Searching for certified reading sources? We have the secrets of life to read, not only review, yet additionally download them or even read online. Locate this great book writtern by now, just here, yeah just here. Obtain the reports in the sorts of txt, zip, kindle, word, ppt, pdf, and also rar. Once more, never miss to review online as well as download this publication in our website here. Click the web link. Have spare times? Read the secrets of life writer by Why? A best seller publication in the world with wonderful worth and also content is incorporated with interesting words. Where? Merely below, in this site you could read online. Want download? Of course available, download them also right here. Readily available data are as word, ppt, txt, kindle, pdf, rar, and zip. Required a great e-book? the secrets of life by , the most effective one! Wan na get it? Find this exceptional e-book by here now. Download and install or check out online is available. Why we are the best site for downloading this the secrets of life Naturally, you can select the book in various documents types and media. Look for ppt, txt, pdf, word, rar, zip, as well as kindle? Why not? Obtain them right here, now! GO TO THE TECHNICAL WRITING FOR AN EXPANDED TYPE OF THIS THE SECRETS OF LIFE, ALONG WITH A CORRECTLY FORMATTED VERSION OF THE INSTANCE MANUAL PAGE ABOVE.


Prefabricated chunk is a special multi-lexical phenomenon between traditional grammar and lexical items. They can be stored in human's memory system as a unified whole and be retrieved directly when necessary. By investigating, the author finds that prefabricated chunk teaching is related to the improvement of writing. Therefore;it can be used widely in teaching to help improve the learners' writing skills and writing abilities.


Few states have undergone more rapid and comprehensive change in the past fifty years than Israel, which evolved from a socialist-inspired mixed, centralized, highly planned, state-centered, protectionist economy to a much more decentralized and internationally-oriented, neoliberal one. From a political culture dominated by a collectivist version of hegemonic Zionism legitimating a Mapai (Labor-led) dominant party system, Israel passed through a phase in which two mass parties vied for power. Once hegemonic, Zionism is now under challenge and in a crisis. A change in the electoral system resulted in the election of the past three prime ministers independent of the parliament (Knesset). This reform intensified the dramatic decline of both mass parties and the concurrent rise of several parties based on identity politics. The substantial increase in the representation of previously marginal groups made the system more inclusive. However, it seriously undermined governability and led to the premature end of the governments of the first two directly elected prime ministers, Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak. Consequently, the Knesset recently restored the traditional parliamentary electoral system. Equally significant constitutional reforms entrenched a bill of rights enabling judicial review by the Supreme Court. The books under review analyze these changes, which many observers define as radical or even revolutionary. The essays in the collection edited by Gershon Shafir and Yoav Peled evaluate aspects of the liberalization of Israel's economy and how this influenced the peace process.1 Deborah Bernstein compares the unsuccessful joint action by Jewish and Arab workers in three Jewish-owned industries during the British Mandate in Palestine. The workers failed to overcome the intrusion of Is-


A possible mechanism of spike effect connected with height profile features of a metal scatterer on a PEC ground plane is considered in two dimensions for perfectly conducting approach of sea water. A principal possibility of super events (HH > VV) is demonstrated for simple scatterer geometries. One shows that concave and convex parts of a gravity wave can produce spike effects at some grazing angles


In 2005, France passed a law on equal rights and opportunities, participation and citizenship of people with disabilities. It consecrated the right of all children to attend their neighbourhood school and reorganized the provision of services to this population, including the provision of assistive technologies. This research conducted a decade later between 2014 and 2017, investigates visually impaired children's experiences of schooling and the roles of technologies in supporting their well-being at school.
I developed a mixed-methods interdisciplinary approach, blending qualitative sociological research with Human-Computer Interaction experiments. Specifically, I conducted a two-years-long ethnographic study at a service provider for visually impaired children in the South of France, during which I made several design interventions. This field-work is contextualized by a critical review of the statistics on the schooling of visually impaired children provided by the Ministry of Education.
I use an ecological understanding of resilience to examine children's narratives about school, across different schooling modalities (e.g., mainstream and special education school) and sociodemographic characteristics. I discuss the resources and strategies children and their carers use to open opportunities for well-being at school, including uses of technologies. I contextualize these by investigating desirable schooling outcomes that define who is resilient and what resilience is for.
From there I propose to develop a non-visual approach to the (geography) curriculum inspired by the sensory turn. By changing what is considered as a valued way of learning, this thesis aims at providing opportunities to develop the sense of belonging and the perception of self-efficacy in the classroom. It informs us on the uses of hearing, smell, taste, and kinesthesia in geography; it supports pupils in reshaping of the learning activities and spaces; Finally, it opens opportunities for collective geographical knowledge rooted in experiences of social inequalities. More broadly, it opens a discussion on building collective well-being and resilience in schools.


Fumarolic gas survey of dormant volcanoes in hydrothermal activity is crucial to detect compositional and mass flux changes in gas emissions that are potential precursors of violent phreatic or even magmatic eruptions. Here we report on new data for the chemical compositions (CO2, H2S, SO2) and fluxes of fumarolic gas emissions (97–104°C) from La Soufrière volcano in Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles) obtained from both mobile MultiGas measurements and permanent MultiGas survey. This paper covers the period 2016–2020, encompassing a period of enhanced hydrothermal unrest including an abrupt seismic energy release (M 4.1) on April 27, 2018. Our dataset reveals fumarolic CO2/H2S and SO2/H2S gas trends correlated to the evolution of surface activity and to other geochemical and geophysical parameters. We demonstrate that, even under tropical conditions (high humidity and rainfall), MultiGas surveys of low-T fumarolic emissions permit to distinguish deeply sourced signals of volcanic unrest from secondary changes in degassing due to shallow forcing processes such as water-gas-rock interactions in the hydrothermal system and meteorological effects.


Purpose: The main aim of this work is to study the influence of initial powder properties on the mechanical alloying process and final powders structure and the production of chosen powder alloy by mechanical alloying method. Design/methodology/approach: The test material was the pure niobium, tin and copper powders. The powders were ground for 2 and 10 hrs. The mechanical alloying process was conducted in a high energy SPEX mill under inert argon atmosphere. The chemical constitution and concentration of particular component were studied by X-ray microanalysis. The changes of the powder structure were tested by means of the X-ray diffractometer. The thermal properties of the chosen powder alloy were examined by DSC method. Findings: Based on the presented experiment results it is clear that initial powder properties have a large influence on the final powders structure. Most of changes during milling are connected with process parameters and powder properties. Research limitations/implications: The mechanical alloying technique makes it possible to obtain Nb3Sn phase but only on a laboratory scale. This is the basic research in the powder metallurgy experiment field. Further investigations should be concentrated on the developing of refinement particles during ball milling, production of the composites and powder consolidation method. Practical implications: The experiments in this work supply knowledge of ductile and less ductile powders behaviour in mechanical alloying process. This knowledge can be used in powder metallurgy technique. Originality/value: The obtained investigation result confirm the different course of mechanical alloying process in dependence on powder particles. The synthesis of ductile and brittle powder gives possibility for the development of strengthening new composites by reinforcement particles.


One hundred and fifty eight Missouri Depression era quilts were documented and analyzed to characterize the design components and to substantiate design sources. The typical Missouri quilt made in the 1930s can be described as one which was pieced with scraps and purchased coordinating solids. It was moderately to heavily quilted by hand in more than one style to accent the different design elements. The whole design was contained by borders and was bound at its edges. Over 84 % of the quilts were traced to distinct pattern sources which included newspapers, magazines, catalogs, companies that sold quilt-making products, books, and exhibits. The Kansas City Star newspaper was one of the most influencial pattern sources.


Purpose] TO explore the mortality changing of digestive tract cancer, and to provide scientific basis for working out a plan of prevention and control. [ Method ]The data of mortality for the digestive tract cancer during the period 1995 ~ 1998 in Yangpu District of Shanghai were analysised. [Results] The gastric cancer, liver cancer and intestine cancer were main tumors for the digestive tract cancer.The mortality for male and female were 111/10000 and 81 .53/ 10000 respectively .The mortality for male was higher than that for female. The digestive tract cancers increased except male gastric cancer, female intestine and oesophagus cancer. Male standardized YPLL was higher than female one, hut the increasing range in female was higher than that in male. [ Conclusions] Gastric cancer, liver cancer and intestine cancer are still the focal point for prevention and control in the future. People should be educated to recognize the importance of diminishing the risk factors.


This volume includes twenty-seven interdisciplinary essays on aspects of Judaism in the Greco-Roman world derived from the author's long-standing interests in the analysis of texts as documents of cultural and religious interaction, and in how Jewish communities were woven into the social fabric of Greek cities in the Hellenistic and Roman East. This publication has also been published in hardback, please click here for details.


ABSTRACT Students must be taught to understand the ethical issues associated with engineering and technology, which includes microethics and macroethics. This research examined the influence of cultural environment by comparing ethics-related education outcomes between educators in (1) the United States, (2) non-US Anglo, and (3) Western European countries who teach engineering students. In an increasingly globalised world where companies and projects draw from talent across countries, it is important to understand how different cultures educate future engineers about their ethical responsibilities. Survey results revealed that a majority of educators in all three groups viewed undergraduate and postgraduate education on ethics as insufficient. A higher percentage of non-US Anglo and Western European educators taught sustainability and environmental issues in their courses compared to US respondents. US educators taught codes of ethics, ethics in design, and safety more than those in Western Europe. Open-ended responses illuminated challenges and opportunities to improve ethics education.


Objective: To study the effects of AngⅡon insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R), phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK), Bcl-2 and Bax protein expression in mouse peritoneal macrophages (MPM) and investigate the mechanism of AngⅡ-induced macrophage survival. Method:The expression of IGF-1R, p-ERK, Bcl-2 and Bax protein were detected in MPMs cultured with AngⅡ, by using immunocytochemistry method. Result:AngⅡ significantly increased IGF-1R protein expression in a dose and time-dependent manner. AngⅡ could inuduce phosphorylation of ERK in a dose-dependent manner,and P-ERK protein expression peaked at 5 min. Moreover, AngⅡ could induce ERK translocation from cytoplasm to nuclear. When given α-IR-3 or PD98059 p-ERK protein expression was significantly inhibited, and ERK translocation disappeared. AngⅡ increased Bcl-2 protein expression and reduced Bax expression dose and time-dependently. Conclusion:AngⅡ may enhance MPMs IGF-1R protein expression and induce ERK phosphorylation, resulting in Bcl-2 protein expression increase and Bax protein expression decrease. AngⅡ may promote cultured MPMs survival at least by enhancing IGF-1R expression and ERK phosphorylation, and there may be many pathways involved in MPMs survival induced by AngⅡ.


Conventional repairs had been tried on three patients suffering from vesicovaginal fistulas after abdominal hysterectomies. Separate vaginal and abdominal approaches had been tried and had resulted not only in failure but also in tissue loss and fibrosis. A final synchronous vaginoabdominal approach using a rectus abdominis muscle flap was used successfully in all three patients.


The present invention relates to compounds of general formula (I) wherein n represents an integer between 0 and 3, preferably n is 0; X represents O, NR3 or S, preferably X is O, R1 is CO2R4, COR4, CH2OR4, C (O) NR4R5, C (O) N (OR 5) R 4, CH2NR4R5, P (O) (OR4) (OR5), P (O) (OR4) R5, SO2 (OR4) or SO2NR4R5, R2 is H, (C1-C6) alkyl, OR6, CH2OR6 or CH2NR6R7, and R3, R4, R5, R6 and R7 are each independently other, H or (C1-C6) alkyl, process for their manufacture and their use as immunostimulant, especially for preventing and treating neoplastic and infectious diseases.


Pharmacological modification of the redox properties of tumor cells is a promising approach to enhance the efficiency of antitumor therapy. Currently, the transcription factor Nrf2 is considered as a new target for the development of selective chemosensitizers. Nrf2 plays a key role in regulation of cellular redox homeostasis against stress and during adaptation processes. Many natural and synthetic phenolic antioxidants are inducers of Nrf2 transcriptional activity. Due to differences in Nrf2 transcriptional activity between normal and tumor cells, phenolic antioxidants at certain concentrations act as biological regulators the antioxidant activity of which has two different effects: in tumor cells they promote the development of oxidative stress and enhance the effect of antitumor drugs, in normal cells these antioxidants exhibit protective properties. The review discusses the possible molecular mechanisms of action and the prospects for the clinical use of natural and synthetic phenolic antioxidants in antitumor therapy.


Abstract:
Digital education makes an attempt to a greater increase in passing the information that can be conveniently and quickly accessed and facilitates the sharing of computer knowledge into the outer world. The present study was undertaken among the college girl students in Chennai to analyze the level of awareness on digital education towards the skills development. The well structured questionnaire were distributed among a sample of 200 girl Students selected at a random sampling method of which 150 questionnaires were selected for further Statistical data analysis. The results reveled that there is an awareness of digital education towards the skill development among the college girl students.
Key words:
Digital education, College students, Skill development, Lifelong learning.


In the field of computer vision object tracking is one of the crucial research area. In order to evaluate the final tracking position of a target, target representation and locations are important. Mean shift algorithm is one of the accurate and fast objects tracking algorithm the modified mean shift algorithm which has been proposed here aims at continuous tracking in complex situations, such as the shape and the change in illumination of an object. The mean shift algorithm emphasizes on determining the object target region, and then a judgment on the tracking effect is made. In case of tracking failure, the object area is matched with the target model and a new track position is determined. Another option is to update target model periodically according to the state change of the moving object. Our emphasis will be there on experimentally showing that the proposed method can effectively track an object under the condition of varying illumination and shape deformation.


To stay ahead of novel attacks, cyber security professionals are developing new software and systems using machine learning techniques. Neural network architectures improve such systems, e.g., IDS, by implementing anomaly detection, which differentiates benign packets from malicious packets. In order for an IDS to best predict anomalies, the data the model is trained on is typically pre-processed through normalization and feature selection/reduction. The impacts of pre-processing techniques play an important role in training a neural network to optimize its performance. This paper proposes a DNN with 2 hidden layers for the IDS architecture and compares two commonly used normalization pre-processing techniques. We find that using Z Score normalization increased performance in accuracy by 4.46% reduced loss by 2.04%, improved F-Score by 4.70%, and increased AUC-ROC by 23.64%.


There is great impetus to implement change in all areas of the UK economy. Key aims are to reduce costs and CO2 emissions, and increase efficiency and growth. There are often difficulties in putting change into practice, evidenced by the perceived lack of progress on 1990s recommendations by Latham and Egan. Change can be most difficult in the public sector, whereby long established ways of working are culturally ingrained. The basis of this research is a comprehensive literature review. It forms the foundation for an electronic survey of practising professionals in a leading government agency that procures major construction projects; findings from this survey will be reported in subsequent work. The survey embraces the whole supply chain of the agency, since many authoritative sources call for integration, and
for change to be implemented in partner organisations. The research will also be supported by interviews, both at early stages in the development of the main research instrument, and in later stages during interpretations of findings. The main analytical approach will be quantitative.
There is a focus upon the role of leadership in implementing change and judgements are made
about whether the knowledge level of practitioners is sufficient to allow them to drive new initiatives. Conclusions and recommendations are made regarding training, knowledge management and Building Information Modelling.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed light on innovation systems dynamics and the positioning of Europe in a longer term perspective, with special attention to the international governance of the major challenges which humanity is facing. Design/methodology/approach – The method used is based on a secondary analysis and interpretation of Foresight studies. The underlying assumption is that Foresight exercises can be considered as the scene where techno-economic systems and trajectories are proposed, discussed and shaped. Findings – Foresights can be distinguished by the challenges and issues they focus on: – the innovation race: competitiveness and influence through innovation, – the thematic concerns: the stakes of global public goods, – the normative perspectives: a new style of development in the making. The question to know whether Europe can be a world driver in fostering responsible innovation models and cooperative modes of knowledge circulation and global challenges handling through rele...


The supercritical CO2 (S-CO2) and transcritical CO2 (T-CO2) combined cycle is a promising technology for the waste heat recovery of the offshore gas turbine. In this paper, a new system layout is proposed to investigate the thermodynamic and economic performances improvement of the S-CO2-T-CO2 combined cycle. Compared to the original systems, the residual heat of the topping S-CO2 cycle is recovered and extra recuperation is added to the bottoming T-CO2 cycle. Sensitivity analysis of different systems is carried out based on the mathematical model and multi-objective optimization is conducted. The net power out and the net present value (NPV) are chosen as the objective functions of thermodynamic and economic aspects. The results reveal that at the design point, the improved system has more than 8.23% increment on the net power output and 3.55% increment on the NPV. Besides, the optimized net power output of the improved system attains at least 5.16% increment with 3.15% increment for the optimized NPV at the same time. The improved system can be applied in some practical cases from both the thermodynamic and economic views.


This chapter argues that whereas in modern thought secularism appears the only route to challenging lifelong monogamous marriage, the early modern writers John Milton, Philip Sidney, and Mary Wroth base their endorsement of divorce and adultery on the Pauline distinction between duty and love, letter and spirit. Milton's divorce pamphlets and Sidney's and Wroth's sonnet sequences presume that any given commitment may turn out to be a mistake, so intimacy is inevitably provisional. In their emphasis on interiority, these writers participate in a cultural project of privatizing love, which scholars have rightly seen as an ideological foundation of heteronormativity, capitalism, and neoliberalism. Yet by taking this privatization to its logical extreme, they provide grounds for removing intimacy from institutional regulation and reward altogether. These writings are useful to modern queer thought not just as positive models, but also because they alert us to the exclusions upon which freedom may be premised. Sidney, Wroth, and Milton are part of the longer history that precedes and conditions present queer associations of secularism with Western reason and modernity, religion with superstitious and oppressive non-Western cultures. The ideal of sexual liberation, no less than those of monogamy and marriage, has its own racialized genealogy.


In the work presented the study about the most used dynamic hysteresis models for the ferromagnetic materials usually exploited in electrical vehicles is first focused. Among them, we propose an approach for the simulation of dynamic scalar magnetization processes based on the solution of the diffusion equation. This model will be used for the estimation and prediction of the magnetic losses in a sample of Non-Oriented (NO) iron-silicon steel with pulse width modulation (PWM) excitations, in the typical frequency range of interest for automotive. Comparative analysis with measurements using a Single Sheet Tester (SST) is reported.


Growth, nutrient content and nodulation response of cowpea plants (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) inoculated with a VAM fungus (Glomus etunicatum) and Bradyrhizobium (BR) strain IRC 25B peat-based were assessed on an alfisol in a two cropping cycle experiment conducted in the greenhouse. It was observed in this study that compost applications with VAM inoculation could substitute for inorganic fertilizer. Non-replenishment of compost application and Bradyrhizobium inoculation during the second cropping cycle reduced the parameters measured. It is therefore important to inoculate the plant with effective VAM for greater N2 fixation and seed yield in either nutrient-rich or poor soil. This experiment shows that VAM inoculation is an essential component of soil restoration strategy.


This paper explores the electronic monitoring in workplace and it discusses the monitoring consequences. The authors synthesize the prior research in electronic workplace monitoring and discuss a set of related research issues. The paper draws on organizational theories, privacy theories, and control theories to examine the strategies of organizational policy design as one solution to address the employee privacy issues. The multitheoretic lens highlights the contingency between organizational policy and employee behaviors and it posits the longterm impact of monitoring. This paper contributes to the theory development of electronic monitoring in the workplace and to the practice of organizational management as well.


AbstractNon-Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the most frequent oncologicalcomplications in patients with the Acquired Immune-DeficiencySyndrome (AIDS). In other countries, after the introduction ofthe Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART), the drop inthe incidence of systemic aggressive lymphomas was belowexpectations, although the survival of these patients rose. InBrazil, little is known about the clinical behavior and survival ofthe patients with lymphoma and AIDS in the post-HAART era.The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate 25 patientswith lymphomas and AIDS, treated with the combination ofchemotherapy and HAART. In agreement with the literature mostof the patients were male (20 patients - 80%) with a median ageof 39 years. We observed a predominance of the Diffuse Large BCell Lymphoma subtype (13 patients - 52%), advanced stage(15 patients - 60%), with extra-nodal disease (22 patients - 88%)and B symptoms (18 patients - 72%). Previous AIDS diagnosiswas present in 14 patients (56%), higher than that reported inother series. Fifty-two percent achieved CR, the estimatedprobability of overall survival and disease-free survival at 3years were 54% e 42%, r espectively. The median overall survivaltime was 15 months. Hematological toxicity and infections werefrequently observed, but no toxicity-related deaths were seen.Therefore we conclude that the combined chemotherapy-HAARTtreatment is feasible in Brazilian patients and can provide simi-lar overall survival than that described for some internationalgroups, with an acceptable toxicity profile. Rev. bras. hematol.hemoter. 2004;26(3):177-182.Key words: Lymphoma; AIDS; Highly active antiretroviraltherapy; chemotherapy.


Our People's Panel is made up of approximately 1,100 residents - from all walks of life - who take part in questionnaires from time to time.


This research paper is the attempt to analyse the examination session period in Master's programs in view of the language requirements, especially "Business foreign (English) language". The research paper states that the training process should be the whole spectrum of foreign-language communicative competences, as well as the research activity. The article deals with the improvement of intercultural business communication skills in the preparation of Master's degree students of the Russian higher educational institution for international projects within the foreign languages framework. The Federal State Educational Standards of Higher Education are analysed; recommendations are given on changing the content of the foreign language course in the magistracy.


Objective To investigate the effects of all-trans retinoic acid(ATRA) on manganese superoxide dismutase(MnSOD) during ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats.Methods 18 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into three groups(6/group).Sham group:sham operation + no treatment;control group:liver I/R + medium(DMSO for 14 days),experimental group:liver I/R + ATRA treatment(15 mg·kg-1·d-1 for 14 days).Partial(70% volume) hepatic ischemia was established for 1 hour,followed by 24 h of reperfusion,and collected sample of liver tissue and serum.Alanine aminotransferase(ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase(AST) were measured in serum.Hepatic pathology was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin(HE).Content of malondialdehyde(MDA) and superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity were analyzed by colorimetry.Western blot and real-time RT-PCR were used to assess the expression of manganese superoxide dismutase(MnSOD) protein and mRNA.Results Compared with the sham group,ATRA significantly decreased the levels of ALT [(138.61±54.63)U/L vs.(458.53±83.17)U/L,P=0.001]and AST[(355.57±70.92)U/L vs.(1152.48±135.86)U/L,P=0.001],improved hepatic pathological damage,reduced the activity of MDA[(0.47±0.03)nmol/mg vs.(0.77±0.04)nmol/mg,P=0.001],up-regulated the activity of SOD[(221.36±14.18)U/mg vs.(158.01±13.17)U/mg,Conclusions ATRA can significantly alleviate hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury by increasing expression of MnSOD to increase the activity of SOD,reduce lipid peroxidation and the level of MDA.


There are many different expressions about bandwidth sampling theorem available in different references.In this paper,analysis of one typical bandwidth sampling theorem is made first followed by modification to the traditional IF sampling theorem by means of the analysis results.In this way,the engineering implementation of the quadrature sampling detector can be more flexible and meet different occasions.


The systematic modification of the molecular structure of nonlinear optical (NLO)-active materials is a very attractive approach to the improvement of NLO performance. In this study, one lutetium s...


Mean velocity and mean turbulent field measurements are performed for the case of a three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer on an axially rotated cylinder. The cylinder model consists of two parts: a stationary section followed by a spinning afterbody. Techniques of hot-wire anemometry are employed, which yield complete mean velocity and turbulence measurements in skewed flows. The general behaviour of the three-dimensional boundary layer is first discussed: two asymptotic layers analogous to the two-dimensional wall and defect layers are observed; they are shown to evolve from the equations of mean motion. The hypothesis of scalar eddy viscosity is investigated in the light of these results. Using conventional length scale assumptions together with the Reynolds stress tensor equations, a prediction of curvature effects in the law of the wall region is developed; a result in the present case is a smaller slope of the semi-logarithmic portion of the law of the wall, No assumptions over and above those necessary for plane, two-dimensional flow are required for this analysis. The geometry of the model is such that a rapid change in mean rate of strain occurs along the streamlines. From the history of the components of the $\overline{u_iu_j}$ tensor, it is possible to draw some fundamental conclusions concerning the dynamics of the energy dissipation, diffusion and redistribution processes.


Abstract Political participation and representation are pillars of a successful democracy. This article explores Indian democracy from the perspective of village-based Dalit women; it is about how Dalit women understand and engage with the 'political' and how they see their representatives. The argument built in the article is that Dalit women see politics and representation from the vantage point of their everyday experiences and from their distinct positions in terms of caste, class and gender.


The fast steering mirror is an important optical component of adaptive optics,the structure proper ties of shafting fast steering mirror and no-shafting fast steering mirror are compared,the difference working and application characteristics are analyzed,a new structure of fast steering mirror is designed on this basis.The flexible bearing has the characteristics of no friction and big angle,the shafting uses these characteristics.The applicable pa rameters are proposed and the relative flexible bearing is selected by analyzing and calculating.The design com bines the advantages of shafting fast steering mirror and no-shafting fast steering mirror,a structure of the fast steer ing mirror which has a development prospect is proposed.


In this paper we consider non-intersecting Brownian bridges, under fairly general upper and lower boundaries, and starting and ending data. Under the assumption that these boundary data induce a smooth limit shape (without empty facets), we establish two results. The first is a nearly optimal concentration bound for the Brownian bridges in this model. The second is that the bulk local statistics of these bridges along any fixed time converge to the sine process.


The SiO2 coated Al thin films deposited on glass substrate for solar front reflectors were designed using Essential Macleod Program (EMP) and successfully fabricated by magnetron sputtering. The obtained thin films showed high reflectivity (up to 89.51%) under the light wavelength ranged from 250 to 2500 nm, which was identical with calculated results. Moreover, the thin films showed high anti-corrosion properties after the harsh abrasion tests. The high performance of the thin films was mainly attributed to the SiO2 layer, which served as a good protection without serious degradation of reflectivity, demonstrating the bright prospects for outdoor solar front reflectors.


A bench-scale experiment was conducted to purify n-butanol waste gas, a kind of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The experimental installation mainly consists of a bio-trickling filter and a rinsing absorber, and the optimal liquid/gas ratio is 2.1L/m3. Though removal efficiency of rinsing absorption could reach 95% or more, it could not sustain long run. The result reveals bio-trickling plays better role for removing n-butanol.


OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Greater cognitive function (CF) is associated with adherence to prescription medications, better program adherence and weight loss (WL) following bariatric surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between baseline CF, intervention dropout, adherence and 3-month WL. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: 107 (Mage = 40.9 yrs.), overweight/obese (BMI = 35.6 kg/m2) men (N = 17) and women (N = 90) completed a 3-mo. WL intervention. Participants were asked to attend weekly behavioral sessions, comply with a reduced calorie diet and complete 100 min of moderate intensity physical activity (PA)/wk. CF tasks including Flanker (attention), Stroop (Executive control) and working memory, body weight and cardiovascular fitness (covariate) were assessed at baseline and 3-mos. Session attendance, adherence to PA and diet prescriptions and number of off-diet episodes were recorded weekly. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Results indicated that attention was positively correlated with session attendance (p = 0.016), adherence to the diet (p < 0.01) and PA (p = 0.023). Executive control was positively correlated with WL (p = 0.042). Working memory (two tasks) was also positively correlated with WL (p = .017 and p = .025). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that baseline attention (p = .012) was positively related to WL and negatively associated with drop out (p < .05). Hierarchical linear regression showed executive control (p = .036, R2 = .054) and working memory (p = .013, R2 = .073 and p = .017, R2 = .068) were associated with WL when controlling for fitness. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: These results suggest that stronger baseline attention is associated with completion of a 3-mo. WL intervention. Executive control and working memory are associated with amount of WL achieved. Additional, larger and longer trials to assess the role of baseline CF on WL and evaluating the impact of interventions designed to improve CF on WL are indicated.


Reduction of di- and tetraphenyl-substituted 1,2:9,10-dibenzo[2.2]paracyclophane-1,9-dienes, 3, 3-d'₂, 4,5, and 5-tBu₄ with potassium in ethereal solvents has been monitored by ESR and ENDOR spectroscopy. In each case, the first reduction step yields a radical anion in which the unpaired electron resides in one of the two lateral biphenyl or o-terphenyl mystems orthogonal to the central phane unit. Except under conditions of strong association with the K⁺ counterion, electron exchange between the two π-ystems is fast on the hyperfine time scale. Upon further reduction, a second electron is taken up, as revealed by the appearance of triplet dianions bearing one unpaired electron in each of the two lateral π-ystems (separation ca. 1 nm). The singlet state of the dianion of 5 has been estimated to lie only slightly higher (ca. 2 kJ mol⁻¹) than the triplet state; the simultaneous presence of the singlet dianions of 3 and 5 in the solutions is compatible with evidence from NMR spectroscopy. An even more prolonged contact with potassium metal leads to radical trianions with the unpaired electron accommodated in the central phane unit. These radical trianions can thus be regarded as the radical anions of [2.2]paracyclophane having two negatively charged lateral π-ystems attached to it. Detection of trianions in a quartet state by ESR spectroscopy proved to be difficult under the experimental conditions used. The sequential uptake of three electrons by 3-5 is discussed in the light of the reduction potentials of the constituent π-ystems.


In order to improve the electromagnetic wave with the signal transmission distance and quantity of the drilling measuring system,with the analysis on the transmission features of the electromagnetic wave in the strata,the paper had a study on the electric conductance rate of the rock,magnetic conductance rate,the transmitting frequency of the electromagnetic wave and the length of transmitting antenna affected to the signal attenuation and transmission depth of the electromagnetic wave.The results showed that the transmission distance of the electromagnetic wave would be increased with the transmitting frequency reduced and the high electric resistance strata would be favorable for the transmission of the electromagnetic wave.When the frequency was 5~20 Hz and transmission distance was 1 000~2 000 m,the signal strength would be high and could meet the requirements of the engineering.The excitation antenna with the metal ring loop connected would have best effect,the length of the metal ring should be as long as possible.When the length of the insulation section was 0.5 m,the effect of the transmitting antenna would be best.


The present study was conducted in four districts two each from Eastern and Western zones of Haryana. Total 300 household from different landholding categories were selected from four villages of the selected districts. Finding revealed that majority of landless families was mainly through wages followed by livestock and in most of the cases it was less than 2.5 lakh per annum. As regards marginal land holding farmers, major source of income of both males and female was wages and private work. The income of large majority of marginal farm families was below Rs. 2.5 lakh per annum.


Background: In rural South Africa, most patients with oesophageal cancer have delayed presentations with debilitating symptoms and inoperable disease. This study was undertaken to quantify the delay between onset of symptoms and definitive treatment in a cohort of patients in rural South Africa, presenting to a state hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. The study also sought to establish reasons for delays in seeking medical attention and identify ways to encourage earlier presentation. Methods: It was a two-armed study of patients with oesophageal cancer seen at Greys Hospital in Pietermaritzburg. One was a retrospective chart review establishing a timeline. The second part was a prospective study between June and November 2012 where data were collected by means of patient interviews. Results: One hundred and thirteen charts were reviewed. The time from first symptoms to definitive management ranged from 2 to 14 months (average 7 months). Forty-six patients were interviewed. All experienced dysphagia but 83% were only prompted to seek help after weight loss. The duration of symptoms prior to first clinic or hospital attendance was 0–12 months (average 3 months). The reasons for the delay included the following: 41% of patients did not consider dysphagia a significant symptom, 24% had no money, 19% sought the help of traditional healers first and 15% said the hospital was too far away. Conclusion: There are long delays in the management of oesophageal cancer in our setting. The delays are prehospital as well as within the health care system. Lack of knowledge about oesophageal cancer symptoms and limited access to health care contributed to delays in management. Targeted quality improvement interventions are necessary. Patient education and improved referral systems are vital in encouraging earlier presentation.


This study identifies the features of Turkish online shopping sites that enable customers to accomplish specific tasks throughout the customer service life cycle (CSLC). It also applies the CSLC framework to website functionality in a non-Western context. Data was collected from a self-completed online survey and was developed and administered to Turkish customers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on 157 cases to test the internal consistency and structural adequacy of the research framework. Twenty-six website functionalities regarding the four stages of CSLC were identified and the final structure consisting of seven sub-dimensions were empirically validated. The theoretical and practical contributions of the findings are discussed and future research directions presented.


The supervision of power transmission and distribution price is an important duty of SERC while effective transmission and distribution price regulation demands complete integration of cost information.The article analyzes why SERC must supervise transmission and distribution cost,points out some problems in our country such as lacking effective regulation system and supervision methods,and puts forward some corresponding countermeasures.


With the Re-Os isotopic technology,the Re-Os isotope composition of pyrites is identified,and the isochron age of(122±44) Ma is obtained.The initial ratio N(187Os)/N(188Os) of pyrite is 0.56±0.12,and the γOs value is between 197.46 and 394.16,with an average of 293.49.These data suggest a changing between the crust-derived and mantle-derived sources.Considering the ratio of w(Os)u versus w(Re)/w(Os),it is thought that the source of ore-forming materials may have the feature of crust-mantle derived mixture.


T HIS article aims to present leading American statisticians in the nineteenth cent,ury and to indicate their contributions to the field of statistics. Other disciplines have already developed such a history, one example being that of economics [14], [18]. Yet so far, no history has ever been written about American statistical thought. The winning of our independence in 1783 brought forth many problems, political, social and economic. To solve these problems we had at that time very little statistical data and records available. Hence it was a difficult situation to solve these problems objectively. It became necessary to take an inventory of our resources, both human and material. Our earlier federal censuses were chiefly concerned with only a few phases of our population. Thus a number of statistical almanacs or yearbooks gradually appeared such as: A View of the United States of America (Philadelphia, 1794) by Tench Coxe, Assistant Secretary of the United States Treasury; Thoughts on the Increasing Wealth and National Economy of the United States of America (Washington, 1801), and Economica: A Statistical Manual for the United States of America (Washington, 1806) both by Samuel Blodget, architect, economist and merchant; A Statistical View of the Commerce of the United States of America (Hartford, 1816), a second edition (New York, 1817), and a third edition (New Haven, 1835) by Timothy Pitkin, a prominent Federalist congressman from Connecticut, regarded as an authority on the political history of the country. Congress authorized the purchase of 250 copies; The Resources of the United States of America (New York, 1818) by Rev. Mr. John Bristed, editor, lawyer, and Episcopal clergyman; Statistical Annals (Philadelphia, 1818) by Adam Seybert, M.D., democratic congressman from Pennsylvania. Congress authorized the purchase of 500 copies; Statistical, Political and Historical Account of the United States of North America (3 volumes, Philadelphia, 1819) by David B. Warden, author and diplomat; View of the United States: Historical, Geographical, and Statistical (Philadelphia, 1828) by William Darby, a surveyor and one of America's leading geographers for a quarter of a century. Tabular Statistical Views (Washington, 1829 and 1833) by George Watterston and Nicholas Biddle Van Zandt, "published under the patronage of the Congress of the United States." Congress


Reliability tests of GaN near UV light–emitting diodes (LED) were investigated by reverse–bias stress in water vapour. Various electrical, optical and material characterisations were performed to examine degradation trend and failure mechanism. On the basis of multiple material analyses, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with focus ion beam (FIB), energy dispersive X–ray spectrometry (EDX) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), deformation of the metal contact and the electromigration of Au could cause the increase of the leakage and reverse–bias electroluminescence, indicating some damaged high electric areas might be generated, which lead to LED failures. The characterisation techniques might resolve the long–term LED failure reasons. Furthermore, the reverse–bias LED operations are promising for short–time screening of the Near UV LED quality for future industrial applications.


In this paper,the true interday data of stock mar ket in Shanghai and Shenzhen are analyzed.Meant for eight kinds of classical patterns of stock mar ket,the paper,based on neural network technology,dis-cuss es one new al gorithm for dynamic pat tern an tici -pated segmentation,pat tern recognition and fore cast -ing.Ex periments in di cate these methods have good stability and reliability.The al gorithm sys tem is su perior in noisy im ages and accu rate detection and recogni -tion.


Literature is an arty expression of beautiful language, either in poetry or prose. Based on the examination results for Arabic literature course, which is BAS3123, found that the student's results are moderate. In addition, there is a perception of the students saying that the Arabic literature course is difficult as it focuses on the history of literature and the text of poetry and prose. Therefore, this study is conducted to examine the form of mind map that is suitable to be used in the teaching of Arabic literature courses for Malay students of the Arabic language programme in Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI). In addition, this study aims to analyze the arrangement of the mind map form that is most preferred by the students in the teaching of Arabic literature courses at UPSI. The library approach is used for information gathering related to mind map and its form. The data is also obtained through a questionnaire conducted to 89 respondents comprising 3rd year Arabic Degree students with Education in UPSI. The descriptive analysis approach is used in this study with Social Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to find out the form of mind map form in the teaching of Arabic literature courses at UPSI. The study found that all forms of mind map are suitable for use in the teaching of Arabic literature courses. However, from the point of view of the students' favorable in each form of the mind map, there is a significant difference from one form to another. Map bubble gets the highest mean of favorable; which is 1.7, while the bridge map gets the lowest mean of 7.7.


(S)-1-tert-Butyl-2-(tert-butyloxycarbonylamino)-aspartate semi-aldehyde was synthesized from L-aspartic acid by a five-step reaction in total yield of 25% and the structure was confirmed by specific rotation,1HNMR and 13CNMR.


The hardware architecture of the HP 9000 series 500 computers has been designed to provide for a fully symmetric multiple-processor architecture. All CPUs, I/O processors and memory controllers are interconnected by the memory processor bus. All I/O processors and memory are identically addressable by all CPUs. This implies that a program can execute on any of the system's processors without any changes to the way the system addresses either memory or I/O devices. Perhaps equally important is the fact that all I/O processors have an equally symmetric view of CPUs and memory. This makes it possible for a program to initiate an I/O operation on one processor, for the interrupt service routine to execute on the same or a different processor, and for the user program to continue on a third processor, all with complete transparency. 1 reference.


We discuss the e ciency and implementation details of an algorithm for nding the global minimum of a multi-variate function subject to simple bounds on the variables. The algorithm DIRECT, developed by D. R. Jones, C. D. Perttunen and B. E. Stuckman, is a modi cation of the standard Lipschitzian approach that eliminates the need to specify a Lipschitz constant. We have implemented the DIRECT algorithm in Matlab and the e ciency of our implementation is analyzed by comparing it to the results of Jones's implementation on nine standard test problems for box-bounded global optimization. In fteen out of eighteen runs the results are in favor of our implementation. We also present performance results for our implementation on the more challenging test set used in the rst contest on evolutionary optimization (ICEO). An application from computational nance is also discussed. Our DIRECT code is available in two versions. One, glbSolve, is integrated in the Matlab optimization environment TOMLAB, as part of the toolbox NLPLIB TB for nonlinear programming and parameter estimation. The other, gblSolve, is a stand-alone version. Both TOMLAB and gblSolve are free for academic use and downloadable at the home page of the Applied Optimization and Modeling group, see the URL: http://www.ima.mdh.se/tom.


The nonlinear equation (1)on the real axis is reduced (for , , real, , ) by a differentiable change of variables in a neighborhood of zero of the Banach space to the linear equation (2)Bibliography: 3 titles.


The process of stress relaxation aluminum at change of electric potential of surface is researched. From position of representations about change of surface energy at potential action the analysis of behavior parameters of process of stress relaxation is made. Connection between relative changes of parameters of process of stress relaxation and relative change of surface energy is established.


In times of confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary for teachers and students to change the way they teach and learn; in that sense, this research work presents an experience of the application of Case-Based Learning and the Flipped Classroom. The work was applied with 26 students from the Professional School of Political Science and Governance of UNAMBA. The applied methodology was as follow: first, videos of 5 case studies were delivered to the students before the class session; second, in the class session each case was presented and analyzed; and third, the students created a video summary of the case to socialize with the other classmates. Subsequently, a 16-question satisfaction questionnaire was applied with 3 related factors: benefits of the Flipped Learning, use of videos, and collaboration and communication. Finally, the results show that 96.1% achieved positive evaluations in which the participants show their satisfaction with this applied strategy.


We will work, in a first moment, with the delimitation of what I am calling happiness based on the thematization of the problem of temporality, or rather, the relation of complementarity between certain mobility of history and the behavior of men in general. We will then discuss the contemporary temporality and how it has hindered the experience of happiness, and we will deal, finally, with the relation between historical thought, what I am calling democracy (or democratization) and the very possibility of the experience of happiness, especially from the democratic hypothesis.


SUMMARY In this paper we give an overview of the ways occupants use ventilation systems and describe the results of interviews conducted in households equipped with balanced ventilation. An attempt is made to quantify the effects of occupant behaviour on the final energy use of the household for heating. This energy use is studied for several behaviour scenarios, leading to the conclusion that occupant behaviour may easily reduce the predicted savings to zero, or even may increase the energy use when compared to natural ventilation.


Combining with the ABA Teachers College,analyze in laboratory construction in colleges in minority areas problems and causes,put forward the national area college laboratory construction and experimental teaching reform and some measures.The laboratory construction of colleges in ethnic regions must recognize situation,be closed to the school development objectives,make scientific planning,take discipline construction as the center,achieve optimal allocation and scientific management,construct a multi-level and efficient open laboratory system,at the same time,building a high-quality experimental team.


Chris Marsden email@example.com Introduction and Objectives 1 Methods and Description 2 European Regulatory Context 3 Changing Regulatory Agendas 3 Defining Coand Self-regulation 5 The Place of the European Union in Selfand Co-regulation 6 Approach Taken in the Paper 7 Case Study Results: Describing Existing XROs 9 Contextual Classification of Case Studies 9 Financing and Budget of XROs 11 Responsiveness and Flexibility of Self-regulation 13 Analysing Existing and Proposed Arrangements 23 Drivers of XRO Formation 24 Theoretical and Empirical Analytic Models of XRO Operation 25 Suggested Framework for Developing Intervention Logic for XRO Analysis 32 General Advantages, Disadvantages and Risks Associated with XROs 34 Policy Alternatives and Impact Assessment Strategies 37 Scenarios of European Commission Action/Inaction 39 General Criteria for Choosing Options 39 Risk and Regulation 40 European XRO Options 42 Options to Consider in European Union Ex Ante Impact Assessments .........42 Policy Scenario Context 43 Overall conclusions and recommendations 45 Bibliography 45


Studies on post-acquisition or integration stage of acquisition process have revealed that increase in number of acquisitions results in diminishing contribution to the performance of a firm and increasing inefficiency of the system, which, at times, calls for organizational restructuring. Although disruptive in the short-run, organizational restructuring has been effective in realization of synergy benefits from acquisitions. The post-acquisition studies mostly assume strategic fit, the focus of pre-acquisition activities, to which contradictory evidence exists. Incorporating pre-acquisition or selection stage activities in post-acquisition activities may provide a better understanding of how corporation can realize synergy benefits from acquisitions.


Part 1 discusses the effects on the application and short-time rating of traction motors of their limited thermal capacity; a method is developed by which these effects can be considered, more correctly and conveniently than hitherto, in motor application studies.A survey of motor duties, heating and rating leads to the conclusion that equations containing two exponential terms are the most appropriate for representing motor temperature/time curves. This is verified by analysis of several published curves and of experimental results obtained on a small series motor. The development and use of a resistance-capacitance analogue based on these equations to simulate to a smaller time scale the armature slot-copper heating and armature iron heating of an actual motor on its normal run are then described. This analogue gives results differing by only about ±2% from those calculated from the same equations, whilst automatic recordings with errors within ±4% can also be obtained.It is concluded that motor application studies will be more reliable if they are made by using equations containing two exponentials, and that such studies will be facilitated by using analogues of the type described to solve the equations in continuous form.In Part 2 a method is described by which allowance can be made for the effect of the temperature rise of ventilating air upon the temperature/time equation for the armature copper. The method is applied to an equation containing two exponential terms. Consideration of the temperature/time relation for a ventilated body shows that this allowance introduces a factor which modifies only the final body-to-air heat-transfer coefficient and does not affect the form of the equation.The method is verified experimentally, and a practical application, which involves an approximation, is given. The approximation is shown to be valid by a dimensionless study of temperature/time equations containing two exponentials.Time can be saved by the use of dimensionless coefficients by which the exact equation may be derived from an approximate one more easily obtained.


: This research aims to determine what factors affect taxpayers' compliance in fulfilling their tax obligations. The three factors studied are subjective norms, taxation knowledge, and perception of the personal taxpayer's financial condition in KPP Pratama Mulyorejo Surabaya. The hypothesis testing in this study uses multiple linear regression analysis. Its results show that all the independent variables have a significant effect on the dependent variable. The conclusion from this study is that subjective norms, taxation knowledge, and perception of the individual taxpayer's financial condition affects the level of taxpayers' obedience in fulfilling their tax obligations in KPP Pratama Surabaya Mulyorejo.


Focusing light inside highly scattering media beyond the ballistic regime is a challenging task in biomedical optical imaging, manipulation, and therapy. This challenge can be overcome by time reversing ultrasonically encoded (TRUE) diffuse light to the ultrasonic focus inside a turbid medium. In TRUE optical focusing, a photorefractive crystal or polymer is used as the phase conjugate mirror for optical time reversal. Accordingly, a relatively long ultrasound burst, whose duration matches the response time of the photorefractive material, is used to encode the diffuse light. With this long ultrasound burst, the resolution of the TRUE focus along the acoustic axis is poor. In this work, we used two transducers, emitting two intersecting ultrasound beams at 3.4 MHz and 3.6 MHz respectively, to modulate the diffuse light within their intersection volume at the beat frequency. We show that light encoded at the beat frequency can be time-reversed and converge to the intersection volume. Experimentally, TRUE focusing with an acoustic axial resolution of ~1.1 mm was demonstrated inside turbid media, agreeing with the theoretical estimation.


We prove that for any open Riemann surface $M$ and any non constant harmonic function $h:M \to \mathbb{R},$ there exists a complete conformal minimal immersion $X:M \to \mathbb{R}^3$ whose third coordinate function coincides with $h.$
As a consequence, complete minimal surfaces with arbitrary conformal structure and whose Gauss map misses two points are constructed.


Colleges and universities can improve the quality of teaching and the benefit of running a school by the construction of digital campus.The content includes the construction of network hardware platform,application system construction,data basis construction and the construction of security management system.There are some questions in the practice of the construction of digital campus,such as planning unscientificly,despising application and resource construction reperfectly.Aimed at these questions,puts forward methods and steps of improving the construction of present digital campus,in order to promote its sustainable development.


This article,starting with the vulnerability theory of social system,make the distinction of the social characteristics between the framework of disasters and the framework of coal city.With the help of the relationship among hazard,disasters and the vulnerability,map the the mechanism of the hazard.After the selection of targets,using AHP to determine the weight,take assessment of the status quo and hazard,then,make the final analysis.


Land use change can impact the land surface radiation budget and energy balance by changing surface biophysical processes. Based on satellite remote sensing data and land use data from 2000 to 2015, we quantitatively estimated radiative forcing induced by cropland expansion during the early 21st century in northern China. The results showed that heat flux from the land surface to the atmosphere due to cropland expansion was quite variable in different climate zones. The heat flux increased in humid North China, whereas it decreased in arid Northwest China, semiarid Inner Mongolia, and humid Northeast China. Cropland expansion from woodland areas led to a general decline in the land surface heat flux to the atmosphere, which led to a cooling effect on the climate. The surface heat flux to the atmosphere due to cropland expansion in grassland areas displayed significant variations in different climate zones. The surface heat flux decreased only in humid Northeast China and arid Northwest China. The net surface radiation and latent heat flux both increased when grasslands were changed into cropland, but to different extents, which produced the differences in the surface heat flux to the atmosphere between different zones.


Based on the growth and photoluminescence experiment of ZnO nanorods, the structrue model of two-dimensional random media in which the center and radius of ZnO nanorods are all disordered is constructed. Using ZnO gain phenomenological model, the spectrum characteristics and spatial distribution of optical field in ZnO nanorods random media is simulated numerically by means of the finite difference time domain method, the localized mode is found. Firstly using Gaussian pulse in ZnO two-dimensional random media, five typical resonance peaks of observation point occur in ZnO gain range, the spatial distribution of optical field presents localization characteristics in the random media is found. Then using sinusoidal wave instead of Gaussian pulse, The optical field corresponding to the resonance peaks is discussed. We found the optical field of different localized mode has different spatial distribution.


Coupled transfers of aroma compounds and water vapour were investigated by varying the relative humidity gradient of storage (50% or 90%) of two paper packaging at 25 degrees C. These papers differed in their coating surface: both were identically impregnated then supercalendered, and only one was twice coated on both sides with a synthetic barrier substance. Permeability and solubility coefficients were determined. The coating treatment was more effective to decrease the permeabilities of water vapour and ethyl ester than the effect of RH. On the contrary, the RH modified the water content of the treated papers and affected more strongly their permeability and solubility to cis-3-hexenol and benzaldehyde. The cis-3-hexenol transfer through the non-coated paper and the benzaldehyde transfer through the coated paper decreased due to a probable competition with sorbed water although it increases for the cis-3-hexenol of a plasticisation phenomenon.


Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system offers high data rate but frequently suffer from high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the transmitted signal. A new nonlinear companding algorithm that transforms the OFDM signals into the desirable statistics form defined by a linear piecewise function is proposed. The more adjustability in companding form and an effective trade-off between the PAPR and bit error rate (BER) performances can be obtained by introducing an inflexion point and the variable slopes in the target probability density function. Theoretical analyses for this algorithm is presented and expressions regarding the achievable signal attenuation factor and transform gain are produced. The selection criteria of transform parameters focusing on its robustness and performance aspects are also examined. The conferred theoretical analyses are well verified via computer simulations.


The accurate calibration for a 3D profile measurement system based on structured light projection is important to the precision measurement system; however, system calibration is always complicated and time-consuming. An improved fast method is proposed to calibrate the measurement system. First, LCD monitor, as a calibration plate, displays chessboard pattern designed by computer programming, and camera captures 1 image. Then LCD monitor displays white pattern, projector projects horizontal and vertical color-encoded fringes to the LCD monitor, and camera collects 2 images respectively. A Phase-shifting algorithm is used to establish a highly accurate correspondent relationship between camera pixels and projector pixels, and projector images are generated. Next, move the LCD monitor to other 8 places, get camera and projector images which are set for camera and projector calibration respectively using Zhang's calibration method. Compared with ordinary techniques which use expensive equipments such as two or three orthogonal plates, LCD monitor is easy-to-use and flexible, and experiments show that calibration accuracy is improved by 5 times. In comparison with traditional projector calibration method, this method decreases the number of captured images from 8 to 2 in each place and increases the processing speed. Combining camera calibration and projector calibration, the complex calculation process of integrating traditional camera calibration and projector calibration can be simplified. Experiments have been performed based on the proposed technique and good results have been obtained.


With chronic overnutrition the storage of triglyceride in numerous cells including hepatocytes seems inevitable, and can be explained by well recognized pathways of lipid metabolism. This seemingly obvious association between chronic overnutrition and hepatocyte steatosis appears to be regulated by an unnervingly complex set of pathways that are not traditionally thought of as metabolic regulators. The study of regulation of steatosis is traditionally approached by hypothesis driven manner which examine the role of an individual molecules and pathways. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


A fully integrated single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) using a controllable fast mixed quenching and active resetting circuit (QRC) fabricated in a $0.35-\mu\mathrm{m}$ high-voltage CMOS process is presented in this paper. The QRC features a fast active quenching time of 0.52 ns and a minimum dead-time of 4.57 ns, which corresponds to a maximum count rate of 218 Mcps. To validate the quenching performance, the circuit was integrated together with a large-area SPAD having an active diameter of $90\ \mu\mathrm{m}$ with a capacitance of 150 fF. A pad for a pico-probe was integrated on the chip, leading to a total capacitive load of 275 fF in SPAD cathode's node during transient measurements.


The coding sequences for genes, and much other regulatory information involved in genome expression, are located 'inside' the DNA duplex. Thus the "macromolecular machines" that read-out this information from the base sequence of the DNA must somehow access the DNA "interior." Double-stranded (ds) DNA is a highly structured and cooperatively stabilized system at physiological temperatures, but is also only marginally stable and undergoes a cooperative "melting phase transition" at temperatures not far above physiological. Furthermore, due to its length and heterogeneous sequence, with AT-rich segments being less stable than GC-rich segments, the DNA genome 'melts' in a multistate fashion. Therefore the DNA genome must also manifest thermally driven structural ("breathing") fluctuations at physiological temperatures that should reflect the heterogeneity of the dsDNA stability near the melting temperature. Thus many of the breathing fluctuations of dsDNA are likely also to be sequence dependent, and could well contain information that should be "readable" and useable by regulatory proteins and protein complexes in site-specific binding reactions involving dsDNA "opening." Our laboratory has been involved in studying the breathing fluctuations of duplex DNA for about 50 years. In this "Reflections" article we present a relatively chronological overview of these studies, starting with the use of simple chemical probes (such as hydrogen exchange, formaldehyde, and simple DNA "melting" proteins) to examine the local stability of the dsDNA structure, and culminating in sophisticated spectroscopic approaches that can be used to monitor the breathing-dependent interactions of regulatory complexes with their duplex DNA targets in "real time." V C 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 99: 923–954, 2013.


E mployee Assistance Programs (EAP) were first established in the private business sector during the 1950s. The federal government later established similar Employee Counseling Service Programs by legislative mandate. The purpose of these programs was to help troubled employees resolve their problems so that their work performance could be improved. Historically, EAP have focused primarily on substance abuse problems and the training of supervisors to identify and refer abusers and other troubled employees for the appropriate help. As with other kinds of client oriented services, all employee counseling programs are covered under the Privacy Act of 1974 and confidentiality regulations. EAP have traditionally been staffed by personnel specialists and others trained in substance abuse counseling. During the last five years, social workers, nurses, and other mental health professionals have entered the EAP field. Reasons for the entrance of these professionals may be due to the competition for client dollars and for the challenge in this relatively new field.


Waist circumference (WC) measurement is a useful tool in the assessment of overweight/obese individuals, but standard measures may miss an apron of 'overhanging' fat (termed 'panniculus'). The objective of this study was to assess whether, in clinically overweight/obese youth, 'pannicular' WC better correlates with fat mass than a standard WC measurement.


Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis (HD) are at a high risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 and of developing severe COVID-19 and death. The possibility of being reinfected with this virus is poorly understood. To date, there are a small number of reports of reinfections in COVID-19 patients, especially in HD patients, with only four cases described so far. The aim was to show the possibility of reinfection and developing severe acute respiratory syndrome in HD patients. We describe a 69-year-old ESRD patient who had been on HD treatment for three years, with diabetes mellitus and a history of ischemic cardiomyopathy. The patient was tested for SARS-CoV-2 by a nasopharyngeal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test because of a positive cluster at his dialysis unit and initially diagnosed with COVID-19 in July 2020. In this period, he had mild symptoms for a few days and remained asymptomatic afterwards. Four months later, he presented to the hospital with fatigue, high fever and shortness of breath, and was COVID-19 positive again. This case points to the possibility of reinfection, lack of immune response after an asymptomatic or mild infection, or even the possibility of the fi rst false-positive PCR test. Future longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate the potential reinfections, recurrence, and duration of antibody detection.


Urban areas and their expansion are important roles for the analysis of the urban ecological status, indicators for global ecological health, and sustainable development. Although urban expansion can improve the living conditions of the residents, it will also lead to various urban environmental and ecological issues. Semarang City is the center of a functioning metropolitan city of Kedungsepur (Kendal, Demak, Ungaran, Semarang Regency, Salatiga City, Semarang City and Purwodadi, Grobogan Regency) so that the development of various sectors in the Semarang City region shows a positive increase. This study aims to measure urban expansion and analyze its spatial patterns from 2005 to 2015 using remote sensing and GIS. The analysis method to measure urban expansion and developing patterns uses the urban expansion intensity index and local Moran's I, and quantification the typology of urban expansion. The results showed that the annual growth rate of urban expansion in Semarang city increased in the last decade, which was 2.7 km2/year (2005-2011) to 5.8 km2/year (2011-2015). The intensity of urban expansion is more dominated by low intensity followed by very rapid, moderate and rapid intensity. The results of Local Moran's I analysis also show the formation of urban growth clusters out of the city center that leads to the south. Between 2005 and 2015 the type of urban expansion was dominated by the type of edge expansion.


Low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology has been first successfully employed for the realization of a solid propellant microthruster. The microthruster has potential applications in microspacecraft as an excellent micropropulsion system for high-accuracy station keeping, attitude control, drag compensation and orbit adjust. The design, fabrication and experimental investigation of LTCC microthrusters are reported. Results from experiments on microcombustion, and thrust and impulse measurements both at sea level and in vacuum are presented. Initial tests employing gunpowder-based solid propellant have produced 3.81 × 10−5–1.27 × 10−4 N s of total impulse and 5.55–14.41 s of specific impulse at sea level, and 1.31 × 10−4–2.79 × 10−4 N s of total impulse and 19.05–31.55 s of specific impulse in vacuum. The performance of the LTCC solid propellant microthruster is also compared with that of a silicon-based solid propellant microthruster.


Summary

This paper gives a characterization of some members of the compound Poisson family of distributions based on the generalized Rao-Rubin condition. By considering some variants of this condition and using power series arguments, characterizations of the Poisson distribution are also obtained.


We derive a Murnaghan--Nakayama type formula for the values of unipotent characters of finite classical groups on regular semisimple elements. This relies on Asai's explicit decomposition of Lusztig restriction. We use our formula to show that most complex irreducible characters vanish on some $\ell$-singular element for certain primes $\ell$.
As an application we classify the simple endotrivial modules of the finite quasi-simple classical groups. As a further application we show that for finite simple classical groups and primes $\ell\ge3$ the first Cartan invariant in the principal $\ell$-block is larger than~2 unless Sylow $\ell$-subgroups are cyclic.


The invention discloses a porous carbon and silicon material and a preparation method thereof. The preparation method comprises the following steps: an organic polymeric monomer, a cross-linked monomer, a surfactant, a pore forming agent and nano-silicon powder are added proportionally to a reactor to serve as a continuous phase and stirred at the room temperature; an aqueous solution containing an initiator is added dropwise slowly to the continuous phase, the mixture is stirred for 5-10 min, a stable emulsion is formed, and the volume fraction of a disperse phase is 60%-90% of the total volume fraction of the emulsion; the emulsion is transferred into a mold for polymerization; a sample is extracted and dried, and a precursor of the porous carbon and silicon composite material is prepared; the precursor of the porous carbon and silicon composite material is subjected to heat treatment in nitrogen atmosphere; the material is carbonized, and the porous carbon and silicon composite material is obtained. When the material prepared with the method is used as a negative electrode material of a lithium battery, the volume expansion of the lithium battery in charge-discharge processes is relieved effectively, and the cycle stability of the lithium battery is enhanced; the defects of low specific surface area, irregular and difficult-to-control pore structure and poor pore communication of the conventional porous carbon and silicon material are overcome.


The Brazilian nuclear power programme comprises two nuclear power plant in operation from different supplier countries. Furthermore, the second plant, Angra 2, had its construction started in 1976 and only recently in 2000 has achieved full power operation. This paper presents the experience of the Brazilian Regulatory Body in licensing this utility with all the complication arising from the different technologies, and safety philosophy, and the changes in safety standards, owners, suppliers, contractors and operators during the 25 years of construction. The paper presents first a history of the construction and commissioning of Angra 2, and then highlights some of the problems encountered in the licensing process. Some of the difficulties faced by CNEN due to several reorganizations and loss of personnel are also discussed.


High Mn-Cr austenitic steels are still considered to be an important high temperature structural material from the point of view of reduced radio-activation. The objective of the present study is to make a fundamental research of mechanical properties and microstructure of 12%Cr-15%Mn austenitic steels. Especially the effects of alloying elements of V and Ti on the mechanical properties and microstructure evolution of high Mn-Cr steels were studied. Precipitation behaviors of carbides, nitrides and σ phase are investigated and their remarkable effects on the high temperature strength are found. The addition of V was very effective for strengthening the materials with the precipitation of fine VN. Ti was also found to be beneficial for the improvement of high temperature strength properties


The invention provides a method of making a magnetic regenerator for an active magnetic refrigerator, the method comprising: forming a magnetic regenerator from a slurry or a paste containing a magnetocaloric material the magnetic regenerator being formed to have plural paths therethrough for the flow of a heat transfer fluid; and varying the composition of the magnetocaloric material so that the magnetic transition temperature of the magnetic regenerator varies along the paths.


Consider a two-way contingency table, built on two categorical variables R and S. Testing for independence between these two categorical variables is a well-known problem : the classical chi-square and likelihood ratio tests are used. Suppose now that for each individual of the sample we can also observe a set of p characteristics describing him. These extra covariates can provide more information on the dependence structure of the table, so that it could be interesting to test the independence between R and S conditionally to them. In this paper, we propose two nonparametric tests which generalize the chi-square test and the likelihood ratio test ideas to this case. The procedure is based on a kernel estimator of the conditional probabilities. The asymptotic law of the proposed test statistics is derived. The finite sample behaviour of the procedure is analysed through some Monte-Carlo experiments and the approach is illustrated with a real data example.


The I - V characteristics of point contacts between superconductors have been studied for their dependence on the temperature, the magnetic field and the microwave power level. Structures which appeared in the I - V characteristics in the absence of microwave powers have been related to the enhanced superconductivity of a part of the contacts and the subharmonic tunneling effects. Most of the temperature dependence of the zero-voltage current can be explained by considering the spatial variation of the current density and introducing a "mean Josephson penetration depth". Microwave power dependence of the amplitude of induced steps disagrees with the Bessel function behavior. The discrepancy may be caused by the effect of the Josephson penetration depth.


This article briefly describes the general aspects and cross-linking polymerization of superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) and superabsorbent polymer composites (SAPCs). Research and development of SAPs has become very active after the Northern Region Laboratory of the United States Department of Agriculture invented the first SAP, used as a soil conditioner. Based on the advancements in organic/inorganic syntheses, SAPs are produced and used in a wide range of applications for fluid absorption. The rapid growing nanotechnology has led to more explorations of SAPs and SAPCs for applications in biomedical, biotechnology and advanced technologies. Examples of research work of SAPs and SAPCs published in refereed, reviewed articles are introduced.


The use of refrigerants requires to meet ecology and legislation requirements. The aim of the legislation is also to reduce the global warming potential (GWP). Natural refrigerants such as carbon dioxide, ammonia, and hydrocarbons such as propane, isobutene, and propylene are used mainly because of their environmental benefits compared to synthetic refrigerants. This work compares two natural refrigerants: R-744 and R-290 and two synthetic refrigerants: R-134a and R-32. All these refrigerants are used mainly in heat pumps. In this work were calculated and compared the following performance parameters: heat rejected in the condenser, cooling power, compressor power, and the coefficient of performance (COP). The most important parameter is the coefficient of performance because when it decreases, electric energy consumption increases. It requires reaching a high value of COP. Further, this work deals with the economic analyses of selected refrigerants. The last aim of this article is their ecologic analysis based on the GWP factor.


Summary This article discusses a selection of Holocaust poems by Abraham Sutzkever together with several written by David Fram as they epitomise how historical forces shape individual lives, highlighting how the differences in location and experience influenced their creative output. In order to do so, it locates the poets physically and aesthetically, and then compares several poems through in-depth analyses of their choice of metaphor and language. Affirming the continuing significance of Yiddish in the face of the almost-total annihilation of its speakers, the article also validates poetry as a form of testimony. Although both poets were born in the Russian Empire, by the time World War II broke out, Sutzkever became a witness-participant in the Vilna Ghetto, Lithuania, while Fram was in Johannesburg, South Africa. Sutzkever's poems provide personal, instantaneous and localised focal points, and shed light on the immediate horrific reality, whereas Fram's symbolic reflections wrestle with what happened in the killing fields and so illuminate a broader, more panoramic view. They also emphasise his empathy. By bearing witness, these poems provide an arena in which to address Jewish suffering and keep the Holocaust alive and visible. In resisting amnesia of what once was and is no more, the poets also memorialise the victims.


Histogram equalization (HE) is one of the common methods used for improving contrast in digital images. However, this technique will cause an effect on brightness saturation in some almost homogeneous area. In order to avoid the saturation effect, mean preserving bi-histogram equalization (BBHE) method is proposed. In this paper, we propose a novel HE with variable enhancement degree. Moreover the BBHE with variable separation intensity is also proposed. Finally, the proposed two methods are combined. In this method, we can control the enhancement degree by two parameters. We also show the guide to decide the two parameters. Since our method is able to control the enhancement degree and the mean of image is tend to be preserved, all kinds of images are enhanced adequately.


We argue that hopping transport in the presence of Hubbard interaction is affected by a relaxation mode. The relaxation mode governs the diffusion and the decay of excitations of the system. We discuss the new problems that result from the consideration of the relaxation mode and outline first results of an effective medium formulation, which takes into account both the diffusion mode and the relaxation mode on equal footing. Doing so, we restrict the consideration to the nearest-neighbor hopping (NNH) regime. Our calculation shows that the hopping length for excitations is strongly affected by the relaxation. The relaxation decreases the hopping length of excitations. The reduction of the hopping length depends on the Hubbard interaction strength and on the filling of the system.


The tripodal ligand [CH3C(CH2C5H4)(CH2PPh2)2]– reacts with RuCl2(PPh3)3 to produce CH3C(CH2-η5-C5H4)(CH2-η1-PPh2)2RuCl, [tripodCpL2RuCl], 1. Complex 1 undergoes substitution of the chlorine function with various nucleophiles L′ to produce [tripodCpL2RuL′]+. The carbonyl derivative (L′ = CO) 2, isonitrile (L′ = RNC) 3, nitrile compounds (L′ = RCN) 4, and a tolane adduct (L′ = η2-PhC≡CPh) 5 are obtained when 1 is treated with the appropriate ligands in polar solvents. Halide acceptors (e.g. TlPF6) are generally needed to promote these reactions. The cyanide derivative tripodCpL2RuCN (3a) is alkylated by F3CSO3CH3 to give the isonitrile derivative [tripodCpL2RuCNMe]+3b. Terminal alkynes HC≡CR produce vinylidene compounds [tripodCpL2RuL′]+, where L′ = CCHR (R = tBu, 7b; R = Ph, 7c), or allenylidene derivatives, L′ = CCCPh2 (6), depending on the nature of R (R = CPh2OH for synthesis of 6). Trimethylsilylacetylene gives the parent vinylidene species, L′ = CCH2 (7a), which is transformed to the Fischer-type carbene compound, L′ = C(OMe)Me (8), upon treatment with methanol. The vinylidene species 7 are deprotonated by NaOMe to produce the alkynyl compounds tripodCpL2RuC≡CR (9). Methylation of 9 with F3CSO3CH3 results in the vinylidene derivatives L′ = CC(Me)R (R = tBu, 7d; R = Ph, 7e), having two organic substituents at the terminal carbon centre. For all vinylidene compounds with two different substituents at their terminal carbon atom, hindered rotation of the single-faced vinylidene π-ligand about its Ru–C bond is observed. Analysis by 31P-NMR spectroscopic coalescence measurements as well as line-shape analyses reveals activation enthalpies of around 40 kJmol–1 for this rotation, with small activation entropies of around ±10 Jmol–1K–1. Solid-state structures of nine compounds of the type [tripodCpL2RuL′]+n (n = 0, 1) demonstrate the remarkable conformational rigidity of the tripodCpL2Ru template. They also show that the possible strain imposed by linking the Cp ligand and the two donor groups L in one and the same chelate scaffolding does not appear to impose a serious steric strain on these templates.


Summary Interference with the reticuloendothelial system by injection of India Ink was found to interfere with the ability of the rat, rabbit and dog to clear their plasma after the ingestion of cholesterol dissolved in olive oil. This interference extended not only to cholesterol, but also to total lipid and chylomicra. These findings suggest that the reticuloendothelial system plays an essential role in the disposition of exogenously derived cholesterol. The possible mechanism involved is discussed.


The electron transmission through a system of two orthogonal quantum rings in a magnetic field with one input and two output wires is studied. It is shown that the transmission to only one of the two output leads can be governed by a change in the construction orientation in respect to the field. A model of nonplane quantum graph embedded in three‐dimensional space is used.


In this paper, we introduce α-ψ-contractive mapping in S-metric space and we prove the exis tence of a fixed point for such mapping under some conditions.


In the paddy fields, plants in the outermost row next to the unplanted alley showed a general increase in yield and growth as compared with the center row. This penomenon has been referred to as 'border effect'. Main causes of border effect are considered to be advantageous environmental factors above the ground, such as higher solar energy, air circulation, etc. However, the magnitude of the border effects and the underground factors affecting the magnitude are not fully understood. This experiments addressed the above two questions. 'Sasanishiki', japonica type of rice, Oryza sativa L., was used as materials. The experiments were conducted at the Faculty experimental paddy field in the years 1979-1981. The plots included differences in levels of unplanted distances (0, 15, 30 and 47.5 cm), nitrogen fertilized (10 kg/10a) and unfertilized, and differences in levels of plant density (11.1, 22.2, 44.4, 88.9 and 177.8 hills per square meter). Results are summarized as follows: 1. The border plants in every treatment showed higher percentages of fertil tillers, shorter culms with the shortened internodes at lower positions, and greater rate of NAR, RGR and carbohydrate accumulation during early grain ripening stage. 2. The yield increase in plants in the outermost row was greater in plots with nitrogen supply in the alley and in plots with wider unplanted distances. The lowest yield response of border plants was observed in plots of narrow planting distances. This can be interpreted as due to availability of nitrogen from the space not occupied by other plants. 3. Among different densities of plant population, the magnitude of yield response in the border plants was the greatest in the highest density plots and least in the lowest density plots )249% and 45%, respectively, in the experiments of 1981). In conclusion, the underground conditions, particulary those affecting the nutritional supply have important contribution to the magnitude of yield increase in the outer-most plants. These underground factors must be taken into account along with aerial conditions in interpreting the phenomena of border effect.


A waveguide-coupled inverted nested ring resonator structure is proposed and theoretically investigated. The effects of the parameters of such a structure on its transmission properties are demonstrated. Results show that both Fano resonance and coupled-resonator-induced transparency (CRIT) spectra can be produced within this structure, depending on the length ratio of the feedback waveguide and ring. In addition, the slope of the Fano resonance can be tuned and reversed by varying coupling coefficients and effective refractive index. Besides, CRIT-based tunable group delay can be obtained with high transmittance. Therefore, this structure has potential applications in optical sensors and optical communication.


Digital Education, in particular open online courses, plays an important role in providing free education to people who wants to learn. The University of Turin, with the financial support of the bank foundation Compagnia di San Paolo, has developed the project "start@unito": a selection of university modules in a broad range of topics, administered through open online courses freely available. These courses could be also used to facilitate the transition between secondary and tertiary education and to enhance the success in Higher Education. In this paper we discuss the project, focusing on the adaptive solutions adopted in the preparation of the online resources and describing some results after the first nine months of courses availability.


Background: Fabry disease (FD) is a rare hereditary multisystem disease caused by variants of the GLA gene. Determination of GLA gene variants and identification of genotype–phenotype correlations allow us to explain the features of FD associated with predominant damage of one or another system, both in the classical and atypical forms of FD, as well as in cases with late manifestation and involvement of one of the systems. Methods: The study included 293 Russian patients with pathogenic variants of the GLA gene, which were identified as a result of various selective screening programs. Screening was carried out for 48,428 high-risk patients using a two-step diagnostic algorithm, including the determination of the concentration of the biomarker lyso-Gb3 as a first-tier test. Screening of atypical FD among patients with HCM was carried out via high-throughput sequencing in another 2427 patients. Results: 102 (0.20%) cases of FD were identified among unrelated patients as a result of the study of 50,855 patients. Molecular genetic testing allowed us to reveal the spectrum and frequencies of 104 different pathogenic variants of the GLA gene in 293 examined patients from 133 families. The spectrum and frequencies of clinical manifestations in patients with FD, including 20 pediatric patients, were described. Correlations between the concentration of the lyso-Gb3 biomarker and the type of pathogenic variants of the GLA gene have been established. Variants identified in patients with early stroke were described, and the association of certain variants with the development of stroke was established. Conclusions: The results of a large-scale selective FD screening, as well as clinical and molecular genetic features, in a cohort of 293 Russian patients with FD are described.


As RFID technology has been developed rapidly, its technical potential has it be widely used in many industrial fields. Particularly, in the physical distribution industry, the introduction of RFID has enormously contributed to effectively monitoring locations and information of products in real-time. Also, a significant decline in tag prices and RFID related technical competitiveness enabled each tag to be managed much more minutely by attaching it to an item, not a pallet nor a container. However, if a very large volume of tag data are continuously flowed into a RFID middleware with limited hardware resources, its entire data processing time may become considerably longer. Therefore, specific technologies are in great demand to handle and further to reduce the load of the middleware. In this paper, we proposed a mobile agent-based software module to efficiently reduce the load of the middleware by pre-processing a lot of tag data while items are in transit. Simulation results show that using the proposed software module considerably enhances the speed of processing tag data than otherwise. This behavior increases the tag recognition rate in a certain time limit and improves reliability of RFID middlewares.


This pilot study compared crying patterns of two groups of 4-week-old babies and their mother's zinc levels. Mothers were allocated to a zinc-supplemented group (one 25 mgm tablet daily) or non-zinc supplemented group. They were requested to chart their babies crying patterns at the beginning of their babies 4 a' week of birth. Twenty-nine mothers of seventy-five who were recruited for the pilot JPincombe study returned their completed


Background: Gait disorder is a common motor complication after stroke. Studies have revealed that conventional physiotherapy cannot manage this disorder efficiently; therefore, more studies regarding efficient treatment protocols are crucial. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of compelled weight-bearing approach on muscle activation patterns during walking in individuals with stroke. Methods: 24 hemiparetic patients participated in this study. Patients were randomly divided into 2 groups: experimental and control.  The experimental group received increased weight bearing on the paretic leg via a shoe lift in addition to physical therapy for 6 weeks. The control group received only physical therapy. Laboratory assessments included weight-bearing symmetry ratio and electromyographic parameters recored from the medial gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, rectus femoris and biceps femoris. The amplitude and duration of electromyographic activity for each subject was then calculated during the stance and swing phases of their gait cycle. All measurements were compared within and between groups after the termination of treatment. Results: After treatment, weight-bearing symmetry ratio improved significantly in the experimental group. Additionally, the electromyographic activity of paretic medial gastrocnemius increased significantly during the stance phase while activity duration of paretic rectus femoris decreased significantly in swing phase. In the control group, the weight-bearing symmetry ratio didn't change significantly. Only activity duration of non-paretic rectus femoris decreased significantly in swing phase. Conclusions: The results show that compelled weight bearing on the paretic side improve amplitude and the timing for activity of some muscles in the lower limbs during walking.


1 ISAE-SUPAERO, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France, 2 School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States, Computational Neuroergonomics Laboratory, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States, Drexel Solutions Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States, Department of Family and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia,