Information technology has become a critical component for human resource (HR) professionals. Human resource information systems (HRIS) have helped many HR departments automate routine processes, eliminate unnecessary work, and play a strategic role in driving employee performance. Many IT firms are now forming alliances with universities to popularize their products. This chapter first investigates the utility and the choice of various HRIS options available to an organization. Next, it evaluates the utility of universities forming alliances with enterprise resource planning (ERP) firms to enrich their business curricula. Finally, the experiences of a college of business at a large university in Midwestern United States with the implementation of IT in the human resource management (HRM) curriculum are examined. INTRODUCTION Human resource (HR) departments in organizations have evolved a lot over time. It is an open secret that in the past, the human resource function within an organization did not have the same status as other functions. These departments started off as "personnel departments" whose job was to take care of payroll, employee records and ensure that the company had enough able-bodied people to run the production line. Over time, their responsibilities broadened and included activities such as recruiting, training, promoting, 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com ITB13386 INFORMATION SCIENCE PUBLISHING This chapter appears in the book, Enterprise Systems Education in the 21st Century edited by Andrew Targowski and J. Michael Tarn © 2007, Idea Group Inc. 0 Deshpande & Targowski Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. terminating, record keeping, employee relations, and meeting various legal requirements (Mathis & Jackson, 2003). In the last decade, globalization, organizational restructuring, and increased competition, forced companies to reexamine the role of HR function within the organization. Many companies are realizing that only HR gives them the strategic edge needed to manage a workforce effectively and efficiently (Greengard, 2000; Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2003). Nowadays, HR professionals are responsible for optimizing employee skills, maximizing their potential as valuable resources, and are important players in long-range strategic planning (Losey, 1999). A major reason for this change is that management research in recent years has consistently found that the management of human resources is the most important factor in developing sustainable competitive advantage over time (Gratton, Hope-Hailey, Stiles, & Truss, 1999; Losey, 1999, Pfeffer, 1994). In addition, research suggests that factors traditionally associated with strategic success of a firm like product and process technology, access to financial resources and economies of scale are no longer sufficient to sustain a firm's competitive edge in the marketplace. These traditional factors provide very little advantage today and are expected to be even more insignificant in the future (Noe et al., 2003). One way to cut down on administrative overheads and be a strategic partner in managing the firm is for the HR department to use information technology (Greengard, 2000). IT has helped many HR departments automate routine processes and eliminate unnecessary and non-value added work. This allows HR departments to be more efficient, use less paperwork, and ensure better information is available for making HR decisions (Mathis & Jackson, 2003). In addition, it allows HR Managers to free up time from filling out paperwork and ensuring administrative compliance to not only HR planning but also be a strategic partner to other functions with in the organization. The role of HR as a strategic partner includes establishing activities that contribute to superior organizational performance, advising on mergers, acquisitions, & downsizing, redesigning work processes, and demonstrating on a continuous basis that HR contributes to the financial viability of the organization (Mathis & Jackson, 2003). A study conducted by the Gartner Group suggests that companies that use technology effectively to manage the human resource function will have a tremendous advantage over those that do not (Targowski & Deshpande, 2001). According to Targowski and Deshpande (2001), benefits of the use of HRIS include: a. Using an internal Web site or intranet to empower managers and employees to perform administrative tasks on their own than depend on the human resource department. b. Incremental leaps in efficiency and response time of various traditionally labor-intensive human resource activities. Not only is work duplication eliminated, but also various processes are streamlined and made more efficient. HR staff can spend less time on day-to-day administrative issues, and more time on strategic decision making and planning. c. Better knowledge management which leads to a firm's competitive advantage in the marketplace and better stakeholders' satisfaction. d. Using the HRIS, various business performance calculations like return on training, turnover costs, and human-value added can be used to impress the top management that the human resource function is an equal strategic partner and critical to meet various organizational objectives. 7 more pages are available in the full version of this document, which may be purchased using the "Add to Cart" button on the


ABSTRACT This article introduces a new type of nanoparticle additive for tribological purposes. A nanolubricant was synthesized and studied that consists of metallic silver nanoparticles suspended in polyethylene glycol (PEG). Silver nanoparticles were prepared directly in liquid PEG by introducing aqueous silver nitrate and subsequent reduction by PEG. The nanolubricant exhibits excellent stability due to poly(vinyl pyrollidone) used as the coating agent. Thorough tribological analysis was performed on the nanolubricant, including rheology, friction, wear, and Stribeck curve analysis. Results show that the nanoparticle additives are capable of reducing both friction and wear at low concentrations. Stribeck curve analysis also revealed that the particles are effective in reducing friction in both the boundary and mixed lubrication regimes. The possible friction and wear reduction mechanism of silver nanoparticles is also discussed in the current work.


A method for controlling a consumer, with specification of a total energy absorption and a time window to the total energy consumption of the consumer of one or more energy sources described, comprising the steps of determining energy blocks (1-22) with the power blocks (1-22) to a power interval being based during a time interval, the time intervals are within the time window, and the power blocks (1-22) are assigned to energy source-dependent cost of sorting the power blocks (1-22) in ascending order of height of the costs per energy block and a subsequent summing of the power blocks (1-22) amounts of energy contained in ascending order until reaching the total energy consumption of the consumer. From this it is effected a determination of on and off times of the consumer by means of the time intervals to the summed energy blocks (1-22) belong, wherein the to the respective energy blocks (1-22) to determine associated power intervals a power consumption of the consumer at the time, and a drive of the consumer in accordance with the on and off times. An apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed.


A relay communication method using a relay station is provided to transmit data to mobile stations located in a shadow area and support high throughput for mobile stations located in a non-shadow area. Data is received from a base station by using allocated downlink radio resources at the first frame. Downlink radio resource allocation information is transferred to mobile stations within a relay station region by using a downlink map of the second frame. Data is transmitted to the mobile stations within the region by using the radio resource allocation information at the second frame.


The invention discloses a positioning device of a sampling vehicle, and particularly discloses a big-small vehicle positioner of a sampling system. The positioner comprises a rotating shaft, a connecting rod and a support, wherein the rotating shaft is sequentially sleeved with a speed measuring wheel and a bearing assembly, an encoder is installed on the tail portion of the bearing assembly, the encoder converts the rotating angle of the speed measuring wheel into an electric signal, the actual moved linear distance is output by an instrument, one end of the connecting rod is fixedly connected with the bearing assembly, and the other end of the connecting rod is movably connected with the support. Due to the fact that the rolling angle of the speed measuring wheel is utilized, the encoder converts the angular displacement of the speed measuring wheel into the electric signal, the electric signal is converted into the linear distance, the actual moved linear distance is output by the instrument, according to the mode, the actual position of a big vehicle and the actual position of a small vehicle can be positioned at random, the moving direction of the big vehicle and the small vehicle can also be judged, the requirement for the environmental dust is lower, and the positioner has the advantages of being convenient to install and operate and longer in safety and use period, and reducing the loss cost, and the displacement points of the big vehicle or the small vehicle are precisely positioned.


In 1989 the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics issued an important document entitled Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics |NCTM~ 1989). This document is significant because it expresses the consensus of professionals about the direction school mathematics should take in the next decade. The standards recommended specifically that more emphasis be placed on identifying and developing thinking processes used by students to solve mathematical problems and that less emphasis be placed on mathematics instruction that relies solely on paper and pencil computation (Wong, 1991). The standards also pointed to the need to modify the ways of assessing students. Change is needed because the curriculum that fulfills the new demands would differ significantly, in both content and methods, from most existing curricula. As a consequence, many existing tests cannot measure the student outcomes identified in the standards (NCTM, 1989, p. 189; O'Neil, 1992; Porter, 1990). Among the types of assessment suggested by the standards were portfolios, observations, and journals. These strategies are called alternative methods because they assess learning without the use of standardized tests. Clarke, Clarke, and Lovitt (1990) pointed out that teachers are continually offered a wealth of assessment information during the instructional process. Unfortunately, "Many |teachers~ act on this information, but few document it: (Clarke, Clarke, & Lovitt, 1990, p. 120). When teachers systematically record information by using informal assessment, the data generated become alternative assessments. When these data are based on activities that represent actual progress toward instructional goals and reflect tasks typical of classroom and real-life settings, the evaluation is known as authentic assessment (Pierce & O'Malley, 1992). Not all alternative assessments, however, are authentic assessments. Purpose The purpose of this article is to review three measures of alternative assessment portfolios, observations, and journals - to help teachers expand their repertoire of assessment strategies. Practical ways of implementing these strategies will be discussed. Portfolios Portfolios are systematic, cumulative records of achievement in a subject area. These files contain samples of class work collected over an extended period of time. There is wide variation in what is included in a portfolio and no clear determination of whether a portfolio should be considered as the teacher's or the student's property. If observations, work samples, anecdotal records, and documentation during the year are collected and kept by the teacher, they become more like teacher files. If the portfolios, excluding anecdotal records and teacher observations, remain in the student's possession (and are only collected by teachers at the time of interviews or reporting to parents), such documentation has more of an impact on the student's learning because they are student files. There is no right way to design portfolios. Badger (1992) pointed out that the value of portfolios is dependent upon what data are included. Portfolios can contain performance tests, worksheets, descriptions of investigations, solutions to problems, and scores on tests (e.g., percentage of correct answers). The material in a portfolio is most useful when it is not a random assortment, rather when each piece reflects progress toward particular learning goals. To this end, Pierce and O'Malley (1992) suggested a multi-faceted process in designing portfolios. Teachers using portfolios should (a) focus on specific learning goals; (b) identify performance tasks and/or select appropriate instruments; (c) set criteria; (d) select students to be assessed; (e) collaborate with other teachers and staff about portfolio content; (f) conduct staff development on portfolio use; and (g) involve students and parents in the organization and review of the portfolios. …


The science, technology, and society system is not consolidated in Spain due to the imbalance that exists between the development of research and its dissemination. In addition, the scientific culture of the society is below the European average and over the last decade, scientific vocations among youth have dropped off. In this context, we analysed to what extent Spanish scientists use Web 2.0 tools in order to present their research results to society. In order to analyze how much the main channel of communication between 15 and 24 year olds is utilized by scientists, we selected a sample group of research centres from the Spanish National Research Council in Andalusia and Catalonia. Through an ad hoc checklist designed for this study, one of the many notable results was that only 4.5% of the centres analysed use all of the tools from the checklist. The effectiveness of communication was also studied in relation to connectivity (followers on social profiles) and intensity (number of publications). Both of these factors showed very low values in the results of this study. The popularity level of these centres was also observed (the number of links to their pages), and there was an almost nonexistent relation between those same pages given the lack of hyperlinks from one to another. This last factor was measured through webmetric tools from Webometric Analyst and ScoSciBot.


Stand, in particular floor stand, wherein, in a vertically movable on a vertical column through a vertical guide mounted arm for supporting an object, in particular an image recording device in the form of an ultrasound head, wherein a the weight of the arm is provided at or in the vertical column balancing counterweight that , there is provided a means (24) for varying the balance mechanism in such a way that a force acting in the direction of the weight force of the arm resultant weight force (F mfasst over which the servomotor (25), if necessary, in operative connection with the rotation axis (D) is engageable.


ABSTRACT This study aims to offer a holistic model for human resource practices, affective commitment, job autonomy, and employee creativity. It examines the factors that create conditions for bringing forth creativity in employees. Data were collected from 440 employees drawn from 35 hotels using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The findings of the study reveal that affective commitment was acted as a mediator between human resource practices and employee creativity while job autonomy was acting as a moderator between affective commitment and employee creativity. This article contributes to a better understanding of the effect of human resource practices on the commitment level of employees working in the hotel industry and provides evidence that commitment acts as a mediator between the factors of human resources practices and employee creativity.


Relying on the textual guarantees in the Basic Law – the de facto constitution of Hong Kong – and theoretical understandings of separation of powers, the author explores normative arguments about how the judiciary of Hong Kong should better realise its role in light of Hong Kong being a hybrid regime. In essence, the author argues that the court's role is dependent on a jurisdiction's political configuration and the current approach to constitutional interpretation is based on a misconception of Hong Kong's political reality. The article relies on Hong Kong's legal framework to establish that Hong Kong is not a liberal democracy but a hybrid regime. It then explores discussions of separation of powers with reference to theorists and case law in Hong Kong. Using a recent judicial review case on filibuster, the article further illustrates the political interplay between the branches of the government, particularly the legislature and the judiciary. The current approach adopted by the court fails to take into consideration factual circumstances, legislative setting and constitutional order. A principled approach that engages with jurisdiction and deference – concepts derived from separation of powers – in a structural manner is illustrated. The article concludes that legislative proceeding cases can be read in conjunction with 'hybridism' in Hong Kong so as to justify a more liberal constitutional interpretation approach.


Two anionic surfactants, dodecylsulfate (DDS) and dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBS), were intercalated into layered zinc hydroxide salts (LHS) using the direct alkaline co-precipitation method, and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA). Different UV-absorbing organic molecules, like salicylates, cinnamates and benzophenones, were adsolubilized in the LHS interlayer following two different procedures (conventional microwave treatment and microwave with hydrothermal treatment). The adsolubilized products were investigated by PXRD, FTIR, diffuse reflectance UV-Vis (DRUV-Vis) and luminescence spectroscopies before and after exposure to UV radiation. Most of the products showed a good absorption in the UV region, from UVC to UVA, and good stability under UV radiation. The photodegradation tests showed that DDS-intercalated compounds were more stable than those intercalated with DBS. Adsolubilization in LHS can be an interesting alternative to immobilize neutral molecules with UV absorption capability, to prepare materials to be used in sunscreen formulations.


Retinitis pigmentosa, however rare, is connected with very poor prognosis for the patient. Despite fast development of medical sciences, there is still no tool for effective treatment of patients with retinitis pigmentosa. Never-theless, recent years have seen intense research in gene therapy and retinal surgery using tissue and implants. These advancements bring hope for the future of both the patients and physicians.


In a computing system, sensitive data must be protected by release policies that determine which principals are authorized to access that data. In some cases, such a release policy could refer to information about the requesting principal that is unavailable to the information provider. Furthermore, the release policy itself may contain sensitive information about the resource that it protects. In this paper we describe a scheme for enforcing information release policies whose satisfaction cannot be verified by the entity holding the protected information, but only by the entity requesting this information. Not only does our scheme prevent the information provider from learning whether the policy was satisfied, but it also hides the information release policy being enforced from the requesting principal. Unlike previous approaches, our construction requires no guesswork or wasted computation on the part of the information requester. The information release policies that we consider can contain third-party assertions that themselves have release conditions that must be satisfied; we show that our system functions correctly even when these dependencies form cycles.


A solar vapor generation system with a high evaporation efficiency and also a high mechanical strength is still attractive, while most previous works only focused on efficiency. Herein, we firstly prepared a carbon‐black/wood‐flour system with strength enhanced by polystyrene. Then, we investigated the effects of porosity, polystyrene content, and thermal insulation on the evaporation performance of the system. Experimental results indicate that the porosity of system can significantly affect the evaporation efficiency. With the increase of porosity, there exists an optimal porosity to obtain a high evaporation efficiency. A higher content of polystyrene, which could cause a lower thermal conductivity of the system, always gives a higher evaporation efficiency when the porosity is fixed. For polystyrene content of 60 wt% and system porosity of 36%, under a 1‐sun irradiation, there is an optimal evaporation efficiency of about 80.4%. Additionally, the fracture stresses of the system in dry and wet states could be as high as 2.18 and 2.03 MPa, respectively, which ensures the system strength. Considering the high efficiency, high mechanical strength, low cost, and easy preparation, this system has a good potential to be used in practical applications.


This research study aimed to investigate the influence of online course design on the persistence of undergraduate students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). By examining the concept of persistence, the study aimed to enhance understanding of how integrated online learning materials can promote student engagement, academic assimilation, and social acceptance. The study considered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on online education and sought to contribute to discussions on online course design effectiveness. The study was conducted at two HBCUs in the southern region of the United States. A qualitative research method was employed, utilizing purposeful criterion-based sampling. Seventeen undergraduate students who had enrolled in fully-online courses participated in semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding techniques. The findings revealed several themes related to student persistence in online courses. Participants expressed a preference for asynchronous learning, highlighting the flexibility it offered. Student-instructor interaction was identified as vital, emphasizing the importance of regular engagement, personalized guidance, and timely feedback. The value of multimedia resources and engagement with classmates was recognized, with participants valuing diverse materials and interactions that enhanced their understanding and motivation. Community-building activities, such as online discussions and group projects, were found to foster a sense of belonging and encourage active participation. These findings provide insights for HBCUs and higher education institutions to enhance online course design and support mechanisms for student persistence. The study underscores the significance of teacher presence, interactive learning environments, and institutional support for online educators and contributes to the advancement of online education and promotes successful student outcomes within the context of HBCUs.


The purpose of this study is to inquire into the primary factor closely for running of a wheel system vehicle on soft terrain. So far the inflation pressure of an off-the-road tire was used as in constant under operation, and when the equivalent elastic modulus of a tire was higher than that of terrain the tire was regarded as a rigid wheel. The object of the test is 1000-R20 off-the-road tire to be set an initial inflation pressure of 550kPa. The experiments on pure rolling were made running tests on soft terrain for 3-pattern inflation pressure (550kPa, 450kPa, and 350kPa). The sinkage, the deflection of tire and the stress distribution were measured. It was observed that the sinkage is accompanied by the set of the inflation pressure of the tire. Furthermore, it was clarified that even though the equivalent elastic modulus of a tire was higher than that of terrain, the tire shows the behavior of elastic wheel. As a result, the running performance of vehicle could be controlled by using the set of inflation pressure.


Large spontaneous portosystemic shunts in cirrhosis are implicated in recurrent and/or chronic persistent hepatic encephalopathy. In long standing cases, these shunts lead to portal vein thrombosis and hepatic dysfunction. Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) is an endovascular technique that is usually employed for shunt closure in the patients manifesting the features of chronic hepatic encephalopathy. There are several reports documenting systemic and portal vein thrombosis as a part of the procedure. We report first time a patient in whom the difficult and partial BRTO procedure led to the extensive thrombosis of the large splenorenal shunt itself without sclerosant instillation.


Traditionally dates is consumed as a rich source of iron supplement and the current research discuss the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using methanolic seed extract of Rothan date and its application over in vitro anti-arthritic, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activity against lung cancer cell line (A549). FTIR result of synthesised AgNPs reveals the presence of functional group OH as capping agent. XRD pattern confirms the crystalline nature of the AgNPs with peaks at 38º, 44º, 64º and 81º, indexed by (111), (200), (220) and (222) in the 2θ range of 10-90, indicating the face centered cubic (fcc) structure of metallic Ag. HR-TEM results confirm the morphology of AgNPs as almost spherical with high surface areas and average size of 42 ± 9nm. EDX spectra confirmed that Ag is only the major element present and the Dynamic light scattering (DLS) assisted that the Z -average size was 203nm and 1.0 of PdI value. Zeta potential showed − 26.5mv with a single peak. The results of the biological activities of AgNPs exhibited dose dependent activity with 68.44% for arthritic, antiinflammatory with 63.32% inhibition and anti-proliferative activity illustrated IC 50 value of 59.66 μg/mL expressing the potential of AgNPs to combat cancer.


In CT image-guided interventional surgery, the rapid and accurate location of an ablation needle plays a key role in clinical diagnosis and treatment, especially for the design of surgical navigation system. However, there is no universal and effective method for detection of line segment, especially for precise extraction of the features. Aiming at the ablation needle and its tip in CT images, we propose the detection and location method based on an improved Hough transform, where features are extracted using some prior information and the clustering algorithm. The proposed method effectively removes noise and improves the real-time and accuracy of calculation. The numerical simulation results show that some morphological information can be accurately extracted and located, such as the coordinates of the endpoints and the length of the needle.


Schema matching is a prime problem in data integration domain. Some well-known automated tools have been provided to accomplish the task of schema matching, but the results generated by these tools are often uncertain. The uncertainty is universally inherent because of the inability of schema to fully capture the semantics of the represented data. We propose the method to a semi-automatic approach to reduce the uncertainty of schema matching. Our experimental results shows that the approach is able to reduce the uncertainty and improve the precision and recall.


There are various models of gravitation: the metrical Hilbert‐Einstein theory, a wide class of intrinsically Lorentz‐invariant tetrad theories (generally covariant in the space‐time sense), and many gauge models based on various internal symmetry groups (Lorentz, Poincare, GL(n,R),SU(2,2),GL(4,C) , etc). The gauge models are usually preferred but nevertheless it is an interesting idea to develop the class of GL(4,R) ‐invariant (or rather GL(n,R) ‐invariant) tetrad (n‐leg) generally covariant models. This is done below and motivated by our idea of bringing back to life the Thales of Miletus concept of affine symmetry. Formally, the obtained scheme is a generally covariant tetrad (n‐leg) model, but it turns out that generally covariant and intrinsically affinely invariant models must have a kind of nonaccidental Born‐Infeld‐like structure. Let us also mention that they, being based on tetrads (n‐legs), have many features common with continuous defect theories. It is interesting that they possess some group‐theoretical solutions and more general spherically symmetric solutions, discussion of which is the main new result presented in this paper, including the applications of the 't Hooft‐Polyakov monopoles in the generally covariant theories, which enables us to find some rigorous solutions of our strongly nonlinear equations. It is also interesting that within such a framework, the normal‐hyperbolic signature of the space‐time metric is not introduced by hand but appears as a kind of solution, rather integration constants, of differential equations. Let us mention that our Born‐Infeld scheme is more general than alternative tetrad models. It may be also used within more general schemes, including also the gauge ones.


The reaction of Si+ with H2O to form SiOH+ has a measured rate constant of 2.3(−10) cm3 s−1 at 300 K. This is the major loss of Si+ ions in the Earth's atmosphere above ∼90 km. The three‐body reaction of Si+ with O2 (in He) produces stable SiO2+ ions with a rate constant of 1(−29) cm6 s−1 at 300 K. The endothermic binary reaction of Si+ with O2 to produce SiO+ has been measured from threshold to ∼2 eV. The association of Si+ with O2 is the dominant loss process for Si+ ions below ∼90 km in the Earth's atmosphere and leads to silicon oxidation to SiO2 since a large fraction of the SiO2+ ions are produced in excited states which charge transfer with O2 before relaxation. The reaction of SiO+ ions with H2 (and D2) is found to have a thermal energy rate constant of 3.2(−10) cm3 s−1 [and 2.0(−10) cm−3 s−1] to produce SiOH+ (and SiOD+). This process has been suggested as a step in SiO production in the interstellar medium. The proton affinity of SiO is found to be 8.1±0.7 eV and the dissociation energy of SiO+ ...


Bacteria and to most dormant in your hand or body contact with many people who are broken deplete its seriousness with the naked eye can not see, most do not know that there are infected with bacteria or viruses to come off. This devise is built without an incision in the hospital long-term (內臟 臟器) bones, muscles, or body cavity (體 腔) can see inside yourself and observe the state of the endoscope to the surgical (10) (內 視 鏡, endocarp ) relates to; Sterilizing the bacteria remaining in the body of the endoscope 10, the endoscope 10 using the nanosilver 200 and the flavor material 220 on the body of the Admiral and to to discharge the good silver ions and far infrared rays to the body endoscopic the nanosilver 200 and the flavor material relates to an endoscope (10) containing 220 nanosilver 200 powder (nANO SILVER) or colloidal silver (colloidal Silver) "that is eunyong solution (Ag) (10 ) of the formulation to the body prevent infection occurs when the patient's body tissue in contact with the bacteria and pathogens, kill microorganisms and of the grazing good silver ions and far infrared rays on the body the patient and physician health and further the public health increases and sanitation there is a purpose to be effective.


One hundred compact groups of galaxies have been identified by a systematic search of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey red prints. Each group contains four or more galaxies within a 3 mag range, has an estimated mean surface brightness brighter than 26.0 mag arcsec/sup -1/, and satisfies an isolation criterion. An analysis of estimated galaxy magnitudes, morphology, and group angular size indicates: (1) There is no correlation between group density and magnitude difference between the first and second-ranked galaxies, and no preferred morphological type for the first-ranked galaxies, many of which are spiral. (2) The groups contain fewer spirals than a comparable sample of field galaxies. The spiral fraction decreases from 60% in the least compact groups which do not. (3) There appears to be a deficiency of faint galaxies in comparison with rich cluster and field galaxies. This apparent deficiency is more severe in groups with elliptical first-ranked galaxies. Possible implications of these results for dynamical evolution are considered.


Carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced magnesium alloy (AZ31)-based composite was fabricated using the technique of solidification processing followed by hot extrusion. In this paper is presented and briefly discussed the conjoint influence of reinforcement and processing on microstructural development, microhardness, tensile deformation and final fracture behavior of the magnesium alloy composite and comparisons made with the unreinforced alloy (AZ31). The interactive influences of the CNT reinforcement and processing in governing engineering stress versus engineering strain response and tensile properties is neatly presented and discussed. The macroscopic fracture mode and intrinsic microscopic mechanisms governing quasi-static deformation and fracture behavior of both the CNT reinforced and unreinforced magnesium alloy is both elaborated and rationalized in light of the specific role played by presence of reinforcing phase in the magnesium alloy metal matrix, intrinsic microstructural effects and nature of loading.


ABSTRACT Computers are available that can store, synthesize and replay sounds using digital technology. I describe the major components of audio computers, the principles of digital sound acquisition and playback, and information and caveats for scientists interested in acquiring an audio computer system for their own use. A tutorial on analog filter application is also included as well as a diagnostic procedure and a buyer's check list.


term. statesmanship needs to be considered. However, one tends to agree with Yahuda that Deng has been the architect of China's foreign policy since 1978 and as such must be judged as a statesman. The author focuses on Deng's re-definition of China's national interest and his adaptation to the changes in international politics. In his conclusion too, Yahuda brings back the conventional notions of the word 'statesman' and finds it a little difficult to apply it to Deng, after a dispassionate and objective analysis of the leader. Here one is tempted to quote from Lucian Pye's piece in this volume: 'in the annals of history there is only a small chapter devoted to those who advanced economic progress. The big chapters are reserved for those leaders who brought political freedom and security to their people?' Will Deng Xiaoping be an exception? One never knows..


This book examines the phases of the Economic Stabilization Program from 1971 to 1974, analyzing the controls as an "income policy" tool that was part of the US response to inflation.


148 Background: Screening for psychosocial issues has been mandated to identify survivors in need of assistance and improve outcomes. Although screening identifies some individuals at risk for difficulties, many who screen positively ultimately decline intervention. Moreover, screening has the potential to "miss" patients who desire intervention but screen negatively for psychosocial need. We explored these issues among a sample of adult survivors of P-AYA cancer. Methods: Survivors of P-AYA cancer > 2 years from end of treatment completed an assessment including the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and desire for assistance with Anxiety and Depression following a survivorship visit. HADS subscale scores of > 8 indicated at least mild symptoms. Results: Participants (N = 237) were predominately white (89%), college educated (76%), single (63%), and had an annual income of > $60,000 (69%). A plurality had diagnoses of leukemia (30%) or Hodgkin's lymphoma (29%) treated 17 years previously. Treatment included surgery (35%), chemotherapy (91%), XRT (59%), and BMT (17%). Anxiety (M = 6.02; SD = 3.07) and depression (M = 2.54; SD = 2.85) scores were low and below the cutpoint of 8 (all t < -7.8; p < .001 ), although 21% and 9% screened positively for anxiety or depression, respectively. Screening positive for anxiety was associated with a desire for intervention (X2 = 20.77; p < .001 ), while screening positively for depression was not (p > 0.05). Among those screening positively for anxiety, 50% desired intervention, while among those screening positively for depression only 38% desired intervention. Moreover, among those desiring intervention for anxiety or depression, 36% and 68% screened negatively for symptoms, respectively. Conclusions: Many P-AYA survivors screening positively for anxiety or depression do not desire intervention. As well, screening would exclude between 36%-68% of those desiring intervention, representing a missed opportunity to potentially improve outcomes. Screening without assessing desire for intervention likely over identifies individuals who do not desire help while missing a relatively large number of those who do wish for assistance.


In this paper, I cling to the recent torn downs by the Black Lives Matter movement of statues of slave holders and colonialists to investigate its effects both to the arts and its institutional grounds. I suggest that the performativity of such torn downs not only consolidates a political activism but also that its affirmative nature may pose an aesthetic turn to the very representational function of statues, as we know it. Through the scope of experimental and vanguardist movements of the last century, sculpture draws back from the figurative tradition, and towards minimalism, and social sculpturing, as well as a number of other different procedures, which, hence, lead Lucy Lippard and John Chandler to denominate them as the dematerialization of the work of art. However, rather than using art theory to bring the antiracist upheavals to peace, I intend to assert their investing against statues as a trembling to art history that makes us realizes the aesthetic operation at play goes further beyond identitarian representation. Throughout this proposition I rely on the writings and concepts of Denise Ferreira da Silva, Achilles Mbembe, James Baldwin, among others. In parallel, I also cast photos by Brazilian performance artists whose works raise issues regarding race, coloniality and white agency.


A study of the alkaloids present in th 3 roots of Aconitum septenrrionale Koelle has led to the isolation of four new norditerpenoid alkaloids: 8-Omethyllycaconitine (l), 6-Qacetylacosep- ticine (2), acoseptrigine (3) and acoseptriginine (4) besides seven known alkaloids: lappaconine (5) Kacetylsepaconitine (6) puberaconitine (7) lappaconitine (8) N-deacetyllappaconitine (9) lycoctonine (lo), and lapaconidine (11). The structures of these alkaloids were determined by spectral data and chemical correlation with alkaloids of established structures. Thus, 8-O-methyl- lycaconitine (1) was converted to septentrionine (12) by treatment with methanolic ammonia. Saponification of 6-O-acetylacosepticine (2) and acoseptrigine (3) with 5% ethanolic KOH yielded acoseptricine (13) and 14-Omethylforesticine (14) respectively. A synthetic sample of lappaco- nine (5) was prepared from lappaconitine (8) by alkaline hydrolysis. Acidic hydrolysis of N- acetylsepaconitine (6) afforded sepaconitine (15). N-acetylsepaconitine (6) and puberaconitine (7) have not been previously isolated from A. septentrionale. 1% chemical shifts for C(5), C(lO), C(13) and N-CH2-CHs of lapaconidine (11) have been revised on the basis of DEPT measure- ments.


Objective To study the chemical constituents of stems and leafs of Capparis spinosa L..Methods The compounds were separated and purified by column chromatography and their structures were analyzed by spectroscopic methods.Results Twelve compounds were isolated and purified,and their structures were determined as psoralen(Ⅰ),isopsoralen(Ⅱ),ethyl hydroxybenzoate(Ⅲ),methylparaben(Ⅳ),transcinnamic acid(Ⅴ),benzoic acid(Ⅵ),p-hydroxybenzoic acid(Ⅻ),protocatechuic acid(Ⅷ),kaempfer-ol-3-O-rutinoside(Ⅸ),rutin(Ⅹ),β-sitosterol(Ⅺ),and β-daucosterol(Ⅻ).Conclusion CompoundsⅠ-Ⅴ were isolated from Capparis for the first time.


Cities are one of the most important key in regional development. Creative and innovative cities are considered a competitive pole, by stimulating economic activities and inclusive growth. Those cities which understood the implications for sustainable development are prosperous and competitive at a global level, for example Silicon Valley which is well known as the city were Apple Industry started. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the best practice of creative and innovative cities at global level and extract the most important aspects, which could be applied on Romanian cities. In Romania, there are few cities which may be included in this category, as smart cities. In order to improve the existing literature, this paper aims to explain the benefits of stimulating the cities development and elaborate a list of recommendations for Romanian authorities.


This paper presents a control method based on Model Predictive Control (MPC) and PID for path following of a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). On the basis of simplified kinetic model, a double loop control structure is adopted. Because MPC method is ability to deal with input and output constraints, in the outer loop (position loop), MPC controllers are designed to track the reference trajectory under input or output physical constrains. In the inner loop (attitude loop), to achieve rapid response for attitude, PID controllers are designed to track the reference attitude. The simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed control approach.


This chapter draws from actual accredited graduate programs. It is essentially a reflection piece drawn from actual experience of successful teaching and blended action learning practices and principles that utilized online discussion forums. The classes were in Malaysia, the USA, and South Africa. The experience of teaching and learning involving metacognition and active online discussion internationally is described in terms of the cognitive literacy value chain developed by the author. Active discussion was seen as part and parcel of the process to nudge insights, critical thinking, and other expressions of higher order thinking that also facilitated peer bonding in very short, six-week semesters. The critical role of fluid intelligence in higher order thinking in a globalized knowledge economy is discussed in terms of the development of wisdom through the experience of transcending conventional thinking while sustaining refined thought processes and cultural values through metacognition. Sample comments and reflection journals are presented. Mohan Gurubatham HELP University, Malaysia


This research is qualitative research that investigates the multi-characteristics of innovative leadership that drives the organization's competitive advantage by applying an integrative review of literature approach. Data and information are adopted from research outputs published in indexed and reputable journals in 2012-2021. Based on several articles reviewed the author found that there are three core competencies of innovative leaders: managerial, conceptual and team-building skills. These embedded competencies can shape innovative attitude and behaviour of subordinates which consistently and sustainably will enhance individual and collective productivity.   In the long term it can boost organizational competencies in all level of management hierarchy. Personal characteristics of innovative leader consist of (1) clear and strong vision; (2) consistent integrity; (3) partnership working; (4) two-way communication; (5) managing uncertain changing environments; (6) thinking creatively and innovatively; (7) understand the issues comprehensively; (8) problems solving; (9) positive and energetic thinking; (10) mental health stability; and (11) adequate physical health. In principle, personal characteristics of characteristic of innovative leader consist of hard and soft personal unique competencies. The results of this research study reveal that the personal characteristics of innovative leadership as a role model are able to build subordinates' innovative behaviour which is consistently and continuously able to increase the organization's competitive advantage.


The general aim of the thesis is an interpretation of sadomasochism as a relevant sexuality and a psycho - sexual, socio - philosophical and cultural phenomenon, developed by multidisciplinary aspects of psychoanalysis and social philosophy with the focus on the philosophical analysis of the individual and social understanding of sadomasochism and the essential dilemmas about its intelligibility and adequate positioning of sadism and masochism in the domain of sexuality. I have made the effort of critically rethinking sadomasochism as a specific sexuality in its practice, but equal to every other sexual orientation according to the principle of egalitarian freedom of choice and philosophical elaboration of its position in the context of contemporary theories of sexuality. As a starting point for understanding the theories of sadomasochistic sexuality, a historical background of the concept of perversion and interpretations of sadomasochism is presented through a detailed overview and analysis of the earliest psychoanalysis of Richard von Krafft - Ebing and Sigmund Freud. The interpretation of sexuality and sadomasochistic relationships in the postpsychoanalytical theory of Jacques Lacan is elaborated as the most relevant for the contemporary psychoanalytical philosophy and understanding of sexuality. Sadomasochism is explained in terms of Lacan's conceptually - categorial system, as a special and unique relationship of signifiers, intermediated by desire described as the relationship of the other (objet petit a) and the Other (objet grande Autre). Lacan's structurally - categorial system of subjects, objects and indefinite different possibilities of relationships between individuals and signifiers reveals their both conscious and unconscious desires and therefore is an excellent method of studying and theoretizing sadomasochistic sexuality and interactions in all their varieties and development of the Symbolic, Imaginary and the Real order. The central original theses are interpretations of ontology and phenomenology in anthropological philosophy of sexuality of George Bataille and his naturalist conceptualization of sexuaity as a "violent transgression", and at the same time erotic and sensual, spiritual and ritual, transcendental phenomenon. Bataille's theory of the essential, inevitable unity of sexuality and violence is strongly antropologically founded, relying on vivid depictions of ancient sexual ritual in comparison with contempory human sexual experience. According to Bataille, violence and sexuality, as primal animal insticts and human drives, are inseparable and therefore sadomasochism can be understood as a necessary trangression, transcending all taboos and cultural norms. His exquisite theses on sexuality, based on descriptions of the unity of the physical and the psychological dimensional and explaining the very origin of sadomasochism, are an excellent theoretical framework for the understanding the practice of sadomasochistic sexuality as an equilibrium of the violent, cruel, profane with the sacrificial, ritual and sacred, transcending into the domain of the spiritual. Bataille's works and thought on sexuality are interpreted as the basis for the ontology of sadomasochism, since transcendentality is the main characteristic of the state of mind caused by intense and unique sensations of the masochistic experience. Phenomenology of masochism, as the primary and far more complexed sexual predisposition and orientatation than sadism, is best expressed in the thought of Gilles Deleuze, centrally focused and concentrated on distingishing and dividing masochism and sadism into two different entities and forms of existence. Deleuze's theory of masochism is of great relevance, since he strictly excludes masochism from sadism, as two separate worlds, with his references on Leopold Sacher - Masoch and his notion of masochism as supersensuality. According to Deleuze, masochism is a world of its own, and the masochistic individual has a unique set of mind, psyche and desires for physical pain, opposite to a sadist, which ontologically differenciates masochists from sadist. Jean - Luc Nancy's philosophy of the body is of great significance for understanding sadomasochistic sexuality, since he positioned the body as the central part of the individual's person, selfhood and the realization of sexual identity. As I have demonstrated, he has developed a conceptual paradigm in which myself is the body and his term "corpus ego" stands for the unity of body, self and mind. The unity of body, self and mind and the idea of the body as the self are followed by his understanding of physical sensations as life forces, which are the essential components of sadomasochistic sexuality and lifestyle. Jean Baudrillard's analysis of the postfuturist and postsexual society and his brilliant depictions of human drives for violent sexuality in comparison with the perception of reality or its simulation plays an extremely important role in explaining the contemporary technological society and specific sexual practices. Baudrillard has reformulated some of the major Lacan's terms and concept in his own, original and different interpretation of sexuality and violence in terms of seduction, pornography and sexual pleasure by referring to manifestations of extreme sexuality in voyeurism, implying various sadomasochistic practices, reaching the limitless hyperreality of taking pleasure in participating severe accidents and acts of brutality as a response to the exposition and submission to mechanisms of technology. Herbert Marcuse's philosophical interpretation of Freud is of extreme importance for the explanation of the reflexion of the physical in the social state and the broad problematics of contemporary society and the individual as a product of repressive civilization and repressed sexuality and the idea of an open possibility of realization of an non – repressive, but productive society of the pleasure principle. The essential part of the thesis is based upon the theories of the society and sexuality in Foucault's and Gilles Deleuze's philosophy, very different and highly critically opposed psychoanalitical approaches - a historical and "antihumanist" analysis of social dynamics which shape individuals by conditioning their behaviour. The position of sadomasochist sexuality in the social context has been demonstrated by the historically - philosophical theory of power relations in the thought of Michel Foucault with an emphasis on his exquisite, detailed and probably most precise analysis of development of thought and science of sexuality. I have applied Foucault's theses on social power relations on the hermeneutics of sadomasochistic sexuality, since his main focus was the historical knowledge of sexuality, dating from ancient Greece, its practices and a specific ethics. Foucault's theory of sexuality was established precisely on societies buit upon the essential relation of power and knowledge which made sexuality a political and scientific issue, including the practice of sadomasochism as the best manifestation of paradoxical power relations, the one of equal individual, both wielding power and submitting to powerlessness, a realtionship beyond power, in search of knowledge through sexual experience and liberation. Sexuality, as an ultimate form of liberation, is presented with an emphasis on sadomasochistic sexuality as the ultimate form of interpersonal power exchange in the social context of sadomadochistic communities and subcultures and the reception of such practices by the traditional mainstream society. The final conclusion of Foucault's theses on sexuality is an interpretation of power relations in radical sadomasochistic relationships from the socio - philosophical, political, but also psychological perspective, along with the ethics of sadomasochism as a prescribed conduct regarding safety and consensuality. Contemporary theories and conceptions od sadomasochism, most expressed in the USA from 1990s to the present day have explained and interpreted the basic linguistic register of BDSM and represented the essential practices of this sexuality, which has, by social development, evolved from "true" sadomasochism to populizarization and mainstream culture of the postcapitalist consumerist society. Numerous contemporary sociology and physchology theoreticians, including psychotherapists represent a positive attitude towards sadomasochism and shall be confronted with "heavy" arguments of radical feminist authors against this sexual practice, but it is important to note that the renowned feminist theoreticians have taken the affirmative attitude towards S/M as practioners themselves. The intention of the thesis, after a philosophical overview of the phenomenon of sadomasochism in theory and practice, is an original interpretation and rethinking of various theories and the still present dubious and problematic understandings of sadomasochistic sexuality - as a psychopathological disorder, perversion, violence, abnormal sexuality or deviation, which should be disregarded and discarded as obsolete misinterpretations. Innovative interpretations of the relevant literature and my own personally developed theses in ontology and epistemology of the individual, community and the social totality shall constitute a unique opposition to the psychopatologization of sadomasochist sexuality in the social and the individual psychological sphere of the phenomenon of sadomasochism which, from the socio - philosophical and psychological perspective, has an immense role in contemporary society and culture.


This study investigates the association between pension accounting information and both firm value and credit ratings. My findings indicate that fair-value-based pension accounting information is not more evaluation relevant (often termed value relevant in prior literature relating specifically to the equity valuation decision) than pension information recognized in the financial statements under SFAS 87. In fact, I find SFAS 87 information to be more evaluation relevant in models with composite pension variables. However, once I disaggregate the variables, the performance of fair-value data improves, which suggests that the loss in evaluation relevance is due mainly to the aggregation of transitory components (i.e. actuarial and investment gains and losses) with more persistent pension cost components. Similar to previous research, incremental evaluation relevance tests of pension cost component variables suggest that the market may overvalue pension components relative to regular earnings components. Moreover, my results suggest that financial statement users, particularly credit rating analysts, focus on pension income statement information, also indicative of overvaluation and weaker risk assessments. Should the U.S. continue to shift toward a fair-value based pension accounting standard, recognizing transitory elements of pension cost separately from net income (perhaps as part of comprehensive income) can mitigate any loss in evaluation relevance.


Data provenance is a powerful tool for debugging large-scale analytics on batch processing systems. This paper presents Ariadne, a system for capturing and querying provenance from Vertex-Centric graph processing systems. While the size of provenance from map-reduce-style workflows is often a fraction of the input data size, graph algorithms iterate over the input graph many times, producing provenance much larger than the input graph. And though current provenance tracing procedures support explicit debugging scenarios, like crash-culprit determination, developers are increasingly interested in the behavior of analytics when a crash or exception does not occur. To address this challenge, Ariadne offers developers a concise declarative query language to capture and query graph analytics provenance. Exploiting the formal semantics of this datalog-based language, we identify useful query classes that can run while an analytic computes. Experiments with various analytics and real-world datasets show the overhead of online querying is 1.3x over the baseline vs. 8x for the traditional approach. These experiments also illustrate how Ariadne's query language supports execution monitoring and performance optimization for graph analytics.


This study seeks to assess the relationship between firm performance and nonroutine CEO turnover in Korean conglomerates known as chaebols. Utilizing data collected from a period following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, findings indicate a negative relationship between performance and nonroutine CEO turnover. However, the status of CEOs as chaebol founding family members is also negatively correlated with nonroutine turnover. This research suggests areas where managerial accountability has been improved in chaebol and areas where further improvements are needed. The unique contribution of this study is that it considers corporate governance in chaebols after postfinancial crisis reforms and looks at CEO family membership as a factor.


Certain aspects of the life of the Greek poet Theocritus are fairly well agreed upon. We know, for instance, that he flourished in the third century B.C. He was most likely born in Sicily and migrated at a later time to the Greek island of Cos and from there to Alexandria in Egypt, or he was Coan by birth and came to be associated with Sicily only later in his life. At any rate, he appeared in Alexandria at a time in history when this great city was the cultural center of the Eastern Mediterranean. He became part of the Alexandrian school, which, coming as it did upon the heels of the golden age of Greek literature, did what it could to avoid slavish imitation of its predecessors: All the Alexandrians had in common one characteristic, showing itself in a variety of forms, namely avoidance of the trite and commonplace. Hence all alike sought restlessly for subjects either new or capable of being treated from some new angle; and all used language which, while retaining the flavour of antiquity, showed at every turn some novelty of formation, shade of meaning, or collocation (Rose 1948:317).


Some studies suggest that Asian overconfidence leads to extreme response bias for Chinese survey respondents, while others claim that Confucian modesty norms lead to a cautious or midpoint bias. We propose a means of reconciling existing theoretical divergence and analyzed a sample of Chinese and American managers to test this proposition. According to MANOVA results, specific knowledge and nomothetic rating tasks engendered more extreme and fewer midpoint responses for Chinese than American managers, while idiographic rating tasks exhibited the opposite pattern. Results suggest that response bias is a major problem in research comparing Chinese and American respondents and that both extreme and midpoint response bias affects both groups depending on the type of rating task employed.


A brief outline of convertor harmonic theory is given. The paper also describes the non-linearity which generates the harmonics in large convertors. A summary is given of the recent work carried out by the author and colleagues on the calculation of harmonics in non-ideal convertors with both ac and dc impedance represented.


The asymmetric hydro turbine governing system (AHTGS) has been widely applied in engineering practice, yet the stability characteristics and nonlinear behaviours of AHTGS are seldom studied. Therefore, the authors are motivated to study the stability characteristics and nonlinear behaviours of AHTGS by using Hopf bifurcation theory. Firstly, the refined nonlinear mathematical model of AHTGS is constructed, which takes account of the nonlinear head loss in asymmetric penstocks. Subsequently, the multi-stability characteristics of AHTGS is revealed based on the refined nonlinear mathematical model by using stable domain. Then, the multi-timescale oscillation phenomenon is revealed, i.e. system dynamic response consists of two subwaves with different frequencies. Moreover, the relationship of the two subwaves and the system multi-stability is investigated. The result indicates that the two supercritical bifurcation lines are emerged and a two-timescale oscillation is generated. The stability of the two-timescale oscillation is determined by the two emerged stable domains. In addition, the cause of high-frequency and low-frequency subwaves has been verified as the natural hydraulic oscillation and hydraulic interference between the hydro turbine generating units, respectively. The overall stability of AHTGS is determined by the intersection area of the two stable domains, therefore the reasonable tuning of control parameters within the comprehensive stable domain is critical to maintain the stability of AHTGS.


Supplementation of oat flour into vermicelli may improve the nutritional quality, but textural and sensory attributes should not be adversely affected. The present study was carried out with the aim to evaluate the influence of oat flour substitution on functional and pasting properties of flour formulations, and the sensory and cooking quality of wheat-semolina based vermicelli. Different ratios viz. 50:50, 33:66, 25:75, 66:33, 40:60, 75:25 and 60:40 of durum wheat and oat flour were tried, and corn flour ~15 % was added to the wheat semolina and oat flour mix, and afterwards the extruded wet vermicelli was fluidized bed dried at 90°C. Statistically significant variations were observed for the pasting properties of different flour blends. Increasing the oat flour concentration led to a significant decrease in cooking quality in terms of swelling index, water holding capacity and cooking losses. The overall acceptability of formulation having 50% oat, 50% wheat semolina and 15% corn flour was similar to the control vermicelli prepared from wheat semolina. Thus, up to 50% replacement of wheat semolina by oat flour produced vermicelli with acceptable sensory and cooking quality, which could be recommended for the preparation of β-glucan enriched vermicelli without compromising its quality attributes.


Abstract: In the Homer's Work as well in that of Hesiod, references are based on a mythical conception of space impossible to identify with a real geography, but since the first mentions a trend is marked, non based on observation, but on spatial allusions derived from definite mythical specifications, as that what allude to death and birth with regard to East and West. As a furthest place, it is at the same time space for love union and reproduction, integrated then as a symbol of civic reproduction through religious initiation. The Islands of Blessed are next to Ocean, according to Hesiod, in Works and Days, 171, considered also as a heroes place. Atlas is defined as a Titan previous to Olympian gods associated to Hesperides as a ambivalent Paradise, who knows the depths of the sea in Odyssey.


A simple, accurate and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of telithromycin in tablet dosage form has been developed and validated. The analysis was based on the formation of colored charge- transfer complex between telithromycin as n-electron donor and each of chloranilic acid (CLA) or 2, 3-dichloro-5, 6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) as electron acceptors. The formed complexes were measured spectrophotometrically at 588 and 518 nm for CLA and DDQ, respectively. Different variables affecting the reaction were carefully studied and optimized. Under the optimum reaction conditions, linear relationships with good correlation coefficients (0.9982 and 0.999) were found between the absorbance and the concentrations of the drug in the concentration ranges of 5-100 µg/ml for CLA and DDQ respectively with apparent molar absorptivities of 0.2410 4 and 0.2510 4 l mol -1 cm -1 respectively. The reaction stoichiometry in both methods was evaluated by Job's method of continuous variations and was found to be 1:1 (telithromycin: CLA or DDQ). The proposed methods were successfully applied to determination of telithromycin with good accuracy and precision. The results demonstrated that the methods are as accurate, precise and reproducible as the pharmacopieal method. The methods would be valuable for the routine application in quality control. (M. M. Hefnawy, M. S. Mohammed and G. A. E. Mostafa. Spectrophotometric Determination of Telithromycin in Tablet Dosage Form Based on Formation of Charge Transfer Complexes. Life Sci J 2013;10(4):3420-3425). (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com . 456


Abstract Previous research reports that the loss of a loved one increases the risk of mortality and physical and mental health problems. Using data from the 2004 to 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, we estimate the years of healthy life (YHL) from 2004 to death for each respondent. YHL is based on the combination of years lived between 2004 and 2014, a projection of years beyond 2014, and self-rated health. Regression models stratified by age and gender were developed with the loss of a parent or spouse as the primary exposure and YHL as the dependent variable. Annual estimates of the total YHL lost associated with bereavement were based on these regression analyses and US Census data. Models reveal a strong dose-relationship between YHL lost and the number of losses. In total, the annual YHL lost associated with loss in US adults between 50 and 84 years of age is estimated at 2.0 and 1.6 million for men and women, respectively. Nearly three-fourths of the annual YHL lost are associated with adults younger than 65. Interaction analyses suggest that increasing physical activity has the greatest impact on reducing YHL lost in those with the greatest number of losses, one to two YHL per person. Understanding the full impact of loss on the lives of adults is an important step toward framing loss as a public health issue, especially for middle-aged adults. Results suggest that physical activity should be an important aspect of bereavement interventions.


Simulator is a development equipment which enables the ECU to operate in normal mode by simulating the interface signal between ECU and mechanical system electrically. Embedded simulator means simulation function is embedded in ECU firmware, hence the electrical signal interface is replaced by the substitution of information at system program level. This paper explains the development of embedded transmission simulator for the verification of TCU firmware function which covers shifting control and on-board diagnosis. The embedded simulation program is executed in TCU processor along with the TCU firmware and it provides TCU firmware with not only the speed information those are appropriate both in driving and shifting conditions, but also the fault detection signals. Experimental results show that the validity of embedded simulator and its usefulness to the TCU firmware development and verification.


A practical description is presented of the methods used to reduce spacecraft telemetry data using a hierarchial toolkit of software programs developed for a UNIX environment. A project requiring the design, implementation and test flight of small, lightweight spacecraft was recently conducted. This spacecraft development required hundreds of tests and integrations of subsystems on several special purpose testbeds, with each test creating large amounts of telemetered data. This paper focuses on the automated analysis and reduction of data which is telemetered from one of the key subsystems, the Probe. A typical telemetry stream from a testbed run averaged 50 Megabytes of raw data, containing over 1600 system variables. The large telemetry file (raw data) sent from the Probe was decoded and decomposed into a large number of smaller Break Out Files (BOFs) containing variables with timestamps, and image files.


Dr Poonam Madar lectures in Sociology and Criminology, based in London. Her research interests include race, gender, and popular culture. She blogs at: www.poonammadar.blogspot.com and she tweets as @PoonamMadar To find out more, visit Poonam's Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/PoonamMadar Not so long ago I began temping in an office in Central London. In the first few days, one staff member (a black man) welcomed me and we exchanged 'hellos'. But when I asked his name, his eyes signalled to the further part of the room where the senior managers were sitting and he laughingly, but sarcastically replied, 'They call me equal opportunities.' Before I could react or even have the chance to catch his 'real' name he was already out the door.


This work aims to calculate the average conversion coefficients from air kerma to ambient dose equivalent, H*(10)/Kair, and effective dose, E/Kair, for 50 kVp, 100 kVp and 150 kVp X ray beams used for medical diagnostic, after transmission through barriers of lead. The X ray qualities used were those recommended by the Birch and Marshall for primary diagnostic X rays. Several lead layers were irradiated with 50cm × 50cm primary beam spectra. The transmitted spectra were calculated to obtain the conversion coefficients for beams found in radiodiagnostic services. The calculations were done using the MCNPX code and voxel model FAX. The values obtained were compared with data derived from the literature. In addition, conversion coefficients for X ray qualities after penetration of lead layers were studied to get data which might be of interest in shielding of diagnostic rooms. Ionizing radiation is actively present in the life of man, who may be exposed in several ways to natural or artificial sources, such as cosmic rays, terrestrial radiations, ingested or inhaled radionuclides, travels by airplanes, radiopharmaceuticals, X-rays, nuclear reactors, nuclear atmospheric tests and accidental contaminations. The well-known and dangerous effects resulting from ionizing radiation make necessary a careful control in order to maintain expositions beneath acceptable limits. Radioprotection is responsible to avoid or to reduce, as far as possible, the occurrence of eventual harmful effects caused by ionizing radiation in workers and population in general. Obviously, quantification and determination of the dose absorbed by the human body through direct experiments with radiation may not be carried out. Hence, computational simulations and the use of an exposition model that mimics the human body exposed to radiation are the best alternative tools. Usually the results of such simutations are expressed as conversion coefficients, ratios between doses absorbed by radiosensible organs and tissues and measurable quantities. Thus if simulated conditions correspond to e real situation, routine dose measurements may be interpreted in terms of absorbed dose multiplying the radiometric instrument record by the corresponding conversion coefficient. The primary calibration quantities are not equivalent dose ones. Conversion coefficients of the calibration quantities must be determined (in terms of air Kerma), for the quantities of interest in Radiologic Protection, such as the Effective Dose E. Data adopted by ICRP74[1] have been calculated aiming to investigate the behavior of E in the case of external irradiation with monoenergetic photons from 10 keV to 10 MeV. Figure 1 shows that


This report presents the findings of a 6-month study undertaken for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to ascertain what, if any, research ARPA might sensibly conduct in integrated microcircuit technology. The authors entered upon the study through a conviction that serious international competition in this technology may appear in the next few years, and a desire to ensure for the United States as favorable an opportunity to meet this competition as research can make available. Both the ubiquitous nature of micro-electronics in defense applications and the particularly severe special defense requirements for complex, low-power, micro-miniaturized circuitry make a commanding lead in this technology very important. The authors wished to assure themselves and ARPA that the existing research programs provide adequately for the forthcoming needs of the nation. The report details some high-leverage research areas, not now receiving government or private support, where relatively small, advanced research efforts may have substantial payoff. No endorsement of the study conclusions by ARPA is implied or intended.


Abstract Serum antibody titers for channel catfish virus (CCV) were measured in adult channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) that had survived an epizootic of channel catfish virus disease (CCVD) as fingerlings. Serum antibody titer data were grouped into four categories for statistical analysis based on the following titer levels: 30, high. Significantly lower antibody titers were observed in January and April than in July and October. The increase in the number of high titers concurrent with elevated water temperature may indicate the existence of carriers persisting 4 years after the original epizootic. Based on the findings of this study, success in isolating CCV from channel catfish during colder months of the year may be enhanced, in part, by the low immune status of the fish at this time.


ABSTRACT For more than fifty of the world's poorest countries such as Thailand, Zambia, and Egypt, tourism is ranked first, second or third in terms of their economies, and tourism is the only service industry to show a positive balance of trade with flows from first world countries to developing countries exceeding those in the opposite flow by US$ 66 million. Yet tourism has only very recently been recogised by some aid donors, some international funding agencies, and some segments of the industry as an appropriate instrument for poverty reduction (WTO, 2000). This article addresses the role of tourism as a development strategy in poverty alleviation, discussing the possible strategic senarios for future tourism in South Africa with special focus on local community involvement.


A recombinant protein corresponding to the human prion protein domain encompassing residues 90–231 (huPrP(90–231)) was expressed in Escherichia coli in a soluble form and purified to homogeneity. Spectroscopic data indicate that the conformational properties and the folding pathway of huPrP(90–231) are strongly pH-dependent. Acidic pH induces a dramatic increase in the exposure of hydrophobic patches on the surface of the protein. At pH between 7 and 5, the unfolding of hPrP(90–231) in guanidine hydrochloride occurs as a two-state transition. This contrasts with the unfolding curves at lower pH values, which indicate a three-state transition, with the presence of a stable protein folding intermediate. While the secondary structure of the native huPrP(90–231) is largely α-helical, the stable intermediate is rich in β-sheet structure. These findings have important implications for understanding the initial events on the pathway toward the conversion of the normal into the pathological forms of prion protein.


This study examined the relationship between masculine gender role conflict and attachment in college men. One hundred seventy male undergraduate students completed the Gender Role Conflict Scale (J. M. O' Neil, B. Helms, R. Gable, L. David, & L. Wrightsman, 1986) and the Relationship Questionnaire (K. Bartholomew & L. M. Horowitz, 1991). The results demonstrated that men with secure attachment styles had significantly less gender role conflict with Restrictive Emotionality when compared with men with preoccupied, dismissive, or fearful attachment styles. In addition, men with a secure attachment style had significantly less conflict with Success, Power, and Competition when compared with men with fearful attachment styles. Implications of the results for understanding the relationship between attachment and masculine gender role conflict are discussed.


Mount Kelud is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. Ash volcanic that released by Mount Kelud has some nutrients needed for plant, but requires a weathering process so as to provide nutrients in the soil. The soil that affected by Mount Kelud was given the addition of compost and urea fertilizer has residual effect for the next plant growth. This research was conducted in greenhouse of Agriculture Faculty, Brawijaya University from January until June 2017. This research used a completely randomized design with 5 treatments and 3 replications. The treatment consisted of A1: 2/3 soil residue (100% urea) + 1/3 goat manure compost; A2: 2/3 soil residue (100% chicken manure compost) + 1/3 goat manure compost; A3: 2/3 soil residue (100% cow manure compost) + 1/3 goat manure compost; A4: 2/3 soil residue (50% urea + 50% chicken manure compost) + 1/3 goat manure compost; A5: 2/3 soil residue (50% urea + 50% cow manure compost) + 1/3 goat manure compost. Variables of the observation were availability and uptake of NPK, plant height, number of leaves, number of pods, yield, and dry weight plant of okra. The results showed that compost residue and urea in the application of goat manure compost with ratio 2:1 had no effect in NPK availability on soil affected by Mount Kelud eruption. In plant's parameter, there were effects on number of leaves at observation 12 weeks and P uptake, but no effect on N and K uptake, and okra's yield.


would explore Titan during its descent down to the surface and shortly after landing. While designs for the probe were being made, Lunine et al. [1983] suggested that Titan's surface may be completely covered by a liquid hydrocarbon ocean, since their calculations showed that methane could only persist in Titan's atmosphere for � 10 7 yrs, i.e., much shorter than the age of our Solar System, unless it would be recycled back into the atmosphere. The probe was therefore designed to float if it would indeed land in an ocean, so it may be able to transmit data back to Earth for a short time after landing. [3] Approximately half a Titan year after the Voyager encounters, when it became spring in the southern hemisphere, Titan research received a boost with the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope and the development of speckle imaging and adaptive optics (AO) techniques on large, 8–10 m, telescopes. With these new imaging techniques Titan could be resolved (typical resolutions of a few 100 km), and images of its surface, troposphere and stratosphere were obtained. Many results have been published over the past decade, and several more are presented in this special GRL issue.


The utility model provides a piston component of an electromagnetic valve and the electromagnetic valve with the piston component. The piston component of the electromagnetic vale is arranged between an upper chamber and a lower chamber of the electromagnetic valve, the upper chamber is connected with a pilot valve of the electromagnetic valve, the lower chamber is connected with an opening of the electromagnetic valve through a seal structure, the piston component includes a piston and the seal structure, the piston includes a piston chamber connected with the upper chamber and a piston wall disposed between the piston chamber and the lower chamber, the seal structure is disposed outside the piston wall and matches with the opening, the piston wall includes an annular side wall and a bottom wall connected therewith, and the bottom wall is closed. The utility model further provides the electromagnetic valve with the piston component, and the bottom wall of the piston component is closed. The piston component and the electromagnetic valve solve the problems of poor opening and closing performances of the electromagnetic valve, inner leakage and the like, thereby achieving the effects of fine opening and closing performances and avoiding inner leakage for the electromagnetic valve.


Imperialism, Art and Restitution, edited by John Henry Merryman, features nine papers originally presented at a conference of the same title held at the Washington University School of Law in 2004. Inevitably, therefore, some of the chapters are concerned solely with the United States, but this should not detract from the book's appeal to Commonwealth scholars; the book retains an international outlook, and more importantly, the United States' attempts to repatriate art to its indigenous population and the problems encountered in so doing have resonance for every country with an indigenous history.


Abstract In this paper, following [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] we consider the relations between well-known Fourier transform algorithms.


Cities significantly contribute to climate change while at the same time have government capacity to efficiently act in the fields of mitigation and adaptation. Their climate capacity is being increasingly recognized by international institutions and has been pointed out as crucial in the multi-level government scenario of the European Union (EU). Addressing the challenges of climate change at urban level is a complex issue which requires a holistic approach to strategic urban planning. Understanding why and how cities start action can help to identify the barriers they face when addressing climate change, and how national governments, regions and international bodies can support local authorities in their climate fight. This work aims to contribute to the provision of knowledge necessary to have a better and deeper insight in urban climate action. The study investigates the state-of-art of urban climate plans in two countries, Spain and Italy, which share similarities on many levels (i.e. cultural, geographical, climate vulnerabilities, urban configurations and institutional framework). The research analyses 26 Spanish cities and 32 Italian cities included in the Eurostat Urban Audit (UA), focusing on the actions taken by big and medium municipalities in reducing their contribution to climate change and to become more resilient to changing weather patterns. The results of the analysis show a trend towards an increasing awareness on climate mitigation (highly focused on energy efficiency and the promotion of cleaner energy sources), while adaptation remains an incipient local policy area in both countries. The analysis identifies also the beneficial influence of national and international climate city networks.


One of the most difficult challenges in counter-terrorism, crime fighting and surveillance mission is to accurately identify people from an image/video footage to catch the shortlisted terrorists and criminals. For this purpose, imaging devices used in the video surveillance systems are being improved in many aspects such as spatial resolution, frame rate, dynamic range, spectral characteristics in order to achieve better imaging performance for both monitoring and automatic detection/recognition tasks. These development efforts aim to improve the basic imaging characteristics of the device, such as the ratio of average color values (i.e red(R)/green(B) and blue(B)/green(G)) of the video footage, irrespective of high-level semantic knowledge such as presence and locations of the monitored objects/individuals in the scene by the camera. Nevertheless, a scene under multiple lighting conditions with different spectral characteristics cannot be accurately viewed with a standard imaging system in terms of color distribution. On the other hand, color is one of the most crucial factors regarding the objects/individuals identification for both operators and AI-based systems, and capturing true color features under various harsh environments is the most critical issue. In this study, a cognitive imaging system prototype is proposed to capture the true color distribution over the human faces by taking into account the locations of the detected faces with a developed smart camera. This is achieved by developing a smart Auto-White Balance (AWB) algorithm which use only the region of interest (ROI) to compute/measure the color ratios of the video frame. The current ROI is selected by intelligently and sequentially traversing among the detected faces to effectively handle whole faces in the scene. The experimental results show that the proposed "cognitive" camera can achieve impressive improvement over the color accuracy/constancy for the detected human faces under the empirically illuminated conditions.


What category should "the stereotype" be placed in? What status should it be assigned? Originally referring to a reproduction process used in printing, the term "stereotype" is now understood as a ready-made opinion that is repeated mechanically. Social psychology, sociology, and linguistics all offer noticeably different accounts of what the term entails. Accompanied by a host of synonyms, with "cliche" at the forefront, the stereotype presents a series of variants, each of which is found under the banner of convention. Interpretations of stereotypes are themselves varied, ranging from a complete rejection of anything that might involve stereotypical thinking to the acknowledgment that they can involve a degree of positivity.


Computer experiments are often used as inexpensive alternatives to real‐world experiments. Statistical metamodels of the computer model's input‐output behavior can be constructed to serve as approximations of the response surface of the real‐world system. The suitability of a metamodel depends in part on its intended use. While decision makers may want to understand the entire response surface, they may be particularly keen on finding interesting regions of the design space, such as where the gradient is steep. We present an adaptive, value‐enhanced batch sequential algorithm that samples more heavily in such areas while still providing an understanding of the entire surface. The design points within each batch can be run in parallel to leverage modern multi‐core computing assets. We illustrate our approach for deterministic computer models, but it has potential for stochastic simulation models as well.


Well defined criteria are critical for making complex decisions such as those to prioritize pathologies to be covered by a Value-Based Healthcare (VBH) program. Nevertheless, a review of the literature shows that criteria selection under this context has not received significant attention. Moreover, the VBH healthcare delivery system is a multi-stakeholder system, where there is the need to consider perspectives and values coming from not only providers' organizations, but also those outs ide the organizations. José de Mello Saúde (JMS) led the case study, where we aimed to involve and support a potentially large and diverse number of VBH stakeholders from the Portuguese healthcare market to assess the relevancy of a set of criteria for this decision context. In order to achieve this involvement, this work implements the Collaborative Value Modelling (CVM) framework that enhances multicriteria Decision Conferencing (DC) with an ex-ante Web-Delphi participatory process. Stakeholder groups included in the study were healthcare professionalsincluding doctors, nurses and technicians-, health technology industry, patient associations, hospital managers and administrators, insurance companies, clinical information managers and academics and research. Once concluded the Delphi process, a total of 18 aspects (64%) reached group agreement, one aspect (4%) was rejected, and the remaining 9 aspects (32%) did not reach agreement. Finally, an expert validated the results obtained and narrowed down the list so that a requisite number of criteria can differentiate the VBH pathologies, giving rise to a value tree of 14 criteria.


The quantitative colorimetric determination of microgram quantities of cephradine is detailed. An aqueous solution of this compound is reacted with sodium hydroxide, partially neutralized, and subsequently reacted with 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid); the absorbance of the resulting yellow solution is then measured. Other cephalosporins tested give a similar color. Studies with various cephalosporins showed that the development of maximum color intensity was attributable to the presence of the R—CHNH2—CO—cephalosporin nucleus, in which R is a mono-, di-, or trienyl cyclohexyl ring. Molar absorptivities of penicillin solutions tested by the same procedure were found to be 5–15% of those of the cephalosporins.


PURPOSE: A DNA aptamer which specifically binds to arsenic is provided to specifically remove arsenic and prevent environmental pollution. CONSTITUTION: A DNA aptamer which specifically binds to arsenic comprises one sequence selected among sequence numbers 1 to 8. The DNA aptamer is single stranded DNA. A composition for removing or detecting arsenic contains the DNA aptamer having sequence selected from the sequence numbers 1 to 8. A microarray for detecting arsenic contains a substrate on which the DNA aptamer is conjugated. A kit for detecting arsenic contains the DNA apatamer. A method for detecting arsenic in a sample comprises: a step of contacting a sample which possibly contains arsenic with the DNA aptamer; and a step of detecting binding between the arsenic and DNA aptamer.


In order to derive the ratio of α-elements to iron in galaxies, we have observed the strongest TiO band heads of the γ and γ′ systems at 7000–7500 Å in a sample of a dozen early-type galaxies. The equivalent widths of the TiO bands are compared with synthetic spectra for single-aged stellar populations and composite galaxy models, all computed with [α/Fe] = 0.0 and +0.3. The same method is also applied to the ⟨Fe⟩ and Mg2 Lick indices for the sample galaxies. The results obtained are [Ti/Fe] ≈ [Mg/Fe] ≈ +0.3, indicating a clear enhancement of the α-elements–to–iron ratio for our sample of early-type galaxies.


Research Question: Are children of young mothers at inA.1. Determining whether having and raising a creased risk of child maltreatment, poor growth, and foster child fits with the parents' desired lifestyle. placement? Marshall, E., Alexander, J., Cull, V., Buckner, E., Jackson, K., & Subjects: Two hundred nineteen children born to women Powell, K. (1994). Parenting and childrearing attitudes among high 16 years old or younger, and 219 children born to women school students. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 11(4), 239-248. 19 years and older. Both groups were sociodemographically similar. Premise: If parenting could be assessed during high school, health education classes could be set up based on the findStudy Design: Initial data was obtained perinatally from ings, and intervention could be initiated with students with the mother's chart. Subsequent data were collected from poor parenting attitudes. the children's medical records up to their fifth birthday. This was the first longitudinal, carefully designed study on Research Question: What is the parenting attitude among this topic in which past studies have had methodological high school students, and to what degree does their attitude flaws. Outcome measures were carefully predefined and affect their parenting skills? rated blindly. Subjects: Five hundred two high school students from three Findings: Maltreatment occurred in children of adolescents different schools in a large metropolitan area in the South12.5%of the time compared to 6.4% for the other children. west. Poor growth rate was 6.6% and 4.1%, respectively. Foster care or mother leaving the home was 12.8% and 3.2%, Study Design: Two instruments were administrated: one respectively. The relative risk values for these variables were with a demographic profile such as age, sex, race, etc., and 2.0, 1.67, and 4.0. another that employed a 32-item questionnaire on a 5-point attitudinal scale called the Adult-Adolescent Parenting InResearch reviewed by Eliane Petros, RN, while a student at Virginia ventory (AAPI). Commonwealth University, School of Nursing, in Richmond, VA.


The literature on the impact of economic instruments (typically taxes and tradable permits) on the level of innovation is usually based on the assumption that innovation reduces the slope of the marginal abatement cost curve. This assumption, which usually leads to the conclusion that taxes induce higher levels of innovation than tradable permits, is however never motivated. In this short article, we analyse the assumption by introducing innovation in the production function of a polluting firm and by showing how it affects the corresponding marginal abatement cost curve. We show that the slope of the marginal abatement cost curve does not necessarily decrease with the level of innovation. As a consequence, previous analyses lead to misleading policy recommendations.


This paper presents a reliability analysis methodology for hydraulic system used in presses aiming to define the critical components and the effects of their failures on the press performance. Reliability is a tool that can be used in the development and analysis of hydraulic systems, from the selection of components to the planning of efficient maintenance routines. In this paper, a reliability analysis methodology is proposed based on the knowledge of the hydraulic systems failure modes. In order to execute the reliability analysis, the presses are divided in three main systems, which are structural, drive and forming, including tools. Using the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), the consequences of the failure modes of each component of the drive system are classified according to their effects on the press performance. Based on the results of FMEA analysis, the wear of the main pump and main cylinder are considered the critical failure modes of the hydraulic drive system, once they can cause the most undesirable press functional failure, which is the absence of motion. Based on parameter estimates and wear analysis models, the reliability of those components can be evaluated, and using the Fault Tree Analysis, the hydraulic drive system reliability analysis is performed. The methodology proposed in this paper is applied for a 250 ton deep drawing press, in order to define the operational life of the hydraulic drive system.


The paper analyzes the characteristics of rice production in Heilongjiang Reclamation Area(HRA)and the achievements made through innovative research and practice,evaluates the standardized mode of rice cultivation and technical standards for rice production,which play a key role in guaranteeing the growth of grain total output in Heilongjiang reclamation area and make great contributions to the national grain safety.


Gahrliepia ( Gahrliepia ) sinensis , n. sp., is described from a specimen from a Shrew-hedgehog, Neotetrachus sinensis , collected in Kwanshien, Szechwan, China.


The rapid progress in developing computer and communication systems promotes the design trend of portable electronic apparatuses, which are light, thin, short, and small. These developments have also resulted in massive demand for secondary batteries. The advantages of lithium-ion batteries include no memory effect, high operation voltage, and high energy density. Therefore, they are the most popular secondary batteries for consumer electronics. This paper presents the design and implementation of a FPGA-based lithium-ion battery charging system. To obtain the optimal charging performance for the lithium-ion battery charger, a multi-phase converter is used in the proposed system. Using this topology, the performance of the proposed system can be raised. In addition to the hardware, a graphical user interface is also proposed in this paper. Simulation and experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed charging system. According to the experimental results, the proposed charger is capable of charging the lithium-ion batteries with less than 1% current ripple


The chiral α-N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)aminoacylbenzotriazoles ((N-Boc-aminoacyl)-benzotriazoles) 3a−e are stable crystalline intermediates, easily prepared (61-88%) from N-Boc-α-amino acids 1a−e. Compounds 3a−e react with achiral or chiral amines at 0-20 o C to give α-(N-Boc-amino)amides with no detectable racemization.


Stress is a part of everyday life, but chronic high stress can have psychological and physiological side effects. Systems that can detect harmful levels of stress could assist users in managing their stress and health. However, current assessments are often obtrusive or require specialized equipment. This research leverages attributes of everyday keyboard interactions to proactively and continuously monitor cognitive function. A laboratory study was conducted where typing samples were collected under stress and no-stress conditions. Keystroke and linguistic features were extracted from the samples and models were constructed for each participant. Correct classification rates ranged from 62% to 88% with a mean of 72%.