The poor fossil record of regular echinoids is commonly attributed to the fact that they preferentially live as epibenthic grazers on hard rocky substrates in nearshore environments with high energy conditions, where the preservation potential of their tests is generally low. In addition, they commonly occur in the fossil record as fragmented material that hampers identification to low taxonomic level. Herein, a comparative analysis of fossil and recent remains of the regular sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus has been conducted, in order to evaluate the source of taphonomic and taxonomic biases affecting regular echinoid remains. Echinoid remnants are recognized in great abundance both in the Upper Pleistocene marine deposit of Is Mesas and recent littoral environments of Sa Mesa Longa, both in Sardinia (Italy). They were rigorously categorized and analysed with respect to relative abundance, biostratinomic signatures and constructional detail of the skeleton using scanning electron microscopy. Paracentrotus remnants mainly consist of test fragments, isolated plates and fragmented spines. Plates of the apical system and elements of the jaw apparatus were also found. Echinoid remnants in the Pleistocene deposit reflect those in recent environment, with respect to relative abundance and biostratinomic features, and are useful tools for paleoenvironmental and paleoecological reconstruction, even in shallow-water, highenergy environments. The abundance of large test fragments of Paracentrotus lividus both in the Pleistocene record and recent environments is due to a relatively robust test and stereomic interlocking. Difference in relative abundance of echinoid remains and their distribution in sediment fractions (> 2 mm and 1-2 mm) are due to different sampling methods, but also indicate the different preservation potential among various test elements. Herein, the identification of echinoid remains at a low taxonomic level can be assessed even at a very-coarse sand-size fraction (1-2 mm). This study demonstrates that regular echinoid fragments can be identified to a low taxonomic level when very MANCOSU & NEBELSICK: TAPHONOMY REGULAR ECHINOIDS 2 specific characters are preserved, and their analysis may help to minimize the taxonomic bias affecting the regular echinoid fossil record. Andrea Mancosu. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università degli Studi di Cagliari. firstname.lastname@example.com James H. Nebelsick. Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen. firstname.lastname@example.com


The dimensional comparison theory (DCT) is based on the internal/external frame of reference model (I/E model). The model focuses on the effects of external (e.g., "How good am I in math compared to my classmates?") and internal, dimensional comparisons (e.g., "How good am I in math compared to English?") on academic self-concepts with widespread consequences for students' self-evaluation, motivation, and behavioral choices. This article presents an extension to the DCT: The proposal of a generalized internal/external frame of reference model (GI/E model that allows the application of previous findings on academic self-concepts to a variety of domain-specific comparison targets and standards. On the side of targets and standards it not only deals with the academic area but also with other areas, which are compared intra-individually. On the side of the consequences, it deals with other variables besides self-concepts, i.e. with motivational constructs, (learning) behaviors or personality characteristics as the outcomes of external and dimensional comparison processes. The present article closes with an examination and discussion of the contributions of the DCT by applying standards of good theories to it.


James Martineau and Frederick Maurice sought to show that naturalism was philosophically incoherent by showing the inadequacy of its fundamental terms, such as 'force', 'cause', and 'nature'. Maurice argued that historical and contemporary uses of 'nature' rested on assumptions that required an agency beyond nature. Martineau claimed that the phenomena that suggested 'cause' to observers ultimately rested on that which is beyond the senses. Both claimed that the study of nature alone is insufficient to an understanding of the basic language of scientific investigation, and that there must be a realm beyond the physical. These papers show the importance to theists of Kantian categories and an idealist approach to nature. While Maurice and Martineau used epistemological arguments against naturalistic metaphysics, they did not claim that there were additional intuitions that granted access to truths beyond nature.


The tow ship radiated noise is a kind of short-range interference with complex composition and the charac-teristic of multi-path propagation,which seriously affects the detection performance of towed line array sonar.With discussion of the noise origin,the spectrum characteristic and the multi-paths of propagation,it shows that the inter-ference canceling technique based on IBF algorithm can be used to effectively eliminate the tow ship radiated noise characterized by multi-path propagation.Simulation results of using IBF and sea trial data prove that the DOA of the target signal gets clearer and the weak target signal can be better recognized after cancellation.


Optimum dyeing conditions depending on dye concentration, electrolyte concentration, dyeing time and dyeing temperature have been selected when jute fibre is dyed with reactive dyes, such as, Remazol Brilliant Violet 5R, Reactive Brown 10, Reactive Red 120, Reactive Orange 14 and Reactive Blue 5. Considering the effects of sunlight in air, washing with soap solution and spotting with acids and alkalies on dyed jute fibres Reactive Red 120 and Reactive Orange 14 exhibit better colour fastness than the others. This is may be due to the presence of more and stronger covalent bonds between the triazinyl group of reactive dyes and the jute cellulose.


Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a heterogeneous and still not fully understood condition, with diverse genetic aetiology and associated phenotypes ranging from aortic stenosis or regurgitation to aneurysm and dissection. Several genes have been associated with the presence of BAV, notably some members of the GATA family of transcription factors that play important roles in cardiac embryogenesis.


Tipping is a big business in the United States economy. We use a large data base from a restaurant delivery service to determine if the quality of service, as measured by the delivery time, is a significant determinant of the percentage tip by the customer. After controlling for the demographic characteristics, the location and income of the customer as well as the payment method, we find that the percentage tip decreases by 0.12% for every minute of delivery time. Similar to other studies we find that minorities and the elderly tend to tip smaller amounts than do other groups.


We present a method for source code plagiarism detection that is independent of the programming language. Our method EsaGst combines Explicit Semantic Analysis and Greedy String Tiling. Using 25 cases of source code plagiarism in C++, Java, Ja-vaScript, PHP, and Python, we show that EsaGst outperforms a baseline method in identifying plagiarism across programming languages.


With the model based definition (MBD) technology widely used in the aviation industry, the traditional archives management mode had seriously hampered the market response speed of aviation products. Firstly, the paper analyzed the formation process of the MBD-based aviation product archives data. Secondly, the paper designed an integrated system framework of MBD-based aviation product archives, which employed the strategy "immediate logical archiving, regular physical archiving. Finally, the paper proposed the functional module of the MBD-based aviation product archives management system (MBDAMS), which was benefit for the automated, knowledge-based management of the aviation product archives. The MBDAMS has the engineering practical value and the good application prospect.


For collection of rainwater for potable purposes, a vertical flow multimedia roof water filter was developed and tested for hydraulic efficiency and pollutant removal efficiency to meet drinking water standards. Along with sand and gravel, three forms of charcoals, which act as adsorbents, viz, (coconut) shell charcoal, wood charcoal and anthracite were tested as filter media. Along with these, three types of circular shaped screens made up of nylon, aluminium and non-woven coir-sisal fabric were also tested. Four different filling volume ratios, viz., 1:1:1, 3:2:1, 2:1:3 and 1:3:2 were employed. The quality of the inlet water was studies by collecting and analysing roof water samples from two sites each in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The multimedia vertical filters were found to be effective in removing TS, K and PO4 2, normalizing pH and reducing EC. It also showed good efficiency in removing nitrate. However, the removal percentage of Fe 2+ , Na + and Ca 2+ were low, while that of Mg 2+ showed –ve value. To compare different filter combinations, a new parameter, UPI (Universal Performance Index), which represents the weighted average of the hydraulic efficiency and quality improving efficiencies, giving extra weight to the latter, has been developed. Statistical analysis of UPI values for roof water filters showed that the proportion P3 (1:2:3), media M3 (anthracite) and screen S2 (aluminium mesh) were found to be the best. P1M3S2 (gravel-anthracite-sand in 1:1:1 proportion separated by aluminium meshes) emerged the best filter combination. The economic analysis of the developed filter system showed acceptable values for financial viability criteria including the Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return and Benefit-Cost Ratio.


Geotextiles are commercially made from synthetic fibres and have been used to enhance bearing capacity and to reduce the settlement of weak soil foundations. Several efforts have been made to investigate the possibility of using bio-based geotextiles for addressing environmental issues. This paper attempts to review previous studies on the bearing capacity improvement of soils reinforced with bio-based geotextiles under a vertical static load. The bearing capacity of the unreinforced foundation was used as a reference to illustrate the role of bio-based geotextiles in bearing capacity improvement. The effects of first geotextile depth to footing width ratio (d/B), geotextile spacing to footing width ratio (S/B), geotextile length to footing width ratio (L/B) and the number of reinforcement layers (N) on the bearing capacity were reviewed and presented in this paper. The optimum d/B ratio, which resulted in the maximum ultimate bearing capacity, was found to be in the range of 0.25–0.4. The optimum S/B ratio was in the range of 0.12–0.5. The most suitable L/B ratio, which resulted in better soil performance against vertical pressure, was about 3. Besides, the optimum number of layers providing the maximum bearing capacity was about three This article is useful as a guideline for a practical design and future research on the application of the natural geotextiles to improve the short-term bearing capacity of weak soil foundations in various sustainable geotechnical applications.


Abstract Carcass measurements of 203 pigs representing 7 genetic populations and 4 target weights (100, 114, 128, and 152 kg) were used to evaluate alternative equations to predict carcass fat tissue-free lean mass. Independent variables in the equations included carcass weight and measures of backfat depth and longissimus area. Alternative sets of equations were calculated to evaluate the inclusion of a random effect of week of processing and of the quadratic and cross-product independent variables. In addition, equations were developed from data including the overall data set as well as from the 3 lightest and 3 heaviest target weights. Overall, the addition of the random effect of week did not change the residual standard deviations of the prediction equations. For 4 equations, the inclusion of the random effect of week reduced the absolute value of the regression coefficients. The best equations developed from either the light or heavy pig data sets had less total residual sums of squares and less residual sums of squares accounted for by target BW group than did the best equations developed from the overall data set. In 2 of the 4 cases, the best linear equation developed from the light or heavy data sets had less residual sums of squares than the best equation based on the overall data set.


SUMMARY Six rumen-fistulated steers were studied over six periods of 3 days at Reading University's Animal Production Research Unit. In each period, eight dacron bags comprising two replicates of the 22 factorial treatment set consisting of untreated and NH3-treated barley straw in chopped (12–54 mm) or ground (2·5 mm screen) form were placed in the rumen of each steer. Bags were left in the rumen for a given time which was one of the set 6, 9, 15, 24, 48, 72 h. Percentage dry matter (DM) disappearance from dacron bags was consistently higher for NH3-treated than untreated straw and higher for ground than chopped straw. Analysis of variance gave F ratios for period and steer which were non-significant but of similar size, showing that using fewer animals could be compensated for by using more periods. Percentage DM disappearance as a function of time was well described by the model y = a — beet. The parameter defining rate of disappearance c, was similar for the four forms of straw. Differences between straws occurred in values of a (potential degradability) and b suggesting that physical form of material put into dacron bags needs standardizing if absolute values of a are to be used (e.g. for predicting roughage intake). Experimental designs need further research.


Paper presents partial results of two week studies of beetles in the Sierakowski Landscape Park in 2011. New data on 33 species from 19 families of beetles rarely collected in Poland have been given. Occurrence in Poland of two species: Trixagus leseigneuri and Xyleborus pfeilii is confirmed. Nine species are new for the Wielkopolska-Kujawy Lowland. Eight species are listed in the Red List of Threatened Animals in Poland.


Objective:To evaluate the relationship between systolic blood pressure(SBP) or diastolic blood pressure(DBP) on admission and early mortality in patients with acute stroke.Methods:A total of 461 patients admitted within 24 h from stroke onset and followed up for 1 month.Mortality at 1 month after stroke in relation to admission SBP and DBP.Results:Early mortality in patients with acute ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke in relation to admission SBP and DBP followed a U-curve pattern.The nadir or U-point of the curve occurred in the range of 121-140/81-90 mmHg and 141-160/91-100 mmHg for ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke patients.The patients with high and low admission BP-values have a higher early mortality(P0.05~P0.01).Death due to cerebral oedema was significantly more frequent in patients with high admission SBP-values,whereas death due to cardiovascular disease was more frequent in patients with low admission SBP-values.Conclusions:Acute ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke patients with high and low admission BP-values have a higher early mortality.Coincidence of heart disease is associated with low initial BP-values.Death due to neurological damage from brain oedema is associated with high initial BP-values.


Abstract Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient for plant growth, and ammonium (NH4 +) and nitrate (NO3 -) are two main forms of N that plants absorb from the soil. The total N concentration suitable for blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) growth is well known, but we want to know which NH4 +/NO3 - ratio is best for blueberry seedlings. We used solutions contained 3 mM N with seven NH4 +/NO3 - ratios (6/0, 5/1, 4/2, 3/3, 2/4, 1/5, 0/6) to grow Northsky half-high blueberry seedlings. Plant photosynthesis, biomass, physiological characteristics, and N content were measured after 60 days. Blueberry seedlings fertilized with the 5/1 (NH4 +/NO3 -) ratio had the longest shoot and root, the highest leaf photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), evaporation rate (E), and the lowest intercellular carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations (Ci) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, among the various treatments. In conclusion, the 5/1 (NH4 +/NO3 -) ratio treatment is recommended to promote the growth and improve the quality of blueberry.


One of the most intriguing properties of VCSELs is the polarization state of the emitted light. In some VCSELs, abrupt polarization switching (PS) between two polarization modes (PMs) is observed when the injected current is changed. The different mechanisms proposed to explain this phenomenon can be classified into two categories: those invoking slow (lattice) thermal mechanisms and those relying on other, faster mechanisms. In the present work we investigate the dynamics and the associated dominating time scales of PS.


Yawed cylinders are cylinders inclined forward or backwards in the plane of the flowing fluid. They are used in many practical situations such as braced frame members and raked marine piles. This paper describes an examination of three aspects of the yawed cylinder-fluid interactions over a range of yaw angles ±45° from the vertical for the Reynolds number range 2,000 < Re < 20,000. viz. 1. Establishment of the stability criteria of vortex-excited oscillations. 2. Measurement of 'steady' drag forces and equivalent drag coefficients. 3. Visualization of the local flow over stationary and oscillating cylinder. After a brief review of previous experimental and theoretical work, the results of the three items listed above are presented and discussed. Vortex-excited oscillations were recorded in the in-line and crossflow directions throughout the range of yaw angles and the results of items 2, 3 were used to justify the forms of the stability criteria proposed for these oscillations.


The objective of this study was to develop a practical numerical calculation model for the "rainfall-runoff" process at the hilly-gully region in the Loess Plateau of China. Field survey on topographic and geographic conditions and hydrological observation were carried out at the Liudaogou Basin located at the northern Loess Plateau. Kinematic wave model was applied to develop a numerical calculation model for the "rainfall-runoff" process and the model was applied to the observed data and verified. Validation of the numerical method results indicated the practical value of the proposed numerical calculation method for the "rainfall-runoff" process at the hilly-gully region in the Loess Plateau.


Representation of IUGG. The Union was represented by President Joseph Kaplan, Past President V. V. Beloussov, and General Secretary George D. Garland, as directed by the Council meeting in Berkeley. The President and General Secretary attended all meetings of both Executive Board and General Assembly from November 18 to 29, and the Past President all meetings from November 20 to 29.

New Structure of International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). The Extraordinary General Assembly adopted the new structure and the new statutes of ICSU, substantially as recommended in the final report of the Committee on Future Structure. Because of reservations held by many unions, including IUGG, on the proposed grouping of unions for representation on the new Executive Committee, reference to grouping was removed from the statutes. No new unions were admitted at this Assembly, and it will therefore be four years before the number of unions can exceed 14, which is the number of union representatives on the Executive Committee.


A method for performing constant-pH molecular dynamics, where pH is one of the external parameters of the solution, is applied for computation of protonation equilibria in a series of small dicarboxylic acids. Proton dissociation constants for succinic, glutaric, adipic and cork acids were determined. Very good agreement with experimental measurements is achieved.


Input steering angle and the other angle (additional steering angle) is determined by the driver, other values additional steering angle, in particular depending on the driving dynamics specific value, the electric motor, the input steering angle of the it is superimposed, in a method for steering the vehicle by overriding steering system, wherein that the method includes a steering angle control with a lower motor current control and the electric motor torque control.


Two proteinous compounds (I and II) had been isolated by gel filtration chromatography of the full saturated precipitate produced by ammonium sulphate of the aqueous extract of the tubers. The apparent molecular weights of the isolated components(I and II) were in the rang of (63096, 5012) dalton using gel filtration technique and in the range of (61000, 5000) dalton using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique. The results showed that the aqueous extract and the low molecular weight proteinous compound (II) were lowered glucose level using a dose of 75 mg/kg body weight and the percent decrease were 45% and 47% respectively in normal mice. Where as in diabetic mice, the low molecular weight proteinous compound (II) was the most effective in lowering glucose level using both doses (75 and 125 mg/kg body weight) and the percent decrease were 64% and 69% respectively. Finally, the aqueous extract and the proteinous compound I (125 mg/kg body weight) were the most effective in lowering cholesterol level in normal mice. Where as in diabetic mice, the aqueous extract and the proteinous compound I in both doses (125 and 75 mg/kg body weight) were the most effective in lowering cholesterol level.


We propose to use probabilities calculated from indicator kriging to modify the probabilities of unilateral stationary Markov mesh models to condition on data. The method can be applied both to soft and hard data. We also propose an iterative method based on block updates created by using the modified Markov mesh model. The iterative method can be used for doing local update on existing realizations when new data is available. Both the unilateral and the iterative method are illustrated with examples.


The present invention is similar to the hair follicle tissue of a mammal, to provide a method for conveniently producing a collection of regular and high density reproduction hair TsutsumiHara group. Method for producing a collection of reproduction hair TsutsumiHara groups of the present invention, the micro intaglio consisting fine recesses of regular arrangement, seeded with mesenchymal cells and epithelial cells, be mixed culture while supplying oxygen Accordingly, comprising the step of forming the hair TsutsumiHara group.


Abstract We report the case of a 13-year-old boy, who suffered a posterior hip dislocation from playing soccer. Closed reduction was performed urgently. Because of a nonconcentric hip after closed reduction, further imaging was done. An intra-articular bony fragment was identified. Arthroscopic treatment was performed. Through an anterior portal we were able to locate the intra-articular bony fragment, which was located within the region of the fovea. After lifting of the caudal enfolded labral complex, we were able to remove the fragment. Evidence of a grade 3 cartilage defect was present at the femoral head. We were able to reduce the enfolded posterior labral complex, which was stable afterwards without the necessity of additional suture fixations. The concentric hip reduction was confirmed on an anteroposterior view of the hip postoperatively. The patient was instructed to toe tip weight-bearing for 6 weeks with limited range of motion to 60° of hip flexion. Eight weeks after surgery, he was free of pain and discomforts. From our experience, the arthroscopic intervention after pediatric hip dislocation associated with intra-articular bony fragments or posterior labral complex injuries, represents to be a preferred minimally invasive method in contrast to open surgical procedures.


Although iron catalyzed cross-coupling reactions show extraordinary promise in reducing environmental impact of more toxic and scarce transition metals, one of the main challenges is the use of reprotoxic NMP...


Seeds of Phlox drummondii (Polemoniaceae) when treated with a combination of chemical mutagens NMU, MMS, EMS, NaZ and γ-rays irradiation have given rise to inversion heterozygote plants in M1 generation. Meiotic analysis of PMCs had shown bridge-fragment configuration in different forms at Al and II stages. The effects of these mutagens and their combination with gamma irradiations have been compared.


BACKGROUND. The identification of the metabolic syndrome is essential for a timely diagnosis and to avoid type 2 diabetes, the objective was to determine the validity of the FINDRISC test and glycated hemoglobin for risk screening for diabetes mellitus in a high-altitude resident population (3600 m.a.s.l.) city of La Paz - Bolivia 2018. METHODS. Analytical study of diagnostic tests, the gold test was the definition of metabolic syndrome according to the criteria of the Harmonization Consensus, compared with the FINDRISC test and glycated hemoglobin. People with an age greater than or equal to 18, who agreed to participate, were included. Pregnant women, people with cancer or thyroid disease were excluded. RESULTS. 400 people were included. There were 358 women (89.5%) and 42 men (10.5%) with age of 48.38 and DE 14.1 years old. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 46.75%. The area under the curve, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and positive likelihood ratio of FINDRISC with cut-off point 10 were 0.7073(CI95% 0.66-0.75), 74.33%(CI95% 67.34-80.30), 67.14%(CI95% 60.33-73.31), 66.51%(CI95% 59.62-72.78) and 2.26(CI95% 1.83-2.79) respectively. With FINDRISC's (cut-off point 10) and HbA1c (cut-off point 5.7%) together, were 0.8025 (CI95% 0.74-0.84), 88.1%(CI95% 80.82-92.96), 72.41%(CI95% 63.21-80.11), 77.62%(CI95% 69.74-83.98) and 3.19 (CI95% 2.36-4.32) respectively. CONCLUSIONS. The FINDRISC test is a good metabolic syndrome screening test, with a cut point of 10, this is synergized with 5.7% for HbA1c in a high-altitude resident population (3600 m.a.s.l.). key words: diabetes, epidemiology of chronic non communicable diseases, health behaviour, lifestyle, health promotion.


(57) Abstract: a polymeric film-forming resin, an aqueous coating composition containing about 0.1 wt% to 5 wt% oligomer based on the weight of resin solids, the oligomer is approximately per molecule 2 to four urethane, containing urea or amide moieties, two or more moieties selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl and tertiary amine. This oligomer improves the smoothness of the resulting coating.


The growing need for electric energy is forcing the construction industry to greater integrate energy production systems based on renewable energy sources. The energy ought to be used not only to support functions of the building but also to charge electric vehicles, whose number has been increasing for the last few years. However, implementation of RES (Renewable Energy Sources) systems in already existing buildings is problematic. Basing on an example of a historical building, the article presents the conversion of a facility into a nearly zero-energy building, where energy surplus may be used to charge EVs (Electric Vehicles). Interdisciplinary research describes energy consumption of the EV in real driving conditions, taking into consideration changing weather conditions and an option of energy being produced by buildings operating in an urban agglomeration: it stipulates the time needed to charge the vehicle, depending on the charging We removed dot, according to email in submitting system, please confirm.method, as well as an energy potential of adapting the solution in selected periods of building operation. The summary presents how electromobility can be supported by the construction industry.


Relieving the growing traffic congestion is important not only to reduce damage to the environment but also to improve our quality of life. Since new construction and expansion of roads is expensive, existing roads should be utilized more effectively. One method for doing so is to disperse the traffic demands. To achieve this, it is necessary to provide highly accurate traffic jam prediction information before the drivers decide on their travel routes. However, it is somewhat difficult to accurately predict the traffic conditions several hours to half a day ahead when using traffic data. In this work, we propose a method for accurately predicting traffic conditions several hours to half a day ahead by exploiting real-time population data generated from cellular networks. Predicting non-linear traffic conditions from population data, which is high-dimensional and sparse data, is a non-linear regression problem in high-dimension, low-sample-size (HDLSS) situations. We therefore focus on traffic demand and assume there is a linear relationship between population and traffic demand. The proposed method predicts traffic demand from population (linear regression in HDLSS situations) and then travel time from the predicted traffic demand (nonlinear regression in non-HDLSS situations). The evaluation results showed that our method can predict the traffic condition several hours to half a day ahead with high accuracy, thus validating our hypothesis that there is a linear relationship between population and traffic demand. We also conducted a demonstration experiment on the Tokyo Wan Aqua-Line Expressway and the Kan-Etsu Expressway in which the prediction results by the proposed method were delivered to drivers. The responses to a questionnaire survey showed that behavior changes occurred in many of the drivers after they looked at the prediction result.


A total of 150, day old broiler chicken were randomly distributed into 5 treatments with three replicates having ten chicks in each replicate to evaluate the effect of inclusion of different levels of Azolla ( Azolla pinnata ) on growth and performance of broiler chicks. The birds in group control (C) were fed on basal diet while in treatments T 1 , T 2 , T 3 and T 4 the basal diet was supplemented with 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10% of sun dried Azolla , respectively. The body weight gain was higher (P<0.01) in treatment T 3 (2182.07) which was comparable with T 2 (2173.10) and T 4 (2132.67). Highest (P<0.01) feed consumption was recorded T 3 (3900.98) group . FCR was significantly (P<0.01) lowest in T 2 (1.67) which was comparable with T 1 (1.72) group. The DM digestibility and nitrogen balance were found to be similar in all the groups however nitrogen voided was higher (P<0.05) in T 2 group. Performance index was highest (P<0.01) in T 2 (1299.62) group similarly protein efficiency ratio was also higher (P<0.01) in T 2 (3.33) group which was statically similar to that of T 3 (3.13) and control (2.93). Feed cost/ kg broiler (in ` ) and total cost/ kg broiler (in ` ) was lowest in T 2 group. Therefore, inclusion of Azolla up to 7.5% level in the ration improved body weight gain and feed consumption in broiler chicken. Beyond this level of supplementation, there was reduction in Performance of broilers.


A measurement system for superconducting thin film coating is constructed, in order to investigate performances of superconducting thin film coatings. It is based on the third order harmonic measurement, which measure the nonlinear behaviour of an inductance of a coil put on a superconducting film around the critical magnetic field Bc1. Samples are cooled down through a copper plate tab whose bottom end is immersed in liquid Helium. The tab is fixed under a sample stage and the temperature of the stage is controlled by a heater on the stage. The temperature is monitored by Cernox sensors. We could obtain a preliminary results using the system


3.5 million people lived in Costa Rica as of mid-1997. There were 24 births and 4 deaths per 1000 population, respectively, contributing to the annual natural increase rate of 2.0%. Each woman in Costa Rica bears an average of 2.8 children during her reproductive lifespan and men and women were expected to live for 73 and 78 years, respectively. Costa Rica's low infant mortality rate and high literacy and life expectancy rates set it apart from the rest of Central America. Costa Rica is also the only country in the region which maintains no standing army. About 96% of the population is White or Mestizo, 3% is Black, and 1% is indigenous Indian. More than half of the country lives in San Jose and its metropolitan area, 6% of the country's total land area. Unemployment has run near 5% over the past 2 years, but much of the labor force is underemployed. Costa Rica's economy depends upon tourism and agricultural exports such as coffee, beef, and bananas. A large Intel factory opened in 1997. The government and Costa Rican environmentalists are planning a joint campaign to reconvert 80% of Costa Rica's pasture back to forest and tree crops. About 20% of the government's budget is spent upon education and the 93% literacy rate is the highest in the region. Government health services provide low-cost contraceptives to more than 75% of users and 75% of women use some form of family planning.


A time-frequency (T-F) representation is defined which forces the contribution of the auto terms to appear at fixed positions on the T-F plane, while the cross terms appear at positions that vary depending on the particular slice. The choice of the moment slice is not unique as long as it satisfies certain conditions. Considering different moment slices yields different T-F representations. Summing the distributions corresponding to different moment slices, causes only the parts due to the auto terms to add up, since their positions depend only on the signal parameters.<<ETX>>


This case demonstrates the utilization of a prosthetic type C contact lens to manage visual symptoms such as photophobia and glare in patients with cone-rod dystrophy. A 20-year-old female patient reported to our clinic with complaints of photophobia, glare, and impaired vision and was evaluated with different contact lens trials to improve her ability to use her remaining vision effectively. The patient was fitted with ACUVUE OASYS transitions, X-chrome red-tinted contact lenses, and tinted type C contact lenses. All the trials manifest optimal fitting and better comfort but only the tinted type C contact lens resulted in pronounced improvement in photophobia, glare, and vision both indoors and outdoors. Finally, a tinted type C contact lens is effective in relieving photophobia and glare and making a remarkable changeover in the quality of life. Thus, all contact lens practitioners should use these lenses to treat victims with glare and photophobia caused by cone-rod dystrophy.


This paper provides evidence that tournaments motivate analysts to behave boldly and that tournament incentives can be perverse. Controlling for forecast accuracy, analysts making bold forecasts are more likely to win the tournaments measured by moving to prestigious brokerages or being named as members of the Institutional Investor's All-American Research Team (II All-American tournament). The paper also finds that, relative to others, analysts who are interim losers in the annual II All-American tournament tend to make bolder moves toward the end of the tournament. Furthermore, there is evidence that sometimes boldness is rewarded in tournaments even when accuracy is compromised. These suggest that tournaments could provide perverse incentives to analysts, and that analysts adapt their behavior to the incentives. The implication is that analysts' impetuous moves, induced by tournament incentives, may not always produce forecasts based on the best use of their private information.


The thermal rate coefficient for the benchmark reaction H+H2→H2+H with zero total angular momentum is calculated by an L2 basis‐set evaluation of the flux autocorrelation function. This involves the direct evaluation of the thermally averaged flux operator without calculating any state‐to‐state reaction probabilities. The results are internally converged to 0.1% and agree with the totally independent results of the previous paper to within 0.03%. This confirms that the correlation‐function approach is stable enough to converge practical calculations to three or more significant figures, which is adequate for all purposes, and that the calculations of this and the previous paper may be used to test the convergence and accuracy of other methods for calculating canonical‐ensemble reaction rates.


Ten genotypes were tested at four locations to determine the stability in fodder yield and crude protein yield in oat. The differences among the genotypes and environment were highly significant. Genotypes OS 6, UPO 272 and JHO 2001-1 for fodder yield and Kent, JO 6, JHO 2001-3 for crude protein yield were average responsive and stable. OL 125, SKO 12 and SKO 20 were responsive and unstable for fodder yield. Genotypes SKO 20, SKO 12 and JHO 2001-2 were responsive to favorable condition and stable for crude yield. These genotypes can be potential donor for improvement in fodder yield with better quality and stability in oat.


This article describes the latest generation of permeable, drainable pavements, which are safer, quieter and more durable than their predecessors. Better known as open-graded friction courses, these pavements feature an open aggregate structure which allows more water to drain through the driving or friction course to an impervious intermediate course below, and then empties into roadside ditches. But they are 30 to 40% more costly than conventional asphalt mixes. The article describes how some state Departments of Transportation, in particular Georgia's and Arizona's, have used the new pavements, and why earlier versions failed to catch on in the U.S. Interest has peaked recently based on successful projects in several states.


Based on experimental studies on the mechanical,electric,hydroscopic,and thermal properties of the superfine soybean protein mid-fiber,MATLAB software was applied to plot the curve with the related experiment data and investigate the spinning and weaving processes of the blended fabric of superfine soybean protein mid-fiber and superfine cotton type polyester fiber.The light reflection and absorption properties in the visible spectrum of the bleached fabric was researched and the characteristics affecting the fabric′s style such as stretching,bending,wrinkling,hydroscopicity and air permeability under low load were also studied.The present work has given a reference for the improvement of the soybean protein fiber and its product development.


Plug connection (10) of the rocking lever type, comprising: a first connector housing (11), wherein a pivot lever (13) on the first connector housing (11) is pivotally held in a locked state, a second connector housing (70) having connecting parts (71) wherein the first connector housing (11) comprises a hood part (17) for receiving a portion of the second connector housing (70), wherein the pivot lever (13) comprises a pair of plate-like rocking lever body (27) opposite to each other with the hood part (17) of the first connector housing (11) disposed therebetween, and when connecting the first connector housing (11) with the second connector housing (70) having the connecting parts (71) of the second connector housing (70) contactable to connect to it by pivoting the lever (13), the first connector housing (11) with the second connector housing (70), wherein the pivot lever (13) has a pivotal movement actuating part (28) at opposite side portions of the pivotal movement actuating part (28) is connected to the pivot lever bodies (27), and a pivoting end portion of each pivot lever body (27) is covered, and wherein the pivotal movement actuating part (28) having a pair of elastic holding arms (32) at the opposite side parts of the pivotal movement actuating part (28) are formed, and wherein said second connector housing (70) comprises a hood part (74) for receiving a portion of the first connector housing (11) and a pair of first inclination surfaces (76) formed on an outer surface of the hood part (74) of the second connector housing (70) ...


In this work, modified silicone tie-paints were prepared in a simple way for securing adhesion between the epoxy anticorrosive primer and silicone fouling release coating. Hydroxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixture containing fillers and accessory ingredient was prepared as base component. N-(2-Aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (DAMO) was mechanically mixed with other functional additives as curing component. ATR-FTIR, XPS, SEM and tensile tests were used to investigate the chemical structure, morphology and mechanical properties of the tie-coatings. It was focused on the effect of the DAMO content on the adhesion of the tie-coating to epoxy primer. Peel off and shear tests were carried out to evaluate the adhesion. The results showed that introducing DAMO can significantly improve the properties of the tie-coating. The adhesion between the tie-coating and the epoxy primer increases with the increase of DAMO content, but the excessive DAMO content will decrease the fracture strength of the tie-coating and decrease the quality of the coating. When the DAMO content in tie-coating is 1.97 wt.%, the tie-coating performs excellent in the interlaminar adhesion, shear strength and mechanical properties.


This probing interview focuses on Schiller's involvement with Mailer on The Executioner's Song. ********** LARRY SCHILLER IS JUST BACK from China. I meet him at his Los Angeles home on January 14, 2007, one day after his return from interviewing 17 contemporary Chinese artists and their families. Schiller's goal is to build from their stories an intimate history of China from the end of World War II to 2001. When completed, the book will join a long list of media projects he has created, usually in intense collaborations with co-authors and screenwriters, and often with controversy as his backdrop. After making a name for himself as a photojournalist while still a teenager in the 1950s, Schiller got Jack Ruby's deathbed interview, made headlines with his coverage of the Manson Family murders, and spent time with Timothy Leary. For his buying of exclusive rights to true-crime stories, he came to be regarded by many as "a world-historical ambulance chaser," in Time magazine's words. In forty years of journalism Schiller's collaborations have included a biography of Lenny Bruce (with Albert Goldman); W Eugene Smith's photo essay on pollution in Japan, Minamata; and books on master spy Robert Hanssen and the Jon-Benet Ramsey murder. He has also produced or directed more than fifteen television films, winners of five Emmys. But Schiller will likely be best remembered for his work with Norman Mailer. Schiller conceived of Marilyn in 1973 and The Faith of Graffiti in 1974, bringing together photographs and Mailer's text for each. More recently he did interviews in Belarus with Mailer for Oswald's Tale, and Mailer wrote the screenplay for American Tragedy, from Schiller's best-selling book (with James Willwerth) on the inner workings of the O.J. Simpson trial. In between came Schiller's and Mailer's greatest achievement: The Executioner's Song. Over two nights in July 1976, three months after his release from prison, longtime convict Gary Gilmore murdered gas station attendant Max Jensen and hotel manager Ben Bushnell near Salt Lake City, making away with meager amounts of cash. When Gilmore, convicted, refused appeals and demanded to be executed, he attracted worldwide attention. Shot by firing squad on January 17,1977, he became the first inmate put to death in the U.S. in ten years and the first since the lifting of a four-year national moratorium on the death penalty. As readers of Mailer's Pulitzer Prize-winning "true life novel" know, Schiller sensed a great story in Utah shortly after learning of Gilmore's suicide pact with teenage mother Nicole Baker Barrett, his lover in the weeks prior to the killings. Schiller's quest, to buy the movie and book rights to Gilmore's story and interview him on death row, had its critics. In a 1977 profile, Esquire dubbed Schiller "Agent of Death" for his tactics. But in a consummate twist of Mailer's self-consciousness about media, Schiller's own deals would become the central conflict of the second half of Executioner's Song, itself a product of those deals. Schiller later directed a television miniseries from Mailer's screenplay, which was nominated for an Emmy. Tommy Lee Jones won the Best Actor Emmy for his portrayal of Gilmore. In his afterword to the book, Mailer called Schiller's contributions "invaluable": "Schiller stood for his portrait, and drew maps to his faults. He ... not only delivered the stuff of his visions but the logic of his base schemes." Schiller's plan always involves incredibly thorough interviewing over weeks and months. He sometimes pays lawyers' fees if they must be present. "I tell people when I set up interviews that I'm not coming for a hit-and-run," he said. "I'm preserving history. You're an important part of my project, and I'm going to need a lot of your time." He spends multiple sessions building what he calls a "dictionary" of a person's life. "A typical first question would be, what is your earliest memory of your grandfather? …


Neurobiology,one of the important subject in life science frontier,comprises extensive and comprehensive contents.It is significant and essential for each discipline of medicine to offer this course.During last several years of teaching and practice,some methods,skills and ideas have been utilized and summarized.Modem medical education,by offering this course,will accord with the development concept of the transition from biomedicine to bio-psycho-social medical model,and this course will provide the substantial foundation for cultivating qualified medical students.

Key words:
Neurobiology; Bio-psycho-social medical model; Teaching methods; Skills and ideas


A prototype virtual environment (VE) has been developed for training a submarine officer of the desk (OOD) to perform in-harbor navigation on a surfaced submarine. The OOD, stationed on the conning tower of the vessel, is responsible for monitoring the progress of the boat as it negotiates a marked channel, as well as verifying the navigational suggestions of the below- deck piloting team. The VE system allows an OOD trainee to view a particular harbor and associated waterway through a head-mounted display, receive spoken reports from a simulated piloting team, give spoken commands to the helmsman, and receive verbal confirmation of command execution from the helm. The task analysis of in-harbor navigation, and the derivation of application requirements are briefly described. This is followed by a discussion of the implementation of the prototype. This implementation underwent a series of validation and verification assessment activities, including operational validation, data validation, and software verification of individual software modules as well as the integrated system. Validation and verification procedures are discussed with respect to the OOD application in particular, and with respect to VE applications in general.


Cost effective analysis is used frequently in health and other fields in which controlled experiments are possible. The problem is, however, that for many activities which are outsourced in transportation, we have no comparison groups, and when comparison groups are present, we have no data on quality, presenting any interested researcher or decision maker with some serious dilemmas. In this article we establish some basic guidelines for the collection and use of quality data, and associate these with our own errors in attempting CEA with a lack of an existing quality measure. We discuss the theoretical background of public outsourcing, and then provide a brief explanation of cost effective analysis, complete with a comparison to cost benefit analysis. We then discuss our experience with cost-effective analysis applied to the decision to outsource by a particular transportation department. We end with a discussion as to how following our recommendations can facilitate the usage of CEA in outsourcing research.


ABSTRACT Background: To assess the long-term impact of the "Reducing Use of Sedatives" (RedUSe) trial on antipsychotic and benzodiazepine prevalence and dosage. Methods: RedUSe was a six-month controlled trial conducted in 25 Tasmanian nursing homes in 2008–9 which led to significant reductions in benzodiazepine and antipsychotic use and a doubling of dose reductions of these agents. In a follow-up study, data on psychotropic use was collected from all nursing homes a year after the final RedUSe measure. Mean daily doses for each home were calculated by converting antipsychotic and benzodiazepine doses to chlorpromazine and diazepam equivalents, respectively. To determine the long-term impact of the project, 6-month and initial baseline data were compared to the 18-month follow-up data. Results: 1578 residents were audited for the follow-up measure. In the 18 months since the RedUSe project was instigated, benzodiazepine prevalence fell by 25% in intervention nursing homes. Similarly, the mean daily diazepam equivalence in these homes had fallen by 24%. In contrast, after a significant reduction during the RedUSe trial, antipsychotic prevalence returned to baseline levels in intervention nursing homes, with mean chlorpromazine equivalence remaining relatively constant with time. There was a delayed reduction in benzodiazepine and antipsychotic use in the control homes. Conclusions: Both benzodiazepine usage and mean daily diazepam equivalence continued to decline in intervention nursing homes in the year following the RedUSe trial. However, the effect of the RedUSe intervention on antipsychotic prevalence and dosage was not sustained.


There is a variety of experiments in which it will be desir able to have the VLA map large fields with high sensitivity. These include extending the counts of extragalactic sources to lower flux densities, and studies of clusters of galaxies and star clusters. For high sensitivity it is usually desirable to use as much bandwidth as possible; but for points in the field not near the delay tracking center, both the sensitivity and resolution are reduced as the band width is increased. Thus there appears to be a tradeoff between sen sitivity and useful field of view. In this memo, I consider the magnitude of the effect for the VLA.


This essay examines comedian Margaret Cho's 2005 Assassin tour in order to assess the rhetorical potential of stand-up comedy as a nodal point for dissent. Within the contracted space for political dissent and the anti-Asian backlash in post-9/11 U.S. public culture, Cho's concert film Assassin created, however temporary, a symbolic economy that worked to expand discursive space and, consequently, to re-imagine the role of dissent. By adopting the speaking position of a "symbolic assassin," Cho's comedy helps expand discursive space in the contemporary moment. This essay consequently opens up for consideration temporalities of circulation that might, even momentarily, release public discourse from rhetorical captivity.


Ruth changed in Mozambique; she softened. I think she belonged in Mozambique in a way that she never belonged to England. It was her home, and she meant something to that society. (Gillian Slovo, interview, 1989) This article traces the evolution of research at the Centro de Estudos Africanos (CEA) from before the time of Ruth First's arrival. It divides her work there into two periods: the work on the Mozambican Miner, in which she was heavily involved personally, and the later period when she was much more involved in recruiting permanent staff and in creating conditions for successful research, including building up the Documentation Centre within the CEA. This objective included work on maintaining the administrative independence of the CEA within the university to ensure flexibility in responding to rapidly changing research conditions. Research was not simply determined by political priorities, although it engaged with them. The evolution of the key Development Course is also traced, and the work of the Oficina de Historia (History Workshop) is briefly described.


Aiming at the phenomenon that students do lots of exercises only to achieve little progress,the paper analyzes the causes and point out that teacher can instruct students to clarify their problem-solving thinking,sum up rules and make the best use of exercises by using "ten ideas from one question".


This report examines a method to evaluate the profitability and productivity of construction companies. A review of the European and Greek Construction Sector is made, followed by an industry analysis that is based on the application of standard financial and statistical methods and techniques aiming to identify the correlation between the change in profitability and the changes in the financial accounts and ratios of the companies. The major factors affecting profitability and productivity are identified resulting in the conclusion that the Greek construction industry exhibits certain unique characteristics - as well as impressively higher profitability- as compared to other sectors of the economy.


Reported distress to an industrial structure from phosphate/sulfate contamination of kaolinitic foundation soil at an industrial location in Southern India prompted this laboratory study. The study examines the short-term effect of sodium sulfate/phosphate contamination on the swell/compression characteristics of a commercial kaolinite. Experimental results showed that the unsaturated contaminated kaolinite specimens exhibited slightly higher swell potentials and lower compressions than the unsaturated uncontaminated kaolinite specimens. It is suggested that the larger double layer promoted by the increased exchangeable sodium ion concentration is responsible for the slightly higher swell potentials and lower compressions of the unsaturated contaminated kaolinite specimens.


Storytelling is an effective means of imparting knowledge, beliefs, and traditions. In its multimedia form, digital storytelling has been made popular by the digital storytelling movement led by the Center for Digital Storytelling established in 1998. While digital storytelling has existed for a few decades, its use in education has been researched relatively recently over the past fifteen years (Holtzblatt & Tschakert, 2011). As a result, it is important that continued research is done in order to understand how students are learning through digital storytelling. The constructivist environments created through digital storytelling classes and workshops need to be researched in order to gain a deeper understanding of students' learning processes and to ascertain how to continue to create effective learning environments for them. In this study, the researcher endeavored to determine how the use of digital storytelling exercises is providing quality, learning experiences for students by examining the process of creating digital stories through the lens of social learning theory. This was done by analyzing data from an in-person interview conducted with the founder of the Center for Digital Storytelling, Joseph Lambert, the examination of another published interview from Lambert's (2013) book, Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community, as well as other publications. Utilizing Honebein's (1996) seven pedagogical goals of constructivist learning environments to design the categories of coded data, the researcher created a set of guidelines that served as a framework of assessing to what extent digital storytelling workshops created constructivist learning environments. By analyzing the themes that emerged from the data, the researcher concluded that Lambert's digital storytelling work at the Center for Digital Storytelling, reflected all seven essential characteristics of constructivist learning environments in a significant manner, thereby indicating that the workshops at CDS were indeed constructivist environments.


There are currently 168 Refugee Welcome Zones in Australia. Use the scrollbars to get more information. You can also search, limit and download single ...


For manufacturing enterprise, job shop scheduling is a complex systems engineering. It helps people manage production process, track semi-manufactured goods, arrange manufacture, and know shop production and process. This paper analyzes the operation flowing of job shop scheduling system as a whole. On the basis of particular expounding about materiel coding?bill or materiel?manufacturing routing, the paper gives the system structure of design project. It can compound job shop scheduling module and other parts in the ERP. On the ground of fact of industry, the paper also gives system actualization.


I n this paper, we introduce flexible fuzzy soft M-group structures by using Molodtsov's definition of soft sets and investigate their related properties with respect to a -inclusion of soft sets.


Strawberry plants (Fragaria × ananassa Duch. cv. Catskill) were subjected to several freezing temperatures to study growth and development following various degress of crown injury. The T50 was approximately —l2.5°C, but exposure to nonlethal temperatures resulted in abnormal growth of leaves, early runner production, decreased blossom numbers, and browning of crown tissues. Browning of crown tissues was associated with number of runners, number of blossoms, size of leaves, dry wt of leaves, and test temperatures. Number of blossoms emerging was negatively correlated with low freezing temperature, while early runner emergence was positively correlated with low temperature.


This article provides a brief history of the development of the Highway Code, a guidance booklet for UK drivers produced by the government. The first version was launched in 1931 and included extensive information on hand signals; over the following years further editions included traffic signs, information on motorway driving, roundabouts and pedestrian crossings, advice on using a seat belt, not driving after drinking, and use of car-based telephones. In 1931 there were 2.3 million vehicles and 7,000 fatalities: now, although there are over 20 million vehicles, the number of fatalities is about 3,500. (A)


The Indus Fan, the second largest submarine fan in the world, covers 1,250,000 km2 (500,000 mi2) and contains sediment more than 7 km (23,000 ft) thick. Multichannel (24-fold) CDP seismic data provide the bases for evaluating the Indus Fan and consist of four seismic facies. Of these, only the high-amplitude, discontinuous (H-D) facies is thought to contain reservoir-quality sandstones. The H-D facies is confined to the axes of leveed channels. Canyon-channel systems that fed the fan in the past can be divided into three zones. The degradational zone is composed of an erosional canyon complex filled by prodelta mud. The transitional zone, located near the canyon mouth, consists of superimposed channels that initially were erosional but eventually aggraded and developed levees. The headward termination of the H-D facies occurs in this zone. The aggradational zone consists of superimposed leveed channels confined solely by their own levees. The H-D facies forms extensive interconnected bodies several kilometers (about 2 mi) wide and 100 m (330 ft) thick in aggradational channels. The proximal termination of the H-D facies near canyon mouths implies the presence of reservoir-quality sandstone surrounded by source/seal mudstone in the transitional zone. This stratigraphic trapping geometry and structural leads may represent a vast, untapped petroleum province.


PARTICIPATION OF MOUSE DNA POLYMERASES IOTA, ETA, AND REV1 IN TRANSLESION SYNTHESIS OF CARCINOGEN INDUCED DNA ADDUCTS AND CARCINOGENESIS Chad Aaron Dumstorf March 21 , 2007 Recent advances in undE~rstanding the molecular mechanisms of mutagenesis indicate that most mutations are dependent on the activity of translesion synthesis DNA polymerases. The impact of reducing the level of these polymerases on mutageneslis and carcinogenesis in mouse models is poorly defined. Using knock out strategies we were able to remove polymerase eta (pol 11), and polymerase iota (pOll) and pol eta/pol iota from the mouse and lower REV1 in the mouse lung. This dissertation reports the changes in UVinduced carcinogenesis and mutagenesis that were observed. Mutagenesis data in pol iota. deficient cells clearly indicate pol iota as a mutagenic TLS polymerase in UV lesion bypass. Pol iota removal effectively lowered the mutational frequency in both pol eta null and wild-type backgrounds.


Background Retrospective dosimetric auditing is a useful investigational approach for continuous quality assurance in diagnostic radiography. It may serve as a baseline reference for future research in which both dose and image quality are examined. In radiation protection, comparing diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) with patient doses observed in clinical practice enables the optimization process (i.e., providing a clinically acceptable image quality and keeping the dose as low as reasonably achievable). The purpose of this study was to audit radiation doses of adult patients who underwent common diagnostic x-ray examinations and compare dose area product (DAP) values with the established international DRLs (IDRLs). Methods Retrospective cross-sectional records of 193 patients who underwent 387 radiographic examinations during October through December 2018 were obtained. Patient-related and DAP data were recorded for the six most common examinations with two digital systems of the same manufacturer at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Jeddah (KAMC-JD). The mean and 75th percentile of DAPs was established and compared with IDRLs. The percentage mean and 75th percentile DAP differences were used to describe changes between KAMC-JD values and IDRLs. Results Relative to chest and cervical spine x-rays, wider dispersion and increased variability in DAP values were observed and evidenced by a larger standard deviation for lumbar spine (AP σ=170.29; lateral σ=409.92), thoracic spine (AP σ=43.22; lateral σ=440.44), abdomen (σ=131.62), and pelvis (σ=254.59). Overall, the DAP 75th percentiles for KAMC-JD were below IDRLs for chest, cervical spine, abdomen, and pelvis. Lateral lumber, and AP and lateral thoracic spine DAP 75th percentile exceeded all IDRLs by up to 42.56%, 1.68%, and 512.17%, respectively. When the type of detector is considered, KAMC-JD mean DAPs exceeded the UK 2012 DRLs for the following examinations: AP and lumbar spine (42.83%, 110.8%), AP pelvis (8.06%), AP and lateral cervical (62.86%, 10.71%), and AP and lateral thoracic (36.27%, 355.78%). Conclusion KAMC-JD DAP data were below the international recommendations except for lumbar spine, which exceeded the recommendations. Reassessment after optimizing the lumbar spine DRL is recommended. This study highlights the need for developing local DRLs in Saudi Arabia at the institutional, regional, and national level.


In the presence of cesium fluoride, the equimolecular reactions of carboxylic acids with alcohols, amines or thiols using 2-fluoropyridinium salt proceeded smoothly under mild conditions to afford the corresponding carboxylic acid derivatives with base sensitive groups in good yields.


IMAGINE YOU SIGNED a contract, but someone later altered the document without your knowledge or approval. Suddenly, you're in the middle of a legal dispute about what you actually signed. How would...


Aims: To examine the association of hourly time lagged concentration of ambient particulate matter and death due to stroke. Methods: Mortality data for five years (January 1990 to December 1994) were obtained from the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan. Data were used only if the deceased was 65 years old or older at the time of death, if death was attributed to intracerebral haemorrhage or ischaemic stroke, and if the deceased lived in one of 13 major urban areas. Hourly mean concentrations of PM7, NO2, and photochemical oxidants were measured at monitoring stations in the 13 areas. Time stratified case-crossover analysis was used to examine the data for evidence of triggering stroke mortality. Results: The 1-hour mean concentration of PM7 measured about 2 hours before death was associated with the risk of death due to intracerebral haemorrhage from April to September (odds ratio = 2.40, 95% CI 1.48 to 3.89, for exposure to PM7 of more than 200 μg/m3 (threshold)). The higher risk was independent of the 24-hour mean concentration of PM7. PM7 was not associated with death due to ischaemic stroke. Conclusions: Transiently high concentrations of PM7 are associated with death due to intracerebral haemorrhage. Air quality standards or guidelines for particulate matter should be based not only on 24-hour mean concentrations, but also on hourly data.


The study of South Mozambique passive margin is essential to understand its rifting evolution and better constrain kinematic reconstructions model of the Indian Ocean. MOZ3-5 oceanographic cruises (2016) is part of the PAMELA project (PAssive Margin Exploration LAboratory), conducted by TOTAL, IFREMER, in collaboration with Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Université Rennes 1, Université Pierre and Marie Curie, CNRS et IFPEN. These campaigns allowed the acquisition of wide-angle and multichannel seismic data as well as high resolution bathymetric data, dredges, magnetic and gravimetric data. This work focuses on the deep structure of the northern segment of the Natal Valley which was investigated along a 300 km long E-W seismic transect cross-cutting the Almirante Leite volcanic ridge (MZ2 profile). The wide-angle data set is composed of 23 OBS (Ocean Bottom Seismometers) and 19 LSS (Land Seismic Station) spaced by about 12 km and 4-5 km respectively. Forward modelling of the wide-angle data led to a preliminary 2D P-waves velocity model revealing the sedimentary architecture, crustal and lithospherical structures and shallow high velocity material at the volcanic ridge. The aim of this work is to present the first results on the crustal structure from P-waves velocity modeling along the profile MZ2, in order to discuss the sedimentary sequences, the geometry and nature of the crust (oceanic or continental) as well as structures associated with volcanism, and to better understand the margin's evolution. The post-doc of Fanny Verrier is co-funded by TOTAL and IFREMER as part of the PAMELA (Passive Margin Exploration Laboratories) scientific project.


This project outlines an 8‐week undergraduate laboratory which investigates the use of siRNA technology to silence a well‐known housekeeping gene, Glyceraldehyde 3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) in a mammalian HeLa cell line. siRNA was discovered just over ten years ago, however there are few published reports on the use of this important technology in the undergraduate curriculum. This laboratory for upper level science majors, aimed to improve students' mastery of modern day experimental techniques and strengthen their molecular biology lab skills by working with RNA, an inherently unstable molecule. Presented student data will showcase their successful efforts to knockdown GAPDH using siRNA through fluorescence, Western Blot and GAPDH assays. In addition to the experimental results, our course embedded assessment will show that students gained significant confidence in understanding and applying siRNA technology. This project was supported by a NSF CCLI grant #068183789.


A method for safety-related shutdown of an electrical network (10) and a safety device (100) for performing the method described. To the electrical network (10) are a plurality of electrical components (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) is connected, which at least one electrical energy source (11) and include at least one electric consumer. The electrical energy source (11) is switched off or the electric network (10) disconnected when a safety line loop (20) is interrupted. Operating data of at least one of the electrical components (16) are monitored by at least one monitoring unit (22). The safety line loop (20) is interrupted when a safety-critical situation is detected on the basis of operational data by the monitoring unit (22).


It is not known whether malnourished infants can mount a comprehensive acute-phase protein (APP) response and, if so, whether this is achieved by increasing APP synthesis rates. To address these issues, we measured 1) the plasma concentrations of five APPs (C-reactive protein, α1-acid glycoprotein, α1-antitrypsin, haptoglobin, and fibrinogen) and 2) the synthesis rates of three APPs (α1-antitrypsin, haptoglobin, and fibrinogen) using a constant intragastric infusion of [2H3]leucine in nine infected marasmic children at ∼2 days postadmission ( study 1), ∼9 days postadmission when infections had cleared ( study 2), and ∼59 days postadmission at recovery ( study 3). Except for fibrinogen, the plasma concentrations of all APPs were higher in study 1 than in studies 2 and 3. Although the rate of synthesis of haptoglobin was significantly greater in study 1 than study 2, the rates of fibrinogen and α1-antitrypsin synthesis were similar in all three studies. These results show that 1) severely malnourished children can mount an APP response to infection which does not include fibrinogen and 2) the APP response is accomplished through different mechanisms.


The nano fibre protective material is made into the form of a laminar structure, its middle layer is made of high-molecular nano fibre membrane material, the diameter of the nano fibre is 10 nano-3000 nano, and its external layer is respectively one layer or multilayer natural fibre or synthetic fibre or blended fabric on non-woven fabric, and the diameter of fibre is 1 micrometer-100 micrometers. Its preparation method includes the following steps: dissolving or dispersing one or several kinds of high-molecular materials in solvent to obtain transparent solution or mixture, dispersing additive into the above-mentioned solution or melting one or several kinds of high-molecular materials to obtain electric spinning material, then adding said electric spinning material into one or several storage tanks.


The gene encoding the Sox F-group transcription factor Xsox17α1 is specifically expressed throughout the entire region of the Xenopus blastula fated to become endoderm, and is important in controlling endodermal development. Xsox17α1 is a direct target of the maternal endodermal determinant VegTand of Sox17 itself. We have analysed the promoter of the Xenopus laevis Xsox17α1 gene by transgenesis, and have identified two important control elements which reside about 9 kb upstream at the start of transcription. These elements individually drive transgenic endodermal expression in the blastula and gastrula. One contains functional, cooperating VegT and Sox-binding consensus sites. The Sox sites in this region are occupied in vivo. The other responds to TGF-β signals like Activin or Nodals that act through Smad2/3. We propose that these two regions co-operate in regulating the early endodermal expression of the Xsox17α1 gene. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. Open access under CC BY license.


Childbirth is a physiological process or the process of expelling viable products of conception from the uterus to the outside world, thus enabling the mother to give birth to her fetus through the birth canal. There are several aspects related to pain during labor and can affect the birth process itself. Treatment uses non-pharmacological methods such as relaxation, warm compresses, yoga and one of which is using massage methods to reduce pain, one of which is back massage and endorphin massage.  This study aimed to find out the effect of endorphin massage on the intensity of back pain in laboring mothers during the first active phase in Tegallega Village, Warungkondang District, Cianjur Regency. This study is an experimental research with a one group pre-test post-test design. This research only involves one group of subjects who will be observed before and after the intervention. The average intensity of pain before endorphin massage was given to mothers giving birth was 8.23. Meanwhile, the average value of the intensity of back pain in women giving birth after being given endorphin massage was 7.23. This shows that the intensity of back pain in mothers giving birth during the first active phase before endorphin massage was given to mothers giving birth during the first active phase in Tegallega Village decreased. There is an effect of giving endorphin massage on the intensity of back pain in mothers giving birth during the first active phase.


Objective To study improvement of cognitive function impairment of vascular dementia rats induced by a permanent bilateral ligation of common carotid arteries(2VO) after transplantation of neural stem cell in brain.Methods VD model of rats was established by 2VO.The Morris water test was performed to detect difference in the cognitive function between VD group and control group.After transplantation of neural stem cell in brain,cognitive function improvement of VD treatment group was observed.Results Neural stem cell could be differentiated into mature neuron after transplantation into rat brain.Morris water test showed that latency time was shorter and average velocity was increased in VD treatment group.Conclusion Cognitive function impairment could be improved by transplantation of neural stem cell in brain in VD rats.


A continuous stochastic background of gravitational waves (GWs) for burst sources is produced if the mean time interval between the occurrence of bursts is smaller than the average time duration of a single burst at the emission, i.e., the so called duty cycle must be greater than one. To evaluate the background of GWs produced by an ensemble of sources, during their formation, for example, one needs to know the average energy flux emitted during the formation of a single object and the formation rate of such objects as well. In many cases the energy flux emitted during an event of production of GWs is not known in detail, only characteristic values for the dimensionless amplitude and frequencies are known. Here we present a shortcut to calculate stochastic backgrounds of GWs produced from cosmological sources. For this approach it is not necessary to know in detail the energy flux emitted at each frequency. Knowing the characteristic values for the ``lumped'' dimensionless amplitude and frequency we show that it is possible to calculate the stochastic background of GWs produced by an ensemble of sources.


A continuous quantum-nondemolition measurement scheme that is based on intensity dependent atomic scattering in three-state systems is analyzed. The proposed scheme measures the number of photons in an optical cavity mode by observing the scattering rate of the atomic medium. The time evolution of the coupled atom-field system is analyzed using the Monte Carlo wave-function approach. The wave-function collapse occurs continuously as a result of the presence or absence of scattering events at each time irritant. It is shown that the measurement is logically reversible and the information contained in the premeasurement wave function is preserved during the measurement interaction


Maceina (2007) recently proposed using piecewise regression to estimate sizeand age-related mortality rates in fish. Piecewise regression (also called changeof-phase, segmented, hockey stick, and joinpoint regression) has also been used to fit stock–recruitment and individual growth curves for fish (Zweifel and Lasker 1976; Laidig et al. 1991; Barrowman and Myers 2000), to identify critical thresholds for environmental features (Toms and Lesperance 2003; Homan et al. 2004; Denoël and Ficetola 2007), and to analyze trends in cancer rate incidence (Kim et al. 2000; Tiwari et al. 2005). The use of piecewise regression to estimate differential mortality from ageand length-related models is an interesting application of this technique and one in which many fishery managers and researchers will probably be interested. One clear advantage of using piecewise regression to fit segmented catch curves is that the imposed continuity restriction among segments avoids the jumps and falls that can result when separate linear regression models are fit to different ages of a fish sample (Seber and Wild 2003). While we agree with Maceina (2007) that piecewise regression is a useful tool, we believe it is important to acknowledge that fitting piecewise regression models can be challenging. Standard methods are prone to yield different parameter estimates depending on the assigned starting values (Lerman 1980; Seber and Wild 2003; Toms and Lesperance 2003). This sensitivity to starting values can be demonstrated using the fish age and log e transformed number-at-age data provided in Maceina (2007). In the SAS (SAS Institute 2003) PROC NLIN code provided in the appendix of Maceina (2007), a starting value of 10 is specified, which results in an estimated knot (joinpoint) of 10.3. If the starting value is changed to 11, however, the estimated knot becomes 11.2 and the estimated instantaneous total mortality becomes 0.4907 for fish of ages 3–11 and 0.1664 for fish of age 11 and above. The sum of squared errors for the estimated model with a knot of 10.3 is 5.53, while that for a model with a knot of 11.2 is 5.59. Thus, the piecewise regression model converges to a local rather than a global leastsquares minimum with a starting value of 11. While the differences in parameter estimates that result from these different starting values are not large, the fish age and log e transformed number-at-age data presented in Maceina (2007) constitute a rather ''clean'' data set. From our experience, differences in parameter estimates can be substantially larger with ''noisier'' data sets. Part of the difficulty in fitting piecewise regression models stems from the fact that the models are nonsmooth functions with discontinuous first derivatives (Lerman 1980; Seber and Wild 2003), which can affect the performance of optimization algorithms. However, even when one uses optimization algorithms that do not require continuous first derivatives, there is no guarantee that a model will converge to a global minimum because local minima often exist for piecewise regression problems (Lerman 1980). To illustrate, we used PROC NLP in SAS (SAS Institute 2007) to fit a piecewise regression model to the fish age and log e transformed number-at-age data provided in Maceina (2007) by least squares using the Nelder– Mead simplex optimization algorithm, which is widely recommended for nonsmooth functions (Seber and Wild 2003). We obtained the same two sets of parameter estimates with starting values of 10 and 11 that we obtained with PROC NLIN. Because of the sensitivity of piecewise regression models to the assigned starting values, we do not recommend using single starting values for model parameters. Rather, we suggest using a grid-search method to fit these models (Lerman 1980). Alternatively, Hudson (1966) and Seber and Wild (2003) describe multistage approaches for fitting piecewise regression models. Other methods that have been suggested for fitting piecewise regression models include using median functions (Shuai et al. 2003) or approximating the segmented model with a model with continuous first derivatives (Seber and Wild 2003; Toms and Lesperance 2003), but the grid-search method appears to be the one of the more widely used for these models (Kim et al. 2000; Piepho and Ogutu 2003). Implementing a grid search for estimating parameters is straightforward in SAS, although we caution that it may be necessary to use a relatively fine grid for all model parameters (not just the knot) to ensure that the global least-squares minimum is found. Grid-search estimation is also used in Joinpoint 3.0 (National Cancer Institute 2005), which is a freeware


The measurement of any physical property as a function of temperature brings the method used into the realm of thermal analysis [...].


Cannibalism and intraguild predation (IGP) are two very imperative constituents determining the structure of biological communities. Ladybird beetles, frequently known as the farmer's friends, easily partake in cannibalism and IGP when their usual prey i.e., aphid population declines. Eggs although defenseless, fall easy victim both for the adults as well as the larvae of the ladybirds and are demolished thus, providing a chance to endure life. The eggs are encrusted with alkaloids helping in easy recognition of conspecific as well as heterospecific eggs. A study was conducted to identify the role of these alkaloids in cannibalism and intraguild predation among two aphidophagous ladybird species namely, Cheilomenes sexmaculata and Coccinella transversalis. Results specify that the fourth instar and adult female of C. sexmaculata have a strapping propensity to chip in intraguild predation while C. transversalis favours cannibalism.


The transportation of checks and bill or other items from a depositary bank through one or more collecting banks to the payor bank involves a great deal of expense and time. "Electronic presentment" or "check truncation" enables collecting banks to shorten the collection process by utilizing modern electronic means to transfer an item's content. An item can be retained at the depositary bank, or at any desired intermediary bank, while a demand for payment is forwarded electronically to the payor bank. The bank retaining the item then holds the item for a short period of time for return to the drawer upon his request. After a short period of retention, the bank microfilms and then destroys the item. In U.S.A, the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21 Act or Check 21 or the Act), was enacted on October 28, 2003, and becomes effective on October 28, 2004. The Check 21 Act authorizes a new negotiable instrument called a "substitute check," which is a paper reproduction of an original check, and provides that a properly prepared substitute check is the legal equivalent of an original check. The Act facilitates electronic check exchange by enabling banks to sort and deliver checks electronically and, where necessary, to create legally equivalent substitute checks for presentment to banks that have not agreed to accept checks electronically. Also in Korea, Revised Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes Act Art. 38(3), Art. 40(4) induced the truncation system as follows ; Such presentment for payment prescribed in paragraph (2) is considered finished, when a financial institution entrusted with collection of a bill of exchange by a holder electronically prepare items to be filled out on the bill of exchange via information processing system in the of electronic information, and such information is transferred to a clearing-house and then inputted into information processing system of such clearing-house. And Check Act, Art. 31(2), Art. 35(2) also have a similar contents. But these Acts have a several problems. Namely it is as follows ; the effects of presentment for payment, the risks of fraud and alteration of original instrument, consumer's protection suffered a loss associated with the poor quality of the converted image file and a mistaken informations. Therefore this paper proposed that the related provisions should be revised or filled up.


Abstract In this numerical work, two-dimensional rich premixed laminar methane-air flames are calculated in detail. Emphasis is laid on the comparative analysis of spatial distributions of CO concentrations and temperature for a range of mixtures using two reaction mechanisms, and thereby reporting on the suitability of such mechanisms. A test analysis showed that the results from the present numerical scheme are in close agreement with the corresponding CHEMKIN calculations (see Appendix). Computed results are compared with experimental data of Datta et al. (2004), with detailed study on equivalence ratio φ = 2.0 flame. Firstly, simulations are conducted on a relatively detailed Smooke mechanism involving 16 reactive species/46 reactions steps. Measured and calculated data are in good agreement in terms of spatial distributions as well as peak values of CO concentration and temperature for cases of φ's 1.7, 2.0, and 2.5. As a second study, a reduced mechanism (16 reactive species/25 reactions) is found selectively suitable for richer cases φ = 3.0 and 4.0, yielding good quantitative agreement for CO concentration and temperature. For the case of φ = 2.0, CO distributions are particularly rendered well in the inner flame zone. However, a significant difference in the CO concentration is noticed near the diffusion flame zone. The estimated CO concentration reaches a maximum distance of 8.5 mm in the lateral direction away from the axis line, while the experimental values fall to zero at 6 mm. Calculations exhibit acceptable trends at all elevated flame heights, and maximum CO concentration and temperature as experiments, showing that with the increase in equivalence ratio the flame height increases, and that the maximum CO concentration decreases.


Case has advanced a new theoretical construct – central conceptual structures – to help resolve the tension between general stages and conceptual specificity in neo-Piagetian theory. However, a closer look at the content of thought highlights inter- and intra-individual diversity in semantic organization, making the definition of stages more elusive than before. Developmental level and conceptual diversity are difficult to disentangle, whether assessing age-specific competencies or upper limits on processing capacity. Yet, stages stripped of diversity represent cultural ideals rather than real developmental phenomena. To resolve these difficulties, central conceptual structures can be reinterpreted as self-organizing systems that stabilize in response to general and specific constraints, yet reconfigure themselves periodically over development. According to this conception, stage and specificity are two sides of the same coin. Idiosyncratic pathways stem from the amplification of small differences and the consolidation of nonoptimal solutions, but these pathways progress through stable phases of coupling among conceptual and environmental constituents.


The electrical stimulation of appropriate components of the human visual system can result in the perception of blobs of light (or phosphenes) in totally blind patients. By stimulating an array of closely aligned electrodes it is possible for a patient to perceive very low-resolution images from spatially aligned phosphenes. Using this approach, a number of international research groups are working toward developing multiple electrode systems (called Artificial Human Vision (AHV) systems or visual prostheses) to provide a phosphene-based substitute for normal human vision. Despite the great promise, there are currently a number of constraints with current AHV systems. These include limitations in the number of electrodes which can be implanted and the perceived spatial layout and display frequency of phosphenes. Therefore the development of computer vision techniques that can maximise the visualisation value of the limited number of phosphenes would be useful in compensating for these constraints. The lack of an objective method for comparing different AHV system displays, in addition to comparing AHV systems and other blind mobility aids (such as the long cane), has been a significant problem for AHV researchers. Finally, AHV research in Australia and many other countries relies strongly on theoretical models and animal experimentation due to the difficult of prototype human trials. Because of this constraint the experiments conducted in this thesis were limited to simulated AHV devices with normally sighted research participants and the true impact on blind people can only be regarded as approximated. In light of these constraints, this thesis has two general aims. The first aim is to investigate, evaluate and develop effective techniques for mobility assessment which will allow the objective comparison of different AHV system phosphene presentation methods. The second aim is to develop a useful display framework to guide the development of AHV information presentation, and use this framework to guide the development of an AHV simulation device. The first research contribution resulting from this work is a conceptual framework based on literature reviews of blind and low vision mobility, AHV technology, and computer vision. This framework incorporates a comprehensive number of factors which affect the effectiveness of information presentation in an AHV system. Experiments reported in this thesis have investigated a number of these factors using simulated AHV with human participants. It has been found that higher spatial resolution is associated with accurate walking (reduced veering), whereas higher display rate is associated with faster walking speeds. In this way it has been demonstrated that the conceptual framework supports and guides the development of an adaptive AHV system, with the dynamic adjustment of display properties in real-time. The second research contribution addresses mobility assessment which has been identified as an important issue in the AHV literature. This thesis presents the adaptation of a mobility assessment method from the blind and low vision literature to measure simulated AHV mobility performance using real-time computer based analysis. This method of mobility assessment (based on parameters for walking speed, obstacle contacts and veering) is demonstrated experimentally in two different indoor mobility courses. These experiments involved sixty-five participants wearing a head-mounted simulation device. The final research contribution in this thesis is the development and evaluation of an original real-time looming obstacle detector, based on coarse optical flow, and implemented on a Windows PocketPC based Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) using a CF card camera. PDA based processors are a preferred main processing platform for AHV systems due to their small size, light weight and ease of software development. However, PDA devices are currently constrained by restricted random access memory, lack of a floating point unit and slow internal bus speeds. Therefore any real-time software needs to maximise the use of integer calculations and minimise memory usage. This contribution was significant as the resulting device provided a selection of experimental results and subjective opinions.


The success of Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) highly depends on data quality. Moreover, predictive uncertainty reduces reliability of DNNs for real-world applications. In this paper, we aim to address these two issues by proposing a unified filtering framework leveraging underlying data density, that effectively denoises training data as well as avoids predicting confusing samples. Our proposed framework differentiates noise from clean data samples without modifying existing DNN architectures or loss functions. Extensive experiments on multiple benchmark datasets and recent COVIDx dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework over state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods in denoising training data and abstaining uncertain test data.


In this work we present degradation studies of GaN based blue‐violet laser diodes grown on different substrates. By replacing the SiC substrate by GaN substrate, we change from hetero to homo epitaxy, while the threading dislocation density (TDD) is reduced by 3 orders of magnitude. A detailed analysis of small signal I –V curves shows an increase of non radiative (NR) recombination centers during aging for laser diodes on SiC substrate. This was not observed for lasers on GaN substrate due to the reduced TDD and therefore reduced number of diffusion channels for Mg‐atoms, acting as NR recombination centers in the active region. With an improved epitaxial structure on GaN substrate, we increased the lifetime of our lasers by a factor of 10. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


ABSTRACT Despite the fact that the assumed link between women's empowerment, peace, and democratization has taken a firm hold in both theory and practice, the effectiveness of funding empowerment remains highly contested in the literature on gender, war, and democratic transformations. Drawing upon over a decade of fieldwork, this article offers lessons from the Balkans for funding women's empowerment, with a particular focus on postconflict political transitions. I argue that there are two fundamentally different approaches to funding women's empowerment, what I call the civil society model and the social movement model, and I lay out theoretical reasons why the social movement model is more likely to achieve enduring political change. I then provide a case study of how the United States government promoted elements of the social movement model in Croatia and Serbia as part of its democratization assistance, focusing on the challenges and promise of this approach.


Sobolev spaces become the established and universal language of partial differential equations and mathematical analysis. Among a huge variety of problems where Sobolev spaces are used, the followi ...


A simple Wien filter in combination with an energy-discriminating detector was used to determine mass and velocity distributions of positively and negatively charged particles in a nozzle beam. The particles were sampled from different heights in a 26.7 hPa flat, premixed C2H2/O2 flame. The method allows the measurement of mass distributions of particles with different velocities in the beam, of velocity distributions of particles with different masses, and of over-all mass and velocity distributions, examples of which are given. There is a velocity slip of the large species during expansion of the flow. Particles with larger mass reach a lower final velocity in the beam. The velocity distributions are non-gaussian displaying a long tail to lower velocities. The growth of positively charged soot particles from an average mass of about 1·103 u to 1·104 u takes place over a distance of 4 mm in the flame.


This paper suggests an approach for evaluation of business-to-business integration B2Bi and coordination costs. B2Bi benefits the business partners by reducing coordination costs. These costs result from data processing, data transmission, delays and errors. The approach relies on four coordination cost dimensions which are the frequency and complexity of the business process and the timeliness and accuracy required in the business process. The benefits of B2Bi are proposed to be higher in a more frequent or complex business process or a business process requiring higher timeliness or accuracy. The effects of these dimensions were preliminarily studied with survey data drawn from the telecommunications industry. According to Likert-scale measures, frequency, timeliness and accuracy correlated positively whereas complexity correlated negatively with the benefits of B2Bi. Based on the periodic volume, data amount, lead time and defect rate, the paper proposes technical measures of the coordination cost dimensions and evaluation steps for B2Bi.


ABSTRACT Research has demonstrated that merely imagining an autobiographical event can bring about false memories for that event. One explanation for this is that imagination leads to the creation and incorporation of visual-imagistic information into the event representation. This idea was tested in two experiments in which visual-imagery processing was disrupted by the use of Dynamic Visual Noise (DVN). In Experiment 1, autobiographical memories that were rated as "known" and lacking in event detail were subsequently rated as more "remembered" following imagination. In Experiment 2, imagination led to improbable autobiographical events being rated as more believable and vivid. In both experiments, interfering with imagery processing by DVN reduced these effects. It was concluded that visual-imagistic processing plays an important role in altering the mnemonic status of autobiographical representations.


Language study is an eminently cultural activity.A lot of study has done on the different meanings carried by the same concept,i.e.a single word,in different languages.This article focuses on one frequently used sentence in both English world and Chinese world,that is "i have no choice" or "wobiewuxuanze" in Chinese,they are verbally counterparts.Some examples in daily life and scenarios of TV series are chosen to make a comparison from three aspects: the connotation of the sentence,the people's response to the sentence,and the process of choice making,elaborating them with the basic crossculture communication theories.Combining language study with culture study,students can best grasp the exact meaning of the sentence in different languages,as a result they can best avoid misunderstanding and use it correctly and appropriately.Choice making is so omnipresent that the illustration of this commonly used sentence might be greatly conducive to understanding the cultural differences in these two given worlds,English world and Chinese world.