Zooplankton live in environments where resource abundance and quality can vary drastically over time. Success in nonequilibrium environments depends in part on the ability to store energy and control its allocation during periods of extreme food limitation or outright starvation. Starvation resistance is one measure of the ability of a species to persist when energy intake is less than energy expenditure. The life-history responses of nine species of planktonic rotifers to food deprivation were compared using cohort life- table experiments. Allometric patterns of energy storage and respiration rate lead to the prediction that larger species should have greater starvation resistance than smaller species. Contrary to this prediction, when rotifers were acclimated to high resource levels and starved as young adults, body mass did not predict starvation time. Rather, there was a trade-off between survival and reproduction during starvation. Some species did not reproduce during starvation and had high starvation times (up to 5.0 d). Other species maintained or increased fecundity relative to fed controls and had low starvation times (as low as 0.4 d). Species with more rapid senescence when fed tended to have shorter starvation times. However, the interspecific-trade-off between survival and reproduction remained after removing the effect of control survivorship. Differences in life-history responses to starvation may be critical in determining competitive outcome and community structure in variable environ- ments. When acclimated to low food levels prior to food deprivation, simulating conditions of declining resource abundance in nature, rotifer starvation time decreased. Juveniles had longer starvation times than adults, further supporting the idea that allocating energy to reproduction decreases starvation resistance.


the catalog opens up avenues for dialog. One might conjure up a discussion about the sounds and facial contortions made by the street crier depicted in Francesco Villamena's "Io son quell Geminian caldorostaro" (113) and the rhetorical use of hyperbole at the time. Another item will launch speculation about the make-up of music books compiled for amateurs, and the question of musical literacy. In this way, the book invites the reader to step into the bubbling, oftentimes chaotic acoustic cauldron that was early modern London, and to hear the sounds that Caliban learned to cherish. JANET POLLACK Colorado State University


Distributed energy is an important technology to promote the development of clean energy. However, the existing distributed energy network has some problems, such as small application scop, slow development speed and lack of trust. This article proposes a decentralized, credible and efficient distributed energy transaction model based on blockchain technology in the distributed energy network. The transaction model is automatically executed through the smart contract, which deployed on the blockchain network without the participation of a third party. This approach reduces the maintenance cost of the trading system. While improving the efficiency of energy transaction, the scope of energy supply is expanded, the loss of energy transmission is reduced, the data security is improved, and the transaction process is transparent.


This essay explores the question of the body and addiction raised by Immanuel Kant and Samuel Taylor Coleridge as they fashion themselves into modern subjects. While studies of the philosophical connection between Kant and Coleridge have well been established, the somewhat counterintuitive relationship between the health-mongering Kant and the opium addict Coleridge has not drawn enough critical attention. Looking closely at the ways in which Kant and Coleridge attend to their bodies, this essay argues that both forms of obsession over the body ? whether as a health nut or as a junkie ? share the problem of dealing with the high pressures of being a modern subject. Modern subjectivity is first and foremost grounded on the idea of autonomy : the free and rational "I". The idea of autonomy puts an emphasis on the independence and self-sufficiency of the modern self. The Enlightenment imperative is that the subject ought to be an individual in full possession of his or her self ; concepts born from this demand ? right, reason, imagination ? are predicated on the individual as the basic form of subjectivity. Kant's compulsive dependence on a self-devised physical regimen to prolong life and maintain mental health is a symptomatic sign of how demanding this imperative can be. Coleridge's opium addiction, on the hand, sheds light on the possibilities and limitations of the Romantic poet's identity as an original author. A careful analysis of the bodily addictions of these two figures offers an intriguing way of tracing the connections and tensions between Enlightenment and Romanticism at the birth of the modern subject.


Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from healthy donors, is an effective alternative for treatment of Clostridium difficile–associated disease, it is being considered for several disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and metabolic syndrome.
A 61 year old male with extensive ulcerative colitis since 2010 under biologic therapy from 2012 and with several acute relapses under treatment. The patient has been treated with FMT, clinical and biological remission was achieved.
This case highlights the value of characterizing temporally resolved microbiota dynamics for a better understanding of FMT efficacy and provides potentially useful diagnostic indicators for monitoring FMT success in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.
FMT seems to be a promising alternative treatment of frequent relapses for selected cases of ulcerative colitis


Advances in the field of digital technology are constantly introducing new levels of controversy into copyright policy. Blockchain is the most recent technology with significative impact in digital copyright. Combined with smart contracts, blockchain enables new efficient forms of distribution of copyrighted works and also a new model of private ordering regarding the control of uses of works on the Internet. The chapter aims to examine the relationship and the most relevant intersections between blockchain, digital exploitation of copyrighted works, copyright law, and privacy law.


NASA's asteroid sample return spacecraft successfully used Earth's gravity on Friday to slingshot itself on a path toward the asteroid Bennu, for a rendezvous next August.


. We consider the numerical approximation of integrals involving layer functions, which appear as components in the solution of singularly perturbed boundary value problems. The hp version of the Gauss-Legendre composite quadrature, from [1], is utilized in conjunction with the Spectral Boundary Layer mesh from [2]. We show that the error goes to zero exponentially fast, as the number of Gauss points increases, independently of the singular perturbation parameter. Numerical examples illustrating the theory are also presented.


Primary carcinoma of gall bladder ranks as a sixth most common malignancy of gastrointestinal tract with poor prognosis. Adenocarcinoma accounts for 75-85% of gall bladder carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma constitute 1% of all malignant tumor in gall bladder. Primary squamous cell carcinoma of gall bladder has rarely been diagnosed by aspiration cytology. Here, we present a case of a 54 year suffering from abdominal pain complaint who underwent ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration cytology and was diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma of gall bladder. The diagnosis was confirmed on subsequent histopathological examination with invasion into adjacent liver. Histogenesis and biological behavior of squamous cell carcinoma of gallbladder remains a matter of debate but the role of aspiration cytology in diagnosing these lesions cannot be undermined.


We present a new method for handling data skews in the database operation, relation joins. Recently, Graphics Processing Units (GPU) has become popular among high performance computing research and is used to accelerate the execution of database operations. Various parallel algorithms are developed in the past years with emerging of multi -core processors. Coordinate Module Distribution (CMD) is originally designed for clusters, we have immigrated it onto GPU to improve the performance of relational joins. We find that using one GPU card, our method runs between hash join and sort-merge join, with hash join having the best performance. But our method runs close to hash joins and faster than sort-merge joins when processing relations with data skew.


Checkpointing and rollback recovery are well-known techniques for handling failures in distributed database systems. In this paper, we establish the necessary and sufficient conditions for the checkpoints on a set of data items to be part of a transaction-consistent global checkpoint of the distributed database. This can throw light on designing efficient, non-intrusive checkpointing techniques and transparent recovery techniques for distributed


Neuroblastoma is a disease in which malignant cells form in nerve tissue. Amplification of MYCN, a member of the MYC proto-oncogene family, is frequently observed in neuroblastoma, and it is associated with malignant phenotype and poor prognosis.1 In the April 1, 2014 issue of Cell Cycle, Murakami-Tonami et al.2 reported that downregulation of SMC2, a subunit of condensin, leads to cell death through dysfunction of DNA repair specifically in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cells, suggesting that SMC2 can be an effective anti-cancer target in this type of tumor.


Using the two-order derivative cubic-spline and four-order approximation formula,it is constructed the four-order weighted difference schemes of the diffusion equation.Through the form of pictures,the solution of the problem is represented by using MATLAB software program.The numerical results show the feasibility and stability of the method.


Quantitative analysis and forecast is made as for data centers' energy consumption growth trend and energy saving potential ;Feasibility of optimal layout of data center and potential energy-saving economic benefits are analyzed from such aspects as power resources,infrastructures,climate conditions,policy circumstance,technology and economics,human resources and enterprises' willingness.Specific policy recommendations on promoting data center energy efficiency and optimizing layout are figured out.


In this study, the distribution of heavy metals in urban soils of different functional areas was investigated and analyzed, and the pollution index of heavy metals in Chongqing was evaluated. The results indicated that the heavy metals contents of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cr were lower in urban soils of different functional areas. Moreover, the content of Cr was lower than the soil background value of Chongqing. The environmental quality of soil had reached national soil secondary standard in the investigated areas. In different functional areas, the content of Cu was from high to low as traffic area business area resident area leisure area. The content of Zn was as business area traffic area resident area leisure area. The content of Pb was in the order as business area traffic area resident area leisure area, as well as the distribution of Cr content. The soil was still clean in resident area and leisure area, even though the contamination level of soil heavy metals had reached to the warning line in these areas, while the contamination level in business area and traffic area existed a little pollution to different levels. The comprehensive pollution index of heavy metals was in the order as business area traffic area resident area leisure area.


Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the test–retest reliability of the paired selection method for measuring the impact of food advertising on the consumption preferences of children.
Methods: In this study, 52 children aged 4 to 6 years participated in watching an advertisement style video showing four foodstuffs with low nutritional value. Two pollsters were introduced at two instances showing pairs of pictures of the advertised foodstuffs right next to similar products, so that children could express their preferences. The test–retest reliability was measured through the concordance and interclass co-relation between both answers.
Results: Kappa concordance indices of 0.71 (0.46–0.97), 0.88 (0.62–1.15), and 0.90 (0.64–1.16) were obtained for the three foodstuff pairs. The interclass correlation coefficient for the sum of manifested preferred scores was 0.72 (p = 0.0000).
Conclusions: The paired selection method has been demonstrated to be efficient with good or very good reliability, making it useful for measuring the impact of food advertising on this age group.
Keywords: food advertising; food habits; childhood obesity; television advertising; assessment.


VUCA describes a world that has Volatility – recreated rate of change, Uncertainty – an unclear future, Complexity - decisions have multiple factors and Ambiguity – lack of clarity about meaning. This situation was prevailing in the world before COVID-19 pandemic which could be described broadly in terms of the present, Near and Far change. In the similar fashion COVID-19 pandemic post period can be described as Now, in the short term what the world needs to look is – Pre-vaccine - to achieve our vision, Near, medium term focus on the immediate impact of a vaccine and on what will it mean to us? and finally the Far change which is a long term phenomenon include describing optimistically the future post vaccine, stress responses to change and if change is perceived negatively the way we fight, the threat or flight run away from the threat freeze, not be able to respond to the threat flood, be overcome by emotion and by threat, fawn –submit to the threat and the fatigue which is the feel exhausted by the threat. So, the result could either be endings or beginnings. The endings are ambers, anxiety, shock, confusion, anger, fear, frustration and/or cynicism. Then we will find the neutral zone – i.e., preparation soon, valley of despair. Whereas the new beginnings are enthusiasm, trust, excitement, relief, hope / scepticism, acceptance, and curiosity. It can thus be summarized that leading change in VUCA world is not easy and developing a vision of Now, Near & Future may be helpful. Understanding the role of erection in change is very essential and mindset and mood contagion of the leader are also equally important. Developing leadership agility helps in leading change. This paper explains the benefits of VUCA implantation for future growth and prosperity


The relationship between chemical structure and the difference spectra obtained with microsomes from the abdomens of insecticide-susceptible and -resistant houseflies was examined. The presence of a "sterically accessible" nitrogen atom with a pair of nonbonded electrons or an accessible oxygen atom in certain configurations appears to be of primary importance in the formation of type II difference spectra. However, factors such as steric hindrance and electronic configuration determine the spectral magnitude. The absorption maxima and minima vary with the ligand and the source of the cytochrome P-450. These data are discussed with reference to possible binding sites and to selectivity of ligands for them.


In this note we formulate image segmentation as a clustering problem. Feature vectors extracted from a raw image are clustered into subregions, thereby segmenting the image. A fuzzy generalization of a Kohonen learning vector quantization (LVQ) which integrates the Fuzzy c-Means (FCM) model with the learning rate and updating strategies of the LVQ is used for this task. This network, which segments images in an unsupervised manner, is thus related to the FCM optimization problem. Numerical examples on photographic and magnetic resonance images are given to illustrate this approach to image segmentation.


The doctrine of the analogy of being, stranger as well to the letter as to the spirit of aristotelism, finds its first elaboration by the Greek commentators of Aristoteles and in the late Neoplatonism (Simplicius, Proclus). The first interpreters of the Stagirite, eager to determine the nature and the object (subject-matter) of the first philosophy, prepare this mediaeval elaboration. But the architectonical function of this doctrine appears clearly only at the time of high scholastic (Thomas Aquinus) when it determines the background of ontological concepts. In the noetical horizon of nominalism, this doctrine becomes mostly an object of logical controversies (Cajetan - Suarez). This formalization corresponds to the birth of "ontology" and to the first strives of systematization and of division of metaphysics. The work of Suarez represents a significant turn in the history of the ontotheological system of modern metaphysics, defined as science of the objectivity without any "object".


A silicon strip detector for the coordinate determination of the short-range charged particles, particularly heavy ions, has been developed and investigated. The detector had 28 p/sup +/n strips made by ion implantation; the pitch was 250 mu m; and the interstrip distance was 50 mu m. The coordinates of particles incident between adjacent strips were determined by two-dimensional amplitude analysis of the charges collected on neighboring strips. Irradiation with alpha -particles of /sup 226/Ra and a scanning laser beam were used. A coordinate determination accuracy of better than 1 mu m was obtained. In contrast to minimum ionized particles, the plasma tracks of short-range particles have higher carrier densities and are located in the inhomogeneity region of the detector. A study of the charge collection times indicates the essential role of the drift of charges in the nonuniform electric field depending on the detector geometry, inhomogeneity of silicon, and built-in charge in the passivating oxide layer between p/sup +/n strips.<<ETX>>


Although the Disney Princess franchise portrays its ten princess movies as tales of "happily ever after," they are filled with negative stereotypes of all kinds; this study in particular focuses on those addressed towards females. Each of these princesses lives in a patriarchal society and her sole desire is to find a man who guides her to happiness. The Princess brand has immense popularity even with these unconstructive stigmatizations of women. This study explores these movies while investigating, through qualitative research, the potency of these stereotypes and whether the parents of the target audience (defined by Disney as ages three to five years old) perceive these messages as damaging. This study begins by exploring plot details and, through a literature review, three themes prevalent in the princess films: physical beauty, role of family, and the search for true love. In part two, I analyze the impact of the Disney Princess franchise in terms of media outlets and advertising. In a qualitative study, to test the pervasive nature of these stereotypes, I conducted interviews with twelve parents regarding their perception of the impact of the Disney Princesses on their children. The Disney Corporation has developed a brand that promises innocence and a sense of magic, things that people crave and desire to be a part of. One of the more surprising outcomes of this study was that parents noted that their children engaged with Disney Princess merchandise much more than they did with the films themselves. Further, parents perceived Disney's influence as promoting imaginative play.


By harnessing both hypothetical, synthetic basin and gas hydrate (GH) system models and real‐world models of well‐studied salt diapir‐associated GH sites at Green Canyon (Gulf of Mexico) and Blake Ridge (U.S. Atlantic coast), we propose and demonstrate salt movement (and in particular, diapirism) to be a new mechanism for the recycling of marine GH. At Green Canyon, for example, we show that by considering this newly proposed diapir‐driven recycling mechanism in conjunction with previously proposed lithological control on sandy‐reservoir‐hosted hydrate at the base of the GH stability zone (BGHSZ; ∼bottom‐simulating reflector, BSR), modeled GH saturations match drilling data. Overall, salt diapir movement‐induced GH recycling provides a temperature‐driven mechanism by which GH saturations at the BGHSZ may reach >90 vol. % and by which GH volumes near and free gas volumes beneath the BGHSZ may be increased significantly through time. Interestingly, comparison of salt diapir‐driven recycling and sediment burial‐driven recycling scenarios suggests notably higher rates of recycling via diapir‐driven versus burial‐driven processes. Our results suggest that GH and associated free gas accumulations above salt diapir crests represent particularly attractive targets for unconventional and conventional hydrocarbon resource exploration and for scientific and academic drilling expeditions aimed at exploiting GH systems. Salt basins containing GH systems—including passive margin basins of the Gulf of Mexico, southeastern Brazil, and southwestern Africa—are therefore compelling localities for studying salt‐driven GH recycling and for salt diapir‐associated natural gas exploration.


The article describes the approach to determining the flow regime using the experimental hydrodynamic stand for researching the cavitation processes. A series of experiments with technical tap water was performed, which allowed to confirm the reliability of the results obtained by comparing them with theoretical values. The researched values include mean flow rate, Reynolds number and cavitation numbers. Conclusions about the type of cavitation flow was made.


Sandy bottoms, with local patches of rocks, dominate the southern Baltic Sea coast. These rock patches create three-dimensional habitats with additional niches that can support diverse assemblages of organisms. In this study we investigated macrofaunal assemblages associated with the boulder field in the brackish Gulf of Gdansk. Of the 30 recorded taxa three animal species (Mytilus trossulus, Balanus improvisus and Electra crustulenta) together with five species of algae were directly attached to rocks. These engineering organisms provided habitats for a further 22 taxa. Among the fauna directly associated with rocks, barnacles (76%) were the most abundant while among indirectly associated biota, oligochaetes were the dominant group (45%). Rock size and algal biomass explained most variance in macrofaunal structure of the assemblages investigated. There were statistical differences in assemblage structure between two separate localities within the rocky patch, despite environmental homogeneity (salinity, water temperature and structure of sea bottom). These differences in assemblage structure were mostly due to differences in dominance of particular species rather than in species composition. Our results show that rocky patches in an otherwise soft sediment habitat provide additional living space for macrofauna leading to an increase in local biodiversity and organismal abundance.


Lip reading is known to induce audio‐visual integration processes that enhance speech‐in‐speech intelligibility. Recent work in auditory scene analysis [see Gaudrain et al., Acoustic'08] found correlations between sequential segregation performance and intelligibility of speech‐in‐speech. Our working hypothesis is that an audiovisual binding process is involved in speech understanding in multi‐talker situations. However, the potential effect of audio‐visual integration on auditory stream segregation remains unclear. A single previous study [Gaudrain et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 122, 3065 (2007)] found that lip movements congruent with the presentation of vowels may enhance segregation. In this paradigm, audio‐visual sequences of vowels with alternating low and high fundamental frequencies have been generated, in which the lip movements are paired with the second ones. The current experiment is built to test further the potential effect of visual cues on segregation. As in the previous study, lips movements...


Members of the subfamily Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) are of great importance in ecosystem functionality due to their significant role in nutrient recycling (Nichols et al. 2008). In spite of this importance, a substantial proportion of the existing information about their predators is limited to anecdotal or isolated reports (e.g., Goljan 1953; Robinson and Robinson 1970; Tribe 1976; Blume and Aga 1978; Young 1980; Howden and Young 1981; Riley et al. 1986; Doube 1991; Gill 1991; Noriega 2002; Levey et al. 2004; Sánchez 2007; Larsen et al. 2008; Noriega and Botero-Trujillo 2008), widely dispersed, and in need of exhaustive review. The information on the taxonomic identity of predators and prey has been infrequent, with most of the references mentioning general groups such as birds, mammals, reptiles, or insects (Richter 1958; Halffter and Matthews 1966; Bernon 1981; Hanski and Hammond 1986; Doube 1991; Lumaret and Stiernet 1991). Among the well-recognized potential predators of dung beetles are insects (Hobby 1935; Halffter and Matthews 1966; Shalaby 1979; Young 1980; Janzen 1983a, b; Cambefort 1991; Gill 1991; Doube 1991; Krell 1999; Davis et al. 2008; Noriega and Lee 2010). One of the most important groups in terms of number of reports is the family Staphylinidae (Table 1). However, no quantitative estimates of predatory rates exist under natural conditions. In September 2005, during the rainy season on the farm Brisas del Llano, Aguazul municipality, Casanare department, Colombia (74°4′59.9′′N, 11°16′21′′W, 134 m), field observations were made on the insect interactions that occured on a human dung pile (100 g placed over the ground). During three consecutive days, during the morning hours (0600 to 0900) on the edge of a low-mountain forest, a search was conducted to identify the species that arrived at a dung fragment (one new fragment each day). The arrival of Leistotrophus versicolor (Gravenhorst) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) and Canthidium cupreum (Blanchard) were recorded and the predatory behavior of L. versicolor on C. cupreum was documented. During the observation period, seven individuals of L. versicolor and 22 individuals of C. cupreum arrived at the dung piles. Nine individuals of C. cupreum (41% of number observed) were captured by the predator (Table 2). In all cases, L. versicolor was seen roaming in the neighborhood of the dung pile, as if awaiting the arrival of the dung beetles. When a dung beetle arrived, it was attacked by being grasped with the mandibles, some legs were amputated, and the proand mesothorax were detached (Fig. 1), following the pattern described by Young (1998) for Gauropterus chalybaeus (Mannerheim) (= Eulissus chalybaeus Mannerheim) that feed on Canthon angustatus Harold. Our observations are the first reported case of predation by L. versicolor on a species of dung beetle. Throughout our observations, two additional species of Staphylinidae arrived (these were not


PURPOSE: A data protection plug socket is provided to save power by controlling a sub-socket to be automatically powered on/off to a main socket. CONSTITUTION: The socket comprises a power controller, coupled to a power line of one side out of alternative current lines supplied to a computer body and peripheral devices, sensing whether leakage current is flowed and generating a peripheral device power control signal and a body power control signal according to existence or not of the sensed leakage current; a power switch powering on/off each line out of the alternative current lines according to the peripheral device power control signal generated in the power controller; and a peripheral device power controller controlling alternative power supplied to the peripheral devices according to the peripheral device power control signal generated in the power controller.


Aiming at the problem of BRT system which is being studied and operated in major cities,for supervising the BRT vehicle more efficiently and rationally,and reducing the influence to other vehicles on the road caused by BRT vehicle,a new BRT supervisory system based on ARM9 platform,which integrates the technology of wireless communication and wireless location like GPS,GSM and GIS,and which can collect,transfer and feedback the data such as the location of the bus,the vehicle condition and the platform condition at the real time,so as to enhance the scheduling efficiency and rationality of the BRT supervisory system and also improve traffic safety is proposed.The paper analyzes the working principle and key technology of this system,and presents the hardware and software design as well as the possible improvements in future.


A simple and practical approach is presented for the analysis of settlement of large pile groups embedded in an isotropic elastic half‐space with adequate accuracy but without the expense of a complete rigorous analysis. The approach is based on the superposition of the interaction factors between piles within a group. An approximate closed‐form analytical model is suggested to evaluate these interaction factors in homogeneous and nonhomogeneous soils. The values of the interaction factors computed by the analytical model agree reasonably well with those by the more rigorous boundary element approach. For pile groups with different pile configuration and pile compressibility, the theoretical solutions computed by the present approach are close to those by the boundary element or boundary integral approach. The settlements at working load level of two field pile groups embedded in stiff overconsolidated clay computed by the present approach are in reasonably good agreement with measured results.


In this paper, with the combination of the latest research achievement of reputation calculation model, we improve the existing reputation calculation model in E-shopping websites. The improved model is applied to effective and accurate calculate seller's reputation status in E-shopping websites. Experiments show that compared with the original reputation calculation model, the improved model is more stability and accuracy.


Government contracting is perhaps one of the best examples of the complexity and
difficulty that sometimes involves the application of rules and the daily evolution of state
agencies, so the degree work focuses on a study to strengthen municipal management through
the development of the Procurement Manual small claims for the municipality of Puerto
Concordia -Meta, analyzing current processes and procedures, establishing a process to
implement the provisions of Act 1474 of 2011 and looking to upgrade to public servants
operators contracting activity in the local authority with a basic tool and easy to interpret for
the fulfillment of their duties as employees.


The production of naval fuel, like many production processes within the Westinghouse complex, depends very heavily on strict procedure compliance. Thus operators need to have quick access to procedures and they need to have some assurance that they are using the most current revision. This is often both difficult and time consuming on a production floor. In order to resolve some of these problems two members of the Naval Fuel Product Team are currently developing an electronic procedure system. It is the intent of the system to have workstations on the production floor. These workstations will be networked to a centralized computer used exclusively as a file server for holding the current revision of each procedure. By simply clicking a mouse on the appropriate icon, a user will be able to access any procedure required in his portion of the process. In this user friendly environment the operator can either read the procedure on the workstation screen or print a copy of the procedure at a nearby printer. Since it is often the case that a graphic is used in one procedure is also used in other procedures, we plan to store individual graphics separately from a given procedure. Inmore » this way when a graphic changes, only one correction needs to be made in order for that graphic to be automatically updated in every procedure in which it is used. In the future we plan to expand the system so that the operator will be able to enter procedure data into the procedure. We have plans for this to be a platform for both the Distributive Control and Nuclear Accountability Systems. Farther down the road we envision operating in a real-time environment were the workstation would be able to read data directly from equipment in the process. 14 figs.« less


Human milk can be an important source for obtaining potential probiotics strains for newborns in order to establish the beneficial gut microbial community and development of immune system. The aim of the study was to explore potential human breast milk probiotics and to carry out their in vitro biosafety assessment. The study obtained three isolates namely, SP1B, B2enr and sP1 which showed potential probiotic activities compared to standard probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum. In addition, these isolates were found to be safe through various in vitro biosafety aspects. The molecular identification by16srDNA sequencing revealed that sP1B and B2enr belong to Bacillus cereus (MK210172) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (MK210234), respectively. For the first time, the study suggests that these bacterial strains may come in the category of probiotics and can be considered further after in vivo biosafety assessments.


The composition of modern carbonate sediments in nearshore tropical marine settings typically reflects a suite of somewhat proximal processes of carbonate production and erosion. Here, we document pelagic Sargassum as an emergent vector of carbonate sediment import to tropical Atlantic and Caribbean shorelines: a process with distal (oceanic) origins that has the potential to impart a distinct record of regional to global change within nearshore sediments. This process arose as recently as 2011, when a major new Sargassum bloom region emerged in the central Atlantic Ocean and resulted in Caribbean, West African, and northern Brazilian shorelines being inundated with Sargassum at unprecedented scales. Subsequent near annual recurrences of these coastal inundations at increasingly large scales suggest they are becoming an established norm. Socio-economic and ecological implications are widespread and potentially serious, and include potential impacts on the established sources and stability of nearshore carbonate sediments. This study, however, focuses on new sediment delivered to these coastal settings in the form of calcareous epiphytic communities that colonise Sargassum (i.e., bryozoans, serpulid worms, and red algae). Our analysis of Sargassum collected from coastal waters of the Mexican Caribbean in 2018 indicates a mean carbonate content of 2.09% wet weight at shoreline arrival. Based on data from 11 sites in Quintana Roo, Mexico (spanning 11.15 km of a 60 km section of shoreline), we further estimate the average drained weight of Sargassum that arrived at the coast during 2018 to have been 7.0x103 kg m-1 of shoreline. Together, these findings indicate that mean import of new carbonate sediment by Sargassum was 179 kg m-1 of shoreline in 2018, which is close to our upper estimate of annual proximal sediment production by Thalassia seagrass epiphytes (210 kg m-1 of shoreline). Prior to the onset of these massive Sargassum inundations, grains recognisable as bryozoan skeletons and serpulid tube casings were rare in coastal sediments of the Mexican Caribbean. Consequently, if these calcareous Sargassum epiphytes that are evidently now being imported in large volumes are retained and preserved, they can be expected to impart a distinct record within these coastal sediments. Although quantitative data on Sargassum inundations from other locations are sparse, numerous reports from the scientific community and the media suggest the scale of these events is comparable for many exposed tropical Caribbean and Atlantic shorelines. This represents the first documentation of pelagic Sargassum as a major vector of coastal sediment import, the significance of which has likely only arisen since the onset of large-scale inundations in 2011.


Abstract Extinction rates for island birds around the world have been historically high. For forest passerines, the Hawaiian archipelago has suffered some of the highest extinction rates and reintroduction is a conservation tool that can be used to prevent the extinction of some of the remaining endangered species. Population viability analyses can be used to assess risks to vulnerable populations and evaluate the relative benefits of conservation strategies. Here we present a population viability analysis to assess the long-term viability for Maui parrotbill (Kiwikiu) Pseudonestor xanthophrys, a federally endangered passerine on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Contrary to indications from population monitoring, our results indicate Maui parrotbills may be unlikely to persist beyond 25 y. Our modeling suggests female mortality as a primary factor driving this decline. To evaluate and compare management options involving captive-rearing and translocation strategies we made a female-only stage-structured, meta...


: This study aimed to show the effects of electronic tax system on the performance of Rwanda revenue authority Supplier relationship is a long-term cooperative effort between a buying firm and its suppliers to upgrade the supplier's technical, quality, delivery and cost capabilities and to foster ongoing improvements. Generally, the study aimed at determining the role of supplier relationship management on procurement performance in manufacturing sector in Rwanda. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population for this is 108 employees of SKOL Rwanda Limited. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaires. The responses from respondents were analyzed through SPSS version 21. Frequencies and percentages were used to describe the relationship between the variables. The findings of the study revealed that 64.7% of respondents strongly agreed that in procurement process of SKOL Rwanda Limited there is open contract negotiation between the procurement unit and the suppliers, 22.4% of respondents agreed that in procurement process of SKOL Rwanda Limited there is open contract negotiation between the procurement unit and the suppliers, 47.1% of respondents agreed that in procurement process of SKOL Rwanda Limited both parties enter into agreement after understanding the terms of contract, 35.3% strongly agreed that in procurement process of SKOL Rwanda Limited both parties enter into agreement after understanding the terms of contract. The researcher concluded a high and positive effect of supplier integration on procurement performance because the results of correlation between the two variables was at 0.747 meaning that supplier integration influences procurement performance at the level of 74.7% which proves a significant relationship between the role of supplier integration and procurement performance.The researcher concluded a positive and high effect of ICT integration and procurement performance since the results of correlation between ICT integration and procurement performance was at 0.757 meaning that ICT integration influence procurement performance at the level of 75.7% which proves a significant relationship between supplier integration and procurement performance. Finally; the researcher concluded a significant effect between contract management techniques and procurement performance since the results of correlation was at 0.609 mean that contract management techniques affect procurement performance at the level of 60.9% that proves a significant relationship between the contract management techniques and procurement performance. The researcher recommended that owners of manufacturing firms in Rwanda should establish a favorable environment between their suppliers and their companies to ensure that the supplier relationship is effectively managed. The managers of manufacturing firms should actively integrate their suppliers in procurement processes so as to ensure the accuracy of inventory forecast. The procurement specialists of manufacturing firms should integrate ICT in their routine works so that they may reduce the paper works and ensure the security and standards of the goods supplied by their suppliers. The managers of manufacturing firms in Rwanda especially the ones involved in the procurement processes of SKOL Rwanda Limited should adopt adequate contract management techniques by fostering open contract negotiation between the procurement unit and the suppliers. Both parties involved in procurement process should enter into agreement after understanding the terms of contract and finally both parties involved in the procurement contract should put in place the mechanisms that help them to monitor contract compliance and establish mechanisms for disputes resolutions so that the relationship between the suppliers and manufacturing might be well managed.


BIPA at UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta develops Indonesian language skills for foreign students to be able to communicate well, politely, and fluently with Indonesian people; and have Islamic knowledge. This research aims to: (1) describe the implementation management of BIPA learning; and (2) to describe the implementing constraints for KEPDIRJENPENDIS Number 6244 of 2019. The research data collection technique was documentation of KAK, a certificate template, and a lecture journal. BIPA learning was explored through in-depth interviews covering preparation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Since 2006, it has had planning, organizing, implementing, and supervising learning as KEPDIRJENPENDIS Number 6244 of 2019. It emphasizes listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills using direct methods. Cultural insight emphasizes local wisdom; and Islamic insight emphasizes morality and Islamic celebrations (sekaten, Eid homecoming, and isra' mi'raj). Issues that should be concerned with it, namely: (a). the language matriculation implementation cannot be carried out on time because it has to align with existing lectures in the faculty environment of each foreign student; (b) the documentation of BIPA learning archives by BIPA organizers has not been organized as institutional archiving requirements; (c). The availability of educational buildings is still limited, so the availability of classrooms is also limited; (d). BIPA organizers have not been optimal in managing the test question bank, so it has the impression that they are only repeating existing questions without updating them. BIPA organizers do not yet have assessment standards set as a permanent reference in providing evaluations to foreign students.


Surplus skin from plastic surgery patients was sold to a British defence agency for chemical warfare research without patients' knowledge, an NHS hospital trust admitted last week.

Salisbury Health Care Trust apologised for selling skin from breast and abdominal operations to the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency at nearby Porton Down, without fully explaining what it would be used for. The trust …


It relates to a semiconductor device having a buffer layer and seuteureseo. ¥ The substrate having a MOS (NMOS) region and a PMOS (PMOS) region. The yen the first trench and a second trench in the MOS (NMOS) region is formed. Wherein the first buffer layer in the first trench and the second trench is formed. The seuteureseo (stressor) on the first buffer layer is formed. A first channel region is defined on the substrate between the first trench and the second trench. The first gate electrode is formed on the first channel region. The third trench is formed in the PMOS (PMOS) regions. Wherein the second buffer layer in the trench 3 is formed. Wherein the second channel region on the second buffer layer having the substrate and the other semiconductor layer is formed. A second gate electrode formed on the second channel region.


A reflection on the value of local methods of beekeeping using bark or log hives that are socially, culturally and economically sustainable and need not depend on external assistance.


Objective To investigate the effect of nifedipine(a blocker of L-type calcium channels) on dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra(SN) of acute iron-overloaded rats. Methods Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group,iron-overloaded group,iron-overloaded with nifedipine treatment group.The expression levels of tyrosine hydroxylase(TH) gene in SN were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction,and the iron content of SN were determined by iron concentration assay. Results Compared with the control group,the expression of TH mRNA decreased,and the iron content increased in the acute iron-overloaded SN of rats.Pretreatment with nifedipine in the acute iron-overloaded rats could partly restore the above changes(F=100.293,56.202;P0.01). Conclusion Nifedipine may inhibit acute iron-overload induced dopamine neuron damage in the iron-overloaded rats.


This article reviews field research on the violent response on the part of animals to conditions of crowding. Monkey species in zoos have consistently been noted to be more quarrelsome and violent than their counterparts in the wild. Up to a certain critical population density various animal species form cooperative social units; however, a surplus population upsets this balance. In addition, under conditions of intense crowding, mammal's care and protection of the young is transformed into indifference, neglect, competition, domination, and ultimately murder. The reversal of social behavior under crowded conditions can be understood as a means of response to a population crisis, in which population is in danger of outrunning resources. In the absence of confinement, tensions among monkeys lead to war between bands. A community weakened by crowding also is more likely to succumb to certain stress diseases and to have less resilience against parasites. Under various special conditions, tolerance may evolve to permit temporary compression without violence; on the other hand, when a violent response is suppressed, the response tends to be explosive when it does occur. If population reduction is delayed too long, the result may be violence, famine, and permanent damage to the environment from overgrazing. In human society there has generally been a lag in the full development of the violent response to crowding. Given the power of modern military technology, it is imperative that human populations avert a population crisis response by substituting voluntary fertility control for involuntary mortality control.


The Zimbabwe Conference on Reconstruction and Development (Zimcord) was held in Salisbury from March 23-27, 1981. Thirty-one nations and twenty-six international agencies pledged about $1.45 billion in economic aid to be disbursed over a three-year period beginning in July of 1981. The United States government, through the Agency for International Development, pledged $225 million. USAID has just begun to set up a mechanism for the distribution of those funds. Because of the presence of well-trained personnel and the substantial bureaucracy that has remained intact during the transition from a white- to a black-led government, USAID intends to utilize the existing decision-making structure in Salisbury as much as possible. For those interested in potential Zimbabwean projects, one of the key documents that needs to be studied is the Zimcord Conference Document. In the following discussion the main points of the document are summarized.


Objective: To provide the basis for mental health education of junior high students,the thesis studied that the relationship between self-awareness and idolatry of junior high school student and their situation.Methods: As subjects,150 junior high students from a middle school of Datong City,selected using stratified sampling method,were investigated with Piers-Harris Children's Self-Consciousness Scale and Celebrity attitude scale,and the results of the investigation were analyzed with SPSS17.0.The analysts included χ2 test,multivariate analysis of variance and correlation analysis.Results:(1) 96.6% of junior high students had their own idol,Their main object of worship was "entertainment star".(2) They mainly worshiped the talent(29.3%) and personality and temperament(19.0%) of idols.(3)The main effects that whether there were the idol in their mind roled in behavior of self-awareness(t = 9.78,P 0.01) and school situations(t = 6.67,P 0.01)and physical appearance and attributes(t = 8.26,P 0.01) was very significant.(4)Self-awareness score of junior high students who worshiped the idol was Significantly higher than the score of the junior high students who did not worship the idol.(5)There were significant positive correlation between the degree of idolatry and self-awareness score behavior of self-awareness and school situations and physical appearance and attributes.Conclusions:(1) The junior high school students' idol worship phenomenon had very common,but the object of worship should be directed.(2) Self-awareness score of junior high students who worshiped the idol was Significantly higher than the score of the junior high students who did not worship the idol.(3) There were significant positive correlation between the degree of idolatry and self-awareness score.


Developing an Earth system model evaluation tool for a broad user community is a real challenge, as the potential users do not necessarily have the same needs or expectations. While many evaluation tasks across user communities include common steps, significant differences are also apparent, not least the investment by institutions and individuals in bespoke tools. A key question is whether there is sufficient common ground to pursue a community tool with broad appeal and application.

We present the main results of a survey carried out by Assimila for the H2020 IS-ENES3 project to review the model evaluation needs of European Earth System Modelling communities. Interviewing approximately 30 participants among several European institutions, the survey targeted a broad range of users, including model developers, model users, evaluation data providers, and infrastructure providers. The output of the study provides an analysis of  requirements focusing on key technical, standards, and governance aspects.

The study used ESMValTool as a  current benchmark in terms of European evaluation tools. It is a community diagnostics and performance metrics tool for the evaluation of Earth System Models that allows for comparison of single or multiple models, either against predecessor versions or against observations. The tool is being developed in such a way that additional analyses can be added. As a community effort open to both users and developers, it encourages open exchange of diagnostic source code and evaluation results. It is currently used in Coupled Model Intercomparison Projects as well as for the development and testing of “new” models.

A key result of the survey is the widespread support for ESMValTool amongst users, developers, and even those who have taken or promote other approaches. The results of the survey identify priorities and opportunities in the further development of the ESMValTool to ensure long-term adoption of the tool by a broad community.


This paper presents a fault-tolerant gateway embedded system that uses two micro-controllers. One microcontroller performs the main function of achieving a gateway, often called by the main micro-controller. In contrast, another plays the role of checker for the main micro-controller, and is called the sub micro-controller. To achieve fault-tolerance, the checker monitors the state of the main micro-controller. In this paper, we propose hardware architecture for fault-tolerance and evaluate the performance of the proposed system.


The invention discloses an input apparatus on a chip for differential signals and an on-chip balun thereof. The balun includes a first transmission line, a second transmission line and a coupling transmission line. A terminal of the first transmission line receives a first signal. A terminal of the second transmission line receives a second signal and the other terminal of the second transmission line is coupled to a reference voltage. A terminal of the coupling transmission line receives the reference voltage, and the other terminal is directly connected to the other terminal of the first transmission line. The coupling transmission line and the second transmission line are disposed in parallel for coupling the second signal to generate a coupling signal on the coupling transmission line. The first and second signals are differential signals and the phases of the second signal and the coupling signal are opposite.


INTRODUCTION
A variety of performance-based tests are available to assess mobility in people with lower limb amputation (LLA)1. Selection of a specific test is likely to be guided by the clinical value of tasks patients perform; the space and equipment available to administrator the test; and/or the time required to set up, administer, score, and interpret the test results. The aim of this study was to collect information about the clinical value of performance tests, and the space, equipment, and time available to rehabilitation specialists who provide care to people with LLA (i.e., prosthetists, physical therapists (PTs), and physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians).
Abstract PDF  Link: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cpoj/article/view/32018/24437
How to cite: Balkman G, Morgan S, Gaunaurd I, Kristal A, Amtmann D, Gailey R, Hafner B.J. PERFORMANCE TESTING IN PEOPLE WITH LOWER LIMB AMPUTATION: INTERVIEWS WITH PROSTHETISTS, PHYSICAL THERAPISTS, AND PHYSICIANS. CANADIAN PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS JOURNAL, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2, 2018; ABSTRACT, POSTER PRESENTATION AT THE AOPA'S 101ST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SEPT. 26-29, VANCOUVER, CANADA, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i2.32018
Abstracts were Peer-reviewed by the American Orthotic Prosthetic Association (AOPA) 101st National Assembly Scientific Committee.
http://www.aopanet.org/


The dynamic kinetic resolution of 2-aroyl-1-tetralones was achieved via asymmetric transfer hydrogenation using (S,S)-RuCl(p-cymene)TsDPEN (TsDPEN=N-(tosyl)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine) in formic acid/triethyl- amine (5:2, molar ratio), afforded the desired products in good yields (up to 85%) with diastereomeric ratio up to >99:1 and high enantiomeric excesses (up to >99%). The absolute configuration of major the product was confirmed by X-ray crystal structure analysis.


The quality of video representation directly decides the performance of video related tasks, for both understanding and generation. In this paper, we propose single-modality pretrained feature fusion technique which is composed of reasonable multi-view feature extraction method and designed multi-modality feature fusion strategy. We conduct comprehensive ablation studies on MSR-VTT dataset to demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed method and it surpasses the state-of-the-art methods on both MSR-VTT and VATEX datasets. We further propose the multi-modality pretrained model finetuning technique and dataset augmentation scheme to improve the model's generalization capability. Based on these two proposed pretraining techniques and dataset augmentation scheme, we win the first place in the video captioning track of the MM21 pretraining for video understanding challenge.


An efficient proxy ring signature scheme is proposed,the proxy ring signature scheme overcomes the common weakness that the operation field is unreasonable in the step of proxy key generation in the existed proxy ring schemes.The computational cost of bilinear pairings is reduced from O(n) to O(1),the computational efficiency is improved.The unforgeability is proved depending on the CDHP.The proxy ring signature scheme also satisfy the other security requirements of a proxy ring signature scheme:unconditional ambiguity,verifiability,distinguishability.


Tactical Operations Center (TOC) system in military field is an advanced computer system composed of multiple servers and desktops to interlock internal/external weapon systems processing mission-critical applications in combat situation. However, the current TOC system has several limitations such as difficulty of integrating tactical weapon systems including missile launch system and radar system into the single TOC system due to the heterogeneity of HW and SW between systems, and an inefficient computing resource management for the weapon systems. In this paper, we proposed a novel HPC supported mission-critical Cloud architecture as TOC for Surface-to-Air-Missile (SAM) system with OpenStack Cloud OS, Data Distribution Service (DDS), and GPU virtualization techniques. With this approach, our system provides elastic resource management over the weapon systems with virtual machines, integration of heterogeneous systems with different kinds of guest OS, real-time, reliable, and high-speed communication between the virtual machines and virtualized GPU resource over the virtual machines. Evaluation of our TOC system includes DDS performance measurement over 10Gbps Ethernet and QDR InfiniBand networks on the virtualized environment with OpenStack Cloud OS, and GPU virtualization performance evaluation with two different methods, PCI pass-through and remote-API. With the evaluation results, we conclude that our system provides reasonable performance in the combat situation compared to the previous TOC system while additionally supports scalable and elastic use of computing resource through the virtual machines.


We investigate the interplay between riverine islands dynamics in a large tropical wandering river and their use by local communities for agricultural production. The study focuses on a piedmont reach of the Huallaga river, which drains the Peruvian Amazon. Riverine islands are characterized by a high space-time variability in active wandering river systems like the Huallaga, which results from biophysical interactions among flow, sediment transport and riparian vegetation. Despite the rapid rates of planform changes, islands in the Huallaga are extensively used by local farmers who mainly rely on rainfed, low tech agriculture. Thanks to the high nutrient availability in their soil, dynamic riverine islands are offering a natural solution to the advancing degradation of soils due to the progressive increase of intensive monoculture in nearby floodplain areas. The possibility of using intact fields, rich in organic matter, pushes the local populations to colonize riverine islands, challenging their dynamism and high erosion. Through a combination of participatory surveys, field measurements and remote sensing analysis of the recent (30 years) reach-scale island dynamics we investigate whether the benefits of cropping in a riverine island are more relevant than the damages related to their intense morpho-dynamics. Challenges to such biophysical-social system are posed by planned and ongoing infrastructural development in the catchment, affecting the flow and sediment supply regimes.


This article outlines the transport plans being made for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London, UK, in 2012. All development projects planned for the Games will contribute to regenerating the East End of London. Transportation planning and modelling proves that the enhanced public transport system will be able to carry all spectators to and from all venues throughout the period of the Games. None of the projects requires funding to be diverted from other plans nationwide. The planned Olympic Park will be served by ten rail lines under and above ground. Extensions are already under way to the Docklands Light Railway to provide access to other Olympic venues. Spectator tickets will include travel within London and contactless ticketing is expected to play a large part in this. Most of the transportation improvements were pre-planned and many are already being implemented.


Researches about high-power, low-frequency projectors are the most important technology for long range sonar systems. Flextensional transducer is a typical low-frequency, high-power projector, which has the advantages of small volume and light weight due to displacement amplification. In this paper, attention is focused on expanding bandwidth of the flextensional transducer. Class I flextensional transducer usually consists of a slotted convex shell and a driving stack. There are two kinds of main vibration modes at low frequency, the first flexural mode and the membrane mode. They can be coupled and broadband transmitting response was obtained. Finite element (FE) techniques are applied to the design of this multiple-mode-coupling transducer. Finite element model was made with ANSYS software and it can be used to do vibration mode analyze, operative mode simulation and structure optimization. Base on the analyze results, the multiple-mode-coupling flextensional transducer was designed and tested. Key wor...


The development of investment and innovation of an agricultural region is a complete active process where the problems to effectively consume financial resources, to attract additional sources of finance and to find potential investors are closely connected with the generation of new knowledge, technological development of inventions, introduction of innovations, choice of the best management methods as well as with government support. The research goal is to develop the proposals on government support for the development of investment and innovation of an agricultural region. The mechanism of government support which comprises regulatory, fiscal and monetary tools is discussed. A conceptual model of government management of the investment mechanism in agriculture which can be applied both at regional and local level is presented. The emphasis is placed on the contents of the presented conceptual model consisting of four independent but integrated models: a model of competitive tendering, organization monitoring model, risk evaluation model, a model of innovation and investment projects. Government support of agriculture at a regional level of the development of investment and innovation contributes to the following: the intensification of leasing activity that allows to alleviate financial deficit and create optimal business and legal conditions to reduce risk and improve economic efficiency of agricultural branches; the development of land-mortgage system; making budget loans and investment tax credits; subsidizing interest rates on loans; preferential taxation; a state program for the development of agricultural machinery market; and the assignment of the status of a specially significant agricultural area to the Altai Region.


By outlining a few interdisciplinary issues in the context of recent developments of critical theory, I intend to pay tribute to my distinguished predecessors, Frederick May and Gino Rizzo, both of whom, in different ways, were passionately committed to interdisciplinarity. I would really need a series of lectures to realise my intentions, and even a cursory summary of what I intend to do would take too long. Let me therefore move straightaway into my argument and take as my starting point a piece of literature. By doing so I am already begging a number of questions: that it is possible to distinguish literature from non-literature, that literature comes in recognisable chunks or pieces, and that there is someone, a writer, who gave it a visible form which I shall call text. These propositions, furthermore, presuppose that there is someone who does the distinguishing or the recognising, and that this someone can be identified with one or more real persons. All this may be intuitive but is still problematic. I spoke of the text as 'visible' form, but until recently the vast majority of recognisably literary texts have been consumed in audible form. Many still are to-day. I use the word 'consumed' to avoid prejudging the issue of what exactly one does with the text, or to it, which I hope may become clearer as I go on. Often the visual component of the audible text is more likely to be a performance than its appearance on a written or printed page. Without being consciously aware of the fact, most times we think of a literary text as if we were thinking of its original form we are actually thinking about our experience of its production, reproduction and consumption. We experience the poem or novel as a book object, or a part of a book object, totally unlike what it


Pulverized coal gasification technology with fluidized bed and ash agglomeration was a new type gasification technology with our own intellectual property rights.The paper introduced the gasification principle,technical features and process flow for this technology,summarized some problems in the application for this technology and some corrective measures.


This article examined the rate at which female academics progress in their career and the level of on-the-job satisfaction in some selected universities. One hundred and nineteen copies of questionnaire were retrieved from respondents which was then analysed through descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Results revealed that despite numerous years spent in the service of these institutions, female academics still maintain the ranks they were placed on from their first appointments. This was due to factors such as poor conditions of work, loaded marriage obligations, insufficient educational qualification and overcrowded job schedule which have resulted in poor participation in administrative duties and insufficient academic publication among others. The article concludes that female progression to top academic ranks is slow due to structural demands. The article, therefore, recommends that policies that promote work flexibility are to be put in place by these institutions in order to enhance healthy balance and harmonious relationship between female academics, their spouses and the school management. By doing this, it is expected that promotion requirements are met, tendencies for progression are certain and satisfaction is guaranteed.


Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of domestically made candesartan cilexetil in the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension.Methods: In randomized,double-blind and parallel control trai1,58 patients with mild and moderate essential hypertension randomly received either candesartan cilexetil at 8mg daily(=29) or irbesartan at 150mg daily(=29) for 2 weeks.The patients with poor prognosis in 2weeks(DBP≥90mmHg) received extra 1 tablet daily.Results:Significant differences in the overall response rate of candesartan or irbesartan monotherapy(75.86% VS.37.93%) was found at 2 weeks after treatment.No significant difference in the overall response rate of candesartan or irbesartan monotherapy(89.66% VS.79.33%) was found at 4 weeks after treatment.Significant differences in decreasing the range of systolic pressure in candesartan group or irbesartan group(27.52±11.90mm Hg VS.20.72±9.27 mm Hg) at sitting position and(24.59±11.87 mm Hg VS.15.90±16.22 mm Hg) at standing position were found in at 4 weeks(P0.01;P0.05).Conclusion:The efficacy and safety of domestically produced candesartan cilexetil are similar to those of irbesartan in the treatment of mild to moderate essential hypertension.Candesartan cilexetil is preferable to controlling systolic pressure.


Twenty‐four speakers prolonged the vowels /a e i o u/ and read the passage "My Grandfather." The speakers were divided into four groups of six (three males, three females) based on chronological age, 41–50 years, 51–60 years, 61–70 years, and 71 years and over. Naive listeners provided perceptual judgements of each speaker's age based on the first two sentences from "My Grandfather." The speakers' vowel productions were measured to determine time required to initiate and terminate each vowel. These ten measures plus time to articulate the four syllables /ma ɪ graendfaðɚ/ and speaker sex were regressed against speaker chronological and perceived ages. The best significant model for chronological age yielded an R‐Square of only 0.428; while for the best significant model for perceived age R‐Square was 0.647. Results indicate that speaker temporal control of speech exerts a strong influence on listener perception of speaker age, but has a relatively weaker relationship with speaker's chronological age. These ...


Environmental factors as maternal high-fat diet (HFD) intake can increase the risk of agerelated cognitive decline in adult offspring. The epigenetic mechanisms are a possible link between diet effect and neurodegeneration across generations. Here, we found a significant decrease in triglyceride levels in a high-fat diet with resveratrol HFD+RV group and the offspring. Firstly, we obtained better cognitive performance in HFD+RV groups and their offspring. Molecularly, a significant increase in 5-mC levels, as well as increased gene expression of Dnmt1 and Dnmt3a in HFD+RV F1 group, were found. Furthermore, a significantly increased of m6A levels in HFD+RV F1 were found, and there were changes in gene expression of its enzymes (Mettl3 and Fto). Moreover, we found a decrease in gene expression levels of pro-inflammatory markers such as Il1-β, Il-6, Tnfα, Cxcl-10, Mcp-1 and Tgf-β1 in HFD+RV and HFD+RV F1 groups. Moreover, there was increased gene expression of neurotrophins such as Ngf and Nt3 and its receptors TrkA and TrkB. Likewise, an increase in protein levels of BDNF and p-Akt in HFD+RV F1 was found. These results suggest that maternal RV supplementation under HFD intake prevents cognitive decline in SAMP8 adult offspring, promoting a reduction in triglycerides and leptin plasma levels, changes in the proinflammatory profile, restoring the epigenetic landscape as well as synaptic plasticity.


Metal nanoparticles containing two or more metals, the two or more kinds of metal salts such as metal acetate, a mixture of the passivating solvent such as glycol ether, for a predetermined time period, than the melting point of the metal salt at higher temperatures, it is formed by heating or reflux.


Banach's fixed point theorem for contraction maps has been widely used to analyze the convergence of iterative methods in non-convex problems. It is a common experience, however, that iterative maps fail to be globally contracting under the natural metric in their domain, making the applicability of Banach's theorem limited. We explore how generally we can apply Banach's fixed point theorem to establish the convergence of iterative methods when pairing it with carefully designed metrics. Our first result is a strong converse of Banach's theorem, showing that it is a universal analysis tool for establishing global convergence of iterative methods to unique fixed points, and for bounding their convergence rate. In other words, we show that, whenever an iterative map globally converges to a unique fixed point, there exists a metric under which the iterative map is contracting and which can be used to bound the number of iterations until convergence. We illustrate our approach in the widely used power method, providing a new way of bounding its convergence rate through contraction arguments. We next consider the computational complexity of Banach's fixed point theorem. Making the proof of our converse theorem constructive, we show that computing a fixed point whose existence is guaranteed by Banach's fixed point theorem is CLS-complete. We thus provide the first natural complete problem for the class CLS, which was defined in [DP11] to capture the complexity of problems such as P-matrix LCP, computing KKT-points, and finding mixed Nash equilibria in congestion and network coordination games.


This communication presents a compact monopole-fed slot-loop hybrid antenna for wideband wireless communications. The wideband characteristic is achieved by coupling three different resonant modes of the proposed slot-loop hybrid antenna, namely, a loop mode for the lower band, a slot mode for the middle band and a monopole mode for the higher band. The proposed antenna is built and tested to verify the design strategy. The measured impedance bandwidth (|S11| <; -10B) ranges from 1.82 GHz to 5.68 GHz (102.9%) with stable performance, including bi-directional radiation pattern, vertical polarization and gain. The proposed slot-loop hybrid antenna also shows the merits of compact dimension, low cross-polarization and low cost.


The effects of forward-biasing the substrate on the output and transfer characteristics of a 0.1 μm-long n-MOSFET are investigated for the 5 K to 300 K temperature range. The threshold voltage, maximum transconductance and subthreshold swing are extracted and evaluated. A low-temperature-enhanced degradation of transconductance was observed under a forward-biased substrate.


A new laser-wire is being installed in the extraction line of the ATF at KEK. This device aims at demonstrating that laser-wires can be used to measure micrometre scale beam size.


All information concerning the distribution of eigenvalues in any of the classical ensembles (GOE, GUE, Wishart) is encoded in the joint densities, for which we have obtained explicit formulas. Unfortunately, getting information out of the joint density requires integration, and many of the integrals that arise cannot be evaluated in any nice closed form. Nevertheless, it is possible to show that as the size N of the ensemble becomes large, certain interesting functions of the eigenvalues – for instance, the maximum – have (after suitable re-centering and re-scaling) limit distributions. The unitary ensembles are easier to handle than the orthogonal ones, so we will limit our attention to these (at least for now). To be definite, we will focus on the GUE, for which the joint distribution of the eigenvalues λi , listed in random order, is


Another 18 craft were approved for listing on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels when the AR HV Council met in July 2011. Among the diverse selection are two cruising yachts that highlight the way in which Australians have realised their ambitions to build a yacht and explore the oceans, says AR HV curator David Payne.


This paper investigates the non-statistical effects in ~(27)Al(n, γ) and ~(28)Si(n, γ) reactions. The neutron energies studied range from thermal to 2 MeV. The calculated results show that in comparison with medium and heavy nuclei the fractions of non-statistical effects in the total (n, γ) cross sections in the two nuclides are extremely strong. The physical significance of the results and its implication with the measured correlation coefficients are discussed.


INTRODUCTION The total hip replacement is a common surgical procedure in orthopaedics. However, the acetabular cup loosening is one of the major failure modes of cementless acetabular cup. Many researches point out that an unstable cup would induce a large micromotion under dynamic loading. This large micromotion would reduce the bone ongrowth on the cementless cup surface and prohibit the osseous integration [1, 2]. Besides the press fit fixation, the screw-fixation is a widely employed approach. However, how to achieve a better fixation effect with screw is still unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of screw numbers and position on the initial stability of acetabular cup.


This session presents a completely generic formalism for modeling devices with internal states, a new approach to design centering, and methodologies for ADC measurement.


This paper analyzes the effects of i-PIN focusing on the positive value creation rather than the negative loss
reduction from the viewpoint of internet company. Empirical tests are run to examine what determines the use of
i-PIN and whether i-PIN users participate in e-commerce, communication, and SNS activity. Our findings are as follows.
First, the reason for using i-PIN lies in the experience of privacy infringement rather than a high value on privacy
protection. Second, i-PIN users tend to participate in the online activity such as e-commerce, communication, SNS.
Third, the marginal effect of i-PIN adoption amounts to 2∼9% of increase in the online activity. With the results,
we expect that i-PIN adoption leads to sales increase and new customer acquisition as well as privacy leakage decrease
and it provides logic to solve social underinvestment problem in privacy protection.


resulting new voice for residents, especially well-connected and funded elite neighborhood groups. Concerned residents feared the city's "separation from the waterfront" in the form of an (often evoked) "Chinese wall." Homeowner and neighborhood associations eventually pressured the city to adopt restrictive height limits along much of the waterfront north of the Bay Bridge, creating a significant development barrier and ensuring a much greater sense of public space. Although the height limits certainly restricted the number of units that could be built along one of the most desirable stretches of land in the city, Rubin seemed ambivalent throughout the book about whether to directly address this issue. He recognizes, and elaborately describes, the trade-off between units and a better quality of life embodied in improved accessibility and functioning public space. By the middle of the decade, though, gentrification was inescapable as a thread in the current city. Not surprisingly, concerns about gentrification and affordable housing dominate his efforts to update the book. He seems honestly conflicted as he attempts to describe pressures for affordable housing side-by-side with large commercial developments that, as he terms it, are engines of "indirect displacement" and "emplacement." He asserts the positives of a much more accessible public openness along the bay because of the failure of the projects, while noting the loss of the housing units. While overall Rubin tells the story well, the chronological organization of the book hinders the presentation since the reader is often being presented a foreshadowing of an event, policy, and development that is only fully described in a future section or chapter. As a result, some issues, such as developments alongside the port's lands, are described only sporadically as they impact the port's lands. Further, while the neighborhood associations that play a crucial role in the new planning processes are integrated into the narrative, the represented neighborhoods are less clearly portrayed as contrasts or complements to the developments under discussion. And the book is full of port and public officials, as well as a plethora of private actors, leaving me wishing at times for a glossary of actors that I might consult. Still, these are relatively minor complaints. Rubin has done an excellent job of chronicling the twists and turns in the development of the San Francisco waterfront. He has ably delved into the proposed developments, policies, and plans to provide us with a detailed portrayal of the port's place in the city's landscape. He has even more effectively shown how this landscape was indeed a negotiated one with overlays of various debates and decisions. Fortunately for those who are able to live in or visit San Francisco, the waterfront is more open and accessible than any of the plans would have allowed. However, as Rubin reminds the reader in his final chapter, one cost is a loss of potential housing that might, or might not, have lifted a little of the extreme pressure current residents face in finding affordable housing. Ultimately, though, the book tells the story of an immense change that has affected many cities around the world; that is, the redevelopment of ports into spaces of commerce and conviviality, accessible (or not) to the public to use for recreation, play, and simply as part of our daily lives.


Individuals along the Gulf of Mexico search for information to make decisions during hurricane preparation or evacuations. Some data that is necessary for decision making is static in content, but must be harvested from the web. If a web connection is not available, then the individual is unable to acquire key information such as evacuation routes, contact numbers, home preparedness, and other decision driven information. The geographic extent of such information often spans from a regional to state area. A "Portable Gulf of Mexico Geospatial Data Solution" was developed for NASA John C. Stennis Space Center (NASA SSC) which provided static maps, contact information, and hurricane preparedness plans. This portable system was designed to be produced on 500 USB drives and distributed to the employees of NASA SSC. Results will show the methods of data sharing and the ontologies of the user's interaction with Gulf of Mexico through the portable solution and the online solution at http://www.gulfstorm.org.


There is a void between design and computer in ideation. Traditional tools like sketching are more appropriate for conceptual design since they can sustain abstraction, ambiguity, and inaccuracy— essentials at the beginning of the design process. Actual graphical user interface approaches, as well as hardware devices, constrain creative thinking. Computer representations and virtual reality are now used for presentation and validation rather than for design. Most virtual reality tools are seen as passive rather than active instruments in this process of ideation. Moreover, virtual reality techniques come from other disciplines and are applied to design without considering the design process itself and the skills designers already possess. This paper proposes and evaluates a new approach for the conceptual design of spaces within virtual reality. Starting from the non-immersive technique we developed before, where the user was able to be inside a 3D modeled space through real sketches, this technique goes one step further, allowing the designer to sketch the space from the inside all in real-time. Using an interactive pen display for sketching and an immersive projective spherical display, designers and colleagues are able to propose and make design decisions from inside the project. The capabilities of the computer to display the virtual environment are, therefore, mixed with the designer's skills in sketching and understanding the space.


Physico-chemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics of washed fish mince prepared from Cyprinus carpio, Oreochromis mossambicus. Nemipterus japonicus and Scoliodon sorrakowah were determined using standard procedures. All species studied showed that the minces prepared were suitable for product development. Since the consumer acceptability varies with species, separate procedures should be adopted for each species, while standardising methodology for surimi preparation in commercial establishments.


Personal marketing constitutes relatively new area of theory and praxis in personal activity field and in business praxis. With its contents and theoretical orientation has been personal marketing defined as independent science that refle cts market needs or market changes. It was selected from human resource management activities in that time, when simple "advertising" to reach the employees was not sufficient. The prim ary target of personal marketing is to reach human resource in required quality and requir d structure to feed the job openings.


Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are being adopted in various domains, including safety critical ones. The wide-spread adoption also calls for ways to guide the testing of their accuracy and robustness, for which various test adequacy criteria and input generation methods have been recently introduced. In this paper, we explore the natural subsequent step: given an input that reveals unexpected behaviour in a trained DNN, we propose to repair the DNN using input-output pairs as a specification. This paper introduces Arachne, a novel program repair technique for DNNs. Arachne first performs sensitivity based fault localisation to limit the number of neural weights it has to modify. Subsequently, Arachne uses Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) to directly optimise the localised neural weights until the behaviour is corrected. An empirical study using three different benchmark datasets shows that Arachne can reduce the instances of the most frequent misclassification type committed by a pre-trained CIFAR-10 classifier by 27.5%, without any need for additional training data. Patches generated by Arachne tend to be more focused on the targeted misbehaviour than DNN retraining, which is more disruptive to non-targeted behaviour. The overall results suggest the feasibility of patching DNNs using Arachne until they can be retrained properly.


This study aims to examine the Influence of Professional Practice of Supervising Lecturers on the Effectiveness of Trainee Teachers during Teaching Training. The main focus of this study is to identify the four elements of guidance in the Professional Practice of Supervising Lecturers, namely Planning, Implementation, Reflective Practice and Attitude & Personality as well as its influence on the effectiveness of teachers throughout teaching practice. The objective of this study is to identify the level of Professional Practice of Supervising Lecturers and the Level of Teacher Effectiveness. In addition to identify the differences, relationships and influence of the professional practices of supervising lecturers on the effectiveness of trainee teachers during teaching practice. The respondents of the study are PDPP Trainee Teachers of Islamic Education Taken in June 2018, a total of 95 people. The design of this study is a descriptive type of survey that uses a questionnaire instrument. The questionnaires used were the Supervising Lecturer Professional Practice Form (α = 0.87) and Teacher's Sense of Efficacy Scale - TSES (α = 0.86). The data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed according to mean, standard deviation, t-test, correlation and regression using SPSS (Statistical Package For Social Science (SPSS 23.0). that the Professional Practice of Supervising Lecturers (mean = 4.85) and Teacher effectiveness (mean = 4.67) are very high, while there is no significant difference in the Professional Practice of Supervising Lecturers on gender (t value (95) = 0.36, p> 0.05). relationship, there is a strong positive relationship between Supervising Lecturer Guidance with Trainee Teacher Effectiveness (r = 0.78, p = 0.00) .Furthermore, the Professional Practice of Supervising Lecturer is a predictor of Teacher Effectiveness significantly, [F (1, 93) = 88.61, p <0.05] contributed a 48.8% variance (R2 = 0.488) in the teacher effectiveness score.Further suggestions were also recommended including expanding the study variables and using larger data, increasing tkan study population, study design should be detailed such as using Longitidunal and cross sectional study design. In addition, descriptive and inferential statistical analysis needs to be diversified to obtain a more accurate analysis of study results.


Aging of upgraded coal-derived liquids obtained from catalytic hydroprocessing of H-coal and SRC-II syncrudes has been studied. Fuel degradation, in the presence of added specific heteroatomic compounds, is monitored in the early stages by laser light scattering of developing particles at ambient temperature. The following additives have been included: 2,5-dimethypyrrole (DMP), 2,6-dimethylquioline (DMQ), phenol, 2,6-di-tert-butyl phenol (DTBP), pyridine, thiophenol, n-butyl sulfide, n-butyl disulfide, thiophene, tetrahydrothiophene, 1-hexene, copper wire, iron wire. Very pronounced enhancement of light scattering intensity has been observed for coal liquids containing the following additives: (1) Phenol, pyridine, Cu; (2) DTBP, pyridine, Cu; (3) Phenol, DMQ, Cu; (4) DMP, thiophenol. Phenolic oxidative coupling is a very important mechanism for the aging of coal liquids, and pyridine- or DMQ- complexed Cu is effective catalyst for oxidative coupling. DTBP is a hindered phenol, and therefore oxidative coupling is not as extensive as for the parent phenol. As a result, light scattering for system (2) is not as extensive as system (1). DMP by itself is deleterious to fuel stability, and the effect is enhanced by the presence of thiophenol. Thiophenes, sulfides, and hexene are much less deleterious. Iron is a poor catalyst for oxidative coupling, and therefore light scatteirng inmore » the presence of iron is minimal. 7 figures, 1 table.« less


The active ingredient of catalysts is generally dispersed on porous supports of inert metal oxides to augment its catalytic activity. In this paper, the dispersion and topography of CeO2 supported on γ-Al2O3 was studied by means of XRD. The monolayer coverage of CeO2 was determined by internal-standard method with NiO reference material. Highly dispersed CeO2 would appear and encapsulate outside theγ-Al2O3 support surface evenly when CeO2 loading was below its monolayer coverage; above the monolayer coverage, crystalline CeO2 would appear.


CCAM is an access method for general networks. It uses connectivity clustering. The nodes of the network are assigned to disk pages via the graph partitioning approach to maximize the CRR, i.e., the chances that a pair of connected nodes are allocated to a common page of the file. CCAM supports the operations of insert, delete, create, and find as well as the new operations, get-A-successor and get-successors, which retrieve one or all successors of a node to facilitate aggregate computations on networks. CCAM includes methods for static clustering, as well as dynamic incremental reclustering, to maintain, high CRR, in the face of updates without incurring high overheads. Experimental analysis indicates that CCAM can outperform many other access methods for network operations.<<ETX>>


We present recent significant progress in the fabrication of polymer Bragg gratings suitable for telecom applications. We demonstrate that polymer Bragg gratings can be thermally tuned over 20nm with polarization sensitivity less than 0.05nm. Experimental data are presented to address issues of long-term performance stability, propagation loss, polarization sensitivity and practical wavelength tuning. Polymer Bragg gratings are shown to survive very stringent accelerated aging tests and exhibit long-term stability in both material properties and grating performance. The spectral performance of the gratings and example telecom applications employing polymer Bragg gratings are also discussed.


As the greatest military platform in human history,aircraft carrier is a complicated giant system with a great variety of materials and complex operating environment. This paper presents the general principles in material selection for aircraft carrier operated in severe conditions,and elaborates on the special material requirements on the hull construction,the pipeline and accessories as well as nonmetal materials. The article introduces the characteristics of material corrosion on aircraft carrier. The first characteristic comes from the various corrosion environment,the high standard protection requirements and the difficulty in corrosion design. The second one comes from the complication in system composition,the great amount of equipment and powerful influence of corrosion malfunction. The last one comes from the intricate cabin structure,the shortage of construction space and the difficulty in anticorrosion. Based on the corrosion characteristics of aircraft carrier materials,the paper expresses the control requirements of corrosion and elaborates on deficiency in selecting aircraft carrier materials based on investigation in corrosion control management,methods of corrosion control and capability of anticorrosion materials,and a series of pertinent advices and countermeasures in corrosion control has been provided.


The extracellular matrix (ECM) provides essential contextual cues for appropriate cellular behavior. CCN1, an ECM associated protein, signals through integrins and heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) to mediate multiple cellular responses including proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, migration, and apoptosis. Gene array analysis has identified CCN1 as one of the most highly upregulated genes in a number of TNFα‐mediated inflammatory disorders, including asthma, hyperoxia‐ and ventilator‐induced lung injury, and rheumatoid arthritis. Cytokines such as TNFα upregulate intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM1) expression in endothelial cells and stimulate shedding of soluble ICAM1. We demonstrate that in endothelial cells in culture, CCN1 inhibits TNFα‐stimulated increases in ICAM1 protein and this inhibition is transcription‐independent. Interestingly, we found that CCN1 promotes shedding of ICAM1 from TNFα‐stimulated endothelial cells via the action of a metalloproteinase. Further, we show that CCN1 acts through αV integrins but not HSPGs to regulate ICAM1 shedding. Together, these findings establish a novel role for CCN1 in regulating ICAM1, and identify CCN1 as a potential therapeutic target in inflammatory disorders. Supported by American Heart Association and NIEHS ES7026.


The efficacy of different synthetic pyrethroids, viz., cypermethrin (Ripcord 10 EC), deltamethrin (Decis 2.8 EC), fenvalerate (Sumicidin 20 EC), cypermethrin (Cymbush 25 EC), flucythrinate (Pay-off 10 EC) and fenvalerate (Fenvel 20 EC) as sprays was compared with the recommended practice for tbe control of Chilo parte/Ius (Swinhoe) during 1985 and 1986 kharif seasons. In general two sprays of the said treatments proved superior to the single spray. Single spray of cypermethrin (Ripcord 10 EC)@ 100 ml and deltamethrin (Decis 2.8EC) @ 200 ml was distinctly and consis-tently superior to the untreated control and equally good to the recommended practice (a spray of endosu1fan EC on 10-day old crop followed by spot application of endo-sulfan 4G twice in the whorl of infested plants on 18 and 25-da,y old crop) and could replace the latter. Fenvalerate (FenveJ 20 EC) at 100 ml and flucythrinate (Pay-off 10 EC) at 100 and 200 ml failed to control the pest.


For satisfactory controllable light stimulus to be used for experiments on the human pupillary servomechanism, we designed a system using a potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) electrooptic light modulator and an amplifier capable of giving a suitable high-voltage signal.


ABSTRACT A commercial Pt–Pd catalyst was applied in a pilot-scale waste incineration system. The characteristics of reacted catalysts and the concentrations of different pollutants were analyzed. Moreover, the effects of different pollutants on the performance and deactivation of catalyst were investigated. Experimental results showed that the activity of Pt–Pd catalysts for the removal of total hydrocarbons (THCs) was influenced by the contents of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, and mercury), chlorine, sulfur, and fly ash in the flue gas. The main pollutants that influenced the removal efficiency of THCs were lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg). The reasons of catalyst deactivation included the deposition of carbon and fly ash on the catalyst surface, the transformation of different metals (Pb and Cd) to form metal oxides (PbO, PbO2, and CdO) to adsorb and block the active sites, and the chemical reactions of sulfur with active metals to form sulfate or sulfide (PdS2).


The Kansas Beef Cattle Improvement Program is to help improve beef cow herds in Kansas and to provide information that will be valuable to producers in selecting breeding animals and making management decisions. The program is not to encourage competition among herds. Environmental conditions vary from herd to herd so competitive among herds cannot be "under the same rules".


According to Criminal Law there are two kinds of crimes of non-typical mafia-style syndicate:crime of harbouring a mafia-style syndicate and crime of entering the country to develop a mafia-style syndicate.While executing the law the bounds of the crime should be applied correctly and this is important for launching a tough crackdown on the crime.


Viral marketing is one of the techniques most used by companies to increase their reach
and improve their pro ts. This technique is carried out through the Influencers, people who
because of their ability to persuade very high on their followers, are in charge of viralizing
what they want to promote. However, knowing which Influencers are the ideals for each
target audience is not a trivial process, since determining those users is subject to a set of
criteria beyond the simple popularity of them. One way that organizations currently use is the suscription to online Influencers detection services, however, these services have a high cost and are not very transparent to users, who do not know the criteria under which they are being determined. This thesis proposes a Methodology for the Detection of In
uencers on Twitter,
which follows the fundamental process of Data Mining, makes use of diverse techniques of data collection (Web Scraping, APIs) and uses a set of influence metrics to obtain a score of influence for each user, which allows achieving a ranking of the most in
uential users for a speci c target audience. The proposed methodology includes a very basic starting point, such as the de nition of the search topics of candidate users for being Influencers, allowing any interested person to make use of it, even coupling new criteria on which to obtain the influence score. The methodology was executed on the case study: Lava Jato (Odebrecht) Peru, obtaining the ranking of Influencers based on the data collected between the months of january to march 2019


Acceptability studies employing attitudinal and/or behavioral variables have inspired semantic controversies and confusion. The limits of acceptability studies are reviewed using Mexican attitudinal studies as examples. Mexican attitudinal studies are classified according to 3 types; hypothetical methods and attributes of methods; methods in clinical trials; and culturally based attitudes. In 2 studies of family planning and method attitudes fears of infidelity and female liberation were voiced in the group session but not shown in the survey questions designed to evoke those fears. Attitudes ascertained were partially a function of the methodology employed. Behavioral studies are limited in that they depict acceptability under special not normal circumstances e.g. free sample studies comparative field trials and free choice studies. Prediction is justifiable only if study conditions continue unchanged in the real world. Attitudinal studies are better used to understand the reasons for peoples evaluations instead of predicting acceptability.