Several recent studies such as Kormendi and Lipe (1987) and Collins and Kothari (1989) have sought to answer the questions how and why earnings relate to stock prices. The study described in part I of this dissertation seeks to extend that literature by explicitly taking into account the linkages between current earnings, dividends, and future earnings. The model developed in this study shows that Jensen''s free cash flow theory--that earnings retentions are invested in projects earning a low rate of return--implies two consequences: one, stock returns depend on earnings as well as dividends surprises, and two, earnings response coefficients (ERCs) are positively related to payout ratios. Thus a positive association between ERCs and payout ratios may be used to infer a low return on earnings retentions. The model also predicts, like previous studies, that ERCs are positively related to earnings persistence and negatively to earnings riskiness.


In what we might call its particularly Christian manifestation, "guilt" denotes the feeling or fact of having offended, the failure to uphold an ethical code. Under such terms, "guilt" connotes negative consequences: shame, punishment, and estrangement. Yet, penetrating further into its meaning and value, one finds that guilt extends beyond this narrow classification, playing a productive, necessary, and ineluctable role for recognitive sociality. This paper examines guilt as it appears in Hegel's thinking. I find that Hegel's understanding of Schuld (guilt) in the Phenomenology , undergoes a crucial development over the course of the chapter titled, "Spirit," culminating in a robust understanding of guilt that represents not a hopelessly broken bond, but a bond that awaits its fulfillment, its very incompleteness exerting a palpable pull upon the guilty party towards its fulfillment.

I examine three key moments in "Spirit": Hegel's treatments of Antigone , the French Revolution, and the confession and forgiveness of evil. By comparing these moments, I distinguish between "abstract guilt," guilt that only brings about shame and punishment, and what we might call "determinate guilt": guilt that brings about action, reminds one of her/his indebtedness to the other. Understanding the development of guilt from the beginning to end of "Spirit" provides an entryway into a discussion of the social and political relevance of Hegel's conception of the subject as—in a certain sense—always already guilty.

I go on to argue that guilt as indebtedness and responsibility only exists as embedded within an already recognitive social structure. Re-thinking guilt as responsibility is not, therefore, a call to a new objective a priori moral system. Rather, it invites us to think through our recognitive being-together in a way that shakes off its metaphysical fetters. Such an ethics of recognitive intersubjectivity is an infinite task—not in the futile sense of the "unhappy consciousness"—but in the sense that we are responsible for constantly understanding, critiquing, and reforming ethical commitments that can only be (understood as) ours.


We consider passive scalar mixing by a prescribed divergence-free velocity vector field in a periodic box and address the following question: Starting from a given initial inhomogeneous distribution of passive tracers, and given a certain energy budget, power budget, or finite palenstrophy budget, what incompressible flow field best mixes the scalar quantity? We focus on the optimal stirring strategy recently proposed by Lin et al. ["Optimal stirring strategies for passive scalar mixing," J. Fluid Mech. 675, 465 (2011)]10.1017/S0022112011000292 that determines the flow field that instantaneously maximizes the depletion of the H−1 mix-norm. In this work, we bridge some of the gap between the best available a priori analysis and simulation results. After recalling some previous analysis, we present an explicit example demonstrating finite-time perfect mixing with a finite energy constraint on the stirring flow. On the other hand, using a recent result by Wirosoetisno et al. ["Long time stability of a classi...


The traditional Fischer–Tropsch synthesis generates products with a distribution that follows a theoretical restriction, suffering from low selectivity toward desired products. Recent use of metal ...


We assessed the impacts of the biological invasion of Azadirachta indica on the quality of plant species native to a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest. We planted Amburana cearensis , Libidibia ferrea , Mimosa caesalpiniifolia , and Cenostigma pyramidale individuals alone and interacting with the exotic species. We measured their diameters at ground level and heights for four months, calculating their monthly and general average. After this period, seedlings were destroyed to obtain their number of leaves, leaf area, specific leaf area, length and primary root area, wood density, wood dry matter, leaf dry matter, shoot dry matter, primary root dry matter, secondary root dry matter, root system dry matter, and total dry matter. The presence of the exotic species affected the functional characteristics of native species in different ways. We observed negative effects in M. caesalpiniifolia and A. cearensis , positive effects in C. pyramidale , and mixed effects in L. ferrea . In addition, we identified conflicting demands between pairs of characteristics of the interacting species A. cearensis and M. caesalpiniifolia . Based on the results, it is possible to conclude that A. indica decreases the quality of individuals of most native species studied, which may have consequences for their establishment and the local biodiversity.


questions, few think to ask what leads to specific official programs and other political responses to these perceptions. This article reports on the organizational and resource development of the shelter movement, its success and relationship to official funding sources, and the welfare state corruption and official cooptation involved in many shelter programs. In addition to academic and research involvements in this field for over ten years, personal experiences as a shelter cofounder and early leader represent important data sources for these analyses. The traditional focus on rule violators has shifted, in recent sociological research, to rule creation and rule enforcement. This has afforded a


One of the fundamental but little-understood truths govern ing nonprofit fund raising is that philanthropists are, ipso facto (by nature), investors in society. The fact that they also become benefactors as a result of their giv ing does nothing to change or diminish this underlying reality. Indeed, philanthropists come in many forms, each with his or her own philosophy, priorities, means, motives, methodology, idiosyncracies, virtues, vices and values. Some pursue philanthropy on a part-time basis while others devote their full energies and attention to it. Some are personally inv olved; others operate at a distance through intermediaries. Some view it as a calling whil e others see it as a duty or responsibility.


Abstract Clay with free gas bubbles can be frequently encountered in the seabed. Gassy clay is an unsaturated soil, but its mechanical behavior cannot be described using conventional unsaturated so...


In article the understanding of the nature of historical knowledge is considered by the Russian religious philosophers. As basis of historical thinking of domestic thinkers the paradigm according to which historical process is defined by an incomprehensible Divine Providence acts. Proceeding from it, the Russian philosophers criticize the rationalistic historicism connected with recognition of cognizable objective laws of historical process. They consider as an important lack of historicism an exception of the moral contents of historical process occurring in it. In a counterbalance to historicism N. A. Berdyaev and S. L. Frank claim that as a main goal of historical knowledge legend establishment acts. Achievement of this purpose is connected with installation on fidelity to the past. Other point of view is presented G. V. Florovsky, who in the spirit of a conventionalism believes that the purpose of historical knowledge is creation of the schemes, which are ordering the available facts and not applying for knowledge of objective laws. Such understanding of the purpose of historical knowledge creates, according to Florovsky, the spiritual prerequisite for human right justification on free social creativity that is excluded by the ideology recognizing standard value of objective laws of history. In article it is noted that the understanding of the nature of historical knowledge as having the subject the legend corresponds to the processes happening in modern public consciousness.


This research is proposed about decision in eligibility for accepting and rejecting student in vocational school. Prediction is one area in data mining that discuss about classification. One method of algorithm in prediction is Naïve-Byes Decisions Algorithm. Variable will be counted by Naive-Byes Decisions algorithm that content of final exam, report, psychology, interview, and competency. Execution for the first step is transforming each variable into ranging values. Step forward is continued to calculate possibility value for every variable. In 270 student, the research has been resulted the validation test is 199 same as actual condition. Precision is 96,1%, recall is 99,3%. The result is meaning that the algorithm has ability to get the decision in accepting manner with 74,87% accuracy. The value gives the reasoning that has not all submitting students are accepted by the school. Meanwhile, the algorithm has giving fair process for accepting the candidate. The impact of this research is the school can predict how many students is accepted and rejected. So, school will prepare for how many rooms should be available.


Multiuser diversity (MUD) underlies much of the recent work on both, unicast and multicast scheduling design in wireless networks. In that context, a large channel variation among users is not a drawback. In the case of unicast, the user with the best quality channel can access the medium while the other users can wait for a better quality channel. In the case of multicast, the sender transmitting to a multicast group can also exploit the channel variation among users. Instead of transmitting at a data rate decodable by the worst user, the sender transmits in each transmission to the best α users until all users are served. α is a user selection ratio. MUD based scheduling algorithms need the sender to query receivers for their channel conditions. In a previous work, we proposed and analysed different feedback protocols in the case of MUD based unicast [4], [5]. In this paper we propose, analyse and compare new feedback protocols for multiuser diversity based multicasting. We investigate the guard time for which a sender has to wait to get information about channel conditions of multicast users. Corresponding expressions for the guard time and the capacity are presented. The numerical analysis of these expressions show that our proposed feedback approaches present a lower guard time than the Full Feedback approach. We showed also that the guard time has no impact on the optimal value of α which is equal to 1 with the decrease in the number of multicast users and the increase in the CNR.


The use of chemical pesticides to control stored product insects can be reduced with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices such as the use of natural enemies, like parasitoids, to control harmful insects. In this study, improved specifications were developed for shipping containers to deliver healthy beneficial insects to IPM practitioners. Heat transfer through the container walls was evaluated to determine the amount of insulation and natural refrigerant (such as ice) necessary for maintaining the internal temperature in the desirable range throughout the shipping time and was based on recommended temperature limits for commercial shipments. An energy balance on the shipping containers was used to provide the needed design equation to specify the insulation level. Data were obtained from containers with temperature-monitoring sensors when shipped by overnight express from a cooperating supplier's laboratory to GMPRC. Also, standard frozen gels and other potential natural refrigerants were compared in laboratory tests of the containers at times and temperatures comparable to those measured in the experimental shipments. The 0.6% water in dioxane mixture had the best results of the solvents evaluated as refrigerants.


With time-delayed Fabry-Perot feedback, chaos in the wavelength of a tunable semiconductor laser diode has been successfully demonstrated. Nonlinear feedback function can be easily tuned by varying the optical path difference of a Fabry-Perot cavity. Experimental results are compared with theoretical simulation and good agreement is obtained.


The curves of optimum frequencies versus maximum range for active sonar detection under specific sets of assumptions are presented for the more recent expressions for attenuation given by Lovett [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 58, 620–625 (1975)] for the eastern North Pacific and Thorp [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 42, 270 (1967)] for the western North Atlantic as corrected at low frequencies by Kibblewhite et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 60, 1040–1047 (1976)].


The "Old Red Sand" is widely distributed along the coast of Fujian Province, China. Most studies have been carried out from aspects of the origin, age and laterization of the "Old Red Sand", but this paper focused on reconstructing the history of the Asian Winter Monsoon change. On the basis of granulometric analysis of high-resolution samples, we have obtained environmental sensitive grain size component (ESGSC) from the Qingfeng (QF) profile by using the grain size-standard deviation method, which proves that the selected ESGSC is an important climate proxy. The mean grain size of this ESGSC could be used to reconstruct the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) intensity. As such, the history of the EAWM change since 44.0 ka reconstructed here reveals three main phases based on chronology dates of previous researches: (1) 44.0-25.5 ka B.P., the EAWM is relatively weak but increases gradually with fluctuations; (2) 25.5-15.5 ka B.P., relatively strong with high frequency fluctuations; (3) 15.5-7.1 ka B.P., with a weaker winter monsoon, but during 11-10 ka B.P. is remarkably enhanced. The EAWM recorded by mean grain size of the two neighboring sections have a better repeatability, so the millennial scales oscillation should be a reliable signal of the EAWM intensity. The climate recorded by ESGSC of the QF "Old Red Sand" compared to δ 18 O of Hulu Cave stalagmites and Greenland GISP2 ice cores shows a good consistency, especially in detail, the YD event and four Heinrich events are all recorded, but the signal of D-O cycles was relatively weak.


Abstract The relationship between lichen species richness and forest age was explored in southwestern Nova Scotia by examining the epiphytic lichens in 51 conifer-dominated forest stands with no evidence of harvesting. The stand ages were determined by tree cores and ranged from 52 to 292 years. One hundred and thirty-five lichen species in 61 genera were identified, of which 25 species are new records for Nova Scotia, and two appear to be species new to science. Using the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources' age thresholds, 12 of the 135 lichen species were found exclusively in "early old-growth" and 16 were found only in "advanced old-growth" forest stands. These forests have a diverse lichen flora including green-alga containing macrolichens, a spectrum of crustose taxa and eight genera and 21 species of cyanolichens, the latter being found mainly on deciduous trees. Data on the identified lichen species were used, with the help of two existing indices of ecological continuity, to calculate a value for each of the 51 forest stands assessed. The values should represent an age category (i.e., the higher the value the older the forest stand). The values calculated, however, using either of these indices, were not high enough to identify any of the stands as "old-growth." In contrast, the stand ages determined using tree cores, showed that some stands were old enough to be defined as "old-growth." The failure of index 1 to identify any stands as old-growth was likely due to regional ecological variations, suggesting that a new suite of lichens needs to be developed for southwestern Nova Scotia. The problems with index 2, which used calicioid lichens as a predictor of old-growth, appeared to be that insufficient data were collected on these easily overlooked taxa.


Fructose-1,6-diphosphate (FDP) has been reported to exert beneficial effects on several cardiac functions. We studied the effects of FDP on the biochemical and dynamic functions of the heart in anesthetized dogs. Significant effects of FDP were noted mostly as related to pyruvate and lactate metabolism. The results seem to indicate that FDP may improve heart metabolism, and coronary function in restricted animals.


Introduction The purpose of my study is to look at the sacrament of baptism. Theologians, in the Western church, tend to develop their ideas of the sacramental work of God, by building on previous writings, in this field of inquiry in their own culture. It is the author's aim, in writing this essay, largely to break from this tradition, and to see what theological insights can be gained from the cultural beliefs, and practical experience, of the people of Melanesia. In particular, I will talk mostly about the people of Keapara, in the Central Province of Papua New Guinea. The study is mainly aimed at the meaning and theology of Christian baptism, within the Melanesian cultural context, and, specifically, in relation to traditional initiation rites, concerning which there are two major problems. Firstly, there is a lack of general and clear understanding of baptism, and, secondly, a lack of interpretation of baptism by Melanesians, so as to understand it, within the cultural context.


This study investigates the role word order, lexical meaning, and probable event play and how they relate in sentence interpretation when set in competition. The sentences used were simple active (NVN) declarative with transitive verbs; sentences' two nouns were either paired: inanimate-animate (IA) or animate-inanimate (AI). (Above N" denotes noun and 'V verb.) Two types of sentences, type 1IVA and type II AVI, were randomly presented to five groups of subjects aged: 3:06-3:11.4:00-4:05, 5:00-5:05 arid 5:06-5:11. The children heard a sentence and then, from four pictures, chose the picture which they thought matched the spoken sentence. Picture choices indicate the matching strategies children use. Possible strategies are: wore order, lexical semantic, or probable event stracegies of a combination of the first two. Analyses of responses show that the word oider strategy predominates. When children hear a sentence where word order and lexical semantic cues lead to the same outcome then performance exceeds that with the word order cue alone. Age also affected children's ratio of preferred strategies* The competition model (Bates & MacWManey,1982 ; Bates, McNew, MacWhiiraey, Devescovi & Smith. 1982) and other language theories explain the result. The paper discusses findings' implications and further research.


This study was the research of health promoting behavior of the 6th grade students of elementary school and general characteristics, health related characteristics and health promoting behavior following the health education were analysed. The performance of health promoting behavior related to the prevention of infectious diseases showed the highest score above all. The school, which received health education by the scheduled education course, home correspondence, and health broadcasting education, showed higher health promoting behavior performance after the health education. On the basis of the results of this study, health promotion program development is required to accomplish health promoting behavior among the elementary school students.


The daily statistics of valid disturbances recorded in the historical data of the wide-area measurement system(WAMS) can reflect the stability level of a power grid. The formulas of the small signal analysis including power disturbance on the grid is given firstly; then the relationship between damping ratio and response of the oscillation magnitude of the tie-line active power is analyzed; and the relationship of the oscillation probability and damping ratio is obtained. Finally, a case study based on 10-machine 39-bus power system verifies the validity of the expression of oscillation amplitude of tie-line active power and the relationship between the oscillation probability and damping ratio. These theoretical results can be used to guide the power operator to assess the damping level of the power grid based on the daily oscillations number recored by WAMS.


Social Dimensions of suicide specifically through qualitative research approach have hardly been examined by researchers in Pakistan, the particular qualitative study conducted in Swat; A District of (KPK) Pakistan tends to deem the social perspective of the issue. The study aims at scrutinizing the underlying social factors' role in the production of suicidal ideation in youth which ultimately convinces them to attempt suicide. Ten respondents who attempted suicide but survived are interrogated through a semi-structured interview technique. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) strategy is utilized for the analysis of collected data. The findings reveal that social determinants like family pressure, family structure, customs and traditions, social exclusion, religious perceptions and social status play an extensive role in suicidal ideation and attempts among adolescents living in Swat. Durkheim theory of suicide (integration- regulation theory) up to a greater extent supported the primary social factors' role in suicidal ideation among youth living in district Swat. The study concluded that the identified Social features of the study were crucial in the suicide attempts of the selected respondents.  The study clarifies that both psychological and sociological perspectives are correspondingly vital which need to be contemplated in the investigation of suicide.


-1 . Polystyrene standards were used to calibrate the GPC system. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was carried out with a Rigaku DSC-8230 instrument. The heating rate was 10 K/min, and the glass transition temperature was reported as the inflection point of the heat capacity jump. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was carried out with an Orientec Rheovibron DDV-IIFP dynamic mechanical analyzer. The experiments were performed at 11 Hz under nitrogen atmosphere, and the heating rate was 1 K/min. The gauge length was set at 15 mm, and the width of tested specimens was 4 mm with approximately 0.5 mm thickness. Tensile tests were conducted with a Shimazu EZ-Graph tensile tester. All sample were cut into strips of 4 mm in width with approximate thickness of 0.5 mm. The gauge length was set at 10 mm, and samples were extended at 100 mm/min at room temperature. Strains were measured from the displacement of the crosshead. Reported data are the average of five measurements. Preparation of Polyurethane Macroinitiator. TEMPO-based diol 1 (1.467 g, 5 mmol) was dissolved in anhydrous DMF (5 ml) and the solution was added to the solution of TDI terminated PTMO 2 (Mn = 3050, Mw/Mn = 1.85, 8.0 g) in anhydrous DMF (20 ml) via syringe under nitrogen and stirred at room temperature for 30 min. Then, 1 drop of dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTDL) was added to the solution as a catalyst and the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature under nitrogen for 24 h. After the addition of methanol, the reaction mixture was poured into water. The precipitate was dissolved in chloroform and precipitated (twice) into hexane. The gummy precipitate was then collected and dried in vacuum to give the desired polymer 3 as a colorless gum (8.33 g, 88% yield). Mn = 11700, Mw/Mn = 3.14 Preparation of PTMO-b-PS Multiblock Copolymer. In a typical run, a mixture of the fractionated polyurethane 3 (Mn = 12300, Mw/Mn = 1.10, 213 mg) and styrene (1.15 ml, 10 mmol) was degassed by three freeze/thaw cycles and heated under argon at 125 °C for 2 h. The viscous reaction mixture was then dissolved in chloroform and precipitated into methanol. The precipitate was collected by vacuum filtration and dried in vacuum to give the purified polymer 4 as a white powder (423 mg, 34% yield). Mn = 25600, Mw/Mn = 1.85


The invention discloses polymer alkali-resisting mortar and a production method thereof. The polymer alkali-resisting mortar is prepared from the following components in parts by mass: 250-550 parts of cement, 250-650 parts of alkali-resisting fine aggregate, 20-40 parts of a compounding alkali-resisting compacting agent, 30-50 parts of 1250-mesh ground calcium powder, 10-20 parts of a saponification-resisting polymer, 2-6 parts of a macromolecule polymer, 3-7 parts of a water reducing agent, 1-5 parts of an early strength agent and 1-3 parts of a thixotropic agent. Compared with similar products and the prior art, the polymer alkali-resisting mortar disclosed by the invention is good in alkali resistance, good in construction property, high in base layer cohering force, and free from hollowing and cracking.


A generator coordinate version of the Dirac–Fock equations for relativistic closed‐shell atoms is presented. The integration of the Dirac–Fock equations is performed through the integral discretization technique so as to preserve the continuous character of the generator coordinate formalism. With the new formalism we generate a universal Gaussian basis set for relativistic closed‐shell atoms with d and f orbitals (zinc up to nobelium). The results obtained with the universal Gaussian basis set for Dirac–Fock–Coulomb self‐consistent‐field energies are compared with numerical‐finite‐difference results and Dirac–Fock–Coulomb energies obtained by using other Gaussian basis sets. The excellent performance of our universal Gaussian basis set is attributed to the integral discretization technique of the generator coordinate Dirac–Fock method, as with it we are capable of generating Gaussian‐type function exponents that are able to represent properly the relativistic kinematics of an electron inside the nucleus.


Contributions to coherent vibrational modulation of third harmonic generation across an interface include a bulk coherent second hyper-Raman scattering and an interface-specific Fresnel boundary modulation. Interface scans permit separation of the bulk and interface signals.


INTRODUCTION The concept of outcomes-based education has been into curriculum development since the later part of the 20th century and into the first decade of the 21st century, and has come to be associated with competency-based education in more recent years. The key principle in this approach to education is the development of educational programs and application of learning processes with the beginning in identifying outcomes, that is, competencies expected as the results of an educational process. Frenk and associates state regarding the education of health professionals that "a competency-based approach is a disciplined approach to specify the health problems to be addressed, identify the requisite competencies required of graduates for health system performance, tailor the curriculum to achieve competencies, and assess achievements and shortfalls" (Frenk et al., 2010). Competency-based education further advocates for a time-independent approach to education in which the achievement of competency is the goal independent of the length of time associated with educational programs. Curricular contents and learning processes are driven by outcomes/competencies specified for educational programs. In professional education this means identification of competencies needed by graduates to meet the needs of specific professional roles determined by professions and social needs. Curriculum development for outcomes-based education therefore starts with outcomes of education rather than with a predetermined set of contents to be included in an educational program. Outcomes/competencies are the bases for identifying and determining key educational contents and instructional processes. Outcomes-based education not only requires contents to be identified by outcomes but also instructional designs to be incorporated with competency-driven approaches. In the traditional approach of curriculum development in 'nursing', the development of behavioral outcomes advocated by Bloom, Hastings, and Madaus (1971) as the first step in curriculum development was em-Purpose: A curriculum development model is presented to examine the processes necessary to develop new programs or evaluate existing programs within the philosophy of outcomes-based education in nursing, especially in the context of accreditation. The philosophy of outcomes-based education is to produce individuals who can demonstrate the evidence of competencies in designated areas of education. For nursing education, this means competencies in performing the role of professional nursing as defined by the profession and social needs at the beginning level upon completing a nursing program. Methods: A curriculum development model has been developed analytically based on the literature and experiences. Results: A 10-step process framework incorporating the tenets of outcomes-based nursing education is illustrated. …


Animals are always integrating environmental information from multiple sensory modalities, but the mechanisms underneath are highly underexploited. Crossmodal interactions in animal perception have been found in several species including human, mice and flies. Here we subjected zebrafish as model because its genetic effects on brain and sense organ development are well studied, but the attentional processes are mainly unexplored. Zebrafish show impressive behaviour capabilities with relatively small or "simple" brains which make their nervous system relatively more accessible to experimentation than large-brained mammals. When conditioned with both vision and vibration signals, zebrafish were able to make higher correct choices than only one sensation. After multimodal training, zebrafish were also able to transfer the memory to unimodal conditioning when only given vision or vibration signals. This study provided basic findings for how animals process multimodal sensory from the environment, and showed crossmodal interactions in zebrafish for the first time.


Background: Food security is a condition when everybody has adequate physical and economical access to get nutritious and safe food to lead healthy and active life. COVID-19 pandemic can cause food security disruptions. This is because several people have lost their jobs and income so that they are no longer able to meet their food needs. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the dominant factor related to food security during COVID-19 pandemic in Depok City in 2020.Methods: This quantitative research used cross-sectional study. The data used was secondary data from the research entitled Situation of Family Food Security and Coping Mechanisms in COVID-19 Pandemic Situation in Urban and Semi-Urban Areas. The total of samples for this secondary study were 259 households who had pregnant mother, breastfeeding mother, infant or toddler. Sampling process from the primary research was carried out by purposive sampling. Researchers disseminated research information through social media and posyandu cadres and then conducted screening. Respondents who met the screening requirements would be sent an electronic mail or Whatsapp containing a research questionnaire. Data was analyzed using McNemar test, chi-square test and multiple logistic regression test.Results: This study indicated that 61.8% of households in Depok City experienced food insecurity. The results of the bivariate analysis showed that household income during pandemic, husband's and wife's education, the number of high educated people in household significantly related to household food security during COVID-19 pandemic. The dominant factor of household food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Depok City in 2020 was wife's education (OR=3.978) after being controlled by the wife's occupation during pandemic, household income during pandemic, and husband's education.Conclusions: Households with low educated wife were at risk to be food insecure 4 times higher than households with high educated wives.


Semiconductor broadband light sources are greatly in demand for highly-sensitive sensing, spectroscopy, optical telecommunications, eye-safe low-speckle sources for flash lidar and high resolution bio-imaging particularly optical coherence tomography (OCT). In this paper, we report on the observation of broadband lasing action from the InAs/InAlGaAs quantum dash (Qdash) structure. This novel device exhibits lasing action with emission wavelength coverage over 60nm at the center wavelength around ∼1.60 µm. By applying the quantum-dash intermixing (QDI) technique to the same material structure, we have successfully tuned the center lasing wavelength of the Qdash broadband laser to 1.54 µm and broadened its emission coverage over 80 nm, making it an attractive source for many novel applications in optical communications. The intrinsic response of Qdash lasers under optical modulation has been studied.


In order to solve the problems in measuring welder input current,input power and power factor under the condition of non-sinusoidal input current,mathematical relations in a variety of electricity are presented and discussed for periodic alternating current circuits,sinusoidal periodic current circuit and non-sinusoidal periodic current circuit.The problems in measuring non-sinusoidal periodic electricity by conventional meter are analyzed.The results show that non-sinusoidal periodic power should be measured by digital intelligent instrumentation based on harmonic analysis,and measuring with conventional instrumentation will have some error.


Karfuka's existence is to create, namely, his creation is also his life, they are the whole. The protagonists in his novels represents himself and his solitude, drift, fear and anxiety were expressed in his works. He goes deeper and deeper into the hearts of many people because of his thought which representes living circumstances of contemporary Westerns.


Induction motors are most widely used motors for any industrial control and automation. It is often required to control the output voltage of inverter for the constant voltage/frequency (V/F) control of an induction motor.Three phasePulse Width Modulated Voltage Source Inverters (PWM-VSI) are widely utilized in motor drive and other three-phase power conversion applications as voltage/current sources with controllable output frequency and magnitude. This paper presents the results of an analysis regarding the behavior of three phase induction motor fed by PWM VSI in terms of total harmonic distortion in line and phasevoltage of inverter for modulation range 0<m<1. Simulink is utilized with MATLAB to get a reliable and flexible simulation. For the execution of the proposed drive the MATLAB/SIMULINK software has been used. The influence of the modulation index on the performance of the inverter has been done in terms of the waveforms for inverter phasevoltage and line voltage developed by the motor. The analysis of the inverter has been carried out by using the factor total harmonic distortion.


Electrical measurements are described of grown silicon dioxide thin films irradiated by gamma rays, X-rays and broadband VUV light. The dependence of radiation-sensitivity on processing variations, including annealing temperature, is compared for unimplanted SiO 2 and SiO 2 implanted with aluminium, argon, xenon and cerium. The flatband voltage shift is suppressed under positive irradiation bias by each of these chemically disparate ions. This finding suggests that the implantation of ions at energies of several kilovolts, with fluences of 1014 to 1015 cm−2, improves hardness by the production of similar distributions of electron traps with densities of the order of 1012 traps cm−2 by lattice damage and not by the direct combination of the ion with intrinsic or radiation-induced hole traps. This is supported by observations that the effect anneals out gradually at temperatures between 300°C and 1000°C and that the same traps can be neutralised by injection of photoelectrons into the oxide. It is thus confirmed that ion implantation into the dielectric is a versatile method for producing radiation-tolerance under positive bias in silicon dioxide. A further finding is that broadband VUV light from a H 2 discharge lamp can conveniently and closely simulate the radiation response caused by γ and X-rays in a wide range of dielectrics for MOS devices.


Intellectual property policy relies on bargaining in the shadow of exclusivity. But bargaining is generically less than fully efficient, and the bargaining that would be needed to reach efficient arrangements in the shadow of exclusivity may be especially difficult in certain ways. I explore these issues and illustrate with brief discussions of patent pools and standards organizations, among others.


The journey of 'Sociology of India' that began with 'colonial Anthropology' or 'colonisation' of the non-Western mind, prepared the ground for our pioneers, some of whom were involved in the nationalist struggle against the British, to rely on a textual view for offering alternative explanations about its society and culture. The effort to revive and energize traditional culture and establish Indian sociology in its own footing quite different from that of Western or colonial categories led to the popularity of Indological approach. But Indological approach itself did not give rise to any uniform and common explanation about Indian society and culture. The religious texts of different ages that Indologists very often studied not only emanated the idea of a 'Hindu India'; they also proposed contrasting and conflicting visions of time, space


Successful human pregnancy is the result of a series of processes that occur in a coordinated manner in time and space in the embryonic, placental, fetal-maternal interface. Failure of these series of processes determines inadequate placentation, preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction. Pathophysiological aspects of early placental development are reviewed in this article.


Density modification is a standard step to provide a route for routine structure solution by any experimental phasing method -with SAD and MAD being the most popular ones- as well as to extend fragments or incomplete models into a full solution. The effect of density modification on the starting maps from either source is illustrated in the case of SHELXE. The different modes in which the program can run are reviewed; these include less well-known uses such as reading external phase values and weights or phase distributions encoded in Hendrickson-Lattman coefficients. Typically in SHELXE, initial phases are calculated from experimental data, from a partial model or map, or from a combination of both sources. The initial phase set is improved and extended by density modification and, if the resolution of the data and the type of structure permits, poly-alanine tracing. The trace now includes an extension into the gamma position or hydrophobic and aromatic side chains if a sequence is provided, which is performed in every tracing cycle. Once a correlation coefficient over 30% between the structure factors calculated from such a trace and the native data indicates that the structure has been solved, in all model building cycles sequence is docked and side chains are fitted if the map supports it. The extensions to the tracing algorithm brought in to provide a complete model are discussed. The improvement in phasing performance is assessed using a set of tests. Synopsis Side chain tracing now completes model building in SHELXE to enhance density modification. All alternative SHELXE modes, using single or combined sources of starting phase information, are described.


The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of the national mathematics exam scores on grade point average (GPA), mathematics anxiety, and self-regulated learning of the second-year students of Mathematics Education study program, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education at Nusa Cendana University in a multivariate manner. This study is a correlation research which was conducted at the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education of Nusa Cendana University. The population in this study were the mathematics education program students, Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Nusa Cendana University. The samples consist of 73 students. Data collection techniques used in this research are online questionnaires and documentation methods. Data analysis techniques used in this research are simple linear regression analysis and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and also hypothesis testing using the t-test and probability level. The result shows that (1) tvalue 0.05, while mathematics anxiety shows a significance level of 0.848>0.05, and self-regulated learning shows a significance level of 0.540>0.05. In conclusion, the national mathematics exam scores in a multivariate manner do not influence the GPA, mathematics anxiety, and self-regulated learning.
Keywords: gpa, manova, mathematics anxiety, mathematics national examination scores, self-regulated learning, simple linear regression analysis


Abstract : Breast cancer incidence and mortality vary substantially by ethnic group which makes ethnicity a likely marker for understudied social, attitudinal, and behavioral risks. Ethnic-specific cultural norms and beliefs affect health-related perceptions which may influence early detection practices. In this dissertation we examined ethnic models of breast exams (breast self-examination (BSE) and clinical breast examination (CBE)) in order to identify facilitators and barriers to detection. We analyzed data on low-income, ethnically diverse women in South Florida using multivariate statistical techniques. Independent variables included: socio-demographic characteristics psychosocial factors (e.g., health beliefs, personal and religious community networks), structural barriers (e.g. unmet basic needs, worry over basic needs), and lifestyle behaviors (diet, exercise, smoking). Results revealed that predictors of breast cancer detection vary considerably by ethnic group and breast exam. Monthly BSE is associated to community networks among Latinas and to worry about basic needs among White women. Being current on CBE is associated to religious community networking among Black women and to worrying about basic needs among Latinas. Finally preventive behaviors such as exercise and smoking are associated to BSE and CBE differently across ethnic groups. This information is important for designing effective breast cancer prevention programs targeted at culturally diverse at risk populations.


In dispersion managed fibers, solitons can form bound states: so-called soliton molecules. Soliton molecules consisting of two pulses have been experimentally verified some time ago[1], and their binding mechanism was explained in [2]. Here we present the first experimental verification of a soliton molecule consisting of three pulses. This is a significant result because the set of no pulse, single soliton, 2-soliton molecule and 3-soliton molecule has four symbols which can be used for quaternary data transmission in a soliton format.


Introduction: Previous studies have reported that maternal asthma increases the risk of preterm birth. We hypothesized that inflammatory reactions caused by allergic diseases might affect the uterine environment and, subsequently, perinatal outcomes. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between allergic features among mothers and preterm pregnancy outcomes in a nationwide birth cohort. Methods: We analyzed data from pregnant women obtained from the Japanese Environment and Children's Study (JECS), a nationwide general birth cohort study. We used binomial and multinomial logistic regression models to examine the associations between maternal allergic features and preterm birth, threatened preterm labor (TPL), and preterm premature rupture of the membrane (PPROM). Results: A total of 97,683 pregnant women were included. Prevalence of preterm birth, TPL, and PPROM was 4.7, 19.6, and 1.2%, respectively. Maternal history of allergic diseases (asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, food allergy, drug allergy, and contact dermatitis) increased the risk of TPL(adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.11 [95% CI: 1.06–1.17], aOR = 1.12 [1.08–1.16], aOR = 1.10 [1.04–1.16], aOR = 1.17 [1.09–1.26], aOR = 1.35 [1.23–1.48], and aOR = 1.34 [1.20–1.49], respectively). Although some maternal allergic features showed a negative association with preterm birth, the variables affecting preterm birth differed according to the gestational age of the fetus (22–33 weeks vs. 34–36 weeks). There were no significant associations between maternal allergic features and PPROM. Conclusion: Maternal allergic disease, except atopic dermatitis, may increase the risk of TPL. Comorbidity of maternal allergic disorders and perinatal adverse outcomes require further investigation.


A process for producing regenerated cellulose modified with covalently bonded polymeric moieties comprising (a) mixing cellulose with a tertiary amine oxide compound and water; (b) chemically bonding the polymeric compound residues to the cellulose contained in the mixture to form the regenerated cellulose modified with the covalently bound polymeric compound residues; (c) precipitating the modified regenerated cellulose obtained in (b) from the mixture.


Relief of pain during surgery is the main aim of anesthesia. Any expertise acquired in this field should be extended into post operative period. Many options are available for the treatment of post-operative pain, including systemic analgesics (i.e., opioid and non opioid); and regional techniques. In this study opioid analgesic fentanyl and neostigmine which were injected in intrathecal space along with local anaesthetic agent hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% for operative and post operative pain relief in patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomy. The primary goal of this study was to determine whether the combination of fentanyl and neostigmine with intrathecal bupivacaine has better analgesic duration than fentanyl and neostgmine alone with intrathecal bupivacaine. Method: One hundred and sixty four patients of ASA physical status grade I and II, scheduled for elective Total Abdominal Hysterectomy under subarachnoid block were randomly allocated to four groups (n=41): Group A received 15mg bupivacaine intrathecally.Group B received 15mg bupivacaine plus 25 micrograms of fentanyl intrathecally.Group C received 15mg bupivacaine plus 25 micrograms neostigmine intrathecally. Group D received 15mg bupivacaine plus 25 micrograms neostigmine and 25 micrograms fentanyl intrathecally with total volume made upto 4.0ml with NS in each group. Result: Duration of analgesia in post operative period was group A (126.05±19.33 minutes), group B (208.2±15.74 minutes), group C (194.37±15.54 minutes), group D (290.8±20.24 minutes. Statistically significant difference in duration of post operative analgesia was found when group A was compared with other 3 groups. Duration of 2 segment regression was group A (79±11.64 minutes), group B (125±19.57 minutes), group C(125±7.85 minutes), group D(135±8.24 minutes).Statistically significant difference in duration of 2 segment regression was seen when group A was compared with rest of groups. Onset of motor block was also found to be similar in all the 4 groups. Onset of motor block was also found to be similar in all the 4 groups.Conclusion: The combination of intrathecal neostigmine and fentanyl with bupivacaine significantly prolonged post operative analgesia as compare to other three study groups.


Applying model-free reinforcement learning to manipulation remains challenging for several reasons. First, manipulation involves physical contact, which causes discontinuous cost functions. Second, in manipulation, the end-point of the movement must be chosen carefully, as it represents a grasp which must be adapted to the pose and shape of the object. Finally, there is uncertainty in the object pose, and even the most carefully planned movement may fail if the object is not at the expected position. To address these challenges we 1) present a simplified, computationally more efficient version of our model-free reinforcement learning algorithm PI2; 2) extend PI2 so that it simultaneously learns shape parameters and goal parameters of motion primitives; 3) use shape and goal learning to acquire motion primitives that are robust to object pose uncertainty. We evaluate these contributions on a manipulation platform consisting of a 7-DOF arm with a 4-DOF hand.


It was an exciting day for the fields of computational chemistry and biology when news of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry filtered in early on the morning of October 9, 2013. Awarded to Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt, and Arieh Warshel for the "development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems," the prize provided a welcome "seal of approval" to a field that historically struggled behind experiment. This is not unlike the traditional division between pure and applied mathematics, stemming from the difference between using exact theories to solve ideal problems versus approximating complex physical systems to solve real problems. Historically, the results of simulations for biological and chemical systems were judged by their ability to reproduce experimental data. Thus, computational predictions had to pass the scrutiny of experimentalists, who employ direct, though not error-free, measurements, especially for large systems. If results from computations agreed with experiment, they were considered uninformative, but if they predicted properties ahead of experiment, they were considered unverifiable and hence unpublishable! In time, however, just as applied mathematics and computational science evolved into huge successful fields in their own right, computations in chemistry and biology are finally recognized not only as valid for making predictions and generating insights into physical systems, but as necessary for addressing complex problems we face in the 21st century. In fact, clever modeling ideas and methods for the design of appropriate algorithms are essential for discovering the information missing from products of current high-throughput technologies; this is because genome sequencing, microarrays, and other technologies and instrumentation produce voluminous amounts of genomic sequences and related data for systems whose structures, functions, and interactions are largely unknown. This is not the first time the Nobel committee celebrated computations. In 1998, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Walter Kohn for the development of density-functional theory, and to John Pople for the development of computational techniques and the pioneering program GAUSSIAN for quantum chemistry calculations. But this year's prize-winning contributions are more general and perhaps more far-reaching. The separate work of the three laureates, and their interactions with each other and with others in the community, offer an opportunity to examine the history of the field and view how people, ideas, and technologies come together to shift existing paradigms. The prize also provides an exceptional occasion to look into the bright future of a field whose three powerful arms—physical experimentation, theory, and computer simulation—can lead to the solution of key problems ranging from the workings of individual proteins to the packaging of DNA, DNA repair and RNA editing processes, and interactions among and within cells, organs, and organisms (Figure 1).


In view of the soil and water loss and soil barren of the mountain land as well as higher-standard production requirements of organic pear for proto-ecology,a new technology for the improvement of soil fertility and soil water in the organic pear production was proposed by applying the mixture of organic fertilizer and broken straw to the mountain soil. The results showed a high soil humification degree of the modified soil,with high nutrient contents of,105.08 mg/kg ammonium nitrogen(N),41.88 mg/kg available P(P2O5), 426.17mg/kg rapidly-available K(K2O),and 2.21%soluble organic matters.Through the construction of reversed terrace and water pits,and the pressing-burying technoloical application,the modified soil significantly increased the soil moisture content by 7.1%.Additionally,by grass coverage around pear trees,the ground evaporation capacity was significantly reduced by 3.61mm,compared with the uncovered ground.


This paper deals with a real time K2D visual sensor used to control by feedback, a robot which assembles a piece held by its gripper with another one moving in a plane. In a first stage, the visual sensor is modelled and a fast vision algorithm is designed as the means to get the position and the dimensions of a circular pattern in less than 40 ms. In a second stage, the integration of this sensor in a robot unit is investigated and a model is proposed for the asynchronous communication between these two subsystems. In a last step, a feedback structure is studied in order to close the loop in a satisfactory way, and an assembling manipulation is described and analysed.<<ETX>>


This paper presents a new PID auto-tuning method combining the digital PID control with PLC.Through the humanmachine interface,the method provides two modes of operation,AT or AT+PID.Running results of the system show that it is efficient,and can be widely used in industrial process control.


An ultrawide -bandwidth (UWB) ground penetrating radar (GPR) was used to collect fully -polarimetric backscattered data from 10 to 800 MHz using a dual -polarization version of the previously developed dielectric-loaded horn-fed bow-tie (HFB) antenna [1]. Special processing al gorithms were developed to extract the polarization, orientation, depth and length features of the target under investigation. The polarization and resonance features were utilized to discriminate subsurface ordnance from false -alarm objects that do not have elongated bodies. The classification of a specific type of UXO was also performed using the known length information. The processed results obtained from an initial blind field test show a very encouraging discrimination performance.


The aim of this article is to familiarize the readers (e.g., civil and environmental engineers) with the current statistical theory of turbulence for river flows. The authors want to give sufficient theoretical information not only for studying the specialized literature but also for experimental investigations on those environmental problems in which turbulence plays an essential part, such as erosion and sediment transport, resistance to flow, and pollutant dispersion. The paper describes comprehensive turbulence measurements in an experimental channel where instantaneous velocities were measured with use of a three-component acoustic Doppler velocity meter. The basic definition of the primary turbulence parameters as well as methods of estimating those parameters are discussed. Also, the fundamental relations for the primary velocity, the distribution of turbulent intensities, the Reynolds stresses, the autocorrelation functions, the turbulent scales, and the energy spectra are discussed.


Technological backgrounds, physical model of movable heat insulate layer and its mechanism for regulating temperature of flue gas and steam is introduced. Next, the effects of movable heat insulate layer on average and furnace exit temperature of flue gas, heat absorbed by furnace waterwall and enthalpy of flue gas at furnace exit are calculated. Then the correlation between area of movable heat insulate layer and superheated steam temperature is calculated by several methods. The calculated results show that movable heat insulate layer is very helpful for improving steam temperature characteristics.


AbstractA great deal of recent interest has been shown in the ability of some microbes to synthesize exopolysaccharides. Most attention has been directed toward the prokaryote producers, yet many filamentous fungi also produce exopolysaccharides that have chemical and physical properties of considerable commercial potential. Surprisingly little is known about how and why fungi overproduce these metabolites and how yields are affected by both the physical and chemical environments. This review attempts to critically appraise the current literature on fungal exopolysaccharides, considers their chemical diversity, and examines factors that seem to affect their production. Although much of the published work has been carried out with the α-glucan pullulan, there is considerable literature on the β-glucans and, hence, both of these are discussed.


This analysis seeks to explore the impact that the Global Compact of the United Nations as a tool not only records to ensure corporate responsibility in the global context but its ability to bind the edges of the corruption and security within the responsibility commitment. Thus, this analysis attempts to provide some light on what might be the boomerang effect of CSR with respect to the four major issues addressed by the Covenant - Human Rights, labor rights, environment and combating corruption and to what degree from the CSR can radiate transversally anti-corruption initiatives and ensuring security.


Parkinson's disease (PD) is a brain disorder with distinct molecular, functional and structural features, causing tremors in elderly-matured-people, which is, differentiated by the convolution of cardinal motoric-symptoms: tremor, Bradykinesia/akinesia rigidity and postural-instability. Though clinical-diagnosis and benefits of deep-brain-stimulation (DBS) in subthalamic-nuclei (STN) have been established, albeit, how its mechanisms augment motoric-symptoms not been fully elucidated. We present a principal component (PC) based tracking method to quantify the efficacy-of-DBS predict UPDRS score objectively. Twelve PD patients were included in this study. Our hypothesis is that whether DBS and innocuous-microelectrodes save STN-neurons and restores-motor-function. In our long study, high-frequency stimulation in PD brain did not dent STN-neurons. Further, it is risk-free to stimulate-STN much prior than it was accepted far so. Intraoperative microelectrode-recording (iMER) for targeting during DBS procedures has been evaluated in 46 successive-patients with advanced idiopathic PD, who received DBS. We extrapolated MER-signals of STN-features with PCs for computing the effects of DBS in PD. The signal-parameters were transformed into a lower dimensional-feature space. In our computation, we obtained 75% variation. We find that MER gives proof of correct-positioning of microelectrode, ensures accurate-detection of STN confines and establishes its exact coordinates in a more objective way. MER boosts safety, accuracy and efficacy of DBS-electrode implementation. Thus, MER confirms the presence of abnormal-STN-neurons. Certainly tranquil MER can confirm clear position-of-electrodes and strengthen the confidence of the neurosurgeons that they are in the right-target. Availability-of-MER results in a vast data vis-á-vis functioning on neurons positioned deep in the brain may further help in untying arcane-of-brain.


urologist, of course, the ideal arrangement would seem to be that all genito-urinary organs are his sphere, exclusively. But as yet the borderline is not so distinctly delimited. The establishment of this long-desired Board of Urology will be a crucial step forward toward the time when the dabbler in cystoscopy, for instance, who tries to do the work of a specialist, will be outlawed. Likewise, the general surgeon or medical manuntrained in urology and lacking certification by the Urology Board-who attempts the resection of a prostate will not be tolerated. We have no grievance against the physician or surgeon who feels that he is entitled to use some or all of the armamentarium of the urologist, provided always that he has been trained to do this; provided, also, that his skill shall be continuously, and not occasionally, employed, and that he be familiar with developments taking place in this specialty. But urologists who, as we have seen, have lifted their specialty out of the depths, out of laymen's hands, may confidently expect that ultimately we, as specialists, shall be restricted to the practice of urology, and that-the work of urologically competent physicians and surgeons excepted-that practice shall be definitely limited to us.


Researchers and educators have showed an increasingly interest in the study of the relationship between family and school due to its importance for education and human development. In this theoretical article, we present some reflections about the importance of the family-school involvement and its impact on the learning process and child development. The benefits of a good integration between family and school as well as the implications of a lack of integration between them are briefly discussed. Moreover, we present some aspects of their relationships that have been focused on empirical research, emphasizing the conceptions and types of family-school involvement and teacher and parental perceptions about it. At the end, we move the focus to discuss the necessity of promoting a better integration between family and school, considering the peculiarities of each one, and implementing researches taking account of the interrelatedness between both contexts.


This paper discusses the distinction created by the (Indian) Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 between financial and operational creditors for initiation by them of corporate insolvency resolution process against corporate persons for default committed with respect to financial and operational debts, respectively. It examines how this distinction has a bearing on exercise of their right to initiate corporate insolvency resolution process. In particular, the author analyses whether a person can initiate insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 on the basis of an arbitration award (whether domestic or foreign) passed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 in its favour and the different situations relating to such arbitration award that have been considered by courts.


--STATCOM can provide effective and fast reactive power support to maintain power system voltage stability. In this paper gives a 48 pulse statcom with detailed analysis.48 pulse statcom consist of four 3 level converter inked by four zigzag transformer which exhibits a low harmonic rate on AC side. so 48pulse statcom is used in high power application. Without controller voltage profile reached to unrecoverable stage. In this paper working of PI controller is given. PI controller of statcom is used and simulation of statcom for voltage regulation is there to understand how voltage profile is improved.


Hafnia-alumina nanolaminates show improved smoothness and reduced crystallinity relative to pure hafnia in films formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD). However, typical nanolaminates also show reduced cross-plane thermal conductivity due to the much larger interface density relative to continuous films. We find that the interface thermal resistance in hafnia-alumina nanolaminates is very low and does not dominate the film thermal conductivity, which is 1.0 to 1.2 W/(m K) at room temperature in 100 nm thin films regardless of the interface density. Measured films had a number of interfaces ranging from 2 to 40, equivalent to interface spacing varying from about 40 to 2 nm. The degree of crystallinity of these films appears to have a much larger effect on thermal conductivity than that of interface density. Cryogenic measurements show good agreement with both the minimum thermal conductivity model for disordered solids and the diffuse mismatch model of interface resistance down to about 80 K before diverg...


ABSTRACT:
 A new species of Micrurapteryx Spuler, M. tibetiensis Bai & Li, sp. n., is described based on specimens collected from Tibet, China. Photographs of adult, illustrations of genital structures and venation are provided, along with a key to the three described Chinese species.


This paper describes the high carrier isolation of the S band UQPSK modulation and frequency multiplier module design technology.The UQPSK modulation circuit design process is described,and an analysis of the key factors that affect the final performance is made.The paper also covers retaining overall performance while simplifying the circuit and reducing the volume and the allocation of the device specification at all levels.The high performance S-band UQPSK modulation and multiplier module is successfully developed.


Most Prolog systems include the popular Definite Clause Grammar notation, colloquially DCG, which makes it very easy to implement simple language analyzers. DCGs have been used for fragments of natural language as well as programming languages, mostly for analysis and translation, but it is interesting to notice that they can be used also for generation of text. However, in the course we are mostly interested in analysis. You should be aware that DCGs only take care of part of what normally is expected for a language processing system. There is no straightforward way to have a text file analyzed; if that is what you want, you need to do a lot of programming yourself. A DCG works on Prolog lists which in principle can contain arbitrary elements, but in typical applications they are constant symbols (in Prolog terminology: atoms). For example, if you have written a little DCG for simple sentences, having a nonterminal called sentence, the following example query may show how you can activate analysis.


Crack growth in glass plates, up to supercritical velocities, was produced by controlled strain, velocity being measured continuously by superimposing a tuned-frequency sonic signal during cracking. Cracks, which were accelerated to supercritical velocity in the presence of water, showed an order of magnitude jump in velocity and an associated cavitation scarp on the crack surface marking the onset of catastrophic failure. The crack velocity immediately preceding catastrophic failure is termed the critical velocity. Measurement to the cavitation scarp was suggested as a means to determine the size and shape of critical flaws in bend-test specimens. The velocity jump was explained in terms of a drag effect which may result from crack topographical features as well as viscous drag forces. A model involving liquid cavitation was formulated to predict critical velocity as a function of environmental parameters. Experiments in some aqueous solutions suggested preferential transport of water to the crack tip.


Labile soil organic matter (SOM) is often stabilized in soil, but is vulnerable to loss after soil disturbance. We used measurements of the 13carbon (13C) signature of soil‐respired CO2 (δ13CO2) immediately after the disturbance caused by coring and sampling the soil, to assess labile SOM availability and potential vulnerability to loss. We incubated a range of pasture soils over 300 minutes and periodically measured δ13CO2. Strong temporal trends in δ13CO2 suggest that labile SOM became vulnerable to loss within minutes of soil disturbance. Equilibrium soil‐respired δ13CO2 values were a function of the amount of labile SOM (measured as hot‐water extractable C, HWEC), total soil C and soil protection capacity (measured as specific soil surface area, SSA). An independent experimental approach that immobilized labile SOM on to allophane (a clay mineral with a large active surface area) was used to assess the effect of SSA on equilibrium soil‐respired δ13CO2. In this experiment δ13CO2 shifted progressively to more enriched values during the first six days of soil incubations after allophane addition, suggesting that labile SOM became less available after stabilization by allophane. At the same time there was a large reduction in HWEC when compared with the control treatments, also indicating limited availability of labile SOM. Further studies coupling the isotopic measurements with CO2 evolution rates are needed to test directly whether equilibrium δ13CO2 can reflect labile SOM vulnerability to loss.


A 2-phase study was conducted to obtain information on the nutritional habits of preschool children and pregnant and lactating women in rural Costa Rican communities. In the 1st phase 274 mothers in 10 communities were interviewed in 1977-78 about their beliefs and habits regarding infant nutrition. In the 2nd phase 358 mothers in 12 communities were interviewed regarding pre- and postnatal health practices and nutritional practices for their children under 2 years old. 255 of the phase 1 mothers considered breastmilk the ideal food for the newborn but only 197 breastfed their youngest child. 54% believed that breastfeeding should continue for 3-6 months. Aside from the 28% who never breastfed 31% weaned the youngest child before 2 months 14% between 2-6 months 16% between 7-12 months and 11% after the 1st year. 47% of the mothers substituted cows milk 41% powdered whole milk and 12% other types of milk. Only 25% of the mothers knew how to prepare powdered milk correctly. 57% fed their young children the same foods as the rest of the family consumed. 73% identified certain foods as inappropriate for young children. 60% gave liquids during periods of illness. 17% eliminated milk during diarrhea 18% offered the usual diet and 8% totally suspended feeding. During respiratory ailments 75% of mothers continued the same diet and 3% eliminated milk. Among 276 phase 2 mothers for whom data was available 91 breastfed their youngest child for less than 3 months 55 for 3-5 months 43 for 6-8 months 27 for 9-11 months and 60 for 1 year or more. Over 2/3 weaned their children because of insufficient breast milk refusal of the infant to nurse age of the child or illness of the mother. 87% of the mothers began supplementary feeding during the 1st 6 months of life. 14% began supplements during the 1st month. Some foods were considered damaging for pregnant women. Fatty meats were believed to be damaging by 14% legumes and fruits by 11% hot peppers by 11% and beans by 8%. 78% of the women were in stable marital unions and 19% were single mothers. 9% were illiterate. 10% worked mostly in agriculture during harvests. The average mother had 3.8 children and 45% wanted more children. 53.6% of the mothers had no idea how much weight a pregnant woman should gain. 57% of the mothers used family planning of whom 55% used pills 16% condoms 14% female sterilization and 5% injectables.


"To Make Public or Twitting in Stone. The aim of this article is to study three ways to make a message public: tweets, videos of discourses posted on Daily Motion and the publication of a book at the beginning of the twentieth century where sentences were drawn as tweets with a pencil on stone by a shepherd. Through the anthropological analysis of signs production and diffusion, we observe the permeability between the private and the public field, the influence of the writing and the oral activity as well as the distinctions between the published, the public, and the popularity of these three mentioned forms.

Keywords: tweet, video, signs production, anthropology, communicational traces
"


Purpose: To report a case of masked glaucomatous optic nerve head damage due to acute swelling in a primary open-angle glaucoma patient. Case Summary: A healthy 21-year-old male visited our clinic complaining of blurred vision in the right eye for 1 week. The intraocular pressure (IOP) was 60 mmHg, as measured by a Goldmann applanation tonometer. No specific anterior segment finding other than severe corneal edema was found on slit lamp examination. Maximum tolerated medical therapy was performed, and a further examination was done 1 day after the IOP lowering. No glaucomatous change in the optic disc or retinal nerve fiber layer was observed on fundus examination and optical coherence tomography (OCT), but the optic disc of the right eye was more hyperemic than that of the left eye. A superonasal visual field defect was also observed using automated perimetry. After treat-ment, the IOP was kept within the normal range using IOP-lowering eye drops. However, an inferonasal retinal nerve fiber layer defect was observed on fundus examination and OCT, and a superonasal scotoma was detected by perimetry.


This article discusses the positive functions of nonverbal communication in a learner-centered communicative language teaching classroom.And based on an evaluation of the relationship between the second language acquisition and second language teaching,the author hopes that foreign language teachers and students will pay more attention to the nonverbal codes in FLT,realize cross-cultural communication.


The invention relates to a freewheel (137), in particular on a roller freewheel and an electric machine (10). Of the freewheel (13) comprises an outer ring (132) and an inner ring (140), between which roll-shaped clamping body (138) are arranged. between the outer ring (132) and a drive plate (118) is a slip clutch (222) in the freewheel (137).


This work aimed to investigate the antioxidant capacity of fresh "Assam tea" ( Camellia assamica ssp. assamica) leaves from different areas in the northern of Thailand which grown at a germplasm plantation of Tea Institute in Chaing Rai, Thailand for about 8 years. Fresh tea leaves were collected from twelve accession numbers of teas in the year of 2014. The samples were subjected to methanol extraction and determined for total polyphenol content (TPC) and antioxidant activity using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical-scavenging activity (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The results showed that TPC and antioxidant activity, the tea leaves were in the range of 16.50-31.68 %, 1,233.01-1,727.03 mmole Trolox/100 g sample (DPPH) and 145.40-283.43 mmole ascorbic acid/100 g sample (FRAP), respectively. Most of samples of fresh Assam tea leaves were presented high antioxidant activity. The area of origin of teas were significantly (P>0.05) effect to the TPC and antioxidant activity.


JDDG | 7 ̇2006 (Band 4) © Blackwell Verlag GmbH • www.blackwell.de • 1610-0379/2006/0407-0564 Anatomy of the lymphatic system In contrast to blood vessels where arteries and veins form a closed circulatory system driven by the pumping function of the heart, the lymphatic system consisting of the initial lymphatics, precollectors, collectors, thoracic duct, ductus lymphaticus dexter, ductus thoracicus sinister and a multitude of lymph nodes forms only a half circulation. The initial lymphatics, also known as lymph capillaries, begin as blind-ending sacks or finger-like tubes in the interstitium. With a diameter of 0.05 mm they are distributed as a capillary network throughout the skin with mesh size of 0.5 mm. Valve-less lymphatic capillaries are fitted to the surrounding tissue by a fibrous net of anchoring filaments, which also serve to maintain patency. An increase of pressure and the resulting expansion of the interstitium, such as produced by edema, pull on the anchor filaments opening overlapping endothelial cells of the initial lymphatics. Stretching and pulling of the anchoring filaments cause the overlapping zones of endothelial cells, first described by Castenholz, to form intercellular openings, which act as lymphatic gateways allowing for entrance of pre-lymph into the lumen of the initial lymphatics (Figure 1). The lymphatic gateways can be up to 6 m in size; Herpertz estimates their number up to 10,000/mm skin. The dual role of the lymphatic system, that is the defense against harmful substances (immunologic function) and the elimination of macromolecular substances from the interstitium (drainage function) starts with the filtration of the primary lymph derived from blood, which can amount to 10 liters daily at rest. In 24 hours 2–3 liters of lymph are returned to the blood circulation. The lymphatic transport reserve capacity is many times larger. This helps prevent edema formation in disease by increasing lymphatic drainage in the sense of a safety valve function or allow for the quick dissipation of excess fluid. Once pre-lymph has passed though the flap-like overlapping cell edges and the lymph-bound substances are in the lumen, they are transported further centrally by changing interstitial pressures, muscular activity and movement as well as by the autonomous contractions of the lymphangions, which are separated by valves [10]. Lymph-bound substances include: – large protein molecules – protein-bound hormones – viral particles – bacteria – tumor cells. Lymph is then moved to the precollectors, into which lymph capillaries empty. Precollectors are single cell thick endothelial vessels surrounded by connective tissue supplied with elastic fibers and muscle cells and containing a partial array of valves, CME


Two ethnographic studies carried out between 2013 and 2019 revealed the naturalized presence of religious aspects in the teaching practice of Elementary school teachers. The aim of this essay is to reflect on the external (culture, historical context, and professional deontology) and internal factors (professional socialization and working conditions) to the teaching practice that contribute to the process of naturalizing the use of religious aspects as pedagogical and didactic resources. To do so, we started from a bibliographic analysis of French-Portuguese-Brazilian texts in history and in sociology of education that approach the issue of religion in the educational system. In addition, contributions from the theories of professional socialization and teaching professionalization were used to construct the argument. We concluded that the existing factors act in synergy and reinforce the possibility of using religious resources in public schools. This fact reveals a peculiarity not only of Brazilian education but of the Brazilian social configuration, in which religiousness is strongly present. 1 Pós-doutoranda na Université Lumière Lyon 2, Laboratoire Education, Cultures, Politiques (ECP). Lyon, França. <email@example.com>


The effects of water-logging stress and nitrogen forms(ammonium,nitrate,the mixture of ammonium and nitrate at the ratio of 1∶1)on growth,nitrate reductase(NR)activity,glutamine synthetase(GS)activity of different parts(leaf,stem and sheath,and root),and nitrate content in leaf and bleeding sap of maize plants at seedling stage were studied by using a sand culture experiment.The results showed that,water-logging stress inhibited the growth of maize plants under the mixture supply of nitrate and ammonium,and root was much more sensitive to water-logging stress environment.Since seven days under the stress condition led to the most reduction in the root fresh weight of maize plants supplied with the mixture of ammonium and nitrate,while significantly increased that of maize plants solely supplied with ammonium.Ammonium fed plants showed the highest biomass stress coefficient of total plants and the mixture of nitrogen forms fed plants showed the lowest.No inhibit effect was observed in the plants when ammonium was supplied as the sole nitrogen source,while nitrate was supplied as the sole nitrogen form,leaves NR activity under water-logging conditions was 60% lower than that of under non-stress condition supplied with the same nitrogen form.In contrast to nitrate supply,the GS activity of ammonium supplied plants was only slightly affected.Furthermore,significant reduction in the amount of nitrate nitrogen in bleeding sap and leaf nitrate content of nitrate fed plants was observed.Therefore,the present results revealed that nitrogen forms supply is a major factor affecting maize plants responses to water-logging stress,with the nitrogen metabolism of maize plants being more tolerant when ammonium was the solely nitrogen form used.


Chlorophyll is a good water quality indicator for determining other pollutants in inland water bodies. Chlorophyll concentrations can be measured by remote sensing techniques; however, studies show that the broad wavelength spectral data available on current satellites do not permit discrimination between chlorophyll and suspended sediments. Hyperspectral imaging by satellite and aircraft sensors provide significant relationships between chlorophyll and radiance/reflectance measurements. This paper describes the identification of chlorophyll concentrations using hyperspectral imagery in inland water bodies. This hyperspectral study site is located in the Caballo Reservoir along the Rio Grande in the State of New Mexico. Run off from agricultural fields, failing septic tanks, and other sources of pollutants enter this water body. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory flew the flight line on June 30, 1999 and acquired the images in the study with an Advanced Visible infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS). No groundtruth measurements were available at the time of the AVIRIS flight mission to compare to the images of the flight line. The images were atmospherically corrected for distortions using the ACORN software. Hyperspectral image analysis techniques using ENVI software were used for identifying potential chlorophyll areas. The spectral matching signature method was used to identify chlorophyll near the shores of the Caballo Reservoir. This method allows mapping of the chlorophyll constituent using the Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) classification technique. The clean–up tasks afterwards are easier for eliminating any point or non–point pollutant sources because it reduces equipment and field sampling costs by obtaining water quality pollutant concentrations over a large geographical area.


The article analyzes the etiological structure of the pathogens and clinical presentation of ARI with lesions of the larynx in children treated in the infectious box at the Samara City Children's Clinical Hospital No.1 named after N.N. Ivanova in the period from 2010 to 2015.


There is increasing suspicion that HIV-induced immune activation contributes to accelerated cellular turnover, CD4+ T-cell losses and increased morbidity and mortality of HIV-infected individuals, even for those on antiretroviral treatment 1,2,3,4. For example, Kuller et al.5 found that higher levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) were significantly associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality; similar associations with mortality were seen for higher levels of d-dimer and hsCRP. Deeks et al.6 have hypothesized that the preserved immunologic function in many treated patients with drug-resistant viremia is the result of a reduction in T cell activation. Hunt et al.7 reported that antiretroviral-treated patients with drug-resistant viremia have lower T cell activation than untreated patients, controlling for plasma HIV-1 RNA level. Kitchen et al.8 reported an oscillatory relationship between T cell activation, CD4 T cell counts and HIV-1 RNA levels over time in a group of subjects with highly resistant HIV infection followed longitudinally.


Studies on the effect of the stabilizer of chitosan, citric acid and urea for preparation Fe-doped ZnO have been conducted. Both ZnO and Fe were prepared from each salt precursor solution. The Zn2+ was added fist and subsequently Fe2+ by dropwise method into each stabilizer solution before converted into the hydroxide compounds before annealing. All metal ion solutions precipitated out after 7 minutes of NaOH addition except in urea stabilizer, where the solution remained in the colloidal form for more than 30 minutes. The hydroxyl ions are required for ZnO formation, but it weakens chitosan and citric acid stabilizing capacity, which instigated ZnO particles to be highly agglomerated. Each stabilizer generated a smaller ZnO crystallite size compared to the control sample. Fe-ZnO crystallite size prepared using chitosan, citric acid and urea as the stabilizer was 14.75, 23.29 and 22.51 nm, respectively. The crystallite size of Fe-ZnO that was prepared without stabilizer (control) was 32.89 nm.


This research presents a new reading on the work ethics verses through the principle of maqasid. This is intended to seek the moderation value bertween religionas the sacred and the profane often creates a misperception on superiority of worship as a whole religion. The assumption worship in totally is without being preoccupied with the profane  is in fact not in line with the QS. Sharh{: 7-8, al-Qashash: 77 and al-Jumu'ah 10 as a group of the Qur'an verves which is the focus of this research. Through this, the views of the Qur'an wil be presented regarding the concept of moderation berween the demand of worship and work in a balanced and proportional manner. This uses maqasid approach to discover the values of maqa>s{id al-Qur'a>n dan maqashid as-syari'ah. The result of this research indicate from a group verses have been mentioned there are balues of balance between worship and work. It is also mean that the interest of the hereafter can not be separated from worldly intereset, all of which mus be carried out in balanced manner according to their respective portions.


Abstract : The report contains general data on permafrost and characteristics of deformation of structures erected in permafrost regions. The surveys, design methods, and construction procedures involved are described in detail. The report deals primarily with industrial and public structures. The report is intended for engineers and construction technicians working in permafrost regions but may be of value also to persons engaged in related professions.


Purpose – The paper aims to focus on the current state of open access (OA) initiatives in Zimbabwean universities. The paper specifically reports the initiatives at Zimbabwean universities regarding institutional repositories that promote OA and other digital OA collections. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research methodology was adopted. Questionnaires were used as the primary data collection method for this research. The research sought to address the following specific areas: the state of institutional repositories and open access in Zimbabwe, the discoverability of content, open access policies and mandates, the benefits of open access in Zimbabwe, and future plans for institutional OA. A total of eight out of 12 universities responded to the questionnaire. The data provided by the universities involved in the research were summarised to give a general picture of the open access landscape in Zimbabwe. Findings – The current initiatives in the universities involved in this survey indicate ...


In order to improve the extraction method of gas extraction in coal seams with low permeability, the quadratic polynomial formula between the amount of extracted pure gas and negative pressure during gas extraction (NPGE) can be deduced based on the basic theory of oil and gas seepage mechanics in porous media and the pressure function theory of distribution of gas pressure. By using the measurement of orifice flowmeter, the formula of the amount of extracted mixed gas can be acquired and then the expression between the gas extraction concentration (GEC) and NPGE is deduced. Thus, the equation set concerning gas extraction effect is composed of three equations: the equation between the amount of extracted pure gas and NPGE, the formula for calculating the amount of extracted mixed gas, and the formula of relationship between the GEC and NPGE. According to the equation set, the GEC and the amount of extracted pure gas are calculated to further draw the scatter diagram and trend line of function. Afterwards, by analyzing the calculation result and trend line of functions, it can be seen that the increase amplitude of GEC is limited by improving the NPGE. By observing the on-site NPGE of the 20109 Wangjialing Coal mine (Shanxi Province, China), it can be speculated that with increasing NPGE, the increase trends of the GEC and the amount of extracted pure gas were consistent with that deduced theoretical formula for calculating the amount of extracted pure gas. It was basically shown as a quadratic polynomial relation in which the amount of extracted pure gas insignificantly increased. Therefore, it is infeasible to improve the gas extraction in coal seams with low permeability only relying on increasing the NPGE, and other technology methods are necessary.In order to improve the extraction method of gas extraction in coal seams with low permeability, the quadratic polynomial formula between the amount of extracted pure gas and negative pressure during gas extraction (NPGE) can be deduced based on the basic theory of oil and gas seepage mechanics in porous media and the pressure function theory of distribution of gas pressure. By using the measurement of orifice flowmeter, the formula of the amount of extracted mixed gas can be acquired and then the expression between the gas extraction concentration (GEC) and NPGE is deduced. Thus, the equation set concerning gas extraction effect is composed of three equations: the equation between the amount of extracted pure gas and NPGE, the formula for calculating the amount of extracted mixed gas, and the formula of relationship between the GEC and NPGE. According to the equation set, the GEC and the amount of extracted pure gas are calculated to further draw the scatter diagram and trend line of function. Afterwards...


In the present work a commercial intelligence system is implemented and implanted in the commercial sub-direction of the joint venture Moanickel SA, with the aim of providing relevant, timely and reliable information to make the final decision of the members of these, the alternative of greater technical, legal and commercial advantage for the company. In this sense, the mechanisms, methods and techniques used to achieve an effective contribution to the sale of the products by specialists in international buying and selling, are equipped, with enough tools and information to increase the negotiating power, at the same time that its valorization manages to create a frame of reference that serves to measure, evaluate and control the process. Making known at all times the necessary aspects that support the fulfillment of the mission of the commercial sub-direction: maintain the assurance of a stable supply of products and services to production.


Authentic deed according to provision 1868 Law Book of Civil Law (Civil Code) is a
deed in the form prescribed by law, made by or before authorized employees in a
place where the deed made. Notary is an official public authority to make an
authentic deed and has other authorities as referred to constitution or under other
legislation. This paper discusses: how is the process of reading the notary deed in
terms of a deed that is not read to the parties and what the legal consequences as a
notary deed and the deed should not be read. In respect of the authentic deed made by
a notary, one of a notary's obligations in running his position is reading the deed
before the parties, it is stated in provision 16 paragraph (1) letter m UUJN that a
notary must read the deed before the parties attended by at least two (2) witnesses, or
four (4) particular witnesses for making testament deed under the hand, and signed by
the parties, witnesses and the notary at the moment. This is a descriptive research,
with juridical empirical approach to the problem. Sources of the data were primary
and secondary data. Techniques of data collection were document study and semistructured
interview. The data obtained were processed by editing techniques, and
analyzed qualitatively. The deed is not read by the notary remains an authentic deed
if the deed had been qualified - in terms of provision 38 of Notary Law, stated that a
deed proved authentic if it has met the regulations set by the laws. Not reading a deed
by a notary without exception, based on provisions 16 paragraph (7) UUJN, causes
the deed only has power as a private deed. Reading of the deed is not mandatory if
parties willed, but Minuta of Deed must be initialed by the parties, witnesses and the
notary.
Keywords:The reading of the deed, the Notary, Legal Certainty efforts, User Services


Reporting functions reflect a novel technique to formulate sequence-oriented queries in SQL. They extend the classical way of grouping and applying aggregation functions by additionally providing a column-based ordering, partitioning, and windowing mechanism. The application area of reporting functions ranges from simple ranking queries (TOP(n)-analyses) over cumulative (Year-To-Date-analyses) to sliding window queries. We discuss the problem of deriving reporting function queries from materialized reporting function views, which is one of the most important issues in efficiently processing queries in a data warehouse environment. Two different derivation algorithms, including their relational mappings are introduced and compared in a test scenario.


The long-term (60 days) effect of microfluidization on the properties ofβ-carotene emulsions in a matrix ofbiopolymers (maltodextrin and gum arabic) for spra...


This paper discusses issues concerning the implementation of quasi-market dynamics, the introduction of private interests and market rules in the provision of formal education at compulsory levels in the Spanish educational system. It aims to discuss current neoliberal discourses and practices in Spain, suggesting new spaces to be considered in future education policy studies. In the paper, I discuss first the ideological sources on which the political action rests and sketch some basic principles developed by the market advocates in the Spanish case. Secondly, I analyse specific mechanisms implemented to guarantee a fertile ground for the establishment of market dynamics in the education system, which has facilitated a significant growth in the private provision in compulsory education levels throughout the last 30 years. The examples presented in this section refer to two specific regions, the autonomous communities of Andalusia and Madrid, traditionally governed by the socialist and conservative party, respectively. I finally offer some data of the changing nature of the private sector in Spain and present a preliminary analysis of a rising set of new for-profit ventures in education.


Let −→ G be a digraph and S( −→ G) be the skew-adjacency matrix of −→ G . The skew energy of −→ G is the sum of the absolute values of eigenvalues of S( −→ G). In this paper, the bicyclic digraphs with minimal and maximal skew energy are determined.


Contrast enhancement has an important role in image processing applications. This paper presents a color enhancement algorithm based on adaptive filter technique. First, the proposed method is  divided into  three  major  parts:  obtain  luminance  image  and backdrop  image,  adaptive  modification  and  color restoration.  different  traditional  color  image  enhancement algorithms,  the  adaptive  filter  in  the  algorithm  takes  color information  into  consideration.  The algorithm finds the significance of color information in color image enhancement and utilizes color space conversion to obtain a much better visibility.  . In the practical results, the proposed method reproduces better enhancement and reduce the halo distortion compared with the bilateral  methods.


Descriptive studies on the European Union's global image reveal generally favourable feelings towards the European Union on the part of citizens outside Europe. However, European Union perceptions vary considerably across countries. This article argues that these patterns can be analytically explained by taking context and individual factors into account. European Union behaviour and an individual's supranationalist attitude should exert a substantial impact on citizens' feelings. A multi-level model confirms the expectations. These findings imply practically that the behaviour of the European Union and other International Organizations shapes public opinion and that it might, in the future, negatively influence global public opinion towards the European Union.


Using an adjustable air gap between two glass discs as a shearing plate, we have measured the aberrations of a frequency-tripled Nd:glass laser to within approximately λ/2 over the central 70% of the beam diameter. To estimate accuracy, we compared our method of lateral shearing interferometry to Twyman-Green interferometry, using a well-collimated He-Ne laser as a light source.


This phenomenological study was conducted to explore the im- pacts of terminal illness on patients and familial relationships of couples in Pakhtun society. 36 terminally ill patients selected purposively were interviewed separately (24 male & 12 female patients) by the way of open-ended questions. Numerous themes were extracted following verbatim transcripts. All the participants explained the impacts of terminal illness on their social lives and the positive and negative aspects of their spousal relationship. Depression, anger and desperation were apparent in the terminal patients. Similarly bitterness, guilt, persistent sadness and loss were common in the patients and alternatively in their partners as explained by the patients. This research highlights adistinct viewpoint on the damaging influences which terminal illness can have on the marital rela- tionship. However it also recommends how to deal the situation in apositive manner by making adjustments required by the concerned disease. The findings indicate that social scientists need to confess and reply to the incredible psycho-social im- pacts that serious illnesses and related medical procedures can have on the patients and their families even in this modern era of advance technology. Advance social and psychotherapeutic techniques and socio-psychological support of partners can as- sist such patients to live with apositive life style till the end.