deregulation, explains as high as 25.7% increase in the transition probability from renters to homeowners. Our results are robust to potential sampleselection bias and functional misspecifications.


Psychological, psychiatric, and social variables are examined in relation to cancer onset and progression. Recent research indicates that effective coping is enhanced by a sense of control over the course but not the cause of the disease. Depression is unrelated to cancer incidence, except among smokers, but elevated among cancer patients. Anxiety predisposes to side effects, such as nausea and vomiting. Recent studies suggest that psychosocial intervention may extend survival time among cancer patients.


We consider the problem of automating responses to service desk requests in the IT department of a company. Employees get support, when issues arise, by sending an email to a Service Desk team. Some of these requests are forwarded to relevant parties, including a software development team for second-tier support. Providing this function takes developers away from their project development tasks and this tends to delay responses and hence problem resolution. We use cognitive automation to determine the nature of email requests and respond to them thus reducing the time developers spend on troubleshooting and support. A Machine Learning classification model, trained on a labelled set of emails, is used to perform this task. We focused on two approaches, Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Multi-Layer Perceptrons (MLP). The SVM model achieved an 86% accuracy score and a 92% micro F1 score. This solution speeds up the process significantly and we show that this translates to a potential time saving of 8 weeks of developer man-hours and 70 weeks of additional user man-hours per year.


The higher temperature required by dry pre-sulfiding process for hydrocarcking catalysts(especially molecular sieve hydrocracking catalysts) has disadvantages of easy decomposition of complex compounds,multiple start-up procedures and extended start-up time,etc.The wet pre-sulfiding process was first successfully tried in a 1.5 MM TPY hydrocracking unit in SINOPEC Zhenhai Refining Chemical Co.,Ltd.in the start-up after catalyst replacement in March,2010.The wet pre-sulfiding time of hydrocracking catalyst was 60 hours,which is 40 hours less than dry pre-sulfiding process.The end pre-sulfiding temperature of hydrocracking catalyst was 290 ℃ and pre-sulfiding agent consumption was 40.49 tons,which was 2.4% lower than the theoretical requirement.Application results show that the hydrocracking catalysts can be completely pre-sulfided by wet pre-sulfiding process,which can simplify pre-sulfiding procedures,shorten start-up time and improve catalyst activity.


Omental extragastrointestinal stromal tumors are rare neoplasms. We present a case of an elderly woman who was found to have a large solid and cystic pelvic mass of presumed ovarian origin with associated omental neovascularity. Histopathologic examination showed a mixed spindled and epithelioid tumor which was essentially negative for c-KIT and positive for smooth muscle markers by immunohistochemistry. A next generation sequencing panel was performed, analyzing the patient's tumor for actionable mutations in 50 genes commonly associated with human cancers. Identification of a point mutation in PDGFRA  enabled accurate diagnosis and provided an option for targeted therapy for this rare tumor.


Highly perfect films (>1 cm2) of ∼200 gauss bubble domain materials are obtained by liquid phase epitaxy techniques using growth rates as fast as 2 μm/min. Rapid film growth combined with rotation of horizontally held substrates at ∼300 rpm and a low thermal gradient have been found to minimize problems related to precipitation of a second phase and compositional drift. In this process relatively large rare earth concentrations are employed, requiring operation at a higher temperature. However, a greater working supersaturation can be achieved, permitting rapid film growth. Optimal conditions have been found for the systems (Y,Lu,Ca)3(Ge,Si,Fe)5O12 and related materials containing other rare earth ions, Al and/or Ga on {111} Gd3Ga5O12 substrates. Films containing Ca2+ plus Ge4+ or Si4+ are of particular interest as the M4+ ions have a greater tetrahedral site preference than Ga3+ or Al3+. Outstanding bubble domain properties of these relatively high Curie temperature materials are reported by Geusic et al.


The applications of human factors engineering to the emergency operating procedures (EOPs) of the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant in Mexico are presented. Human factors were considered for the development, validation, implementation, and training of the Laguna Verde EOPs. During the Laguna Verde probabilistic risk assessment, experience was acquired in the area of EOPs. This led to updating and improving the EOPs for the plant; these were validated and installed in the control room and simulator. An EOP training tool has been developed. To further aid the operator in the control room, the Mexican Electric Utility (CFE) will install an integrated computer system. Human factors work is being performed to aid in the determination of the locations of the equipment and the furniture design for the control room.<<ETX>>


Although tetrodotoxin (TTX) is an extremely neuro-toxic compound, its activities have potential applications as medicines. There must be an efficient antidote for this toxin to minimize risks in clinical trial as well as in poisoning from TTX consumption. Therefore, screening for compounds which can neutralize, detoxify the toxicity of TTX or reduce its negative effects is necessary. Previous studies showed that hemolymph from Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda containing TTX binding protein could detoxify TTX in mice. This study investigated for binding protein as well as TTX detoxification capability of Tachypleus tridentatus hemolymph to hypothesize the main role in TTX detoxification. The result of this study illustrated that hemolymph Tachypleus tridentatus with the dose less than 20mg protein per mouse unit showed no capability in TTX detoxification even though there was survival prolong insignificantly. The study also checked hemolymph Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda, showing there was no capability in TTX detoxification. A major protein of hemolymph, purified hemocyanin also had no activity in TTX detoxification. In summary, TTX detoxification in capability in TTX detoxification was not due to hemolymph or hemocyanin


The onset of digital education, propelled by the global COVID-19 crisis, has revolutionized the education sector, presenting unique difficulties, including the crucial task of preserving academic honesty. This study explores the possibilities of computer vision technologies, specifically face recognition and detection systems, to deter dishonest practices in online learning contexts. In this article we aim to construct efficacious strategies that leverage these technologies to track student actions in real-time and alert educators about possible cheating instances. This study presents two innovative models addressing cheating in online learning settings using cutting-edge computer vision techniques. Our initial model is an ensemble learning based face recognition system that blends the functionalities of three different deep learning (DL) structures: VGG, MobileNet, and DenseNet. This ensemble learning approach aims to offset the shortcomings of individual models while amplifying the overall effectiveness. The model's efficiency will be gauged by juxtaposing it with other models and testing its performance against renowned benchmark datasets. Following this, we propose a second model designed for real-time face and cheating detection. This model integrates the FaceMesh model, facial landmarks analysis, and head pose estimation to identify possible cheating behaviors, such as significant shifts from a neutral or forward-facing head position. This model's efficiency will be assessed through testing in simulated cheating scenarios and using authentic data from online learning contexts. Upon testing and validation, our proposed models have shown encouraging outcomes. The ensemble learning model outstripped individual models by attaining a remarkable accuracy rate of 91% through soft voting. Furthermore, the face detection system showcased sturdy abilities in recognizing faces under diverse conditions and accurately pinpointed potential cheating behaviors based on head pose estimation.


The small paper Casts which are lying on the table are impressions of the epigraphs that are attached to the line of captive figures sculptured on the great triumphal Tablet of Behistun; and the two large sheets which are suspended against the side wall of the room are from the same locality. This rock of Behistun is a very remarkable natural object on the high road between Ecbatana and Babylon. It was probably in the very earliest times invested with a holy character; for the Greek physician, Ctesias, who must have visited this spot in the fourth century before Christ, ascribes the most remarkable of the antiquities that were to be found there to the Assyrian queen Semiramis; and Isidore of Charax confirms this tradition of the country in his notice of the column and figure of Semiramis, at the city of Baptana, in the district of Cambadene. Now I believe Semiramis to have been altogether a mythic personage. In the historical inscriptions of Nineveh there is no trace either of Ninus or Semiramis; but both the names are probably to be recognised in the Pantheon. A very remarkable bas-relief at Behistun, which contains the full face of a colossal female figure, and which is evidently far more ancient than the tablet of Darius Hystaspes, represents, I think, the object mentioned by Isidore; and in front of the bas-relief are the remains, now barely distinguishable from the masses of rock by which they are surrounded, of the enormous pillar which stood contiguous to the shrine of the goddess, and which was doubtless an object of worship.


The utility model provides a spherical cryogenic liquid storage facility, which is characterized in that spherical vessels are adopted for the cryogenic storage vessels under pressure with an outside cold insulation structure. The cold insulation structure is selected from following ones, the first one (1) is the spherical vessel with an external added cylindrical casing or polygonal casing, the second one (2) has a spherical shell with jacket space which is highly vacuumized, and the third one (3) is a large site-fabricated double-layer spherical container, the interlayer of which is vaccumized and is filled with perlites. The utility model resolves the problems of the large cryogenic storage vessels, adopts the storage facility which takes the spherical container as the main body, and adopts the effective cold insulation structure and measures. The utility model is particularly applied to liquid storage under pressure at -100DEG C to -196DEG C.


Little information exists about the concentration and temporal variations of organic components in Antarctic precipitation. We present results of TOC (total organic carbon) analyses from snowpits that were sampled on alpine glaciers in the Taylor Valley, Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, at ∼78°S. The snowpits represent snow accumulation from the 1990s and the TOC concentrations are very low; most of the analysis yielded values below 8 μM. These values are some of the lowest ever reported for precipitation or snowpack and indicate that TOC in glacial snow in coastal Antarctica is little influenced by terrestrial and anthropogenic emissions of organic carbon. The sources of the TOC are still not known, however the TOC variation is negatively correlated to Cl− and the other major ions in the snow suggesting a different source or timing of deposition than the seasalt aerosols and terrestrial dust.


Diagnostic medical ultrasound transducers have evolved through the years and have contributed significantly to improved patient care. This article discusses the history and types of transducers and the elements that have changed over time. There has been a sharp transition from natural to human-made elements and from one to many in a single transducer. Ergonomics also now plays a role in transducer design and will continue to do so; the grip, weight, and size of transducers are in the forefront of design considerations. The evolution of transducers has changed not only how well we visualize anatomy and what anatomy we see but also how the patient's care is managed. Different, new, and emerging technologies certainly will continue to be identified within the sonography community.


Many animals, and all plants and fungi, produce vegetative offspring, i.e. descendant individuals that originate from mitotic, rather than meiotic, cell lineages. Many animals, and all plants and fungi, produce vegetative offspring, i.e. descendant individuals that originate from mitotic, rather than meiotic, cell lineages. The overall purpose of this work is to increase our understanding of the evolutionary process in such lineages of asexual individuals. Specifically, I analyze cell dynamics and evolution in meristems. I investigate under what conditions mutant cell lineages in such meristems may have evolutionary significance. In the of absence of spatial constraints, e.g. in an unstratified shoot apical meristem, the probability of a mutant cell lineage, deleterious and advantageous rapidly reaching fixation is high. In the presence of spatial constraints, e.g. in a stratified shoot apical meristem, mutant lineages are efficiently purged. The occasional establishment of advantageous mutant lineages may give rise to long lived intraorganismal genetic heterogeneity. In multicellular mitotic lineages, e.g long lived and large modular organisms, such heterogeneity may play an important role in their ecology and evolution. The dynamics of the lineages in such heterogeneous organisms is a complex proces governed by selection presures and constraints at various levels of organization. One such xcomponent is the spatial arrangement of the lineages. I show that the fitness of the organism will strongly depend on, not only its size and proportion mutant modules, but also the spatial arrangement of the modules. (Less)


The effect of different levels of compression (A1 = 420 gdm-1, A2 = 560
 gdm-1) and inoculation (B1 = no inoculant, B2 = with inoculant) on changes in
 chemical composition, proteolysis and quality of lucerne silage was
 investigated in this paper. Based on the results of chemical analysis we
 found that in silages with more compressed material there was a reduction in
 the amount of ammonia nitrogen, soluble nitrogen and acetic acid, and
 increased content of protein nitrogen ('true'protein) and production of
 lactic acid (p<0.05). With the inoculation of the ensiling material the
 production of ammonia nitrogen and acetic acid was reduced but the content of
 lactic acid and acidity was increased (p<0.05). The interaction of both
 investigated factors (A×B) induced a decrease in the proteolysis degree,
 increase of lactic acid production and decrease in acetic acid production,
 and decrease in pH values (p<0.001) in investigated silages. The investigated
 factors had less influence on the chemical composition of lucerne material,
 and the significant variations were observed in fat and NFE contents. On the
 basis of this investigation the degree of compression is the most important
 parameter in ensiling technology. With the adequate compression and reduction
 of air in the starting material, the aerobic phase is reduced and the
 activity of proeolytic enzymes is decreased. In practice the special
 attention should be given to factors on which directly or indirectly the
 level of compression of ensiled material depends: wilting, cutting, object
 selection and/or selection of machines used for compression.


The association of community factors and outcomes after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has not been comprehensively described. Using the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps (CHRR) and the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR), this study evaluated the impact of community health status on allogeneic HCT outcomes.


The central assertion of this article is that child psychoanalysts have been moving toward relational theory and practice in recent years. However, the lingering influence of drive theory and associated analytic technique is evident in a common tendency to ignore the impact on the patient of what the analyst does and says in the analytic interaction.


Critical thinking is an ability that has a specific purpose for empowering thinking activities in science education and other disciplines. This study aims to determine student perceptions of applying the Research Based Learning in training student's critical thinking skills. This research is quantitative descriptive. This type of research is used to analyze data by describe or describe the data that has been collected as it is. The population in this study were all students of biology education, Riau University, while the sample in this study were biology education students in semester 3 of class A who took Biology Learning Media courses. The sampling technique is through purposive sampling. The instrument used is a student response questionnaire and observation sheets that emphasizes the description of the achievement of critical thinking indicators according to Marzano and interview sheets. The questionnaire data were analyzed by calculating the percentage of student responses and the interview data were analyzed qualitatively. The result showed that students gave a positive response to the Research Based Learning in training students' critical thinking skills by 94% and were in the very good category. The indicators of "open thinking" and "able to provide ideas" are critical thinking indicators that get responses reaching 100%. In line with the observation results that the indicator "able to provide ideas" obtained the highest percentage, namely 88% in the very good category. Each stage in the Research Based Learning in this study provides opportunities for students to develop their critical thinking skills. The results of this study can be used as a reference for developing research-based learning strategies in other subjects.


Simple Summary Many bilateral breast cancer patients with increased hereditary susceptibility to breast cancer result negative for BRCA1 or BRCA2 pathogenic variants and, thus, need a further genetic testing through a broader gene panel. Some patients with negative test result for BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants may harbor pathogenic variants in other breast cancer susceptibility genes, including ATM, CHEK2, PALB2, PTEN, TP53. Of course, the use of a multi-gene panel provides clinicians more information through a single test. Therefore, we focused on potential clinical impact of a NGS-based multi-gene panel testing in bilateral breast cancer patients, in order to evaluate the utility of perform a most comprehensive genetic analysis in these subjects, regardless the criteria concerning personal and family history of cancer established by the current guidelines. Our study revealed that the use of a NGS-based multiple-gene panel testing could increase the detection rates of germline alterations in bilateral breast cancer patients. Abstract Patients with unilateral breast cancer (UBC) have an increased risk of developing bilateral breast cancer (BBC). The annual risk of contralateral BC is about 0.5%, but increases by up to 3% in BRCA1 or BRCA2 pathogenic variant (PV) carriers. Our study was aimed to evaluate whether all BBC patients should be offered multi-gene panel testing, regardless their cancer family history and age at diagnosis. We retrospectively collected all clinical information of 139 BBC patients genetically tested for germline PVs in different cancer susceptibility genes by NGS-based multi-gene panel testing. Our investigation revealed that 52 (37.4%) out of 139 BBC patients harbored germline PVs in high- and intermediate-penetrance breast cancer (BC) susceptibility genes including BRCA1, BRCA2, PTEN, PALB2, CHEK2, ATM, RAD51C. Nineteen out of 53 positively tested patients harbored a PV in a known BC susceptibility gene (no-BRCA). Interestingly, in the absence of an analysis performed via multi-gene panel, a significant proportion (14.4%) of PVs would have been lost. Therefore, offering a NGS-based multi-gene panel testing to all BBC patients may significantly increase the detection rates of germline PVs in other cancer susceptibility genes beyond BRCA1/2, avoiding underestimation of the number of individuals affected by a hereditary tumor syndrome.


This report summarizes an investigation of the thermal issues related to the National Ignition Facility. In particular, the influences of the HVAC system and lighting fixtures on the operational performance of the laser guide beam tubes are reviewed and discussed. An analytical model of the oscillating HVAC air temperatures in the NIF switchyard and target bay will cause significant amounts of beam distortion. However, these negative effects can be drastically reduced by adding thermal insulation to the outside of the beam tubes. A computational fluid dynamics model and an analytical investigation found that the light-fixture to beam-tube separation distance must be on the order of 5.7 m (18.7 ft) to maintain acceptable beam operating performance in the current NIF design. By reducing the fluorescent light fixture power by 33% this separation distance can be reduced to 3.5 m (11.5 ft). If in addition, thermal insulation with a reflective aluminum foil covering is added to the outside of the beam tubes, the separation distance can be reduced further to 1.6m (5.2 ft). A 1.27 cm (0.5 in.) rigid foam insulation sheet with aluminum foil covering will provide adequate insulation for the beam tubes in the NIF switchyards and target bay. Themore » material cost for this amount of insulation would be roughly $30,000.« less


The general solution to low-energy string theory representing static spherically symmetric solution of the Einstein-Maxwell gravity with a massless scalar field has been found. Some of the partial cases appear to coincide with known solutions to black holes, naked singularities, and gravity and electromagnetic fields.


This paper deals with the study of the behavior of stand alone wind energy converters (WEC) based on permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). First, the WEC chain is described and the model of each component of the conversion set is studied. At this stage, a special attention is given to incorporate the saturation effect in the PMSG model. Then, the obtained model is used to analyze the dynamic behavior of this WEC face to typical wind site profile and a variable electrical load. The obtained results help the authors to analyze the WEC performances as well as the impact of the generator saturation on the power conversion


Metal complexes of formula M 2 (CTH) 2 (DHBQ)Y 2 (M=Mn, Fe, Ni; CTH=dl-5,7,7,12,14,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane; Y=ClO 4 , PF 6 ) have been obtained by reaction of the appropriate M(CHT) 2+ cation and 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone (H 2 DHBQ) in alkaline medium. The coupling between the metal ions is weakly antiferromagnetic. On the basis of IR, electronic, EPR, and Mossbauer spectra, evidence is found that these compounds contain the radical species DHBQ 3− bridging the tripositive metal ions


Pompe disease, a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by a deficiency of acid alpha-glucosidase, results in lysosomal accumulation of glycogen in multiple tissues, primarily affecting muscles. Infantile- onset Pompe disease is characterised by generalised muscle weakness, hypotonia and lethal cardiomyopathy, resulting in death within the first year of life. The advent of enzyme replacement therapy has changed the natural history of the disease. We report our experience of the use of recombinant human acid alpha-glucosidase in the treatment of two Chinese patients with infantile-onset Pompe disease in Hong Kong.


The aim of this study is to highlight the capabilities of Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) in the domain of Fault Detection and Isolation (FDI) in DC/DC converter. Reliable electrical supplying systems are those which can provide continuously electrical energy to the consumers. This continuity requires fault free processes during all the phases of energy production, transfer and conversion. In order to achieve a fault free process it is mandatory to have an FDI system that holds on the faulty cases. In this study a Bayesian Naive Classifier (BNC) structure was selected and used as a first attempt to use BBNs for DC/DC power converter FDI.


Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) have been shown to mimic endogenous hormones. The exposure to EDC involves risk to reprocluctive organs is well documented, but the influence of EDC on emotional develepment has not been studied. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the influence of EDC on aggression in male mice. From gestation days 11-17, female mice were fed bisphenol A at 2 nglg of body weight or 20 nglg. Aggressive evaluation and blood sampling of the offspring (n=76) were done at 8, 12, and 16 weeks of age, Aggression scores increased significantly (p<e.Ol) at 8 weeks of age in male mice exposed to bisphenol A at 2ng/g and 20nglg concentrations compared with a control group, but no difference was found after 12 weeks. Testis weight/g body weight was significantly (p<O,05, p<O.Ol) lower at 8 and 12 weeks in mice treated at 2 ng!g than in the controls. Serum testosterone concentration in mice treated with bisphenol A was not different than that of the controls, These results demonstrate that bisphenol A temporarily activates male aggressive behavior at the beginning of puberty and that low doses of bisphenol A interfere with the normal development of reproductive organs. The mechanism activating this aggressive behavior was not testosterone concentration. Kley worris : fetal, bisphenol A, mouse, aggression ' Department of Psychesematic Medicine, Graduate Scheol of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University (MOiling Address : Keisuke Kawai, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan) " CREST (Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology) .JST (Japan Science and Technology) Jbfi ve・2002 iP5E・za 42 ts rg5g 287


Introduction: While the diagnosis of endometriosis is relatively common, thoracic endometriosis is a rare manifestation. Thoracic Endometriosis Syndrome (TES) most commonly presents with pneumothorax, 3% which are bilateral, making this case unique in the already limited breadth of TES with catamenial hemopneumothorax. Additionally, this patient had laboratory values constant with ovarian suppression yet continued menses and recurrent hemopneumothorax, necessitating surgical intervention. We propose that with this severity of disease a combination of surgical intervention and hormonal therapy is the ideal approach, providing the lowest rate of recurrence. Case description: A 33 year old woman with 2-day history of chest pain and shortness of breath with heavy menstrual cycles and significant dysmenorrhea. A chest radiograph and computed tomography scan revealed right-sided pneumothorax and bilateral hemothoraces with left-sided diaphragmatic hernia. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery confirmed sanguinous pleural effusions and biopsy proven endometriotic lesions. The patient was started on a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist and experienced short-interval recurrence of her symptoms. An aromatase inhibitor was added to her regimen and she underwent a left diaphragmatic hernia repair. Conclusions: The recurrence of symptoms despite complete hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis suppression, in addition to the surgical requirements and findings make this case unique in the already limited breadth of thoracic endometriosis syndrome with catamenial hemopneumothorax.


This paper explores whether adopting an "executive framework" makes educational psychologists' (EPs) practice more efficient and effective. Whilst many EPs understand and value executive frameworks in theory, explicit use of such tools may not be fully integrated into their day-to-day practice. Why this might be is considered. Critical analysis of the literature has shown that executive frameworks could be useful for making practice more efficient and effective due to their flexible, adaptable and non-prescriptive nature. However, factors such as EP time and experience may have more influence over whether such frameworks will be used. It is concluded that, while executive frameworks may enable the EP to work effectively and efficiently, whether they are explicitly and routinely applied in practice remains open to further exploration.


A method for supporting the edge of the concrete used in the process of lifting the lifting support member anchor member, the anchor member comprises a finger engageable with a lifting system for a body portion and a head portion embedded in the concrete member, wherein, said support having a concrete member during casting the casting surface of the support with respect to the edge of the lifting surface anchor.


For our work in the robotics domain, we have concentrated on integrating spoken natural language and natural gesture for command and control of a semi-autonomous mobile robot. We have assumed that both spoken natural language and natural gesture are more user-friendly means of interacting with a mobile robot, and from the human standpoint, such interactions are easier, given that the human is not required to learn additional interactions, but can rely on "natural" ways of communication. So-called "synthetic" methods, such as data gloves, require additional learning; however, this is not the case with natural language and natural gesture. We, therefore, rely on what is natural to both spoken language when it is used in conjunction with natural gestures for giving commands. Furthermore, we have been integrating these interactions with the robotics components as the robotics system is being developed. The interface is not treated as an ad hoc add-on or patch. By doing so, we believe the interface will be more robust and because it is being integrated during system development, we hope to achieve a more seamless interface, one which both acts and feels as an integral part of the robotics application. We discuss the kinds of interactions which our system is currently capable of performing. We also discuss the processing of the various input to produce an appropriate robotic response, and finally, we discuss what future kinds of interactions we would like to incorporate into the system, and what will be required to achieve these results.


1. Phosphorus (P) release from bottom sediments is an important source of nutrient enrichment in many lakes in sedimentary basins, such as those in western Canada. On the Boreal Plain, sediment P release is particularly strong during periods of seasonal anoxia.

2. In this study, the effects of reduction–oxidation (redox)-sensitive and -insensitive chemicals on P release were examined in sediment cores collected from three eutrophic lakes.

3. Contrary to expectations, redox-sensitive treatments were no more effective at lowering total phosphorus (TP) in sediment cores than some redox-insensitive treatments. Redox-sensitive treatments with FeCl3 and FeCl3 + O2 reduced TP to 8 and 6%, respectively, of reference concentrations, whereas redox-insensitive treatments with alum or lime + alum reduced TP to 14% of reference concentrations. Lime and O2 treatments reduced TP concentrations to 35 and 52% of reference concentrations, respectively.

4. The fraction of P that adsorbed and co-precipitated with iron and aluminium in the sediment cores was low (non-apatite phosphorus fractions < 5%), suggesting that P release was controlled by apatite solubility and bacterial metabolism.


A apparatus, system, and method for dispensing/mixing a small quantity of liquid. The apparatus for dispensing/mixing a small quantity of liquid comprises: a fluid drive unit having a fluid drive device (5) and used for driving at a specific flow rate the propulsion of a first liquid (8) in a micro-pipe (1) connected to the fluid drive device (5) towards the outlet end of said micro-pipe (1); and mechanical movement units (6, 7), used for controlling the movement in at least one dimension of the micro-pipe (1) and/or a container (2) containing a second liquid (9) to match the starting and stopping of the fluid drive device (5), such that the outlet end of the micro-pipe (1) is inserted into and withdrawn from the second liquid (9), and thus adding a specific volume of the first liquid (8) to the container (2), wherein the first liquid (8) and the second liquid (9) are immiscible. The present apparatus, system, and method, using the interfacial energy and fluid shear stress of the micro liquid during gas-liquid or liquid-liquid interface conversion, overcomes the surface tension and adhesion of the liquid at the micro-pipe (1) outlet, such that a liquid droplet flowing from the pipe outlet of the micro-pipe (1) can smoothly leave the micro-pipe (1). The present apparatus has a simple structure, and is low cost and easy to operate; droplet size can be adjusted, and standardised reaction, filtering, and testing can be conveniently implemented.


Ethiopian children face serious challenges resulting from the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In response to these challenges, the Positive Change: Children, Communities and Care (PC3) program mobilized local communities to address them in seven regions of Ethiopia. This study aims to evaluate the PC3 program reach including the scale of services provided and the extent to which the provided care corresponded to the identified needs. It also assesses whether and how the program enhanced the capacity of local community-based organizations (CBOs) to respond to the needs of vulnerable children. The study team employed a mixed-method approach, assessing program reach through record review of services provided to children (n = 247,461), and assessing community capacity development through 11 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with leaders from four randomly selected local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and seven CBOs. Of all children included in the program, 88% needed at least one service and 97% of these children received at least one, whereas 55% had at least one un-met need. Further, 29% of children received services for needs which were not identified. Interviews indicated that the PC3 program mobilized and transformed local communities to address multiple needs of children. Community involvement and ownership of the program helped leverage partner resources to meet the needs of children in their communities. The PC3 program can provide a model for other communities in Sub-Saharan African countries with similar challenges. The impact of the PC3 program may have been understated due to underreporting. The research indicated that the program underutilized program data for the purposes of program management, assessment, and improvement. Improvement in this area would have enhanced this highly effective community mobilization model.


The aim of this paper is to get a good approximation of damping properties of viscoelastic damped sandwich structures. Firstly we will compare the classical models based on the kinematics of Kirchhoff‐Love, Mindlin, Reddy or Touratier. In the second stage these models are used to establish the zig‐zag models which describe a piecewise continuous displacement field. These models are compared in the static and the dynamic fields. In all cases the Finite‐Element‐based solution is considered as reference. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


In this paper, DS-UWB systems will be employed in dispersive channels. Due to the serious dispersive effect of multipath channels, DS-UWB systems with equalization are also considered. We propose an MMSE equalizer for solving the intersymbol interference (ISI), and this equalizer needs no statistical measurement. We also consider an equalizer of only essential partial taps to reduce the complexity of filter, and the simulation results show that the resulted performance is almost the same as the filter of all taps. The simulation of bit-error probability of DS-UWB systems in the dispersive channel verifies the analysis


OBJECTIVE: To examine the mental health of 12 to 18 year-old adolescent population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A mental health household survey was carried out in a sample randomly selected from two areas of Las Delicias, District of Moche, Trujillo City, Peru: 32 subjects from Taquila (a rural area) and 43 from the North Zone (an area in process of urbanization). RESULTS: Problems related to substance abuse, mainly alcohol, were more predominant in Taquila while symptoms of distress and depression with lower family and social support were evident in the North Zone; the differences between the two subsamples were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Stressors related to the described problems are probably immerse in the macrovariables associated to the urbanization process of that population.


During 5th & 6th century BC, sweet taste of urine in polyuric patient was described in Sanskrit (Indian) literature by Susruta, charaka, Vagbhata and the disease was named "Madhumeha". They described that the urine of these patients tasted like honey (madhu), sticky to touch and Ants were strongly attracted to it. To correlate the blood sugar level with clinical manifestation of diabetic peripheral neuropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus. The study includes all type 2 diabetic patients who attended the department of medicine, ADICHUNCHANAGIRI INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES. This study period was from JANUARY 2016 to DECEMBER 2016 with 100 sample size. Majority of patients were in the age group > 70years. Out of 100 patients studied, 50 patients were male and 50 patients were females. Peripheral neuropathy was more commonly seen in male (42 cases) compared to female (37 cases). Increased duration of diabetes had significant relation to Neuropathy. Out of the 100 diabetic neuropathy patients 18 patients had good control (18%) and 28 patients had fair control (28%) and 54 patient had poor control of blood sugars (54%). Symptoms pertaining to the involvement of the nervous system due to diabetes mellitus were further analyzed in all 100 cases. Sensory involvements were seen in 72 cases and motor involvement in 31 cases. Diabetic neuropathy is common complication of Diabetes mellitus. It is generally considered to be related to duration and severity of hyperglycemia, usually more than 50% of patients with the duration of diabetes of 25yrs or more are affected, making it as the most common disease of Nervous system. It is well known that Diabetes mellitus is rising in an epidemic proportion in Indian subcontinent, prevalence of Diabetic Neuropathy in type -2DM of this country was reported to be 17 to 19% and that of Automatic Neuropathy of 35% of peripheral neuropathy cases.


Abstract: Breast maximum cancers is maximum cancers that office work withinside the cells of the breasts. After pores and pores and skin maximum cancers, breast maximum cancers is the most common location maximum cancers identified in girls withinside the United States. Breast maximum cancers can get up in every men and girls, but it's far more now no longer unusualplace in girls. Substantial resource for breast maximum cancers popularity and research funding has helped created advances withinside the evaluation and treatment of breast maximum cancers. Breast maximum cancers survival costs have increased, and the amount of deaths associated with this sickness is regularly declining, in big element due to factors along with earlier detection, a state-of-the-art custom designed approach to treatment and a better data of the sickness. Machine reading (ML) is a form of artificial intelligence (AI) allowing program application applications to emerge as more accurate at predicting results without the need of programmed to do so. Machine reading algorithms use anciental records as input to anticipate new output values.


Background: Patients with severe aphasia are underrepresented in randomized clinical trials because of difficulties getting an informed consent. We wanted to know, if the presence of a severe aphasia influences benefit or risk from thrombolytic therapy. Methods: Retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected dataset of patients treated with thrombolytic therapy. For this analysis we included every patient with a supratentorial infarction treated with rtPA or thrombectomy between 1998 and 2011. Aphasia was graded at admission following item 9 of the NIHSS by an experienced speech-and-language-pathologist. All patients were treated following institutional SOP at an ICU or a certified stroke unit. Outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin scale (mRS) three months after treatment; good clinical outcome was defined as mRS 0-2. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) was defined as in ECASS2. Univariate (Fisher's exact or Mann-Whitney U tests) and multivariate (logistic regression) analyses were applied using outcome parameters as dependent and those variables having a p-value of Results: Overall 1.345 patients were analyzed: 645 had no, 76 mild, 190 moderate and 433 a severe aphasia. After adjustment for sex, side of infarction, type of treatment, hypertension, diabetes, CAD, atrial fibrillation, age, NIHSSc presence of severe aphasia was negative predictive for a good clinical outcome (OR 0.46; 95%CI 0.33-0.65; p Conclusion: In this analysis we discovered that patients with severe aphasia had a lower chance of being clinically independent after thrombolytic therapy and had a higher mortality compared to patients with no or mild aphasia. This is probably due to the involvement of larger brain areas - especially cortical territories - in patients with severe aphasia.


This present paper summarizes applying weld overlay repair on the feedwater nozzle in a boiling water reactor, and evaluates the influence on the structure and fracture mechanics of the component. The requirements for utilizing a full structural weld overlay, including the weld overlay design, effects of welding residual stresses (WRSs), impacts of weld shrinkage, prediction of potential flaw growth, and influence on ASME Code Section III design evaluations, are further defined in ASME Code Case N-504–2. In order to confirm the effectiveness of the weld overlay design of the nozzle, the WRSs following overlay installation were determined using engineering simulation software. The impacts of weld shrinkage from overlay welding are also addressed. The shrinkage stresses were evaluated via a numerical model of the attached piping system to ensure the design margins of the pipe structure. Since the weld overlay technique is well known to be effective in mitigating crack initiation or cracking to leakage, a fatigue crack growth prediction under ASME Code Section XI must be conducted to address the fatigue qualification of the affected component. The ASME Code Section III construction qualification of the whole nozzle region must consider the applicable thermal transient stresses, structural discontinuities, and bimetallic effects that are caused by the weld overlay. This investigation proves that the current stress analyses of the nozzle and the pipe structure are not significantly affected by the added overlay mass, so the structural integrity of the component can be ensured, meeting the requirements of ASME Code Case N-504–2.


Hospitality, with its varying rites, its local and cultural variations - whether itis considered a virtue or an obligation - always involves welcoming an 'other', a stranger, 'a foreign body' into one's own space. This has its inherent dangers as there is always the possibility that the guest will turn on the host, exploiting the host's generosity or attempting to usurp the host's position. As Myriam Roman and Anne Tomiche point out in the introduction to Figures du parasite, ambivalence is fundamental to the nature of hospitality - and, precisely because the parasitical relationship embodies the most ambivalent relationship between guest and host, 'Ie parasite est l'element indispensable pour interroger les ambivalences de l'hospitalit6' (Roman and Tomiche, 33). This essay will focus on the relationship between guest and host in three films which portray French society through the issue of hospitality. While these three films are from different eras (Renoir's La Regie dujeu, made in the troubled months just before the Second World War; Claude Chabrol's New Wave classic from 1959, Les Cousins; and Karim Dridi' s 1995 postcolonial film Bye Bye) they are all grounded in periods of crisis and/or transition in French history where the distinction between guest and host blurs or breaks down, making it difficult to assess whether a perceived threat to French society comes from within or without. La Regie dujeu is set on the eve of the Second World War in 1939 and reflects not only Renoir's disgust with the outcome ofthe Munich agreements that carved up Czechoslovakia, but also with the state of mind of French society as his country drifted inexorably toward war. Chabrol' s film, which came out twenty years later, is one ofthe founding films of the New Wave, coinciding with de Gaulle's return to power in the wake of growing unrest in Algeria, the creation of the Fifth Republic, and the first phase ofthe dissolution of France , s colonial empire. Karim Dridi' s Bye Bye grows out of another period of cultural transition, during which French society has had to confront the difficulty of assimilating African immigrant populations with different cultural norms, as well as second-generation immigrants who have grown up between two cultures. While Bye Bye is only one example of what might arguably be called a transitional, rather than a peripheral genre, 'Beur cinema', Dridi's film explicitly focuses on hospitality, and notably two crucial moments in the rites of hospitality: the guests' arrival and their departure. The first part of the essay will concentrate on the parasitical relationship which, as Michel Serres has argued in Le Parasite, plays a crucial role in the diverse systems and institutions that make up human society. The second part of the essay will treat the relationship between guests and hosts in Renoir and Chabrol's films, considering them


The integration of behavioral health into the primary care setting provides an opportunity for psychologists to improve care for the treatment of depression. In this study, a pilot program was created integrating psychologists into 4 medical centers. Results indicated a significant improvement in depressive symptoms and health status, and an improvement in overall antidepressant medication adherence. Physicians were highly satisfied with the integrated program. To guide behavioral health specialists considering work in the primary care setting, a description of the program and a discussion of the lessons learned from the project are provided.


This paper presents a sound detection method for analyzing the central frequency and amplitude of the CNC machine resonant signals generated by the CNC milling process. In this study using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) in spectral measurement and using a microphone reveals as a sound detector during milling process in the LabView embedded system with the results of displaying frequency and amplitude graphs to see the mass production quality of the CNC milling conditions. It is real time embedded system to analyze the condition of operated CNC milling machines.


Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy, on April 25, 1874, the second son of Giuseppe Marconi, an Italian country gentleman, and Annie Jameson, daughter of Andrew Jameson of Daphne Castle in the County Wexford, Ireland [1]. He was educated privately in Bologna, Florence, and Leghorn. Even as a boy, he took a keen interest in physical and electrical science and studied the works of Maxwell and Hertz. In 1895, he began laboratory experiments at his father's country estate at Pontecchio, where he succeeded in sending wireless signals over a distance of 1.5 mi.


The study has recorded the Hoverfly parasite Diplazon laetatorius (Fabricius, 1781) for the first time in Iraq. The material examined was from Karbala city, with coordinates 32.6068° N, 44.0104° E, 14.4.2019, 4 ♀. This ichneumonid wasp is imported for the biological control of pests. It is vital to increase awareness among Iraqi growers about the benefits of this ichneumonid wasp and probably included it in IPM.


I have ambition to compose a circle of electro-acoustic pieces like the Suite in the Baroque Music. The first piece is meant to be a Preludium of Changing Five Elements: Metal (Golden), Wood, Water, Fire and Earth.
The Changing of five Elements IV just finished at ZKM Karlsruhe in the recent 2 weeks. I focus on the water (very few wind, thunder, my chorus piece…) from water drips, stoppers go to stream, river…… in the middle comes rain with thunder, lake, ocean, at the end I quote the sound of la Fountaine de Vaucluse France, the river Aare Bern Schwitzland and Gio-qu River Wu-yi Mountai China. La Fountain Vaucluse made a deep impression on me 26 years ago, when I took a excursion by C.R.O.U.S French Government. For me it's like a symphony of Beethoven, Schumann…. The second Aare Bern I just took a trip with my family to swiss, the joyfull, clean and green water, I envy I could jump and swim in the river too. The last scenery Gio-qu River (means nine curves), the tourists site on Bamboos boot and sailing down with bamboos stalk, last chorus from my piece "la dance de dieu" poem by Li-bio, as my signature at the end of piece.
The sound materials are very far transformed by software AudioSculpture, Audacity, Peak etc. All the materials were composed with software Pro Tools.


The behaviour of the LMS adaptive algorithm is analyzed for a class of adaptive filters that is based on a cascade of identical N-th order all-pass sections. The well-known tapped-delay-line is a special case of this class. We look at the rate of convergence and the steady-state weight fluctuations. It is shown that in the steady state the weight-error correlation matrix satisfies a Lyapounov equation for sufficiently small values of the step-size. Sometimes a priori knowledge of the unknown reference system is available that can be used to select the N parameters of the all-pass section. In these cases the LMS adaptive filter based on a cascade of identical all-pass sections can outperform the LMS adaptive tapped-delay-line.


Neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis (NCL) is a heterogeneous and rare lysosomal storage disorder characterized by the accumulation of autofluorescent materials—ceroid and lipofuscin—in the cytoplasm.1 It is manifested as a progressive destruction of neuronal cells resulting in brain atrophy, loss of vision, and other neurodegenerative phenotypes.1 Over 446 mutations in different genes have been cataloged in the NCL mutation database (ucl.ac.uk/ncl/mutation). The overlapping phenotypes and involvement of multiple genes indicate the difficulty in the accurate diagnosis of NCLs.2 The genetic characterization using whole exome sequencing approach can accurately diagnose NCLs.3,4 We report a phenotypically inconclusive case of a rare occurrence of NCL in siblings and identified a mutation in CTSD using whole exome sequencing.


The geomorphology of the Copper River Watershed in southeast Alaska is dominated by glacial and periglacial processes, which drive the ecology of aquatic organisms in the Copper River and its many tributaries. Glacial-fed rivers are typically found in high-altitudes or high latitudes. They exhibit distinctly different riverine ecosystems than the more common and frequently studied non-glacial river systems. Aquatic biota within glacial-fed rivers have adapted to a wide array of channel forms. The success of any given species is intimately tied to its ability to utilize a continually changing mosaic of available habitat. Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus) have adapted to glacial-fed rivers by utilizing spatially and temporally variable niches at various stages of the freshwater portion of their lifecycles. This paper will explore the physical habitat of salmonids in the glacial Copper River watershed. Physical habitat is defined and explained within the context of the hydrogeomorphic processes that create it. Physical habitat typing schemes are discussed and the River-Styles framework (Thomson et al. 2001; Brierley and Fryirs 2000) is modified for use in glacial river systems. Examples of characterization of the physical habitats thought to exist in the Copper River watershed are provided to illustrate the importance of classifying habitat at multiple spatial scales.


The invention relates to a silicon dioxide hollow sphere/polymer composite heat insulating material and a method for preparing the same. The composite material comprises a polymer substrate and submicron, agglomeration-free and monodisperse silicon dioxide hollow spheres evenly dispersed in the substrate, wherein the polymer substrate is a substrate of epoxy, polyurethane or polyethylene terephthalate; and for the submicron silicon dioxide hollow spheres, the hollow internal diameter is between 100 and 720nm, the thickness of the outer wall is between 50 and 100nm, and the weight of the submicron silicon dioxide hollow spheres is 1 to 35 percent of that of the polymer substrate. In the method, powder of the submicron, agglomeration-free and monodisperse silicon dioxide hollow sphere is prepared first; the powder is modified by the surface modifying technology; and finally, the modified powder is combined with the polymer taken as the substrate. The composite heat insulating material shows excellent heat insulating property, and the heat insulating property shows size-dependent characteristics in a rang of submicron. Moreover, because an organic foaming agent is not used in the preparation process, the composite heat insulating material is environment-friendly.


Plasma accelerators sustain extreme field gradients, and potentially enable future compact linear colliders. Although tremendous progress has been achieved in accelerating electron beams in a plasma accelerator, positron acceleration with collider-relevant parameters is challenging. A recently proposed positron acceleration scheme relying on the wake generated by an electron drive beam in a plasma column has been shown to be able to accelerate positron witness beams with low emittance and low energy spread. However, since this scheme relies on cylindrical symmetry, it is possibly prone to transverse instabilities that could lead, ultimately, to beam break-up. In this article, we show that the witness beam itself is subject to various damping mechanisms and, therefore, this positron acceleration scheme is inherently stable towards misalignment of the drive and witness beams. This enables stable, high-quality plasma-based positron acceleration.


The methods of integral equations numerical solving are proposed. These methods combine both deterministic and statistic operations. Like when using deterministic methods, the problem is reduced to solving a set of algebraic equations. But approximation of the integral by finite sum is performed by means of the Monte Carlo method.


A series of areneboronic acids were studied by NMR spectroscopy. Increments for the 1H and 13C chemical shifts caused by the boronic acid substituent B(OH)2 in areneboronic acids were determined. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Describes the development and activities of BIASLIC, the Britain and Ireland Association of Aquatic Science Libraries, including the formation of EURASLIC, the European Association of Aquatic Sciences Libraries and Information Centres, and the provision of UK input into the Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (AFSA). BIASLIC maintains links with several international agencies as well as providing its members with a support network and a collective voice. At a recent conference, concern was voiced about changes in the structure and funding of aquatic science research and the adverse effect this is having on library staffing. BIASLIC's new Web site aims to become a focal point for disseminating information about its activities and about developments in the UK and Irish information sector.


C-repeat binding factor- (CBF-) dependent signaling pathway is proposed to be a key responder to low temperature stress in plant. Jasmonates (JAs), the endogenous signal molecules in plant, participate in plant defense against (a)biotic stresses; however, the mechanism has not been fully clarified so far. With the progress made in JAs biopathway, signal transduction, and their relationship with CBF-dependent signaling pathway, our knowledge of the roles of the CBF-dependent signaling pathway in JAs-mediated improvement of chilling tolerance accumulates. In this review, we firstly briefly review the chilling injury (CI) characteristics of postharvest horticultural commodities, then introduce the biopathway and signal transduction of JAs, subsequently summarize the roles of the CBF-dependent signaling pathway under low temperature stress, and finally describe the linkage between JAs signal transduction and the CBF-dependent signaling pathway.