James R. Fienup used phase retrieval algorithms to determine the aberrations in the Hubble Space Telescope. The theory of phase retrieval is described in this paper. Other applications of phase retrieval, such as undersampled broadband images, lensless coherent imaging, and optical metrology, are also discussed. Introduction: James R. Fienup established the use of phase retrieval in the early 1980's. Phase retrieval determines the phase error or aberrations of an optical system. Phase retrieval algorithms use computer modeling that often start with an educated guess. This model is run several times and a pattern is determined. It is from the comparison of this pattern to the known data of the actual optical system that the correct parameters can usually be determined and used to accurately model the system. From this model, the aberration coefficients can be determined. These aberration coefficients are used to calibrate an already working optical system. This is especially useful for optical systems in space, where direct testing cannot be used [1]. Phase retrieval was used to help correct the blurred images from the uncorrected Hubble Space Telescope [2]. There are other more recent applications for phase retrieval, such as undersampled broadband images [3], lensless coherent imaging [4], optical metrology [5], and 3-D locator sets of opaque objects [6]. Theory: In phase retrieval, the phase error can be found from some a priori information about the Fourier transform of the function [1]. For the case of mathematical modeling, a priori means to analyze data that is collected and look for patterns that are created from that model [7]. Phase retrieval creates a model of the point spread function of the optical system [1]. A point spread function shows the propagation of a light wave from a point source through an optical system [8]. In a perfect optical system, the point spread function from the object should be the same at the detector array. However, when aberrations are present in the optical system, the point-spread function at the entrance pupil of the system is disorganized at the detector array, and the image appears blurred. The phase retrieval algorithm calculates the point spread function of the system so the calibration aberration coefficient can be used to deblur the images. Many different kinds of aberrations can appear in optical systems. The most common are polynomial aberrations, such as astigmatism, chromatic, coma, and spherical (Fig.(1)). Spherical aberrations are the only on-axis aberrations and cause the focal point to actually be spread out along the optical axis. In other words, the rays closest to the optical axis cross the optical axis before the rays towards the edge of the lens do [9]. Astigmatism, coma, and chromatic aberrations are all off-axis aberrations. Astigmatism occurs when an off-axis bundle of light travels through an optical system. There will be a point where a vertical focus line and a horizontal focus line will appear, instead of circles of focused light [9]. Coma aberrations are similar, but occur when an off-axis bundle of light is not perfectly re-imaged, or not all the rays cross at the same off-axis point [9]. Finally, chromatic aberrations occur because the index of refraction is not the same for all wavelengths of light; therefore, the different wavelength rays focus at different points [9]. The phase-retrieval algorithm determines the Zernike coefficients, which come from the even Zernike polynomial (Eq.[1]) and the odd Zernike polynomial (Eq.[2]) that are typically used to describe aberrations [10]. ) cos( ) , ( φ φ ρ m R Z m n m n = (1) ) sin( ) , ( φ φ ρ m R Z m n m n = − , (2) where m and n are integers (n ≥ m), ρ is the normalized radial distance, ф is the azimuthal angle (radians), and Rn are the radial polynomials. Figure 1. Polynomial aberrations There are two approaches to determining the phase retrieval: gradient-search algorithms and iterative transform algorithms [1]. Both these algorithms are very complex, with many uses of multiple Fourier transforms. The models that are created from the algorithms are computer generated. The gradient-search algorithm starts with a weighted error metric, [ ] ∑ − = u u F u G u W E 2 ) ( ) ( ) ( (3) where F(u) is the magnitude of the optical field at the detector, W(u) is a weighting function, and G(u) is a computer generated model of the magnitude of an optical wave front, including the phase error [1]. A weighting function gives a chosen element more "weight" over other elements in the equation [11]. When these algorithms were applied to the Hubble Space Telescope, the spherical aberrations were far greater than the scientists originally thought [1]. The other polynomial aberrations were present but much smaller. The gradient-search algorithm for calculating the single-plane phase retrieval was used to find the Zernike coefficients. The normalized root mean square error (Eq.[4]) was computed to be within 0.001 waves of the correct Zernike coefficients for the optical telescope assembly, which is very accurate [2].


A mathematical representation has been developed for the electromagnetic force field and the fluid-flow field in a coreless induction furnace. The fluid flow field was represented by writing the axisymmetric turbulent Navier–Stokes equations, containing the electromagnetic body-force term. The electromagnetic body force field was calculated by using a technique of mutual inductances. The k-ε model was employed for evaluating the turbulent viscosity, and the resultant differential equations were solved numerically. The theoretically predicted velocity fields were in reasonably good agreement with the experimental measurements reported by Hunt & Moore; furthermore, the agreement regarding the turbulence intensities was essentially quantitative. These results indicate the k-ε model does provide a good engineering representation of the turbulent recirculating flows occurring in induction furnaces. At this stage it is not clear whether the discrepancies between measurements and the predictions, which were not very great in any case, are attributable either to the model or to the measurement techniques employed.


This study was carried out to determine the different effect of scion types on bench grafting. Rootstock 110R and Hafizali and Cardinal cvs. were used as a plant material. Scion types performed burst cuttingburst scion, burst cutting-swollen scion, and burst cutting-unburst scion. 21 days after grafting, all grafted cuttings were measured and recorded. The results indicate that discarded grafted-cuttings ratio (%) was found totally to be 3%. In bud, burst values swollen and unburst scions were in same statistical group (53.72 and 52.92%). Best results of shoot length ratio from burst scion in group 0-5 cm (38.62%) and group 5-10cm (4.00%) was found. Rotting in bottom of cuttings was found to be between 4.67 (burst scion) to 11.44% (unburst scion). Rooting ratio were increased along with development of bud; 1.42, 3.44 and 4.67%, respectively for unburst, swollen and burst scions. Highest total callus fresh weight was obtained from swollen scion (1159.35 mg).


The optimal period of low iodine diet during preparation for radioactive iodine (RAI) ablation in an area with iodine‐rich diet was investigated.


Traffic guide signs are the most important carriers and promulgators of traffic management and the road net geographical information. The erection of the guide signs has a direct influence on driving security and traffic efficiency of the road net. In this paper the drivers' cognitive time of traffic guide signs were gained by the special designed simulation experiment .The drivers' identifying order on a traffic guide sign and the characteristic of indentifying graphic symbols in the traffic guide signs were achieved by descriptive statistics and difference comparison of the drivers' cognitive time. The research shows the driver's identifying order is from left to right and up to down. Furthermore, the graphic symbols have great influence on the cognitive time, and, this influence has a close relation with the driving behavior. At the same time the result approved that the criterion of the layout order of the information in the traffic guide signs is reasonable in Chinese national standard.


The closely related mammalian proteins IA‐2 and phogrin are protein tyrosine phosphatase‐like receptor proteins spanning the membrane of dense core vesicles of neuroendocrine tissues. They are of interest as molecular components of the secretory machinery and as major targets of autoimmunity in type I diabetes mellitus. The Caenorhabditis elegans genome has a single copy of an IA‐2/phogrin homolog ida‐1 III (islet cell diabetic autoantigen), which encodes the ida‐1 (B0244.2) gene product as a series of 12 exons over a 10‐kb region of chromosome III. The full‐length sequence of the ida‐1 cDNA encoded a 767‐amino acid type 1 transmembrane protein of 87 kDa. The PTP catalytic site consensus sequence of IDA‐1, like IA‐2 and phogrin, diverged and would not be active. Expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the ida‐1 gene promoter showed activity in a subset of around 30 neurons with sensory functions and the uv1 cells of the vulva in hermaphrodites. Males showed additional expression in male‐specific neurons. In situ experiments in rat brain showing the distribution of IA‐2 and phogrin suggested a complimentary and overlapping pattern compared with the proprotein convertases PC1 and PC2. In C. elegans, IDA‐1‐expressing cells comprised a subset of those expressing the PC2 homolog KPC‐2 (C51E3.7), consistent with IDA‐1 being a component of neuropeptide‐containing dense core vesicles. The results support the hypothesis that C. elegans IDA‐1 is the functional homolog of IA‐2 and phogrin in mammals. Analysis of the function of IDA‐1 should contribute to our understanding of the function of these proteins in signal transduction, vesicle locomotion, and exocytosis. J. Comp. Neurol. 429:127–143, 2001. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The exact solutions for the fields inside and outside a dielectric ring in a uniform, axial, electrostatic field are derived in the system of toroidal coordinates. Comparison is made with the perturbation solution generated by inverse aspect ratio expansion, and it is shown how the exact solution may be truncated to any desired accuracy. The cylindrical limits of the exact and truncated solutions are obtained.


The fast increment in the number of IoT (Internet of Things) devices is accelerating the research on new solutions to make cloud services scalable. In this context, the novel concept of fog computing as well as the combined fog-to-cloud computing paradigm is becoming essential to decentralize the cloud, while bringing the services closer to the end-system. This article surveys e application layer communication protocols to fulfill the IoT communication requirements, and their potential for implementation in fog- and cloud-based IoT systems. To this end, the article first briefly presents potential protocol candidates, including request-reply and publish-subscribe protocols. After that, the article surveys these protocols based on their main characteristics, as well as the main performance issues, including latency, energy consumption, and network throughput. These findings are thereafter used to place the protocols in each segment of the system (IoT, fog, cloud), and thus opens up the discussion on their choice, interoperability, and wider system integration. The survey is expected to be useful to system architects and protocol designers when choosing the communication protocols in an integrated IoT-to-fog-to-cloud system architecture.


Pneumatic conveying systems still are being designed improperly or are experiencing a wide variety of problems, such as excessive wear, product damage, inadequate capacity, blockages. This paper describes some of the test-design procedures that have been developed recently to design, optimise and/or uprate pneumatic conveying systems. Transport characteristics with minimum transport boundaries form an integral part of this work. Case studies are presented to demonstrate the utilisation of such information in system optimisation and uprating.


Background and purpose:Matrix Metalloproteinase(MMPs) are related to the process of bone rebuilding,bone resorption,tumor invasion and metastasis.We detected the level of MMP-9 and MMP-2 for multiple myeloma(MM) patients and tried to explore the role and clinical implications of these two proteins in MM.Methods:Expression of MMP-9 was detected in the culture fluid of mononuclear cells from 30 patients with MM and MMP-2 in the culture fluid of bone marrow stromal cells(BMSCs) from 24 patients with MM by ELISA.Results:The level of MMP-9 in 19/30 and MMP-2 in 14/24 patients with active MM were significantly higher than both the patients with stable MM(11/30 and 10/24) and 12 normal donors(P0.05),The levels of MMP-9 and MMP-2 in stable MM patients were not different from normal donors(P0.05) Expression level of MMP-9 in 12 patients with the phenotype of secreting IgG was correlated to the level of M protein(r=0.87,P=00.05).rIL-6 and rIL-1β did not play a role in stimulating MMP-2 secretion of BMSCs.When BMSCs from 9 patients with active MM were co-cultured with U266 cells(human MM cell lines),there was a significant increase of MMP-2 in BMSCs(P0.05).Conclusions:The increase of MMPs is associated with disease progression.The level of MMP-9 is correlative to tumor burden and may have a role in the invasion and pathogenesis of MM.The interaction of myeloma cell and BMSCs is essential for the behavior of MM cells.


The 1,2,3,4-tetrachloro-7-fluorodibenzo-p-dioxin has been synthesized via condensation of 4-fluorocatechol and pentachloronitrobenzene. This compound could be used as an internal standard for the analysis of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin by chromatographic methods.


OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: To identify new ethical challenges in human subject research related to the use of cloud-based platforms for data collection. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Ethical analysis. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The OHRP regulations protecting the data, privacy and confidentiality of human subjects and the Terms of Service regulations governing data use by cloud-based platforms are vastly different. The gap between these 2 sets of laws and regulations leaves human subjects vulnerable to harm during the data collection process via clod-based tools. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Recognizing the risks related to data gathering via cloud-based platforms, and educating researchers and research subjects about these risks and how to minimize them will strengthen the protections of participants and will enhance the informed consent process resulting in increased trust and greater willingness to participate in human subject research.


Meadow River Enterprises, Inc. (MRE) and the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (NYSCC) received a DOE cooperative agreement award in September 1999 to develop an energy-efficient Solid-State Ceramic Lamp (SSCL). The program spanned a nominal two(2) year period ending in February of 2002. The federal contribution to the program totaled $1.6 million supporting approximately 78% of the program costs. The SSCL is a rugged electroluminescent lamp designed for outdoor applications. MRE has filed a provisional patent for this ''second generation'' technology and currently produces and markets blue-green phosphor SSCL devices. White phosphor SSCL devices are also available in prototype quantities. In addition to reducing energy consumption, the ceramic EL lamp offers several economic and societal advantages including lower lifecycle costs and reduced ''light pollution''. Significant further performance improvements are possible but will require a dramatic change in device physical construction related to the use of micro-powder materials and processes. The subject ''second-generation'' program spans a 27 month period and combines the materials and processing expertise of NYSCC, the manufacturing expertise of Meadow River Enterprises, and the phosphor development expertise of OSRAM Sylvania to develop an improved SSCL system. The development plan also includes important contributions bymore » Marshall University (a part of the West Virginia University system). All primary development objectives have been achieved with the exception of improved phosphor powders. The performance characteristics of the first generation SSCL devices were carefully analyzed in year 1 and a second generation lamp was defined and optimized in year 2. The provisional patent was ''perfected'' through a comprehensive patent application filed in November 2002. Lamp efficiency was improved more than 2:1.« less


According to the traditional Western concept of freedom, the ability to exercise free will depends on the availability of options and the possibility to consciously decide which one to choose. Given that there are different options, the consequence of this view is that the more conscious control one has over one's actions (as opposed to merely impulsive responses), the freer one is. Since neuroscientific research increasingly shows the limits of what we in fact consciously control, it seems that our belief in free will and hence in personal autonomy is in trouble. If the free will sceptics are right, the consequences would be far-reaching, not only with regard to our self-understanding, but also with regard to ethical and legal matters. A closer look at the phenomenology of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) gives us reason to doubt the traditional concept of freedom in terms of conscious control. Patients suffering from OCD experience themselves as unfree. They feel trapped in their fears, in their obsessions and compulsions, and in fact their daily life is often severely hindered by the imprisonment of their disorders. The question is whether their lack of freedom is due to a lack of will power. Do they have too little conscious control over their thoughts and actions? Or could it be the opposite: are they exerting too much conscious control over their thoughts and actions? In this chapter, we will argue that OCD patients testify to the general condition that exercising an increased conscious control over actions can in fact diminish the sense of agency rather than increase the experience of freedom. Referring to Heidegger (Heidegger 1927/2001) and Merleau-Ponty (Merleau-Ponty 1945/2002), we argue that conscious control and deliberation may be useful when the natural flow of action is disturbed: for instance when a necessary tool is broken or missing (Heidegger 1927/2001) or when one learns a new skill (Dreyfus 2002). However, deliberation itself may also disturb the flow of unreflective action.


PurposeThis research analyzes borrowers' credit utilization through prepayment behavior in peer-to-peer (P2P) lending. The authors investigate factors influencing the decision to prepay and assess the role of P2P lending as an alternative source of consumer credits.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use individual loan-level data from the LendingClub, one of the largest P2P platforms in the USA. The authors use a Logit model and a sample selection model estimated by the two-stage Heckman method. The empirical analysis considers borrower-specific and loan-specific characteristics as well as macroeconomic factors.FindingsThe authors present a number of significant findings that can enhance understanding consumers' financing decisions. The authors offer evidence that borrowers are able to take advantage of cheaper loans offered by P2P lending to better manage credit card balance and consolidate debt. The authors find that borrowers tend to prepay P2P loans quickly when the aggregate cost of borrowing is low, suggesting that P2P lending offers an efficient alternative to obtain credit. This is particularly true for creditworthy borrowers that are able to take advantage of competing sources of finance. The authors' results provide evidence that P2P lending can improve consumers' optimal credit utilization.Originality/valueP2P lending has grown exponentially and has become a significant credit supplier to consumers and small businesses. While the existing literature mostly focuses on default risks, prepayment has received much less attention. This research fills in the gap and investigates borrowers' prepayment behavior in P2P loans and the role of P2P lending as an alternative source of consumer credits.


Abstract - The problem of reconstruction of surfaces based on a given plane by their shadow contours is considered. The optical projection of the surface point and shadow contours with respect to perpendicular and optical projection is introduced. Necessary and sufficient conditions of unique reconstruction of a plane curve by complete set of optical and perpendicular projections of their points are presented. A uniqueness result on the problem is obtained in the case of smooth hat-shaped surface. A uniqueness theorem for the problem of simultaneous reconstruction of two nonintersecting piecewise-smooth hat-shaped surfaces by complete set of their shadows is proved.


In this work, the equation of motion of a cantilever beam with two piezoelectric patches, one acting as a sensor and the other as an actuator was first formulated, and the sensor induced voltage, representing the strain in the beam, was calculated. The beam governing equation was converted into a state space model and its response under active vibration control was studied through numerical simulations. Two types of control methods were used, velocity feedback control (VFC) and the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR). The effects of varying controller gains and weighting matrices on the beam vibration amplitude and settling time, as well as the induced voltage in the actuator were investigated. The LQR controller was found to be more effective than the VFC as the maximum induced actuator voltage was significantly lower. For the LQR controller weighting matrices Q and R, it was found that increasing Q reduces settling time and increases the actuator induced voltage, while increasing R, increases settling time. A calculation method for optimizing sensor placement and actuator length is also presented. The results indicate that the optimal actuator length is about 60% of the beam length.


Everyone talks about the environment, but not many people understand the complex issues that arise as the environmental movement evolves. The need for clear communications on environmental issues has never been greater. Public relations practitioners face the test of building bridges of understanding between industry, regulators and the public. In the Great Lakes area, one of today's most controversial topics in environmental circles is the great chlorine debate. Originally aimed at the paper manufacturing industry, the effort to ban chlorine in the manufacturing process has expanded to include other industries and products. Chlorine products are an important part of the worldwide chemical manufacturing business. Items such as plastics, pipe and approximately 85% of our pharmaceutical products are produced to some degree with chlorine or through chlorine-related processes. During the past few months, the International Joint Commission on Great Lakes Water Quality issued a report recommending a phaseout of chlorine. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also recently proposed the development of plans for reducing or prohibiting the discharge of chlorine or chlorinated compounds into bodies of water. The social and economic implications of "virtual elimination" of chlorine throughout major industries in this country are immense, increasing the responsibilities of the environmental communicator. Order protects poor A second critical issue facing communicators is environmental equity. The environmental equity or justice movement has become the topic of heated debate, public policy and national importance. Recently, the Clinton administration issued an executive order to all federal agencies requiring that their programs not cause harm to the environments of poor people or minorities. Other developments on the environmental justice front include the formation of an Office of Environmental Equity by the U.S. EPA, an Investigation by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights into environmental discrimination, and introduction of the Environmental Justice Act of 1993 to force federal authorities to clean up the most toxic counties in the nation. As the environmental justice movement gains momentum, communicators will need to anticipate potential political and legal consequences for the organizations they represent. A third key issue facing public relations professionals specializing in environmental issues is Congressional review of the Superfund legislation. Originally designed to address the problem of hazardous waste cleanups, the legislation has caused numerous conflicts, including the abandonment of urban industrial property for green-space in outlying suburbs to avoid costly remediation activities. Complicating this issue is the understandable hesitation of financial institutions to finance urban redevelopment. A survey by the American Bankers Association found that 62% of all banks turn down loans based on environmental reasons alone. Other ongoing challenges facing environmental public relations practitioners this year include: * Cleanup notifications that need to be developed and implemented to include key audiences, residents, businesses, government officials and environmental groups. …


Rudolf II is not, on the face of it, a sympathetic figure: the reclusive emperor, sealed within a (literally) magic circle of astrologers and soothsayers at Prague; a ruler more easily absorbed, so it would seem from Dr Evans's study, in the mysteries of the universe than in the welfare of his subjects. It is a measure of Dr Evans's achievement that he deftly dissolves any preliminary antipathy to so impractical a fellow, and draws us, fascinated, into the mental world inhabited by this grandson of Charles V, presiding over a fin de siecle court, at the dead end of a dying Renaissance, consciously living in the past, and prudently expiring before the thirty years holocaust which engulfed his inheritance. Among the book's considerable merits is the refusal to allow hindsight prematurely to cloud these twilight years. Dr Evans catches the twilight as it was. We are not led to read the reign as the story of a steep and inexorable decline into war. Neither is it presented as a rising road to the Counter Reformation. Instead, we are shown the Rudolfine period living out its uncertainties without foreknowledge of the future. Rudolf II's Habsburg world, so often presented in retrospect as the Catholic monolith united in its course, is presented from the inside for what it was: divided between its Spanish and its Austrian blocs, each of them engaged in overlapping and conflicting spheres of interest, in Italy, in the Netherlands, in the conduct of the Ottoman wars; each, separately, at loggerheads with the papacy's reviving interest in the control of bishoprics. Hence 'the peculiar nature of [Austrian] Habsburg Catholicism, so suspect to Rome and to Madrid'; hence the erastian conservatism of the emperor himself, continuing the policies of Maximilian his father, despite (or perhaps because of) his political education at the Spanish court. Philip Sidney, visiting Prague in 1577, found the new emperor 'few of wordes, sullein of disposition, very secrete and resolute.. .extreemely Spaniolated*. But Sidney mistook the manner for the matter. The'Spanish'party of Prague did not, according to Dr Evans, call all the tunes. They rode into the ascendant only after Rudolf's death. In the struggle against the Turks, Philip II was desperate for compromise; Rudolf emerges as surprisingly resolute, desiring a complete victory or none at all. In 1606 he refused to sign the compromise treaty hammered out at Zsitvatorok. Nevertheless it was hammered out. Rudolf's personal policy was undermined by the unwillingness of any of his allies the Empire, the Papacy, Spain fully to co-operate. As Dr Evans concludes, in his


Abstract The problem of charge localization in phosphothioates got more attention since thioanaloges proved useful for stereochemical investigntinns of biochemical processes. On the basis of the existing evidence the structure 1c has been confirmed for aqueous solutions.


922 myths about the place of the North and of communications in the nation's history, DRTE's research inverted the traditional relationship between natural order, environment, and technology in Canada, taking the age-old sympathy between technologies and natural orders, recasting them as antagonists, and locating their point of opposition in the problematic behavior of machines that threatened the nation's survival. (pp. 216–17)


Objective To explorer the effects of exenatide combinated with berberine therapy on early phase insulin secretion in the patients with new onset type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM),as well as protection mechanism on pancreatic islet beta cell function.Methods 48 cases with new onset T2DM were divided randomly into therapy group and control group(n=24),the therapy group was given Exenatide combinated with Berberine therapy,and the control group was given Glibenclamide therapy for 12 weeks.75g oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT) was conducted in the each group,the change of fasting plasma glucose(FPG),fasting plasma insulin(FINS),30 and 120 min plasma glucose and insulin levels after oral glucose intake.Triglyceride(TG) and C-reactive protein(CRP) levels before and after treatment were also determined.And insulin sensitivity index(ISI) was calculated.Results After treatment P30INS in the therapy group was higher than those before treatment,the other observed indexes were lower than that before treatment;P30INS in control group was higher than those before treatment,FFPG、P30PG、P120PG were lower than that before treatment,and the differences were statistically significant(P 0.01).After treatment P120PG、FINS、P120INS、TG、CRP、ISI in the therapy group were lower than those in the control group,P30INS was higher than that in the control group,and the differences were statistically significant(P0.05 and P0.01).Conclusion Exenatide combinated with Berberine therapy not only can significantly decrease plasma glucose,but also can significantly increase early phase insulin secretion and improve islet β-cell function in the patients with new onset T2DM.


Powder injection moulding (PIM) is a net shape, multi-stage production technique for manufacturing complex geometry parts in high production volumes. PIM process involves four main production stages: mixing, injection moulding, debinding and sintering. For such multi-stage processing technique, the deliberate choice of component materials can significantly reduce the defect formations during consequent stages, as well as positively influence the energy efficiency, while reducing processing time. The aim of the thesis was to study the role of particular binder components and their interactions with mould channel walls, for development of a novel, environmentally friendly feedstocks. For novel binder systems polyethylene glycol was used as plasticiser which allowed using water for solvent debinding, instead of highly reactive chemicals (acetone, hexane, heptane). Different molecular weight PEGs served for balancing the initial weight loss during thermal debinding, ensuring gradual binder extraction. The use of carnauba wax as another binder component was motivated by the aim to lower the mixing temperatures, which is crucial for using advanced reactive fillers such as titanium. Further, it allowed replacing the synthetic backbone polymers by eco-friendly renewable natural components, increasing the environmental sustainability of this technology. The debinding characteristics of newly composed feedstocks were studied using thermogravimetric analysis. The results have shown that carnauba wax exhibited superior debinding properties compared to polyethylene and paraffin wax, with gradual thermal extraction up to late debinding stage. Further, alongside carnauba wax, another novel binder - acarawax was considered as a substitute for polyolefins. In order to study the feedstocks in detail, the adhesion between binder system components, as well as binders, powders and the mould materials was investigated. Contact angle analysis was performed, and using acid base model, surface energies were evaluated. Binders showed similar values with only exception of PEG and to some extent acrawax which exhibited much higher surface energies and polar component values. Among mould materials the heat-treated steel showed the highest value of surface energy, and noticeably higher polar component too. For the ceramic powders Al2O3 and ZrO2 the obtained values were rather similar. For studying the interactions and chemical mechanism occurring within binder system, the components were substituted with their low molecular analogues. The specific interactions of the substitutes were evaluated using combined FTIR and analogue calorimetry. The highest cross interaction values suggesting strong interactions were obtained for analogues of PEG and acrawax. This study provides an important understanding of the role of particular binder system components and their interactions, which will allow to precisely balancing the feedstock composition, positively influencing the energy efficiency and processing properties of a PIM cycle.


CUMMINGS, CHRISTOPHER LOUIS. Impacts of Communicating Secondary Risks on Risk Reduction Responses: The Case of Nanoparticle-Formulated Sunscreens. (Under direction of Dr. David M. Berube). As with many public health issues, the use of emerging technology such as the incorporation of engineered nanomaterials into consumer products, can become politicized and complicated by a large set of social and scientific factors. Inconclusive risk profiles of some nanomaterials have led to strongly argued claims made by some stakeholders to alter sentiments toward the use of engineered nanomaterials in a variety of applications. Motivated communication campaigners do not necessarily halt their efforts to deliver their message even though toxicologists and material scientists gain ground toward more robust characterization of nanomaterial risks. Such communication campaigns are likely to have demonstrative impacts on individual risk perceptions and risk response intentions, and in turn, on human health. This experimental study informs current debates regarding risk communication campaigns surrounding nanoparticle-formulated sunscreen by experimentally testing the impacts of secondary risk qualifications—communication that a product designed to protect oneself from harm may be introducing a new health risk. This dissertation employs established concepts from Protection Motivation Theory including threat-, and efficacyperceptions, and behavioral intentions in order to granularly assess the impacts of secondary risk qualifications on mediating perceptual states and persuasive outcomes of risk communication campaigns. Three levels of secondary risk qualifications are assessed using human subject experimentation and results demonstrate that qualifying statements that nanoparticle-formulated sunscreens pose new health risks differ significantly causing audiences to not only shy away from intending to use the product, but also caused them to view the product as less efficacious in its ability to protect users from risks like skin cancer that affect more than 2 million people in the United States and Australia annually.


A light link coupled control system for foil strippers is described. The foil changer can be moved in both directions by a motor in the terminal. Its position is transmitted from the terminal and indicated in the control unit. The system can be operated in a closed loop mode, then the foil changer runs to a preselected number and the foil is automatically centered.


Objective To evaluate the safety and short-term effects of laparoscopy-assisted complete mesocolic excision( CME) for right colon cancer. Methods The clinical data of 40 cases underwent laparoscopy-assisted CME for right colon cancer from February 2011 to October 2013 were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Results All the operations were successfully completed. The mean operative time was( 153. 7 ± 21. 6) mins,the number of cleared lymph nodes was 16. 3 ± 4. 2,the mean blood loss was( 131. 8 ± 40. 5) mL,time to first flatus was( 4. 7 ± 2. 1) days,and the mean size of tumor was( 5. 0 ± 3. 1) cm. In these 40 patients,there was one case of bleeding,three cases of lymphatic leakage,two cases of wound infection and one of lung infection. Conclusion Laparoscopy-assisted CME for right colon cancer is safe and feasible,it was worth popularizing.


Many of the data manipulated in a geographic information system are not discrete; instead, they must be treated as continuous fields. The ability to characterize a continuous field as a data type including related operations as well as estimation methods and the representation of the sampling points, facilitates the design and the use of this kind of data. However, the possibility to design and manipulate continuous fields is not enough to obtain a powerful tool, aspects related to the visualization of such data have to be also defined in order to realize spatial analysis. In this paper we present a flexible architecture to visualize data from continuous fields. Such architecture has been developed under the object-oriented paradigm, and the goal is to obtain a mechanism to allow the specification and evolution of the visual aspects independently of the implementation.


DAZAI Osamu"s "Kamome[Sea gull]" which it finished writing in November, 1939 has been expressing well about the time situation under Second Sino-Japanese War started in 1937. The government mobilized all to war, forced the life which wanted and added the restriction in many of everyday life to people. 'I' which can not be a military man sends Comfort Bag that a woman behind the lines sends, it feels a strong inferiority complex and shame. And, 'I' has the sadness and loneliness which are commented to be a 'lunatic' in the world by the thing of five years ago. On the other hand, to 'I' which worries about the shortage of goods, when it was only making a great uproar in the newspaper, it was rejected, and the section of people who lead the life which became abundant by prosperity by Second Sino-Japanese War was reflected through the figure of the 'wife' 'I' has the strong will which pursues true art. And he is conscious of the existence which employs efficiently a lunatic, i.e., 'the self which is not persons', being 'art' insertion of Biblical language "Kamome" It is a work which tried to express the power of drawing not the work in which the pressure from the time of war and conflict as DAZAI"s writer were drawn but the figure of people who do somehow or other and try to make a living though it wanders about, and 'me' who sympathize with it and try to go toward raw both, and making a living the painful time bravely. The figure which does not yield during a steep Second Sino-Japanese War, but tries to make a living, and the figure of the quiet resistance to a time appear in the figure of DAZAI describing "I" which makes a living bravely as a writer.


Since 2015, activities have been resumed at the site in Uruk in southern Iraq. Both, the continuation of the scientific research in the ruin and the preservation and presentation of what has already been excavated, has been the focus. In particular, conservation and presentation concepts have been worked out in detail in close cooperation with the responsible Iraqi authorities. Scientific research resumed in newly selected excavation areas. All activities serve as a training area for the programme "Iraqi-German Expert Forum on Cultural Heritage" funded within the framework of the Archaeological Heritage Network of the German Federal Foreign Office and the German Archaeological Institute.


Equations have been derived describing the composition change in the liquid on zone melting for nonstoichiometrically evaporating zinc selenide. These enable one to calculate the stoichiometry deviation in the crystals and to choose the working parameters to obtain crystals of a given composition. It is possible to make stoichiometric crystals only if there is excess zinc in the initial material.


The advent of lidar has revolutionized the way we observe and measure vegetation structure from the ground and from above and represents a major advance toward the quantification of 3D ecological observations. Developments in lidar hardware systems and data processing algorithms have greatly improved the accessibility and ease of use of lidar observations in ecological studies. A wide range of studies has been devoted to accurately measuring and modeling vegetation structural and functional attributes from lidar data across a range of spatial scales (from individual organs to global scales) and ecosystem types (e.g., forest, agricultural, grassland, and urban ecosystems).


which proceeds to remove ectoparasitic worms and crustaceans from the larger fish. On the African savanna, a bird lands on the back of a grazing zebra, and while the zebra stands still the bird patrols the zebra's body, searching out and eating ticks and other ectoparasites. These are two examples of cleaning symbioses-one of the most remarkable classes of ecological interactions between taxonomically unrelated organisms. Over the past few decades, as reflected in the above excerpts, the opinion of scientists regarding cleaning symbioses has changed, from selfless cooperation, to a mutually beneficial interaction, and finally to a one-sided exploitation. This change, however, has not occurred without some debate (Gorlick et al. 1978, Hobson 1969) because researchers still know little about the evolution of these symbioses. Cleaning involves the removal by a cleaning organism of ectoparasites, diseased or injured tissue, or other particles from the external surfaces or even the buccal cavity of another cooperating organism, hereafter called the client. Although this definition of cleaning is generally accepted (Losey 1987), the extent of the apparent cooperation is debatable and in no case have the net fitness benefits obtained by the participants been properly quantified. Such quantification also challenges students of other apparently mutualistic associations (Cushman and Beattie 1991). Understanding the proximate and ultimate causes of cleaning symbioses is of more than mere theoretical importance. For instance, fish that can clean have recently been used successfully for the control of ectoparasites on commercially farmed fish (e.g., Bjordal 1991, Cowell et al. 1993) and are viewed as a promising alternative to the use of chemicals (Pike 1989). However, what determines the efficiency of cleaners and their compatibility with certain client species is not yet fully understood. In this article, we review the current knowledge and ideas on cleaning symbioses, focusing on their adaptive significance. Although the literature emphasizes cleaning among fish, we discuss issues relevant to all taxa involved in cleaning symbioses.


Hilaris Conferences proudly announce about our upcoming event "ONCOLOGY 2020" which is going to be held during February 20-21, 2020 in Paris, France with the theme "Fearless commitment for a Cancer free world".


We have studied nuclear reaction during a fracture process of piezoelectric materials in D2 atmosphere. Neutrons are generated in d–d nuclear reaction through the fracture process of LiNbO3 (lithium niobate) at the D2 gas pressure of 30 kPa or above; the emission rate is 108±27 /h with the statistical significance of 4.0 σ, although at 18 kPa or below, neutrons are not generated. We have not observed neutrons from other tested piezoelectric materials.


ABSTRACT Activation ofthe c-Src tyrosine kinase hasbeen implicated as an important step in the induction ofmammarytumorsinbothmiceandhumans.To directly assessthe effect ofmammarygland-specific expression ofactivatedc-Src, weestablished transgenic mice that carry a constitu-tively activated formofc-src undertranscriptional controlofthe murine mammary tumor virus long terminal repeat.Female mice derived from several independent transgeniclines lactate poorly as a consequence of an impairment innormalmammaryepithelial development.Inaddition to thislactation defect, female mice frequently develop mammaryepithelial hyperplasias, which occasionally progress to frankneoplasias. Taken together, these observations suggest that expression ofactivated c-Src in the mammaryepithelium oftransgenic mice is not sufficient for induction ofmammarytumors. The c-src protooncogene encodes a 60-kDa cytoplasmic pro-teinthatisamemberofthenonreceptortyrosinekinase family(1). Activation of the c-Srctyrosine kinase


Looking down a street in a new addition outside the city limits of San Angelo, Texas. Frank Farias, real estate agent who is handling this addition for A. Turner, owner, said that many of the people were moving out here from the crowded and low north side of town because it was better for the children , more space and clean. Some were also moving into San Angelo from the nearby small towns and rural areas.


We improve the precision of our induced terrain approach for completing fragmentary river networks by incorporating known nonriver location data. First, we reconstruct a terrain with known terrain attributes, and then we derive a network passing through all the segments using a river derivation scheme. The original implementation honors height samples and hydrological consistency constraints, which raises the reliability of the reconnected networks in addressing transportation problems. However, we still observe a few wrong reconnections, which pass through areas which are clearly known to have no water flow. To force the river to avoid those places, we opt for raising their heights to a level unreachable by any water in the known river locations instead of modifying the river derivation scheme. While effective in boosting accuracy by around 5 percentage points, this alternative makes it simple to switch between river derivation schemes with different execution speeds and hydrographical consistency constraints.


A new high-speed transmission technique using orthogonal time-division multiplexing with optical Nyquist pulse train is presented. A substantial improvement in dispersion and PMD tolerance is demonstrated due to reduced signal bandwidth without sacrificing ISI.


The physical effects happening on the transmission routes in ad hoc networks influence the network performance seriously. These impacts decrease the quality of transmission, especially ad hoc networks with the wide area and high node density. This paper focused on investigating the routing techniques in ad hoc networks taking into account the quality of transmission. Thence, we proposed an improved routing algorithm of DSR based on the cross-layer model in combined with the static agent. The objective of the proposed algorithm is to improve the quality of the transmission signal, reduce the blocking probability of the data packets due to the unguaranteed quality of transmission.


DEHOUCK, A., MARTINY, N., FROIDEFOND, J.M., SENECHAL, N. and BUJAN, S., 2009. New outcomes from spatial remote sensing during the ECORS experiment : towards validation of ocean color products and large-scale bathymetry mapping in a coastal zone. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 56 (Proceedings of the 10th International Coastal Symposium), pg – pg. Lisbon, Portugal, ISBN High-resolution optical remote sensing is an important tool in beach morphodynamics studies. The sand bar systems on the beach can be covered at a few-meter resolution over several tens of kilometres alongshore. The remote sensing reflectance in the blue and the green wavelengths can be used to quantify the concentrations of the ocean constituents (SPM, CDOM, Chl-a) and estimate water depth. During the ECORS experiment, two FORMOSAT-2 scenes (2 and 8m of resolution), part of the Kalideos-Littoral database of CNES, were successfully acquired on February 10 2008 and April 5 2008. On April 5, a specific in-situ reflectance data set was collected onboard a jet-ski (3-25 m water depth), as well as water samples and bathymetric surveys. This unique synchronous data set represents a good opportunity : i) to validate high-resolution "ocean color" products in coastal shallow and turbid waters, ii) to calibrate an optical inversion algorithm for mapping bathymetry. Preliminary results are encouraging. The validation exercise is first focused on the remote sensing reflectance, used for bathymetry inversion. The match-ups between the remote sensing reflectance and the jet-ski measurements emphasize the importance of achieving previous accurate radiometric calibration of the spectral bands of the satellite and robust atmospheric corrections (under-estimate of the satellite-derived product by about 35-40% in the blue and the green using standard aerosol climatology). For the bathymetry inversion, the optical algorithm accurately reproduces the location and depth of the horns and troughs of the nearshore sandbar while it is less efficient seaward over the crest, overestimating water depth by 0.5-1.5 m.


Localization of virtual sound source is a technology that allows the reproducing of three-dimensional sounds using stereo earphones, and applications of this technology in Brain-machine interface that use auditory stimuli are being investigated. In order to achieve virtual sounds using this technology, the Head-related Transfer Function (HRTF) of the user must be measured accurately. The HRTF can be measured accurately with the appropriate placement of the microphones and measurement environment, but procuring an ideal setup is usually difficult. To overcome this, we instead attempt to obtain an accurate HRTF using reinforcement learning. We performed simulations and verified that with the proposed method the HRTF accuracy improved on 24 horizontal directions. Also, in online learning experiments, the localization accuracy was improved for 3 subjects, suggesting the validity of our method.


Ablation characteristics is a key factor in the surface flashover of insulation materials for vacuum insulators. The influence of nano/micro Al<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> and Al(OH)<inf>3</inf> fillers on the ablative resistance of epoxy vacuum insulation material has been investigated by repeated flashovers in vacuum under microsecond pulses. It was found that the ablative resistance of Al(OH)<inf>3</inf> filler is much better than that of Al<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> and that the nano-filler is more effective than the micro-filler in the case of Al(OH)<inf>3</inf>, whereas in Al<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> the opposite applies. A thermal-electrical coupled 3-dimensional finite element simulation model has been developed to describe the results and analyze them in terms of the thermal characteristics of the particles. The model shows that although both Al<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> and Al(OH)<inf>3</inf> fillers can improve the ablative resistance of the epoxy composites, with Al(OH)<inf>3</inf> being the better material. The mechanism whereby this occurs is different in the two cases, with the dehydration reaction dominating for Al(OH)<inf>3</inf> and the mass degradation dominating for Al<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf>.


The use of a mathematical model approach, which is a non-destructive method to determine the leaf area, has been used safely in recent years. The most important reason for this is that the application is easy and the application cost is very low. The most important disadvantage of this method is that the derived models need calibration according to different crop varieties. In the study, firstly, the width (W) and length (L) measurements of each individual leaf taken from the crops were correlated with the actual area of the leaf and crop-specific models were developed. The actual area (LA) of each leaf used in the sampling was determined by the ImageJ software. In the study, 7 different models were derived for each crop species (1, LA=a+bL 2 +cL 2 /W 2 +dW 2 +eLW; 2, LA=a+bL 2 +cW 2 +dLW; 3, LA=a+bL 2 +cW 2 ; 4, LA=aL 2 +bW 2 ; 5, LA=aL b +cW d +e; 6, LA=a+bLW; 7, LA=aLW). The coefficients in the models were determined separately for each crop species. In order to evaluate the performance of the models, some performance criteria such as determination coefficient (R 2 ) and root mean square error (RMSE), relative error (RE), mean bias error (MBE) and Willmott index (d) were used. In this study, leaf areas were estimated with high accuracy (R 2 =0.96 for tomato; R 2 =0.99 for pepper, eggplant and cucumber) with these models without using expensive measuring devices.


India now becomes a major player in the global stage. Everyone wants to do business with us, this change has given lot of opportunities to our country to grow further but it posed lot of challenges in front of us like Indian software companies gained confidence to acquire foreign giant companies and try to establish themselves very competitive than the foreign companies at the same time we have to give emphasis on the various challenges before us like the gap between people in the corporate world and those in the rural areas is becoming serious concern and the wage differentials between blue collared workers and senior managers, the candidates having good education and communication skills getting more chance in the job market than other people lesser than them, attrition levels are all time high in India for example business process outsourcing facing problems with talent retention.


The polarization measure is the probability that among 3 individuals chosen at random from a finite population exactly 2 come from the same class. This index is maximum at the midpoints of the edges of the probability simplex. We compute the gradient flow of this index that is the differential equation whose solutions are the curves of steepest ascent. Tools from Information Geometry are extensively used. In a time series, a comparison of the estimated velocity of variation with the direction of the gradient field should be a better index than the simple variation of the index.


Psychology of Psychoactive Drugs Defining Use, Abuse and Dependency The Extent of Alcohol and Other Drug Use Pharmacology and Neurophysiology of Alcohol and Other Drugs Heredity and Environment Alcohol and Other Drug Use Theories of Alcohol and Other Drug Use Age, Alcohol and Other Drugs Gender Differences in Alcohol and Other Drugs Racial/Ethnic Minorities and Alcohol and Other Drug Use Personality Differences in Relation to Alcohol and Other Drugs Alcohol and Other Drugs Relationship to Basic Psychological Processes Alcohol and Other Drugs Relationship to Interpersonal Processes Alcohol and Other Drugs Relationship to Family Processes Recovering from Alcohol and Other Drug Dependency Treatment of Alcohol and Other Drug Dependency Relapse after Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems


The study discusses the basic kinds of electronic bank operations – electronic payments. These operations are based on electronic money. The analysis of the economic nature of electronic money in wide and narrow sense is done. Features and prospects of regulation by the Central bank of electronic money in the future are discussed. Attention is drawn to an opportunity of occurrence so-called electronic seigniorage. At the presence of private electronic money this seigniorage will not belong any more to the state. The analysis of a condition of electronic payments in the Bulgarian bank system for 6 years period (from 1999 up to 2004) is made.


The prime minister, Theresa May, has met with an angry backlash from GPs after she threatened to withhold funding from general practices that did not offer their patients longer opening hours.

GPs accused the government of scapegoating the profession and ignoring the true causes of the pressures across the NHS in England, after practices were warned through a series of inflammatory headlines in the national media that funding for extending their opening hours could be withheld unless they could prove that they were informing their patients of additional appointment slots and offering appointments at convenient times.123

May's intervention came as the government came under growing pressure to tackle the growing crisis in hospital emergency departments by reducing the number of patients visiting.4

But GPs said that the prime minister was attempting to shift the blame away from the government and was wilfully ignoring the …


In assessing the physical capacity of low-backpain (LBP) patients, a knowledge of the maximum strength of the back muscles is often required. Howev~r, due to the confounding influences of pain, fear of pain and reflex inhibition of motor activation, direct measurement of this aspect of muscle function can sometimes be both hazardous and unreliable. In other skeletal muscles, a method known as the 'twitch superimposition technique' has been used to predict maximum force from submaximal efforts. For this technique, single supramaximal electrical stimuli are delivered to the voluntarily contracting muscle, such that any motor units not recruited by volition, are recruited, and add extra force at the appropriate latency following the stimulus [1]. The increase in force generated by the twitch decreases with increasing voluntary force being sustained, reaching zero when the


In order to enhance the movement ability and bearing capacity of quadruped robot, a flexible leg of Quadruped Robot Based on double rope sheave transmission mechanism is proposed. The kinematics equation of flexible leg of quadruped robot is established, and its forward solution and motion space are obtained. The simulation model of quadruped robot flexible leg is established, and the changes of joint output torque and foot angular velocity are measured. It is concluded that the proposed new quadruped robot flexible leg has high load, strong obstacle crossing ability and movement stability.


When adopting agile development in a global organization with up to 40 teams working on a single product, Ericsson had to decide how to handle decisions affecting several teams. The solution, called community-based decision making, grew out of this experience.


In this work, the author analyzes democracy and human rights for the two political entities on Cyprus. Data are used to test whether there is a rift between empirical reality and perceptions of the citizenry. The findings show that Turkish and Greek Cypriots rate the level of human rights of their respective political entities the same, although objective figures suggest that Greek Cypriots live under a better human rights regime. Statistical analysis indicates that Turkish Cypriot perceptions are mostly influenced by attitudes toward the government, while Greek Cypriot perceptions are influenced by other factors.


The results of the recent research in quantum halo systems will be presented. Ground state of weakly bound systems consisting of few particles with a radius extending well into the classically forbidden region is explored, with the goal to test the universality of quantum halo states. The focus of the study are clusters consisting of T↓, D↓, 3He, 4He and alkali atoms, where interaction between particles is much better known than in the case of nuclei, which are traditional examples of quantum halos. The study of realistic systems is supplemented by model calculations in order to analyze how low-energy properties depend on the interaction potential. The use of variational and diffusion Monte Carlo methods enabled very precise calculation of both size and binding energy of the trimers and tetramers. Using dimensionless measures of the binding energy and cluster size, studied atomic clusters are compared to other known halos in different fields of physics. Characteristic scaling lengths, which make size-energy ratio to be universal, are selected. In the quantum halo regime, and for large values of scaled binding energies, all dimers and trimers follow almost the same universal line. As the scaled binding energy decreases, tango type trimers separate from Borromean type. Research is extended to tetramers. Furthermore, the structural properties of different trimers are compared with recently published experimental results obtained by Coulomb explosion imaging of diffracted clusters.


Cooling stage is critical in injection molding process. A well designed cooling system can effectively shorten cycle time and improve product quality. Three-dimensional cooling analysis has been embedded in injection molding simulation which provides a useful tool for cooling system design validation. However, the current simulation tool is not perfect yet since it does not consider turbulent flow and pipe surface roughness effect. In the current study, a latest simulation tool was applied which can predict the turbulent flow effect on cooling. Two cooling systems (conventional and conformal) were simulated and compared to each other. Turbulence model and surface roughness effects were also studied. The simulation results show a good agreement with experimental data which is helpful at the design stage of an injection molding cooling system.


An implementation of a frame-based knowledge representation language (KRL) for development of expert system applications in highway bridge design is presented. The frame-based KRL is used to represent two types of knowledge. Namely, knowledge that models the physical bridge structure, and knowledge that operates on the physical model (i.e. design and analysis knowledge). The physical bridge structure model is visualized as a hierarchy of structural subsystems. Structural sub-systems in the hierarchy are described by a set of design variables. The design and analysis knowledge is represented in the form of algorithms, constraints, facts, rules, and tasks. The frame-based KRL approach is ideally suited for representing both types of knowledge. The frame-based KRL approach results in an effective, comprehensible, and accessible knowledge representation.


Sports community is the basis of modern sports. The Chinese sports community has been developed for more than one hundred years. Under the background of the traditional Chinese cultures and social politics, sports community inherits characteristics of traditional cultures and seeks a balance with the national power. Since the foundation of new China, 3 summits have happened in the development of the sports community. Each of them is closely related to politics, economy and the national culture. With the power of the government and society determined, sports community will jump out of the restriction of the system in which the structure is bound with the government together, and then it will play an important role in society.


The eigenvalue problems for equations of elliptic type with discontinuous by the phase variable nonlinearities are considered. The character of nonlinearity discontinuities is investigated. In this paper the restrictions on discontinuity points of nonlinearity are weaker than in works of other authors.


Recent transactional systems such as financial trading systems require a more reliable, high-performance inter-process communication (IPC) technology. The main goal is to interact among processes and handle server shutdowns and failures in an efficient ways. In this paper, we present a reliable, high-performance inter-process communication (IPC) using a message queue, called XpeedQ. Our proposed scheme provides a block level message processing, but also offers reliable message delivery based on optional persistence to disk. We have implemented the XpeedQ in Linux and measured its performance in terms of the average latency. The implementation results show that the proposed scheme can improve the efficiency of IPC while providing a persistence of messages.


His book rests on the premise of a 'win-win' approach to negotiations where you focus on good communication, for instance, to develop more value, and hence satisfy the interests of all involved parties. More often than not, the 'win-lose' takes over because people are afraid of losing and are willing to do whatever it takes to win. [See related article: Negotiating to win] Enter the ethical dilemmas when there is clash between economic and moral interests and negotiators are faced with a choice between competitive advantage and integrity. Here, Falcao builds on the work by Professors Menkel-Meadow and Wheeler* where they shortlist five common ethical tensions:


As a connecting bridge between innate immunity and specific immunity, the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a significant role in inflammation, cellular signal transduction, and cell apoptosis. TLRs are also essential factors participating in immune regulation and immune escape in the pathogenesis and development of malignant tumors. A large number of clinical and experimental research have shown that the abnormal expression of TLRs can be detected in adenocarcinoma, such as lung cancer, breast cancer and colon caner. In recent years, the relationship between gynecologic malignant tumor and TLRs has received great interest. This article will review and summarize research progress of TLRs in ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and endometrial neoplasia.

Key words:
Toll-like receptors; Genital neoplasms, female; Review


We consider a dissolved oxygen balance model for Neris, which includes biochemical oxygen demand, nitrification, sedimentation, algae respiration and photosynthesis. The load from point sources, tributaries and distributed sources are taken into account. Long-term systematic components such as drift and seasonal components are analysed by applying time series analysis.
The model is adapted according to the State Environmental Monitoring, and source data of controlled pollution covering the period 1978-1998.


This research uses a prototype matching approach to understand how job applicant evaluations are made and the role that applicant gender and age play in these evaluations. It is hypothesized that raters represent information about jobs and jobholders in person-in-job prototypes. Raters evaluate applicants by matching information about applicants to the person-in-job prototype associated with the job for which the applicant is applying. Person-in-job prototypes are comprised of features that are more (i.e., central) or less (i.e., peripheral) strongly associated with the prototype. Three laboratory studies examined several hypotheses derived from a prototype matching approach. Results indicated that applicants who matched on more central features were evaluated more favorably than applicants who matched on fewer central features of person-in-job prototypes. In addition, applicants who matched on age were evaluated more favorably than applicants who did not match on age when age was a central but not a peripheral feature of a person-in-job prototype. However, applicants who matched on gender were not evaluated differently from applicants who did not match on gender when gender was a central or a peripheral feature of a person-in-job prototype. Finally, there was some evidence that raters used applicant gender in a complex manner when evaluating applicants. Implications for theory and research on bias in selection are discussed.


The Templated Grain Growth (TGG) of Al2O3 occurs in three stages: densification, radial growth of individual template grains until template impingement, and template grain thickening. Significant template growth occurs only after densification to ∼90% density. Template loading determines the inter-template spacing and, subsequently, the degree of growth. The spacing distance can be predicted from the initial template concentration and template dimensions. Thermodynamic conditions favorable for template growth occur when the size ratio between the template thickness and matrix grains is ≥1.5. The initial template concentration should be less than a critical template concentration, VT,C, to achieve textured ceramics with a narrow orientation distribution. For this system, which uses 20 ± 5 μm × 2 μm template particles and uniaxial pressing as a forming technique, VT,C is between 5 and 10 vol%.


In this paper, we discuss basic issues related to measurements performed in the domains of software engineering and metrology. Similarities and differences are highlighted, with the aim of analyzing the level of knowledge in both domains. A theoretical approach is followed, allowing the proposal of a measurement process model, which is used as a guiding scheme throughout the paper to illustrate peculiarities arising when taking software measurements. Common ground between metrologists and software engineers are described by discussing foundations of measurement in the software context.


In the A. polymyxa fermentation, aerobic as compared to anaerobic conditions resulted in an increased yield of acetoin plus diol and a decreased yield of ethanol. As the fermentation proceeded under anaerobic conditions, there was a decrease in the proportion substrate being used in the formation of acetoin and diol. This decrease was accompanied by an increase in the formation of acetic acid. During fermentation under aerobic conditions, no decrease occurred in the formation of acetoin plus diol.


This study aims to examine the effects of entrepreneurial attitudes towards entrepreneurial intentions with entrepreneurship course as a mediating factor. This study used a survey method with 382 respondents that included Accounting and Management Science students from the Faculty of Economics and Business, Airlangga University who took an Entrepreneurship course in even semester. The data in this study were analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS) with PLS version 3.0 software. The results showed that entrepreneurial attitudes affected entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurship course. Entrepreneurship course also partially mediated the effect of entrepreneurial attitudes on the entrepreneurial intentions of accounting and management students.


3D-capable devices have entered the consumer market. The depth that is perceived with stereoscopic content is strongly linked to the size of the screen in which it is displayed. We tested the effect that different display sizes have on the quality of experience of 3D content and we offer some recommendations.


Tax collection depends in large part on a system for motivating officiais with responsibility for collecting taxes. In Sub-Saharan Africa, a strong asymmetry of access to information between government and tax collection agents explains why the government is often reduced to negotiating with the agents in order to establish a set amount of taxes to be paid to the Treasury. As a resuit, previsions of tax revenues by treasury officiais are not necessarily any worse than those obtained by using sophisticated macrœconomic methods. This also explains why the reforms introduced in structural adjustment programmes have not succeeded in producing a significant and sustained increase in the rates of tax gathering. These reforms have mainly affected the fiscal arrangements as such without giving sufficient weight to the motivation system of the fiscal and customs services.


In this work, a numerical investigation of nozzle geometry effect on axisymmetric water jet breakup by coupling the Volume-Of-Fluid (VOF) method with Level-Set (LS) was carried out. Through this coupling, the benefit from the advantages of both approaches in order to get better results is realized. The impact of two nozzle geometries (cone-up and cone-down configurations) on the characteristics of water jets flow downstream of the nozzle has been discussed for pressures below 172 bars. Flow was assumed to be two dimensional, viscous, incompressible, and unsteady. Velocity distributions, turbulence sensitivity, and flow discharge coefficient Cd was examined as a function of Reynolds number and injection pressure. CFD simulations have been validated with the published experimental data of Vahedi et al. and Ghassemieh et al. After simulation, it can be found that the calculated solutions are in good agreement with experiment data. The agreement between the calculations and the experimental data indicates that the model provides a good prediction of the discharge coefficient. The pressure injection and turbulence have a great influence on the velocity profile and the intact length.


Spectral graph theory is the study of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices associated with graphs. This paper is a review of Cvetkovi´c's GRAPHS AND THEIR SPECTRA [1], and builds up to a proof of Kirchhoff's Matrix Tree Theorem, which provides a formula for computing the number of spanning trees in a graph.


Abstract The abundance and ecological diversity of selected groups of beneficial arthropods were compared between 16 organic and 17 conventional carrot (Daucus carota L.) fields in the Manawatu (North Island) and Canterbury and Nelson (South Island) areas of New Zealand using a suction sampler. Organic fields had significantly higher numbers of Hymenoptera: Parasitica, Staphylinidae (Coleoptera), and Neuroptera (Hemerobiidae) compared with conventional fields. Organic fields also had a significantly more diverse predatory and parasitic community than did conventional fields, as measured by the "Sequential Comparison Index". The implications of these results for biological control of pests in conventional and organic crops are discussed.


Digitalization and globalization are influential factors in changing the world today. 2019 where Covid-19 emerged as a pandemic outbreak succeeded in causing fanfare, and became another factor that caused world changes. The conditions being experienced can be called the turmoil of the Vuca era. An era in which changes occur rapidly due to uncertainty gives ambiguity. These three phenomena impact all sectors, including business. Many companies had to go out of business because they could not adapt with changes, but not a few businesses were able to survive. The key to the success of the business lies in the company's leaders, the main actors in every company's decision. Not surprisingly, leaders are the first to be aware of changes in the business environment, so they are expected to bring the company still sustain after many shocks. The concept of a leader who is quick and precise in making decisions is also called an agile leader. Agile has a comprehensive meaning. Through this research, the indicators of agile leaders in the Vuca era will be studied. The impact of agile leadership on business resilience in the face of challenges in the Vuca era will also be investigated. This research is qualitative, data collected through an interview process. There are three informants from companies in different industries. The three informants are the leads of the Business Development division who are in touch with company innovation. Companies used as objects in this research have proven to survive in the Vuca era after going through the three phenomena mentioned, as evidenced by innovations that many parties recognize. This study shows that it is true that the existence of an agile leader who specific competency indicators can judge can have a significant impact on business resilience in facing the challenges of the Vuca era.


Abstract In the summer of 1943, a few days before the political crisis of 25 July, Italy decided to hand over to Germany German Jews (including those from the former Austria) in the French territory occupied by the Italians. The hand‐over never took place because the crisis of 25 July intervened. But the decision taken by the Italian Minister of the Interior on 15 July is nonetheless a historical fact that provides evidence of the progressive radicalization of Fascist anti‐Semitism before the establishment of the RSI (Salo republic).


During the on-station thermal test campaign of the LISA Pathfinder, the diagnostics subsystem was tested in nearly space conditions for the first time after integration in the satellite. The results showed the compliance of the temperature measurement system, obtaining temperature noise around 10 − 4 K Hz − 1 / 2 ?> in the frequency band 1–30 mHz. In addition, controlled injection of heat signals to the suspension struts anchoring the LISA Technology Package (LTP) core assembly to the satellite structure allowed us to experimentally estimate, for the first time, the phase noise contribution through thermo-elastic distortion of the LTP interferometer, the satellite's main instrument. Such contribution was found to be at 10 − 12 m Hz − 1 / 2 ?> , a factor of 30 below the measured noise at the lower end of the measurement bandwidth ( 1 mHz ?> ).


Abstract. Victorin, L. H. and Thorell, J. (Department of Paediatrics, University of Göteborg, Göteborg, and the Isotope Laboratory, Lund University at the General Hospital, Malmö, Sweden). Plasma insulin and blood glucose during long‐term treatment with diazoxide for infant hypoglycemia. Acta Paediat Scand, 63: 302, 1974.–Hypoglycemia of varying etiology is a mayor therapeutic problem in infancy and childhood. It has been shown that diazoxide may increase blood glucose, presumably mainly by prevention of excess insulin release from the pancreas. A case is reported where diazoxide has been used for more than three years in a boy with neurological symptoms due to severe idiopathic hypoglycemia with leucine intolerance where dietary treatment had proved insufficient. A profound improvement in blood glucose level and suppression of pathologic insulin response to both glucose and leucine loads was noted with a diazoxide dose of 15 mg/kg/day which, however, had to be abandoned due to side effects. Over a period of months without diazoxide, insulin responses to glucose and leucine loads progressively increased with recurrence of clinical symtoms. Over the last three years a dose of 5 mg/kg/day has proved effective in keeping clinical symptoms down without side effects. During these years a marked improvement has taken place in neurological, mental and physical development. It is concluded that when due consideration is given to known side effects diazoxide is a valuable adjuvant for long‐term treatment of infantile hypoglycemia.


The years of studying feijoa plants cultivated in the humid subtropics of the Krasnodar Territory have shown the necessity for selection of forms from seed populations with different maturity of fruits, high yields and high fruit quality. Seven promising forms have been evaluated primarily. After observation the growth dynamics of shoots B-13 for has been selected with an active growth. The average shoots length has reached 22,8 cm by the end of the growing season. Assessment of fruit cast have shown that the largest percentage of active ovaries is found in B-13 form and "Dagomysskaya" variety and (17%). Assessment of harvesting period has revealed early ripening forms (II-III decade of September – I decade of October), they include 4-10, 12-5, 13-11, IIIB-1 forms; mid-ripening forms (II-III decade of October – I decade of November) are 10-22, B-13 and late-ripening forms are 6-24, the fruits of which ripen from the 3rd decade of November till the 1st decade of December. Form B-13 has been selected as a high-yielding one: 19,2 kg / bush, and a large-fruited one – average fruits weigh 96,0 g. The forms of 4-10, B-13 have been selected according to sugar content, with 9,70 % and 8,12 % of sugar respectively. The forms of 6-24, 12-5 and B-13 are observed to contain more monosaccharides than sucrose. Two forms of 4-10 and B-13 have been selected as the best in taste with the highest percentage of monosaccharides, in particular, fructose, which gives the fruits the "sweet taste". The fruits of form 12-5 are characterized by a highest content of vitamin "C" –75,68 mg%. Forms of 4-10 and 12-5 have the highest sugar-acid ratio which is 5,5 and 5,0, respectively, and the lowest ratio is observed in forms of 6-24 and 10-22 – 2,9 and 3,0, respectively.


The concept of an advanced water chemistry diagnosis system for detection of anomalies and preventive maintenance of system components is proposed and put into a concrete form. Using the analogy to a medical inspection system, analyses of water chemistry change will make it possible to detect symptoms of anomalies in system components. Then, correlations between water chemistry change and anomaly occurrence in the components of the BWR primary cooling system are analyzed theoretically. These fragmentary correlations are organized and reduced to an algorithm for the on-line diagnosis system using on-line monitoring data, pH and conductivity. By using actual plant data, the on-line diagnosis model system is verified to be applicable for early and automatic finding of the anomaly cause and for timely supply of much diagnostic information to plant operators.


Background:In response to mounting evidence about skyrocketing morbidity, mortality, and costs associated with healthcare–associated infections (HAIs), in 2009, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the HHS HAI Action Plan to enhance collaboration and coordination and to strengthen the impact of national efforts to address HAIs. To optimize timely understanding of the Action Plan's approach and outcomes, as well as improve the likely success of this effort, HHS requested an independent longitudinal and formative program evaluation. Objectives:This article describes the evaluation approach to assessing HHS's progress and the challenges encountered as HHS attempted to transform the national strategy to HAI elimination. Research Design:The Context-Input-Process-Product (CIPP) model, a structured-yet-flexible formative and summative evaluation tool, supported the assessment of: (1) the Context in which the Action Plan developed, (2) the Inputs and decisions made about selecting activities for implementation, (3) Processes or implementation of selected activities, and (4) Products and outcomes. Measures:A system framework consisting of 4 system functions and 5 system properties. Results:The CIPP evaluation model provides a structure for tracking the components of the program, the relationship between components, and the way in which components change with time. The system framework allows the evaluation team to understand what the Action Plan is doing and how it aims to facilitate change in the healthcare system to address the problem of HAIs. Conclusions:With coordination and alignment becoming increasingly important among large programs within healthcare and other fields, program evaluations like this can inform the policy community about what works and why, and how future complex large-scale programs should be evaluated.


The mechanism by which 18β‐glycyrrhetinic acid regulates gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) remains poorly understood. In this study, treatment of cultured rat neonatal cardiomyocytes with 18β‐glycyrrhetinic acid resulted in dose‐dependent inhibition of GJIC as assessed by fluorescent dye transfer analysis. 18β‐Glycyrrhetinic acid induced time‐dependent serine/threonine dephosphorylation and redistribution of connexin43 (Cx43) in cardiomyocytes and the induced Cx43 dephosphorylation was prevented by the protein phosphatase inhibitor, calyculin A. However, functional analyses showed that the inhibitory effect of 18β‐glycyrrhetinic acid on dye spreading among cardiomyocytes was not blocked by calyculin A, but was blocked by the Src‐selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor, PP2. 18β‐Glycyrrhetinic acid also induced an increase in the levels of phosphorylated Src, and this effect was prevented by PP2. Immunoprecipitation using anti‐Cx43 and anti‐p‐Src antibodies showed that 18β‐glycyrrhetinic acid increased the association between p‐Src and Cx43 and induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Cx43. We conclude that the inhibitory effect of 18β‐glycyrrhetinic acid on GJIC in cardiomyocytes involves Src‐mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of Cx43. J. Cell. Biochem. 100: 653–664, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In this work, we have successfully applied one of the most effective semi empirical interatomic potentials called embedded atom method EAM to calculate some thermodynamics properties of refractory metals (Nb, Ta, Mo and W). Our theoretical calculated values for mono-vacancy formation energy are in excellent agreement with the available experimental values. Among these metals, the highest f v E1 is obtained for W. It is well known that the value of the mono-vacancy formation energy of each metal is directly proportional to its cohesive energy. i.e. the lower the cohesive energy is, the lower the mono-vacancy formation energy and vice versa. The trend exhibited by these metals whose mono-vacancy migration energies were computed revealed that migration energies are small but cannot be negative. The mono-vacancy activation energy was obtained by summing the mono-vacancy formation energy and mono-vacancy migration energy together. For all the metals considered, W has the largest values for mono-vacancy formation energy, monovacancy migration energy and mono-vacancy activation energy followed by Mo and then Ta. This could be as a result of parameter β used in the calculation. We used 8 as β for both W and Mo, while β = 6 for all other metals. The values for di-vacancy formation energy are larger than their corresponding mono-vacancy formation energy but still lower than corresponding cohesive energy of each metal. The binding energies were computed from mono-vacancy formation and di – vacancy formation energies. The obtained values for Nb and Ta metals are in good agreement with Zhang et al but there are no experimental values for these two metals. Experimental values are highly needed before conclusion can be drawn. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Date of Submission: 05-01-2018 Date of acceptance: 20-01-2018 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The past and present of the 1-hour-record attempt Ever since the best-known riders such as Fausto Coppi, Jaques Anquetil, Eddy Mercx, Francesco Moser, and Miguel Indurain first attempted it, the 1-hour-record has been part of the history of cycling (Péronnet et al. 1989). The 1-hour record originally started with the French cyclist Henri Desgrange in 1893, where he achieved a distance of 35,325m. Over the following decades Desgrange's distance was progressively increasing until 1972 when Eddy Mercx reached 49,432m. Then came a new era of sophisticated bike development with rapid increases in the distance achieved by Moser, Obree, Boardman, Indurain, and Rominger. The hour record particularly seemed to capture the interest of the British public with several battles between Graeme Obree and Chris Boardman, until in 2000 Boardman rode the furthest distance ever achieved in a velodrome (56,375m). However, the International Cycling Union (UCI) then changed the rules, and decided that the records achieved after 1972 were "non-official". The UCI decided that the record attempt had become less about the abilities of the riders, and more about the technology associated with bike and equipment design/engineering. It was only as recently as 2005 when Mercx's record "officially" fell to Andrej Sonsenka, by just 269m. The 2014 UCI regulation changes, and relaxation of the stringent technological rules, have renewed interest in the hour record. Such was the interest of the teams, riders, and sponsors that we have seen 8 official attempts in less than one year. Some attempts were unsuccessful (Bobridge, Dekker, or Larsson), but most did result in a furthering of the record (Voigt, Brandle, Dennis, Dowsett), with the distance of 54,526m being set by Bradley Wiggins in London, 7 June 2015. After recent years in cycling wilderness, the 1-hour-record attempt is once again proving to be an attractive proposition. Science as the essence of the 1-hour-record attempt The common point between all record attempts is that the preparation is scientific and meticulous (Bassett et al. 1999). Many different variables need to be taken into account in trying to gain the maximum level of performance and the furthest possible distance. Physical fitness, psychological state, nutritional strategies, engineering and biomechanics, environmental conditions, and marketing of the event, need to be combined with the purpose of achieving the record and significant media impact.


A method for measuring a dynamic rolling radius and an effective radius variation of a tire during tire rolling under a load is provided to evaluate ERV and to predict TFV at high speed using the ERV obtained at low speed without changing existing uniformity measuring equipment or additionally adding the equipment. A method for measuring a dynamic rolling radius and an effective radius variation of a tire(1) during tire rolling under a load includes the steps of: obtaining an RFV(Radius Force Variation) and an RRO(Radial Run Out) value in the radial direction of the tire under the condition that no load is applied during the inspection of the tire which is in contact with a rigid drum; and obtaining an ERV(Effective Radius Variation) and a DDR(Dynamic Rolling Radius) value in the radial direction of the tire by using the RFV and RRO values at the state that the tire is not subject to the load.


The anisotropic materials as the acoustic wave propagating medium introduce the dependence of the phase velocity on the wave propagation direction, as opposed to the isotropic counterparts; in addition, the profile of the particle displacement components can be quite different, depending on the crystal type and propagation direction. The propagation of surface and bulk acoustic waves (SAWs and BAWs) along the (001), (111) and (110) planes of cubic SiC crystals have been studied. For specific propagation directions in these planes, slight variations in the velocity of the elastic surface waves are found. It was observed that Rayleigh-type, generalized and pseudo-surface waves can propagate at specific directions, thus confirming how the anisotropic behavior of the bare SiC substrate modifies the existence and the field profile of the SAW that propagates at its free surface. Finally, the SAW propagation along AlN/SiC-based multilayered structures is studied for the three SiC planes, different AlN piezoelectric layer thicknesses and electrical boundary conditions.


Starting from the practical experiences of Futian District Library,this paper probes into the modes of extended services of public library,analyzes some currently existing problems,and puts forward some countermeasures for solving these problems.


To the Editor, Tuberculosis is one of the dangerous infectious diseases in the world; annually, two million people die of the disease. Right now, there are a number of phenomena such as the emergence of extensively drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (XDR-TB), multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and Human Immuno deficiency Virus(HIV) which have also exacerbated the existing situation (1, 2) .Furthermore, Nontuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) species which live in the environmental resources can cause pulmonary infections in human which are symptoms, clinical manifestations of the patient and the results of radiological pictures similar to the tuberculosis and potential to misdiagnose with tuberculosis disease (3) . In many developing countries, given that Tuberculosis disease is usually epidemic in these regions clinically isolates of Mycobacterium species are not diagnosed at the species level (3) ; moreover, according to the isolation methods of mycobacterium spp. are similar and opportunistic species of Non-tuberculosis mycobacteria analogous to Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) are acid-fast bacilli in ZihelNeelson(ZN) staining; therefore, it is probable that bothgroups of mycobacteria (NTM and MTBC) are misdiagnosed.Unfortunately, NTM species are resistance to anti-tuberculosis antibiotics and the treatment regimen of Non-tuberculosis mycobacterium infections are different from Mycobacterium tuberculosis; accordingly, many drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) reports from developing countries are actually misreports (3, 4) . Given that Mycobacterium species in these laboratories have not been identified at the species level and these species reported as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (limited to the results of ZN-staining ad microscopic evaluation), according to NTM species anti-tuberculosis drugs are resistant to these antibiotics; therefore, the patients have not been cured and reported as drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) (3, 4) . There are two methods for Mycobacterium specie identification to the species level:1) Conventional methods including acid-fast staining, growth at different temperatures, growth rate, pigment construction, Tween 80 hydrolysis, growth on MacConkey agar, nitrate reduction, iron uptake, urease activity, pyrazinamidase, Arylsulfatase (3 days), niacin accumulation, Heat labile catalase and Heat stable catalase tests and 2) molecular test such as direct sequencing, Polymerase Chain Reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), DNA probes and DNA hybridization techniques. Mycobacteria identification according to the


In a recent article, Freeman (2012) proposes a new approach to the calculation of the Marxian average rate of profit (ARP), namely that marketable financial securities, as well as fixed assets, should be included in the denominator of the ARP to ensure that the latter reflects the dramatic increase in the volume and variety of financial instruments in recent decades. By including such securities in the denominator, he also tries to demonstrate that 'there is a consistent long-run fall in the UK and US rate of profit which, contrary to the figures widely used by Marxists, have both fallen almost monotonically since 1968' (2012: 167). Taking account of the financialisation phenomenon as part of the recent history of global capitalism is certainly of critical importance for contemporary Marxist economics. Many studies indicate at least a partial recovery in profit rates in many advanced capitalist countries since the 1980s, particularly the U.S, despite lack-lustre growth rates (Harman 2010). To acknowledge such a recovery does not require abandoning Marx's law of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall (LTRPF). All the same, the contradiction between improved profitability and relatively stagnant economic conditions demands a satisfactory explanation from the perspective of critical political economy. Many researchers have tried to explain it with reference to the phenomenon of financialisation, in different and sometimes mutually conflicting ways. Some regard financialisation as at least one of the keys to the recovery of the average profit rate (Albo, Gindin and Panitch 2010; Husson 2009; Moseley 2011); some emphasize that it has had a negative impact on investment in the 'real' economy (Dumenil and Levy 2011; Orhangazi 2008); and still others highlight that a lack of profitable opportunity for productive investment has boosted investment in financial markets (Smith and Butovsky 2012; Kliman 2012; Foster and Magdoff 2009). While sharing aspects of this latter analytical approach, Freeman goes further by treating financialisation as a significant cause of a continuing, 'monotonic' decline in the profit rate in both the US and the UK. In this sense, his approach raises important issues not only with regard to empirical studies of the profit rate, but also with regard to how financialisation should be conceptualized in the analysis of contemporary capitalism. Certainly, some specifically 'financial' indicators, such as the return on total assets (ROA) and the return on equity (ROE), whose denominators consist of both fixed and financial assets, have legitimate uses in the analysis of capitalist corporate behavior. In financial analysis, the ROA is calculated by dividing net income by total assets. Total assets include not only property, plant, equipment, and inventories, but also cash, accounts, investment securities, and long-term loans to other corporations. As the financialisation process has progressed, some non-financial corporations have also made significant investments in financial securities, such as investment securities and long-term consumer loans. In looking at these issues, the use of the ROA and the ROE is helpful in understanding some aspects of corporate behavior, even though these measures are conceptually different from such fundamental Marxian ratios as the rate of profit and the rate of surplus value. Nevertheless, Freeman's specific proposals are problematic at a number of levels. The biggest problem is that he effectively obliterates the classical Marxist distinction between 'real capital' (encompassing both industrial and commercial capital) and 'interest-bearing capital'. While the former participates in the formation of a 'general' or 'average' rate of profit through the production, realization and redistribution of surplus value, the latter depends on the rate of interest as a principal means of capturing a specific share of social surplus value. Furthermore, Freeman's negation of the distinction between real and interest-bearing forms of capital leads directly to two other significant problems. …


Toxicity of methanol extracts of 20 traditional Chinese medicinal(TCM) herbs to female adults and eggs of Tetranychus urticae Koch(Acari: Tetranychidae) were evaluated using the methods recommended by FAO.Bioassay showed that some of the extracts were toxic to adult mites and eggs,and toxicity varied with herb species.Extracts of Asarum heterotropoides var.mandshuricum Maxim,Coptis chinensis Franch,Melia toosendan Sieb.et Zucc,Areca catechu L.and Sophora flavescens Ait possessed excellent efficacy toward both female adults and eggs,with 100% mortality of female adults at the concentration of 10 mg mL 1 after 72 h,and less than 40% egg hatching at 10 mg mL 1 after 5 d.A.heterotropoides var.mandshuricum showed superiority,LC 50 values for female adults(1 d) and eggs(5 d) were 0.57 mg mL 1 and 0.88 mg mL 1 respectively.The results indicated that some TCM herbs,especially A.heterotropoides,C.chinensis and A.catechu show potential in the development of botanical acaricide.