A loot box is a purchasable in-game digital container holding randomized virtual rewards. In recent years, loot boxes have become increasingly common in video games. A large number of major video game titles now incorporate loot boxes, and loot box sales now eclipse traditional game sales as the primary source of revenue for much of the video game industry. Given that more than half of teenagers play video games for several hours each day, the growth of loot boxes has sparked a contentious debate over whether loot boxes constitute a form of unregulated gambling targeted at children. This Note contributes to this debate by evaluating loot boxes from the gambling perspective. Although many loot boxes may fail to satisfy the traditional common-law definition of gambling, the parallels between loot boxes and gambling-especially in light of the prevalence of loot boxes in children's video games-create an urgent need for regulatory action. Moreover, this Note argues that the Entertainment Safety Ratings Board (ESRB) should regulate loot boxes by enacting new rules requiring mandatory disclosure and labeling for video games containing loot boxes. Alternatively, if the ESRB fails to remedy the existing regulatory gap, the Federal Trade Commission should enact loot box regulation. Mandatory disclosure and labeling would enable players and parents to make informed choices regarding loot boxes.


This article intends to study the concepts of state, leader, authority and obedience through the eye of Necip Fazil as an Islamist. It intends to reveal the place of Necip Fazil, who has a great influence on the Turkish right wing's gaining its present identity, in Turkish Islamist Thinking by explaining the concept of authoritarianism from his perspective. Starting from the writings of Necip Fazil, who is one of the most important thinkers of the Turkish Islamism, on the concepts of state, leader, authority and obedience, we intend to understand better the journey which the conservative Islamist thinking has followed from the day when it rose to the present throughout the history of Turkey. Starting from the magnitude of the influence of Necip Fazil, who has guided a great number of statesmen through his thoughts in the Turkish political history, on the Turkish-Islamist thinking, we intend to show the place of the concepts of state, leader, authority and obedience in the traditional Turkish Islamist-Conservative thinking.


Kenji Shibuya and coauthors discuss the potential contribution of East Asian countries to global health in the light of COVID-19.


Sites of Education: Race, Memory, and the Conflicting Discourses of Learning in America, 1827-1914 Douglas Terry This dissertation is a cultural study that challenges the handling of race in the history of American education by exploring how educational discourse shapes race. It argues that education itself is a manifestation of race, inseparable from the iterative processes of racial formation. While we take it as a prevailing truism that race is learned, this dissertation shows how the educational system itself is central to this learning. It explores race in the educational landscape in a similar way to how scholars explore tension between history and cultural memory. In this manner, the dissertation focuses on what it terms "sites of education," the culturally designed points within schools and outside them where racial identity is negotiated at junctures where differing ideas about education converge. As participants are attracted to educational sites, the structures, texts, and social roles that reproduce race are likewise caught in their vortex. Educational sites could be physical places, like schools and classrooms, or they could be cultural sites such as the common school and industrial education movements. Their dynamics demonstrate not only how racial ideology underlies American education in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries but also how it recurs, manifesting across geographically and temporally distant sites outside schools, as well as within them. This project examines the overlapping discourses of race, education, and American nationhood across interrelated educational sites spanning the nineteenth century and early-twentieth century through the texts that they produce.


Single drop technique is a good method for studying mass transfer in solvent extraction because of its accurate results and simple equipment.The mass transfer coefficient of forward extraction of boric acid from salt lake brine by 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol in toluene was investigated.The result shows that the mass transfer coefficient increases with the increasing of temperature and initial concentrations of 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol in the organic phase and boric acid in aqueous phase.The model of mass transfer coefficient was established with two-film theory model by considering the modified correlation of mass transfer coefficient.The average relative error of calculated and experimental value of the model was 7.59%,which showed that the results were in good agreement with experimental values.The model can be used to design and scale boric acid extraction process by 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol-toluene.


In recent years, the research on intelligent environment based on pervasive/ubiquitous computing technology has attracted more and more attention, especially in security such as KidsRoom by MIT AI Lab. Considering practical applications of pervasive computing technology, it is necessary to present a pervasive computing system model in the view of engineering. In this paper, we illustrated an intelligent surveillant security system based on a HPC model. This system can detect moving person, recognize his behavior, and send out alerting messages such as SMS when intruder or strange behavior is detected. We design this system based on pervasive computing and propose the implementation methods step by step


This study presents a novel model for assignment of internal auditors to branches of businesses. Previous studies have concerned with minimizing the cost but in this model, aim is maximizing auditor's utility. For this purpose an integer programming model introduced. The objective is maximizing the auditors' total utility. Each branch has different impact values for auditors, which indicate auditors' utility level in terms of location, size and type of branches. Also to keep the balance of auditor's working days and total gained impact values particular constraints are defined for the integer programming model. This implementation has 3 particular steps; first is quantification of the branches' effects on the auditors. AHP method is used to define branches' impact values. The second is simulating the durations of auditing process. To minimize the effect of abnormal situations, durations are simulated. Last step is to reach the rotation of auditors, total working days and the total utility of the auditor; the integer programming model is solved by Python-Gurobi Optimizer.


The invention relates to a method for performing a license (licensed) serving cell and the license-exempt (unlicensed) carrier aggregation (carrier aggregation) (License Assisted Access) LAA in a wireless communication system that supports between the serving cell for the band of the band-based communication. The wireless communication system can improve the transmission efficiency as well as to perform data transmission and reception through a licensed band, it is possible to perform data transmission through the unlicensed band.


''I am struck by how much has changed—and also by how much has stayed the same,'' writes Gaye Tuchman in her preface to Media Disparity: A Gender Battleground. This one phrase nicely sets up what follows, a compilation of 15 chapters examining gender in the contemporary media environment. The preface by Tuchman, coeditor of the 1978 Hearth and Home: Images of Women in the Mass Media, is not just a nice touch. It contextualizes the chapters ahead while challenging gender scholars to truly consider ''contrast and continuity.'' Media Disparity, edited by Cory L. Armstrong, engages both traditional media and newer platforms, as well as a handful of cross-cultural contexts. Chapters employ either data-based analyses—both quantitative and qualitative—or reviews of the relevant literature, with authors ranging from established scholars to younger, newer voices in the gender literature. The 40-page bibliography is a fabulous resource in and of itself, and one that any doctoral student studying gender and media should have on her or his bookshelf. Part 1 of the book is titled ''Traditional Media and Issues.'' Five chapters explore women in news, sexual scripts in music videos, women in health news, coverage of women Senate candidates, and women in sports coverage. In the introduction to this section, Cory Armstrong sets the stage: ''Starting from the idea that roughly thirty-five years ago, women were considered to be symbolically annihilated in mass media, where do we stand now?'' Tracy Everbach's overview chapter explores such topics as women as news Mass Communication and Society, 18:230–232, 2015 Copyright # Mass Communication & Society Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication ISSN: 1520-5436 print=1532-7825 online DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2014.913638


The effects of EM manure on the development and some physiological-biochemical indexes of Cymbidium goeringii were studied in this paper. The Cymbidium goeringii plants were fertilized with different concentration of EM microorganism diluent. The results show that EM treatment improved the growth of leaves and significantly increased the contents of protein, chlorophyll and soluble sugar in leaves. Compared with the control treatment, the treatment of 400-times EM bacteria dilution showed the best effects on the physiological ndex, i.e. the the contents of chlorophyll, lutein, protein and soluble sugar in leaves were increased by 31.04%, 27.23%, 0.628% and 0.146%, respectively. The EM bacteria might promote the growth of Cymbidium goeringii via improving the microbial environment of soil. This study might provide basic references for further studies on the application of EM manure in Cymbidium plant breeding.


Analysis of photographic and new U, B, V photoelectric observations of V426 Oph discloses flares reaching 1/sup m/.5 amplitudes. The U-B color index is largest on the rising branch of the flare light curve; B-V is smallest at maximum light. Rapid variability (time scales of minutes) of up to 0/sup m/.20 amplitudes is present; there may be several concurrent cycles.


[Objective] The study aimed to explore the relationship among lotus varieties,classification of lotus resources and its genetic diversity.[Method] 9 numerical characters and 11 quality characters of 23 bowl lotus cultivars were investigated and their results were made for the clustering analysis by statistic software of DPS.[Result] The results indicated that in bowl lotus classification,the factors such as petal number,flower color,body size and relationship occupied the important status,which basically accorded with the results obtained by the traditional categorized method.[Conclusion] The method could be used in the origin of cultivated plant fully.


The construction of this invention is intended to produce a machine that automatically feed fish using PIC 16F877A, Microcontroller. It is a main controller which is placed at the pond area. The objective is to solve problems that occur as factors fish feeding that are not systematically, reduce the surplus of fish food in the pond and create a tool that is more systematic and more practical.Development of this project involves electronic, electrical and mechanical. To control the setting time, electronic devices such as timers and the microcontroller is used. This device allows the feeding to be more systematic base on time
that has been set. Surplus food can also be reduced with the use of electronic devices where the food is given in the pond based on the time setting. By interface with the new technology such as GSM more give this project look unique. Several other methods have been used as reference such as previous studies and also the fish food feeder machines in the market and that have been produced by certain individuals. The results of testing conducted this project has been functioning well and has achieved the objectives of the construction of this invention. With the development of this invention indirectly can become an innovation to the construction of landscape in the future.


This study is part of a wider research project into non-exclusive sexuality categories and identities of women. This project furthers our understanding of cisgender women who identify as 'mostly straight' or 'mostly lesbian' by exploring the pornography, literary and film preferences of 32 participants. A thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed that media preferences did not map onto sexual identity categories i.e. 'mostly straight' women enjoyed gay male porn. Thematic analysis indicated that sociocultural factors interact with or supersede sexuality and sexual identity in influencing media preferences. Themes emerging included the impact of feminism, the intersection of sexuality and faith, the overt politicisation of LGBT+ media, heteronormative socialisation, and the preferences of straight male partners.


A set of procedures to generate scat singing by manipulating a small set of seed voices using a speech manipulation system called STRAIGHT [Kawahara et al., Speech Commun. 27, 187–207 (1999)] is proposed. F0 adaptive spectral smoothing based on a second‐order cardinal spline combined with an F0 extractor based on a fixed‐point analysis from filter center frequencies to the output instantaneous frequency enables the STRAIGHT system to generate a highly natural manipulated singing sound. Group delay manipulation for generating the excitation source signal introduces new control flexibility in source characteristics. F0 trajectories are generated using a dynamical model based on F0 feed‐forward control regulated by auditorily mediated feedback [Kawahara et al., Vocal Fold Physiology, edited by H. Fletcher and P. Davis, pp. 263–278 (1996)]. Effects of the spectral interpolation function and interactions between F0 and the spectral envelope are also discussed and demonstrations of a scat chorus are presented. ...


An assembly (10) A wheel-arch liner (12) to a body panel (14) of a vehicle. An outer face (22b) of an edge (22) of the screen (12) bears against an inner face (18a) of an edge (18) of the panel (14). These edges (18, 22) juxtaposed are joined by at least one fastening device (26) comprising: - a first fastening element (28) passing through at least the edge (22) screen (12), - at least one second fastening element (30) cooperating with the first fastening element in order to maintain the support edges. A trim member (16) integral with the panel (14) has a free edge (32) on which a tongue (34) mounted movably between an open position and a folded position, is maintained in the lowered position bearing against the inner face (22a) of the edge (22) by a fastening device (26).


The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between dieting practices and the development of eating disorder symptomology in dieting female college students. A self-report questionnaire on dieting practices was administered at the beginning and end of the academic year to 179 dieting women (Age: 21 ± 3 years (mean ± SD); Wt: 62.5 ±11.7 kg; Ht: 165.3 ± 7.1 cm; BMI: 22.8 ± 3.5 kg/m). A Food Frequency Questionnaire was administered at baseline. Data were obtained on the duration of dieting, methods used to lose weight, the macronutrient intake, restrictiveness of the diet, and the rate of weight lost/week dieting. Eating disorder symptomology was measured by the Health Information Questionnaire (HIQ) and was assessed based on DSM-IV criteria for eating disorders. Responses to the HIQ yielded an overall Symptom Intensity Score (SIS). Subjects with probable eating disorders at baseline were excluded from the analyses. Correlations were observed between the SIS and age at first diet (baseline: r = -.31, p<.01; 6 months: r = -.20, p<.01) and baseline long-term dieting (r = .16, p<.05). Of the dieting methods, correlations between the SIS and Food Avoidance (baseline: r= .51, p<.001; 6 months: r=.49, p<.001), Fat & Calorie Counting (baseline: r= .31, p<.001; 6 months: r=.30, p<.001), Use of Diet Aids (baseline: r= .27, p<.001; 6 months: r=.22, p<.01), and Number of Dieting Methods (baseline: r= .60, p<.001; 6 months: r=.49, p<.001) were also observed. A correlation between carbohydrate intake and Change in SIS was observed (r=-.16, p<.05). Restrictiveness of the diet did not correlate with SIS. However, rate of weight loss correlated with the SIS (baseline: r= .314, p<.01; 6 months: r=.332, p<.01). None of the dieting variables had a significant influence on the prediction of SIS; only 1-5% of the variance in the SIS was explained by the variables examined in this study. These results suggest that specific dieting practices may not predict disordered eating but may be associated with some disturbed eating practices. Further consideration of the frequency of dieting, rate of weight loss and the methods used to lose weight may be warranted as these dieting practices may perpetuate dieting and disturbed eating behaviours.


The recent development of the chemical Th-U-Pb method for in situ dating of monazite using an electron microprobe (EMP) has made it possible to determine multiple thermal events during orogenesis (e.g. Montel et al., 1996, Cocherie et al., 1998, Williams et al., 1999). The aim of this study is to constrain a metamorphic history using EMP dating of monazite on example of the Tatra Mts. We compare our results with those obtained from single-grain, cathodoluminescence-controlled, U-Pb dating of zircons (Poller et al., 2000, Poller and Todt, 2000).


In this paper, general aspects of the Alfven and fast wave nonresonant and resonant current‐drive problem are considered both for collisional and weakly collisional plasmas. The magnetohydrodynamic approach is used for all collisional regimes and Landau damping is taken into account in the weakly collisional plasma case. Averaged in time and over magnetic surface, the general form of current‐drive forces are derived, including the viscosity and collision frequency perturbation terms. As an example, a weakly collisional plasma cylinder case is discussed and some disagreements on this problem between different authors results are eliminated.


We analyzed 12 years of continuous seismic data acquired by two seismic stations in Central Apennines (Italy) with the aim to investigate the temporal variations of H/V spectral ratios. The two stations are located in the epicentral areas of the main strong motion earthquakes occurred in Central Italy in the last 12 years (L'Aquila 06 April 2009, Mw 6.1; Amatrice 24 August 2016, Mw 6.0; Visso 26 October 2016, Mw 5.9, and Norcia 30 October 2016, Mw 6.5). H/V ratios are computed both on continuous and earthquakes data recorded by the two stations. H/V ratios are subjected to abrupt changes after strong earthquakes. The results highlight that after strong shaking, there are remarkable drops of the peak frequencies (7%–10% of reduction). After this sudden decrease, the peak frequency slowly recovers to the initial value in a time ranging from a few months to a few years. We also observe a moderate frequency variation (of order of 2%–3%) linked to seasonal variations: the peak frequencies increase in the spring‐summer months and decrease during the winter. The frequency changes after strong earthquakes have been interpreted in terms of velocity variations of the shallow layers. This effect must be taken into account for microzonation, geophysical, and engineering studies that are often carried out in the epicentral areas after strong earthquakes. H/V analysis over time proved to be a useful procedure for highlighting temporal changes relating to the properties of shallow layers of the propagation medium and could provide relevant information for the site characterization of permanent seismic stations.


The shape of a stress test specimen was so chosen that a uniform two-dimensional tensile stress field could be produced in it. The ratio of the two principal stresses of the field can be varied arbitrarily between 0 and 1, i.e. any desired tensile stress state is obtainable. The accuracy of the stress produced in the specimen was checked by means of photoelastic models.


A phone book group management method in a portable terminal is provided to conduct group creation and group registration for a subscriber at the same time by sequentially inputting a subscriber name and a group name in an identical field. Accessing a phone book data registration mode according to a user's phone book data registration request, a control part displays a phone book data registration screen through a display part(S113-S117). If the user inputs a subscriber name and a group name in a subscriber name field sequentially(S119), the control part analyzes the inputted subscriber name and group name(S123). Then the control part confirms whether a previously registered group name identical to the analyzed group name exists(S127). If so, the control part registers the analyzed subscriber name as a member of the group of the previously registered group name(S129). Then the control part stores phone book data, which contains registered information for the group, in the phone book(S135).


Objective The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of the prognosis of stress hyperglycemia in the patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI).Methods 520 non-diabetic patients with AMI were divided into three groups according to the blood sugar(BS):group A with normal or slight elevated BS(7.2mmol/L),group B medium elevated BS(7.2~11.1mmol/L),group C significant elevated BS(11.1mmol/L).The patients in the three groups underwent 24-hour electrocardio-monitor and obtained cardiograph QRS integral by Wanger calculation in order to know the infraction scopes.The infarction scopes,the incidences rates of the main complications and the case-fatality rates of the patients were compared.Results The infarction scopes antarge,the incidence rate of the main complications increased and the caes-fatality rate rised and the prognosis was poorer in the patients with higher stress hyperglycemia.Conclusion The change of stress hyperglycemia is one kind of the more senitive,simpler and macroscopic index in investigaling of the development of illness state and the prognosis of AMI.


Solution methods for certain linear and nonlinear evolution equations are presented in this dissertation. Emphasis is placed mainly on the analytical treatment of nonautonomous differential equations, which are challenging to solve despite the existent numerical and symbolic computational software programs available. Ideas from the transformation theory are adopted allowing one to solve the problems under consideration from a non-traditional perspective. First, the Cauchy initial value problem is considered for a class of nonautonomous and inhomogeneous linear diffusion-type equation on the entire real line. Explicit transformations are used to reduce the equations under study to their corresponding standard forms emphasizing on natural relations with certain Riccati(and/or Ermakov)-type systems. These relations give solvability results for the Cauchy problem of the parabolic equation considered. The superposition principle allows to solve formally this problem from an unconventional point of view. An eigenfunction expansion approach is also considered for this general evolution equation. Examples considered to corroborate the efficacy of the proposed solution methods include the Fokker-Planck equation, the Black-Scholes model and the one-factor Gaussian Hull-White model. The results obtained in the first part are used to solve the Cauchy initial value problem for certain inhomogeneous Burgers-type equation. The connection between linear (the Diffusion-type) and nonlinear (Burgers-type) parabolic equations is stress in order to establish a strong commutative relation. Traveling wave solutions of a nonautonomous Burgers equation are also investigated. Finally, it is constructed explicitly the minimum-uncertainty squeezed states for quantum harmonic oscillators. They are derived by the action of corresponding maximal kinematical invariance group on the standard ground state solution. It is shown that the product of the variances attains the required minimum value only at the instances that one variance is a minimum and the other is a maximum, when the squeezing of one of the variances occurs. Such explicit construction is possible due to the relation between the diffusion-type equation studied in the first part and the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. A modication of the radiation field operators for squeezed photons in a perfect cavity is also suggested with the help of a nonstandard solution of Heisenberg's equation of motion.


Reverberation is one of the most important effects used in audio production. Although nowadays numerous real-time implementations of artificial reverberation algorithms are available, many of them depend on a database of recorded or pre-synthesized room impulse responses, which are convolved with the input signal. Implementations that use an algorithmic approach are more flexible but do not let the users have full control over the produced sound, allowing only a few selected parameters to be altered. The realtime implementation of an artificial reverberation synthesizer presented in this study introduces an audio plugin based on a feedback delay network (FDN), which lets the user have full and detailed insight into the produced reverb. It allows for control of reverberation time in ten octave bands, simultaneously allowing adjusting the feedback matrix type and delay-line lengths. The proposed plugin explores various FDN setups, showing that the lowest useful order for high-quality sound is 16, and that in the case of a Householder matrix the implementation strongly affects the resulting reverberation. Experimenting with delay lengths and distribution demonstrates that choosing too wide or too narrow a length range is disadvantageous to the synthesized sound quality. The study also discusses CPU usage for different FDN orders and plugin states.


Barry Percy-Smith and Nigel Thomas draw from an impressive group of leading thinkers and practitioners around the world in this edited volume that explores the participation of children and young people in policies and decisions that affect their lives. The Handbook focuses on theory and practice, presenting diverse perspectives on the most important concepts and controversies in the field. The term children as used in this book (and hence this review) encompasses an age range from birth through the late teens and is used interchangeably with young people and youth unless otherwise specified. The 31 chapters are organized into three parts with the second segment further divided into sections and subsections. Part I sets the context by providing an overview consistent with its title "Children's Participation: Progress and Challenges." In the first chapter, Gerison Lansdown summarizes developments since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989. She explores the lack of clarity regarding the concept of participation and the need to hold governments accountable to the UNCRC, plus a range of other challenges, including the common presumption that young people are incapable, the fact that children are a marginalized group vis-á-vis the power of adults, problems associated with young activists aging out in a relatively short period of time, difficulties providing appropriate protection when youth challenge traditional power holders, the lack of adequate measures of participation, and barriers to sustaining consistent community-based participation. Karen Malone and Catherine Hartung present a number of theoretical and conceptual frameworks from different disciplines in Chapter 2, making the argument that there has been "an overemphasis on 'how we did it stories"' (p. 24) and insufficient attention paid to a deeper critique of the participatory models employed and their implications. The initial part of the Handbook closes with a chapter by White and Choudhury that draws from case material featuring a children's organization in Bangladesh. The authors raise questions about the impact of structure and culture on the agency of children, resources available for organizing and self-advocacy, children's participation


Convenience foods are the now a big trend in the food business. The Indian ready to eat (RTE), ready to cook (RTC) and ready to serve (RTS) food segments have emerged from its early days of being a fringe alternative to home cooked meals or eating out. The underutilised little millet like other nutricereals is nutritionally superior to regularly consumed cereals. Malting of little millet enhances the digestibility, reduces the antinutritional components and can provide appropriate food-based strategy to derive nutrients maximally. Hence, a ready to reconstitute (RTR) smoothie mix was developed with a malted little millet that promotes the incorporation of nourishing drinks in daily diet. The suitability of mix to blend with fruit pulps viz. banana, papaya and pineapple in 1:1 and 1:2 ratio was assessed for its sensory parameters. The results revealed that the best scores for sensory attributes were for 1:1 blend except for appearance. Further, the overall acceptability scores of banana, papaya and pineapple smoothies on a hedonic scale of 9.0 were 8.37±0.09, 8.17±0.07 and 8.27±0.08 respectively indicating that the evaluated pulpy fruits were suitable for preparation of RTR smoothies. Original Research Article Neeharika et al.; IRJPAC, 21(11): 1-6, 2020; Article no.IRJPAC.56302 2


In order to study the validity of general focal length function in designing diffractive microlenses with long focal depth, diffractive microlenses with different f-numbers are designed using general focal length function and their focusing characteristics, such as real focal depth, real focal spot size, and diffractive efficiency, are investigated using electromagnetic theory and boundary element method. Investigation results indicate that general focal length function can be used to achieve long focal depth in designing diffractive microlenses, even twice over than those of conventional diffractive microlenses with similar parameters.


A three-dimensional mapping method of human faces in a computer virtual world comprises the following steps: Step 1, providing a human face photo, conducting human face feature recognition by using the computer vision technology, and acquiring human face feature data; Step 2, selecting the most matching three-dimensional human face model picture of the human face feature data in a prefabricated three-dimensional human face model picture, or generating a three-dimensional human face model picture according to the human feature data; and Step 3, combining the human face photo and the thee-dimensional human face model picture. A front three-dimensional virtual human face is rapidly and accurately generated according to the human face photo, and the human face picture is perfectly matched with the three-dimensional model. Even if a user who has no three-dimensional knowledge can create a three-dimensional role of the user himself in a short time. The method can be widely applicable to personal images or virtual characters in the virtual world, such as network interaction, web2.0, a virtual platform, communities, etc.


Abstract The use of multilateral indexes is increasingly an accepted approach for incorporating scanner data in a consumer price index. The attractiveness stems from the ability to be able to control for chain drift bias. Consensus on two key issues has yet to be achieved: (i) the best multilateral method to use, and (ii) the best way of extending the resulting series when new observations become available. We present theoretical and simulation evidence on the extent of substitution biases in alternative methods. Our results suggest the use of the Caves–Christensen–Diewert–Inklaar index with a new method, the "mean splice," for updating.


This paper studies the effect of time and temperature of polymerisation on morphology and conductivity of polyaniline which is produced by oxidative polymerisation. It has been reported that with decrease in temperature and increase in polymerisation duration, the yield and particle size increases. The polyaniline particles are rod-like at the onset of polymerisation and also at low polymerisation temperature. The conductivity has been determined by four-point measurement with incorporation of correction factor. It was found that the electrical conductivity varies from below 0.5 S/cm to over 11 S/cm with variation in duration and temperature of polymerization. Conductivity is proposed to be dependent on the particle size as conductivity increases with decrease in polymerisation temperature and increase in polymerisation duration, similar to the trend observed for particle size. This may be indicative of equal probability of inter- chain and intra-chain charge transport.


Remote meetings have become more prevalent due to the COVID-19 pandemic and technology that facilitates remote work. There is limited research on the effect of remote meetings on group performance and the goal of this study is to identify how distractions affect the individual and group creativity in remote work meetings. A virtual study was conducted where groups of four people participated in divergent and convergent thinking tasks. One group member was assigned an additional non-meeting task while another was assigned as a scribe. Measures of creative performance (e.g., uniqueness of idea) of the distracted members and the group were analyzed. The results show that the distractee contributed (on average) less time and ideas when compared to monotaskers and those assigned as a scribe. The study highlights ways that remote meetings can facilitate creativity.


: This study examined the relative effectiveness of Video Media Instruction (VMI) and Conventional Laboratory Technique (CLT) on the teaching of Volumetric Analysis an aspect of practical Chemistry. A pre-test, post-test control group design was used for the study. A sample of ninety students was randomly selected out of one thousand two hundred SSS II Chemistry students in Osun State and divided into three groups. The 1 st group was taught with Video Media Instruction (VMI), the 2 nd group was taught with the Conventional Laboratory Technique (CLT), while the 3 rd group combined the two methods. A pre-test was administered before treatment and after six weeks of instruction, a post-test was similarly administered. The data obtained were analyzed using t-test and F-statistic. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the performance of students taught with CLT and those taught and those taught with VMI. Also a significant difference existed in the mean achievement scores of students that were exposed to VMI coupled with CLT and those exposed to CLT alone. There was also a significant difference in the performance of students when CLT, VMI and VMI/CLT groups were compared. It was therefore concluded that VMI/CLT was more effective in teaching Volumetric Analysis and that augmenting CLT with VMI allow students learn better.


Abstract In this work, we have described the biogenic synthesized gold nanoparticles being supported over Kaolin mediated by Pomegranate peel extract as natural reducing and stabilizing agent under mild conditions without any toxic reagents. Pomegranate peel extract was used as a green reducing agent and an excellent stabilizer of the synthesized Au NPs. Physicochemical characterization of the as-synthesized Kaolin@extract/Au NPs nanocomposite was carried out through electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), elemental mapping, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). In the cellular and molecular part of the recent study, the treated cells with Au NPs-Kaolin nanocomposite were assessed by MTT assay for 48 h about the cytotoxicity and anti-human oral squamous cell carcinoma properties on normal (HUVEC) and oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines i.e. HSC-2, HSC-3, HSC-4 and Ca9-22. It has been observed that the Au NPs with spherical shape and size were dispersed homogeneously on the modified-Kaolin surface. The significance of this study is the novel initiative to combine the gold nanoparticle with inexpensive Kaolin clay and utilization of them as anticancer agent. The IC50 of Kaolin@extract/Au nanocomposite were 277, 367, 250 and 545 µg/mL against HSC-2, HSC-3, HSC-4 and Ca9–22 cell lines, respectively. The viability of malignant human oral cell lines reduced dose-dependently in the presence of Kaolin@extract/Au NPs nanocomposite.


THE following experiments were undertaken with the view of throwing some light on the conditions which determine the comnposition of intestinal gases. Observations have been made on the composition of the gas naturally present in the intestine, on the gaseous exchange of excised gut, and on the changes which occur in gaseous mixtures experimentally introduced into the bowels. So far as the experimental part is concerned, they are to be taken as applying only to the small intestine of the rabbit. Methods. In young and medium-sized rabbits a laparotomy was performed under ether; a suitable length of small intestine was thoroughly washed out with warmn saline; air or a gaseous mixture was then introduced into the cleansed section, which was then divided by further ligatures into the desired number of short segments (25-50 cm. long); the abdomen was then sewn up, and the animal kept under light anaesthesia; segments of intestine were from time to time removed, and the gases examined. The measurement of the gases introduced was effected either with a burette or by a gas-tight syringe. It was not found possible to take into account the pressures at which the gas was introduced and at which it afterwards reinained owing to the constant variations which occurred owing to intestinal contractions. The intestine was commonly filled at a pressure of about 10 mm. Hg.; this however rapidly fell owing to the bowel accommodating itself to the stretching, and further changes subsequently took place both frotm alterations in the volume of gas and from muscular contraction. For the most part it may be roughly taken that the pressure of gas within the gut was about 5 mm. Hg. No


A flow‐through experiment was performed to investigate evolution of a fractured carbonate caprock during flow of CO 2 ‐acidified brine. A core was taken from the Amherstburg limestone, a caprock formation overlying the Bois Blanc and Bass Islands formations, which have been used to demonstrate CO 2 storage in the Michigan basin. The inlet brine was representative of deep saline brines saturated with CO 2 , resulting in a starting pH of 4.4. Experimental conditions were 27 °C and 10 MPa. X‐ray computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy were used to observe evolution of fracture geometry and to investigate mineralogical changes along the fracture surface. The initial brine flow corresponded to an average fluid velocity of 110 cm hr-super-−1. After one week, substantial mineral dissolution caused the average cross‐sectional area of the fracture to increase from 0.09 cm-super-2 to 0.24 cm-super-2. This demonstrates that carbonate caprocks, if fractured, can erode quickly and may jeopardize sealing integrity when hydrodynamic conditions promote flow of CO 2 ‐acidified brine. However, changes to fracture permeability due to mineral dissolution may be offset by unaltered constrictions along the flow path and by increases in surface roughness. In this experiment, preferential dissolution of calcite over dolomite led to uneven erosion of the fracture surface and an increase in roughness. In areas with clay minerals, calcite dissolution left behind a silicate mineral‐rich microporous coating along the fracture wall. Thus, the evolution of fracture permeability will depend in a complex way on the carbonate content, as well as the heterogeneity of the minerals and their spatial patterning. © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd


Congestion control algorithms of existing reliable multicast protocols are mainly derived from end-to-end model, which has high resource requirements and sometimes suppresses the package sending too much. Many-to-many reliable multicast requires efficient congestion control over a one-to-many model. It's an important mechanism to use many-to-many multicast in LAN (Local Area Network) in distributed simulation. In this paper, a congestion control algorithm based on loss trend for many-to-many reliable multicast is proposed. It predicts future package loss of receivers on the analysis of historic loss and buffer variety, and then control the congestion by adjusting the sending rate in advance. This algorithm aims at the reliable multicast in LAN. The main idea of the algorithm is to lower the possibility of multicast package loss, and then the nodes can afford the cost of package recovery. It alleviates the congestion on the depression of package loss possibility by regulating the sending rate. Experiment results indicate that the algorithm can keep a high throughput of many-to-many reliable multicast with relatively real-time performance.


The article reexamines the subject of Keynesian doctrines as treated by German writers. In reviewing the discussions that have taken place, the author subjects the anti-Keynesian positions taken by some of the leading German economists, more especially Weber, Roepke and Hahn, to close criticism. The article thus offers an exhaustive picture of the present state of such discussions in Germany and in the German literature. Moreover, the author provides a synthesis of the nature and importance of the contribution to economic theory made by Keynes.


The sheet resistivity of oxygen‐implanted n+‐Al0.48In0.52As grown on InP was measured as a function of oxygen ion dose and post‐implant annealing temperature. The sheet resistivity is >105 Ω/⧠ after implantation for doses in the range 1012–8×1013 cm−2, and increases to >107 Ω/⧠ after annealing at 500 °C. Temperature‐dependent Hall measurements show that the resistivity of this compensated AlInAs has a thermal activation energy of 0.68 eV. Above 600 °C the damage‐related compensation is removed and the material is returned to its original resistivity. We find no thermally stable, oxygen‐related deep acceptors in AlInAs, in contrast to the results for AlGaAs.


An abundance of absorption and emission lines of iron-peak species such as Fe I and Fe II can be seen in the spectra of many astrophysical objects. Thus, the accurate modelling of such spectra requires sets of high quality atomic data for these species. In this paper, we present preliminary results from the present electron-impact excitation calculations for Fe II and fine-structure resolved photoionisation calculations for Fe I employing the Dirac atomic R-matrix and Breit–Pauli R-matrix methods. For the Fe II excitation, we compare results with all existing calculations, and for the Fe I photoionisation, we present a sample of level-resolved cross-sections. The calculations and results described throughout will be of use to those requiring high quality atomic data for modelling a wide variety of astrophysical objects.


complete of restoring of the legal status of sociosubjects. The composition of sociosubjects and the essence of each each of the basic categories of the legal status of sociosubjects is determined. The variants of realization of the competitive legal status of various sociosubjects are indicated. The essence of the basic constitutional duty of the state is defined. The editors of the first stage of the absolute and the second stage of the relative inadmissibility of the deterioration of the legal status of sociocultural entities and a number of other related provisions are proposed.


The subjects of this paper are two closely connected phenomena: (1) The polarization of the electronic spin S of optically excited triplet states in molecular crystals, termed OEP. (2) The polarization of nuclear spin I in molecular crystals due to their interaction with polarized triplet states and triplet excitons, termed ONP. Section II deals with OEP; typical experimental results are presented with the example of naphthalene. The origin of this OEP is discussed; it is caused by symmetry selection rules for the population and depopulation of the three triplet levels. ONP is treated in Section III. Experimental results are given for pure and doped crystals at room temperature as a function of the magnetic field H0 and its orientation with respect to the axes of the crystal. The results obtained in high magnetic field can be interpreted by transfer of OEP to the nuclear spins by hyperfine relaxation transitions analogous to the Overhauser effect. On the other hand, the relaxation interactions cannot be responsible for the large ONP observed in low fields around 100 G; a possible mechanism for explaining these results is based on selective population of nuclear substates.


Gerstmann's syndrome, assigned to a lesion of the dominant parietal lobe, is a neurological disorder characterized by acalculia, agraphia, right-left disorientation and finger agnosia. Some studies report that these symptoms are also shown in other brain lesions. We report two patients who presented with this tetrad of symptoms in initial assessment. Their Brain MRI images both showed lesion of left frontal lobe. Over time, these symptoms became better but some still remained in last assessment. Accordingly, we suggest that a left frontal lesion cause Gerstmann's syndrome. Received: December 1, 2013 Revision received: December 12, 2013 Accepted: December 12, 2013


The author cites 74 cases of this disease, of which 35 were observed by the author himself. In terms of long-term results, all these cases can be divided into 2 groups: 1) cases with a good functional effect-58, or 78.4%, and 2) cases where significant limitation of mobility and persistent claudication remained,-16 (21.6%). In addition, 9 of these 16 patients remained suffering from pain, reducing their ability to work.


Technological advances in the area of distributed databases and network communications have made it possible to process complicated queries which involve retrieving information from multiple computer systems. One of the goals in enhancing query processing in a distributed database system is to increase the overall system performance by minimizing the processing time.
Previous studies in this area have considered several avenues for increasing system performance, including minimizing communication costs and maximizing local processing. None of these studies have developed a query decomposition technique for processing complicated relational queries.
This dissertation describes the design and development of a query decomposition technique for processing multi-site complicated relational queries. The permutability properties of relational operations have been employed to prove that a multi-operational relational query can be decomposed into a set of subqueries such that processing these subqueries independently and composing intermediate results would achieve the results of the original query. A set of semantic rules are defined and proved for determining a set of alternative processing strategies. A cost formula is developed to consider information provided by the semantic rules and location and volume of relations involved to produce a prioritized list of processing strategies in ascending order of their processing cost. The system will attempt to apply the processing strategy on the top of the list. A prototype of this system is implemented on a configuration of two locally interconnected IBM 3090 mainframes.


Formation of 4-methoxycyclohex-2-enyl acetate (3) from the π-allylpalladium complex (2) shows that the acetate has attacked the π-allyl ligand from the same side as the metal (cis-addition).


We introduce a general framework of stochastic online convex optimization to obtain fast-rate stochastic regret bounds. We prove that algorithms such as online newton steps and a scale-free 10 version of Bernstein online aggregation achieve best-known rates in unbounded stochastic settings. We apply our approach to calibrate parametric probabilistic forecasters of non-stationary sub-gaussian time series. Our fast-rate stochastic regret bounds are any-time valid. Our proofs combine self-bounded and Poissonnian inequalities for martingales and sub-gaussian random variables, respectively, under a stochastic exp-concavity assumption.


Transgenic crops are increasingly prevalent worldwide, and evaluating their impact on soil microbial communities is a critical aspect of upholding environmental safety. Our previous research demonstrated that overexpression of ScALDH21 from desiccant-tolerant moss, Syntrichia caninervis, in cotton revealed multi-resistance to drought, salt, and biotic stresses. We conducted metabarcoding using high-throughput sequencing to evaluate the effect of ScALDH21 transgenic cotton on soil microbial communities. We further conducted soil tests to analyze the chemical properties of transgenic and non-transgenic cotton, including the total content and availability of chemical elements (K, P, and N), organic matter, and pH value. Both transgenic and non-transgenic cotton fields exhibited soil pH values higher than 8. The presence of transgenic cotton significantly enhanced the availability of available K and the total content of total P in the soil. Alpha and beta diversity indices of soil microbiota showed no difference between two transgenic and non-transgenic cotton groups. Dominant clades of fungal and bacterial genera were equivalent at the phylum and genus levels in all three groups. The correlation analysis of microbial communities and soil environmental factors revealed the absence of significant differences between transgenic and non-transgenic cotton genotypes. Functional predictions of soil microbial communities indicated that microbial community function did not show significant differences between transgenic and non-transgenic cotton samples. These findings are essential for evaluating the environmental effects of transgenic crops and supporting the secure implementation of transgenic cotton.


It is known that as a result of a nonhomogeneity of petroleum bearing strata, the nature of fluid flow in them varies. In solving the hydrodynamic problem, it becomes necessary to take into account the nonuniformity with respect to permeability from point to point in the stratum. Many papers deal with the determination of the pressure functions in the presence of groups of wells in nonhomogeneous strata. In one reference, this problem is considered for a ribbon-type deposit whose permeability varies according to a power law and which contains N wells. When the change in permeability of the stratum is described by a harmonic function, this problem has been solved (in the cited references), where the value of the permeability on the feed contour does not appear in the formula for the end-face pressure. In this discussion, expressions are derived for the pressure distribution in a circular strata which is nonuniform with respect to permeability, and which contains N wells in one circular group, together with an expression for the movement of liquid particles. (11 refs.)


The majority of present Chinese- English Interpreters are imbalanced bilinguals, and play multitasks rather than simply objective role in the interpretation of press conference. Their identities influence the understanding of interpreting strategies applied in the their professional training, practices and context.In the present study, the typical interpreting strategies used by the interpreter were analyzed through record of QA section in the conference of the 2nd International Consultative Conference on the Future Economic Development of Guangdong Province.


Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) occurs about 75% in women of reproductive age. The impact of anxiety symptoms experienced during PMS is that it can interfere with daily activities both academic, work, family and social problems. The PMS symptom reduction strategy carried out in this study was the Young Women Class with the guidance of a Young Women Class Implementation Module which was created by the researcher containing Stress Management Materials, Personal Hygiene Guidelines and Yoga Exercises for teenagers. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of female adolescent class on reducing anxiety symptoms of premenstrual syndrome in female adolescents in 2021. The research method used a quasiexperimental design with a pretest-pottest with control design. This Young Women class starts after menstruation is over. Therapy is given once a month and observed 4 weeks later. Reassessment (post test) of premenstrual syndrome anxiety by using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) on the respondents of both groups. The results showed that most of the control group had a menstrual period of less than 7 days (70%), and had no history of PMS (56.7%). Likewise with the intervention group, most of the menstruation was less than 7 days (60%), and had no history of PMS (83.3%). There was a significant difference in the level of PMS anxiety reduction between the intervention and control groups, where the difference in the mean before and after the intervention in the form of regular counseling in the control group was only 0.97, while in the intervention group that carried out the Young Women's Class program it was 5.94. Based on the results of data analysis with the Mann Whitney test, a significance value of 0.000 was obtained. Based on this value, because the p value < 0.005, it can be concluded that the Young Women Class has an effect on reducing PMS anxiety. The results of the multivariate analysis showed that the adolescents who did not attend the class had a higher anxiety level of 5.88 than those who attended the female youth class and those who had menstruated for more than 7 days experienced a higher anxiety level of 0.76 than those who had menstruation for less than 7 days. 7 days. It is recommended that midwife education and services can develop midwifery care on adolescent reproductive health in achieving optimal health status for adolescents, so that it becomes an investment to prepare for the process of pregnancy and give birth to a quality generation.


SUMMARY Background: Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) is a fairly common condition in underdeveloped countries affecting mainly young women. Its most prevalent cause is prior hysterectomy. Surgical techniques for repairing VVF have widespread results. Objective: To present our results with a retrovesical laparoscopical repair of VVF in a 6 consecutive patient case series. Method: It is a descriptive prospective analysis of 6 consecutive patients with a retrovesical laparoscopical repair of supratrigonal VVF after hysterectomy. Results: Average surgical time was 191 minutes. No blood transfusion was required. Average hospital stay was 2.5 days. None of them had postoperatory complications nor relapse whatsoever, after a minimum of 15 months follow-up. Conclusion: Retrovesical laparoscopic repair of VVF is a feasible, simple, reproducible and less invasive technique. In trained hands it is the election technique for this condition. To the best of our knowledge this is the first publication of laparoscopic management for VVF in Chile.


Under the background of global shift in manufacturing industry and in light with Global Value Chain theory, this thesis focuses its study on how Chinese Enterprises seize opportunities to step up enhancing their competitive edge. First, the geographic relocation of global shift and its motivation mechanism are interpreted, the concept of pulling mechanism and pushing mechanism and the new characteristics of global shift are put forward. Second, on the basis of the theory of Global Value Chain, the essence of global shift is explained as "fragmentlization" and geographic relocation of value chain by multinationals in accordance with their own development strategy and comparative advantages of host countries, which provides a chance for enterprises in developing countries to embed themselves into the global value chain and integrate with the world economy as well. Third, the modes and trajectory to upgrade in value chain are depicted and the significance of surmounting barrier by learning and innovation to ascend along value chain is elaborated. The last but not the least, according to analysis of the global shift that China undertakes and the challenges and opportunities that Chinese enterprises face, such a conclusion can be made that the strategic choice for Chinese enterprises is to embed themselves into the global value chain and upgrade themselves by learning and innovation


Abstract We investigated distinctive aspects of the floristic communities associated with bamboo dominance (Guadua sarcocarpa and Guadua weberbaueri) in terra-firma forests of the Tambopata River watershed, southeastern Peru. Data were collected at five sets of paired plots (five bamboo-dominated, five tree-dominated) in which no evidence of prior human disturbance was identified. Three components of the plant community were analyzed: (1) trees (≥ 5 cm diam), (2) tree saplings (< 5 cm diam), and (3) large understory plants (shrubs and herbs ≥ 1.5 meters). We used three statistical techniques (DCA, TWINSPAN, and ANOVA) to identify distinct assemblages of genera associated with the presence/absence of bamboo, and/or other factors (e.g., soil drainage, geographic location). All three statistical techniques produced similar results: the presence of bamboo is associated with a distinctive floristic community of trees and understory plants, but the tree sapling component of the plant communities was not distinct. Species richness in bamboo-dominated stands, as compared with tree-dominated stands, was 60% lower for trees and 36% lower for understory plants, but not significantly different for tree saplings. Bamboo-associated canopy trees and understory plants were characterized by fast growth rates, tolerance of poorly drained soils, and capacity for vegetative re-sprouting in response to physical damage to stems. These results suggest that differences in both soil and disturbance regimes drive floristic differences between bamboo-dominated stands and adjacent stands without bamboo.


For decades researchers have made substantial efforts towards establishing occupational lifting standards which will help to reduce the chance of sustaining an injury, particularly to the low back. Chaffin and Andersson (1) have stated that greater workloads increase mechanical stress to the musculoskeletal system and is therefore, an important factor in the cause of low back pain. The National Institude for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been a long-standing leader in the field of occupational lifting research and has recently produced a revised lifting equation (7). The 1991 NIOSH equation allows for asymmetric lifts and uses a 23 kg load constant.


: Cloud is a new way to store large amount of data. In cloud computing, data owners host their data on cloud servers and users can access the data from cloud servers. By data outsourcing, users can be relieved from the burden of local data storage and maintenance. But because of the large amount of data on the cloud it increases privacy challenges against data loss and hacking. For earlier it uses regenerating code while providing fault tolerance against data loss. But because of the fault tolerance the data owner need to always stay online to verify the user data. But challenges are providing integrity of the data. Public audit ability for cloud storage allows users to ask third party auditor (TPA) to check the integrity of the data. Here it analyzes various issues and challenges regarding the data privacy when the data is stored on the cloud. In the various papers it gives various techniques regarding privacy preserving public auditing using the key signature process of secured cloud storage .


Recent advances in x-ray sources, optics, and detectors have opened the door to three-dimensional holographic microscopy. Soft x-ray holography is a promising tool for study of micrometer-sized biological objects in their natural state. X-ray holograms obtained to date resolve features smaller than 100 nm; however, they yield little depth information because of their relatively low numerical aperture. The effective aperture and depth resolution can be improved by combining holograms recorded at various illumination angles. We have undertaken an experimental demonstration of this technique at the NSLS undulator beamline X1A. By using coherent 3.2-nm x-radiation, Fourier transform holograms of microfabri-cated test objects were recorded at several orientations with a CCD camera. The holograms were numerically assembled and reconstructed. Preliminary results are presented.


Thirty-six (36) fish samples were collected from the different local fish markets of Lahore city to check the bioaccumulation of heavy metals. The mean Cd concentration ranged from (32.33 – 39.69ug/kg), (23.26 – 35.45ug/kg), (35.37 -45.06ug/kg) in gills (28.99- 38.17ug/kg), (21.74– 30.07ug/kg), (33.92 – 43.61ug/kg) in muscles (26.12– 35.56ug/kg), (18,87– 31.32ug/kg), (31.05 – 41.01ug/kg) in liver of Labeo rohita, Catla catla and Cirrihinus mrigala respectively. The mean Ni concentration ranged from (44.93 – 52.86ug/kg), (45.65 – 52.86ug/kg), (52.30 -61.14ug/kg) in gills (43.48- 51.41ug/kg), (44.20– 54.62ug/kg), (50.86 – 59.69ug/kg) in muscles (40.48 – 48.81ug/kg), (41.56 – 48.81ug/kg), (48.21 – 57.08ug/kg) in liver of Labeo rohita, Catla catla and Cirrihinus mrigala respectively. The comparison between sampling markets revealed no significant difference among them and the results between fish species shows highest concentration of Ni (55.26ppb) in Cirrhina mrigala. The accumulation pattern of all the heavy metals in different organs of all the studied fish species was significantly lower (p<0.05) as compared to admissible concentration reported by WHO. Therefore, the fish of these areas do not pose serious threat to human health upon consumption.


A CMOS radio frequency (RF) low noise amplifier (LNA) using high Q active inductor with binary code for multiband selecting is studied here. The high Q active inductor is connected to the common gate configuration to improve the gain and power consumption. The RF multiband amplifier operating at four different frequency bands has been realized. Simulation result shows the amplifier operates at 2400 MHz, 1900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 900 MHz with gain of 43. 946 dB, 43. 947 dB, 43. 948 dB and 43. 949 dB. The circuit shows power dissipation of 3. 053 mW with power supply voltage of 3. 3 V.


Three dimensional anisotropic attenuating and scattering media sharing
 the same albedo operator have been shown to be related via a gauge
 transformation. Such transformations define an equivalence relation. We
 show that the gauge equivalence is also valid in media with non-constant
 index of refraction, modeled by a Riemannian metric. The two dimensional
 model is also investigated.


Design flood estimation is often required in hydrologic practice. For catchments with sufficient streamflow data, design floods can be obtained using flood frequency analysis. For catchments with no or little streamflow data (ungauged catchments), design flood estimation is a difficult task. The currently recommended method in Australia for design flood estimation in ungauged catchments is known as the Probabilistic Rational Method. There are alternatives to this method such as Quantile Regression Technique or Index Flood Method. All these methods give the flood peak estimate but the full streamflow hydrograph is required for many applications. The currently recommended rainfall based flood estimation method in Australia that can estimate full streamflow hydrograph is known as the Design Event Approach. This considers the probabilistic nature of rainfall depth but ignores the probabilistic behavior of other flood producing variables such as rainfall temporal pattern and initial loss, and thus this is likely to produce probability bias in final flood estimates. Joint Probability Approach is a superior method of design flood estimation which considers the probabilistic nature of the input variables (such as rainfall temporal pattern and initial loss) in the rainfall-runoff modelling. Rahman et al. (2002) developed a simple Monte Carlo Simulation technique based on the principles of joint probability, which is applicable to gauged catchments. This thesis extends the Monte Carlo Simulation technique by Rahman et al. (2002) to ungauged catchments. The Joint Probability Approach/ Monte Carlo Simulation Technique requires identification of the distributions of the input variables to the rainfall-runoff model e.g. rainfall duration, rainfall intensity, rainfall temporal pattern, and initial loss. For gauged catchments, these probability distributions are identified from observed rainfall and/or streamflow data. For application of the Joint Probability Approach to ungauged catchments, the distributions of the input variables need to be regionalised. This thesis, in particular, investigates the regionalisation of the distribution of rainfall duration and intensity.


Several efforts have been made to eradicate bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) in Korea. However, there is still insufficient information on how the BVD virus (BVDV) affects bovine abortion. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of BVDV, and age of fetuses with BVDV infection in 350 aborted fetuses from 314 farms submitted to the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency in Korea from 2008-2017. Histopathologically, all fetal tissues were autologous, or had no specific lesions. BVDV was detected in 83 (23.7%) fetuses from 77 (24.5%) farms by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and revealed more than 30% higher detection rates in Chungnam and Gyeongbuk provinces compared to other regions, based on both total data and farm-associated analyses. Estimated age of fetuses with BVDV infection by converting the measured crown-rump length into fetal age showed that most cases occurred with abortions being induced during fetal period considered to be middle and late stage abortions. These results suggest that in order to successfully eradicate BVD in Korea, control programs such as vaccination and enhanced biosecurity should be applied to prevent fetal infections.


Traditional direct torque control (DTC) has been successfully applied for simple structures, providing excellent dynamic performance without complex coordinate transformation in permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSGs). However, the stator flux linkage and torque ripple are large in traditional DTC. To reduce the ripples, we introduce space voltage vector modulation (SVM). A novel PMSG model is presented, which shows that the DTC for PMSG with SVM maintains the advantages of traditional DTC, while reducing stator flux linkage and torque ripple. The analysis is verified by simulations.


Underlying Threats on Forest Reserves in Tabora Region, Western Tanzania: The Case of Igomb River and Simbo Forestry Reserves. This study has examined the driving forces behind forest encroachment in Tabora region, Tanzania. The study focused on two Forest Reserves (FRs), namely Igombe River and Simbo. While both FRs are undergoing degradation, the later FR is more severely encroached upon than the later. The information gathered covered both socio economic and biophysical aspects. The study observed that the major reasons contributing to forestry degradation through encroachment were mainly three: (i) socio-economic factors including migration, scarcity of arable land, fuel wood extraction for tobacco drying, livestock keeping and charcoal and timber business (ii) policy related factors such as unclear and conflicting laws on natural resource utilisation and (iii) biophysical factors such as soil fertility gradients within or near forestry reserves, vegetation types and distribution and micro climatic variations.


There is substantial evidence that fairness is an important dimension affecting employees' action within the social milieu of the organization. Researchers have still not adequately examined the mechanism through which fairness perceptions impact the attitude and behavior of the employees (Masterson et al., 2000). Using organizational justice literature, the present study examines the role of fairness perceptions and job mobility preparedness of the employees with the mediating role of supervisor support. Data collected from 186 respondents working in a large manufacturing company based in India provided support to establish partially mediating role of supervisory support in predicting job mobility preparedness. The study emphasizes social exchange relationships at workplace to understand how relationship with supervisor and supervisor's actions affect employee attitude and how those relationships drive employee workplace behavior. The data is analyzed using multiple regression and mediating effects measured using Sobel test. The results of the study could be used by practicing managers and organizations to determine what kind of employees engage in job mobility preparedness and under what circumstances will such behavior occur.


In recent years thematic mapping has undergone a drastic change due to advances in technology, as the result of this different aspects of field of study begin to emerge while others has been transformed. Soil mapping is an example of these aspects. Soil information is one of the areas that needed a robust data for study. The application of GIS in soil analysis transformed the conventional approach, being simpler and accurate in terms of analysis and the product ion of different maps in theme and layers for soil information. This paper analyzed the distribution of soil physicochemical parameters in Bunkure. Data were collected using GPS (Garmin 76csx model). Grid sampling technique were adopted, 51 soil samples we re collected from the depth of 30 cm. Standard laboratory analysis were used for analysis, selected parameters for the purpose of this study (pH,


Project GRAND observes small variations in the number of incident muons when plotted versus local solar time. The total accumulated number of muons by GRAND over four years' time is 140 billion. The data obtained by Project GRAND are compared with data from neutron moni- tor stations at Climax and at Newark which detect secondary neutrons. Project GRAND is an array of 64 proportional wire chamber stations which are sensitive to secondary muons at energies greater than 0.1 GeV. The mean energy of cosmic ray primaries which produce these muons depends on the spectral index. For a differential spectral index of 2.4, th e most probable gamma ray primary energy is about 10 GeV, the response falling steeply below this energy and slowly above this energy (Fasso and Poirier , 2001); this most prob- ably energy varies only slowly with spectral index.


One of the most important keys to create an interactive language classroom is initiation of interaction by the teacher. In order to foster interaction in foreign language classrooms, "questioning" is known as one of the effective ways. However, asking lots of questions inforeign language classrooms does not guarantee stimulation of interaction for language teachers. Thus, the quality of the questioning strategies employed by foreign language teachers has of significance.The present study takes exploratory-descriptive inquiry into research issue under investigation and sets out to search teacher questions posed in EFL classrooms in Turkey. The participants of the study are 10 senior pre-service EFL teachers.The data is gathered by means ofobservation, field-notes and audio-recordings of classroom observations held in secondary school classrooms. The results reveal that Turkishpre-serviceEFL teachers mostly use display questions and use modification strategies like rephrasing, simplification, repetition, decomposition, and probing.However, they have challenges when sequencing questions. They tend to ask many things at a time or prefer very general questions. They fail when giving prompts, clues or examples andthey tend to reply to their own questions. The present studyoffers some implications for teacher education programs to increase the quality of pre-service teacher training.


Student teacher content knowledge of life in an aquatic ecosystem and their experience in a teaching situation - a case study


This paper discusses a new image fusion method based on multi resolution wavelets.Wavelet coefficients of high resolution images are added to the image data of multi spectrum(low resolution)images to fuse binary wavelets and non binary data in a simple and effective mode.This method is applied to fuse the SPOT and LANDSAT(TM) images and the result denotes that,to reserve spectrum and space information,this method is better than the IHS and LHS methods.


Allow me to be controversial: If dealings are at arm's length, then the sole purpose test - a fundamental provision of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act - will be met.


Who push on human history and civih'zation? Whether are the aristocrats and elites at high level or the people? Whether did the CPC win Chinese Revolution or the reformists of capitalists? We should treat from the historical materialism point of view. The Marxists hold that human history and civilization are carried forward by the people. The Chinese Revolution must be led by the CPC and won a victory through armed struggle. We should adhere to the CPC 's consistent, and correct viewpoint that was examined by the Chinese revolution practice for basic theory and practice of the Chinese revolution.


Abstract Study question Covid-19 pandemic has significantly affected the assisted reproductive technology (ART) practice. Understanding whether SARS-CoV-2 could infect endometrial tissues during ART is crucial for risk mitigation Summary answer Analyses of gene expression profiles of SARS-CoV-2 host entry candidates from microarray data suggest that endometrium should be considered as potential target for SARS-CoV-2 infection. What is known already Very few studies analyzed the gene expression profiles of SARS-CoV-2-associated receptors and proteases, mainly focusing on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression, resulting incomplete knowledge in different specimens from female genital tract. However, no studies have analyzed the potential impact of controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) protocols during ART procedure on the endometrial gene expression profiles of SARS-CoV-2-associated receptors and proteases Study design, size, duration To address this question, we retrospectively examined the gene expression profile of SARS-CoV-2-associated receptors and proteases in endometrial biopsies of a cohort of ART candidates using Affymetrix microarray data Participants/materials, setting, methods Human endometrial tissue under natural (n = 62) and COS cycles (n = 42) were analyzed. A focus was particularly made on the renin-angiotensin system relates genes with a prominent role in the virus infection, and gene expression levels of receptors and proteases closely related to SARS-CoV-2 infectionwas also studied. Main results and the role of chance Using our large cohort of endometrial samples, we reported a high prevalence of genes related to the ACE2 pathway, including AGT, AGTR1, ANPEP, CTSA, ENPEP, LNPEP, MME, NLN, THOP1, BSG and CTSL during both phases(early- and mid-secretory phase), and mainly during the mid-secretory phase for ACE2. The highest signal intensities were found for CTSA, LNPEP, MME, NLN, BSG and CTSL. The most representative of dual coexpression of SARS-CoV-2-associated receptor and protease in endometrium was BSG-CSTL and BSG-CTSA. It s also important to note high variation of SARS-CoV-2 receptors inter-patients under natural cycle.Globally, the impact of COS on endometrial gene expression profile of SARS-CoV-2-associated receptors and proteases of non Covid-19 patients is low, suggesting no additional potential risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection during stimulated ART procedure compared with natural cycles. Limitations, reasons for caution Analyses of Affymetrix microarray gene expression data were performed in non-COVID-19 patients. Whether the SARS-CoV-2 infection changes the endometrial gene expression profile of SARS-CoV-2-associated receptors and proteases is under investigation Wider implications of the findings Specimens from female genital tract may be considered as potential targets for SARS-CoV-2. Trial registration number not applicable


Perturbation theory up to eighth order is tested taking the sum of Fock operators as ${\mathit{H}}_{0}$ and using a space of configuration-state functions defined as excitations from a set of reference configurations. The energies obtained in this way are approximations to the exact many-body perturbation theory energies. The method is easy to implement in high orders and the central processing unit time requirements are proportional to the number of reference configurations times ${\mathit{n}}^{6}$ where n is the number of orbitals. Potential-energy surfaces generated by this approach are almost parallel to the surfaces generated by the full configuration-interaction method. Test calculations on the potential-energy surface of the water molecule in three different basis sets are presented as an illustration, and comparison is made with the results of the multireference and full configuration-interaction methods. The convergence of the perturbation series strongly depends on the one-electron basis set used.


The history of the EAPC is closely related to the history of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The ESC decided at the turn of the century to overcome the splitting into 27 topic related Working Groups with great differences in size and activities and to create a new organizational concept based on Associations, each having an official ESC scientific journal and an annual ESC connected congress. The European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation was built on the fundaments of epidemiology and prevention, exercise physiology, cardiac rehabilitation and sports cardiology. The official journal of the Association was launched in 2003 and the first EuroPRevent Congress was held in Athens in 2006. During the following years, the different interests of the founding working groups came closer together, which resulted in a name change of the Association into "European Association of Preventive Cardiology" and of the journal into "European Journal of Preventive Cardiology". The name change marked the migration of Preventive Cardiology to centre stage in the ESC. This document summarizes how and from where the EAPC started and where it stands now.


In order to solve the problem of low calculation accuracy and weakened spectrum information for MFCC parameter in the middle and high frequency section of the speech signal, this paper proposed an improved algorithm for extracting feature parameter. The algorithm combined inverse Mel filter banks and Mid-Mel filter banks and obtained a mixed parameter based on MFCC, MidMFCC, and IMFCC, which is remembered as MixMFCC. Then, through the half-liter sine function cepstrum lifting technique, MixMFCC is modified, so, we get the modified parameters, which is remembered as MixMFCC'. Meanwhile, integrating short time energy and short-time average zero crossing rate, we get a new feature parameter remembered as New-MixMFCC'. The experimental results show that the new feature parameters have higher speech recognition rate and stronger robustness in the speech recognition system.


Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been associated with a chronic inflammation state; the specific causative etiology to the MetS will need further investigation. The present study aims to explore the levels and roles of pro- and anti-inflammatory biomarkers and antioxidant enzymes in MetS development. Subjects were divided into five groups: healthy controls; patients with dyslipidemia; patients with dyslipidemia and obesity; patients with dyslipidemia, obesity, and hypertension; patients with dyslipidemia, obesity, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. Antioxidant enzyme activities were dramatically decreased in MetS patients, whereas inflammatory marker levels were elevated. The levels of interleukin (IL)-8, IL-23, IL-33, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κΒ), resistin, and nitric oxide were positively correlated to triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, and glycosylated hemoglobin levels. Therefore, the data indicate that antioxidant enzymes, IL-8, IL-23, IL-33, NF-κΒ, and resistin might be used as tools to ameliorate and treat metabolic diseases.


Fracton topological order (FTO) is a new classification of correlated phases in three spatial dimensions with topological ground state degeneracy (GSD) scaling up with system size, and fractional excitations which are immobile or have restricted mobility. With the topological origin of GSD, FTO is immune to local perturbations, whereas a strong enough global external perturbation is expected to break the order. The critical point of the topological transition is however very challenging to identify. In this work, we propose to characterize quantum phase transition of the type-I FTOs induced by external terms and develop a generic theory to study analytically the critical points of the transition. In particular, for the external perturbation term creating lineon-type excitations, we predict that a quantum phase transition, characterized by the breaking-down of GSD, occurs when the perturbation strength exceeds a universal critical value which is analytically obtained. This theory applies to a class of FTOs, of which for the X-cube model the characterization of the quantum phase transition is exact, and for more generic FTO models, the results give the upper and lower limits of the critical point. Our work makes a first step in exactly characterizing the quantum phase transition of generic fracton orders.


Information security has become a significant problem for the use of information technology, especially for universities that have a lot of data. Information security policy is one solution to ensure data security. However, compliance is a classic problem in information security that face by an organization when applied policy. Effect of users who do not comply with information security policies both from internal and external. Research on this subject was surveyed to find out the leadership perspective on compliance with information security policies and to explore the university's need to evaluate user compliance. This research was conducted in a survey using a closed-ended questionnaire given to manager level of the university. The data processed with descriptive statistics. This research founded management realized the importance of compliance with information security policies to reduce information security incidents. Universities need appropriate model to evaluate information security policy compliance. This understanding will help improve predictions of the impact of complying with information security policies.


It can be found by the investigation that there are some differences and similarities between only- child and non - only- child of their view on the aim and requirements of training, factors that affect training activity, and view on training burden. This paper mainly discusses and analyzes their mental requirements and character.


This article is a comment on Olesen's article "Analyzing Emergent Issues in Women's Health: The Case of the Toxic-Shock Syndrome," which is reprinted in this issue. This essay discusses how Olesen'...


The aim of the article is to explore and illustrate some "dynamics of transition" across some six decades of British protection of the Brunei Sultanate, 1906-1967, with particular reference to the interaction of traditional administration and the new system of governance of a Residency, especially in the part of Tutong district that was home to the Dusun/Bisaya ethnic minority.


Objective To develop a rapid, microlesion method to treat the fracture of zygomatic bone using the rtaction-reposition-fixation device. Methods Twenty-eight patients of the fracture of zygomatic bone were treated by the device invented by the authors and the fractures were fixed for 3~7 days postopearatively. Results All the patients were satisfied with the curative effects. Conclusion The method combining traction, reposition and fixation has achieved the purposes of microlesin, rapidness and simplicity without much pain. It is safe, economic and effective and is worth extending.


Sample deposition based on micro-droplet ejection has broad application prospects in the field of biomedicine. Ejection of RPMI-1640 medium (without and with cells) is investigated experimentally using a home-build electrohydrodynamic (EHD) ejection system, consisting of a liquid supplier and a nozzle, a high voltage source, a droplet collector, and a high speed photography module. Electric voltage is applied between the nozzle and the droplet collector. The liquid surface is charged and the ejection takes place when electric force overcomes the surface tension. The ejection process is studied by using high speed photography and image processing. At low voltage, a uniform ejection state is established with ejection frequency typically less than 50Hertz. At sufficiently high voltage, another uniform ejection state is reached with ejection frequency as high as 1300Hz. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, after ejection, show survival rates higher than 79%, manifesting EHD ejection as a promising technique for cell printing.


Property valuation is an important task for various stakeholders, including banks, local authorities, property developers, and brokers. As a result of the characteristics of the real estate market, such as the infrequency of trades, limited supply, negotiated prices, and small submarkets with unique traits, there is no clear market value for properties. Traditionally property valuations are done by expert appraisers. Property valuation can also be done accurately with machine learning methods, but the lack of interpretability with accurate machine learning methods can limit the adoption of those methods. Interpretable machine learning methods could be a solution to this issue, but there are concerns related to the accuracy of these methods. This thesis aims to evaluate the feasibility of interpretable machine learning methods in property valuation by comparing a promising interpretable method to a more complex machine learning method that has had good results in property valuation previously. The promising interpretable method and the well-performed machine learning method are chosen based on previous literature. The two chosen methods, Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) and Explainable Boosting Machine (EBM) are compared in terms of prediction accuracy of properties in six big municipalities of Denmark. In addition to the accuracy comparison, the interpretability of the EBM is highlighted. The accuracy of the XGB method is better, even though there are no big differences between the two methods in individual municipalities. The interpretability of the EBM is good, as it is possible to understand, how the model makes predictions in general, and how individual predictions are made.


The IAPH (Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage) is an example of institution committed to deliver quality public services. They are innovative services and some of them interactive, with the emphasis in the utilization of the new information technologies to disseminate the information about cultural heritage. Among them coexist different models. The management of this services is provided by the Integrated System of Services, that allows the follow-up and the assessment of these services and provides the maximum automation and control to services.
The commitment for the incorporation to the Web Site of the IAPH of on-line services that are strategic, has required of a detailed analysis of the positioning and visibility of these services in the Internet. To achieve a correct optimization, multiple factors that contribute to improve its visibility and accessibility are being considered: definition of a new architecture of the information, adjustment of the site on the basis of the new structure, creation of contents with metadata designed thinking of positioning and a dissemination strategy according to our users profile.


Dynamic, viscous, free-to-oscillate simulations of the Mars Entry Atmospheric Data System (MEADS) ballistic range model are performed using two different flow solvers, OVERFLOW and US3D. At the time of publication, data from the ballistic range experiment was not yet available, so the current work serves as a code-to-code exercise. Results from the analysis show good agreement between the predicted static aerodynamic coeffi-cients for each solver. Both codes predict damped pitch oscillations for Mach 3 . 0 with initial amplitudes of 5 ◦ and 30 ◦ , as well as for Mach 1 . 5 with initial amplitude of 30 ◦ . The two solvers predict undamped pitch oscillations for Mach 1 . 5 with initial amplitude of 5 ◦ . For most cases, US3D predicts less damping than OVERFLOW. The difference is attributed to higher pressures in the separated region of the wake, and the resultant effect on the backshell contribution to the pitching moment.


A distributed and interface-based publish/subscribe system is proposed in this report. Components in the proposed system react with each other via events only, and these reactions are described in the component interfaces using a variation of Harel statecharts. By encapsulating component behaviour within the interfaces, the goal of the system is to allow the study of modularization and composition mechanisms in distributed event based applications. The presentation of the proposed system is complemented by a metamodel that describes the structural, control, and runtime aspects of distributed event systems.


The Monte Carlo method was used for a theoretical study of the diffusion and decay of free radicals in solid polymers. A model of amorphous polymer was built up on a tetrahedral lattice of (36 x 62 x 43) x 10" m dimen sions. Three types of molecular motions — kink, crank, and crankshaft — were initiated at various temperatures and changes in the concentrations of free radicals were followed as a function of the number of attempts to do motions, of temperature and density.


Due to safety concerns of integrating small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into non-segregated airspace, aviation authorities have required a set of detect and avoid (DAA) systems to be equipped on small UAS for beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flight operations in civil airspace. However, the development of small UAS DAA systems also requires BVLOS flights for testing and validation. To mitigate operational risks for small UAS BVLOS flight operations, this paper proposes to initially test small UAS DAA systems in BVLOS flights in a restricted airspace with additional safety features. Later, this paper further discusses the operating procedures and emergency action plans for small UAS BVLOS flight operations. The testing results show that these safety systems developed can help improve operational safety for small UAS BVLOS flight operations.


San Francisco--Lifestyle factors may play a role in fertility among formerly unilateral cryptorchid men who have demonstrated fertility, according to a study reported at the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology annual meeting here.


Background: Perioperative telemonitoring of patients undergoing major surgery might lead to improved postoperative outcomes. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of current perioperative telemonitoring interventions on postoperative clinical, patient-reported, and financial outcome measures in patients undergoing major surgery.

Methods: For this systematic review, PubMed, CINAHL, and Embase databases were searched for eligible articles published between January 1, 2009 and November 22, 2019. Studies were eligible as they described: (P) patients aged 18 years or older who underwent major non-cardiac surgery, (I) perioperative telemonitoring as intervention, (C) a control group receiving usual care, (O) any type of postoperative clinical, patient-reported, or financial outcome measures, and (S) an interventional study design. The study's registration number in PROSPERO is CRD4202016898.

Findings: The search identified 1992 articles of which ten, describing nine controlled trials of 1594 patients, were eligible for analysis. Perioperative telemonitoring comprised wearable biosensors (n=2), websites (n=3), telephone or e-mail (n=3), and mobile applications (n=2). Outcome measures were clinical (n=7), patient-reported (n=7) and financial (n=1). Results show significant improvement of recovery time, stoma self-efficacy and pain in the early postoperative phase in patients receiving telemonitoring. Other outcome measures were not significantly different between the groups.

Interpretation: Evidence for the effectiveness of perioperative telemonitoring in major surgery is scarce. There is a need for good quality studies with sufficient patients while ensuring that the quality and usability of the technology and the adoption in care processes are optimal.

Funding Statement: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Declaration of Interests: None.


Zhoushan owns dominant regional situation and excellent harbor resources.The exploitation of two channels "Guanmen and Guishan"will be advantageous to utilize the harbor resources in the north and nearby of Zhoushan Island and to promote the complete development of Zhoushan harbor and harbor industries.In this paper,the importance and the feasibility of exploitation of two above-mentioned channels are studied.


This paper outlines a framework for a domain specific design and development process. Especially the design process has not earlier been modelled and described with respect to how to perform, support and document the design decisions. The design process has earlier only been supported with cognitive theories of human computer interaction and user modelling. Design issues in the domain specific approach is identified for more efficient development of effective human-computer interfaces. The purpose of the paper is to identify the main steps of the process – information utilisation analysis, design and construction – with special emphasis on the documentation parts. The different documentations can be seen as interfaces or bridges between preceding and succeeding steps, and are to be formulated in some kind of formal or semiformal language. In our future research, it is our intention to go on with the formulation of these languages. The paper also describes our development process in comparison with development using traditional UIMS, with the purpose of emphasising the benefits; cost and time savings, increased user participation and increased modularity. 1. OBJECTIVES OF THIS PAPER Ongoing research at CMD has, among other things, been dealing with methods for design and construction of human-computer interfaces in professional settings. Research activities have covered areas such as task analysis, information analysis, design methodology, domain specific design, specification of new interface elements, construction tools etc. When the different steps, and the methods and tools connected to each of these steps, now are to be integrated this leads to new requirements concerning their co-ordination. This paper tries to formulate a framework for the total design process. Of special importance is the specification of the bridges between the different steps, and the definition of languages for documentation of the result from each step. In such a language it must be possible to specify the result from one step in a form that is interpretable by the next step. The framework specified in this paper is mainly intended to form a common basis for future research at CMD.