Abstract Recent scholarship examining political contestation in Thailand has emphasised concepts such as "network monarchy," while pointing to the populism and enduring political influence of Thaksin Shinawatra. While this descriptive work has helped shed light on the architecture of governance in Thailand, it has not been embedded in a broader theoretical approach that might help to train our attention on other powerful actors that play important roles in shaping Thailand's political and institutional landscape. In this article, I outline one such approach and advance the term "autonomous political networks," to refer to collections of people who share strong value commitments and political goals and who operate in the space between the country's dominant political institutions – often straddling positions in the state and civil society simultaneously. This theoretical discussion is grounded empirically in a description of one such network whose power is derived from sources other than electoral legitimacy or long-standing historical tradition. The article discusses the enormous influence this network has exercised in reshaping Thailand's political order, all while remaining largely invisible to the public eye. It suggests the need to use this approach to elaborate other hidden political networks that play important roles in governance in Thailand and beyond.


Novel plastics that are biodegradable, environmentally benign, and made from renewable natural resources are currently being researched as alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics. One such plastic, thermoplastic starch (TPS) is produced from starch processed at high temperatures in the presence of plasticizers, such as water and glycerol. However, because of its hydrophilic nature, TPS exhibits poor mechanical properties when exposed to environmental conditions, such as rain or humidity. The overall objective of this research work was to produce a thermoplastic starch based material with low water absorption that may be used to replace petroleum-based plastics. With a recent emergence of "green" polyethylene (GPE), sourced from renewable feedstock, it has become possible to develop novel biodegradable polymers for various applications. In this work, GPE was melt blended with starch in three different ways; reactive extrusion of GPE and starch facilitated by maleic anhydride (MAH) and dicumyl peroxide (DCP), melt blending of GPE and starch by extrusion, and melt blending of maleated polyethylene and starch by extrusion. Comprehensive testing and analysis has shown that all methods reduced water absorption significantly with some variations across the board.


The invention relates to the technical field of thermal-insulation materials, specifically to a polyether polyol foam thermal-insulation material applied to thermal insulation of the water tank of a solar water heater. The material is prepared by mixing and foaming of isocyanate and polyether polyol, and main raw materials like dimethyl ether, a glass fiber and expanded perlite are added. The polyether polyol foam thermal-insulation material overcomes the disadvantage of great shrinkage after foam forming, prevents the water tank from deformation, bulking, barring and even cracking and guarantees thermal insulation performance and flame resistance of the water tank of the water heater.


A new kind of curing agent based on the polymer emulsions and other chemical products is introduced in this paper.This curing agent would not damage the pavement, furthermore, it is not innoxious and has no unpleasant smell, hence it especially meets the technological reguirement for cement concrete pavement.Its curing mechanism is described, with optimum prescription discussed and the properties tested according to the requirement of ASTM C 309-89.The test results show that this curing agent meets with the standard.The lower cost of this curing agent indicates its the market potential in the future.


Achieving ignition in a direct-drive cryogenic implosion at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) requires reaching central stagnation pressures in excess of 100 Gbar, which is a factor of 3 to 4 less than what is required for indirect-drive designs. The OMEGA Laser System is used to study the physics of cryogenic implosions that are hydrodynamically equivalent to the spherical ignition designs of the NIF. Current cryogenic implosions on OMEGA have reached 56 Gbar, and implosions with shell convergence CR< 17 and fuel adiabat α > 3.5 proceed close to 1-D predictions. Demonstrating hydrodynamic equivalence on OMEGA will require reducing coupling losses caused by cross-beam energy transfer (CBET), minimizing long- wavelength nonuniformity seeded by power imbalance and target offset, and removing target debris occumulated during cryogenic target production.


ABSTRACT Opportunity-recognition, risk-taking and personality traits are central person-oriented characteristics for entrepreneurial intention. Despite the fact that various explanations have been proposed on how they affect entrepreneurial intention, it is still unclear which explanation is the most forceful one. This study compares three explanatory mechanisms and reveals that a newly derived trait−opportunity−risk nexus explains best why individuals intend to become entrepreneurs. The nexus was tested with 412 employees who provided information on their Big Five traits, opportunity-recognition skills, risk-taking, and entrepreneurial intention. Findings of a serial mediation model indicate that the interdependencies between traits, opportunity-recognition skills, and risk-taking have to be considered sequentially to understand how these person-oriented characteristics affect entrepreneurial intention. In essence, more open, conscientious, extraverted and stable individuals recognize business opportunities more easily. The regret of missing out on profitable opportunities most likely pushes them to take risks, which then enhances their entrepreneurial intention.


We propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel NBPSO on DSI for PAPR reduction in an IM-DD OOFDM system based on FHT. The experimental results show that receiver sensitivity can be improved by more than 2dB


PURPOSE: A sea information management system is provided to collect ocean information stably by protecting a communications line and power line with a wire used for refloating the hull. CONSTITUTION: In a device, a supporter(112) is installed to be vertical to the top of a body probe(111). A horizontal object(113) is installed to be parallel with the supporter. The probe(110) includes a plurality of guide bodies(114) installed at supporter or the horizontal object. A drive unit(120) is installed at the probe body and rotates the supporter. A drum is pivotally installed in the probe body. A driving motor is installed at the probe body and rotates the drum. A lifting device includes a driving motor and a cover wound in the drum, and a pair of a lifting wire. An underwater detector(140) is installed at the probe body and a transmission unit transmitting a position signal of an ultrasonic signal of the ultrasonic sensor.


Successful real-world deployment of legged robots would require them to adapt in real-time to unseen scenarios like changing terrains, changing payloads, wear and tear. This paper presents Rapid Motor Adaptation (RMA) algorithm to solve this problem of real-time online adaptation in quadruped robots. RMA consists of two components: a base policy and an adaptation module. The combination of these components enables the robot to adapt to novel situations in fractions of a second. RMA is trained completely in simulation without using any domain knowledge like reference trajectories or predefined foot trajectory generators and is deployed on the A1 robot without any fine-tuning. We train RMA on a varied terrain generator using bioenergetics-inspired rewards and deploy it on a variety of difficult terrains including rocky, slippery, deformable surfaces in environments with grass, long vegetation, concrete, pebbles, stairs, sand, etc. RMA shows state-of-the-art performance across diverse real-world as well as simulation experiments. Video results at https://ashish-kmr.github.io/rma-legged-robots/


Electrochemical capacitors carbon nanotube / manganese composite oxide as an electrode in the technical field of capacitor electrode is made of two manganese composite carbon nanotube / oxide, and a separator located therebetween consisting of an aqueous electrolyte solution as sodium sulfate. Electrochemical capacitor electrode of the present invention than a single manganese oxide electrode having conductivity more than higher capacitance and advantages, there is a good prospect.


This study is based on a project in which immigrant student teachers were involved as co-researchers in a teacher educator's research project. The aim of the study is to highlight the students' experiences of, and their opinions about, participating in a lecturer's research project. The informants are six immigrant students in a teacher education (TE) program. Three of the students previously had been involved in the author's research project before they enrolled in this study. Another three had not been involved, but they had followed the project through their classmates' participation. Through qualitative interviews, the students reflected on the value of participating in a research project. The study indicates that immigrant students may acquire valuable knowledge through participation in teacher education research and that immigrant student teachers' experiential knowledge may contribute to increased knowledge in the field of intercultural education


This study was designed to identify any effects of listener gender in the "cocktail party effect," in which the gender of target and distractor voices has been shown to effect a listener's ability to detect and correctly respond to commands given in a multiple simultaneous talker task. Two experiments demonstrated that although there is no main effect of listener gender in any performance measure, the gender of the listener does interact with the genders of the target and distractor talkers in some conditions. This finding is potentially relevant to the customization of acoustic displays for maximum effectiveness with users of either gender.


Background: University nursing students are in a situation of affairs in which their households have fulfilled their essential interests. As a college student, those younger humans will go away from their home for impartial life. Aim: To evaluate the effect of Pender's model-based educational intervention program on promoting healthy lifestyle practices among university nursing students. Methodology: Quasi-experimental design was applied in the research; it was conducted at the Faculty of Nursing, Tanta University, and El-Gharbeya Governorate. Two tools were used for data collection. Results: there were a statistically significant relations between all items of socio demographic criteria of the studied nurses and occurrence of COVID-19 reinfection where P<0.001 except their residence, marital status, and department items. Conclusion: The educational program based on Pender's model was effective in improving the adherence level to healthy lifestyle practices among studied students through the study stages. Recommendations: Lectures, workshops, and campaigns with periodic refreshment in service training should be regularly organized to empowering undergraduate students in different faculties in order to equip them with adequate knowledge on health promotion lifestyles behaviors.


Abstract The genus Halomonas possesses bacteria that are halophilic or halotolerant and exhibit a wide range of pH tolerance. The genome of Halomonas sp. Soap Lake #7 was sequenced to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms for salt and pH tolerance in this genus. The bacterium's genome was found to possess two complete multiple resistance and pH antiporter systems, Group 1 and Group 2. This is the first report of both multiple resistance and pH antiporter Groups 1 and 2 in the genome of a haloalkaliphilic bacterium.


Tolerance maps are a tool for specifying, analyzing and allocating tolerances for both product and process design. This paper introduces the authors' tolerance mapping system and the steps for creating and implementing the system to an existing design for evaluation and improvement, via a sample case. The paper addresses current industry limitations on tolerances, future mapping improvements and mapping implementation challenges.


class Decorator { public void Draw(); } class BorderDecorator extends Decorator { public void Draw() { Decorator.Draw(); } private int BorderWidth; } The design model of this program consists of the following: Atoms: C={Decorator, BorderDecorator, int, void} F={BorderDecorator.Draw, Decorator.Draw } Relations: Abstract(Decorator) Member(Decorator.Draw, Decorator) Member(BorderDecorator.Draw, BorderDecorator) Inherit(BorderDecorator, Decorator) Reference(BorderDecorator, int) Invoke(BorderDecorator.Draw, Decorator.Draw) ReturnType(Decorator.Draw, void) ReturnType(BorderDecorator.Draw, void) Table 2 depicts a detailed example of a trivial JavaTM program and a design model that represents it. As this example demonstrates, an object-oriented program is abstracted as a collection of definitions of classes and methods (also routines or function members) and their relations. Atoms represent classes and methods declared in the program, such as the class Decorator and the method Decorator.Draw. Relations represent their correlations, such as Inherit(BorderDecorator,Decorator) Invoke(BorderDecorator.Draw,Decorator.Draw) Note that design models are abstractions which were made to reflect only the structural aspects of computer programs that are relevant to design and architecture. Hence, our analysis focuses on the declarations of program constructions. Obviously, this representation limits the type of reasoning we may perform (e.g., for discussing fairness [24]), but it is appropriate for the purposes of our discussion. 2.2 Specifications, Denotations, and Programs In this subsection, we discuss specifications, programs, and their relations. We make some reasonable assumptions on the languages used to write specifications. These assumptions allow us to provide a clear definition for the intensional criterion (Definition VI). Let us designate SPEC as the set of formal languages of any order [1]. Let SPEC* designate the set of all expressions made in some language in SPEC. A specification is an element of SPEC*. SPEC includes familiar specification languages such as Z [40], as demonstrated in formulas (3.1) and (3.2), and LePUS [9], as demonstrated in formula (2). SPEC also includes programming languages such as Eiffel [28], C++ [41], and JavaTM [18]. Naturally SPEC is not restricted to known programming or specification languages. A specification is only useful if we can determine whether it is "satisfied" or not. Having chosen design models as our semantics we can ask: Does this model "satisfy" our specification? More importantly, we would like to be able to answer the question: Does this program satisfy our specification? To answer these questions, we first define an "instance" of a specification: Definition II. Let φ(x1,...xn) be a first order expression in SPEC*, such that x1,...xn are free variables in φ. Let m designate a design model (Definition I) containing the n-tuple of atoms (a1,...an). Let A be the consistent assignment [1] of a1,...an to x1,...xn. If the result of assignment A in φ is true in m then we say that (a1,...an) is "an instance of φ in the context of A". If there exists such an assignment A, we say that "m instantiates φ", written m'φ. Definition II extends naturally to n-tuples of sets of atoms of any order, and to include expressions in higher order languages, such as LePUS. Observe that, in the degenerate case where φ has no free variables (also closed formula, sentence), φ is either true or false in each model m . This distinction will serve us in defining the Locality criterion (Definition VIII). What is the expected relation between a program and an instance? An instance is only a part of the program, and depending on the specification, every program can contain zero, one, or any number of instances. In addition, we expect a "program" to be as a specification that is associated with only one design model. The association between "real" programs and design models is provided by a morphism we refer to as the denotation function: Definition III. Let D : SPEC*→M designate a relation that maps each element in a subset of SPEC* into a design model, such that for every expression φ in dom(D ) the domain of D , the following conditions


Insect flapping sound is a consequence of flow disturbance generated by flapping wing motion. Spatial and temporal changes of pressures on the wing surface and vortex structures generated by the wing motion are considerable sources of the flapping sound. To analyze such mechanism in the sound generation, we have developed an integrated method combining computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques and acoustic analysis. Unsteady flows around a hovering insect are simulated by NS solution‐based CFD analysis with a multiblocked, moving‐overset grid technique. In the acoustic analysis, monopole and dipole sound sources generated by the wing motion are analyzed by using Ffowcs–Williams and Hawkings method. In this study, numerical analyses of the flapping sounds are carried out for three insects of hawkmoth, honeybee, and fruitfly. The CFD analysis provides a detailed picture of the flow fields around the hovering flyers where complicated vortex aspects and the induced pressure distributions on the wing surfa...


Parallel counters are the building blocks of partial product reduction tree (PPRT) circuits, which are required for high-performance multiplication. In this paper we will implement novel counters using a hybrid of domino and threshold logic. A test 64 /spl times/ 64 PPRT using these counters was found to reduce latency by 39% and device count by 38% compared to the domino logic equivalent.


Security is considered a corner stone for health-care information systems as they contain extremely sensitive information. The aim is to provide healthcare personnel access to the right information at the right time while ensuring high patient privacy. Biometrics play an important role in healthcare applications, especially when there is a need to control access through identification of authorized users. Face and Iris biometrics have been used separately for access security. Although face recognition is user friendly and non-invasive, it has low distinctiveness. On the other hand, iris recognition is one of the most accurate biometrics, but must meet stringent quality criteria. The significance of fusing these two biometrics is more than the improvement in identification accuracy. Enlarging user population coverage and reducing enrolment failure are additional reasons for combining face and iris for identification. In this thesis a hierarchical architecture of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) multimodal biometric identification system has been proposed based on sensitivity information security level. The aim is to apply the proposed multimodal biometric identification system to the highest level of security in EMR. In order to improve the authentication performance and reduce the spoof attacks, we have built multimodal biometric identification system that combines information from both face and iris unimodal. After suitable normalization of scores, fusion is performed at the match score level using matcher weighting scheme. The effect of changing the number and quality of images is tested on four combination sets (CS1-CS4). The system performance is evaluated on the Olivetti Research Laboratory (ORL) face database and Chinese Academy of Sciences: Institute of Automation (CASIA) version-1 iris database. The study the number of images alone without including various image qualities in unimodal system insure performance the overall group of images used of different image quality real user. overall multimodal


A simulation model of the direct torque control(DTC) system for induction motors was constructed with Matlab 6.5/Simulink according to the principle of direct torque control.In order to improve the static and dynamic perfor-mances of induction motors,a novel fuzzy adaptive PI regulator is proposed,which adopts a fuzzy controller to modify the PI parameter according to the speed error and its vary rate,and improves the speed control performance effectively.The simulation results show that the fuzzy controller has better control effect in comparison with the conventional PID controller.


The purpose of the article is to provide an analytical planning framework which includes decision makers, organizations imposing operational and institutional constraints, direct customers and indirect beneficiaries. All these actors have differ-ent, only partially overlapping, interests; this increases the complexity of capital budgeting and imposes limitations on decision-making framework has important implica-tions for project selection, charging and depreciation policies. Although the illus-trations are limited to transport planning, the framework can be easily applied to any sector or country. For example, the English engineering students applied the framework to 18 industries in the U.K.: Auto-diesels, Bass, British Airways, British Gas, British Oxygen, British Petroleum, British Rail, British Steel, British Telecom, East Midland Electricity, Guinness, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), Inter-national Computers Limited (ICL), Marks & Spencer, Mercury Communications, National Westminster Bank, Rover...


ABSTRACT There are more innovations today than at any time in human history. The companies that value creativity and diversity of ideas in their hires are the ones most likely to thrive. Indeed, the key asset of a corporation is the abilities, innovativeness, and creativity of its employees. The authors construct a timeline of critical events leading up to today's highly networked and interconnected world with its ubiquitous social media technologies. The current state has been influenced by advances in media, technology, military defense, and commerce. One trend that stands out in this timeline is the increasing rate of change. It also becomes apparent that the companies that will survive are the ones that are nimble, sensitive to changes in the competitive environment, and can quickly adapt. KEYWORDS: convergence, expert predictions, history of technology, Internet, social media, web 2.0 INTRODUCTION The companies that value creativity and diversity, including diversity of ideas, in their hires are the ones most likely to thrive. After all, we live in the "age of creativity, innovation, and sustainability" (Hoque & Baer, 2014). This is evidenced by the number of patents issued in recent years. According to Frohlich (2015), more patents were issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 2014 than any other time in history. IBM was number one for the 22nd year in a row with 7,534 patents; the total number of patents issued by the USPTO was 300,678 (Frohlich, 2015). Change and innovation is critical in today's business environment. Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, the technology pioneer sometimes known as "Grandma COBOL," said "Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, 'We've always done it this way.' I try to fight that." (Schieber, 1987). That kind of thinking is deadly today. Even firms once known as being innovative eventually become slow to adapt to changing business conditions. Think of what has happened to such companies as AP Damanpour, 2014; Hamel, 2006; Pavitt, 1990), all of which are necessary components for companies to, "maintain performance outcomes and enable an organization to adapt, transform, grow, and survive" (Damanpour, 2014). On the flip side, when companies fail, it is often because of management failure and/or a culture resistant to change (i.e. Kodak and Blockbuster) (Gershon, 2013). Thus, it is critical for companies to remain innovative (Pavitt, 1990), and it is a key job of a corporate leader is to create an organizational climate that fosters innovation and creativity. Today's CEOs have to transform their organizations' into ones that are nimble, resilient, quick, and willing to adapt to changing conditions. To sustain competitive advantage, employees should also share knowledge and help each other in order to maximize creativity (Friedman & Lewis, 2014; Raphan & Friedman, 2014). This promotion of intellectual capital has been found to directly affect e-service innovation (Tsou, Chen, & Liao, 2016). …


This consolidated report is the result of phase 1 of the Leonardo da Vinci Pilot Project 'Improving Training in Health and Safety at Work in the European Meat Industry' (TOSH-MEAT'). The aim of this report is to provide an overview of the 'State of the art' and of OSH-training needs as reported by the 10 participating countries. This information was provided by ten national reports. In addition, participants also provided actual OSH-training materials and documents related to (vocational) training in their country. As an overall conclusion it can be stated that this report provides a rather reliable and comprehensive overview of the 'State of the art' and of the training needs regarding vocational and incompany OSH-training in the Meat Industry of the 10 participating countries. This means that with the completion of this report, phase 1 of the TOSH-MEAT project has been completed succcesfully.


The present invention is activated, the thermal oxidation process of crystallization, the crystal lattice defect healing of the silicon thin film, by the high temperature generated by the heating it joules of applying an electric field to the conductive layer through a conductive layer on the silicon thin film lower dopant annealing method of the silicon thin film is performed and the like and to provide a polycrystalline silicon thin film of good quality produced by such a method. Annealing method of the present invention, without causing thermal deformation of the glass substrate, the crystal lattice defects are hardly present, Roasting completely free from contamination of the catalyst metal appearing in polycrystalline silicon thin films produced by crystallization methods such as MIC and MILC , at the same time it provides a polycrystalline silicon thin film that does not involve a surface phenomenon projecting from a polycrystalline silicon thin film produced by the ELC method.


Purpose – Despite the critical role of support personnel in education, the literature about their supervision has been less than informative. In an effort to provide additional guidance to school leaders seeking to improve the supervision of such personnel, the purpose of this paper is to examine and compare three distinct groups of support personnel: school custodians/janitors, school secretaries, and paraprofessionals in special education.Design/methodology/approach – The paper begins with two analyses. One is that of the general importance of the role of support personnel in public schools in the USA. The other consists of a brief argument as to why the literature about the supervision of support personnel has not been overly informative. The paper proceeds with descriptions of three distinct support personnel groups.Findings – The examination of three support personnel groups highlights the visibility of the school custodian/janitor, the multi‐dimensional responsibilities of the school secretary, and ...


Perfect and reasonable teachers' certification system is fundamental guarantee in promoting the quality of primary and secondary teachers.The scientific and strict teacher certification system in Canada,especially the process that Canadian primary and secondary teachers get their teacher qualification certificate,including the requirements,training plans,studying time,training content and how to get credits,provides an essential reference for the improvement of teacher certification system in China,and can be use for reference for solving such major problems of our teacher certification system as low requirements of degrees,imbalance of quality of certification agencies,weak assessment of practicing teaching and simple ways of assessment and so on.


On 15 January 2019, the case against Laurent Gbagbo, former President of Côte d'Ivoire, collapsed before the International Criminal Court ('ICC'). This has caused a flurry of comments. In a tempered text, Richard J. Goldstone observed that it "cannot be doubted [that] mistakes have been made by organs of the ICC", and that the "challenge to the Office of the Prosecutor is to expend greater effort in ensuring that cases brought to trial are fully investigated and supported by sufficient evidence".1 Referring to the acquittal of Gbagbo as "a stinging rebuke of OTP's modus operandi", Patryk Labuda opined that the response of the ICC Office of the Prosecutor ('OTP') to "the challenges of conducting effective investigations in the coming years will define the Court's future".2 Highlighting the implications for the prosecution's "investigation methods and strategies", he called for a "thorough evaluation of the Prosecutor's performance".3 The ICC Prosecutor has in turn indicated her disagreement with the decision.4 As an article in Le Monde pointed out,5 the concern for quality control in international criminal justice goes several years back. That gave birth in 2012 to the 'Quality Control Project', a research project led by the Centre for International Law Research and Policy (CILRAP) with partners. It has already produced three volumes on quality control in documen-


In animals, the amount of nutrients acquired through foraging and the proportion of metabolisable energy gained is reflected in the digestive tract length. This digestion theory predicts that the consumption of food with high content of indigestible material will lead to increased gut dimensions. Here, we analyzed geographic variation in digestive tract length related to diet among 14 Fejervarya limnocharis populations to test the digestion theory. Relative digestive tract length significantly differed between males and females and among populations. The relative length of the digestive tract increased with altitude. We also found a positive correlation between the proportion of plant material and digestive tract length for both sexes, which is consistent with the prediction of the digestion theory. Our findings suggest that variation in temperature associated with altitude affects food composition, and, thereby ultimately gut morphology of individuals.


In Al-25Nb binary system, it was observed only formation of intermetallic compound after 5hr milling but it was not observed formation of meta stable phase like L1 phase. In this state, fabricated had nano sized grain of approximately 20nm. Ternary systems, transition metals such as Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn were added 6~12at.% as substitution of Al, showed formation of like Al-25Nb binary system. In Al- l2Cu-25Nb system, it was observed that broad XRD pattern like amorphization of Al and not observed formation of after 5hr milling. But there was mixed phase of a lot of amorphous Al and little through TEM. In the states of unalloyed, 5~7hr milling time, those showed exothermic reaction at 35, which was formation of like Al-25Nb binary system. With increasing milling time to 10hr, was transformed to mixed phase of amorphous and nanocryatlline, having approximately 10nm grain but the meta stable was not fabricated by adding transition metals.


Studying computer programming requires not only an understanding of theories and concepts but also coding adeptness. Success in studying or conducting such a course is definitely a challenge. This paper proposes a systematic learning style recommendation. The model is designed to evaluate students' attributes and ongoing or formative learning outcomes for suggesting the effective style-fit strategy that facilitates learners to enhance their learning performances in terms of knowledge and skill. A two-stage association analysis was designed and conducted on a dataset collected from IT major students who enrolled in the Introduction to Computer Programming course. The first stage of association rules is to analyze and discover important relationships amongst learning styles, students' attribute, and learning performance. The second stage of moderation analysis is then applied to probe the moderation effect of the different learning preferences on the relationship between student attributes and learning achievement. Experiments expose many insights, for example, mathematics and logical thinking are powerful assets of success in computer programming study. Association rules can effectively identify associations of learning styles and the learning performance in terms of knowledge or skills. By moderation analysis, students in the "Excellent" cluster have a broad learning style than other students. Two types of significant moderators, the universal and specific, exemplify how lecturers can flexibly post style-fit teaching strategies for a class-wide and specific group, respectively.


Physical strain is usually evaluated physiologically by using the heart rate (HR) or psychologically using scaled perceived exertion (PE). In order to explore the relationship between these approaches, we compared the series of both measurements taken simultaneously during work on a bicycle ergometer. A total of 29 participants aged between 27 and 41, 42 and 56, and 57 and 71 years took part in 28 minutes of cycling with systematically increased and decreased load as well as in 7 hours of continuous cycling with low to medium exertion, interrupted by brief peak loads at high to very high exertion levels. Results revealed that, while both measurements are suitable to capture physical strain, HR is not as specific as PE. The older participants further perceived comparable physical loads as more demanding as the younger participants. With an aging workforce, results have potential implications for the organisation of work places. Practitioner Summary: The organisation of work processes is a key issue in the prevention of strain and hence of interest to ergonomists. Our study suggests that workers can, independent of age, perform physical work all day as long as they work at subjectively equal, moderate intensities.


Policy representation requires legislators to advance the interests of their constituents. As a consequence, much research on representation examines the congruence between constituents' preferences and legislators' behaviors. This article argues it is more realistic to think of policy representation as listening—a process—than congruence—an outcome. Listening involves legislators monitoring constituent interests and using that information in making decisions. Using data from a survey of state legislators in 26 states, this research finds that monitoring contributes to using constituent information and offers a measure of listening based on these two behaviors. Furthermore, it finds that compared with the decisions of others, the decisions (measured as cosponsoring gay, lesbian, and bisexual [GLB] issue legislation) of legislators who listen are more strongly influenced by district preferences (measured as district votes on same-sex marriage ballot initiatives). This suggests that listening contributes to representation.


The reason for this investigation is to develop a procedure to make a presumptive determination based on the capital invested in economic activity, considering the coefficients: capital and gross profit with the information of previous five years, in order to determine the presumption of utility Gross of 2016. Presumptive determination is a process that is based on past data to determine an untested fact, achieving a more reliable result, in this process intervene the active and passive subject as elements of the presumptive determination, giving a truthful and legal approach to the Process based on the information that the taxpayer has provided in previous years taken as a basis for the determination of the unproven fact. The presumptive determination can be a process where the taxpayer is not in agreement with the result that is determined, for the reason that is made based on past events and has not made real of the period, for that reason the process is not totally reliable if Considers it as a tool to achieve this process by providing a more self-centered approach. It should be considered that the presumptive determination applies when it is not possible to make a direct determination, in the event that the taxpayer has not provided the necessary information, it is considered to apply the presumptive audit, making a draft act that must be signed by those responsible and deliver Of a copy to the taxpayer so that he can justify the determined values.


ABSTRACT Polysulfane silanized white silica particles were prepared by treating with various loadings of bis(3-trie-thoxysilylpropyl)tetrasulfide (TESPT) in a high-speed mixer. Brombutyl rubber (BIIR) vulcanizates filled with the silanized silica were prepared by compression molding. Compared with BIIR/untreated silica vulcanizate, the mechanical properties of BIIR/silanized silica vulcanizates improved prominently with the increase of TESPT loading and reached peak value with the TESPT loading increasing up to 2 phr but declined slightly with the continuous increment of the TESPT. Effects of various loadings of TESPT on the mechanical properties of BIIR vulcanizates were investigated by testing mechanical properties, vulcanizing properties, bound rubber, scanning electron microscopy, and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) to determine the extent of rubber-filler interaction. As shown in vulcanizing properties, bound rubber, and DMA measurements, the bound rubber content, cross-link density, and storage an...


Expanding the toolbox of C-H functionalization reactions applicable to the late stage modification of complex molecules is of interest in medicinal chemistry, wherein the preparation of structural variants of known pharmacophores is a key strategy for drug development. One manifold for the functionalization of aromatic molecules utilizes diazo-compounds and a transition metal catalyst to generate a metallocarbene species, which is capable of direct insertion into an aromatic C-H bond. However, these high energy intermediates can often requiring directing groups or large excess of substrate to achieve efficient and selective reactivity. Herein, we report that arene cation radicals generated via organic photoredox catalysis engage in formal C-H functionalization reactions with diazoacetate derivatives, furnishing sp 2 -sp 3 coupled products with moderate to good regioselectivity. In contrast to previous methods utilizing metallocarbene intermediates, this transformation does not proceed via a carbene intermediate, nor requires the presence of a transition metal catalyst.


This article proposes to throw some light on the strong relationship between Cognitive Science and System Engineering. In the same manner that Herbert Simon justified hierarchical organizations with the argument that individuals had "bounded rationality", this article tries to show that most of our System Engineering processes are techniques to compensate for our cognitive boundaries. Practical implications for SE justification and SE education are discussed. 1 MOSS SAS? 86 rue Henri Farman, 92130 Issy Les Moulinaux, France firstname.lastname@example.com


Seam tracking and weld penetration control are two fundamental issues in automated welding. Although the seam tracking technique has matured, the latter still remains a unique unsolved problem. It was found that the full penetration status during GTA welding can be determined with sufficient accuracy using the sag depression. To achieve a new full penetration sensing technique, a structured-light 3D vision system is developed to extract the sag geometry behind the pool. The laser stripe, which is the intersection of the structured-light and weldment, is thinned and then used to acquire the sag geometry. To reduce possible control delay, a small distance is selected between the pool rear and laser stripe. An adaptive dynamic search for rapid thinning of the stripe and the maximum principle of slope difference for unbiased recognition of sag border were proposed to develop an effective real-time image processing algorithm for sag geometry acquisition. Experiments have shown that the proposed sensor and image algorithm can provide reliable feedback information of sag geometry for the full penetration control system.


In this deliverable we summarize the rationale, motivation, methodology and findings related to the observational user study that has been conducted on 28 participants using existing tools supporting ontology engineering. The study, which is a follow-up to the study carried out in summer 2006 (see report D4.1.1), considers and comments, in particular, on various aspects influencing effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction while carrying out an engineering task with public ontologies using two additional tools.


The pottery narratives of Nigeria majorly linked with the activities of a great British potter Michael Cardew who Established pottery centres in Nigeria, and trained many Nigerians in Pottery. Cardew studied under Bernard Leach (1887 – 1979) who travels extensively and taught pottery around the world.Leach studied pottery under Master Kenzan VI in Japan and returned to England in 1920 to establish his own pottery at St. Ives with Shoji Hamada. The impact in pottery created by Cardew in Nigeria from 1950 is a direct British Pottery influence imparted to him by leach at St. Ives. A British potter and artist, Kenneth C. Murray studied pottery under Bernard Leach at St. Ives in 1929 and returned back to Uyo in Nigeria to produce and teach students pottery. Murray produced pottery wares from the Kiln he built at Uyo and took his students to exhibit the ware along with other art works at Zwember gallery (Britain) in 1937. Chief Adam Joshua Udo Ema also studied pottery in 1949 in Britain and later returned to work as a pottery officer at Okigwe Pottery centre as well as established three pottery centres in Nigeria Namely; Ikot Abasi Pottery centre at Etinan, Pottery centre at Mbiafun Ikono, and pottery centre at Ikot Ntot in Abak. Many other Nigerian studied pottery in Nigeria. Lady Kwalii pottery experience was influenced by Michael Cardew. Her pottery influence seen pottery products exhibited in various parts of the world depicted a coordination of Niger and British Pottery influences. A case study design is considered for methodological approach. Data were taken from primary and secondary sources and analyzed respectively. British influence on Nigeria is indeed outstanding.


In patients confirmed to have primary aldosteronism (PA), routine adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is recommended by the current international guidelines1,2 with 2 caveats. The first is in patients unable or unwilling to undergo surgery, the treatment of choice for unilateral disease, most commonly an aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA). The second exception can be for young patients with undetectable plasma renin, very high plasma aldosterone concentration, profound hypokalemia, and a unilateral adenoma on imaging as illustrated in the flow chart in the recent Endocrine Society guideline.2

AVS is technically demanding, with catheterization requiring a dedicated interventionist, usually a radiologist; in addition, interpretation of the results similarly requires experience.3 The procedure is thus not widely available, despite its being safe and minimally invasive, and is in both private and public health systems relatively expensive.4 Given those issues, it is not surprising that currently there are many studies directed at reducing the need for AVS to a gray zone, by measurement in peripheral plasma of markers with high levels strongly indicative of a unilateral cause, mostly an APA, and low levels of bilateral adrenal hyperplasia.3

This incrementalist approach was not that taken by Dekkers et al5 in the recent SPARTACUS trial (Subtyping Primary Aldosteronism: A Randomized Trial Comparing Adrenal Vein Sampling and Computed Tomography Scan). There is clear consensus that all patients confirmed positive for PA should undergo imaging, preferably by computed tomography (CT), ostensibly to exclude carcinoma, practically offering some guide to the interventionist.2,3 SPARTACUS recruited 200 patients with florid PA, of whom 184 completed follow-up and were randomly assigned to 2 groups of 92, to have lateralization …


The properties and usage of nanoparticles TiO2, their modification and ways of stabilization were examined. Further is mentioned photo-activity of titanium dioxide. There is described the principle and practical usage for selfcleaning surfaces toghether with hydrophile characteristics.


www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 329 6 AUGUST 2010 629 C R E D IT : R Y U IC H I O K A N O /A M A N A I M A G E S /G E T T Y I M A G E S W hat is reality? Why is there anything at all? How did the complexity of the universe arise? What do quantum mechanics and quantum computers have to do with all this? If you have ever pondered any of these questions, then Vlatko Vedral's Decoding Reality is for you. Well written and engaging, the book provides a constant fl ow of new ideas. Vedral (a physicist at Oxford University) attempts to explain all of reality, its origins, and evolution in terms of the concept of information. He starts with Shannon's communication theory and then turns to quantum information theory and quantum computing. These are weighty topics, yet Vedral elucidates normally inaccessible concepts and theories with ease. In the fi rst half of the book, Vedral argues that Shannon's theory of communication is the basis for explaining social cooperation, biological information, and economics. One of the most frustrating things about Shannon's theory is that people keep trying to make it carry too heavy a load, a load Shannon never intended. That may be because of the use of the label "information." The power of his theory lies in its total disregard of meaning, but it thereby ignores the essence of social and biological information and communication. Although Shannon's theory may help to send a signal to Mars through the noisy channel of space, it will not help a robot on the planet's surface interpret the meaning of the signal (e.g., turn to left). Moreover, for two or more robots to cooperate, they must communicate strategic meanings, meanings that set up their respective intentions. These intentional, strategic states need not contain mutual information that is held in common. Instead, to achieve a goal by cooperative, social action, the strategic states have to be coordinated, be in synchrony, or coalesce. This is fundamentally different from Shannon's mutual information. As a result, Vedral's account of the role mutual information plays in social processes is misguided and misses the core of social communication. There are similar shortcomings in Vedral's treatment of biology, which blindly follows Richard Dawkins's gene-centric view of biological information. Such a view fails to explain the central problems of developmental biology and evolution, namely the foundational role of genome control networks rather than genes. In addition, most of the content of the vast noncoding but conserved areas of genomes may be control information. As with social communication, such information has to be interpreted by the cell to give it pragmatic meaning. Hence, in this sense cells are communicating agents that possess a vast store of hard-wired strategic information in their genomes. Their status will not be explained by Shannon's communication theory nor by an extended quantum information theory. Although both theories hold, they are not relevant for understanding the reality of living, social processes. When a cell receives a signal through a receptor, it initiates a series of steps in an internal interpretive network, which may lead a transcription factor to activate an area of its genome. This in turn may activate an entire genome network. Thus, the meaning of a signal depends on the complex interpretation carried out by the receiving cell. The signal's information content is enhanced by way of an interpretive mapping. The signal itself can be simple and, by itself, information poor. The semantics of signals (and, more generally, languages) is governed by enrichment: Meaning enriches the information content of a signal. In adding information, it allows for extremely sophisticated responses to simple signals. The information in an intercellular message is not contained in the signal, the signal's probability of being sent, or its surprise value to the receiver. As a result, Shannon's theory is nearly irrelevant to understanding information and communication in developmental processes. A very similar story can be told for human communication. Most animal communication involves coordinating social action. The meaning of a message is determined by how it affects the informational and intentional state of the agent. Agents coordinate their actions by using communication to adjust their respective strategies so that they cohere to achieve their interlocking goals ( 1). Again, this has little to do with the probability of a signal. Shannon's theory remains silent about meaning and understanding of language. In the book's second half, Vedral turns from the world of living organisms to physics. He introduces the strange quantum world and argues that the universe is a quantum computer. As he recounts, the universe starts with a random event out of nothing, before there is space and time. Then, through further random events, the universe forms itself. Where the laws of the universe come from is unclear. Given that we accept that a set of consistent laws somehow came into being, the set of physical laws is a very small set. Its complexity is virtually nil compared with the complexity of the universe. Hence, the laws by themselves could not generate the space-time events that form the history of our universe. A limited set of laws can at best generate a set of universes, namely those consistent with the Meaning in a Quantum Universe PHYSICS


This paper presents an analysis of the electromagnetic compatibility of low power photovoltaic (PV) systems specially focused on the role of DC line. The cables connecting the PV panels to the inverter may be a source of electromagnetic emissions generated by the commutations of power electronic devices; these emissions may become radiated disturbances due to the length of the cables, so possible interference occurs even in a range below 30 MHz. Moreover the DC cables behave as a receiving antenna and the induced radio frequency (RF) currents flow via a capacitive parasitic coupling into the ground connection. Through an experimental investigation the prevalent involved electromagnetic phenomena have been pointed out. General guidelines for the high frequency modelling of the system are also addressed.


A study was conducted to better characterize the perturbations used to generate instability waves and turbulent spots on the nozzle wall of the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel. Instead of creating an arc discharge as expected, the perturber was found to generate a pulsed glow. In order to characterize the initial formation of disturbances generated by the glow discharge, spanwise measurements were made near the perturber location. A low-frequency pressure disturbance was measured; however, higher frequency second-mode waves appear too small to be resolved above the background electronic noise level. Also, the repeatability of the instability wave packets generated by the glow was measured. Similar results were obtained with electrodes changes and when upstream sensor inserts were removed and replaced by contoured blanks. Finally, the axisymmetry of the nozzle-wall flow was studied by moving the setup to the bottom wall of the tunnel. Instability waves had 15–20% higher frequencies and grew more quickly on the bottom wall. These trends were consistent with the azimuthally non-uniform nozzle-wall temperature generated by uneven heating during shutdown.


r he extent of community influence on individual attitudes and behavior is a recurring theme in political science literature. As someone has noted, it resembles the medieval argument about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. De Tocqueville's comments about pressures to conform in the United States are among the earliest, but a number of contemporary authors have approached the question from various perspectives. This paper is an attempt to cast further light on the matter. In 1959, V. 0. Key and Frank Munger demonstrated that changes in the social composition of areas do not necessarily bring changes in partisan composition. Political culture, in other words, can be independent of the status characteristics of individuals forming a group. They asked whether "a rather serious void does not exist in the theory" that social characteristics of individuals explaini" their political preferences.


In a recent paper, the authors have proposed a control strategy for a snake robot during obstacle-aided locomotion. In this paper, experimental results are presented where the controller is shown to successfully maintain the forward propulsion of a physical snake robot in a course with different obstacle configurations.


The paper discusses the status of university, university library and the study on university humanities-social science, and summarizes in detail the interaction relationship between university library and humanities-social sciences, and puts forward several methods.


Part I: Lactoferrin Structure and Function. Lactoferrin Structure-Function Relationships: An Overview, Jeremy H. Brock. Altered Domain Closure and Iron Binding in Lactoferrin Mutants, H. Rick Faber, Bryan F. Anderson, Heather M. Baker, Tony Bland, Catherine L. Day, Hale Nicholson, Steven Shewry, John W. Tweedie, and Edward N. Baker. Affinity Mass Spectrometry: Probes with Surfaces Enhanced for Affinity Capture (SEAC) of Lactoferrin, Tai-Tung Yip and T. William Hutchens. Part II: Lactoferrin Gene Expression. Variants and Biotechnological Use of the Bovine Lactoferrin-Encoding Gene, Hans-Martin Seyfert, Uta Klussmann, Uta Maria Steinhoff, Jens Vanselow, Dirk Koczan, and Gerd Hobom. Posttranscriptional Regulation of Bovine and Human Lactoferrin: Species Differences and Influence of mRNA Regions, Floyd L. Schanbacher, Surapon Pattanajitvilai, and Margaret C. Neville. Mutagenesis of Human Lactoferrin and Expression in Baby Hamster Kidney Cells, John W. Tweedie, Edward N. Baker, Catherine L. Day, Bhavwanti Sheth, and H. Hale Nicholson. Structural Determination of Two N-Linked Glycans Isolated from Recombinant Human Lactoferrin Expressed in BHK Cells, Dominique Legrand, Valerie Salmon, Bernadette Coddeville, Monique Benaissa,Yves Plancke, and Genevieve Spik. Distribution of the Iron-Binding Protein Lactoferrin in the Pathological Lesions of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Beatrice Leveugle, Genevieve Spik, Daniel P. Perl, Constantin Bouras, Howard M. Fillit, and Patrick R. Hof. Lactoferrin Almost Absent from Lactating Rat Mammary Gland Is Replaced by Transferrin, Annick Pierce, Hector Escriva, Bernadette Coddeville, Monique Benaissa, Didier Leger, Genevieve Spik, and Mercedes Pamblanco. Estrogen Regulation of Human Lactoferrin Gene Activity: Transcriptional Synergism Between Estrogen Receptorand Related Orphan Receptor, Christina T. Teng and Nengyu Yang. Expression and Functional Analysis of Recombinant Human Lactoferrin, Pauline P. Ward, Christopher S. Piddington,Grainne Cunningham, Xiaodong Zhou, Roger D. Wyatt, and Orla M. Conneely. Structural and Functional Flexibility of Lactoferrin, Edward N. Baker, Bryan F. Anderson, Heather M. Baker, Rick Faber, Clyde A. Smith, and Andrew J. Sutherland-Smith. Difference in Binding and Fate of Lactotransferrin in Jurkat Human Lymphoblastic T-Cells and in T-47D Human Breast Cancer Cells, Bao Yuan Bi, Elisabeth Elass, Dominique Legrand, Florence Deplace, Genevieve Spik, and Joel Mazurier. The Impact of Phagocyte-Lactoferrin Interactions on Inflammation, Bradley E. Britigan, Troy S. Lewis, Oyebode Olakanmi, Michael L. McCormick, and Rachel A. Miller. Regulation of Lymphocyte Proliferation by Lactoferrin, Jeremy H. Brock and Abdelhakim Djeha. Recombinant Human Lactoferrin and Its Variants: Receptor Binding in Human Intestinal Brush-Border Membranes, Suhasini Iyer, Bo Lonnerdal, Catharine Day, Edward N. Baker, John Tweedie, Tai-Tung Yip, and T. William Hutchens. Part III: Functions Related to Lactoferrin Interactions with Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells. Influence of Lactoferrin on Host-Microbe Interactions, Satyanarayan Naidu and Roland R. Arnold. Bacterial Lactoferrin Receptors in the Neisseriaceae, Robert A. Bonnah, Rong-hua Yu, and Anthony B. Schryvers. Bacteriostatic Effects of Orally Administered Bovine Lactoferrin on Intestinal Bacteria in the Gut of Mice Fed Bovine Milk, Susumu Teraguchi, Kouichirou Shin, Kazuhiro Ozawa, Satoko Nakamura, Yasuo Fukuwatari, Seiichi Shimamura, and Mamoru Tomita. Functional Significance of the Binding of Lactoferrin to DNA, Philip Furmanski, Jianglin He, Li Ying, Joann Bezault, Ramesh Bhimani, and Kinfan Ho. Specific Binding of Ferrilactoferrin and Ferritransferrin in the Protozoan Leishmania chagasi, Michael L. McCormick, Mary E. Wilson, Troy S. Lewis, Robert W. Vorhies, and Bradley E. Britigan. Part IV: Lactoferrin Metabolism. Observations on the Metabolism and Cellular Interactions of Lactoferrin, Erwin Regoeczi. Lactoferrin as a Possible


The motivational component of personality judo athlete on the following parameters: motivation to success, motivation for avoiding failure and risk appetite are considered. In the study, athletes were tested wrestlers of various grades to identify the level of manifestation of each of the indicators of the motivational component of personality.


Reactive Powder Concrete(RPC)is known as a kind of novel cement-based composite material with ultra-high strength and outstanding performance.The development of the size effect on high-strength concrete and RPC is analyzed in this paper,based on this basis,the size effect of RPC is taken over initially and the difficulties are discussed.


Review(s) of: Rendezvous with destiny: How Franklin D. Roosevelt and five extraordinary men took America into the war and into the world, by Michael Fullilove, Viking, Penguin Group: Melbourne, 2013, 470 pp., ISBN 9780670074877 (paperback), RRP 29.99, Ursula Davidson Library call number 580.15 FULL 2013.


Abstract : This contract covered studies of the following endpoints in proton-irradiated rhesus monkeys and in age-matched controls: (1) Radiation-accelerated aging of skin fibroblasts in vitro; (2) Wound healing in vivo; (3) Late radiogenic cataracts in rhesus monkeys; (4) Comparative studies of proton-induced cataracts in Fischer-344 rats. (1 & 2) Some deficits in the abilities of monkey skin fibroblasts to perform normal functions in vitro and in vivo were noted following radiation doses slightly higher than those to be expected in space, but it was concluded that following "expected" doses of space radiation, late harmful sequelae will be negligible or undetectable in human skin. (3 & 4) Late cataracts may occur in the ocular lenses of some astronauts exposed to non-lethal space radiations, but the kinetics of radiation cataractogenesis in the rhesus monkey indicate that radiogenic cataracts should not develop until long after the space mission(s) is (are) over. Laboratory rats are not good models for late cataract studies because of their short life spans and the high levels of cataracts that appear naturally in them early in their life span.


This paper presents the results of an investigation on the treatment of two industrial solid wastes produced by oil refineries in Singapore, namely Ni/Mo/γAl2O3 and Co/Mo/γAl2O3. Calcination at 500°C was effective in removing carbon and sulfur in both wastes followed by generation of heavy metal oxides. A two-stage leaching process was successful in removing 44% nickel, 77% cobalt, and 83% molybdenum. However, toxicity characteristic leaching procedure leaching tests for spent catalyst residues of Co/Mo/γAl2O3 and Ni/Mo/γAl2O3 after the two-stage leaching process showed that the concentration of Mo, Co, and Ni in the leachate exceeded the allowable limits. Finally, the residues, when subjected to an enhanced binder stabilization treatment with marine clay, produced a commercial-value brick made of up to 30% by weight spent catalysts. It is believed that stabilization can be achieved through either encapsulation whereby the clay forms a matrix around the heavy metals to prevent leaching or incorporation in...


TRILBY / THE CRUMB FAIRY. Charles Nodier. Translated and adapted by Ruth Berman. Black Coat Press. 2015. 412 pp. 978-1612274553. $10.30. THE PRINCE OF THE AQUAMARINES. Louise Cavalier Levesque. Trans. and with an afterword by Ruth Berman. Aqueduct Press. 2015. 94 pp. 978-1619760790. $12.00. THIS NEW TRANSLATION OF EARLY 19TH CENTURY FRENCH WRITER Charles Nodier is an elegant and compelling volume of his collected fairy tales. As a scholar, lover of literature, and a long-time librarian, Nodier spent his life reading a myriad of writers and philosophers. But Nodier's work, while perhaps borrowing setting and tone from his fellow writers, remains remarkably unique. His tales are not only fun and interesting, but they also study the deeper meaning of writing and reading fantasy. His larger examination of madness and wisdom, believability and happiness, truth and lies, make this volume especially poignant and fresh. The finest tale in the collection is easily The Crumb Fairy. Here, an insane asylum inmate named Michael tells the story of his life and love with the magical Crumb Fairy. As a young man, Michael befriended the aging hag, who claimed to once be Belkiss, Queen of Saba. He later agreed to marry her and soon lived with two versions of his wife: during the day, he was with the short, decrepit, and fanged Crumb Fairy. But during the night, the beautiful Belkiss--the Crumb Fairy in her all glorious youth--lovingly visited him in his dreams. Now, separated from both and trapped in the asylum, Michael searches for the magical signing Mandrake that will help reunite them all. This tale, in addition to being an entertaining read, is a fascinating reflection on madness, reason, and the magic of fairy tales. As Michael narrates his story of love, obsession, and happiness, the reader will question their own relationship to fantasy and fairy tales: must we be able to rationally explain something in order to believe in it--or even find happiness in it? At its heart, The Crumb Fairy is an exploration of not only what we know and believe, but what we aim to understand through storytelling. The compilation as a whole is very worth reading. While some tales have moments that fall flat, others soar. Of notable distinction are Trilby, The Man and the Ant, and Smarra. In the titular Trilby, a brownie falls in love with a young and newly married lady who lives in the house he serves. He is shortly banned from the family's home but when the lady Jeannie learns that she loves him too, she leaves everything in order to seek out his pardon. Along the way she becomes haunted by the memory of Trilby and obsessed with finding him once again. The tale's ethereal, supernatural moments are upheld by Berman's excellent translation and its dark Scottish setting and gothic elements make this a very interesting work of early horror. Running throughout Nodier's tales is an engaging study of juxtaposition: young and old, innocence and guilt, purity and darkness, madness and reason. His proclivity for writing about tiny creatures, from termite ants to his own invented fairies (the Bean Treasure and the Crumb Fairy are so named for their diminutive size), demonstrates how small creatures can affect their larger world. Nodier's fairies, little though they are, remain sharp in their philosophies and wit and often act as a guide for the protagonist to a more moral and thoughtful life. …


Introduction: Products of chronic bronchial inflammation in asthma, such as neurokinin and P substance, are related to the pathophysiology of emotional disorders in asmathic patients, by their direct action on the central nervous system. Objectives: To evaluate the hypothesis that asthmatic patients have worse scores of quality of life (QoL), anxiety and depression compared to a control group. Methods: Scores of QoL, anxiety and depression were compared between a sample of 51 adults with controlled persistent asthma and 51 controls. QoL anxiety and depression was quantified by Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), Hamilton Anxiety and Hamilton Depression scales, respectively. Results: Asthma group had higher anxiety and depression scores (p Conclusion: The results suggest that the pulmonary inflammatory process may be related to the pathophysiology of emotional commitment in asmathic patients.


This study has the purpose of explaining the trend of library development in Indonesia from 2017-2021, studying the significance, and analysing the effects on the development of literacy skills in schools. This study was designed as a quantitative descriptive, comparison, and correlational analysis. The results of this study indicate that the trend of Library Growth in Indonesia continuously increased except in 2018 due to a regrouping policy for primary schools. Secondly, the library growth in Indonesia has shown a significant difference each year in public and private schools. Although in 2018, there was no significant difference in terms of the average percentage of library growth for schools in both public and private environments, what happened in 2019 and 2020 showed different things. Both public and private school libraries have demonstrated significant differences in the average percentage growth of libraries to schools in 2019 and 2020. Even in 2021, the average accumulation percentage of growth in the number of libraries in public schools is already above 90%, while in private schools, it is still below 90%. Lastly, a significant moderate positive relationship between the national average libraries to school ratio and Alibaca Index/Reading Literacy Score means that a library's presence in schools has moderately influenced students' literacy skills.


Behçet Disease is a chronic systemic inflammatory disorder that manifests as recurring mouth ulcers and a number of systemic symptoms, such as genital ulcers, eye disease, skin lesions, arthritis, genital warts and gastrointestinal, neurologic, or vascular disease. Both men and women are equally affected by it, and it is most frequent along the historic Silk Road, which runs from eastern Asia to the Mediterranean region. The majority of people begin to exhibit symptoms between the ages of 20 and 40. (1) We describe a rare case of a 21-year-old man with two right ventricular masses and pulmonary embolism due to a not yet diagnosed Behçet's disease.


The closure of the Central American Seaway (CAS) resulted in changes of ocean‐climate dynamics since the late Miocene following the uplift of northern Andes. Reconstructing the bottom‐water temperatures (BWTs) of the Caribbean Sea illustrates feedbacks of the closure on the ocean‐climate system including deep‐water dynamics of the Caribbean Sea. Here, Mg/Ca‐derived BWTs of the Plio‐Pleistocene Caribbean Sea from the benthic foraminifer Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi are presented for the first time and interpreted along with Na/Ca and Sr/Ca as proxies of salinity and continental input, respectively. Our results highlight several warm (93, Gi15‐19, and N1) and cool (92, M2, Gi20, and CN4) marine isotope stages (MISs). Accordingly, changes in the circulation of deep‐water masses during the CAS closure developed in four main time intervals: (I) between 5.2 and 4.1 Ma (million years ago) BWT was ~1.1°C, (II) 4.1–3.2 Ma ~2.1°C, (III) 3.2–2.7 Ma ~2.7°C, and (IV) 2.7–2.2 Ma ~2.1°C. Relatively higher, gradually increased temperatures between 3.2 and 2.7 Ma correspond to late Pliocene warmth and restricted inflow of Pacific waters into the Caribbean due to shoaling of the CAS. In addition, Sr/Ca values reveal gradually escalating terrigenous input until 2.7 Ma most likely related to the increased river discharge in response to the Andean uplift. The gradual decrease of the BWTs from 2.7 Ma may have resulted from the onset of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation. Overall, BWTs match with previous sea surface temperatures from the planktic foraminifer Neogloboquadrina dutertrei. The BWTs presented here confirm intensified thermohaline circulation during the overall Pliocene warmth with increased bottom‐water Na/Ca values indicating enhanced salinity.


In this paper, a methodology for designing an ℋ∞ output feedback controller for discrete‐time networked control systems has been considered. More precisely, network‐induced delays between the sensor and the controller is modelled by a Markov chain with transition probabilities which are not assumed to be fully known. The systems parameter uncertainties are assumed to be norm‐bounded and possibly time‐varying. To the best of the authors knowledge, the problem of designing a partially mode delay‐dependent ℋ∞ output feedback controller for NCSs with partially known transition probability matrix has not been investigated in the literature. Based on the Lyapunov‐Krasovskii functional approach, sufficient conditions for the existence of a robust partially mode delay‐dependent ℋ∞ output feedback controller are given in terms of bilinear matrix inequalities which can be solved using a cone complementarity linearization algorithm. The proposed design methodology differs from the existing design methodologies in that dynamic output feedback controllers are parameterized by both modes and transition probabilities, as opposed to the existing design approaches which parameterize controllers by modes only. The results obtained reduce to the existing results on fully known transition matrices when transition probabilities are fully known. It is shown that the proposed methodology can be applied to real world systems. The proposed design methodology is verified by using a DC servo motor system where the plant and the controller are connected via a cellular network with partially known transition probability matrix.


This study attempts to analyze a fairy tale novel entitled "The Adventure of Pinocchio", which talks about the story of the irrepressible marionette who longed to become a real boy. This study focuses on revealing the categories of moral value and describing the building children's character implied in this novel. To analyze this novel, the researcher uses two principles theory to find out the objectives of the studies. There are moral values argued by Linda & Eyre and the theory of children's character building based on Lewis. The method of this study is qualitative research, which means it does not need statistical procedure to analyze the material. This study merely uses "The Adventure of Pinocchio," a novel by Carlo Collodi, translated into English version by Carol Della Chiesa as the primary data source. At the same time, the secondary data sources are taken from other literary books and related references to support and complete the primary data. As a result, the researcher finds that some elements of moral values such as love and affection, sensitivity and not-selfish, bravery, self-discipline, and moderation occurred in the content of the novel. Meanwhile, building children's character can be implied through "The Adventure of Pinocchio's" fairy tale: honesty, responsible, regard, respect, and compassionated.


Abstract For a number field K and a finite abelian group G, we determine the probabilities of various local completions of a random G-extension of K when extensions are ordered by conductor. In particular, for a fixed prime ℘ of K, we determine the probability that ℘ splits into r primes in a random G-extension of K that is unramified at ℘. We find that these probabilities are nicely behaved and mostly independent. This is in analogy to Chebotarev's density theorem, which gives the probability that in a fixed extension a random prime of K splits into r primes in the extension. We also give the asymptotics for the number of G-extensions with bounded conductor. In fact, we give a class of extension invariants, including conductor, for which we obtain the same counting and probabilistic results. In contrast, we prove that neither the analogy with the Chebotarev probabilities nor the independence of probabilities holds when extensions are ordered by discriminant.


Back in the mid-1990s it was technology that drove the market; now it's the customers who are driving the technology. In the new climate, when health systems and community pharmacies plot their technology strategy, reducing medical and medication errors is their primary focus.


This article outlines the difficulties of giving negative feedback to students and staff and proposes a 3 point approach to overcoming the difficulties.


[Object of the present invention relates to a method for breaking the file contents of the file. The method includes to save the file in a predetermined file format, in order to destroy the file contents, to incorporate an algorithm with a predetermined trigger criteria file, if the file is opened, a predetermined examining the trigger criteria, and have that when at least one triggering criterion is satisfied, destroy files content. .FIELD 1


A sensitive phosphorimetric method for the assay of alkaline and acid phosphatases in biological materials is described. p-Nitrophenol, formed enzymatically from the substrate p-nitrophenyl phosphate, is extracted with ether and then determined phosphorimetrically in a mixture of ether and ethanolic potassium hydroxide. The method is rapid and very sensitive, and thus requires as little as 0.5-5μl of human serum or 0.1-5μg of protein of rat tissue with a detection limit for p-nitrophenol formed of as little as 10 pmol.


ast iiionth I described clcvcn "succcsscs" L of Sovici foreign policy since the October. 1917. Rcvolution. N o w i t i h time IO t u rn to Sovict .'l':iiliiics.. aiid to the uiidcrlying faciors that have hliapcil Soviet polic! in ihc pas1 and that should be \vciglicd hy Wcsicrii polic! iiiakcrs i i i the years ahead. Parii:illy hy coiiicidciicc aiid pariially wiih an cyc io s!'iiiiiiciry. I agaiii coiiic up wi ih the nuiiibcr clcvcn. T h c x a h w s s i i i c i i t s ol'succcss and failurc arc based on iii! owii research. stiiiiulatcd and rct'incd by a survey (both wriitcii and oral) that tapped the views of other Sovict specialisis visiting the Kcnnan Insriturc. Woodr o w Wilson Inicriiatioiial Center t o r Scholars. The "balaiicc shcci. ot course. represents iiiy own judgiiicnt. Readers \vi11 n o douht iliakc their own distinctions. t h u s rcduciiig or c~pillidi1ig the list; soi1ic Iiiiiy qunrrcl about \vhclhcr ;I ccrraiii cvciit oughi to he rated a I'ailurc or a wccc>l* givcii r l l o . v t ~ o i i ~ ' s apparciit ohjcctivcs: bur I t h i n k the I'ollo\virig represents ii fair accouiit i n accord with the facts as ivc know thcrii. I . Tlrci Bolslrri-iks Jirilrtl irr rlrrir. r r r i r r r l ) i i r . -o r rc Jiwcigrr polit.!. o l ) j tv~i i i~ i~ d i r i r r g rlrtl ~ ~ t ~ i i r . s I9 17-20: i o igrrirc 11 .\rrt.tx,ss/iil Corrrrririrrisi rm-olirriori irr Gvrwriirr~~ or oiIrt*r L'irr.opwri t * o i r r r / r i t , s . Al'tcr witnessing the collapse of rcvolutioiiar~ iiiovciiiciits i i i several Central European couiitrics the Bolsheviks hoped the Red Army iiiight still ~(ipplc 11ic Versailles systcni i f i t could carry its countcriittack rrgaiiisi Poland through the gales o f Warsaw. Bu t ilic Red Ariii! \vas rcpul~cd. and the Bolsheviks soon resigned thc~i i sc l~cs to the "tcniporary stahilization of capiialisiii.** From this they slid quickly toward the doctrine that i t was hoth fcasihlc and dcsirohlc to build "socialism in one couiiir) . * * Having reconciled thciiisclvcs to the iiccd to cultivaic .. gradually the soil of revolution abroad. niany Soviet leaders still wanted and cxpcctcd that the USSR wuuld serve as a pioneering cxuiiiplc and faihcr figure for other revolutions that would emerge in its image. Though sixiy years have passed since the October Revolution. no niajor industrial country has clected to fc)llow the Soviet cxiiliiplc. After some border regions were returned to Moscow's domain in the 1917-2 I civil war, Communists did not come to power outside the USSR except in Outer Mongolia (after 1921) un t i l the end of World War 11, when Coinniunist forces won in Yugoslavia and China (mostly by their own efforts) and rode to power elsewhcrc in Eastern Europe and North Korea on the heels of thc Red Army. The closest communism came to a triuiiiph by free elections was in Czechoslovakia, where a plurality of the popularion was both pro-Russian and pro-Communist after the war. The 1948 coup, while constitutional in form, was Stalinist in content; and Moscow used a mailed fist to reimpose its will when the Czechs and Slovaks threatened to go their own way in 1968. Recent decades have seen Coiiiiiiunist and other leftist rcgiiiics ciiiploying Marxist-Lcninisi slogans coiiic IO power i n Cuba. Chile. and iiiany Third World countries. but their driving inipulse has pcncrally been national liberation rather than ciiiularion of the USSR (or 0 1 ' China). Portugal's rejection of Stalinist coiiiiiiunistii may have sounded the death knell for any hopc that a West European people would elect to join the Soviet caiiip. Eurocoiiiriiunisni is still evolving on the Continent. but Moscow's denunciation in June. 1977. of Spanish Coiiiiiiunisi leader Santiago Carrillo indicates sharp liiiiits to Soviet patience with autonoiiious polyccntrisni in the West . If Coiiiiiiuiiisr partics are ever I o win power i n Spain. Italy. or France. they iiiay have to he truly dcliiocriltic ii i i i l perhaps iiiiti-So\lict. Thoush the Soviet cxpcriiiiciit has kepi the ideas ot hlarsisiii-Lciiinisiii before the world. i t has done inuch to discredit thciii. Soiiic iiiay rationalize that these ideas were no1 given a !air tcst because of the political culture a n d hac k \v a rd ec o n o iii i c cc) n d i t ions p re v a i I i n g i n c z a r i s t


The industrial era 4.0 requires that every individual must have superior competence and wise morals. Life skill education is an effective strategy to face the XXI century competition. However, there has been no development in line with the demands, resulting in much unemployment in Indonesia. Character education is encouraged to maintain and strengthen the culture and character of the nation. However, in reality, character education has not yet integrated into all school-based development programs. This research explores the development of character education based on life skill education at Pondok Pesantren Modern Muhammadiyah Boarding School (PPM MBS) Yogyakarta. This qualitative research uses an ethnographic approach.  Researchers' data is through the interview, observation, and documentation techniques—data analysis process with data reduction stages, data presentation, and conclusion. Triangulation sources and techniques used as a test of data validity. This study's findings show the strengthening of character education through life skills education orienting on self-development and boarding schools' cultural development. This study's findings recommend various life skill education programs that can develop and character education strategies in formal schools.


The inland nurseries of many sought-after Australian marine fish have been losing out in the battle for competing land uses, but a new study finds a cooperative approach can help redress the balance.


This paper introduces the advantages of high-strength prestressed pipe-pile, and taking Putian Jinwei Mansion as an example, points out some problems that appeared when high-strength prestressed pipe-piles penetrated the layer of soft soil, thus giving corresponding measures.


CDF-S XT1 is a fast-rising non-thermal X-ray transient detected by Chandra in the Deep-Field South Survey. Although various hypotheses have been suggested, the origin of this transient remains unclear. Here, we show that the observations of CDF-S XT1 are well explained as the X-ray afterglow produced by a relativistic structured jet viewed off-axis. We measure properties of the jet, showing that they are similar to those of GRB170817A, albeit at cosmological distances. We measure the observers viewing angle to be θobs = 10 ◦ ± 3◦ and the core of the ultra-relativistic jet to be θcore = 4.4◦ ± 0.9◦, where the uncertainties are the 68% credible interval. The inferred properties and host galaxy combined with Hubble, radio, and optical non detections favour the hypothesis that CDF-S XT1 is the off-axis afterglow of a binary neutron star merger. We find that other previously suggested hypotheses are unable to explain all properties of CDF-S XT1. At a redshift of z = 2.23, this is potentially the most distant observed neutron star merger to date and the first orphan afterglow of a short gamma-ray burst. We discuss the implications of a binary neutron star merger at such a high redshift for the star-formation rate in the early Universe, the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements, and the prospect of identifying other off-axis afterglows.


Objective To investigate the relationship between serum apelin level and plasma glucose in patients with metabolic syndrome(MS).Methods Sixty nine MS patients including 35 cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus(MS Ⅰ group) and 34 cases of impaired glucose regulation(MS Ⅱ group),and 63 cases of normal glucose regulation including 33 cases of overweight or obesity(overweight/obesity group) and 30 healthy controls(NC group) were enrolled in the study.ELISA assay was used to detect serum apelin levels in four groups.Fasting plasma glucose(FPG) and insulin were determined,and the steady-state model was applied to evaluate HOMA insulin resistance(HOMA-IR).Results The serum apelin level of MS Ⅰ group[(475.8±37.3)ng/L] was higher than that of MS Ⅱ group[(451.5±54.7)ng/L],and overweight/obesity group significantly[(430.3±52.1)ng/L,P0.01];The serum apelin level of each group above was higher than that of NC group significantly.Conclusion Diabetes/impaired glucose regulation leads to the increase of serum apelin level,which might be caused by the increased insulin resistance.


Anniversary Meeting, November 15.—Professor W. J. Lewis, F.R.S., President, in the Chair. J. H. Collins : Further Notes on Wood-tin. It is concluded that wood-tin, which always contains a good deal of iron oxide and is much more opaque and more soluble than ordinary cassiterite, is the chaleedonic form, the shot-tin having had a concretionary and the botrvoidal form a stalagmitic origin.—J. 31. Coon: On the Alteration of the Felspar of Granites to China-clay. The action has taken place from within the earth towards the surface below the underground water-level, the water outlets being generally indicated by schorl and quartz veins. The nature of the products of the alteration was discussed.—Professor W. J. Lewis : On Wiltshireite, a new mineral from the Binnenthal. The crystals were tin-white in colour, russetbrown when tarnished; small, but aggregated in parallel position ; with monoclinic symmetry, a : b : c = 1-587 : 1 : 1-070 : /3 = 100° 44'. Paucity of material prevented a chemical analysis, but no doubt it is a lead sulpharsenite. Named after the late Rev. Professor T. Wiltshire. — Arthur Russell: On a new locality of Phenakite is Cornwall. A single specimen showing numerous colourless, prismatic crystals of phenakite was found by him at Wheal Gorland, Gwennap, Cornwall, this year. The specimen obtained from a lode at present worked for wolfram and traversing the granite close to its junction with the killas.


Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) phosphorylation modulates myocardial contractility and relaxation during (cid:1) -adrenergic stimulation. cTnI differs from the skeletal isoform in that it has a cardiac specific N (cid:1) extension of 32 residues (N (cid:1) extension). The role of the acidic N (cid:1) region in modulating cardiac contractility has not been fully defined. To test the hypothesis that the acidic N (cid:1) region of cTnI helps regulate myocardial function, we generated cardiac-specific transgenic mice in which residues 2–11 (cTnI (cid:2) 2–11 ) were deleted. The hearts displayed significantly decreased contraction and relaxation under basal and (cid:1) -adrenergic stress compared to nontransgenic hearts, with a reduction in maximal Ca 2 (cid:3) -dependent force and maximal Ca 2 (cid:3) activated Mg 2 (cid:3) -ATPase activity. However, Ca 2 (cid:3) sensitivity of force development and cTnI-Ser 23/24 phosphorylation were not affected. Chemical shift mapping shows that both cTnI and cTnI (cid:2) 2–11 interact with the N lobe of cardiac troponin C (cTnC) and that phosphorylation at Ser 23/24 weakens these interactions. These observations suggest that residues 2–11 of cTnI, comprising the acidic N (cid:1) region, do not play a direct role in the calcium-induced transition in the cardiac regulatory or N lobe of cTnC. We hypothesized that phosphorylation at Ser 23/24 induces a large conformational change positioning the conserved acidic N region to compete with actin for the inhibitory region of cTnI. Consistent with this hypothesis, deletion of the conserved acidic N (cid:1) region results in a decrease in myocardial contractility in the cTnI (cid:2) 2–11 mice demonstrating the importance of acidic N (cid:1) region in regulating myocardial contractility and mediating the response of the heart to (cid:1) -AR stimulation.—Sadayappan, Role of the acidic N (cid:1) region of cardiac troponin I in regulating myocardial function. FASEB J. 22,


Editorial QJM Peptides as drugs We are on the brink of a therapeutic revolution. There research as well as recent developments in the use of more established peptide therapies. has been a rapid expansion in the use of peptides as drugs over the last decade, and this is likely to con-Insulin was the first peptide to be isolated and administered therapeutically, and is still the most tinue. Peptides regulate most physiological processes, acting at some sites as endocrine or paracrine signals commonly prescribed peptide, having been used for over half a century. We have yet to find a chemical and at others as neurotransmitters or growth factors. They are already being used therapeutically in mimic; however, there is still ongoing research into novel analogues and methods of administration. such diverse areas as neurology, endocrinology and haematology. Manipulation of the insulin molecule has allowed the development of shorter-acting insulins, such as Lispro Most peptides cannot be administered orally as they are rapidly inactivated by gastrointestinal insulin. This is rapidly absorbed, readily dissociates into insulin monomers, and produces plasma levels enzymes, so that subcutaneous or intravenous administration is required. Therefore, research is focussing that more closely mimic the normal postprandial insulin profile. Thus, Lispro can be injected immedi-on alternative routes of delivery, including inhaled, buccal, intranasal and transdermal routes, as well as ately prior to a meal, unlike conventional short-acting insulins that should be injected half an hour earlier.1 novel delivery systems such as the use of protective liposomes. Neuropeptide systems in the brain are A recent development is the use of non-injectable forms of insulin. Daily injections up to four times per being examined as potential targets for therapeutics, providing an exciting future development area. The day, is a major source of distress in the diabetic population, for example children or the elderly. It dual problems of local targeted delivery and the blood-brain barrier, prevent administered peptides comes as no surprise that inhaled, intranasal, buccal, rectal and sub-lingual preparations of insulin have all from readily gaining access to the required site of action, although as we will discuss, solutions are on been investigated. Precise insulin dosage is critical for 'brittle' type 1 diabetics. However, for some, e.g. the horizon. Peptides act by binding to specific cell surface people with type 2 diabetes who have significant residual endogenous insulin secretion, less accurate receptors. The perfect therapeutic agent would be a small-molecular-mass chemical …


This paper reports on a study of students learning the concept of universal and exstential quantiication in undergraduate mathematics courses in which the instruction was based on previous research into what it means to understand this concept. Following a theoretical analysis of the epistemology of quantiication obtained in previous work, instruction is designed in which students construct mathematical concepts on a computer, using the mathematical programming language ISETL. The intention is that, as a result of making the computer constructions, students will tend to make eeective mathemtical constructions in their minds. The 36 students in the study were sophomores and juniors with joint majors in mathematics and computer science who were taking a course in discrete mathematics. The two groups were at two diierent universities and the same instruction, with minor variations , was given to both groups. Instruments used for assessing student learning consisted of written questions on which students were to work individually to provide written responses. The questions were given in class without warning. Results suggest that when the pedagogical approach described in this paper is used, students can develop some understanding of quantiication and the ability to work with it, even when the particular problems they are given are diicult.


This paper looks at the determinants of literacy and the relation between literacy and labour market outcomes while focusing on comparisons of self-assessment versus test score measures of literacy. The test score measure performs considerably better than the self-assessments when literacy is treated as an outcome variable in terms of the overall fit of the model and the specific coefficient estimates, with the self-assessments sometimes actually generating wrongly signed parameters. The test score measure also performs much better as an explanatory variable in the employment models, with the self-assessment variable generating significant underestimates of the effects of literacy on the probability of being employed. Finally, the test score is also superior in the income models, although the self-assessment measure is at least a reasonably good performer in this regard, suggesting that the main results reported in much of the existing literature (based on such measures) should perhaps be taken as good representations of the true underlying relationships.


Pears in early autumn can be harvested with the best quality. Pear farmers sort the fruit so that it can be consumed and sold with the best quality. Therefore automatic detection and sorting tools can make it easier for farmers to sort pears. This tool can sort fresh and rotten fruit using the TCS-3200 sensor based on the ESP32 microcontroller. The harvested fruit is collected in a container and the fruit will go out onto the conveyor. The conveyor has a length of 60 cm using a Nema 17 stepper motor that moves automatically, the TCS-3200 sensor is placed in the middle of the conveyor so that it can detect moving pears. The results of the sorting door servo if the fruit is declared fresh then the servo remains closed straight so that the fruit will go to the front container, and vice versa the fruit is declared rotten then the servo will open up so that the fruit will go down. At the end of the conveyor there is an IR sensor which is used to send a signal to the servo motor of the main container door, so that if the fruit has been detected and leads to the IR sensor, the main container door will open and take out new pears. And for data collection the number of pears can be seen through the LCD by calculating the number of pears that have been detected, the number of fresh fruit and the number of rotten fruit, and the overall calculation of the amount of data can be seen through a spreadsheet. In this case, it is hoped that this research can help and facilitate farmers in harvesting fruit on a large scale while being efficient in time and energy.


This paper treats the methodology used in the product unit diagnostic analysis by entities where products are obtained in several subordinated entities with management autonomy. It also presents the relations based on which overall effects of the structural changes on cost per product unit are quantified, as well as the relations used in the analysis of some calculation items.


Information and communication technology (ICT) has become increasingly important in the field of education as a result of a paradigm change in India from the conventional face-to-face teaching-learning process to a technologically oriented education system. Investigating the state of information and communication technology resources in Arunachal Pradesh's higher education institutions was the primary goal of this study. The quantitative approach to educational research was used in this study, and initial data were gathered via a telephone interview with a pre-made questionnaire to evaluate the ICT resources. The current study's findings focused on the availability and non-availability of ICT resources, including computers, newspapers, magazines, projectors, whiteboards, wireless fidelity, smart boards, e-books, audio-visual aids, television, the internet, etc. in higher education institutions.


Introduction The First International Conference on Environmental Science and Engineering for Sustainable Development (ESESD 2022) was held successfully on March, 9th and 10th, 2022 at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Suhar, Sultanate of Oman. The University organised this conference as part of its mission and vision to contribute to the local and international community issues by bringing together local and international researchers and practitioners from academia, industry and governmental authority (The Omani Environment Authority) to focus on understanding the challenges facing the world towards achieving a sustainable environment, using scientific concepts and modern technologies to find/innovate sustainable solutions for important environmental issues as well as fostering new collaborations in these areas. Successfully, the conference attracted +130 participants from 13 countries, including the Sultanate of Oman. 171 abstracts were submitted to the conference. 77 abstracts were accepted for oral presentation in addition to 55 accepted for poster presentation. On top of that, the conference program contained two Plenary Lectures, three Keynote speeches and four Invited Speakers, as detailed below. The conference used a hybrid of face-to-face and online approaches, with all sessions streamed live online to allow participants from all around the world to participate and present their work. Overall, the conference included a wide range of subjects from many perspectives to research environmental sustainability. Among the subjects are: • Nanotechnology for environmental issues, • Renewable energy utilisation in environment sustainability, • Material science in environmental issues, • Engineering design in sustainable development, • Artificial intelligence (AI) applications in the environment and sustainable development, • Internet of Things (IoT) for sustainable development, • Biology and environmental sciences for sustainable development, • Impact of human behaviour and sociology on environmental sustainability. List of Conference Program, Conference Proceedings Editors, Organising Committee are available in this Pdf.


This study used a questionaire survey to examine 355 households in Taichung concerning their purchasing behavior towards the wood furnitures bought in most recent purchase. Purchasing behavior including problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives and purchase decision were investigated and the impact of demographics such as age sex, occupation, income and family life cycle were observed. The survey began on Feb. 4 and completed on March 20, 1990. The main results obtained by this study may be summarized as follows: 1. The order that consumers most prefered characteristics of wood furniture were nature grain, design appearance and contact feeling. 2. There were 86.5% of respondents considered that there was a great disparity in the price of the same furniture item among the different retail stores. 3. There were 83.9% of respondents affirmed that a brand named furniture had more guarantee for quality. 4. One half of respondents negated that the furniture retail store with deluxe decoration would have better quality of furniture product. 5. There were 87.3% of respondents approving the establishment of organization to inspect the quaiity of furniture product.


We demonstrated broadband comb generation using a Mach-Zehnder-modulator-based flat comb generator with an optical feedback loop. A 1 THz-width comb signal was successfully generated by increment of the modulation depth.


The energy loss of energetic protons in heavy metal targets is calculated at temperatures and densities of interest for pellet fusion. The contributions of bound and free electrons to the stopping power are considered. It is found that in the temperature range of interest the increase in the number of free electrons in the target plasma causes range shortening with increasing temperatures and specific volumes. In order to study this effect on the ablation process, a one‐dimensional calculation of the hydrodynamic flow with energy deposition was carried out.