X-ray powder diffraction data, unit-cell parameters, and space group for drospirenone, C24H30O3, are reported [a = 12.897(1) Å, b = 12.618(1) Å, c = 12.252(1) Å, α = β = γ = 90°, unit-cell volume V = 1994.13 Å3, Z = 4, ρ cal = 1.229 g cm−3, and space group P212121]. All measured lines were indexed and are consistent with the P212121 space group. No detectable impurities were observed.


Despite major global increases in the legal protection of intellectual property rights, the evidence of any increase in innovation remains inconclusive, though there has been a rise in technology transfers to emerging countries. Beyond these statements, economists know little about other potential impacts of stronger patents. This article sets out an agenda for additional research that economic and legal scholars should undertake to shed light on several important issues. Examples include policy complementarities between free trade agreements and IPRs, the channels through which stronger patents may affect productivity and trade, how IPRs interact with supply chains, and impacts of protection on inequality.


The absence of toroidal curvature and the relatively weak internal parallel currents in a tandem mirror gives the system favorable stability and transport properties. GAMMA-10 experiments demonstrate that sheared plasma rotation suppresses turbulent radial losses through control of the radial potential profiles. Recent achievements of the GAMMA-10 include 3 keV ion confinement potentials and Te ≥ 800 eV. Total energy confinement times for the GAMMA-10 experiment exceed by an order of magnitude the corresponding empirical confinement times in toroidal devices. At the temperatures achieved in the GAMMA-10, the end loss rate τp ≃ 100 ms so that radial losses determine τE, as intended in tandem mirror reactor designs. Drift-wave results on radial confinement times developed using Bohm, gyro-Bohm, and electron temperature gradient (ETG) scalings imply that the tandem mirror has a qualitatively different form of drift-wave radial transport from that in toroidal devices. Drift-wave eigenmodes for the GAMMA-10 are analyzed for the fluctuating electrostatic potential and magnetic perturbations.


A case of 'inflammatory fibroid polyp' in the terminal ileum is described. It occurred in a 38-year-old female and was associated with an ileo-ileal intussusception presenting as an acute intestinal obstruction. The macroscopic and microscopic features of this rare lesion are illustrated. It would appear to be an entity which may have been confused in the past with the haemangiopericytoma.


The article analyzes the functions of Bible motifs in Jeanette Winterson's novel "Written on the Body". This work of the contemporary British writer is compared with "Song of Songs" in terms of stylistic and ideological organization. Allusions to the biblical story allow the author to address such universal categories of being as love and death, marriage and family, gender, sex, and language.


This paper proposes a hierarchical distributed processing system for automotive applications. The system consists of a number of intelligent subsystems, a central controller, a shared memory module, and a global bus. Each subsystem consists of a number of processors, smart sensors, smart actuators, and a local bus. If the central controller detects a fault in any processor in a subsystem, it will assign its tasks to another processor within the same subsystem. The assigned processor continues its original assignments on a time-sharing basis. Availability of the processing nodes in the proposed system is modelled and evaluated using a Markov model.


On 19 April 2006 we saw an unusual vulture at a feeding site in the Leciñena municipality, Zaragoza province (Aragón, northern Spain 51o50'N, 0o31'W). The vulture had what looked like a second mandible (see Figure 1). The bird was aged as an adult, according to its bill and eye colour and its white ruff. The second mandible was hanging close to the throat and did not appear to be disadvantaged when it was feeding. This is the first time that this vulture has been recorded at this feeding site, despite observations during 15 feeding trials. Approximately 100 griffons were seen per trial. We are unaware of any reference to such an abnormality in Old World vultures (e.g. Mundy et al. 1992, Donázar 1993).


Electric power system dispatching data network(EPSDDN) carries the mission of numerous crucial information interactions,whose security and reliability have great impact on the management and operation of power system.The data transmission model was built to analyze the transmission characteristic of EPSDDN,and the packet congestion rate was used as information congestion indicator in this paper.Meanwhile,the model took the direction of information flow into account and defined two typical information flow modes,which were vertical information flow and random information flow.The transmission characteristics of EPSDDNs with star and mesh structure were investigated.Furthermore,the transmission characteristics of two EPSDDNs under attacks were investigated with removal of the core nodes and the key links.Simulation result shows that,there is a close relationship between the transmission characteristic of NPSDDN and network structure.In the normal case,the star network has better performance than the mesh network because of its outstanding capability to relieve the information congestion;while under attacks,the transmission performance of two EPSDDNs show varying degrees of deterioration,and the star network exposes much higher vulnerability than the mesh network does.


In this experiment,three kinds of epoxides of β-hydroxyecdysone were synthesized by using the β-hydroxyecdysone as the reactant and different catalysts to make the epoxidation of the vicinal hydroxyl groups of β-hydroxyecdysone,which were 20-ECD 2,3∶ 20,22-diacetonide,20-ECD 20,22-diacetonide and 20-ECD 2,3-diacetonide.Compared with phospho-molybdic acid,pyridinium p-toluenesulphonate was the best catalyst.Three kinds of epoxides could be synthesized at the same time through an epoxidation reaction.Meanwhile,the best mobile phases to separate ecdysis was found by the way of thin-layer chromatography(TLC),which were methanol and chloroform 20-ECD 2,3∶ 20,22-diacetonide,20-ECD 20,22-diacetonide and 20-ECD 20,22-diacetonide could be isolated respectively,in proportion of 8∶ 1,4∶ 1 and 2∶ 1.


Nd-doped yttrium calcium oxyborate, Nd x Y 1-x Ca 4 O(BO 3 ) 3 (NYCOB), was grown using pulling from the melt, with large sizes and good optical quality as well as different Nd 3+ -ion densities of 0 to 10 at% in the lattice structure. These crystals belong to the monoclinic system with point group m, conforming space group C m . The unit cell constants were a = 0.8076(7), b = 1.6020(10), and c = 0.3527(2) nm for a Nd 3+ content of 8 at%, with β = 101.23°, and z = 2. The measured absorption of the NYCOB was compared to Judd-Ofelt (JO) theory. When applied, the JO theory of parity-forbidden electric-dipole transitions of rare earth ions on non-centrosymmetric sites demonstrates good agreement. The polarized absorption coefficients at 811 nm were calculated as α X = 1.59, ay = 1.75, and α Z = 2.02 1/cm, respectively. The valence-conduction band gap is about 5.39 eV. The fitted intensity parameters Ω t (t = 2, 4, and 6) were 3.51×10 -20 , 7.82×10 -20 , and 3.79×10 -20 cm 2 , with a root-mean square deviation of 6.30 x 10 -21 cm 2 . The emission properties of the excited 4 F 3/2 state with the level lifetime of 216.67 μs were studied, which exhibit the two pass bands of laser for possible applications in practice. The self-frequency doubling tests are interesting. A very low threshold power of 2 mW for a sample with average Nd 3+ content of 7 at%, length of 6 mm, and phase matching angles of 0 = 64.5° and φ = 35.5° have been measured. The measured output power of green light was 19.4 mW accompanied with a conversion efficiency of 3.7%.


This paper presents a method to characterize Nyquist rate A/D converters based on the use of a first order statistical behavioral model. The proposed model is derived from a very basic statistical interpretation of the conversion operation which contemplates noise and statistical process variations effects on traditional converter parameters. Both DC and dynamic converter parameters can be easily measured. The applicability of the proposed method is illustrated with two different examples. The first serves to show the possibility of deriving the statistical behavioral model from real measured data, and to prove the correctness of the model by comparing results to those obtained with traditional deterministic models. The second example illustrates the incorporation of the model in the mixed-signal simulator ELDO. The obtained results show that despite the model's simplicity, it is very efficient for quick and complete simulation of data converters.


Thin antimony films deposited by evaporation from a PtSb source differ from films produced from elementary antimony in electrical resistance, light transmission, reaction with oxygen, and particle size. Qualitative mass spectroscopic experiments indicate that these differences may be due to antimony evaporating from PtSb predominantly as Sb1 as distinct from the Sb4 aggregates known to evaporate from elementary antimony.


Maritime sheries in African coastal regions play an important role as a driver of economic and social development. Africa is also a highly fractionalized country and deeply-rooted ethnic institutions play a major role on how natural resources are managed. This paper constructs a novel panel dataset, which combines information on sh production with regional variation in economic activity. We use satellite data on nighttime light intensity to analyse the impact of shocks to


Light yield, light pulse shape due to /spl gamma/-rays and /spl alpha/-particles, energy and time resolutions for three different samples of the LSO scintillator were studied using an XP2020Q photomultiplier and an S3590-03 photodiode. Light yield of 4200/spl plusmn/200 phe/MeV and 18500/spl plusmn/900 e-h pair/MeV were measured for the PM tube and the photodiode, respectively. The light pulse shape exhibits a pure exponential decay with a time constant of 47.2/spl plusmn/1.3 ns for both /spl gamma/-rays and /spl alpha/-particles. Energy resolutions of 10% and 14.6% for the 662 keV /spl gamma/-rays from a /sup 137/Cs source were obtained for the photomultiplier and the photodiode readout, respectively. A time resolution of 180 ns was observed for /sup 60/Co /spl gamma/-rays at 1 MeV threshold and 400 ps for 100 keV threshold. The study confirmed a number of advantages of the LSO scintillator for nuclear physics experiments, however, for small size samples.<<ETX>>


Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot location coordinate precision is often insufficient for use with high resolution remotely sensed data, thereby limiting the use of these plots for geospatial applications and reducing the validity of models that assume the locations are precise. A practical and efficient method is needed to improve coordinate precision. To address this need, the USDA Forest Service's Remote Sensing Steering Committee has funded an applied research project to evaluate alternative methods that capitalize on lidar data availability to improve plot location precision. We are exploring two methods to improve plot location precision—a manual interpretation technique and a 3D surface model matching routine using FIA tree data and lidar collected in northeastern Minnesota.


This study investigated the correlation between parental phubbing and smartphone addiction among adolescents. The number of participants in this study was 292 adolescents that, consist 76 boys and 216 girls who lived on Java Island with an age range of 12 to 21 years old. This study used the quantitative method with the Likert scale. The measurement for the variables in this study used Smartphone Addiction Scale Short-Version (SAS-SV) by Kwon et al. (2013) and Parental Phubbing by Roberts and David (2016). The analysis result of this study showed a positive correlation between parental phubbing and smartphone addiction among adolescents, with the coefficient of correlation r=0,200 and p<0,001. This finding meant that a higher parental phubbing score would indicate a higher smartphone addiction score. Based on the result, we can conclude that the hypothesis of this study is accepted.


Problem solving is applicable to all grade levels and subject areas. This study focused on the development of problem-solving skills in fifth grade students using problem-solving software. A preand post-test were administered to 21 fifth grade students. Four students were chosen for the treatment group and four for the control group. The treatment group was given 7 weeks of instruction using problem-solving software appropriate for their age. Observations showed a positive change in all the treatment students' actions with and feelings toward computers and problem solving. Cognitive assessments were inconclusive. The appendix contains 20 lesson plans for the computer unit, strategies and difficulties with each of the software programs, and the pre-test and post-test designs used. (MKR) ***********************************************************.**A.**** ic Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. *********************************************************************** Development of Problem Solving Skills: Fifth Grade Students Using Software With Assistance Versus Students Without Assistance


The synthesis technique of ultrathin films on sapphire by laser ablation, and the results of their study by the atomic force microscopy (AFM) method are stated.


A catalyst for manufacturing propanediol is provided to have a high yield by making proper metal have an optimum of content and to heighten a profitability, safety and effectiveness of a propanediol-manufacturing process by progressing efficiently a reaction at a condition that a pressure and a temperature relatively are low in a case of manufacturing the propanediol from hydroxyacetone using the catalyst for manufacturing propanediol. A metal precursor aqueous solution is prepared by dissolving a kind of metal precursor compound in distilled water. A catalyst for manufacturing propanediol is manufactured by steps of: forming precipitate by controlling a pH of a metal precursor aqueous solution(S12); aging the precipitate(S13); filtering and drying the matured precipitate(S14); and plasticizing the dried precipitate(S15).


Summary This article examines the presence and role of endbands in Greek-style bindings based on the author's research in two outstanding monastic book collections, Iviron Monastery in Mount Athos and St Catherine's Monastery in Sinai. The meagre iconographical and literary sources on endbands are mentioned and the aesthetic and functional aspects of endbands are explained. To enable consistent description of endbands, a classification system is proposed based on the distinction between simple/compound endbands, primary/secondary sewing, presence/absence of cores, and techniques of construction such as sewing, weaving, or a combination of both. a statistical analysis follows, based on a sample of 283 Greek-style bindings dated between the late fifteenth and early eighteenth centuries. The major changes in the use and construction of endbands in this sample are described and the substitution of Greek-style technique by Western European practice is detailed.


The burgeoning of social networking and peerto- peer applications enabling peer-aware services requires a global standard to ensure effective infrastructureless communications with fully distributed coordination features among neighboring mobile devices. Before the IEEE 802.15.8 project was started, no single existing standard totally supported the above requirements. Therefore, IEEE 802.15.8 was expected to thoroughly address these issues by providing scalable, low-power, and highly reliable peer-aware communications. This article analyzes the technical criteria of IEEE 802.15.8 communications, presents the standard's advanced features, and discusses current challenges the standard faces.


In this paper, a Reinforcement Learning approach to the problem of grasping a target object from clutter by a robotic arm is addressed. A layered architecture is devised to the scope. The bottom layer is in charge of planning robot motion in order to relocate objects while taking into account robot constraints, whereas the top layer takes decision about which obstacles to relocate. In order to generate an optimal sequence of obstacles according to some metrics, a tree is dynamically built where nodes represent sequences of relocated objects and edge weights are updated according to a Q-learning-inspired algorithm. Four different exploration strategies of the solution tree are considered, ranging from a random strategy to a ε-Greedy learning-based exploration. The four strategies are compared based on some predefined metrics and in scenarios with different complexity. The learning-based approaches are able to provide optimal relocation sequences despite the high dimensional search space, with the ε-Greedy strategy showing better performance, especially in complex scenarios.


This brief deals with an innovative design of negative group delay (NGD) topology presenting O=O geometrical shape. This fully distributed NGD topology is composed of a power divider (PWD), power combiner (PWC) and coupled line (CL) built with lossy and delayed transmission lines (TLs). The PWD and PWC are connected via the CL. By using 3-port PWD and PWC, 4-port CL S-matrices, the O=O topology model allowing to determine the group delay (GD) is established. To verify the NGD aspect of the O=O topology, parametric analyses with respect to TL characteristic impedance and delay are performed. In addition, a microstrip circuit prototype is designed, simulated and measured. A good NGD performance with NGD level of approximately −2.8 ns around the center frequencies 1.2 GHz with transmission coefficient of approximately −2.2dB and reflection coefficient better than −15dB. The measured results are in very good agreement with calculated model and simulations.


Objectives: The current research aimed to evaluate the role of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) and CD3, CD20 and CD45 in the identification of oral primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Materials and methods: This is a descriptive clinical study. Ten patients clinically diagnosed as DLBCL in a tertiary level hospital in Qassim, Saudi Arabia; were included. Fine needle aspiration and incisional biopsies were taken from each patient and processed in the appropriate manner. Histopathological confirmation was done using haematoxylin and eosin stained specimens. Other sections were taken for the immune histochemistry using a standard strept-avidin-biotin peroxidase procedure and monoclonal antibodies, including CD3, CD20 and CD45.

Results: The obtained results showed positivity of FNAB in 7 cases and three cases were inconclusive. Strong positive immune reaction was revealed with CD20 and CD45, while CD3 was negative in all studied cases.

Conclusion: These findings indicated the diagnostic significance of FNAB, CD20 CD45 and CD3 in proper diagnosis of oral DLBCL. More research is necessary for predicting the prognostic importance of these molecular markers in oral lymphomas.


Background The Ward Redesign Working Group, chaired by General Manger, Acute Medicine has requested a review of evidence on ward design principles to inform decision-making. The Chair plans for the design principles to go to the transforming care forum and site forums for agreement. During stakeholder consultation, certain factors of interest were highlighted. The review will report these factors as available in literature. Questions 1. What is the evidence to support design principles of functioning wards? 2. How effective are ward design principles in improving patient outcomes (satisfaction, experience, behaviour, length of stay, infection, pain) and staff outcomes (satisfaction)? Methodology An iterative database search was performed in Ovid MEDLINE(R) Epub Ahead of Print, In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid MEDLINE(R) Daily, Ovid MEDLINE and Versions(R); All EBM and Google to identify synthesised literature published between 2012-2017. Documents were screened according to the inclusion criteria (Table 3) and quality of included articles were appraised. Results Seven resources were identified: three systematic reviews [1-3], and four items of grey literature (research that is either unpublished or has been published in non-commercial form). [4-7]. Table 1 summarises the evidence identified in detail. Ward design principles across wards Ward design principles, supported by evidence from two or more studies, applied across wards include: • Ambient features (i.e., sunlight, lighting) [1] • Architecture (i.e., room size, single room layout, space, grab bars, bathroom and toilet location, flooring, separate family room, work stations) [2] • Meaningful engagement (i.e., art, audiovisual distraction) [3] • Multifaceted interventions (whole unit design) [4]. Findings were from three systematic reviews of moderate to high quality [1-3], and one quality improvement crosssectional study [4]. The interventions (such as art, audio visual distraction, room size, single room layout, space, grab bars, bathroom and toilet location, flooring, separate family room, work stations) were evaluated by only a few (2 to 4) low to moderate quality studies indicating a generally weak body of evidence of effect. Having said that positive impact on patient's pain, satisfaction, infection rate, length of stay or falls was reported. (Table 1) Ward design principles for environments to support patients with dementia Ward design principles that support dementia patients include: Unobtrusively reduce risks [5], provide a human scale [5], allow people to see and be seen [5], reduce unhelpful stimulation [5], optimise helpful stimulation / wayfinding / orientation [5,6], support movement and engagement / meaningful activity [5,6], create a familiar space / familiarity [5,6], provide a variety of spaces to be alone or with others / legibility [5,6] provide links to the community [5], and support the values and goals of care. The evidence base to support these principles is weak, and not all have been evaluated for their outcomes on patients or staff [5]. Evaluation findings from The King's Fund's Enhancing the Healing Environment (EHE) programme highlight the importance of supportive design for dementia in improving patient outcomes (reducing falls and aggressive behaviour) and staff outcomes (increased satisfaction). (Table 2) Executive Summary


Communal wisdom has it that bird droppings corrode architectural elements and outdoor sculpture made of metal. But does the experimental evidence stack up? Metals were (and are) widely used for many purposes in architecture: structural, such as iron framing and girders; protective, such as roofing, guttering, capping of ledges and cornices, and balustrades; and decorative, as in the case of roof decorations, finials, and the like. Metals also figure prominently as a material in outdoor statuary. The metals used range from iron and steel to various other metals (copper, bronze, and brass, as well as zinc, aluminum, lead, etc. Like all other building materials, they are subject to a range of environmental decay processes, one of which is birds and their excreta.


The limiting fields in SF/sub 6/+Ar binary mixtures are evaluated directly from a Monte-Carlo simulation technique. Pulsed Townsend mean energies and time-of-flight electron drift velocities are also presented at the corresponding limiting fields.


As an intrinsic and fundamental property of big data, data heterogeneity exists in a variety of real-world applications, such as in agriculture, sociology, health care, etc. For machine learning algorithms, the ignorance of data heterogeneity will significantly hurt the generalization performance and the algorithmic fairness, since the prediction mechanisms among different sub-populations are likely to differ. In this work, we focus on the data heterogeneity that affects the prediction of machine learning models, and first formalize the Predictive Heterogeneity, which takes into account the model capacity and computational constraints. We prove that it can be reliably estimated from finite data with PAC bounds even in high dimensions. Additionally, we propose the Information Maximization (IM) algorithm, a bi-level optimization algorithm, to explore the predictive heterogeneity of data. Empirically, the explored predictive heterogeneity provides insights for sub-population divisions in agriculture, sociology, and object recognition, and leveraging such heterogeneity benefits the out-of-distribution generalization performance.


PURPOSE: A multi-purpose road sweeper is provided to completely clean a sideway of a curve road since a suction mouth is freely moved to the sideway of the road according to the operation of a swing cylinder. CONSTITUTION: A multi-purpose road sweeper comprises a main support(10), a fixed frame(20), a swing cylinder(30), a lifter(40), a lifting cylinder(50), a suction mouth(60), and a swirl flow generation tube. The main support is attached to the side of a body frame(6) of vehicles, respectively. The fixed frame is horizontally installed on a support bracket attached to the rear side of the main support. The swing cylinder is connected between the main support and the fixed frame. The lifter is integrated with the fixed frame through a pair of link bars(21). The lifting cylinder is connected between the fixed frame and the lifter. The suction mouth is installed in a mouse mount(61) which is integrated with the lifter and connects to a suction tube(62). The suction tube is connected to a vacuum suction tank loaded in the vehicle. The swirl flow generation tube connects to the upper end of the vacuum suction tank.


The geometry of the car's side mirror influences the aerodynamic noise. This study will use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate the effect of aerodynamic analysis on noise from the side mirror. In this study, we will design two types of side mirrors using the Honda Civic EG9 for sedans and the Range Rover Evoque for SUVs. SolidWorks software was used for geometry modelling and the analysis was completed using the ANSYS software. Three streamline velocity values (80 km/h,100km/h, 120 km/h) were chosen as references. The results of the analysis included the side mirror's drag force, acoustic contour, and velocity streamlines. Design 1, produces a maximum acoustic power level of 77.21 dB when travelling at a high speed of 120 km/h. The maximum acoustic power level for Design 2, which travels at 120 km/h is 75.71dB. In summary, Design 2's side mirror has a higher acoustic power level than Design 1's side mirror. Design 1 produces a drag force of 4.52 N at a high speed of 120 km/h while Design 2 results in a drag force of 6.36 N at a high speed of 120 km/h.


In this article, an event‐triggered zero‐error adaptive output tracking controller with fixed‐time convergence mode is designed for a kind of uncertain nonlinear systems under full‐state constraints, unknown control coefficients, input dead‐zone, and saturation. The constrainedly practically fixed‐time stability is investigated for the considered high‐order nonlinear system. Then applying the barrier Lyapunov function technology and blending an error transformation into backstepping scheme, the Nussbaum‐gain‐based adaptive fuzzy control is proposed with prescribed performance. The control process consists of two phases, among which the first phase is used to render tracking error into the preset adjustable residual set within a preassigned fixed time at a prescribed decay rate, and the second phase further force the tracking error to converge to zero asymptotically. Additionally, the desired full‐state constraints are not violated in the whole control process. The simulation results are also given to show the effectiveness of the designed control method


To develop a vocal fold scarring model using an ablative laser in the rabbit as a platform for testing bioengineered therapies for missing or damaged lamina propria.


This paper is concerned with the nonparametric item response theory (NIRT) for estimating item characteristic curves (ICCs) and latent abilities of examinees on educational and psychological tests. In contrast to parametric models, NIRT models can estimate various forms of ICCs under mild shape restrictions, such as the constraints of monotone homogeneity and double monotonicity. However, NIRT models frequently suffer from estimation instability because of the great flexibility of nonparametric ICCs, especially when there is only a small amount of item-response data. To improve the estimation accuracy, we propose a novel NIRT model constrained by monotone homogeneity and smoothness based on ordered latent classes. Our smoothness constraints avoid overfitting of nonparametric ICCs by keeping them close to logistic curves. We also implement a tailored expectation--maximization algorithm to calibrate our smoothness-constrained NIRT model efficiently. We conducted computational experiments to assess the effectiveness of our smoothness-constrained model in comparison with the common two-parameter logistic model and the monotone-homogeneity model. The computational results demonstrate that our model obtained more accurate estimation results than did the two-parameter logistic model when the latent abilities of examinees for some test items followed bimodal distributions. Moreover, our model outperformed the monotone-homogeneity model because of the effect of the smoothness constraints.


Attitudes towards mental illness were studied in a random population of 1,000 subjects from southern and northern Finland using a Likert‐type attitude scale. Correlations between attitudes and social‐demographic variables were studied with one‐way variance analysis and with specific multivariable techniques (AID and MCA).


The present invention provides an optical film produced by laminating at least one layer of a first retardation film (2) and at least one layer of a second retardation film (3), the first retardation film (2) having an average refractive index n coplanar


Recommendations for relative humidity and temperature in
museums were initially developed from practical observations
on the interaction between works of art and the surrounding
environment. Later, the values were specified on the basis of knowledge of the material characteristics of objects and research into the chemical and physical mechanisms of deterioration. The availability of technical equipment to control the environment has also influenced the development of these fixed values, which are today more strict than human comfort criteria. However, an increased concern to conserve natural resources combined with the financial limitations faced by most museums and historic houses has generated discussion about whether the existing fixed values should be re-evaluated. One of the main arguments is the 'proofed fluctuation concept'. Briefly summarised, the assumption is that if an artwork were damaged by its climate in the past, no new damage will occur as long as the
current environmental conditions remain more favourable than
the historic extremes. To date, however, this argument has not been proven and there is a lack of research into modelling historic indoor environments. This paper presents an innovative attempt to reconstruct the 175 years of building history of one of the first free-standing museum
buildings, the Alte Pinakothek. Six phases are distinguished, each representing a particular building concept with its own climate control strategy, which impacted in different ways on the indoor climate conditions in the museum. The historic indoor climate conditions and related energy consumption are modelled with input from archival sources such as building plans, blueprints, correspondence, submissions, invoices, etc. By analysing the
simulations of past indoor climate conditions, the efficacy of the simple technical interventions of the past is revealed, enabling an insight into the architectural expertise of those involved with the museum over the decades. New information about the historic levels and fluctuations of relative humidity and temperature is uncovered by comparing the different building phases. This review of past approaches demonstrates that architects in earlier times were generalists who understood the complex interactions between an architectural concept, the building
envelope, building physics and the specific conditions of the site. In addition, this retrospective indicates that our construction of the concept of sustainability should also encompass the practice of drawing conclusions from the past for future generations. A sustainable conservation strategy should be based upon an understanding of historic approaches and environmental conditions as well as sound preventive conservation practice informed by social and economic considerations.


Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder worldwide. It is characterized by abdominal pain/discomfort and changes in bowel habits. Due to the multifactorial pathophysiology and the heterogeneity of IBS patients, appropriate treatment of IBS is still a challenge. Spascupreel (SP‐11), as a multicomponent medication, has the potential to modulate multiple pathophysiological pathways simultaneously. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of oral SP‐11 treatment on stress‐induced changes of peripheral and central functions in a rat model mimicking human IBS.


A priori recursive least squares (RLS) lattice algorithm has been regularized by adding an approximation of $\ell _{0}$-norm constraint penalty term to the cost function ${s}\text{o}$ as to introduce sparsity awareness to the previously proposed lattice filter combination schemes, i.e., Regular Combination of Multiple Lattice Filters (R-CMLF) and Decoupled Combination of Multiple Lattice Filter (D-CMLF) schemes, in cognitive radio (CR) channel identification framework. Fast convergence and low steady state mean square deviation (MSD) performance under sparse channel conditions has been brought together with the use of different exponential weighting factors in sparsity aware component filters. The performances of lattice component filters with sparsity aware algorithms under white and colored Gaussian input signal conditions are demonstrated by means of MSD simulations, and the performances of combination filters of the proposed schemes have been compared against those of the $\ell _{1}$-norm Regularized R-CMLF ($\ell _{1}-\mathrm {R}-\mathrm {R}$-CMLF) and D-CMLF $(\ell _{1}$-R-D-CMLF) schemes, and approximately $\ell _{0}$-norm as Well as $\ell _{1}$-norm Regularized Combinations of Least Mean Square Filters ($\ell _{0-}$ and $\ell _{1}-\mathrm {R}$-CLMSF) schemes.


The Edwards Flight Test Range is a part of 20,000 square miles of DOD airspace (R2508). A hypersonic air vehicle traveling above Mach 3 can easily exceed that airspace within seconds. An Unpiloted Autonomous Vehicle can exceed the airspace when flying long duration missions. To satisfy the flight-test requirements of Hypersonic Air Vehicles and Unpiloted Autonomous Vehicles, additional airspace and extended test ranges are required. The Air Force Flight Test Center and Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California have mutual goals to support these flight test programs. To meet these goals, the Extended Test Range Alliance was formed as an engineering and operations team to satisfy program requirements in the areas of telemetry, flight termination, ground communications, uplink command, and differential global positioning systems. This paper will discuss the resources and technical capabilities available through the Extended Test Range.


PURPOSE: The manipulation of visual working memory (VWM) has received increasing interest, by focusing on the underlying mechanisms of manipulation for objects presented at distinct locations. However, no study has explored the manipulation mechanisms for the content of a stored multi-featured object (e.g., retaining color while discarding polygon for a colored-polygon). The current study examined whether participants can selectively retain task-relevant information of a dual-featured object after a retro-cue was presented at the maintenance interval. We hypothesized that the processing nature of a feature at the perceptual stage affected its manipulation in VWM, and tested this hypothesis by adopting two types of dual-featured objects. One is objects composed of highly-discriminable features (colored-oriented-bars) which can be processed via spread attention; the other type is objects containing fine-grained information (colored-polygons) which is processed via focal attention. We predicted that selective maintenance could not occur for the former type but occurred for the latter.
 METHODS: Contralateral delay activity (CDA) was adopted as a neural marker during a change detection task, in which two features of an object was initnally memorized. During the maintenance phase, we presented a retro-cue to inform participants to selectively retain color, polygon/orientation, or both.
 RESULTS: In line with our prediction, CDA amplitude was significantly lower for retain-color and retain-polygon conditions than for retain-both when colored-polygons were presented as stimuli; however, there was no significant difference between retain-color, retain-orientation, and retain-both conditions when colored-oriented-bars were used as stimuli (Experiment 1). Moreover, the findings cannot be explained by operations over independent objects (Experiment 2).
 CONCLUSIONS:we found that the selective maintenance manipulation was modulated by the nature of the constituent elements. In particular, for dual-featured representations containing fine-grained information which needs to be processed via focal attention, the constituent single features can be selectively retained according to the task requirement (e.g., colored polygon). In contrast, for dual-featured representations composed of highly-discriminable information which is processed via spread attention, the stable unit could not be broken to selectively maintain the individual elements (e.g., colored bar).


Science fiction and contemporary art are connected by a set of related conceptual interests and formal expressions. This paper argues that two concepts in the critical study of SF, the novum and cognitive estrangement, are applicable to the practice and interpretation of much contemporary art. Discussing the work of contemporary new media artists whose practice has explicitly dealt with SF themes and tropes in various forms, the paper argues that the use of these two key critical SF concepts help to define a new and under-theorised cultural formation: the science fictional.


Topic of this master thesis is food safety in the European Union and United States as one of the most debated chapters in the Transatlantic Trade and


This research was conducted to increase students' writing ability by using the Students Team Achievement Division (STAD) Technique. The researcher wanted to find out whether or not Students Team Achievement Division (STAD) Technique can increase the students' writing skill and to analyze the classroom situation when the Students Team Achievement Division (STAD) Technique is implemented in writing class. The population of the research was the first semester students STIKOM Tunas Bangsa Pematang Siantar. This research used Classroom Action Research (CAR) and composed for two or more cycles then it observed and evaluated to identify all facts including the success and the failure of the action. It means that the action should be stopped or continued and revised to the next cycle based on the selected criteria of success. After the implementation of Students Team Achievement Division (STAD) Technique in every cycle, the students' writing score were getting better. The result of student  can be seen from the result of students' average score by their writing. The first  Cycle  was 44.00 and the second Cycle  was 77.00. After the implementation the students get better score. It can be concluded that Students Team Achievement Division (STAD) Technique can increase their ability in writing narrative text.
Keywords: Students Team Achievement Division (STAD); Writing; CAR


The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 aimed to end the discrimination that many disabled people face in the UK. This legislation was significantly extended by further regulations in 2005, which has clauses specifically centered on access to goods, facilities and services within the land-based transport industries. This article describes the impact of the DDA on railroad stations and rolling stock. Funding from the Department for Transport has been used to provide better access from station entrances to platforms. Other funds have been earmarked to improve the network's information, ticketing and reservations systems, station buildings, platforms and the quality of staff training. There is also a need to improve the availability of wheelchair-accessible facilties on trains. Providing disability access is not just about large engineering projects. For instance, the industry has introduced the Disabled Persons Railcard to help make travel less expensive for disabled passengers.


On the basis of the analyses of the characteristics of soft rock project,deformation mechanism,and positive and negative monitoring in practical engineering,this paper analyzed the characteristics of bad locations in soft crag excavation and put forward coupling support control technologies in bad locations.In practical project,unequal intensity of coupling control technology is applied to the second supporting of bad locations,with the result of a successful control of the deformation of surrounding rock and the stability in excavation.This technology is characterized by its simplicity,reliability,high-speed and low cost.As pointed out in the paper,this technology is mainly applied to soft rock,and its feasibility in multilayer and broken rock mass is still to be ascertained.


In order to unite the functions of the system and the technology in economic growth, this paper constitutes an economic growth model with exogenous system and technology, and explains the economic growth situation of China and the uncertainty of the economic growth in other countries by using the model.


UNTIL its characterization by Johan (I959), arsenolamprite, the orthorhombic modification of native arsenic, had an unconvincing career as a mineral species. This name was first applied, by Hintze (1886), to apparently pure black arsenic from 'Copiap6, Chile', but both Jung (t926) and PadEra and Figera (I956) found only rhombohedral arsenic in X-ray studies of specimens from this area. However, it has not been clear whether the specimens examined by these authors were similar to that described by Hintze. In the course of an examination of hypogene mineral assemblages from the Mina Alacr~in polymetallic veins in the Pampa Larga mining district (27 ~ 36' S. ; 7 ~ x I' W.), near Copiap6, Atacama Province, Chile, the occurrence of arsenolamprite has been confirmed by X-ray and electron microprobe study. This district is the only wellknown locality for native arsenic in the Copiap6 area, and was very probably the source of the specimens examined by Hintze and later workers. The Mina Alacrfin veins comprise a gangue of baryte, quartz, and calcite, in association with a varied suite of hypogene ore minerals, among which stibnite, pyrite, galena, orpiment, realgar, and native arsenic predominate (Segerstrom and Parker, I959). In addition to these minerals, Parker, Salas, and P&ez 0963) record 'argentite', native silver, 'sulphosalts of silver', chalcopyrite, and pitchblende, while the author has identified arsenopyrite, sphalerite, greigite, high-realgar, and smithite, as well as arsenolamprite, in specimens unaffected by supergene oxidation. A more comprehensive discussion of the assemblages represented in this complex ore is in preparation. The mineralization is probably of lower Palaeocene age, by analogy with that associated with the nearby Cabeza de Vaza pluton (Sillitoe, Mortimer, and Clark, i968 ) . Arsenolamprite was found to occur in appreciable amounts in two hand specimens taken from the dumps of the mine, but is generally subordinate to normal rhombohedral arsenic in the ore in sight. The striking flaky or scaly habit noted by Hintze (I886) is well shown in these samples, and the arsenolamprite does not show the


A new method namely, dripping method is proposed for finding a set of efficient solutions to a bi-objective transportation problem which differs from all existing methods. The percentage level of satisfaction of a solution for a transportation problem is introduced. An illustrative example is presented to clarify the idea of the proposed approach. The dripping method can be served as an important tool for the decision makers to obtain efficient solutions, according to their level of satisfaction on the objective functions when they are handling various types of logistic problems involving two objectives.


Automating the systematic monitoring of deforestation in the Brazilian biomes has become imperative. In this sense, a promising research field lies upon the exploitation of orbital imaging based on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors, since this technology is less affected by cloud cover, allowing systematic data acquisitions. In addition, the growing availability of with no charge SAR data products enables investigations on the use of time series extracted from this category of instruments, paving the way for more sophisticated temporal analyzes. This work presents the results of a SAR time series classification model designed to identify clearcut deforestation patterns in time, through an Artificial Intelligence approach known as Recurrent Neural Networks. The classification was performed using 5216 samples of Sentinel-1 time series within the Amazon basin, reaching an overall accuracy of 96.74%.


This essential sourcebook is the first guide to all literature covering erotic (but not pornographic or scatological) themes--prose and poetry, ancient and modern, published and unpublished--which deserve to be called classics. From Ovid to Erica Jong, this collection shows how eroticism--the joyfully erotic--crops up in a multitude of ways throughout world history and literature. Includes a glossary of erotic terms and a useful bibliography.


In this paper, we compare the performance of several concurrency control protocols by executing these protocols under various workloads in a common distributed database testbed environment. We study the effect of implementation overhead on the performance of three classes of distributed concurrency control protocols: two-phase locking, optimistic approach with backward validation, and optimistic approach with forward validation. We develop and evaluate several optimizations for optimistic concurrency control with backward validation. To minimize the non-essential variations in implementation, we use a common hash table implementation for both the lock table as well as the validation table. The main emphasis here is to contrast the difference in protocol overhead based on the number of high level operations required by different protocols while taking the common low level implementation overhead into consideration. We believe that this is one of the first comprehensive, experimental study of distributed concurrency control protocols. In our experimental environment, two-phase locking performed significantly better than the backward validation optimistic approaches on most of the workloads (except for read-only work- loads). For query-intensive (read-only) workloads, optimistic protocols with backward validation can simplify their validation check and outperform both two-phase locking and the optimistic with forward validation. Two-phase locking also performed better than optimistic with forward vali- dation. Two-phase locking also performed better than optimistic with forward validation (except for the long response time situations). We observed that the locking protocol usually required less system resources (CPU and Disk I/O) than the optimistic approaches and supported higher throughput. On some of the workloads, the most important performance degradation factor for the two-phase locking protocol was a long blocking time on locks whereas it was the high transaction abort rate for the optimistic protocols, especially for the ones with backward validation.


The attempts are being made to achieve the best economic effects and material properties by optimizing the hot working process. Production requires an accurate, specified conditions and knowledge about the influence of almost all parameters on the manufacturing process. The misapplication of materials or technological parameters lead to increase in costs and often to destruction of materials during their production or operating. The fundamental problems associated with the hot working processes of many metals and commercial alloys focus on two associated phenomena: intermediate temperature loss of ductility and hot brittleness. This paper is the result of examination of these two phenomena on industrial CuNi25 alloys, with different chemical compositions and structures. Deformation rate has also been taken into consideration. All tests have been conducted in air, within 0.3-0.7 TH, selected ones in argon atmosphere. Numerous techniques are used to characterize material properties and to identify the inhomogeneities occurring, for example high temperature tensile tests, infrared thermography, SEM, EDS, WDS and TEM.


The prevalence of Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) among pregnant women was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of five (5) different hospitals in Enugu metropolis. Four hundred and eighty (480) pregnant women whose ages ranged from 20 - 40 years were recruited in this study using a well-designed questionnaire by random sampling technique. The subsidiary sample size included twenty (20) obstetricians working in these hospitals. Prevalence of UTI in the present study was affected by several factors namely; age, gestational age, socio-economic status, increased number of pregnancies or parity, untreated previous UTI history, diabetes, hypertension, and lack of personal hygiene. A total of 384 urine samples were collected from these pregnant women that attended the foetus. There is also a need for continuous health education during antenatal visits to boost physical and environmental hygiene.


Surveys careers in journalism, discussing the employment outlook, career advancement, educational requirements, salary opportunities, and where to get more information.


The paper,after an analysis of the category,number,form and reward of the participating enterprises,puts forward new measures that will promote the interactive development between Shanghai Tourism Festival and enterprises,based on the generalization of "four degrees"(namely,concentration,relation,self decision-making and extent) regarding the activities participated by enterprises.


Extended depth-of-field of white light illumination imaging is theoretically and experimentally demonstrated. Pupil phase mask tailoring focal chromatic dispersion is hybridized with principal component analysis fusing individual RGB images to a sharp grayscale image over extended depth-of-field.


Some authors affirm that early liver transplant (LT) provides excellent short-term survival in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH) (1–4) and similar rates of alcohol relapse compared to patients with 6 months of abstinence. We agree with the choice of not excluding patients who manifest their decompensation with bleeding and infections (common complications of SAH) and patients with psychiatric comorbidities. Data from the literature have stated for a long time that the approach to patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) should be changed with no ethical or technical preconceptions. The reasons in favor of this change are as follows:


An important consequence of a high wind penetration and the difficulty to predict the power generated is the need to entrust the coverage of a large power variations to power spinning reserve. A forecasting system of generation would resolve, at least in part, this problem. The wind variability has a significant negative influence on the forecast models. To avoid the influence of variability, we applied a wavelet filter that can work with softer signals. The results improve significantly when wavelet filtering is applied.


This paper describes various tests of the performance of Esso Flexxipave Rolled Asphalt (RA) as a binder. It was developed to give high resistance to permanent deformation (rutting), while maintaining the proven EVA-modified binder benefit of a wider winter working temperature window. Potentially, it can also improve performance in: (1) especially demanding situations where rutting could occur, such as heavy slow traffic at high temperatures; and (2) geographical areas with limited choice of indigenous aggregates. The paper outlines the technical benefits of Esso Flexxipave RA through: (1) standard binder testing and rheology; and (2) both traditional and modern mix testing: (a) wheel-tracking; (b) NAT (Nottingham Asphalt Tester); and (c) ERDT (Esso Road Design Technology). It also attempts to link traditional binder testing and more modern technology with the improvements demonstrated in mix testing performance. The potential of the new technique is clear, although the definitive extrapolation of rheological binder testing results to predicting mix performance will require extensive further research. Finally, some evidence is presented that some applications of these methods tested in the laboratory have practical value for roads.


To build a peaceful city has become an important topic of the international community. As we all know, the human biological features are unique, stable, and safe to use, reliable. Then how would the success of biometric recognition technology be applied to existing security systems, and integrate a set of mature and complete application system? In this paper, based on face recognition of a certain station dispatched monitoring solutions, for example, describes how to use the security system in urban areas face recognition system.


Design a embedded web server based on ARM processor in order to observe the water information.According to the remote observing and data processing in the water level sensors,rainfall sensors and velocity of flow sensors,improve the reliability of remote machine.Give the hardware-design principle diagram,elaborate the architecture and related connection of the embedded TCP/IP protocol. The user may visit the embedded WEB server through the remote terminal to obtain the refresh data promptly.Finally,the whole system achieves a satisfactory result after using in the practice.


ABSTRACT This paper examines the situation of women regarding HIV/AIDS in South Africa and the apparent impact of the state's policies. It identifies policies and trends in the context of the stakeholders, constraints, resources, and capacities as well as such external factors as bilateral and multilateral policies. Given that South Africa is the country with the largest number of HIV/AIDS-affected people worldwide, and that the majority are women, this paper suggests that the policies, although established in nearly all sectors, are relatively small and piecemeal and require a significantly more coordinated, women-inclusive, large-scale effort to effectively combat the disease.


During extraordinary space weather, cosmic radiation can be significant enough to pose a threat to aircrew health. Traditional methods of reducing massive cosmic radiation exposure include flight cancellation, lowering flying altitudes, and flight rerouting. However, flight cancellation can result in additional financial expenditures, while lowering flight altitudes and rerouting can consequently cause more fuel consumption or even violation of airspace rights. As a result, we use a multi‐objective optimization model to assign optimal flight altitude and speed to reduce the overall weighted sum of cosmic radiation and fuel consumption. The simulation scenario is based on a space weather event with dramatically increased cosmic radiation that occurs during a routine international flight from Tokyo to London. Our results show that the proposed model can reduce fuel consumption while satisfying cosmic radiation limits recommended by the Council of the European Union if the forecasts of cosmic radiation are sufficiently accurate. In addition, a Pareto frontier is provided as a tactical air traffic management guideline. Our study provides insight into future policymaking for air transportation during harsh space weather conditions.


The production of the adverb "Ma Shang(马上)" was closely related with the development of the communication in ancient times.The possible developing process was: Ma Shang(马上)(On the horseback)→Ma Shang Chai Ren(马上差人)+VP(dispatching someone to ride to send a message immediately)→Ma Shang(马上)(差人) +VP→Ma Shang(马上)+VP →Ma Shang Fei Di(马上飞递)(sending a message at full speed on the horseback)→Ma Shang(马上)(immediately,the adverb indicating time).The grammaticalization process of "Ma Shang(马上)"evolving from the phrase inclicating position to the adverb may be the process which the phrase characteristic attenuated unceasingly and vanished finally.At the same time,through historical inspection and analysis,this article retards the production time of the adverb "Ma Shang(马上)" from the Yuan Dynasty to the middle or late period of the Qing Dynasty,thun correcting the mistake of the predecessors and certain large-scale language reference books


Field and glasshouse observations of Lolium spp. grasses indicated that the lower, abaxial, leaf surface was rarely infected by powdery mildew (Erysiphe graminis) even when the upper, adaxial, surface was densely colonized. Experiments showed that conidia of two strains of E. graminis, one from Lolium and one from Avena, germinated equally well on both surfaces of Lolium and Avena leaves, but that the subsequent growth and development of germlings was impaired on the lower surface of Lolium leaves, so that most formed only multiple short germ tubes or an abnormal long tube, and only c. 25% or fewer formed infection structures. This contributes to the apparent resistance of the lower Lolium leaf surface to powdery mildew and may help to explain why the disease is relatively unimportant in UK ryegrass crops, since infection structures develop at a high frequency on only 50% of the leaf area, i.e. the upper surface. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the epicuticular waxes on the lower Lolium leaf surface form amorphous sheets. This contrasts with the crystalline plate waxes seen on the upper surface of Lolium leaves and on both surfaces of oat leaves. However, when the lower Lolium leaf surface was washed with chloroform to remove epicuticular wax, normal germling and infection structure development was obtained on the wax-free surface. This suggests that the sheet waxes prevent the pathogen gaining access to features of the cuticular membrane which trigger normal germling development.


thinking and he highlights the importance of acknowledging the problems with the beliefs that this book explores. Many books that set out to challenge the underlying belief systems that most subscribe to offer either lacklustre conclusions that do not reflect the arguments made in the preceding chapters or, offer solutions for a utopian society that require seismic shifts unlikely to occur within a generation. As a result, Dorling suggests that the solution is included in the preceding chapters: a change in thinking and beliefs. There are some problems with this volume. The evidence is comprehensive and well thought through, but in some parts over used. For example, evidence used to support the elitism argument is repeated in the exclusion chapter, and some of the evidence from the exclusion chapter is repeated in the prejudice argument. As a result, it is possible to only read one chapter and understand the majority of the arguments made throughout the text. However, the book works better as a whole, with the chapters building on each other which makes the slightly repetitive nature of the evidence frustrating. It is very clear that the author is expressing a set of personal views throughout the book, but each argument is supported with evidence and the outcome is persuasive. Whilst some may complain that the book has been written for a more populist readership than many academic texts, in doing so such criticisms fundamentally miss the purpose of this book which seems, at least to this reviewer, to widen access to the debates and evidence frequently used to prop up unjust structures. Like much of the work published by Dorling, you do not need to have a qualification in mathematics to unpick the arguments behind the statistics. In terms of the relevance of this volume for researchers, activist and professionals in housing, I would emphatically recommend that they read it. This volume has been written with the aim of making academic research and evidence available more widely and against the background of the current financial decisions being pursued by governments a discussion about the structure of inequalities in society is vital. As Dorling concludes in the final paragraph, 'what matters is how we think' (p.320)!


About one in 68 children in China has autism, and this group should be given special attention. We couldn't help thinking the way they acquire language. Do they understand what typical developing kids understand? We assumed that autistic children are able to understand implicature and apply it. Testing is composed three parts totally and targeting two groups of kids (ASD and TD). We adapted Kissine and Cano-Chervel's (2015) experiment on context-based comprehension of indirect requests. We presented the experiment to the children in a more fun and relaxing way. In the first stage, children will be taught to assemble a toy, which is what they supposed to do in the later stage. Sooner, children will be requested in an indirect way, if they do understand it they will comply. We think that children with autism can understand between the lines if we get one pattern of data.


Objective To evaluate the features of three-phase spiral CT scanning performance and blood supply properties of small hepatocellular carcinoma(SHCC), and then improve the CT diagnosis of SHCC.Methods 16 cases of SHCC confirmed by operation and pathology were collected. The fingings of enhanced multi-slice spiral CT with three phase(arterial portal and delayed) before operation were analysed retrospectively.Results 18 lesions were detected in 16 cases by CT scan. The lesions were manifested hyper-intensity(16), isointensity(1) and hypo-intensity(1) in arterial phase, hyper-intensity(1), iso-intensity(3) and hypo-intensity(14) in portal phase, hyper-intensity(1), iso-intensity(2) and hypo-intensity(15) in delayed phase. 1 lesion was not detected by CT.Conclusion Enhanced multi-slice CT with three phase is a reliable Methods for diagnosis HCC and it can reflect. the characteristics of the blood supply of SHCC.


Four wild edible mushrooms, Lentinus squarrosulus, Psathyrella atroumbonata, Coprinus micaceus and Rhodophyllus aprile were coll ected in the wild for the study of the effect of sun, smoke and oven drying methods on the nutrient contents. Each mushroom sample was shared into four equal parts re presenting fresh (wet), sun dried, oven dried at 70 0 C and smoke dried respectively. The samples were pr operly dried before grinding to fine powder form. This was sieved and sin flat bottom flasks and covered with cotton wool and foil paper at room tem perature and used for all the analysis. The result showed that moisture content rfrom 66.40% in L. squarrosulus to 82.01% in P. atroumbonata. Lipid ranged from 0.1 0mg/100g in P. atroumbonata to 2.40mg/100g in R. aprile. Ash content ranged from 1 6.10mg/100g in P. atroumbonata to 23.60mg/100g in R. aprile. Protein ranged from 23.3 1mg/100g in R. aprile to 27.60mg/100g in P. atroumbonata. Crude fiber ranged from 14.20mg/100g in C. micaceus to 21.20mg/100g in L. squarrosulus. Carboh ydrate ranged from 23.40mg/100g in P. atroumbonata to 52.10mg/100g in C. micaceus. The nutrient contents were higher in sun drying method than oven and smoke drying met hods. The level of minerals, particularly potassium was higher in smoke drying m ethods compared to sun and oven drying methods. This study has shown that sun dryin g method retained more nutrients than oven and smoke drying methods.


This essay considers some of the important trends in comparative approaches to Buddhist moral thinking, including early reflections on how and where to place Buddhist thought. It argues that some of the formative gestures shaping the field of Buddhist ethics sprang from contested efforts by historians of religion and philosophical formalists to chart a comparative methodology. The essay describes the methodological holism that characterizes important work in the field and argues against it, pointing instead to more diffuse lines of inquiry that do not efface Buddhism's historical diversity and the distinctiveness of its moral discourses. The essay begins to develop a different orientation in ethics that centers on the ethical study of human nature. To this end, it offers a small exercise in comparative moral psychology to explore the moral sentiment "sympathetic joy."


Cultural Relativity: Views on Passion in Music and Dance Washabaugh, William, editor. The Passion of Music and Dance: Body, Gender, and Sexuality. Oxford and New York: Berg, 1998. 224 pp., index. US $55.00 (hdbd.), $19.50 (paper).


The observation and recognition of sunspots is an important task of solar physics. By observing and analyzing sunspots, solar physicists are able to analyze and predict solar activities with higher accuracy. With the con-tinuous progress of observation instruments, solar full-disk image data amount is also on a rapid growth. In order to recognize and label sunspots quickly and accurately, a two-layer sunspot recognition model is proposed in this paper. The first layer model is based on deep learning model YOLO. In order to enhance the ability of YOLO to recognize small sunspots, the parameters of YOLO are optimized by using the k-means algorithm based on intersection-over-union. The final YOLO model can identify most large sunspots and sunspot groups, with only a few isolated small sunspots being unidentified. For the purpose of further improving recognition rate of small sunspots, the second layer model applies AGAST feature detection algorithm to specifically identify the missing small sunspots. The experimental results on SDO/HMI sunspot data set show that all kinds of sunspots can be recognized effectively with high recognition accuracy by using the model proposed in this paper, thus realizing the real-time sunspot detection task.


The main purpose of this paper is to explore the current status of the European Union and Eurozone, focusing on economic and political aspects and in the context of decisions made quite recently. The contemporary crises have shown that especially the common monetary policy of the ECB and single interest rate are inadequate for all euro area members and caused deterioration in the economic situation of some peripheral countries. The paper elaborates on the main flaws of the EU and Eurozone, highlights and draws attention to a vacuum of European law in the case of the option to leave the Eurozone. The paper critically analyses decision-making carried out at European level by the political class where the reality of European specifics and the continent's historic development was ignored.


Differential multiple input multiple output (MIMO) enables communication without the need for channel estimation and the associated overhead due to the transmission of pilots. A number of differential MIMO techniques were proposed using unitary or orthogonal space-time codes. These codes provide full diversity but achieve a data rate of no more than one symbol per channel use. This paper presents a block differential MIMO technique which can use any non-orthogonal full-rate full-diversity space-time code. This approach has a decoding complexity comparable to that of coherent MIMO.


The fact that the Marketing is linked to a changing environment is continually providing new challenges to companies, requires that both the tasks to be performed by the market as the importance given to each of them is different, in a process continuous adjustment. Since the problems faced by businesses evolve over time, the answers they offer, are continuously adapted in an attempt to find new solutions. The economic crisis with its implications in sales figures without the possibility of winning market share from competitors economically profitable due to the high costs of these operations. Consequently companies must adjust their production capacities to demand and seek new or new products that can occupy the idle capacities. These problems are most acute in SMEs, mainly due to its lower chance of diversification and their limited management resources. The difference in marketing strategies is to play a key role as a border between companies and their customers, competitors, etc. The development of strategic marketing is based on analysis of consumers, competitors and other environmental forces that can be combined with other strategic variables to achieve an integrated business strategy.


A 58-year-old man suffered from dysphagia, halitosis, postprandial chest pain and vomiting with undigested food over more than 30 years. Moreover, he had become cachexic in recent decade. A barium esophagogram disclosed markedly dilated and tortuous sigmoid-shaped megaesophagus with bird-bead appearance of esophagogastric junction (ECJ), and an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) showed high resistance during intubation through the ECJ (left panel, Fig. 1). The clinical manifestation and radiological findings suggested sigmoid-type achalasia. Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) was performed with carbon dioxide for insufflation and triangle-tip knife (KD-640L, Olympus, Japan) for myotomy. Total procedure time was 112 minutes. No immediate complication develop during the operation. However, severe subcutaneous emphysema, pneumomediastinum and pneumoperitoneum were found upon the chest X-ray one day after POEM procedure (left panel, Fig. 2). Fortunately, the complications resolved rapidly 2 days later after conservative treatment with nasal cannula oxygen supplement and pain control (right panel, Fig. 2). The follow-up EGD and barium esophagogram 3 months later demonstrated markedly improvement of megaesophagus and patulous ECJ (right panel, Fig. 1). His dysphagia symptom dramatically improved and gained weight by about 7% in 6 months after POEM procedure. Esophageal achalasia is a motility disorder characterized by aperistaltic esophagus associated with an impaired relaxation, and usually elevated pressure of lower esophageal sphincter. Poor passage of food bolus through the ECJ may lead to malnutrition, and complications after repeated vomiting, such as bleeding, perforation or aspiration often occur. A curative treatment for achalasia is currently unavailable and medical treatment is impossible. Traditionally, Heller myotomy was considered as the standard surgical treatment; however, recurrence or complications may develop. Endoscopic therapy, including botulinum toxin injection, balloon dilation and recently introduced POEM procedure, aims to destroy or weaken the lower esophageal sphincter and provides better outcome and quality of life when compared with surgical intervention. However, a high rates (28–48%) of subcutaneous emphysema, pneumomediastinum and pneumoperitoneum could be identified by chest computed scan after POEM procedure. Those post-operative changes were deemed as indications for surgical intervention. Nevertheless, recent studies have demonstrated those post-operative radiological findings were not associated with severe complications and poorer clinical outcome. In this case, pneumomediastinum and pneumoperitoneum rapidly resolved spontaneously after conservative management. We believed that endoscopic insufflations with carbon dioxide and adequate closure of mucosa incision wound by endoclipping are crucial to prevent severe complications, and those radiological changes could be regarded as normal post-operative changes.


The process of gel yoghurt was determined by sensory analysis.The weight for color,flavor and texture of gel yoghurt were 0.312,0.347 and 0.341 through combination weight method by statistical analysis of sensory evaluation data.A method was established to evaluate the quality system of gel yoghurt by using subjective index and objective indices: gel strength,susceptibility to syneresis and water holding capacity.


Australian public interest in homelessness has been very low in recent years, yet there was a period when universal housing topped the policy agenda.


Recently,the State issued the decision that Wuhan city circle and Changsha,Zhuzhou and Xiangtan City group become a "national resource-saving and environment-friendly society" and build "complex reform pilot area".The central government placed high hopes on the two city groups as the pathfinder in the reform of central China.From the perspective of strategic positioning,this study is to explore how the pilot areas can explore a new type of industrialization and urbanization,how to formulate a scientific development strategy and to take a reasonable participation in the international and domestic division of labor,how to carry out effective regional management system innovation,how to comprehensively push forward reform in various fields,and how to make breakthroughs in some key areas and key links.The focus of the pilot reform is to emancipate the mind and make bold innovations.By taking some unusual measures we are supposed to demonstrate,guide and promote the prosperity of central China and the coordinated development of regional economy.


In analysing the operating model equation characteristics of fluorescent lamps it is necessary to use the model equations of equivalent conductance of the lamps on high frequency. The model equations are estimated by the error-rate between the experimental waveform and the simulation waveform on high frequency operation. The method of analysis is found to be useful in predicting the model constants and the characteristics of fluorescent lamps on high frequency operation.


Cold cathode ionization gages dynamic pressure response as function of gas pulse mean speed and gas type, using magnetron test measurements


A digital ground-water flow model was developed to approximate steadystate, predevelopment flow conditions in the Upper Floridan aquifer of coastal west-central Florida. The aquifer is the major source of public water supply and natural spring flow in the area. The aquifer was simulated as a one-layer system with constant vertical recharge and discharge rates. A head-dependent drain function was used to simulate spring flow. Model calibration consisted of adjustments of aquifer transmiss ivit ies and recharge-discharge rates until the average absolute error per grid block was less than 3 feet and computed spring discharge was within 10 percent of measured or estimated discharges. Calibration transmissivities ranged from 8,640 feet squared per day in the northern part of the area to nearly 13,000,000 feet squared per day near large springs. Calibration inflows were about 2,700 cubic feet per second. Of this, about 2,567 cubic feet per second discharges as natural spring flow and 137 cubic feet per second discharges as upward leakage along the coast. A sensitivity analysis indicated that the model was most sensitive to changes in transmissivity and least sensitive to changes in upward leakage. The model was used to demonstrate aquifer response to large manmade stresses. Withdrawing 116 cubic feet per second from hypo the tical regional well fields resulted in potentiometric-surface drawdowns ranging from 0.1 to 1.7 feet and a drawdown of generally less than 0.2 foot along the coast. Total spring flow decreased about 5 percent, and the change to individual spring discharge varied from 0.1 to 8.0 percent of predevelopment discharge. Withdrawing 62 cubic feet per second from each of the 4-square-mile spring nodes resulted in six of the seven springs to the south of Chassahowitzka River contributing 50 percent of their flow to pumpage and three contributed 100 percent of their flow to pumpage. Springs located north of Chassahowitzka River contributed as much as 18 percent of their flow to pumpage.


Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) is a non-invasive, non-ionizing medical imaging method that has been on the rise in biomedical field. For lung monitoring, electrodes are attached around patient's thorax. Several boundary voltages are measured on the surface of these electrodes, which result from the injection of a small alternating current. Based on these measurements, the inner conductivity distribution of the patient's lung can be determined and used for monitoring and diagnosis. EIT can be used for extended periods of time, which makes it ideal for continuous monitoring, especially for intensive care patients. Several stationary EIT-based lung monitoring platforms have been developed for this reason. In this work, however, we propose a web and cloud-based monitoring solution that allows remote access for the doctors and medical staff. The implemented solution provides real-time, continuous monitoring as well as a visualization of extracted lung features that aid the diagnosis,


Asbestos removal is very complex and bureaucratically demanding activity according to the Italian asbestos ban law 257/92. Each remediation of Asbestos Containing Materials requires the drafting of a Work Plan containing generic and specific information that entails an administrative commitment and correspondence between companies and Health and Safety Units of the public Regional Health System. Same problems are encountered for the annual report to be sent to the Regional Health System according to the article 9 of the cited law.

 The Tuscan Health System developed a computerized procedure that allows direct contact between companies and Health and Safety Units, and at the same time a better monitoring of the entire remediation process without producing documentation on paper.

 After one year experimentation involving 50 companies, the procedure underwent a regional regulatory provision. From year 2016 the procedure went to operation and companies had to upload all data on the regional web site. To date 590 companies used it registering 113749 Work Plans on remediation works. The procedure allows to compile automatically the annual report summarizing the work done during the previous year: approximately 250 reports arrive per year. The procedure is now slowly spreading over the national territory.

 Through a computerized procedure, companies and Health and Safety Units are facilitated in carrying out Asbestos Containing Material remediation works in complete safety for workers and environment, as well as savings time and costs. It could be used in other countries considering that the asbestos remediation is widespread throughout Europe and beyond.

 The computerized procedure guarantees great economic savings for companies and the Health and Safety Units. It allows a control of the remediation process, countering illegal activities on these wastes.


Universities are both disseminators and producers of the climate knowledge needed to institute the social and cultural change required for climate adaptation and mitigation to occur. They also have the opportunity to lead and model pro-environmental behavior, yet often have large carbon budgets, partly caused by staff travel. This paper explores this topic via an institutional case study of what factors motivate the academic community to undertake plane travel and the implications this has for wielding wider societal influence in terms of pro-environmental behavior. We report on a year-long qualitative social science study of academic plane travel at the University of Adelaide, South Australia where we investigated the tension between academic requirements to travel and the institution's formal commitment to sustainability within the Campus Sustainability Plan. We found that, while many academics were worried about climate change, very few were willing to change their current practice and travel less because they are not institutionally incentivized to do so. There is a fear of not flying: plane travel is perceived as a key driver for career progression and this is an ongoing barrier to pro-environmental behavior. We conclude that institutional and political change will be required for individual change to occur and sustainable agendas to be met within academic communities.


ERdj3/DNAJB11 is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)‐targeted HSP40 co‐chaperone that performs multifaceted functions involved in coordinating ER and extracellular proteostasis. Here, we show that ERdj3 assembles into a native tetramer that is distinct from the dimeric structure observed for other HSP40 co‐chaperones. An electron microscopy structural model of full‐length ERdj3 shows that these tetramers are arranged as a dimer of dimers formed by distinct inter‐subunit interactions involving ERdj3 domain II and domain III. Targeted deletion of residues 175‐190 within domain II renders ERdj3 a stable dimer that is folded and efficiently secreted from mammalian cells. This dimeric ERdj3 shows impaired substrate binding both in the ER and extracellular environments and reduced interactions with the ER HSP70 chaperone BiP. Furthermore, we show that overexpression of dimeric ERdj3 exacerbates ER stress‐dependent reductions in the secretion of a destabilized, aggregation‐prone protein and increases its accumulation as soluble oligomers in extracellular environments. These results reveal ERdj3 tetramerization as an important structural framework for ERdj3 functions involved in coordinating ER and extracellular proteostasis in the presence and absence of ER stress.


Advances in protein topology mapping methods are urgently needed to complement the wealth of interactome data that is presently being generated at a rapid pace. Chemical crosslinking followed by mass spectrometry (MS) has evolved over the last decade as an attractive method for protein topology and interface mapping, and holds great promise as a counterpart to modern interactome studies in the field of proteomics. Furthermore, stabilization of proteins and protein complexes with crosslinking offers many advantages over high-resolution structural mapping methods, including the ability to study protein topologies in vivo. The reliance on direct detection of crosslinked peptides, however, continues to pose challenges to protein topology and interface mapping with chemical crosslinking plus MS. The present body of work aimed to develop a novel generic methodology that utilizes chemical crosslinking, cyanogen bromide (CNBr) cleavage and MS for the low-resolution mapping of protein topologies and interfaces. Through such low-resolution mapping of crosslinked regions, this novel strategy overcomes limitations associated with the direct detection of crosslinked peptides. Following optimization of various steps, the present method was validated with the bacterial DNA-directed RNA polymerase core complex and was subsequently applied to probe the tetrameric assembly of iii yeast Skp1p-Cdc4p heterodimers. Further improvements were made through the enrichment of crosslinked CNBr-cleaved protein fragments prior to their identification via MS. Two enrichment strategies were developed which depended upon the conjugation of tags to CNBrcleaved peptide C-termini followed by either tandem affinity purification or tandem reversedphase HPLC purification. These strategies were successfully applied for the efficient purification of disulfide-linked peptides from peptide mixtures. It is expected that the potential to achieve sensitive mapping of topologies and interfaces of multi-subunit protein complexes in vivo, in combination with further enhancements to permit studies on complex protein samples, will extend the utility of this method to complement large-scale interactome studies.


Understanding the structure–property relationship of inorganic solids has emerged as a prevailing strategy to provide guidelines for predicting and designing desired functional materials. Keeping a...


In this work, we present results for measurements of personal exposure to Radiofrequency electromagnetic Fields (RF-EMF) from 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and 5.8 GHz Wi-Fi frequency bands while travelling by airplane. The flight was taken by a researcher of this work, it departed from Barajas Adolfo Suarez Airport in Madrid (Spain) and arrived in Benito Juárez International Airport (Mexico City – Mexico), on the 20th of June 2021. The measurements were carried out using two EME SPY 140 personal exposimeters. Results indicate that exposure levels change at any moment. Values are variable when the researcher is inside the airplane prior to takeoff or landing, when the airplane is airborne and when the Wi-Fi is in use or not. The average value registered during the whole flight was 123 μW/m2 with a 95 percentile of 273 μW/m2 in 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi frequency band, and the average value was 87.1 μW/m2 with a 95 percentile of 184 μW/m2 in 5.8 GHz Wi-Fi frequency band.


In Section 2 we prove a general result which gives sufficient conditions for the existence of a solution for a Markov-type moment problem in the space Lν(T ) (the implication (b)⇒ (a) of Theorem 2.1). These sufficient conditions involve the signatures of some quadratic forms having as coefficients the given moments. This general result may be applied to Markov-type moment problems on unbounded, non-semialgebraic subsets of R (see Corollary 2.2 and Remark 2.3). An application to a "non-classical" Markov moment problem on an arc of a hyperbola is given in Corollary 2.4. The last result of Section 2 is the sketch of the construction of the solution h of a classical Markov moment problem on the ellipse. In Section 3 we solve some classical Markov-type moment problems on closed polydiscs in C, the solution F applying some spaces X of analytic functions on such polydiscs into a space Y of self-adjoint commuting operators acting on a Hilbert space H (Y is defined by (3.1)); see also [13] and [20]). Some examples in the spaces Ldt 0, π 2 and L2dt([0,∞[) are given (see Corollaries 3.3 and 3.10).


Nabumetone is the effective drug for the treatment of reumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. The drug has a half life of 23 hrs and its oral bioavailability is only 30%. The aim of the study is to prepare 6 formulations of liposomal carrier for Nabumetone for the treatment of arthritis that is capable of delivering the drug to the specific target site by topical route by using different ratios of phospho lipid and cholesterol with a desired amount of drug by thin film hydration technique and to find out the drug release from the liposome's of different ratios, mechanism kinetics of drug release pattern and also to find out the size distribution of liposome's of different ratios and also to increase the bioavailability and efficacy of the drug.


RECTAL BLEEDING is a symptom whose value is that of the red flag for danger,and calls for investigationand for caution. It is true that a carefully taken clinical history and an examinationmay suggestthe likely diagnosis or even supply a satisfactory one, but one must be certain that it is the right one. For this purposethe appropriate endoscopic and radiological investigations must be consideredand rejectedonly after deliberation.


Background: Herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) is known to cause genital herpes a well-characterized sexually transmitted disease among humans. Although there are a couple of antiviral drugs available, poor adherence toward the treatment makes it more complicated. Recent reports on HSV drug resistance due to mutations have paved the way for the search of new antivirals required to control rising new virus infections. Objectives: The objective of this study was to screen the antiviral property of Coccinia indica ethanolic leaf extracts over the HSV-2 strain. Subjects and Methods: C. indica ethanolic extracts were assessed for anti-HSV-2 properties by the standard in vitro microtissue culture assay. Results: The results presented the least concentration of 75 μg of C. indica ethanolic leaf extract inhibited 100% of HSV-2 propagation and 50 μg inhibited around 60% of virus and showed a residual titer of 100.8 ± 0.04 at day 5. Conclusion: The C. indica ethanolic extracts exhibited a significant antiviral activity against the HSV-2 virus in vitro.


A focused beam of electrons in coincidence with a high current density Ar+ sputtering beam and SIMS detection has been used to perform accurate depth profiling analyses of sodium in SiO2 films. Conditions for exact charge compensation are described, and analyses of a 150‐keV sodium implant in a 0.73‐μm film of SiO2 are presented. Without charge neutralization, 98% of the implanted sodium moved to the SiO2/Si interface during SIMS analysis, whereas optimum charge compensation resulted in a basically unaltered implant profile with only 0.06% sodium at the interface.


The life insurance market in India has evolved significantly after the liberalization policy of 1999 allowing participation by private companies and business groups. Establishment of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India in 1956 and opening of the life insurance sector to private participation in year 2000 were the two cornerstones that changed the entire complexion of the insurance market in India. Private players who were waiting for this, jumped into the fray and threatened the monopoly enjoyed by LIC so far. On one hand the private players deployed their arsenal to establish themselves in this highly competitive market and on the other hand LIC attempted to hold its position in the face of massive offensive launched by private life insurance companies.

This research paper attempts to study various literatures published from time to time on life insurance marketing. It aims to find how various companies managed their marketing efforts and tackled or changed their promotion strategies in view of ever increasing competition, expectations of people and the changing perception among people on the very purpose of buying life insurance.


Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, China, Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands, Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China


We present a new synthetic strategy for preparing tetraphenylporphyrins that should greatly expand synthetic entries into porphyrin containing model systems. Pyrrole and the desired benzaldehyde react reversibly at room temperature with trace acid catalysis to form the cyclic tetraphenylporphyrinogen at thermodynamic equilibrium. An oxidant is then added to irreversibly convert the porphyrinogen to the porphyrin. The greater stability of the cyclic porphyrinogen over the open-chain polypyrrylmethanes occurs when the reaction is performed at moderate dilution (10-2 M). The reaction at high dilution or high concentration affords a negligible yield of the cyclic porphyrinogen. Porphyrinogen exchange reactions provide proof of equilibrium. This methodology is complementary to the Adler-Longo procedure, allowing small quantities of porphyrins to be prepared from sensitive aldehydes in 30-40% yield without difficult purification problems. This methodology is also extended to the preparation of meso-tetraalkylporphyrins and one hybrid porphyrin containing both aryl and alkyl substituents. The mild reaction conditions and convenience of this method permit consideration of new design strategies in preparing complex porphyrins.


Research on the socioeconomic correlates of mental health has tended to focus either on aggregate-level indicators of status, such as the economic deprivation of a neighborhood, or on individual-level indicators, such as income. In this article, we combine the two approaches by estimating models to evaluate the independent and joint contributions of family poverty and residential characteristics to children's mental health. The data are from the 1988 Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data set. Family poverty and residential characteristics independently predict children's mental health. Family poverty also interacts with some residential characteristics when predicting mental health, although the interactions vary substantially by race/ethnicity. For example, poor Hispanic children living with same-race peers are in better mental health than poor Hispanic children who are culturally isolated but the same interaction is not observed in other groups. In general, the effects of poverty and residential characteristics are strongerfor Hispanics and American Indians than they arefor blacks and whites.


Neighbourhood characteristics affect the social and economic opportunities of their residents. While a number of studies have analysed housing adjustments at different life stages, little is known about neighbourhood quality adjustments. Based on a model of optimal housing consumption we analyse the determinants of residential mobility and the neighbourhood quality adjustments made by those who move, drawing on data from the British Household Panel Survey and Indices of Multiple Deprivation. We measure neighbourhood quality both subjectively and objectively and find that not all life-course events that trigger moves lead to neighbourhood quality adjustments. Single people are negatively affected by leaving the parental home and couples by a husband s unemployment. Couples having a new baby move into better neighbourhoods.


The model LT-4Z electro-optical Q-switched flashlamp-pumped Nd:YAG laser is designed for hydrospheric studies. The laser generates a pulse of light in the blue-green region of the visible spectrum (532 nm), where the absorption of sea water is minimized, at pulse repetition rate of 100 - 500 Hz. This model is especially optimized for operation in airborne hydrography system. In this paper we describe the performance of a laser for complex airborne system which requires the conflicting specifications of high efficiency, small size, short pulsewidth, and high average power.


The naked dinoflagellate Gymnodinium cf. nagasakiense is responsible for red tides frequently associated with mortality of marine organisms in North European waters during summer (see reviews by Tangen, 1977 and Partensky & Sournia, 1986). This species is currently referred to as Gyrodinium aureolum Hulburt in the literature, since its first occurrence in Norwegian waters in 1966 (Braarud & Heimdal, 1970). However, it was recently found to be morphologically closer to the Japanese bloom-forming species Gymnodinium nagasakiense Takayama & Adachi than to the original Gyrodinium aureolum (Partensky et al., 1988).


1 mm thick KTiOPO/sub 4/ was poled with 720 nm domain period by employing UV-lithography, chemical patterning and electric field poling. The structure was used to demonstrate 6 and 7 order quasi-phase matched backward second harmonic generation.


In arid and semi-arid regions, efficient utilization of available water necessitates the adaptation of appropriate water management practices. One such approach is through soil conditioners. Soil conditioners have been reported to be effective tools in increasing water holding capacity, reducing infiltration rate and cumulative evaporation and improving water conservation of sandy soils. In view of the characteristics of the hydro gel polymers and peculiar problems of rainfed areas, laboratory studies were carried out to observe the absorption of water by six polymers (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5 and P6) to investigate the effect of its application on water absorption rate and soil moisture holding capacity of loamy sand soil. Maximum rate of water absorption of polymers (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5 and P6) were (169.3, 114, 181.1, 154.2, 311.5and 155.8 times their weight respectively). Soil water holding capacity was carried out with 5 treatments i.e 0, 0.25, 0.75, 1.25 and 1.75 per cent polymer application by weight. The application of polymer to the soil helped in retaining more moisture in the soil, increased water holding capacity of polymer and decreased infiltration rate soil. The soil water holding capacity of polymer P5 which showed more water holding capacity at 3 bar pressure recorded as 16, 19.8, 28.6, 32.9 and 41.8 per cent and at 15 bar pressure it was 5.4, 6.7, 8.3, 13.2 and 24 at 0, 0.25, 0.75, 1.25 and 1.75 per cent concentration.