Bilingual development is of scientific interest for (at least) two reasons: It is an experiment that tests the human language acquisition capacity, and it is a widespread social phenomenon with poorly understood consequences for children. Oller and Eilers's book is of scientific interest for both these reasons as well. In the mid to late 1990s, Oller, Eilers, and their colleagues in the Miami, F lorida area undertook a massive investigation of the effects of bilingualism and bilingual education, studying over 900 children in the MiamiDade county public schools. They assessed the oral language and literacy skills of U.S. born monolingual and bilingual children in Kingergarten (5-year-olds), second grade (seven-year-olds), and fifth grade (10-year-olds). The study was masterfully designed and executed. Because the Hispanic population of South Florida is well represented across social strata, the study provided for a comparison of monolingual and bilingual children unconfounded by socioeconomic status (SES). Because the school system has two neighborhood schools that provide two-way bilingual education (with 40% of instruction in Spanish) and other schools that provide bilingual education through English immersion with only a small amount of instruction in Spanish, the effects of these two instructional methods could be compared in samples that were not self-selected. Another unique and valuable aspect of this study is that the bilingual children's skills in both English and Spanish were assessed. This book is a multipart report of this study. Twelve chapters, each authored by one or more members of the research team, present the study in four parts: (1) the background, including a discussion of the political issues surrounding bilingual education, a summary of the previous literature, a description of the design, and a description of the demographics and education system in South F lorida that make the design possible (2) the findings with respect to the children's use of English and Spanish and their levels of proficiency in each language as assessed by standardized tests (3) the results of the investigations using several researcher-designed tasks, which included a study of children's narrative performance in each language, tests of the children's mastery of grammatical devices in each language, and an investigation of the children's skill at a posited measure of phonological awareness, and (4) a summary and conclusions. The book is not an easy read because the issues, the design, and the findings are complex. (The basic design yields a MANOVA table with 38 sources of variance.) The authors do an excellent job, however, 101


Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a distributed software architecture model which use software resource as service on network, realize real platform independence and language independence. This article present summary architecture and designing idea of E-learning system of SOA which created based face service architecture, for example, online testing service registration operation, introduce detail reality method of implement service contract WSDL. E-learning system based on SOA can strengthen real time mutual in teaching, integration varies resources of computer teaching, elevating usage rate of education resource.


JOHN THORNTON, Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1680. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992, 347 pp., ?35.00, ISBN 0 521 39233 0 hard covers; ?13.95, ISBN 0 521 39864 9 paperback. ELIZABETH SAVAGE (ed.), The Human Commodity: perspectives on the trans-Saharan slave trade. London: Frank Cass, 1992, 279 pp., ?25.00, ISBN 0 7146 3469 7. BARBARA L. SOLOW (ed.), Slavery and the Rise of the Atlantic System. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991, 363 pp., ?40.00, ISBN 0 521 40090 2. JOSEPH E. INIKORI and STANLEY E. ENGERMAN (eds.), The Atlantic Slave Trade: effects on economies, societies and peoples in Africa, the Americas and Europe. Durham, (N.C.,) and London: Duke University Press, 1992, 412 pp., ISBN 0 8223 1243 3. PATRICK MANNING, Slavery and African life: occidental, oriental and African slave trades. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990, 245 pp., $14.95 PB & $49.50, ISBN 0 521 34396 8 hard covers, $14.95, ISBN 0 521 34867 6 paperback.


Current handheld Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) can be used to view radiology teaching files. We have developed a toolkit that allows rapid creation of radiology teaching files in handheld formats from existing repositories. Our toolkit incorporated a desktop converter, a web conversion server and an application programming interface (API). Our API was integrated with an existing pilot teaching file database. We evaluated our system by obtaining test DICOM and JPEG images from our PACS system, our pilot database and from personal collections and converting them on a Windows workstation (Microsoft, Redmond, CA) and on other platforms using the web server. Our toolkit anonymized, annotated and categorized images using DICOM header information and data entered by the authors. Image processing was automatically customized for the target handheld device. We used freeware handheld image viewers as well as our custom applications that allowed window/level manipulation and viewing of additional textual information. Our toolkit provides desktop and web access to image conversion tools to produce organized handheld teaching file packages for most handheld devices and our API allows existing teaching file databases to incorporate handheld compatibility. The distribution of radiology teaching files on PDAs can increase the accessibility to radiology teaching.


Penguins are marine birds extremely well adapted to life in the sea but it is not rare to find lifeless individuals along the coast and deaths are caused by factors relating both to human influence on the environment and to specific diseases The aim of the present study was to identify parasite species found in Magellanic penguins on the coast of Espírito Santo, Brazil and describe the main gross findings. Five birds presented ectoparasites. All the birds presented nematodes. Four individuals presented trematodes. All the penguins presented a body state score of 2. Two of the individuals examined presented rupture of the esophagus caused by a foreign object and one individual presented a foreign object in the stomach. In the respiratory system, the lesions found were lung congestion, fibrin in the air sacs, caseous content inside the trachea, lung edema and pneumonia. Magellanic penguins on the coast of the state of Espírito Santo are susceptible to parasitoses. Helminths of the species Contracaecum pelagicum and Cardiocephaloides physaliswere identified, along with the ectoparasite Austrogoniodes bifasciatus. The main macroscopic lesions found were located in the respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract.


Carcass records for this study were provided by the sire evaluation program of the American Simmental Association, and included bulls, heifers, and steers slaughtered from 1971 through August, 1998. To utilize the maximum amount of information available, carcass data were divided into three subgroups: I) 9,604 measures of hot carcass weight (CW) and percent retail cuts (PRC) representing 696 sires, 2) 6,429 measures of CW, PRC, and marbling Score (MS) representing 620 sires, and 3) 1,780 measures of CW, PRC, MS, ribeye area (REA), and fat thickness (FT) representing 354 sires. Weaning weights (WW) from contemporaries of animals with carcass data were included in the analysis. Carcass traits and WW were analyzed jointly with a multiple-trait animal model and REML procedures to estimate genetic parameters and breeding values at an age-, weight-, marbling-, or FTconstant basis. The statistical model for carcass traits included the fixed effect of contemporary group and covariates for the fractional contribution of breed group (10), heterozygosity, and slaughter end-point. Random effects for carcass traits included additive direct genetic (animal) and residual. Weaning weight was preadjusted for founder effects (breed of calf, breed of dam, and year), direct and maternal heterosis, age of dam, and age o f calf. The model for WW included the fixed effect of contemporary group and random effects of additive direct genetic (animal), maternal genetic (dam), maternal permanent environment, and residual. Heritability estimates at an age-constant basis were: CW, .34; PRC, .25; MS, .36; REA, .26; and FT, .10. Heritability estimates at a weightand marblingconstant basis were similar to those estimated at an age-constant basis. Estimates were .25 for PRC, .34 for MS, .22 for REA, and .14 for FT at a weight-constant basis and .33, .25, .28, and .10, for CW, PRC, REA, and FT, respectively at a marbling end-point. Finally, heritabilities estimated at a FT-constant basis were similar for CW (.33) and REA (.29) but were lower for PRC (.17) and MS (.13). Genetic and phenotypic correlations differed in magnitude and sign among trait combinations at different end-points. In general, parameter estimates were within the range of those previously reported in the literature. Pearson product-moment correlations and Spearman rank correlations were calculated to determine the influence of slaughter end-point on carcass trait breeding values and to evaluate the impact of slaughter end-point on ranking of sires. Adjustment of traits to various end-points resulted in some changes in carcass trait breeding values and some re-ranking of sires depending on the end-point and trait being considered. Results from this study establish that selection for carcass traits should generally be effective in Simmental cattle and indicate that it is possible to select for desirable levels of growth or lean yield without sacrificing carcass quality. Finally, these findings suggest that some consideration should be given to slaughter end-point prior to designing breeding and management plans. (


The failure of hydraulic turbine runners is a very rare event. Hence, in order to assess the reliability of these components, one cannot rely on statistical models based on the number of failures in a given population. However, as there is a limited number of degradation mechanisms involved, it is possible to use physically-based reliability models. Such models are more complicated but have the advantage of being able to account for physical parameters in the prediction of the evolution of runner degradation. They can therefore propose solutions to help improve reliability. With the use of such models, the effect of materials properties on runner reliability can easily be illustrated. This paper will present a brief review of the Kitagawa-Takahashi diagram that links the damage tolerance approach, based on fracture mechanics, to the stress or strain-life approaches. This diagram is at the centre of the reliability model used in this study. Using simplified response spectra obtained from on-site runner stress measurements, the paper will show how fatigue reliability is impacted by materials fatigue properties, namely fatigue crack propagation behaviour and fatigue limit obtained on S-N curves. It will also present a review of the most important microstructural features of 13%Cr- 4%Ni stainless steels used for runner manufacturing and will review how they influence fatigue properties in an effort to bridge the gap between metallurgy and turbine runners reliability.


A previously described flow injection method for the analysis of ΣC0 2 included the addition of ZnCl 2 to some samples before analysis in order to precipitate dissolved sulfide (which interferes with the method) as ZnS. However, the use of Zn 2+ in samples with high concentrations of dissolved sulfide causes the coprecipitation of ZnCO 3 , and in our experience with this technique, ZnCO 3 also precipitates even in the absence of dissolved sulfide. The addition of molybdate effectively complexes dissolved sulfide without interfering with the determination of ΣCO 2 by this technique.


The development of micro fabrication impulses the sensor micromation and integration,and the sensor function becomes more comprehensive.On contrary,the power dissipation and volume decrease to very low and small.Researches on micro batteries develop slowly compared with other parts in the sensors.As a result the power supply has been a bottleneck in the design of MEMS.This paper introduces the development of piezoelectric generators harvesting ambient energy,radioisotope energy and human body energy.Such power source supplies have long lifetime and high energy density,which can integrate with MEMS.The successful research on the generators will bring fast increasing in system of micro wireless sensors and other self-power MEMS.


Abstract Generally, when the misalignment fault occurs in a wind turbine, the vibration signals present the nonstationary and non-linear characteristic nature. The early misalignment fault signal is easily overwhelmed by the strong background signals and noise, making it difficult to detect reliable fault feature. In this paper, a novel variational mode decomposition (VMD) is introduced to address the issue instead of other common adaptive decomposition algorithms such as empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and wavelet transform. VMD is capable of decomposing the fault vibration signal into several stable components and realize the separation of misalignment fault component from background signals. A case study using the fault data from our test rig demonstrate the effectiveness of this method. The characteristic 2X frequency can be extracted from the stable components obtained by VMD efficiently. On the contrary, the fault feature of the components decomposed by the comparative methods is relatively unconspicuous due to the mode mixing and frequency aliasing.


Cerasus conradinae is an important germplasm resource of wild cherry in China. In this work, sampling was expanded and genetic evidence was added for further study. The current and future potential populations were predicted by niche model. Based on three cpDNA sequences and one nrDNA sequence, and combined with the phylogeographic evolution of 12 populations of 244 individuals in C.conradinae, the temporal and spatial patterns of genetic variation in C.conradinae were investigated, and the effects of genetic drift and differentiation as well as natural environmental factors on the genetic variation and evolutionary distribution of C.conradinae were elucidated. Finally, morphological evidence combined with molecular evidence was used to discuss the species definition of population variation and differentiation. The results showed that Central China, East China and Southwest China were the core regions for the conservation and utilization of germplasm resources of C.conradinae. Support for variant Cerasus conradinae var. ruburm is established. The genetic diversity of C.conradinae was high (Hd = 0.830; Rd = 0.798). There was genetic variation among populations of C.conradinae, and genealogical geographic structure existed among the populations and three geographical groups, but the genetic differentiation coefficient at each level was low. The gene exchange was obvious in Southwest China, and the differentiation was obvious in Central China. The population and three geographic groups do not reject the expectation of expansion model. Two distinct lineages (three geographic groups) were identified from the population of C.conradinae: Central China+ East China lineage and East China+ (Central China+Southwest China) lineage, two lineages of 4.38Mya occurred in the early Pliocene based on geographical isolation. The southeastern part of Eastern China near Mount Wuyi was the most likely refuge for C.conradinae. The results provided a theoretical basis for the classification and identification of C.conradinae and the protection and utilization of germplasm resources.


Merkle-Hellman Knapsack System is based on the superincreasing backpack problem.It makes the process of encryption and decryption relatively simple. However,because of the weaknesses of the system itself,many domestic and foreign scholars have proposed cracking programmes.In this paper,we proposed a new idea of combining Rabin Algorithm based on Merkle-Hellman Knapsack System which can make the original system more flexible.The improved algorithm is not only highly efficient,but also makes it to be true that people can change the value of the public key dynamically according to their needs to exponential increase security.


We proposed a film-coupled nanoframe optical cavity which produces a significant near-field enhancement in Near-infrared region. The resonant characteristics of the cavity with cavity dimensions ar...


The aim of this study was to investigate whether risk factors for cardiovascular disease cluster in 6- to 7-year-old children and whether low physical fitness is a predictor of risk factor clustering. The study included 369 boys (6.8 ± 0.4 years) and 327 girls (6.7 ± 0.4 years). VO2max was directly measured during a treadmill test. The ratio of total cholesterol to high-density cholesterol, triglyceride levels, the ratio of insulin to glucose, systolic blood pressure, and the sum of four skinfolds were selected as risk factors. A child was considered at risk for individual factors if he or she had values in the least favorable quartile. The number of children with more than three cardiovascular disease cluster risk factors was not significantly different from a binomial distribution. This lack of clustering could be a result of the fact that these young children have not yet developed insulin resistance. Children in the lowest quartile of fitness had an odds ratio of 2.1 (CI: 1.0?4.4) compared with the most fit for having three or more risk factors. This is interesting with regard to prevention because it indicates that an intervention involving increased physical activity might postpone or even prevent the development of risk factors


Technology request is very high and machine is very difficulty for Drum of Curve Knife-Edge on Tobacco Cutter. We based arts and crafts to design two sorts of milling jig, which cut contour on drum of curve knife-edge. Milling jig makes up of orientation setup, clamp, measurement, displacement, cutter testing, and so on. The article introduced how to join all setup of milling jig and process of form milling drum of curve knife-edge.In allusion to resultant milling of circumference distributing and circumgyratetion axes multi-angles surface,design and application for drum of curve knife-Edge milling Jig was good for imitating.


It could be of high value to apply the successfully developed kinetic model of naphtha catalytic reforming broadly into process design and plant production optimization. Based on the formerly proposed seventeen lump reaction network and kinetic model, the results of parameter estimation and industrial process simulation were reported. To a semi-regenerated commercial naphtha catalytic reformer, the mathematic models for axial and redial reformer reactors were established. The kinetic parameters were estimated and optimized stepwise by a combined procedure of restrained range and Marquardt's method with a set of plant production data. Computer software for process simulation can be used to predict C 6 to C 9 aromatic yield distribution and hydrocarbon composition of reformatted gasoline under varied operating conditions, and to calculate the product gasoline octane and temperature profiles in the reactors with the maximum deviations between calculated results and practical value less than 5 ℃ and 1.5 RON respectively.


Prenatal corticosteroids exposure is associated with important adverse effects on fetuses development. In this study histomorphometric evaluation of the mandibular bone and mandibular first molar from fetuses exposed to exogenous glucocorticoid in the final period of pregnancy was performed. For this study, six female rats were housed with two male rats for 8 days. The pregnant rats were assigned into two groups (n=3 each): control group and dexamethasone group. The dexamethasone received 0.2 mg.kg-1.day-1 water-soluble dexamethasone dose daily diluted in the drinking water from day 14-19 of pregnancy. In the 20th day of gestation, rats were sacrificed and the fetuses were obtained by cesarean derivation. The weight of each fetus was recorded and then were euthanized and the head was fixed in 10% phosphate-buffered formalin. Selected samples were evaluated by light microscopy, and the following measurements were recorded: the perimeter of mandibular bone, Meckel's cartilage and tooth germ; buccolingual length, vertical distance, anteroposterior distance and area of the tooth germ, by the Image J program. There was statistical significance difference with regarding birth weight, mandible perimeter, tooth germ vertical distance and buccolingual distance; area of dental germ and germ perimeter were lower in the dexamethasone versus control. There was no statistical significance difference on Meckel's cartilage perimeter and anteroposterior distance of tooth germ between groups. In conclusion, prenatal exposure to excess dexamethasone impairs mandibular bone and tooth development.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether self-reported discretionary time was associated with physical activity and uptake of a physical activity promotion intervention in a multi-ethnic urban sample.

METHODS
We examined the association of self-reported discretionary time with hours/week of leisure-time physical activity at baseline and physical activity intervention uptake.

RESULTS
Low levels of discretionary time were significantly (P<0.01) associated with fewer hours/week (beta=-0.78, 95%CI=-1.34, -0.22) of physical activity at baseline. Discretionary time was not associated with physical activity intervention uptake.

CONCLUSION
Lack of discretionary time may serve as barrier to physical activity, but its importance on intervention uptake is less clear.


Using this data, it becomes possible to accurately calculate the lengths, areas, volumes, hydraulic resistances in pipes, and the reaction of supports, which allows reducing the material consumption during the installation of objects. With the help of 3D visualization, the behavior of the object, its physical properties, peak loads, and other parameters are observed, in addition, these programs allow to control the technological parameters, timely bring the plant into operating modes or simulate emergency situations, which makes it possible to simulate the operation of automation devices and equipment of the refrigeration unit: compressors, pumps, solenoid valves, bypass valves, etc., which allows to predict the operation of the plant in various emergency situations and clearly show the weak points in the operation of the refrigeration unit. The three-dimensional model obtained as a result of 3D modeling allows to evaluate the geometry of the object regardless of subjective factors as well as to give a complete picture of the finished project, which is currently very popular in the industry.


Abstract Diffuse midline gliomas (DMG) represent a big challenge in neuro-oncology. These tumors occur more frequently in children and are presently incurable. They are characterized by a K27M substitution in H3.1 or H3.3 histone tail or the overexpression of EZHIP (EZH Inhibitory Protein). These three alterations induce a global loss of trimethylation in H3K27 with a specific epigenic and transcriptomic remodeling. The additional oncogenic events and the clinical behavior are also distinct according to the driver event. Based on these differences, the H3K27-altered DMG is now classified in 4 subtypes by the latest edition of the WHO Classification of CNS tumors. Even with this new subclassification, the H3.3K27M subgroup still appears heterogenous. Recent publications reported that rare patients presenting a co-occurrence of H3.3K27M with BRAF or FGFR1 alterations tend to have a better prognosis. To better study the role of these co-driver alterations that activate the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, we assembled a large pediatric and adult cohort of H3K27-altered DMG comprising 25 new DMG patients mutated in FGFR1 or BRAFV600E and 37 previous cases from the literature. We performed a comprehensive histological, radiological, genomic, transcriptomic and DNA methylome analysis on this extended cohort. Interestingly, the results show clear differences with other DMG subtypes, including: specific DNA methylation profile, senescence signature, better overall survival (median around 3 years), older age at diagnosis, specific histological and radiological presentations with calcifications or more circumscribed tumors. Additionally, in specific cases, we show that the MAPK-activating mutation occurred subsequently to the histone H3K27M mutation. In conclusion, DMG, H3K27-altered harboring MAPK activating mutations represent a new subtype of DMG also frequent in adults, and deserve further attention with respect to specific therapeutic challenges.


Trauma Informed Care (TIC) is a structured organizational and treatment framework which involves recognizing, understanding and responding to the effects of all kinds of trauma. It emphasizes the physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing of survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment [1]. The total life experiences of patients impact their beliefs, coping mechanisms, reactions and health. TIC does not segment singular experiences of a patient, but recognizes that each experience accumulates over a lifespan, leaving the patient with a set of complex challenges.


Radioactive corrosion products (CP) are primary cause of personal radiation exposure during maintenance work at FBR plants with no breached fuel. The PSYCHE code has been developed based on the Solution-Precipitation model for analysis of CP transfer behavior. We predicted and analyzed the CP solution and precipitation behavior of MONJU to evaluate the applicability of the PSYCHE code to MONJU, using the parameters verified in the calculations for JOYO. From the calculation result pertaining to the MONJU system, distribution of 54Mn deposited in the primary cooling system over 20 years of operation is predicted to be approximately 7 times larger than that of 60Co. In particular, predictions show a notable tendency for 54Mn precipitation to be distributed in the primary pump and cold-leg. The calculated distribution of 54Mn and 60Co in the primary cooling system of MONJU agreed with tendencies of measured distribution of JOYO.


The interest in day-case hip arthroplasty is increasing; however, there are conflicting results regarding readmission risk, and little is known about patients' attitude towards day-case surgery. We aimed to investigate differences in 30-day readmission rates between day-case patients and single-overnight-stay patients following total hip arthroplasty (THA) and explore patients' attitude towards day-case surgery.From the Danish National Patient Register we identified 29,486 THAs (1353 day-case THAs and 28,133 single-overnight-stay THAs) performed between 2010 and 2020. Day-case surgery was defined as discharge on the day-of-surgery. Overnight admissions within 30 days of surgery were considered readmissions. Differences in readmission rates between day-case and single-overnight-stay patients were investigated using logistic regression adjusted for patient characteristics and year of surgery. In a single-center descriptive study, 2395 hip arthroplasty patients from 2016 to start-2023 answered a questionnaire on patient characteristics, attitude towards day-case surgery and patient-reported outcome measures (PROM).The overall 30-day readmission rate was 4.4% (CI: 4.2–4.6%) with no difference between day-case (4.4%) and single-overnight-stay THAs (4.4%) (odds-ratio: 1.2 [CI: 0.91–1.6]). In the descriptive study answers to the question whether patients were interested in being discharged on the day of surgery, were: "Yes" = 41%, "Do not know" = 20%, "No" = 39%. Patients responding "No" had lower preoperative PROM-scores, were older ("No" = 70.2 y vs. "Yes" = 65.3 y), and more often female ("No" = 72% vs. "Yes" = 52% female).Based on nationwide data from 2010–2020, day-case THA patients were not more likely to be readmitted compared to single-overnight-stay patients. However, most patients were not positive towards day-case surgery. While surgeons may consider day-case surgery to be safe, patients are not intuitively positive, indicating an attitude mismatch. To achieve high success rate and patient satisfaction in day-case surgery, shared-decision making initiatives within day-case surgery are needed.


Germany's arrangements for sharing and allocating resources between governments at central and regional levels have been the subject of intense and growing dispute since the 1980s, and especially since German unification in 1990. The cause has been growing inter-regional economic disparities, which have been reflected in conflicts of interest on finance matters. These conflicts have periodically reached such a critical mass that negotiations are held on reforming the system of fiscal equalization. The most recent were in 1993 and 2001, the latter following a constitutional suit brought by some of the wealthier Lander protesting about the perceived inequity of the system. However, no reform has yet addressed the underlying issues which provoke conflict, which have to do with incentives and the weakness of needs-based equalization criteria. Further conflict is therefore inevitable.


A wearable electrocardiogram system comprises multiple electrodes, a multiplexer, an analog detection module, a digital detection module, a processor and a motion sensing module, wherein the multiplexer comprises an input terminal, two output terminals and a control terminal, and the input terminal of the multiplexer is connected to the electrodes; the analog detection module is connected to one output terminal of the multiplexer; the digital detection module is connected to the other output terminal of the multiplexer; the processor is connected to the control terminal of the multiplexer and the digital detection module; the motion sensing module is connected to the processor for sensing an acceleration of the wearable electrocardiographic system and outputting an electrical signal according to the acceleration; and the processor is used for receiving the electrical signal from the motion sensing module and selectively controlling the multiplexer to transmit the output of the electrodes to the analog detection module or the digital detection module according to the electrical signal.


A key intermediate for the synthesis of Tyromycin A, a C-20 tetrachlorodicarboxylic acid, was produced in six steps starting with the dimerization of methyl 10-undecenoate which was obtained from a renewable resource, e.g. castor oil. The acyloin condensation product was then oxidized, transformed to the diene, followed by ozonization, chlorination and finally oxidation to the corresponding tetrachlorodicarboxylic acid.


Legal positivism is the view of law as "words in law books," a body of rules capable of objective analysis. This article argues that in order to view the true nature of law, which transcends the man made words in law books, it is necessary to examine what it means to be human. This examination includes a study of humans as individuals and members of a community, and an analysis of the philosophical and theological underpinnings of law.


We previously published results of a study examining how instructions shape aversive reversal learning (Atlas et al., 2016). Our original paper measured how instructions and learning influence on expected value, and assumed that learning rates remain stable over time. We found that instructions caused immediate reversals in corticostriatal systems, while value signals in the amygdala required reinforcement in order to update. However, our paradigm was originally designed to measure adaptive learning, and to test whether previously observed neural dissociations in the encoding of associability and prediction error i) replicate in the context of repeated reversals and ii) are modulated with instructions. Here, we present reanalyses using a hybrid model, in which associability gates learning. In our Uninstructed Group, we replicate previous dissociations (Li et al., 2011) such that the striatum tracks prediction error while the amygdala tracks associability. Comparisons with an Instructed Group reveal that instructions update expected value and striatal prediction error, while amygdala associability updates based on feedback alone, irrespective of instruction. This work adds to a growing body of literature on adaptive learning and provides new results that suggest that instructions have dissociable effects on prediction error and associability.


The second stage of the preparation for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games has started .In order to made it develop healthily .We can make some analysis and research on the successful examlies of the previous Olympic economy.by using the documentary data and the analysis on the economy.so that we can maxmize the returns of 2008Beijing Olympic Games.There for the authors of the this essay make the following suggestion: (1)Think about every investment .consider wholly about the social etfect and ecommic returns.adjust the related financial policies accordingly to enlarge the inner needs. (2)Make careful calculation and strict budgeting on the cost of the investments.plan it scientifically .economize on the cost and do everything in a down-to-earth manner. (3)Bas on the overall development .organize and realize the strategg of the Olympic economy .And try to gian the greatest success.


We explored spillover effects of Covid-19 on non-performing loans (NPLs) of the Turkish agricultural sector on the banking system. We used a monthly time series dataset covering the period December 2004 and April 2020. Diebold and Yilmaz index was used to establish the level of interconnectedness and Johansen and Juselius cointegration was adopted to uncover whether there is a long-run cointegration effect on spillovers among the series. The correlation results showed that there is some acceptable interconnectedness among the group. The results of the spillover index effects revealed a large spillover of the pandemic in the agriculture sector, followed by significant impacts on the ROE which is across the sectors under study. Overall, total spillover effect is 19.9%. Another unexplained effect of Covid-19 pandemic in this study is 80.1%, which might be a result of random noise in the dataset. Johansen cointegration revealed a long-run cointegration spillover of Covid-19 across sectors.


Objective:To investigate the effect and radiation reaction in the treatment of cervix carcinoma by using external irradiation combined with afterloading intracavitary treatment of cobalt.Methods:Records of 76 patients who treated by external irradiation combined with afterloading intracavitary treatment of cobalt,were retrospectively reviewed.Results:The total 5-year survival rate was 63.7%,and the figures in stage Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ and Ⅳ were 88.9%,71.9%,48.1% and 20.0% respectively.The total 10-year survival rate was 31.6%,and the figures in stage Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ and Ⅳ were 53.3%,33.3%,22.0% and 0.0% respectively.The Log Rank test showed the survivals rates were significantly different among different stages(P 0.01).Nine cases of vaginal adhesions happened after radiotherapy(11.8%),6 cases of radiation cystitis(7.9%),13 cases of radiation proctitis(17.1%).Radiation proctitis was graded according to RTOG late radiation injury grading program,1 grade seven cases(53.8%),2 grade four cases(30.8%),3 grade two cases(15.4%),4 grade of 0(0.0%).Conclusion:The external irradiation combined with afterloading intracavitary treatment of cobalt in cervix carcinoma is effictive,has less side effects.But how to further improve the survival and minimize the radiation reaction is still the direction of future research.


For ordnance system and testing applications in which safety is paramount, laser detonators and firing systems are strong candidates. Both low-power (1 W) and high-power (~1 MW) laser-driven explosive devices provide safety against stray current and electrostatic discharges, including lightning. This article addresses only one class of high-power laser-driven detonators that provide prompt detonation - the laser-driven analog of electrical exploding bridgewire (EBW) detonatorsm which we call a "laser EBW." Coupling of laser power into a plasma and then to the explosive powder will be described. Drawing upon current initiatives within DOE laboratories, this talk will emphasize similarities between high-power laser detonators and high-power electrical detonators in terms of firing power requirements and development of deonation. In explosive testing applications, laser detonators provide separation of noisy electrical firing systems from diagnostic sensors that may be embedded in an experimental assembly. Laser detonators can be made without any metallic content, and that is desirable for radiography experiments. Feasibility of reliable transmission of a firing pulse through optical fibers is a key element in applications for missile ordnance, warhead firing, and other mobile systems. The preparation and characterization of fibers, and their capabilities and limitations are also discussed briefly.


Understanding the spatial distribution and environmental characteristics of fish spawning grounds is essential to design effective fishery management. The half-fin anchovy Setipinna taty (Valenciennes, 1848) plays an important role in the marine food web. A survey with 54 stations was conducted in 2014 to study the spatio-temporal distribution of eggs and larvae of half-fin anchovy around the inshore waters of Jiangsu, China. Half-fin anchovy eggs, larvae and juveniles were collected every month from April to July 2014. Generalised additive models were used to investigate the relationship between distribution of eggs, larvae and juveniles and environmental variables. A total of 4150 eggs and 685 half-fin anchovy larvae and juveniles were caught during the survey. During the spawning season, the highest egg densities were located in the inshore water area (121°-122°E, 32.5-33.5°N), with no significant shift in location of egg densities through time. The distribution of larvae and juveniles mostly overlapped with the egg distribution, suggesting that the early life stage of half-fin anchovy are distributed within the inshore waters of Jiangsu. The optimal water temperature, salinity and depth for eggs and larvae were in the range of 14.0-24.6°C, 28.7-29.8 ‰ and 15.9-17.4 m, respectively.


Abstract : The properties of gaseous detonation waves when subjected to a compressible (gaseous) inert boundary are investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Properties of interest are the propagation velocity, the reaction length, the quenching conditions and the shape of the wave. The zeroth order analytical solution of the hydrodynamic equations involved, an assessment of several quenching criteria, a description of the experimental setup, and the experimental results were obtained. As a summary of this work, the abstract and the conclusions are presented. (Author)


Cardiac involvement in SSc is frequent, mostly subclinical and represents a negative prognostic factor. Speckle tracking derived measurement global longitudinal strain (GLS) has been able to identify primary heart involvement in patients with SSc and no overt cardiac disease. SSc-related cardiomyopathy, defined as a condition affecting the heart primarily and globally, has been proven to progress over time and seems to be correlated to cardiac arrhythmias. Nonetheless, cardiac arrhythmias represent 6% of the overall causes of death in SSc patients.

 The aim of our study was to assess the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias in SSc patients with no overt cardiac disease and to identify potential predictors.

 Prospective longitudinal study enrolling all consecutive patients with a diagnosis of SSc and no overt cardiac disease or pulmonary hypertension. Echocardiographic parameters and GLS were obtained at baseline and at each follow up. Presence of atrial fibrillation (AF), atrial tachycardia (AT), ventricular ectopic beats >1000/24 h (VEB), supraventricular ectopic beats (SVEB), bundle branch block (BBB) and atrioventricular block (AVB) was assessed through clinical history, ECG and 24-Holter monitoring over time.

 Among 67 consecutive patients with SSc, 11 (16.7%) had at least one episode of AF or AT. Moreover, respectively 12 (17.9%) and 16 (23.9%) had a significant amount of SVEB and VEB at Holter monitoring. Conduction defects were common, with 4 (4.6%) of all patients with grade I AVB, 1 (1.5%) with grade II AVB and 1 (1.5%) with complete heart block. Complete right BBB was seen in 6 (6.9%) of patients. Four patients (4.6%) experienced a sudden cardiac death during follow-up (median 20 months, 1st-3rd quartile 12–24 months).
 Years from SSc diagnosis (RR 1.10; 95% CI 1.02–1.23; p=0.047) and indexed right atrial volume (iRAV; RR 1.22; 95% CI 1.07–1.39; p=0.004), but not indexed left atrial volume were independently correlated with the diagnosis of AF/AT. The same two variables were independently correlated with any degree of AV block (years from SSc diagnosis: RR 1.11; 95% CI 1.01–1.23; p=0.004; iRAV: RR 1.14; 95% CI 1.02–1.27; p=0.019). Due to the low sample size, we were unable to detect any clinical predictors of sudden cardiac death in our population, however those who died experienced a larger worsening in left ventricle GLS values (4.0±1.6 vs. 0.9±0.4, p=0.056).

 Supraventricular arrhythmias and conduction defects are common in patients with SSc. Time from diagnosis and right atrial volumes are able to predict the incidence of such conditions, supporting the hypothesis that a long-lasting disease and the anatomical remodelling of the right atrium could contribute to the developing of tachy- and bradyarrhythmias in this population.

 Type of funding source: None


As there is large advancements in internet technology, there has been huge text as well as multimedia data transfer over the internet. Due to this data security is a vital necessity. Steganography and Cryptography are the sets of techniques to provide security to data. Steganography is an art of hiding secret information into another cover medium like image, audio, video, etc. Cryptography is an art of converting plain data into unreadable format. Steganography can be integrated with Cryptography in order to enhance the security of data. In this paper, a new method is proposed to provide security to 24 bit color images, by integrating Steganography and Cryptography. In this method, randomized LSB based method is used to hide an image in another image. The resulting stego image is then encrypted using chaotic theory. This new integrated method ensures the enhancement in the data hiding capacity, the security of the image and lossless recovery of the secret data.


In this article we try to define the research in a broad sense and the concept of Research System, Development and Innovation (R+D+I), with the explanation of the main indicators, the classification systems, also the main characteristics, the production cycle, and the track to examine the scientific and technological documents, their main characteristics and the role that the information professional could develop in this process.


where ∆ is the forward difference operator defined by ∆xn = xn+1 −xn, α and β are positive constants, {pn} and {qn} are positive real sequences defined for all n ∈ N(n0) = {n0, n0 + 1, ...}, and n0 a nonnegative integer. By a solution of equation (1), we mean a real sequence {xn} that satisfies equation (1) for all n ∈ N(n0). If any four consecutive values of {xn} are given, then a solution {xn} of equation (1) can be defined recursively. A nontrival solution of equation (1) is said to be nonoscillatory if it is either eventually positive or eventually negative, and it is oscillatory otherwise. The oscillatory and asymptotic behavior of solutions of the nonlinear difference equation of the form (1) has been considered by Thandapani and Selvaraj


Purpose: This paper extends the dedication-based relationship maintenance mechanism of social exchange theory and customer perceived relationship investment to study the relationship performance of a convenience store launching an in-store kiosk business. Meanwhile, computer anxiety and time consciousness are hypothesized to moderate the effects among the relationships. Design/methodology/approach: Results of data analysis, with in-store kiosk use experience data collected for 211 in-store kiosk users, supported our model. Findings: Our results confirm that dedication-based relationship maintenance is related to perceived relationship investment. Higher levels of customer-perceived relationship investment impact relationship performance. Computer anxiety and time consciousness act separately as both partial and full moderators. Originality/value: We found that the businesses that launch in-store kiosk businesses determine customer perceptions of relationship investment. This study found that customers with computer anxiety have an anchor to the use of technology. customers who think of time as a resource escalate the effect between their perceptions that a business has invested effort in relationship building and the development of customer loyalty.


BackgroundIntimal hyperplasia and subsequent in-stent restenosis remain a major limitation after stent implantation. In vitro cell culture studies show that low-frequency, noncavitational ultrasound energy may impact smooth muscle cell proliferation. Accordingly, we assessed the efficacy of intravascular sonotherapy treatment on intimal hyperplasia in a swine stent model. Methods and ResultsAfter balloon injury, biliary stents (Johnson & Johnson) were implanted in the femoral arteries of 14 swine. A total of 48 stented sites were randomized to sonotherapy or sham treatment using a custom-built, 8-French catheter intravascular sonotherapy system (URX, PharmaSonics Inc). After stent deployment, ultrasound energy (700 KHz) was applied to the treatment group for up to 5 minutes. Smooth muscle cell proliferation was assessed using bromodeoxyuridine histology preparation (BrdU) at 7 days in 28 stented sites. At 28 days, the neointimal thickness and the ratio of neointimal/stent area (percent stenosis) was calculated by histomorphometric quantification in 20 stented sites. At 7 days, percent of BrdU staining was significantly reduced in the sonotherapy group compared with the sham group (24.1±7.0% versus 31.2±3.0%, P <0.05). At 28 days, percent stenosis was significantly less in the sonotherapy group than in the sham group (36±24% versus 44±27%, P <0.05), and the mean neointimal thickness in the sonotherapy group was less than in the sham group (417±461 &mgr;m versus 643±869 &mgr;m, P =0.06). ConclusionsIn this swine peripheral model, intravascular sonotherapy seemed to decelerate cellular proliferation and decrease in-stent hyperplasia. Therefore, intravascular sonotherapy may be an effective form of nonionizing energy to reduce in-stent restenosis.


The classical Chandrasekhar's formula relating the surface reflectance to the top of the atmosphere radiance rigorously applies to a Lambertian surface. For a homogeneous non Lambertian surface in a plane parallel atmosphere, an extension of this formula has been proposed in the work of Tanre and has been implemented in the 6S algorithm. To analyze this extension, this paper derives the rigorous formula of the top of the atmosphere signal in a plane parallel atmosphere bounded by an homogeneous non Lambertian surface. Then this formula is compared to the 6S algorithm extension and approximations used and their validity are pointed out. The methods used for this rigorous derivation are classical. They are based on the systematic separation of direct and diffuse components of the radiation fields, on the introduction of the Green's function of the problem and on convolutions of boundary values of the radiation fields with the Green's function.


The invention relates to a method of forming replacement structures and fins on FinFET devices and a resulting device. The method disclosed includes, among other things, removing a sacrificial gate structure to thereby define a replacement gate cavity, performing an etching process through the replacement gate cavity to define a fin structure in a layer of semiconductor material using a patterned hard mask exposed within the replacement gate cavity as an etch mask and forming a replacement gate structure in the replacement gate cavity around at least a portion of the fin structure.


Astragaloside IV( AS-IV) is one of the major active components of the astragalus membranaceus( Fisch) Bge.It was reported that AS-IV ameliorated ischemia-reperfusion injury in brain and heart,however,its renal protective effects and mechnisms have not been fully investigated yet.In this paper,we have reviewed the renal protective effects and the molecular mechanisms of AS-IV.AS-IV improved high glucose-induced podocyte adhesion dysfunction,which was partly attributed to α3β1 integrin upregulation and integrin-linked kinase( ILK) inhibition.As a novel antioxidant,AS-IV also prevented glucose-induced podocyte apoptosis partly through restoring the balance of and B cell lymphoma / leukemia-2( Bcl-2) and Bcl-2-associated X protein( Bax) expression and inhibiting caspase-3 activation.Moreover,AS-IV prevented ischemic acute kidney injury( AKI) through inhibition of nuclear factor κ-light-chainenhancer of activated B cells( NF-κB) mediated inflammatory genes expression.AS-IV also prevented renal dysfunction,tubular injury,and apoptosis in ischemic and contrast-induced AKI models through restoring the balance of Bax / Bcl-2 expression and inhibiting caspase-3 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase( MAPK) activation.AS-IV restored podocyte morphology and cytoskeleton loss induced by complement membrane attack complex so that AS-IV might be used to treat membranous nephropathy.Therefore,AS-IV might become a new drug for the prevention and treatment of kidney diseases.


. The article deals with repentant discourse, one of the most stable in the polydiscursive space of Sasha Sokolov's novel "Palisandriia" and generally characteris-tic of the writer's supertext. Reflection on the phenomenon of repentance becomes plot-forming precisely in "Palisandriia", it provokes narration, and the stability of the motif of repentance/remorse, its active variation and placement in various contexts allow us to speak about the discursiveness of repentance — about the development of its nature, conditions, environment, component composition, structure, in other words, the language of repentance. The study analyzes genre forms, conceptual units, thesaurus and peculiar semantic nests of 'repentance', as well as the causes and mechanisms of their deconstruction. The article shows that the text implements a narrative strategy for detecting both the "substance" of simulation and the "substance" of repentance that is in complex intersections with it. The destruction of the first does not always lead to the implementation of the second, therefore, it is more important to identify and expand one's own discursive possibilities of repentance.


It is undeniable that finance wants to ban us from creating a researchers' society. This last is possible with industries and great works. With this society, one should produce, for then, to seek its truth and that of others, but also the scientific truth. For us to be all researchers, it is better to have an approach to become one. Our mind catches everything that is repeated, concretely or abstractly. However, our minds used scientific thinking to learn speaking and walking. If we use (...)


Tracking resolver-to-digital converter is widely used for high-speed precession angle measuring. The measuring scheme and main errors are introduced. Then two shortages of past error analysis are pointed out for engineering application. The carrier phase mismatch error is analyzed and its expression is determined. The input noise requirement is quantified based on the theory of lock-in amplifier. The estimate method for maxim permitted gain of signal conditioning is presented. The analysis methods and quantified results could be applied to the design of high-speed precession angle measuring system.


Urinary and serum zinc levels were determined in 51 patients with chronic pancreatitis. Urinary zinc excretion in patients with chronic calcified pancreatitis (832 ± 111 μg/day) (mean ± SE) but not in noncalcified pancreatitis (684 ± 65 μg/day) was significantly higher than in normal controls (418 ± 46 μg/day). The urinary zinc excretion increased with deterioration of exocrine pancreatic function. Serum zinc levels in advanced pancreatitis (105.9 ± 4.5 μg/100ml) were significantly higher when compared to the pancreatitis with normal exocrine pancreatic function (91.6 ± 3.0 μg/l00 ml), but the difference was less pronounced than for urinary zinc excretion. This may be due to complicating diabetes, which usually lowers serum zinc. Serum zinc and urinary zinc excretion were low in a patient with chronic calcified pancreatitis complicated with a pulmonary abscess and hypoalbuminemia. In conclusion, urinary and serum zinc levels in chronic pancreatitis were increased as a result of exocrine pancreatic dysfunction. Association of diabetes may lower serum zinc, and associated malnutrition depresses both urinary and serum zinc levels.


Complex oxide Sr 0.14 Ca 0.86 CuO 2 is expected to be a potential solid lubricant from room temperature to elevated temperatures. The purpose of this study is to examine Sr 0.14 Ca 0.86 CuO 2 as a solid lubricant for screw applied at high temperature. In order to confirm the thermal stability of Sr 0.14 Ca 0.86 CuO 2 , thermal gravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction were carried out from room temperature to 1000°C. The results indicated that the complex oxide has good thermal stability. In the test of tightening and loosening of bolt-nut at room temperature, MoS 2 gave lower torques than Sr 0.14 C 0.86 CuO 2 but Sr 0.14 Ca 0.86 CuO 2 and Sr 0.14 Ca 0.86 CuO 2 / MoS 2 mixture showed lower loosening torque than MoS 2 and graphite did after heat treatment of 3h at 800°C. In high speed four-ball tests, Sr 0.14 Ca 0.86 CuO 2 and its mixture with MoS 2 gave better or almost the same lubricities as MoS 2 .


The stability of two dimensional small disturbances in laminar boundary layer flow has been extensively studied on the assumption that boundary layer flows are essentially parallel flows. The direct effect of the local pressure gradient on the calculation of the stability limits for incompressible boundary layer flow has been shown to be negligible under the approximation (aR)~l « 1, if the local velocity profile is used in the stability calculation. However, the assumption that the vertical velocity in the boundary layer flow plays negligible role has not received careful attention. There is a qualitative argument that under the Prandtl boundary layer approximation, the variation of the mean flow properties in the ^-direction within a few wave lengths of the disturbance is of the order of R'1, which is negligibly small compared to unity. Therefore, the contributions of such terms due to ^-gradients of pressure and temperature in the stability calculation can be neglected as higher order small quantities. This kind of argument should be investigated more closely so far as the vertical velocity component is concerned even though the vertical velocity component is a small quantity of the order of R'1. The vertical velocity component produces a momentum transfer and an energy transfer across the boundary layer where both the disturbance quantities and the mean flow properties vary rapidly. The net effect of the transport processes may thus be much larger than the magnitude of the small agent that produces the transport processes. While the vertical velocity component of the flow and the gradients of the flow properties in the x-direction are small quantities of the same order the net effect of the former in the stability calculation will be shown to be much more important than that of the latter. From the two dimensional forms of the equations of mass continuity, momentum and energy with variable viscosity and thermal conductivity coefficient and constant specific heats, the linearized system of partial differential equations for the amplitude functions of the periodic disturbances of the type exp [ia(x — ct)] is obtained with two independent spatial variables x and y. The fast varying, frequency dependent part of the disturbances as functions of x is represented by the factor exp (iax). The decay or growth of the amplitudes of the disturbances in the x-direction is slow and in the first approximation, the x-gradients of the amplitude functions can be considered as independent of x. The system of disturbance equations can hence be considered as a set of ordinary differential equations for/, </>, t r and 6 with y as the only independent variable. Thus, we have the following equations:


The concept of sustainability for roof structure
becomes most effective because slab consumes the highest
amount of cement and steel in the building. This increases
carbon footprint, which is a measure of the impact caused by the
utilization of natural resources, eventually affecting the earth,
and it becomes a subject of higher cost also. The objective of the
paper is to find a safe, economical and sustainable roofing
structure suitable for suburban and rural settlements. The
literature survey carried out deeply and the potential is observed
in tile vaulted structures. The core reasons behind adopting a
vaulted structure are, it avoids using steel and concrete materials
in construction, utilizes local labour, and low-cost local materials
for construction. This predominantly becomes the primary factor
in deciding the construction of an economical roofing structure
for multiple dwelling units in rural and suburban settlements to
provide a safe, sustainable and maintenance-free roofing system
using tile vaulted structure.


Patel, R., and Ona, E. 2009. Measuring herring densities with one real and several phantom research vessels. - ICES Journal of Marine Science 66: 1264-1269.Vessel-induced avoidance can potentially cause a large bias in acoustic estimates of schooling, pelagic-fish biomass. This paper presents a method for quantifying this uncertainty. Volume-backscattering strength (S v ) from a horizontally projecting, multibeam sonar (Simrad MS70) is resampled to form synthetic, vertical, echosounder beams to the side of the survey vessel. These data are analysed as if they were collected from phantom vessels surveying parallel transects at fixed ranges from the real vessel. The nautical-area-backscattering coefficients (s A ) from the synthetic echograms are compared with those measured by conventional 70 and 120 kHz echosounders (Simrad EK60) on the real vessel. Data collected in 2006 from schools of Norwegian spring-spawning herring are used to illustrate the method and explore its limitations. Potential effects of vessel-induced avoidance are evaluated by comparing the mean s A values observed from the phantom vessels with those observed from the real vessel. The technique also allows direct estimates of the mean lateral-aspect target strength of in situ herring.


The properties of the five-dimensional branching space of conical intersections of three states of the same symmetry (denoted i,j,k) are considered. The results of a perturbative model are compared with multireference configuration interaction calculations for three spectroscopically observed states of the allyl radical. Of particular interest is the three-dimensional subspace of the branching space where two states remain degenerate. The energies, derivative couplings and geometric phase effect are studied in the neighborhood of this degeneracy subspace. The degeneracy subspace includes two kinds of conical intersections, i,j and j,k. The existence of a three-state intersection impacts the phase of the wave functions (and the derivative coupling) traversing a closed loop. For example, in the branching space, the number and kind of conical intersections in a surface bounding the closed loop is constrained if the closed loop contains the three-state intersection.


How many Athenians in the fifth and fourth centuries B. C. could read and write ? The author discusses in detail the evidence of ostracism, the law-courts, the secretaries, inscriptions and public notices, drama, vase-painting, trade and business, private life, and individuals (§§ 3-11). Much of this evidence is inconclusive, but although many inhabitants of the country districts of Attica, and many Athenian women, were illiterate or semi-literate (§§ 12-13), it may safely be deduced that the majority of Athenian citizens could read and write. The evidence on which the author would lay the greatest stress is briefly recapitulated in § 15. In particular, the thesis of Hasebroek that Greek traders were illiterate is rejected (§ 9). By contrast, the Spartans lacked the facility in reading and writing which the Athenians possessed (§ 14). The methods by which these skills were taught at Athens are also considered (§ 16) ; and a final note discusses the evidence for libraries and the book-trade.


The basic properties of several environment-friendly oils and their application properties in tread compound were investigated.The test results showed that,the aniline point of environment-friendly oils were much higher than the aromatic oil,and the arene content was much lower.Compared to the aromatic oil,when environment-friendly oils were used,the Mooney scorch time and t90 of environment-friendly oils filled compound extended,tanδ decreased,the stress at 100% strain of vulcanizate increased slightly,the tear strength decreased,the resilience increased,the dynamic property changed slightly,and the wet skid resistance decreased.Among the environment-friendly oils,NAP gave the vulcanizate the best wear resistance and lowest rolling resistance under high load,while RAE provided the best wet skid resistance.


The article is devoted to urgent problems of younger aged orphans education at orphanages. Mechanisms and peculiarities of younger aged orphans' development in the conditions of specialized institutions are determined on the basis of the research. The program of psychological and pedagogical support of education aimed at normalization of their development and at stabilization and social respond of the orphanage environment has been carried out.


This paper introduces ipyclam, a new way of manipulating networks in CLAM (C++ Library for Audio and Music) by using the Python language. This extends the power of the framework in many ways. Some of them are exploring and manipulating live processing networks via interactive Python shells, or extending the power of visual prototyping in CLAM by adding complex application logic and user interfaces with PyQt/PySide. The described Python API, ipyclam, by redefining the engine layer, can be reused to control other patching based systems such as JACK, gAlan...


Many binary choice multi-agent problems, where one agent may have some private information, can be modeled as 2 × $n$ bimatrix games. We show here that all 2 × $n$ bimatrix games that are full rank are strategically equivalent to rank-1 games. Given the 2 × $n$ bimatrix game, we exploit the strategic equivalence among nonzero-sum games to derive another bimatrix game, which is a rank-1 game. We then devise a new polynomial time algorithm to solve 2 × $n$ bimatrix games. We conjecture that this algorithm has comparable performance to existing polynomial time algorithms for 2 × $n$ bimatrix games, such as support enumeration. We then comment on some applications and extensions.


Body image and eating disorders have emerged as an essential facet of bio-psychosocial wellbeing. Although considered less prevalent in Ghana than in the West, body image and eating disorders are issues of global concern. One hundred (100) female participants with a mean age of approximately 21 years were recruited after informed consent for this pilot study. Results showed a positive correlation between body image and eating disorders. In addition, there was no significant difference between the levels of university education on female body image and eating distortions in Ghana. These findings underscore the importance for more future studies in nutritional psychology and related clinical management.


For several decades a process of transfer of functions and services from the highest levels of government to local authorities has occurred in Italy. This has resulted in new and broader responsibilities for Italian municipalities that are, in most cases, small (called "Dust Commons"). This presents new challenges for these municipalities who often have difficulty managing the sevies and in strategic planning to devellop appropriate strategies. A real risk in recent years is that functions transferred to lower levels of government can not be carried out quantitatively and qualitatively with incurring excessive costs. One pontential solution to this problem is implementation of associated forms of services and functions management whereby municipalities cooperate in providing the services. The aim of this paper is to show how this form of partnership can reduce costs and improving the effectiveness of services.


Evaluating Unicode scripts with respect to IDN suitability involves both socio-linguistic and technical considerations. The result of such an evaluation would be to roughly sort the scripts by suitability for support in Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). The first group of scripts is suitable for Second-level domain names but also suggested for consideration for inclusion in the Maximal Starting Repertoire [MSR] (for top-level domains) as part of the Root Zone LGR process [RZ-LGR]. The second group is considered of more limited suitability, but still feasible for domain names on the Second Level taking into account the nature of the DNS zone for which they are intended. Some scripts may be more suitable for single-script domains, for example. The third group is generally considered not suitable for domain names. For details of the reasoning behind these recommendations, see the description of the individual groups.


Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of cancer and its mutant spectrum. Lung cancer has familial aggregation. Lung cancer caused by non‐tobacco factors has unique pathological and molecular characteristics. The interaction between genetic lung cancer susceptibility and carcinogens from coal burning remains complex and understudied.


I thought that Dr. Makins' letter (Canad. M. A. J., 83: 392, 1960) was a humorous reply to Dr. I. Schiffer's previous short note in the best tradition of a running commentary by a peripatetic correspondent of the Lancet. The two recent letters from Dr. W. M. Mitchell and Dr. Herbert Pascoe (Canad. M. A. J., 83: 724, 1960) make me think I might have been mistaken. I would be grateful if Dr. Makins could clarify his position. F. GRUNBERG, M.D., D.P.M., 23 Clinic Block, Clinical Director, Yorkton, Sask. Yorkton Mental Health Clinic,


Nowdays, fluorescent rhodamine chemosensors have attracted a worldwide interest due to its ability to selectively detect heavy and transition metal cations. Due to the importance in environmental and biological toxic effects, the developments of fluorescent chemosensors have been received considerable attention in recent. Especially, a rhodamine-based chemosensor probes have been proved to be useful by exhibiting the efficient "off-on" fluorescence switching toward selected metal cations. This fluorophore can undergo the transformation from non-fluorescent and colorless spirolactam derivative to fluorescent ring-open form. In this study, a new fluorescent chemosensor was synthesized using rhodamine B through two-step procedures, and its selectivity and related optical property were characterized. Selectivity and sensitivity was found toward Cu 2+ guest molecules and then related optical properties of rhodamine B based fluorescent chemosensor compound were characterized using discussed. In addition, computational calculation was used to determine the HOMO/LUMO values.


A new LDA-induced anionic N-C carbamoyl migration of 2-arylindoles (7) is reported. Treatment of N-carbamoylindoles 10 and 13, readily available by direct and ipso-borodesilylative Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling routes from 8 and 12, respectively, provides a general route to functionalized 2-arylindoles 11 and 14, respectively (Tables 1 and 2). The reaction has been applied to the synthesis of benzo[ a]carbazoles 16 and indeno[1,2- b]indoles 18, and its intramolecularity has been established by a crossover experiment (Scheme 4).


CNG is compressed natural gas. CNG compressor is the equipment which provides to compress the low pressure natural gas into high pressures. The usage of gases in high pressures is a current issue in industrial institutions and transportation. However, the economical analysis of rising to high pressure is very important in terms of energy costs. In this study, the working parameters of CNG compressors with high pressures that have 3 and 4 stage numbers have been examined experimentally and the gasoline cost during compressing has been calculated. In the compressors with changing stage numbers, it is aimed that the gasoline cost should be the comparison element beside the working parameters like heat and pressure.


________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT The success of any health care industry depends on three important parameters i.e. quality, safety and efficacy. The quality improvement became every ones challenge and the department of quality control and quality assurance came in to the picture very recently. Due to globalization and increased competition, every health care sector focus is on to maintain quality which is an important factor and controls the other factors known as safety and efficacy which in turn produce the zero defect product. However there are many challenges or failures to produce this zero defect product and inorder to rectify these failures and challenges, the implementation of quality management is very important in every industry, The success of quality management will depends on implementation of Total Quality Management, Six Sigma, Change Management/ Change control/ Deviation Management, Out of Specifications (OOS), Out of Trend (OOT), Corrective & Preventive Actions (CAPA). Hence this current review is emphasizing on importance of implementation of above quality management principles based on the published case studies. _____________________________________________________________________________


Currently, in the building industry is emphasizes the sustainability of construction. Sustainable buildings have low costs for energy consumption and operations, they are environmentally friendly, able to save natural resources and they are comfortable and healthy for their users. One of the factors contributing to this requirement is also application of more or less known materials and components through modern methods and technologies. Modern methods of construction (MMC) can be the way, how to achieve buildings, that can minimise the negative impacts of building life cycle on the environment. MMC can, in addition to increasing the efficiency of the construction, ensure the requirements resulting from Agenda 20-20-20 in energy consumption. The paper is focused on the research and comparison of two low-energy houses groups from technical and quality indicators point of view and especially from the perspective of relationship between construction cost and building volume. One of the groups is low-energy houses made of bricks by traditional methods (TM) and the second group representative of modern methods of construction are low-energy houses made of ceramic panels.


Face alignment is to look for the location of face features such as eyes, nose and mouth in the face image. Based on the face alignment of the active shape model, the point distribution statistical probability model was established, and the mahalanobis distance between the local features was calculated based on the iterative optimization of the gray information around the feature points, so as to find the position of the feature points in the new image. The traditional search process is that after initializing the shape, affine transformation parameters are calculated according to the updated position of the feature points, until the parameters converge, that is, the face alignment is completed and the position of the feature points is obtained. However, this process requires a lot of calculation, and the weights in the updating process are obtained by experience. In this paper, a search process based on genetic algorithm is proposed. The initial parameter of affine transformation is the value when training the model, and the objective function is the new shape vector multiplied by affine transformation parameter to get the difference between the result and the average shape, and the search is completed when the difference converges or reaches the number of evolution.


Explores what is meant by "better magnetics" that was discussed and debated at the 2017 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC).


In China's western mountain area,the rock fall is a very common geological disaster.In recent years with rapid economic development in western China,a large number of mountain freeway projects has been completed and put into operation.Because of natural weather,human activity,construction or management of operation,there are a lot of rock fall disasters during the construction of mountain expressway.In this paper,based on the project of Shui Ma expressway of Yunnan province,the accident statistics will be collected,and the rock fall probability will be got.Based on the on-site inspection of Shui Ma project,the risk of potential rock fall will be analyzed.The research work of this paper has some reference value to the classification of risks and disaster prevention for the freeway project.


To better understand atomization in a commercial aviation gas turbine combustion environment, we present experimental measurements of the internal fuel flow of a simplex atomizer. Particle Image Velocimetry was used to measure velocity in a plane axial of a standard aerospace fuel atomizer. The geometry studied used a 0.74mm orifice and is typical of a commercial aircraft engine. MIL PRF-7024 was employed as the working fluid and two mass flow rates were studied. Particle Image Velocimetry data on a small simplex atomizer was collected and methods are detailed including the machining of the optically clear spin chamber, properly replicating the geometry, and challenges associated with seeding MIL PRF-7024. The method of data collection is discussed for future application to other geometries. Flow fields showed the majority of mass flowrate around the air core. In addition to increased understanding of this complex flow, this data may be used to support and validate computational analyses of gas turbine fuel injection. Corresponding author: firstname.lastname@example.com Introduction The objective of this research is to measure flow velocities internal to an atomizer using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). For analytical models of fuel injection in gas turbine engines to be viable design tools, the models must be validated with experimental data. This research focuses on a simplex atomizer common in aerospace applications. The dimensions of the atomizer studied are detailed in Table 1. A simplex atomizer works by inducing a swirl in a fluid (in this case imparted by the swirl plug), forcing the fluid to laminate on the inner diameter of a cone, which is the primary body. The thin layer of fluid is necked down increasing axial velocity through the orifice (Figure 1). Upon exiting the atomizer the fluid forms a conical sheet which thins as the sheet expands, until the forces of surface tension break up the droplets. This creates a fine mist desirable for combustion. The radial velocities internal to the atomizer are large enough to create a hollow air core in the center of the atomizer. This fluid-fluid boundary adds complexity to the flow within the atomizer and further complicates the PIV measurement. Past research into flow fields in simplex atomizers have been focused on large diameter orifices and idealized atomizer designs. A comparison of past geometries researched and the geometry presented in this paper is given in Table 2. Swirl Plug


Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry is an increasingly valuable tool in proteome and genome research. By definition, this kind of research involves analyses of hundreds or thousands of samples, which can only be put into practice if the huge workload: is transformed into automated tasks. The principles of automated acquisition of MALDI spectra are described and example spectra discussed.


Post-communism has brought increasing inequalities and diverging access to market-based opportunities. This can be expected to generate polarization in attitudes towards increasing marketization in the region, with socio-economic divisions emerging most clearly in the more advanced economies where the benefits and costs of marketization will have had most impact. Examining national surveys carried out in 13 countries over a 14 year period we find evidence of a growing middle class versus working class cleavage, with farm workers clumping with manual workers on the pro-redistributive left and the managerial/professional classes grouping with entrepreneurs on the pro-market right. Even more pronounced is a growing age cleavage, with older people increasingly opposing marketization. There is also evidence that polarization has been most pronounced in those societies that have adopted market economies most aggressively, with attendant outcomes such as higher rates of unemployment and inequality. In post-communist societies, as elsewhere, capitalist economic relations appear to have engendered matching cleavage structures.


Sun Yatsen and Chen Duxiu had different attitudes to the New Cultural Movement.That is because they realized China traditional culture differently.Chen Duxiu negated Confucianism,traditional ethics and morals,Chinese literature and art.He even advocated to abandon characters.However,Sun Yatsen advocated to carry on,and develop traditional culture.In general,Sun Yatsen had a positive attitude to Confucianism,traditional ethics and morals and Chinese literature and art.He also respected Kong Zi and was against abandoning characters.


Preparation of oleylammonium bromide (OAmBr). Oleylamine (OAm, 12.5 mL, Acros Organics, 80-90 %) and ethanol (100 mL, Aldrich were mixed in a 250 mL flask. The reaction mixture was cooled in an ice-water bath and 8.56 mL of HBr (48% aqueous solution, Aldrich) was added. The reaction mixture was left to react overnight under nitrogen flow. Then the solution was dried in a rotary evaporator and the product obtained was recrystallized multiple times from diethyl ether and then isolated as a white powder by vacuum-drying at room temperature. OAmBr was stored in the glovebox.


From aspects of people's conception, the basic works of the computerization, the professional quality of the accountants, the security of the accounting system, and the management of the accounting records, etc., this paper discusses on some problems that must be taken into consideration and solved in the course of carrying out the accounting computerization in our country's enterprises at present.


method and dosage device of a fluid using a set of pipes connected in which an input branch 1 results in a junction 2 connected to two or more connections 3, 4 is allowed to the analyte flow beyond the junction, in one of the hook 3, wherein the flow is stopped. Separating the fraction of substance which has entered the connection, the fraction remaining in the input branch, by circulating an auxiliary substance immiscible with the substance to be assayed in one of the hook 3 and a second branch 4 so that fractions 15 is driven by the auxiliary substance. The two fractions are separated by a surface generated by surface tension at the junction of the hook. Assay precision is due to the fact that a separating surface may be generated repeatedly at the same location. The invention is particularly applicable to chemical analyzers wet phase in which the substance to be determined is a fluid, usually an aqueous solution, and the auxiliary substance may be a gas, for example air, or other non-fluid miscible with water.


This thesis describes the phonological system and its features,and lists the homophony syllabary of the Jingning(Chengchuan) Dialect in Gansu Province.


This paper investigates the cooperative real-time trajectory design issue for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to support long-range emergency communications in disaster areas. To quickly restore the communication links between mobile users (MUs) and base stations, UAVs equipped with a radio frequency (RF) module and a free space optical (FSO) module serve as relay nodes. Given the difficulty of setting up a central controller for UAVs and the urgency of emergency communication, the UAV trajectory design issue is formulated as a distributed cooperative optimization problem. A collaborative multi-UAV trajectory design method based on multi-agent proximal policy optimization (MAPPO) is adopted to improve RF/FSO channel throughput. Compared with the state-of-the-art DRL methods, MAPPO can achieve higher RF allocation efficiency and increase the FSO communication backhaul capacity.


Recently, energy costs are getting more and more expensive, and supervisors are forced to reduce energy consumption to set off the raised part of the cost of the products. Forcasting the energy consumption of each major device and monitoring the process value, computerized total energy management system makes on-line processing such as alarming and selective load shedding available. Distributed processing system, which is distributing the functions and centralizing the essential data toward host computer, is highly reliable and can respond quickly. The target percentage of energy saving is 1.0-3.0 % by the installation of the energy management system and the target period of return on investment and payback is usually within 2 years.


Abstract Objective The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) promote healthy dietary choices for all Americans aged 2 years and older; however, the majority of Americans do not meet recommendations. The goal of the present study was to identify both barriers and facilitators to adherence to DGA recommendations for consumption of five recommended food groups: grains (specifically whole grains), vegetables, fruits, meat/beans and milk (specifically reduced-fat/non-fat), among American-Indian children. Design Nominal group technique sessions were conducted to identify and prioritize children's perceived barriers and facilitators to following the DGA, as presented in the 'MyPyramid' consumer education icon. After response generation to a single question about each food group (e.g. 'What sorts of things make it harder (or easier) for kids to follow the MyPyramid recommendation for vegetables?'), children individually ranked their top five most salient responses. Ranked responses are presented verbatim. Setting A rural Northern Plains American-Indian reservation, USA. Subjects Sixty-one self-selected fifth-grade children. Results Core barriers for all food groups studied included personal preference (i.e. 'don't like') and environmental (i.e. 'cost too much'; 'store is too far to get them'; 'grandma don't have'). Core facilitators included suggestions, i.e. 'make a garden and plant vegetables'; 'tell your friends to eat healthy'. Conclusions Barriers and facilitators are dissimilar for individual food groups, suggesting that dietary interventions should target reduction of barriers and promotion of facilitators specific to individual food groups recommended by the DGA.


Self-designed energy measuring and monitoring management system is devided into three layers,application layer,transport layer and data collection layer.Use different collection terminal to transmit data on the server by means of wired or wireless GPRS.The system has data collection,storage and analysis capabilities,and functions of electronic display,alarm and data reporting.The system provides strong technical support to management and energy conservation of enterprises.


Sepsis, caused by blood stream infection, is a very serious health condition thatrequires immediate treatment using antibiotics to increase the chances for patientsurvival. A high prevalence of ant ...


ABSTRACT Despite its emphasis on social justice, social work in the United States has not always attended to issues of diversity in doctoral education. This article examines the state of the discipline's research on traditionally underrepresented students in U.S. doctoral social work programs. An analysis of relevant peer-reviewed articles from social work journals revealed that this research has focused on demographic trends, degree motivation, student barriers, existing supports, and career navigation. Diversity in U.S. doctoral social work education is vastly understudied with the majority of scholarship focusing on ethnoracial difference. The limitations of this study are discussed, and future research directions are proposed including the need to examine various kinds of social differences and a wider range of support initiatives.


Most current web browsers display only the representation of the web document(s) that the user is currently examining with no indication of the structure of the document other than by highlighting hypertext links. Those browsers that do indicate the structure of web documents, such as the Harmony browser for Hyper-G [Hyper-G], use a different window from that of the document to present this information to the user. In this paper we will describe WWW3D a novel browser that provides a single 3D display which integrates the display of the web documents themselves, the structure of the part of the web that the user has browsed and history information showing the links the user has followed in the recent past. WWW3D is implemented in DIVE [Hagsand 96] and supports multiple concurrent users who are visible to each other and who may either be browsing the the same or different sets of web documents.


Gas mature fields are associated with challenges to optimize the hydrocarbon flow from reservoir to the sales point in a cost effective manner due to declining well productivity. Laslau Mare field is a mature gas field in Transylvanian basin (Mures County) developed in 1970s and is producing∼99% methane with low water-gas ratio. As any brown field, the state of depleted reservoir will generate several constraints for gas flow from formation to surface facilities and further to delivery point. During the exploitation has been observed that the operation conditions are facing with unstable pressure in the system due to low demand. Therefore, the back pressure effect will affect the wells in terms of inability to unload the bottomhole accumulated liquids and the reservoir will suffer a higher pressure drawdown. The best fit-for-purpose solution to overcome the above challenges is represented by installation of group compressor. Laslau Mare field has 3 group compressors running and shows positive results, especially when external pressure fluctuates continuously. This paper explain the challenges seen in 2016 in Laslau Mare field with back pressure effects and how the compression overcome them, and also other solutions that should be considered to optimize the well production.


In this paper, a new electrostatic-charge discharge (ESD) phenomenon is found. It occurs at the power pad during the human-body model (HBM) zapping event. We call this new ESD phenomenon as the charged capacitor model (CCM). Unlike the IO pad under the HBM event, the power pad under the HBM zapping event doesn't behave the same with IO pad if it is in parallel with a large decoupling capacitor. Before the power-clamped device (Pdev) turns on, the charges will flow from the HBM discharge head to the decoupling capacitor below the power line. After the Pdev turns on, the decoupling capacitor will discharge its stored charges to give the additional stress current to the Pdev. Compared to the HBM event, the rising time of the CCM is much shorter since the decoupling capacitor is connected to the Pdev by a metal bus line. Under such short rising time pulse, only few regions of the device can be turned on to discharge the charges, resulting in the HBM failure threshold voltage of the power pad much smaller than the desired voltage level.


Aim: Many small datasets of significant value exist in the medical space that are being underutilized. Due to the heterogeneity of complex disorders found in oncology, systems capable of discovering patient subpopulations while elucidating etiologies are of great value as they can indicate leads for innovative drug discovery and development.
Methods: Two small non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) datasets (GSE18842 and GSE10245) consisting of 58 samples of adenocarcinoma (ADC) and 45 samples of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) were used in a machine intelligence framework to identify genetic biomarkers differentiating these two subtypes. Utilizing a set of standard machine learning (ML) methods, subpopulations of ADC and SCC were uncovered while simultaneously extracting which genes, in combination, were significantly involved in defining the subpopulations. A previously described interactive hypothesis-generating method designed to work with ML methods was employed to provide an alternative way of extracting the most important combination of variables to construct a new data set.
Results: Several genes were uncovered that were previously implicated by other methods. This framework accurately discovered known subpopulations, such as genetic drivers associated with differing levels of aggressiveness within the SCC and ADC subtypes. Furthermore, phyosphatidylinositol glycan anchor biosynthesis, class X (PIGX) was a novel gene implicated in this study that warrants further investigation due to its role in breast cancer proliferation.
Conclusions: The ability to learn from small datasets was highlighted and revealed well-established properties of NSCLC. This showcases the utility of ML techniques to reveal potential genes of interest, even from small datasets, shedding light on novel driving factors behind subpopulations of patients.


Milk production systems in Eastern Australia vary from grazing improved pastures and fodder crops with strategic use of high energy supplements, to feeding complete diets under feedlot conditions. The nature of the production system within any area is dictated by climatic and economic factors. Economic return from milk production within a given area is a function of the genetic capacity of the herd, reproductive performance, genetic selection, nutrition, management, stocking rate and pricing policy of the milk produced. .


Urban heat islands (UHI) are developing due to increasing urbanization and loss of vegetation in major cities in India. Increased urbanization modifies the urban microclimate that leads to significant land-use changes resulting in surface conversion and heat release, which poses serious risks to human health, environment and the ecosystem of the Himalayan ecosystem. Hence, mitigating UHI becomes important and requires a better understanding of underlying associated biophysical processes. In the study an attempt has been made to demonstrate the impact of urbanization on land surface temperature (LST) in Shimla and Dehradun, capitals of the Western Himalayan states, India using satellite data and spatial metrics. The process was analyzed using urban coverage patterns obtained from Landsat 5, 7, and 8 and corresponding sensors from TM, ETM+, and OLI. The Built-up and Non-Built-up areas were extracted and the biophysical parameters NDVI, NDBI, NDWI and LST were calculated to capture different features of urban growth. The result indicated, that the built-up area increased from 32.19 km2 (2000) to 68.37 km2 (2016) in Dehradun and from 12.38 km2 (2000) to 29.47 km2 (2016) in Shimla during the study period, resulting in an increase in NDBI and LST and Reduction and NDVI and NDWI. Results showed that temperature hotspots were largest in urban areas, followed by vegetation and water bodies. A significant correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between LST and biophysical parameters -NDVI, NDBI, NDWI. Spatial metrics at the class and landscape levels show that increased urban growth from 2000 to 2016 has made the landscape fragmented and more heterogeneous. The Identified trends and changes in landscape patterns and their impact on heterogeneous urban areas suggest that the study is feasible to estimate LST, NDVI, NDBI and NDWI with reasonable accuracy that will likely have influence on policy interventions.


Disclosed herein is a mechanical sealing device for preventing fluid leakage. The sealing device has a sealing chamber formed by a flange, a seal casing and a seal cover at a position outside a gland ring. This gland ring is used for holding the gland packings installed in a stuffing box of each of rotary and stationary sealing rings. The rotary and stationary sealing rings are provided in the sealing chamber. In this case, the rotary sealing ring is fixed to a sleeve. The stationary sealing ring comes into contact with both the sleeve and the rotary sealing ring, and is held by a slip ring biased by a spring. The spring is provided between the stationary sealing ring and the flange. Further, the sealing device has an additional sealing ring, which is provided on the inner surface of each of the gland ring and the seal cover, and comes into contact with the sleeve.


Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) robots can replace humans that work in hazardous environments to ensure worker safety. Thus, they have been widely developed and deployed. However, existing EOD robots have some limitations in environmental adaptation, such as a single function, slow action speed, and limited vision. To overcome these shortcomings and solve the uncertain problem of bomb disposal on the firing range, we have developed an intelligent bomb disposal system that integrates autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigation, deep learning, and other technologies. For the hardware structure of the system, we design an actuator constructed by a winch device and a mechanical gripper to grasp the unexploded ordnance (UXO), which is equipped under the six-rotor UAV. The integrated dual-vision Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) pod is applied in the system to monitor and photograph the deployment site for dropping live munitions. For the software structure of the system, the ground station exploits the YOLOv5 algorithm to detect the grenade targets for real-time video and accurately locate the landing point of the grenade. The operator remotely controls the UAV to grasp, transfer, and destroy grenades. Experiments on explosives defusal are performed, and the results show that our system is feasible with high recognition accuracy and strong maneuverability. Compared with the traditional mode of explosives defusal, the system can provide decision-makers with accurate information on the location of the grenade and at the same time better mitigate the potential casualties in the explosive demolition process.


The problem of gender prejudices in science is discussed. The socio-psychological factors of women participation in scientific activities are considered: gender stereotypes, gender prejudices, gender socialization, role conflicts, career orientations, etc.


Substantial reductions in U.S. cigarette smoking and associated chronic diseases over the past 50 years have benefited health. Unfortunately, those reductions have distributed unevenly throughout the population. Smoking remains prevalent and even increasing among certain vulnerable populations: economically disadvantaged groups, those with other substance-use disorders or mental illness, certain ethnic and racial minorities, and gender and sexual minorities. Moreover, other unhealthy behavior patterns (physical inactivity, unhealthy food choices, risky sexual behavior, poor adherence to medical preventive regimens) and associated chronic diseases are also overrepresented in many of these same populations. Disparities in unhealthy behavior patterns contribute to health disparities and escalating health care costs, underscoring the need for more effective behavior-change strategies. This report reviews research on the efficacy of financial incentives for reducing smoking in vulnerable populations, while also touching on applications of that behavior-change strategy for promoting other health-related behavior changes in vulnerable populations.


A higher impedance, steroid‐eluting pacing lead was studied in a multicenter trial. A total of 132 leads were implanted in 61 patients and the electrical characteristics were compared with historical controls. The study lead had a lower pacing threshold at 3 months. 0.72 ± 0.33 versus 1.29 ± 0.82 in the atrium and 0.71 ± 0.25 versus 1.52 ± 0.52 in the ventricle (P < 0.01 for both). Impedance was significantly higher in the study lead, 923 ± 133 versus 719 ± 109 in the atrium and 980 ± 235 versus 664 ± 104 in the ventricle (P < 0.01 for both). Sensing was similar for both leads. The study lead's higher impedance values and low pacing thresholds combine to reduce pacing system energy requirements.