Aiming at the problem of point clouds registration without prior information on transformation,a novel registration algorithm is proposed based on geometric properties of point clouds.Firstly,all the pair-wise points are searched by taking the curvature of point clouds as the registration relationship.Secondly,by using Euclid distance to match the pair-wise points,and by introducing the geometric properties of vectors of rigid body transformation to eliminate the mismatch points,this algorithm can obtain the effective coupling points to compute original transform matrix.Finally,by using ICP algorithm to modify the former result,the optimal registration can be achieved.Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is robust and can register the point clouds of different scans.


In this paper, we investigate the problem of balance and tracking controller design for an autonomous bicycle subject to unmodeled dynamics, unknown parameters, and unmeasured states. A composite deep learning based control strategy is proposed, comprising of active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) and Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG). Different from most conventional approaches that fail to consider path information and depend critically on exact dynamics, the proposed control scheme uses the DDPG algorithm to learn a virtual control action and then employ ADRC to handle uncertainties and stabilize the bicycle. Extensive simulations are conducted to assess the performance of the composite learning method. The results indicate that the bicycle controlled by our method can follow along a predetermined trajectory while maintaining balance.


A structure X = h X, ρ i , where ρ is a binary relation on the set X , is connected iff the minimal equivalence relation containing ρ is the full relation on X . Connectivity is not a first order property but it is expressible by a L ω 1 ω sentence. We show that, for a set I the following conditions are equivalent (a) | I | is less than the first measurable cardinal, (b) For each filter Φ ⊂ P ( I ) and each family { X i : i ∈ I } of binary structures, the reduced product Q Φ X i is connected, iff there are a finite set K ⊂ I and n ∈ ω such that X i is connected, for each i ∈ K and { i ∈ I : X i is of diameter ≤ n } ∪ K ∈ Φ , (c) The ultraproduct Q U G ω is a disconnected graph for each non-principal ultrafilter U ⊂ P ( I ) , where G ω is the linear graph on ω . Moreover, the implication " ⇐ " in (b) holds in ZFC. For a disconnected Q Φ X i we describe the components of Q Φ X i .


We determined incidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and influenza virus infections among pregnant and postpartum women and their infants in Kenya during 2020–2021. Incidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was highest among pregnant women, followed by postpartum women and infants. No influenza virus infections were identified.


Purpose: To test if there was any difference in the indications and early outcomes of laparoscopic ventral hernia repair (LVHR) during a 36-month period at a single institution. Methods: From August 1999 to August 2002, 64 consecutive, unselected patients underwent attempted LVHR. The patients were retrospectively divided into two groups: group 1 included the first 32 patients, and group 2 included the second 32 patients. Data regarding patient demographics, results, and postoperative follow-up were compared between the groups. Results: Demographic characteristics, types of hernia, preoperative records, and hernia defects were well matched between the groups. Four patients in group 1 required conversion to laparotomy for bowel injuries, whereas no conversion was required in group 2 (12% vs 0%, P 0.11 [NS]). The operative times and complication rates were similar, but bowel injuries were significantly more common in group 1 (19% vs 0%, P 0.02), including the patients who were converted. The analgesic requirement was small and the hospital stay short in both groups; the differences were not significant. Three recurrences were noted in group 1 and none were noted in group 2, although follow-up was not comparable in the second group. Conclusions: A learning curve is needed to decrease conversions and bowel injuries during LVHR. The improved experience could permit the treatment of larger defects laparoscopically. © 2004 Excerpta Medica, Inc. All rights reserved.


Advances in Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) will allow a range of medical applications that will significantly improve the quality of health care. Nevertheless we need to achieve the ease of use and the ease of configuration for the WBAN to be tapped. In this paper we propose a service-oriented (SOA) middleware design for WBAN, as a way to simplify application development by providing abstraction of complex low-level concepts. In the proposed architecture, sensors are coordinated by a gateway node, which in turn retransmits data to a remote central unit and receives WBAN control information and queries from this central unit. Based on predefined thresholds and rules, alarms will be sent from the gateway node to predefined medical staff. We propose employing extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) protocol to ensure real-time event notification and scalable design. The design allows storing sensors data, sensor reconfiguration and resource management. The target user is a patient who needs regular monitoring. WBAN in this case shall increase patient comfort and reduces periodical checkups allowing remote monitoring. We believe that the use of Web Services and standardizing the messages exchanged is a potential solution for interoperability and ease of use and configuration challenges. This will attract more application developers to this field, leading to more innovative applications. We also believe that the use of XMPP protocol will satisfy real-time event notification and scalability design requirements for the middleware.


The basic optimization problem of road design is quite challenging due to an objective function that is the sum of nonsmooth functions and the presence of set constraints. In this paper, we model and solve this problem by employing the Douglas-Rachford splitting algorithm. This requires a careful study of new proximity operators related to minimizing area and to the stadium norm. We compare our algorithm to a state-of-the-art projection algorithm. Our numerical results illustrate the potential of this algorithm to significantly reduce cost in road design.


The change of approaches to the ulcer treatment with the inclusion of H. pylori-affecting preparations into therapeutic complexes has greatly modified the course of the disease and allowed to reduce the frequency of its relapses in developed countries [1, 2]. However, less optimistic results were obtained in studies carried out in countries with the low social and economic level [3]. This work presents the results of a long-term supervision over patients with stomach and duodenal ulcers associated with the helicobacteriosis infection.


A novel antifungal antibiotic, haliangicin, was isolated from a culture broth of marine myxobacterium, Haliangium luteum. The planar structure of haliangicin was elucidated by spectroscopic analyses and was shown to be a new polyunsaturated compound containing beta-methoxyacrylate moiety.


Using canna starch as main material,based on a 4-factor-and-3-dimension orthogonal test,the result showed that the optimal proportion of above 4 factors added to the vermicelli was:water chestnut starch 5%,wheat starch 8%,konjac flour 1%,guar gum 0.5%.The quality of finished product was good and had certain flexibility.


The main objectives of this study are to establish the current levels of aluminum in public
drinking water in Sarawak, to determine the sources of aluminum contaminants and to
assess water treatment processes that influence the introduction of aluminum in the
drinking water. The research method used in this study includes the assessment of the
historic water qualities analytical reports available for the last five years (1999-2003) for
all drinking water treatment plants in Sarawak relating to aluminum level in particular.
Primary data were collected in the field at the selected 7 water treatment plants in order to
validate the secondary data. In addition, observations and field investigation were also
carried out during the field trip. To obtain additional information, interview survey by
using open-ended questionnaires for the staff of the 22 water treatment plants in state
were also carried out. The selection of the 7 water treatment plants were done based on
the high aluminum violation rates. The sites for the interview survey were done by means
of block sampling method whereby 2 water treatment plants were selected from each
Division. The mean aluminum level was found to range from 0.53 mg/l to 1.48 mg/l for
the past 5 years (1999-2003) in Sarawak, which were 2.65 to 7.4 times higher than the
Malaysia Standard and WHO recommended standard of 0.2 mg/l of aluminum level in
drinking water. It was also discovered during this study that the high aluminum level was
due to the inefficient treatment processes as the aluminum level increased markedly
immediately after the addition of Aluminum sulphates in stage 2 of the treatment process.
This was proven by ANOVA that there was a significant difference among all the stages
of water treatment processes for aluminum (p 0.03). Further Post Hoc Test (LSD)
discovered that the raw water (stage I) aluminum level was significantly lower than other stages of treatment processes (a 0.05). It was also discovered through multiple
correlations that the level of aluminum is a function of pH, total dissolved solids,
turbidity and total suspended solids based on the primary data collected from the field.


The invention relates to a mining methane detection alarm unit comprising an intrinsically-safe battery set and a PIC16C73 microprocessor IC6. The PIC16C73 microprocessor IC6 is connected with a second voltage-stabilizing chip Q6 which is connected with a light D2; the PIC16C73 microprocessor IC6 is connected with an indicator light DL1, a digital tube LED, a buzzer Y, an amplifier chip IC1, a clock chip IC4, a temperature chip IC5, a keyboard J4 and a battery management chip TP; the battery management chip TP is connected with the intrinsically-safe battery set DC; the intrinsically-safe battery set DC is connected with the second voltage-stabilizing chip Q6, a first voltage-stabilizing chip Q1, the amplifier chip IC1, the clock chip IC4 and a temperature chip IC5; the first voltage-stabilizing chip Q1 is connected with a methane probe TT; the methane probe TT is connected with the amplifier chip IC1. The mining methane detection alarm unit has small zero drift, high stability and multiple functions; a lighting function is imparted to the mining methane detection alarm unit to avoid a worker walking in the dark after the energy of a battery of a miner's lamp is run out or the miner's lamp is damaged in an underground coal mine; the mining methane detection alarm unit is capable of detecting ambient methane concentration value in real time and capable of automatically sending out sound and light alarms when the concentration value is higher than an alarm point.


Among the most distractive in-vehicle interactions are audio and climate controls. If these interactions were as easy and spontaneous as natural language, driving could be much safer. Through this research it was found that drivers preferred gestural language to voice language when the control was simple and repetitive; subsequently, gestural interactions with secondary in-vehicle tasks were investigated. Following the principle of "eyes on the road and hands on the wheel", a steering wheel design with two touch pads on the wheel to recognize gestures was conceived. The physical design of the steering wheel incorporated good ergonomics and anthropometric data, while gesture stereotypes assigned to a number of in-vehicle controls were determined empirically by two experiments. The new steering wheel design does not have any buttons, which may contribute to driver distraction, yet it incorporates 19 functions through natural thumb-gestures. This compares favorably with most current steering wheel designs, which have more than 11 buttons and 13 functions on the average.


.................................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 1.1 Background of the Study .............................................................................................. 1 1.1.1 Strategy Implementation ............................................................................................ 2 1.1.2 Performance Contracting ........................................................................................... 3 1.1.3 Public Sector in Kenya ............................................................................................... 5 1.1.4 Commercial State Corporations in Kenya ................................................................. 6 1.2Research Problem .......................................................................................................... 8 1.3Research Objectives ....................................................................................................... 9 1.4 Value of the Study ........................................................................................................ 9 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................. 11 2.


Key Points Question What are the comparative associations of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) vs Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) with patients' ambulatory health care use and costs? Findings In this comparative effectiveness study that included 6300 patients, total ambulatory costs were similar for as long as 4 years following SG and RYGB. However, RYGB was associated with greater reductions in prescriptions for cardiometabolic disease, while SG was associated with fewer specialist visits and laboratory tests after surgery. Meaning These findings suggest that lesser need for cardiometabolic medications following RYGB vs SG may be counterbalanced by a greater need for postsurgical monitoring after this more invasive procedure.


The study of the indices charactering functional state of en-dothelium and blood thrombogen features has been carried out. An advantage of rehabilitation program of patients with vibration disease I and II degree of severity, including sanatori-um-and-health resort treatment using radon balneotherapy course (nitrogen-thermal) baths has been shown. The program is carried out in sanatorium "Belokurikha". The data on increase of oxide nitrogen products and decrease of blood coagulation at usage of radon procedures are confirmed.


The objective of this diagnostic test and descriptive study was to evaluate the accuracy of abdominal ultrasonography (US) in patients with abdominal trauma. A retrospective review of medical record and imaging of patients with abdominal trauma, investigated by US as Nakornping hospital from 1 October 2003 to 31 August 2006. Results of US compared with surgical results and or clinical courses to determine diagnostic accuracy. In all, 290 patients were included in the study and showed a sensitivity of 62.5 percent, specificity of 100 percent value (PPV) of 100 percent, negative predictive value (NPV) of 1.4 percent and false negative rate (FNR) of 36.5 percent. Highest sensitivity and negative predictive value were reported in diagnosis of kidney trauma while those of pancreas, urinary bladder and gallbladder could be diagnosed with the highest specificity and positive predictive value. However, the false negative rate was high in the order of gallbladder, bowel, pancreas and urinary bladder. Positive US results were significant prediction for surgical treatment (p<0.001). Abdominal organ injuries were confirmed in the operation that followed in the cases of ascites patients 1.7 times higher than those of the non – ascites patients.  Abdominal US is useful in screening for injury in patient with abdominal trauma. Awarenes of ascites in the US result is critical as many patients possibly have intra abdominal organ injuries. It should be noted that ascites, identified by US, in patients with abdominal trauma are good predictors of intra-abdominal organ injuries. Key words: abdominal trauma, ultrasonography, diagnostic accuracy


The experiment results showed that fluorescence parameters of the maize leaves at jointing stage was affected by the environmental factors such as soil moisture, light intensity, temperature and soil fertility levels, and the effect of the soil moisture was the most. As the moisture decreased, the basic fluorescene (F_(0)) of the maize leaves decreased, and the variable fluorescence (Fv) and photochemical efficiency(Fv/ Fm) and the potential activities of PSⅡ(Fv/ F_(0)) increased markedly. So the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters could be used as optimal indexes to study and judge the water condition of maize but the appropriate measuring time and speed must be paid attention to.


The article contains a list of indicators that can be used for estimation of the impact of financial and nonfinancial factors on the value of Ukrainian banks. The method of principal components has helped to define generalized factors that affect the value of Ukrainian banks. It has been found that among the factors that affect the value of Ukrainian banks there are not only financial but also non-financial factors: bank's competitiveness, effectiveness of bank's personnel management, bank's intangible assets. It has been proposed to use selected values of the principal component for classification of Ukrainian banks in order to determine the effectiveness of the value-based bank's management.


The aim of this research is to shed light on ways in which to improve student retention by examining student motivation. The research begins from a literature review focusing on the two different types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic, and their effect on student retention. Findings are presented from a 5 point Likert scale paper based survey and a convenience sample of 120 respondents from the Claude Littner Business School at the University of West London. Descriptive statistics, a correlation analysis, a regression analysis and a Chi-square test were all used to analyse the data. The analysis confirmed that there is a relationship between motivation and student retention, with extrinsic motivation having a larger impact. Future research should consider a comparison of all the Academic Schools at the University of West London or a comparison between the University of West London and other institutions.


Simple expressions are obtained which permit systematic estimates of the rate coefficients for direct radiative recombination (DRR) of fast electrons with atomic ions of various ionic species. The analysis utilizes a set of cross sections obtained through numerical calculations combined with the use of an interpolation scheme to smoothly connect reduced cross sections (apart from normalizations) of the bremsstrahlung tip region and the low-lying DRR region. It is shown that these numerical cross sections can be reproduced by the predictions of a modified semiclassical Kramers formula with an appropriate effective charge Z/sub eff/, which is larger than the effective charge which reproduces the energy levels of the states into which capture occurs. In accord with this modified Kramers formula, the numerically obtained total cross sections are shown to scale with Z/sub eff//sup 2//K for each isoelectronic sequence, and with a parameter (n/sub 0/)/sub eff/ which characterizes each isoelectronic sequence. Using these scaling properties, simple analytic expressions are obtained for recombination rate coefficients, for the rate of electron kinetic-energy loss, and for the rate of radiated power loss, assuming a classical Maxwell-Boltzmann thermal distribution of continuum electrons.


Aim: In this review paper we propose a method to make an early diagnosis of the Alzheimer's Disease (AD), the most common form of neurodegenerative dementia. Background: Glymphatic System (GS) is the main means of eliminating waste substances in the central nervous system (CNS); if it does not work properly, waste substances accumulate in CNS until to cause AD. Basal Forebrain is the most important component of a much broader system of cholinergic cells distributed throughout the Central Nervous System (CNS). This structure regulates attention, learning and memory and its destruction is considered responsible for the cognitive AD alterations. The characteristics of AD patients, that interest us most, are the lack of Acetylcholine, and the Orexin excess; we think that the hypothalamus produces more Orexin to stimulate cholinergic cells, indispensable for a correct CNS functioning. We want to identify these patients by detecting the Orexin excess. Early Diagnosis Model. Of course we could take a cerebrospinal fluid sample and dose Orexin but this method is risky and painful for the patient's health, therefore unsuitable for large numbers of patients. We propose a fairly simple method for the early diagnosis of AD: if we temporarily eliminate the Orexin excess, with Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonist (DORA), i.e. Suvorexant, we can intercept the Orexin increase and demonstrate the decrease in Acetylcholine with a Functional Magnetic Resonance or a Polysomnography, many years before the AD symptoms occur.


FROM OUR OWN For the last decade or so, new works by the founding crew of Fiction Collective-era metafictionists, including but certainly not limited to Jonathan Baumbach, Raymond Federman, Steve Katz, and the late Ronald Sukenick, have frequently met with mixed reviews. For most, every laudatory notice recalling their brave gambit some three decades ago in forsaking commercial publishing in order to found a new, more innovative tradition in fiction, there have been charges of silliness, misogyny, even downright aesthetic laziness about individual works. While it may be suggested that mainstream reviews are biased in favor of a publishing establishment that is rigidly anti-experimental, no one would argue that in recent years experimental fiction has enjoyed as high a regard or cultural importance as experimental poetry. As Language poetry became the hip word-art currency of the 1990s, experimental fictions faded out of fashion like so many handlebar mustaches. A culturally emblematic moment seemed to have come in 2005, when Baumbach's son Noah Baumbach's Academy Award-nominated screenplay The Squid and the Whale seemed to portray the universal caricature of the experimental fictionist: an aging male lecher whose highest compliment of a work of art is to stroke his beard and intone, "Hmmm, very dense." So it is that even a writer of Steve Katz's stature has to prove himself anew these days. While I have been a fan of Katz's short fictions since the 1980s—the metaphysical meanderings of Moving Parts (1977), the comic springtraps of Stolen Stories (1977)—I had initial trepidations about reading a book subtitled "a miscellany." Would there be no concern about the overall form of the book? Was Kissssss a collection of pieces left over after cleaning out the garage? So it is to my own relief that I report Kissssss is one of the most creative works of fiction I've seen in recent years, both a handbook of possibilities for the fictive form and a wise and comprehensive work that counterweights its laughs with powerfully human evocations and, particularly toward the end of the book, righteous anger toward the dark reign of George II, where brutality and lack of imagination walk hand-in-bloody-hand. Katz's work is all about imagination. As much as one might think one knows where the road is heading in one of his narratives, this is an author who takes particular pride in making sure you are wrong. Nor are the pieces in this collection all narratives. Appearing about two-thirds into the book, "Manifesto Dysfic" is a statement of fictive poetics where the author makes explicit the connection he sees, much in the manner of the Language poets, between the normative sense-making apparatuses of our culture and exploitative profiteering and violence. Katz herein instructs future writers: "break out! flee the workshops! make sense not!" The call here is dual, both to search out something ancient and eternal ("to emancipate language into the mystery and power at its source in heart and cosmos") and to engage in Dada-like, pacifist ridiculousness ("DYSFIC embraces dyscombobulation and silliness as no serious genre has dared").


Recommended Citation Dawson-Hahn, Elizabeth E. M.D., MPH; Koceja, Lorren RD, CD; Grant, Abigail R. M.D.; Ibrahim, Anisa M.D.; Farmer, Beth LCSW; Grow, H. Mollie M.D., MPH; Lowry, Sarah PhD, MPH; and Pak-Gorstein, Suzinne PhD, MPH (2019) "First Foods Nutrition Curriculum for New Immigrant Families: A Pilot Study," Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 10 : Iss. 1 , Article 9. Available at: https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol10/iss1/9


Bandotan (Ageratum conyzoides L) plants contain several secondary metabolite compounds which have function for medication. It can be used as fever, diarrhea, dysentery, anti-inflammation, insecticide, analgesic, anti-microbial, anti-fungi and anti-cancer medication. The secondary metabolite compounds which have function as anti-fungi are alkaloid, flavonoid, saponin, and tannin. This research is aimed to know the influence of Bandotan (Ageratum conyzoides L) leaves extract toward the growth of mycelium fungi Fusarium Oxyporum by In Vitro as Biology Source Learning. The method used in this study is Posttest-Only Control Group Design approach. The concentration of Billygoat leaves extract involving in this research are 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% concentration. The result of this research shows that Bandotan leaves extract has effect on inhibition zone of F. Oxyporum fungi. 20% of Billygoat Weed extract concentration included into low category with the average of inhibition diameter merely 3,38 mm. Afterward, 40%, 60% and 80% of Bandotan extract concentration included into medium category in which the averages of each inhibition diameter are 6,15 mm,, 6,75 mm, and 9, 05 mm. and the concentration of 100% is the most influential concentration because it includes a high category with the average inhibition diameter is about 11.38 mm. In the positive control (Nystatin) treatment included into high category with the average inhibition diameter amounted 17,4 mm. Meanwhile, in negative control treatment (Aquadest), the inhibition zone is not formed. All in all, the result of this study can be used as biology source learning since the aspects as well as process can be achieved all at once.


Concerns over environmental issues have recently increased. Particularly, construction noise in highly populated areas is recognized as a serious stressor that not only negatively affects humans and their environment, but also construction firms through project delays and cost overruns. To deal with noise-related problems, noise levels need to be predicted during the preconstruction phase. Case-based reasoning (CBR) has recently been applied to noise prediction, but some challenges remain to be addressed. In particular, problems with the distance measurement method have been recognized as a recurring issue. In this research, the accuracy of the prediction results was examined for two distance measurement methods: The weighted Euclidean distance (WED) and a combination of the Jaccard and Euclidean distances (JED). The differences and absolute error rates confirmed that the JED provided slightly more accurate results than the WED with an error ratio of approximately 6%. The results showed that different methods, depending on the attribute types, need to be employed when computing similarity distances. This research not only contributes an approach to achieve reliable prediction with CBR, but also contributes to the literature on noise management to ensure a sustainable environment by elucidating the effects of distance measurement depending on the attribute types.


The integrated membrane bioreactor(IMBR)was applied for treatment of slaughter waste water.The removal efficiencies of CODcr,BOD5 and [NH3-N] were investigated.The results show that the IMBR may achieve better removal efficiencies of CODcr,BOD5 and [NH3-N].The removal efficiencies of CODcr,BOD5 and [NH3-N] in the combined process are 95.45%,95.9% and 89.97% respectively.The effluent CODcr is 49.7 mg·L-1 and [NH3-N] is less than 10 mg·L-1.Meeting the first and second class criteria specified in integrated waste water discharge standard(GB 8978—1996).


This paper presents development and implementation of a novel approach to produce an s-shaped command with higher residual vibration.  In this work, a three dimensional gantry crane is considered where a complete nonlinear mathematical model of a laboratory crane with variable cable length is simulated. A distributed delay zero vibration shaper based approach is proposed to produce an s-curved command. The effectiveness of the shaped command is examined through simulations using the nonlinear model and experiments on the laboratory crane. Simulation and experimental results show that the proposed scheme resulted in lower overall sways for rail and trolley of the crane when compared to a conventional s-shaped signal.


Both the C o n s t i t u t i o n o f t he USSR and t h e S ta tu tes o f t h e Communist Pa r t y of the Sov ie t Union (CPSU) emphasise the c o l l e c t i v e na tu re o f leadersh ip i n t h e Sov ie t p o l i t i c a l system, and t h i s i s cons i s ten t w i t h t h e under l y ing c o l l e c t i v i s t ideo logy . I n p rac t i ce , however, t he re has been a tendency towards s t rong, i n d i v i d u a l leadership: Lenin, S t a l i n , Khrushchev and Brezhnev a l l a t t a i n e d p o s i t i o n s o f personal power t h a t were considerably a t odds w i t h the s p i r i t o f the w r i t t e n c o n s t i t u t i o n s . One reason fo r the ex t rao rd ina ry power of these leaders, and a l s o t h e main reason why, o t h e r than by death, they have been so d i f f i c u l t t o remove o r rep lace, i s t h a t t he re i s no we1 7 understood , regu la r , convent ional o r s t a t u t o r y mode o f succession. Consequently, succession i n the USSR tends t o be uncommonly d i s r u p t i v e and accompanied by c r i s i s (Frank, 1980). Yet t he changeover f rom Brezhnev t o Andropov i n November 1982 seemed t o take p lace smoothly and e f f i c i e n t l y ; so does t h i s mean t h a t l eadersh ip succession i n the Sov ie t Union i s no longer a problem?


Ecological construction in mountain areas is the hotspot of study because its ecologically importance and frangibility.The concept of mountain construction and the ecosystem service system of mountain village were discussed.Some comments were made on the present studies on the ecological construction model of China.The study visual angle and development of ecological construction model in mountain village areas of China were discussed.


The isolated carbonate platform is one of the major types of environment where marine carbonate reservoir formed.Based on the study of sedimentation and diagenetic characteristics and the prediction of Carboniferous isolated carbonate platform reservoirs of Kenjiyak oil field in the eastern margin of Pre-Caspian basin,this study demonstrates that sedimentary facies are rather narrow there and change fast laterally.The quality of reservoirs is significantly controlled by sedimentation and diagenesis.The shoal facies formed in a shallow high-energy environment along the platform margin is prone to diagenetic alteration such as dolomitization and dissolution,and is therefore the main facies containing high-quality reservoir.The unique depositional and diagenetic characteristics of the Kenjiyak isolated Carboniferous carbonate platform reservoir could provide a clue for reservoir prediction in the oil fields under similar conditions.


This paper analyses the Silvio Romero's Historia da Literatura Brasileira , as a product from republican ideology undertaken by the author. Accordingly, it characterizes generally some provisions and intentions of the republican movement that took place in Brazil between 1870 and 1889. Then, it shows how the nationalism de- rived from that ideology and updated in that Silvio Romero's work impacts on the building of the narrative. --- DOI: http:/dx.doi.org/10.12957/matraga.2017.26567


Three new dinuclear complexes [FeII2(μ-L)2]X4 (L is the bis-tridentate ligand 2,5-bis{[(2-pyridylmethyl)amino]methyl}-1,3,4-oxadiazole and X = ClO4–, BF4– and CF3SO3–) have been synthesized and fully characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, Mossbauer spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Upon cooling, a trapped [high-spin–low-spin] state of the iron(II) centres is detected. Depending on the counterion, a pronounced thermal hysteresis is found. In one case, it was possible to observe a space group change that accompanies the spin transition. This is the first system showing spin crossover based on an oxadiazole ligand.


In this article it aims to describe, understand and analyze how would trade relations between Colombia and the European Union, to identify what would be the advantages and disadvantages when undertaking such business relationships, being that Colombia is an exporter of raw materials and hence its dependence on the behavior of the exchange rate and its volatility can be a strength or difficulty of internationalization of the market.
 In this article it aims to raise the scope between Colombia FTA - European Union and how it can affect these bilateral relations in the economy of the Colombian Caribbean region as a strategic area for the internationalization of their markets. It is known that Colombia is a country that is geographically strategic position makes it the target of economic openings, and this is a crucial moment because international allies are needed to encourage and strengthen export and diversify destinations, increase foreign investment and obtain greater access to technologies, these are essential points that intended by the FTA between Colombia and the European Union.


For sensor networks a wide variety of time synchronization protocols exist. These protocols establish a common logical clock between participating nodes. This logical clock has no relation with wall clock time. While a synchronized logical clock enables many interesting applications, such as more energy efficient MAC protocols, it does not cater much to the needs of data gathering, the main application of sensor networks. Sensor data is often useless if the time of the measurement is unknown. Time synchronization protocols in conjuction with a method of converting logical clock values to wall clock time, such as UTC, would enable one to order events in applications where sensor data is sampled from multiple, independent sensor networks. In this thesis a method is proposed to establish a relationship between the logical clock provided by time synchronization protocols and wall clock time with the aid of the Global Positioning System. Furthermore the proposed approach is, implemented on a small network of sensor nodes with the Zigbit900 chip using TinyOS.


This special issue brings together a set of contributions that represent and explore the state of the art regarding the development and application of digital technologyenhanced research approaches in educational research—e-research for education. Over the recent years, digital technologies have enhanced various aspects of scholarly practices, such as data collection and analysis, research collaboration, and publishing. New technology-enhanced research approaches have been emerging in a number of educational research domains, such as learning analytics, educational data mining, digital ethnography and educational informatics. Although the potential of digital approaches has been generally acknowledged, many overarching conceptual and methodological questions remain unexplored and under-theorised. This special issue provides a landmark collection that synthesises some important empirical and methodological advances in this research field, including methodologically innovative case studies and critical analyses of overarching epistemological, methodological and practical issues that inevitably will shape future developments of this research field.


This study traces the development of physic gardens in Korea and explores their significance in the history of landscape architecture. For this purpose, records related to physic gardens from medical sources from the period of the Three States to the Joseon dynasty, when herbal medicine was systemat...


Let be a complex Banach algebra .with unit element e. We shall consider the inverse of 2e--a as a function of 2 for a fixed a e. According as 2e--a is regular or singular in , we say that belongs to the resolvent set (a) or the spectrum a(a) of a. And a non-void set a is called a spectral set of a if a is a subset of a(a) and a is both open and closed in a(a). For 2 in p(a) the inverse of e--a exists; it is denoted by R(2; a) and is called the resolvent of a. It is well known that the resolvent set p(a) of a is open and in each of its components R(2; a) is a regular function of 2. The following theorem is proved in 1, pp. 105-107 (Theorems 5.11.1 and 5.11.2). Theorem A. Let a(a)-[J a where each a is a spectral set of a and a,a=0 when ij. Let us suppose that closed Jordan curves F, i--1, 2,..., n, satisfy the following conditions: ( For each i(lin) a, is contained in the open domain ), which is bounded by F. (ii) =0 when i=j. (iii) Each F, has the positive orientation, that is, the domain lies to the left of F,. If we define (1) z,1 fR(; a) and a--Ja, i--1 2,... n, 2i then


In this review article, the uses of organic polymers to make photovoltaic cells have been discussed. The focus is mainly on discussing organic polymer based photovoltaic (OPVs) solar cells, the development of new device technologies and donor polymers that are being researched on. The recent development in this field has led to improved OPV performances with power conversion efficiencies as phenomenal as 9%. However for commercial application of this kind of OPVs, an improved device structure and cost effective processing methods are required. This article reports the polymer design criteria, energy level matching, nano-morphing of polymer/acceptor blend films and local dipole moments of the polymer chains that have been developed in the research that took place over the past 4 years. We emphasize the importance of developing new methods for designing polymers with improved physical properties and development of new technologies to fully understand the fundamentals of OPV mechanisms, which will help improve the power conversion efficiency of the OPV. KEYWORDS - Power Conversion Efficiency, Bulk-heterojuntion, Hybrid Solar Cells, Benzo(1,2-b:4,5-b') Dithiophene, Fused Dithienogermolodithiophene, Selenium-substituted


Focus group discussions involving 102 women in Hanoi Viet Nam revealed that although women believe it is usual for men to have extramarital affairs they do not think this will occur within their own marriages. In a 1993 study 54% of urban male participants reported they had slept with 2 or more partners in the previous fortnight. Although only 4344 cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have been reported to official sources in Viet Nam the real number of cases is believed to be at least 60000. Viet Nams National AIDS Committee expects that by 1998 3/4 of the newly infected will be women. Both men and women in Viet Nam draw distinctions in HIV risk between different types of relationships. 69% of men interviewed in 1993 believed they would not contract HIV from sex workers with whom they had an ongoing relationship and 2/3 of men and women thought they could not be put at risk by their spouse. The recent death from AIDS of a respected school teacher who contracted HIV from her husband a government official has served to undermine this complacency however. On the other hand women remain reluctant to insist on condom use with their husbands for fear of angry reactions.


Echo Enabled Harmonic Generation (EEHG) is a promising scheme to extend the wavelength range of externally seeded FELs to shorter wavelengths [1]. The FERMI FEL-1 facility is being upgraded to include the EEHG option in order to reach wavelengths down to 10 nm by 2023, about two times shorter compared to the current ~20 nm limit in High Gain Harmonic Generation (HGHG) mode. This requires the generation, propagation and insertion of a second tunable Deep UV (DUV) seed pulse in a second modulator, and a DUV seed at fixed wavelength inserted in the first modulator. The original FERMI seed laser system design [2] has to be therefore strongly modified for generating the two seed pulses, while still providing the possibility for easy switch to HGHG mode of both FEL1 and FEL2. I addition, the new design has to preserve the distinct feature of the FERMI pump-probe scheme, namely to generate the IR pulses sent to the experimental stations for pump-probe experiments.


Vertically, decentralization policies affect the pattern of relationships between the government and NGOs. If previously the relationship between the two was running in a conflictual manner now it was more directed towards being collaborative. For NGOs, the shift in relations shows the legitimacy of NGOs in the eyes of the government is getting better. Strengthening the legitimacy of NGOs in serving and assisting the community is accompanied by demands in the organization of NGO governance. One of the principles of institutional governance is public accountability and transparency. Accountability is simply related to organizational liability both internally and externally. The concept is familiar to NGO activists, it can even be said that NGOs are the ones who most loudly voice public accountability and transparency. However, the public accountability and transparency campaign is directed at the government. Along with changes that occur in the institutional environment, the reality is the opposite, the public demands NGOs to apply the principles of public accountability and transparency. How NGOs respond to the speech is interesting to find the answer. For this reason, this research was conducted at the Citra Mandiri Foundation (YCM). The reason is, YCM was established since the New Order and continues to survive until now. In YCM's institutional governance by the West Sumatra Civil Society Empowerment Consortium (KPMM), it is classified as a healthy NGO. Few NGOs at the local level of West Sumatra were categorized as healthy. For these two arguments, YCM is feasible and interesting to be used as a case for the implementation of the principles of public accountability and transparency. Based on research that has been done, the demands of accountable and transparent NGOs have been responded by YCM by improving institutional governance. There are four points of concern of YCM in realizing these principles, namely 1) Strengthening the vision, mission, and strategy; 2). Improving human resources; 3). Building an open information system, and 4). Designing an organization's management system.


Gambling generates a significant source of income for certain countries/regions. There is a general assumption that a significant share of gambling receipts is originated on both domestic and international tourism flows. In this paper, we argue that while that might be the case for Las Vegas, Macau or Hong Kong, it is certainly not the case for Portugal, where the empirical evidence shows that gambling receipts are highly dependent on national per capita income (instead of international tourism). We use a multiple regression model, with the tourism receipts depending on both international tourism and national income. The GLS estimators, under the assumption of auto correlated errors, exhibit statistically relevant coefficients for GDP for all Casinos in Portugal. On the contrary, international tourism has shown to be insignificant in all Casinos except for the special case of the Madeira Island. Considering that the model shows gambling receipts depending strongly on domestic income in Portugal, while international tourism is not statistically relevant, some policy and management implications can be derived from this main conclusion. Most notably, it can be argued that marketing investments and general promotion of the Casino business should be addressed to residents rather than non-residents given that the former are the ones holding the main potential for spending in Casinos in Portugal.


Abstract This study interweaved the divide-and-conquer strategy with the stag hunt game to model a terrorism and counterterrorism environment. The records in the global terrorism database show that 98% of total terror attack incidents from 1970 to 2018 were targeted on law-abiding citizens/facilities, while 2% were targeted on terrorists. Three divide-and-conquer strategies are proposed: destruction of communication channels, payment of bribes, and fomenting distrust among terror groups. When these strategies are implemented, terrorists will effectively be used as tools in counterterrorism. Consequently, attacks on citizens will be reduced while attacks on terrorists will be increased.


In the real world domain,observation information acquisition need some kind of cost,however,for a planning,some observation variables are useless in the execution of the plan.So it is very necessary that how to remove these unnecessary observation variables in order to save the cost in the real word.In this paper,there is a new algorithm which can deal with strong cycle planning.This algorithm can find an approximate minimal set of observation variables which are necessary for the execution of a strong cycle planning under full observability.It also can further improve the implementation efficiency of strong cycle planning by using the approximate minimal set of observation variables.


The volume contains a large amount of quoted material. This in no wise reflects on the author's own power of lucid expression, which is demonstrated on every page. It is well chosen for both interest and emphasis, and furnishes an excellent introduction to the literature of this immensely important subject. The volume closes with a comprehensive bibliography of forty-five pages, and an adequate index. It is unfortunate, however, that the Institute for Government Research should have seen fit to clothe so distinguished a publication in such melancholy and altogether uninviting covers. The word "vote" at the bottom of page 428 should obviously be "veto," and the word "underrate" on page 452 was evidently intended to be "overrate."


Two things that are often overlooked in analyzing urban ethnic adaptations are a longitudinal perspective toward group adaptations and the in- fluence of national (supra locai) policies and institutions on their development. This paper examines a model of successive stages of urban ethnic insitutions, in light of additional information and recent developments in the Los Angeles Indian community. It is suggested that the model needs revisions of three kinds: (a) Some types of institutions appear to form contemporaneously, rather than in stages, and certain principles of formation such as kinship and friendship con- tinue to remain strong; (b) new types of institutions have developed and need to be incorporated into the model; and (c) the importance and role of national policy toward urban poor need to be assessed. The argument that federal policy influences urban migrants' adaptation is examined in detail. It is concluded that urban Indian institutions respond to and reflect federal policy toward urban areas and urban poor. It is suggested that national policy may be more closely linked with types and development of migrants' associations than previously suspected, and that a model of migrant institutional development should include federal policy as an important variable. The purpose of this paper is to analyze urban migrants' institutions longi- tudinally and to suggest reasons for those changes over time. More specifically, the paper reexamines a model of successive stages of urban ethnic institutional development (Price 1975) with particular reference to Los Angeles's Indian com- munity. It calls attention to a new level of institutional activity within the urban Indian community, and suggests revisions in the model. It assesses an often- overlooked factor that affects urban ethnic institutions, the effect of national policy on local groups and their development. Voluntary associations, regional associations, and institutional adaptations of migrants have been a source of stimulation and study for anthropologists for 149


The evaluation of boundary condition for an open inlet region is not an easy problem in design or flow analysis. The inlet flow fields at arbitrary boundaries can be evaluated by assuming the inlet velocity distribution at the duct inlet by sink distribution. To confirm the effectiveness of this method the experimental results and the numerical ones calculated by using the standard k-e turbulent model along with the boundary conditions evaluated by this sink distributions are compared. It was found that this method is very successful in evalution of inlet velocity field.


Objectives To explore the role of flexible bronchoscopy in diagnosing tracheobronchomalacia in chil -dren. Methods Clinical data and flexible bronchoscopy of 335 children with persistent wheezing or intractable cough from December 2002 to June 2006 were retrospectively analyzed. Results Tracheobronchomalacia was diagnosed in 62 out of a total of 335 patients, in which 17 cases were tracheomalacia, 27 cases were tracheobronchomalacia and 18 cases were bronchomalacia. Primary tracheobronchomalacia was identified in 59 cases while the other 3 were secondary tracheobronchomalacia characterized with extrinsic compression of the trachea. Of the 62 patients, 7 were laryngomalacia, 53 tra-cheosteosis. Fifty-two (52) of the 62 had been mistakenly diagnosed as infantile asthma, reactive airway disease before flexible bronchoscopy. Conclusions Tracheobronchomalacia is one of the reasons causing wheezing or chronic cough in children. Flexible bronchoscopy can be regarded as a golden criteria for diagnosis of tracheobronchomalacia.


ABSTRACT Novel Coronavirus has spread quickly through India's major cities and smaller towns and villages. In efforts to contain the spread of the virus, the Indian government has enacted increasingly draconian measures, endorsing social distancing and a 'people's curfew' on 22 March, and then at 8pm on March 24, announcing a 21-day lockdown beginning at midnight. While the lockdown has been relaxed in terms of its enforcement, at the time of writing the lockdown has officially passed 232 days. Markets are closed except for a few hours a day when people can gather essential supplies, and all non-essential transport, public and private, has ceased. For India's bustling global cities, this marks an epochal event, a disruption to life that is unknown to most. However, for Northeast Indians, Coronavirus and the politics that surround it has added to and shaped the nature of racist attacks against Northeast Indians and thus became attached to longer histories of discrimination and challenges to identity. In this article I argue that the experiences of Northeast Indians amidst the Coronavirus pandemic have become entangled with India's ongoing citizenship debate, and thus serves as a valuable insight into the ways epidemics intersect with race, identity and belonging.


The utility model relates to an oil-gas pipeline displacement monitoring system in a frozen soil region. A fiber grating displacement sensor group is arranged on one side of an oil-gas pipeline (2) in the frozen soil region, wherein all sensors are connected in series and welded; an optical fiber (12) is led into a monitoring station, wherein the optical fiber (12) is connected with an optical switch (13), the optical switch (13) is connected with a fiber grating demodulator (14), and the fiber grating demodulator (14) is connected with a lower computer (15); and data pre-processed by the lower computer (15) is transmitted to a low-track satellite (17) via a satellite communication module (16), the low-track satellite (17) forwards the data to another satellite communication module (18), and the satellite communication module (18) transmits the received data to a host computer (19) for analyzing and processing. The oil-gas pipeline displacement monitoring system in the frozen soil region is high in precision and stability and low in cost.


Since the 1990s, the libraries of countless independent picture agencies have been sold, merged, relicensed, and ultimately subsumed by such media giants as Getty Images. As a result, the names Pix, Black Star, Keystone, or Rapho do not mean much anymore, but Magnum Photos still does. Its vast archive of images remains in the hands of the photographers, who are Magnum's shareholders rather than its employees. Magnum's co-founders Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson are still household names, celebrated for their blackand-white 'concerned' and 'humanist' images made in the tumultuous decades after World War II. Now with offices in Paris, New York, London, and Tokyo, Magnum has grown its roster to over ninety photographers, each of whom has shaped the history of the medium. (Consider the names Elliott Erwitt, Susan Meiselas, Joseph Koudelka, Martin Parr, Thomas Dworzak, or Alex Webb, among many others.) Against the backdrop of the fast-changing picture economy and the transformations in the photojournalistic profession, Magnum's continued existence is certainly a reason for celebration. Magnum Manifesto takes up that charge. Published on the occasion of the agency's seventieth anniversary and accompanying an exhibition of the same name at the International Center of Photography, Magnum Manifesto joins a roster of publications that have helped preserve the agency's history and propagate the Magnum brand, including The World as Seen by Magnum Photographers (1989), Magnum Degrees (2000), Magnum Stories (2004), and Magnum Contact Sheets (2011). Like these earlier volumes, Magnum Manifesto is the work of scholars and curators with close ties to the agency, and was produced with the close involvement of Magnum itself. The primary author, Clément Chéroux, has been Senior Curator of Photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) since early 2017, and previously headed the Department of Photography at the Musée national d'art moderne at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. While there, he worked closely with the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson. He curated the retrospective Henri Cartier-Bresson: Here and Now (2014) and wrote a new introduction to Steidl's reprint of The Decisive Moment in 2015. Chéroux's collaborator Clara Bouvresse wrote a doctoral thesis on Magnum, during which she attended the agency's annual meetings, established personal relationships with its photographers, and worked in (and sometimes for) archival collections pertaining to Magnum's history. The catalogue begins with essays by Chéroux and Bouvresse that review Magnum's history from 1947 to the present day. From there, it moves to the images themselves – over five hundred glossy photographs showing how Magnum photographers' styles and interests evolved over seventy years. Anyone publishing about Magnum faces the challenge of working with hundreds of thousands of photographs and balancing the collective's story with the work of individual photographers. Chéroux and Bouvresse's solution is to group their selection of images into three epochs and formal themes: the era of humanism from 1947 to 1968; the revolts, individualism, and consumerism of 1969 to 1989; and the intertwined globalisation and 'end of history' of 1989 to the present. Each section begins with a series of pictures arranged on a black background with no text or attribution, demonstrating that Magnum's photographers shared formal and political preoccupations. Longer portfolios by individual photographers on the same theme follow. The latter are beautifully reproduced and are often shown, satisfyingly, as they appeared in their original book and magazine contexts. The work is undeniably powerful and includes a number of projects that are rarely shown in the context of Magnum retrospectives, including Eve Arnold's 1951 report on migrant potato pickers, Danny Lyon's documentation of the Texas penal system from the late 1960s, and Thomas Dworzak's 2002 book of found portraits of Taliban leaders – 'a tribute to the photographers and retouchers at the local studios' of Kandahar. The catalogue concludes with a series of primary sources, mostly from the Magnum Foundation archive. As Chéroux explains, 'the aim of all these documents is to explain both the ethical and the aesthetic positions of the photographers throughout the last seven decades'. Chéroux and Bouvresse's collaborative project is, unsurprisingly, littered with awestruck comments about Magnum's excellence and exceptionalism, and it rarely departs from the standard chronology and mythical tropes surrounding Magnum. We read once Reviews


There is no question as to the importance of psychosocial rehabilitation, but selecting ten key references in such a complex field is clearly a challenge. In the context of deinstitutionalization and community mental health movements, there is a growing consensus among those of us who work with people with severe mental disorders of the importance of what we refer to as "rehabilitation" to facilitate the recovery process and help patients develop an active life in their communities.


Optimized performance of joint is categorized by its "structural integrity" and "sealing capability". In literature, limited data are available regarding the performance of gasketed bolted flanged joint under combined internal and external loading; hence an optimized joint performance cannot be addressed. In this paper, a detailed three-dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis of bolted gasketed flange joint is performed, to study its performance under combined internal (pressure) and external (axial and bending) load. Results of the finite element analysis are compared with the experimental results available in literature providing the validation of the numerical approach developed.


A direct inspiration for this study has been the publication of the monumental work The Manuscripts  of  Pre-Tridentine Missals. A Summary Catalogue by Andrzej Wojciech Suski, Bishop Emeritus of Torun. Like the previous publication regarding the sacramentaries, this book is the fruit of a truly Benedictine work of the last quarter of the century. The catalogues prepared by the first Bishop of Torun are the unique texts which constitute invaluable help for researchers of the history of the liturgy, in particular. In this study we will present the genesis and evolution of the Missal. Before the Missal appeared as a uniform liturgical book intended for the celebration of the Eucharist, many books, such as sacramentaries, lectionaries, evangeliaries graduals and antiphonaries, as well as texts containing rubrics for the Mass had been used in the celebration of the Eucharist. They functioned as separate books for the bishop and the presbyter (the sacramentary), the subdeacon (the lectionary), the deacon (the evangeliary) and the singing group (gradual). In the ninth century, the process of combining these books into one liturgical text began, which resulted in the creation of a complete missal (missale plenarium, missale completum). This missal included rubrics indicating the rules which govern the celebration of the liturgy (ordines). A direct inspiration for this study has been the publication of the monumental work The Manuscripts of Pre-Tridentine Missals. A Summary Catalogue by Andrzej Wojciech Suski, Bishop Emeritus of Torun. Like the previous publication regarding the sacramentaries, this book is the fruit of a truly Benedictine work of the last quarter of the century. The catalogues prepared by the first Bishop of Torun are the unique texts which constitute invaluable help for researchers of the history of the liturgy, in particular. In this study we will present the genesis and evolution of the Missal. Before the Missal appeared as a uniform liturgical book intended for the celebration of the Eucharist, many books, such as sacramentaries, lectionaries, evangeliaries graduals and antiphonaries, as well as texts containing rubrics for the Mass had been used in the celebration of the Eucharist. They functioned as separate books for the bishop and the presbyter (the sacramentary), the subdeacon (the lectionary), the deacon (the evangeliary) and the singing group (gradual). In the ninth century, the process of combining these books into one liturgical text began, which resulted in the creation of a complete missal ( missale plenarium, missale completum ). This missal included rubrics indicating the rules which govern the celebration of the liturgy ( ordines ). 800x600 Normal 0 21 false false false PL X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */
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Over a field k of characteristic 3, we prove that there are no geometrically smooth quartic surfaces SP 3 with more than 112 lines. Moreover, the surface with 112 lines is projectively equivalent overto the Fermat quartic. As a key ingredient, we derive a characteristic free upper bound for the number of lines met by a quadric on a smooth quartic surface.


A braking device is disclosed for reducing or retarding rearward movement of a ski, such as when climbing a hill. The device comprises an elongated frame mounted lengthwise in a recess in the bottom of a ski. A plurality of cleats are spaced apart lengthwise of the frame. The front ends of the cleats are pivoted to the frame for vertical movement. The cleats pivot downwardly and dig into the snow when the ski moves rearwardly, acting as a brake. The cleats pivot upwardly and become inoperative during normal downhill skiing. The braking device may be used for all skis, but is primarily intended for cross-country and touring downhill skis. It is preferably built into the ski by the ski manufacturer as original equipment, but may be added to an existing ski.


The paper presents RAMSAS4Modelica, a method for supporting the Dependability Analysis of systems centered on the Modelica language and related tools. RAMSAS4Modelica is the result of a redefinition of the four main phases of the RAMSAS method as well as of their activities and related work-products. Moreover, new activities have been introduced so to benefit of some proposed extensions to the Modelica language. These enhancements allow not only the modeling of dependability requirements but also their traceability and verification by combing Simulation with classical analysis techniques. Indeed, starting from a Modelica-based system design, such extensions also enable the generation of Fault Tree Diagrams for performing Fault Tree Analysis. The paper exemplifies these distinctive features of RAMSAS4Modelica through a case study concerning a Tank System.


Watercress ( Nasturtium officinale R. Br.) is an annual plant of the Brasicaceae family. Watercress has efficacy in the treatment of a hypo-allergenic, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, anticancer, and treatment of tuberculosis.The purpose of this research was to determine the potential for acute toxicity of ethanolic extract of watercress. This study aims to observe the histopathology liver , kidney , heart mice and to determine the LD50. Test animals used were 40 male mice and 40 female mice were divided into 8 groups. Group 1 as the control group were given Na – CMC 0,5 % b/v and groups 2-8 were given ethanol extract of watercress herb with a doses of  0,5; 5; 50 ; 500 ; 1000 ; 2000; and 4000 mg/kg bw . LD50 test is determined by the number of deaths in the test group during the 14 days of treatment in the form of one administration of the test materials. Histopathological results at the highest doses showed necrosis and hydropic degeneration of the liver, serosis the kidneys, and the heart inflammation with myofibril irregular heart. LD50 test demonstrated the practical test material is not toxic because no test animals died. Keywords: acute toxicity, Nasturtium officinale R. Br., Ethanolic extract


The investigators exposed asthmatic subjects to aerosols of sulfuric and hydrochloric acid to study the relative importance of different factors on the bronchoconstrictor potency of acid aerosols. The investigators also compared the bronchoconstrictor potency of sulfite aerosols inhaled at 3 different pHs to examine the relative importance of the two different ionic forms of sulfite and of the sulfur dioxide gas with which these ions are in equilibrium. Finally, to determine if other measurements would be more-sensitive indicators of the effects of acid aerosols than bronchoconstriction, they examined the effects of exposure to acid aerosols on guinea pigs.


Significance
 One bill would prohibit the US government from ever recognising the 2014 annexation of Crimea. Two others instruct the Director of National Intelligence to report on President Vladimir Putin's wealth and on Russian efforts to spread disinformation and undermine the stability of European allies. The fourth is a resolution condemning Putin and subordinates for the 2015 killing of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. These measures come as larger sanction packages are under discussion.

 Impacts
 A proposed US boycott of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in June will mark a further downward turn in relations.
 The EU will retain existing sanctions but new measures mirroring US actions are unlikely.
 Moscow will focus on replacing Western technological imports with Chinese alternatives and domestic manufacture.


An insect antifeedant limonoid, "azadirachtin" (1), was first isolated from the ether extract of fruit of Melia azedirach (Meliaceae).1} This same antifeedant was also isolated from the fresh fruit of another Meliaceae tree, Azadirachta indica (Indian neemtree), and the complicated structure was elucidated by means of spectroscopic and chemical data.2) The present study was carried out because the crude methanol extract of the A. indica fruit showed potent insect ecdysis inhibitory activity with an artificial diet feeding assay. Azadirachtin was isolated as the active principle.3) Azadirachtin is one of the most prominent insect control agents isolated from botanical sources.4) This communication reports on azadirachtin's efficacy in disrupting both behavioral and developmental functions of several agricultural lepidopterous pest insects. A "choice" leaf disk assay5) was employed as a basis for determining antifeedant activity against the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, as well as the cotton bollworm, Heliothis zea. Leaf disks (1 cm2) were punched out from a glandless cotton cultivar (Pima S-4 of Gossypium barbadanse, normally a favored host of these two insect species), randomized, and arranged (12 disks/dish) concentrically on moistened filter paper in polyethylene foam grids inside glass petri dishes (100x 15 mm). Alternate disks were treated on their upper surface with either 25^1 acetone or with 0~100/ig of the sample dissolved in 25^/1 H H


Background: The use of insufficiently treated wastewater or faecal sludge in agriculture raises concerns because of the pathogen content. Helminth eggs are one of the most crucial pathogens for ensuring public health and safety. Widely used disinfection treatment methods do not guarantee the complete inactivation of helminth eggs. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of anaerobic digestion and electrochemical process on helminth (Ascaris suum) egg inactivation. Methods: Lab-scale biochemical methane potential (BMP) assay was conducted by spiking A. suum eggs in a serum bottle. Total solid (TS), volatile solid (VS), pH, biogas production and its composition, and volatile fatty acids (VFA) were analyzed along with A. suum inactivation every third day for the initial 15 days and fifth day for 45 days. In the second set of experiments, a hypochlorite (4700 ppm) solution was generated by electrolysis of aqueous NaCl solution in a membrane-less electrochemical cell. The hypochlorite was diluted (940, 470, 235, and 156ppm) in wastewater, spiked with A. suum eggs and then examined for inactivation at regular intervals. Results: The results of the anaerobic digestion treatment documented 98% inactivation of A. suum eggs (0.15 eggs/mL) in 35 days and remained at 0.14 eggs/mL until day 45. Correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship between non-viable eggs and pH and a negative relationship with all the other parameters.  Electrochemical treatment achieved 10% inactivation at 940 ppm concentration in 24h. Conclusions: This study revealed that the inactivation of A. suum eggs by anaerobic digestion or electrochemical treatment is a combined effect of more than one parameter.


While the attention of much of the scientific community was focused on the House's vote to deny fiscal 1993 funding, by a surprisingly wide margin, for one of the so-called big science projects—the Super-conducting Super Collider—the budget requests for numerous "little science" programs were also being cut back, sometimes to below current spending levels. And it's unlikely that money saved by cutting the SSC or any of the other big science projects will find its way into the pockets of little science. This year it's not a question of funding big science or little science, but big science or no science. Although the Senate has yet to act on any of the fiscal 1993 money bills, its Appropriations Committee is working with the same, very limited amount of money that the House counterpart had to dole out in fashioning next year's federal budget. A longtime follower of trends in federal science funding sees this year ...


An increase in Rab1b levels induces changes in Golgi size and in gene expression. These Rab1b-dependent changes require the activity of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and the cAMP-responsive element binding protein consensus binding. The results show a Rab1b increase in secretory cells after stimulation and suggest that this increase is required to elicit a secretory response.


In this paper, we describe the analysis of the NAND-type DRAM-on-SGT for high-density and low-voltage memory. The cell structure is composed of NAND-type DRAM vertically stacked on an SGT and an SGT-type capacitor. The NAND-structured cell has several NAND-type DRAM-on-SGT cells in series sandwiched between the read select and the ground line. By using this architecture, a cell size of 4F/sup 2/ can be achieved. We analyze the dependence of the cell size, the read line capacitance, the cell current and the read line discharge time of the NAND-type DRAM-on-SGT on the number of cells in the NAND-structured cell. When the number (N) of cells in the NAND-structured cell is increased, the cell current is decreased. The cell current when N=2 and N=4 are decreased to 69.8% and 44.1% of the cell current when N=1, respectively. However, when the number of cells connected to one read line remains constant and N is increased, the read line capacitance will decrease because the number of the read select transistors connected to one read line has been reduced. The read line capacitances when N=2 and N=4 are decreased to 62.5% and 43.7% of the read line capacitance when N=1, respectively. The read line discharge times when N=2 and N=4 are decreased to 87.1% and 96.4% of the read line discharge time when N=1, respectively. Therefore, we have shown that the read line discharge time can be minimized when the number of cells in the NAND-structured cell is two. The results of this work can be used as a general guideline in designing the cell array of the NAND-type DRAM-on-SGT.


Under the given conditions of remote oxygen plasma sterilization,the physical,chemical and medical properties of sterilized poly(tetrafluoroethylene)(PTFE) surface are investigated by water contact angle measurement,mass loss calculation,microorganism incubation and blood coagulation measuration in vitro,respectively.The surface analysis is characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.The results show that remote oxygen plasma sterilization can induce polar oxygen functionalities onto the PTFE film surface to replace the F element,making the surface hydrophilicity enhanced within the distance of 0-40 cm from the center of plasma discharge.With the distance increasing,the surface damage of PTFE is restrained.The surface biocompatibility of remote oxygen plasma-sterilized PTFE film is also strengthened to a great extent,and the optimal effect can be obtained at the distance of 40 cm.Surface hydrophilicity is the pivotal factor for influencing the biocompatibility,while surface etching has no special relationship with it.Only when the optimal equilibrium is obtained between surface hydrophilicity and etching could the biocompatibility achieve the maximum improvement.


Using a novel transfer matrix method, photon-assisted quantum transport through a quantum point contact (QPC) has been studied theoretically. Although the previous WKB theory predicts a ministep st...


[Objective]To explore the attitude of parents towards EPI in some remote rural areas and its influential factors,to provide basic information for further developing health education on EPI in rural areas.[Methods]With self-designed questionnaire,KAP survey on EPI were conducted in children's parents at two townships in Pingshan county of Yibin city,Sichuan province.[Results]Guardians' attitude towards EPI was bad,and Yi people were worse than Han people. The activeness of EPI was related to guardian's nationality,cultural levels and whether to go out for working,and their EPI knowledge and so on.[Conclusions]At present,it is necessary to raise the parents' activeness of EPI especially the minority parents in remote poverty-stricken areas,and expand the propaganda and health education on EPI in these remote rural minority areas.


Sri Lankan traditional and improved rice varieties were processed into brown and polished rice flours. Samples were analyzed for AM, protein, lipid, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. Gelatinization and retrogradation properties were observed in the Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) and DSC. The AM content of the samples was high to intermediate (20 to 26%) except for one which was low (17%). Brown rice flour (BRF) samples had lower swelling power, lower RVA viscoamylograph profile, lower gel hardness, lower gelatinization enthalpy but higher gelatinization peak temperature and lower melting enthalpies of its retrograded AP relative to its corresponding polished rice flour (PRF) samples. The BRF showed a lower decrease in peak viscosity in the RVA viscoamylograph as compared to its PRF when treated with α-amylase indicating inhibition potential. The traditional rice varieties had 68 to 86% higher total phenolic content (TPC) and 86 to 90% antioxidant activity in the BRF samples as compared to the improved varieties. A study on the antioxidant profile of the brown rice of the traditional rice varieties is being undertaken to explore their value as functional foods.


When asked by one of his students to comment on another person's trust worthiness, Confucius responded: "Don't judge others' trustworthiness. Ask whether you have been worthy of trust." It is worth keeping Confucius' gentle remonstrance in mind as we think about business ethics in China. Like Confucius, Michael Santoro is worried about ethical complacency. In his book Profits and Principles: Global Capitalism and Human Rights in China, Santoro notes how self-righteous many Western writers sound when they discuss China:


The present invention relates to a clock data recovering system in a serializer/deserializer. The clock data recovering system comprises a continuous time linear equalizer generating a first equalizing signal; an accumulator superimposing the first equalizing signal and a feedback equaling signal and generating a superposed signal; a first error slicer slicing the superposed signal according to a clock signal and a first slicing voltage and generating a first error signal; a second error slicer slicing the superposed signal according to the clock signal and a second slicing voltage and generating a second error signal; a data slicer slicing the superposed signal according to the clock signal and a third slicing voltage and generating a data signal; a clock data recovering circuit generating the clock signal; an adaptive filter receiving the data signal and the first error signal, and generating a reference voltage and a decision feedback equalizing coefficient set according to the data signal and the first error signal; and a decision feedback equalizer receiving the data signal and the decision feedback equalizing coefficient set, and generating the feedback equalizing signal.


Porous microspheres capable of delivering high payloads of biomolecules with suitable biodegradability and biocompatibility would be valuable in delivery systems to aid tissue regeneration. This study describes a facile, scalable technique to produce biodegradable porous microspheres by combining continuous ink‐jetting through a piezoelectric nozzle with thermally induced phase separation (TIPS). A selection of biomaterials is investigated to suit delivery in tissue engineering, the synthetic polyesters poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA), and poly caprolactone (PCL) and a natural polymer, gelatin. The parameters governing the microsphere production are determined experimentally and compared to theoretical predictions derived from the fluid mechanics and heat transfer during the ink‐jetting process. The microspheres produced have open interconnected pores with mean particle diameters of 80–200 μm and no significant skin region. The physical properties, such as the mean particle diameter, pore size, and surface area could be controlled by varying production parameters including the ink‐jetting pressure, nozzle height, and the size and oscillation frequency of the nozzle. The technique is demonstrated to successfully encapsulate a model hydrophobic molecule during microsphere production with uniform distribution. Porous PLGA microspheres are also used to achieve much higher adsorption capacities of a short peptide than non‐porous microspheres of the same material.


Spin-polarized photoemission experiments on expitaxial Ag overlayers on Fe(001) have shown that a minority-spin surface state of the bare substrate evolves into an interface state, moves to higher energies, and crosses the Fermi level [ital E][sub [ital F]] between 3 and 4 Ag monolayers. Application of a phase accumulation model shows that this state is a quantum-well (QW) state characterized by the quantum number [nu]=1, where [nu]=[ital m][minus][ital n], and where [ital n] and [ital m] are the number of wave-function nodes and number of layers, respectively. Higher members of the QW series cross [ital E][sub [ital F]] with a periodicity [Delta][ital m]=(1[minus][ital k][sub [ital F]]/[ital k][sub BZ])[sup [minus]1] identical with that in recent theories for the alternation between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic coupling in magnetic multilayers. The QW model fails at low coverages. A tight-binding model captures the behavior at low coverages while reproducing QW behavior at high coverages.


A CONSORTIUM led by state-owned China National Chemical (ChemChina) will acquire Australia's Nufarm in a friendly deal that values the generic agrochemical producer at $2.8 billion. The Chinese company made its offer with two private equity firms, Blackstone Group and Fox Paine Management. The consortium has offered to buy the Australian firm's shares for 27% more than they were worth on Oct. 30, a few days before the deal was announced. Already approved by Nufarm's board, the deal will go through, the company says, as long as it does not receive a superior offer and an "independent expert" confirms that the deal is in the best interest of shareholders. After the sale, Nufarm will be combined with ChemChina's agrochemical business to create what the companies say will be the global leader in generic agrochemicals. "This appears to be a strategic acquisition," says Susan Munro, a counsel in the Shanghai office of the international law firm ...


Aim To introduce some measures of improving software reliability in designing the monitor and detection system of railroad power transmission network. Method Emphasis is placed on the method of linear interpolation which can enhance the veracity of collected data. Some other noise resistive measures of software, such as digital filtering, data auto-resumption and "watchdog" are roughly described. Results The relevant monitor system software has been designed. Conclusion The noise resistive performance of system can be enhanced after taking these reliable measures.


Introduction: Oxidase negative nonfermenters are increasingly being isolated from the clinical specimens. Organisms like acinetobacter have been associated with multidrug resistance which makes the treatment difficult. Proper identification and determination of the antibiogram will help in appropriate management of the patients.
Aims and Objectives: The study aims to isolate the oxidase negative gram negative bacilli from the clinical specimens and identify them up to the species level and to know the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of these isolates.
Materials and Methods: All the clinical specimens obtained in the microbiology department were processed according to the standard protocols. Organisms were isolated and identified by using conventional biochemical testing methods. Antibiotic susceptibility was done by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion testing following the CLSI standards.
Results: A total of 153 oxidase negative NFGNB were isolated from the clinical specimens. Out of these Acinetobacter species constituted 146(95%) of the total isolates and the remaining 7(4.5%) were identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophila. The most common species of Acinetobacter isolated was Acinetobacter baumannii complex (Acb- complex), accounting 107(70%) of the total isolates followed by A.lowffii 25(16%), A. junii 10 (7%) and A.hemolyticus 4(2.7%). Majority of the Acb-complex were isolated from respiratory secretions (50.4%) followed by pus samples (30.8%). Stenotrophomonas species were also isolated predominantly from respiratory secretions (71.4%). The most effective antibiotic against these NFGNB were polymyxin B (98% sensitive) followed by tigecycline (96% sensitive). Cotrimoxazole retained its susceptibility against Stenotrophomonas maltophila with all the isolates being susceptible.
Conclusion: Speciation of oxidase negative NFGNB has gained importance because of the diverse species involved and their varied antibiogram patterns. Identifying the etiological agents and th


This paper introduces the processes and techniques Aurecon developed in pursuit of the optimum design solution when designing track position within restricted clearance structures such as platforms, over bridges, and tunnels. The common approach of breaking structures down into segments or sections based around traditional surveying techniques at regular or specific intervals has been surpassed by the introduction of laser scanning and the ability to interpret the relationship of the vehicle and track position to any surface. In addition to the advances of surface surveying, our team has developed a process which handles the survey data through the industry recognised structure gauging software lClearRouter for use with MXRail, the three dimensional design development software. It has been possible to design and interrogate two complete surfaces, the structure and the vehicle, without restriction to any specific survey station or the need for broad interpretation between survey points.


Companies with good financial performance will produce maximum profits so that they have a high return on investment. The purpose of this study is to prove and explain the effect of profitability (ROA), leverage (DER), and inflation partially to PBV of food and beverage companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), as well as the effect of profitability (ROA), leverage (DER), and inflation simultaneously to PBV at food and beverage companies listed on the IDX. The data used in the study are secondary data, in the form of audited financial statements of companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The study population was 10 food and beverage companies listed on the IDX in 2012 - 2017 with the sampling technique used was purposive sampling. The analysis was carried out with quantitative descriptive analysis techniques using IBM SPSS 21. The results of data analysis showed that partially ROA had a significant effect on PBV, DER and inflation partially had no significant effect on PBV. Simultaneously ROA, DER, and inflation have a significant influence on the PBV of food and beverage companies listed on the IDX.


Thank you for downloading the fantasy book an illustrated history from dracula to tolkien. As you may know, people have search hundreds times for their favorite books like this the fantasy book an illustrated history from dracula to tolkien, but end up in infectious downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some infectious bugs inside their desktop computer.


A novel balanced composite right‐/left‐handed (B‐CRLH) unit is proposed and discussed. The B‐CRLH structure is composed of two inverted L‐type lines and two parallel rows of interdigital strips that are vertical to the two L‐type lines, respectively. Dispersion relation of the structure features a balanced property and a nonlinear phase response. To characterize this structure, the T‐type equivalent circuit model is established and verified by simulation. Compared with the traditional CRLH unit of the same dimension, this symmetric configuration, eliminating the undesired resonances occurred in interdigital strips, achieves wider operating bandwidth. According to the electromagnetic characteristics of the proposed structure, multiband equal split Wilkinson power dividers are realized by replacing the quarter‐wavelength transmission line with B‐CRLH units. In addition, a dual‐band power divider (PD), a quad‐band PD and a sextuple‐band PD based on the novel B‐CRLH units are designed, fabricated, and measured. Good agreement is achieved between the simulated and measured results. The experimental results show that the dual‐band PD based on one B‐CRLH unit operates at 2.16 and 3.54 GHz, and the two bandwidths can reach 34 and 25.2%. The operation frequencies of the quad‐band PD based on two B‐CRLH units are 1.49, 2.12, 2.89, and 3.72 GHz, with the input return loss better than 14 dB. The sextuple‐band PD denotes equal power division at 1.34, 1.71, 2.19, 2.77, 3.40, and 4.03 GHz, which includes three B‐CRLH units. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 59:1100–1107, 2017


Social (or folksonomic) tagging has become a very popular way to describe, categorise, search, discover and navigate content within Web 2.0 websites. Unlike taxonomies, which overimpose a hierarchical categorisation of content, folksonomies empower end users by enabling them to freely create and choose the categories (in this case, tags) that best describe some content. However, as tags are informally defined, continually changing, and ungoverned, social tagging has often been criticised for lowering, rather than increasing, the efficiency of searching, due to the number of synonyms, homonyms, polysemy, as well as the heterogeneity of users and the noise they introduce. In this paper, we propose Social Ranking, a method that exploits recommender system techniques to increase the efficiency of searches within Web 2.0. We measure users' similarity based on their past tag activity. We infer tags' relationships based on their association to content. We then propose a mechanism to answer a user's query that ranks (recommends) content based on the inferred semantic distance of the query to the tags associated to such content, weighted by the similarity of the querying user to the users who created those tags. A thorough evaluation conducted on the CiteULike dataset demonstrates that Social Ranking neatly improves coverage, while not compromising on accuracy.


Edwin L. Steele Laboratories for Tumor Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114; Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139; Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114; Department of Hematology/Oncology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114; Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710; Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard–Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139; and Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114


Trees feature repeatedly in the preceding chapters of this book — whether as metaphors or in the material form of forests, hedges, and wood. As a way of drawing the various strands of the discussion together, this chapter foregrounds that arboreal preoccupation. Among other things, it highlights the trope of the tree of liberty, and finds not one, but three liberty trees in the public discourse of 1790s England, one of which identifies the rights of man promoted by Thomas Paine and others with a 'false tree of liberty' that would cause people to rise up and governments to be overthrown but oppression still to remain.


Top performing employees want to work for organizations that provide opportunities that utilize their potentials/abilities fully. The purpose of the present paper is to examine the relationship between various dimensions of Perceived Ethical climate and organizational commitment among employees working in the IT sector. 80 employees provided their responses on ethical climate and organizational commitment. The results revealed that perceived ethical climate has a significant relationship with organizational commitment. It is evident from the results that caring turned out to be the most significant contributor in relation to organizational commitment. Employees show more commitment towards their organization when they work in an environment where employees are sincerely interested in the well being of each other. The ethical climate is critical to the IT sector as it impacts employee's performance and commitment. It can be suggested that organizations can increase commitment by influencing an organization's ethical climate.


A novel Schiff base 2-{(E)-((2,4- dichlorophenyl)imino)methyl}phenol (LB) was synthesized from the condensation reaction of 2,4-dichloroaniline with salicyladehyde in (1:1) ratio in the presence of glacial acetic acid as catalyst. Complexation reaction of this Schiff base with copper (II), cobalt (II) as nitrate salts and with Rhodium (III) as chloride salt to produce three coordinate metal complexes, with a Schiff base: Metal ion ratio of 2:1. These compounds have been characterized by a variety of physico-chemical and spectroscopic techniques. The ligand and its metal complexes were expected to show an interesting bioactivity and cytotoxicity.


Submacular hemorrhage treatment is still an important issue in ophthalmology. At present we lack algorithms of treatment that could be used in clinical practice. Efficacy of every treatment method seems to differ by individual factors simultaneously existing in each patient. Therefore, anti-VEGF agents remain crucial in treating patients with coexisting vasculopathy, while in posttraumatic hemorrhage we should lean towards other approaches, like pneumatic displacement. Operative methods, despite being more invasive and burdened with higher potential risk, are indispensable in large hemorrhages, significantly speeding up clot removal. The primary aim of this work is to collect recent data regarding this issue and to determine usefulness of treatment methods in specific cases, regarding factors such as hemorrhage pathophysiology. The following article pertains to currently used treatment methods, such as: pneumatic displacement, anti-VEGF therapy, rtPA and operative methods.


Highly ordered mesoporous metal oxides (meso-MOx) such as CeO2, Co3O4, Mn2O3, SnO2, and TiO2 were successfully synthesized by using nano-replication method, and Pd-loaded meso-MOx (Pd/mesoMOx) catalysts for CO oxidation were investigated. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption–desorption, electron microscopy, CO-temperature programmed desorption (CO-TPD), and H2-temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR). All of the catalysts exhibited highly ordered mesostructure and a high surface area (>100 m2 g−1). The Pd-loading on meso-MOx supports enhanced catalytic activities compared with those of MOx supports only. Among the catalysts, Pd/meso-Co3O4 showed a high catalytic activity. The activities of Pd/meso-Co3O4 and Pd/meso-Mn2O3 were only slightly increased compared to the corresponding meso-MOx materials, whereas Pd/meso-CeO2, Pd/meso-SnO2 and Pd/meso-TiO2 exhibited significant increases in the catalytic activities. XPS spectra showed that Pd species had strong interactions with meso-CeO2, meso-SnO2 and meso-TiO2, and less interaction with meso-Co3O4 and meso-Mn2O3. These results suggest a synergistic effect between metal and the supports and the catalytic behaviours and activities are highly dependent on the nature of supports. The catalytic activities of Pd/meso-MOx can be further improved by a pre-reduction treatment. After H2 pretreatment, all of the catalytic activities were increased. Especially, the Pd/meso-CeO2 exhibited highest activity after the H2 pretreatment. Because the pretreatment enhances metal–support interaction and the formation of oxygen vacancies and hydroxyl groups around Pd or the surface interaction phase, which is participated state by influencing electronic


While Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) have exposed to offer guaranteeing additions to infrastructure based networks, they introduce new issues. As the nodes in the DTNs use store-carry-forward mechanism for routing, they need energy, battery power, bandwidth, memory or CPU utilization. Due to lack of these resources the node drops the packets. In this paper, firstly, we discuss different issues and research works carried out for selfish nodes' detection. Defending these selfish nodes accurately becomes vital in DTNs. In this paper, we present Cooperation Based Defense Mechanism (CBDM) against selfish nodes in DTNs. Furthermore, we study basic operations and security issues of Probabilistic Routing Protocol based on History Encounters and Transitivity (PRoPHET). This paper address a static mandatory cooperation scheme in which the nodes are forced to behave well. Moreover, a mechanism is used to calculate cooperation of selfishness of nodes by checking the number of sent messages and number of received messages. A bait detection scheme is used to confirm malicious behavior of suspicious nodes. Simulation results show that the proposed approach reduces the number of selfish nodes along with the decrease in the number of dropped packets and overhead ratio.


In the early 1950s, when West Germany was about to be rearmed, the Soviet Foreign Ministry contemplated a plan to unify and neutralise the country. Being met with East German opposition and Politburo indecisiveness, the Soviet considerations about a German peace treaty produce rare evidence about the working of the Kremlin during the years of absolute totalitarianism prior to Stalin's death.