Objective: To evaluate the role of serum soluble endoglin in prediction of non-severe preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia in early second trimester (13-20 weeks) of pregnancy. Material and Methods: Prospective case–control study was carried out over a period of one and half years. Total 543 pregnant women were recruited but 43 were lost to follow up. Out of 500 pregnant women, 34 developed non severe preeclampsia (Group 2) and 16 developed severe preeclampsia (Group 3), and 51 healthy normotensive pregnant women (Group 1) were selected as controls. Serum soluble endoglin levels were measured by Human Eng (endoglin) ELISA kit. Endoglin levels were estimated by enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay technique. Results: Prevalence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) was 10.2%. The mean sEng levels were significantly higher in non-severe preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia as compared to controls (p 6.10 ng/ml not only discriminate non severe preeclampsia from controls with 82.35% sensitivity, 88.24% specificity, but also predict severe preeclampsia means severity of disease with 93.75% sensitivity, 88.24% specificity. To discrimination between non severe and severe PE, at cut–off value of >7.76 ng/ml, sEng had 68.75% sensitivity, 85.29% specificity, positive predictive value 68.7% and negative predictive value 85.3%. Conclusion: Thus sEng can be used as a potential biomarker to predict preeclampsia as early as in second trimester (13-20 weeks) of pregnancy.


In order to solve multi-mode resource-constrained project scheduling problem(MMRCPSP),a hybrid optimization method integrated particle swarm optimization(PSO) with gene expression programming(GEP) is proposed,where PSO is used to search the mode combination for all activities and GEP is applied to construct the effective scheduling rule to determine the priority of activities with given mode combination.The scheduling rule is the algebraic combination of project status and attributes of activity,which is a new representation form of solution compared with other optimal algorithms for MMRCPSP and is more suitable for the realworld application.The procedure to check and adjust the infeasible particle-represented mode combination is designed to meet the limitations on the total number of renewable and non-renewable resources.At last,the framework of the proposed method for MMRCPSP is introduced and experimental analysis is presented to investigate the performance of the method.


A novel optimization scheme in the popular Active Shape Model (ASM) framework is presented, which increases the accuracy and robustness of segmentation on multi-view face images. The shape model is trained on a Gaussian Mixture Model and then combined with a visibility model of each point for searching faces. The determininistic fitting scheme in traditional ASM is substituted by a probabilistic estimation approach. A set of weighted particles is used to represent each salient feature point. Integration of the dynamic model with a mixture model not only improves performance toward the local minima problem, but also addresses the improper initialisation problem. Furthermore, combination of the boosted observation model and visibility model potentially solve the problem of occlusion. The proposed algorithm is much more robust in multi-view face alignment and not affected by initialization conditions, as are current ASM optimization algorithms. Experiments show that the developed approach provides higher accuracy and increases the convergence rate in face segmentation on the high resolution PUT [1] public test data set.


We report on the synthesis, inductive heating, and detection of a multifunctional nanosystem, which is composed of magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles and two natural compounds, Alginate (Alg) and Curcumin (Cur). Alg was first absorbed onto the surface of Fe3O4 nanoparticles followed by loading of Cur in the nanoconjugate. The presence of Alg and Cur were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The inductive heating capacity of the functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles was investigated under different alternating magnetic fields at 236 kHz, indicating that these nanoparticles are a promising agent for heat


The core of the work of the Counselling section of the Management Services and Industrial Relations Department of South West London College has been to help those people who are already doing some counselling as part of their work to improve these particular skills. This service is offered to professionals and volunteers in educational, medical, social, youth and community work fields. In looking for ways to be more effective in training a wide range of people, we chose the model of self‐directed learning.


Abstract : Open loop, experimental force and power measurements of a radial, redundant-axis, magnetic bearing at temperatures to 1000 degrees F (538 degrees C) and rotor speeds to 15,000 RPM along with theoretical temperature and force models are presented in this paper. The experimentally measured force produced by a single C-core using 22A was 600 pounds (2.67 kN) at room temperature and 380 pounds (1.69 kN) at 1000 degrees F (538 degrees C). These values were compared with force predictions based on a 1D magnetic circuit analysis and a thermal analysis of gap growth as a function of temperature. Tests under rotating conditions showed that rotor speed has a negligible effect on the bearing's load capacity. One C-core required approximately 340 watts of power to generate 190 pounds (8.45 kN) of magnetic force at 1000 degrees F (538 degrees C). However, the magnetic air gap was much larger than at room temperature. The data presented is after the bearing had already operated 6 thermal cycles and 11 total (not consecutive) hours at 1000 degrees F (538 degrees C). (23 figures, 9 refs.)


AIM To evaluate the presence of tumor DNA in plasma and study the clinical significance of p53 gene mutations associated with the development and prognostic signifi cance in breast cancer. METHODS Extraction of DNA from patients' plasma and the target DNA fragments were amplified by PCR. The production were analyzed by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC). The mutation status obtained by DHPLC was confirmed by DNA sequencing. RESULTS The total p53 gene exon 5 to exon 8 mutation rate was 42.4% (14/33). There were statistically significant associations between p53 gene mutation and histological grade, ER(-) ( P 0.05), but no significant association was found between mutation and clinical stages or metastasis. CONCLUSION P53 gene exon 5 to 8 can be amplified in breast cancer patients' plasma DNA. DHPLC is an accurate, rapid and economic way to screen mutation in plasma DNA amplified fragment, and plasma DNA mutation detection by this method offers a new approach for prognosis.


Background: Many factors influence the initiation and early abandonment of exclusive breastfeeding; at a general level, they may depend on the mother, the newborn, the culture, the clinic or hospital, the family and social environment. The objective of the study is to establish an association between social and family factors with the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in children born in an institution in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. Methods: An analytical study is carried out, with 179 mothers of children born in a second-level hospital in the city of Cartagena, it was calculated taking into account: a confidence level of 95%, significance level of 5% and a P: 55%. Follow-up was carried out during the first month of the child's life. The information was collected through the National Breastfeeding Survey (ENALMA) and a follow survey that inquired about family characteristics and social support. The sample was selected through a systematic probability sampling. Results: The main reason for abandoning EBF is the myth that the child is left hungry with 23.46%. Of the mothers surveyed, 43.89% left EBF before the first month of the newborn's life. The study showed that 37.99% included water or juice in the feeding of the newborn, 36.11% included milk formulas. Only marital status (married) was related to this practice OR 3.7143 (95% CI 1.09 12.56). Conclusion: EBF is below international recommendations, married mothers are 3.7 times more likely to breastfeed than single mothers. On the other hand, family support was not associated with the practice of EBF.


Previously system and method for transferring a record of the recorded medical treatment events are described. Such systems and methods, and portable medical event recording apparatus (100), a central computer for displaying annotated information on medical treatment events (2050), remote computer readable communicating with event recording apparatus and the central computer with the media (2020). Intermediate computer readable medium may be arranged as a cloud computer server. Central computer, displays video records relating to medical treatment event (2120) and annotation event tree (2110) at the same time. Optionally, the central computer displays a contemporaneous record of medical treatment events recorded by ancillary equipment.


This report performs a risk analysis of AB Elektrokoppar in Helsingborg with consequence analysis of a few hazards. Theoretical background about risk analysis is given by IEC standards.


Objective To investigate the association of proximal and distal resection margin(PRM/DRM)distances in R0 gastrectomy with the prognosis of gastric cancer patients with no distant metastases.Methods From Jan.2008 to Nov.2009,a total of 288 patients with gastric cancer were selected;they received radical and R0 gastrectomy,with pathological diagnosis after surgery and with complete pathological and follow-up data.The relationship of the pathological parameters with the PRM,DRM distance was analyzed.Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to indentify the independent risk factors of prognosis and to evaluate the association between PRM,DRM distance and overall survival(OS).Results Increased PRM distance was significantly correlated with tumor location at the lower third of the stomach(P0.001).Increased DRM distance was significantly correlated with an early T-stage(P=0.044 2),tumor location at the middle third of stomch(P=0.008 4),smaller tumor size(P=0.024 1),normal preoperative serum markers(P=0.013 2)and total gastrectomy(P=0.001 7).Univariate analysis showed that PRM distance(P=0.650)and DRM distance(P=0.095)were not significantly correlated with gastric cancer survival,and they did not significantly influence locoregional recurrence or distant recurrence.Multivariate analysis showed that the independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer included N-stage,tumor location,tumor size,and presence of lymphatic invasion;also PRM distance(P=0.650)and DRM distance(P=0.095)had no significant influence on the survival of gastric cancer patients.Subgroup analysis showed that PRM distance had no significant influence on the overall survival(P=0.312)in N-stage N0+N1group,but DRM distance had significant difference on the overall survival(P=0.011)in N0+N1group.Conclusion PRM and DRM distance are not the independent risk factors for the overall survival of gastric cancer patients undergoing R0 gastrectomy.DRM distance of more than 2cm can markedly improve the prognosis of the patients with less than 3metastatic lymph nodes.


Thank you for downloading dream gardens of england 100 inspirational gardens. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have look numerous times for their chosen readings like this dream gardens of england 100 inspirational gardens, but end up in infectious downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some harmful virus inside their computer.


This article describes the Information Process Maturity Model, which was modeled after the software industry's Capability Maturity Model, to guide managers of information-development groups in assessing and improving the work of their organizations. The model describes five levels of maturity: ad-hoc, rudimentary, organized and repeatable, managed and sustainable, and optimizing. The model currently explores ten characteristics of organizations to determine their level: organizational structure, quality assurance, planning, estimating and scheduling, hiring and training, information design, cost control, quality management, change management, and collaboration. The article looks forward to how the model is evolving in response to changes in technology and practice. The model is managed and updated by The Center for Information Development Management, CIDM, an organization for managers of information development.


We introduced an improved singular value decomposition (SVD) channel estimation algorithm for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication system. The algorithm is supposed to solve the issue that the channel estimation result is not accurate when the training sequences have some 0 elements. The improvement is also applicable in the other channel estimation algorithms. We made some comparisons between the linear least squares (LS) and the linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) channel estimation, the traditional singular value decomposition and the improved SVD algorithm to demonstrate the efficiency. Results show that the proposed improved SVD algorithm has better performance in mean square error (MSE) and bit error rate (BER) of channel estimation and the estimated values approach the actual channel state.


Al-doped ZnO(AZO) transparent conductive films on glass and polyethylene terephthalate(PET) were deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature.The structure of the AZO films deposited on these two substrates was analyzed via X-ray diffraction.The photoelectric properties of the AZO films were measured by four-point probe tester and ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer.It was indicated that the AZO thin films deposited on these two substrates had a hexagonal wurtzite structure and the highest c-axis orientation.The sheet resistances of the films deposited on glass and PET substrates were 19 Ω/sq and 45 Ω/sq,respectively,and their visible transmittances both were 90%.The result shows that the transparent conductive oxide thin film deposited on flexible substrate can replace the film deposited on rigid substrate,which develops electrical devices towards the minia-turization and portability.


Recently, high performance quadruped robots have obtained extensive attention at home and broad, the related research work was developed in view of how to improve the highly dynamic characteristics, high environmental adaptability and heavy payload capacity of quadruped robots and has achieved certain achievements. In order to improve the highly dynamic characteristics of quadruped robots and through analyzing the skeletal anatomy and motion mechanism of the cheetah, many researchers designed the bionic quadruped robots with articulated spine based on imitating the quadrupedal mammal cheetah with torso degrees of freedom and high speed ability, which can improve the maneuverability and stability of the quadruped robots with articulated torso by means of the coordination of torso and legs. Therefore, this paper focuses on the quadruped robots with articulated torso. In a brief summary of previous research results of quadruped robots with highly dynamic characteristics, this paper reviews the state-of-the-art of quadruped robots with articulated torso, and based on the analysis of the research status of the quadruped robots with articulated torso, the research focus and developing trend of them are given.


MADAM: I have the honor to present a report the findings of which will be of importance in the development of sound postwar employment policies. Its analysis answers a variety of insistent questions as to the war movements in women's entrance to and exit from the labor force, according to their age and marital status and the changes in their occupational groupings in this period. Basic data for this report were specially collected by the Bureau of the Census, at the request of the Women's Bureau, in the course of the regular monthly labor-force census. They were tabulated by that office under the direction of Dr. A. Ross Eckler, chief of the Special Surveys Division, assisted by Miss Gertrude Bancroft. Questions to be asked and specifications as to these were and analysis of the findings of the Research Division, assisted Respectfully


Abstract Using a group work model, this article discusses a short term group for older women developed to explore the importance of friendship in late life. In collaboration with group leaders, group members determined weekly topics that explored the significance of friendship through the life cycle. Social work group practice that focuses on the meaning and development of friendship for and with older women is presented as an effective therapeutic intervention for practitioners in settings such as community mental health clinics, senior centers, elderly housing, home care agencies and nursing homes.


ABSTRACT How can we understand the term 'utopia' and does the adjective 'utopian' discredit the social thought to which it refers? The author discusses the role of utopia in the emergence of social sciences and alludes to Immanuel Wallerstein and his analysis of utopistics. He also defends the hypothesis that in the times of political, economic and ecological crisis which is sweeping through Europe and the world in the first decades of the twenty-first century, utopian thinking may be reborn not only as a way of showing possible social alternatives, but also as a means of democratizing public debate and the existing status quo. In this perspective, utopianism can be invigorating not only for democracy, but also for independent and critical social thought. Social utopias, which contributed to the rise of the mass workers' movement in the nineteenth century, today may become a force mobilizing human imagination and sensitivity to the struggles for a more emancipatory and democratic social order.


Genetic markers such as amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) are used to fingerprint the genetic makeup of plant material. Cluster analysis is used to identify genetic similarities between populations. With a view to classify wild wheat populations on the basis of AFLP marker data, this study presents an empirical method for estimating the optimum number of plants, and illustrates the procedure on a total of eight populations of Triticum dicoccoides and T. araraticum. Applications of a resampling with replacement method and fitting of an exponential function of sample size to the least squares scaling of stress (LSS) derived from the similarity matrix were made. An expression for the optimum sample size was then derived from an exponential relationship. When applied on the presence/absence data of 203 polymorphic AFLP markers on the population accessions, the method showed that 4 5 plants are required to estimate the asymptotic value of the LSS measure within a difference of 5 10%.


Training of a new generation of graduate students plays a key role in ensuring a country's sustainable socio-economic development and active enhancement of human capital by continuous reproduction of cutting-edge knowledge in the form of research and development (R&D) for industry. In this context, it becomes important to examine the development dynamics of doctoral studies in Russian regions, as well as the graduate students' financial well-being affecting their educational mobility and general opportunities to receive education (in particular, necessity of employment). The development of doctoral studies is analysed taking into account the distribution of resources (financial, intellectual) by regions and universities. The study also considers the concentration of resources in Russian universities capable of generating breakthrough ideas and technologies, which can be seen as centres of attraction for proactive youth. The methods of secondary data analysis, comparison, classification, and infographics were applied to process information. Such data as the monitoring of the effectiveness of Russian universities in 2014-2020 and sociological surveys of graduate students of a leading Russian university for 2017-2020 were analysed. As a result, the study presents a map showing the concentration of graduate students in certain regions, which takes into consideration their number, inflow and outflow. In addition to the capital regions (their share is 47.9 %), the Republic of Tatarstan (3.2 %), Tomsk oblast (2.4 %) and Sverdlovsk oblast (2.1 %), where leading Russian universities are located, were revealed to be the centres for attraction of graduate students. The top 7 regions also include Belgorod (the share of graduate students is 2.7 %) and Rostov oblasts (2.4 %) characterised by the presence of strong research and federal universities. However, due to the lack of funding (85 % of graduate students have to combine work and studies), the outflow to foreign universities is increasing even in the regions that attract a large number of scholars. The obtained findings can be used to improve the mechanisms for supporting graduate students in order to contribute to sustainable development of regions.


The COVID19 pandemic has caused health problems in people's daily lives with a significant psychological impact. In fact, patients with RMDs have experienced diseases' flare and also psychological problems. The lockdown and the "social quality changes" have impacted the life and the well-being of RMDs patients, influencing directly the implementation of telemedicine during daily practice.A descriptive observational study was designed to analyse the short-term effect of the first wave on RMDs patients on social quality changes and the usefulness of telemedicine.The survey was carried out by administering a questionnaire consisting of 30 questions, developed ad hoc using Likert scales. Items such as family and work environment, access to healthcare facilities, healthcare provided to the patient, disease activity and the mental health status of individuals (anxiety / depressive symptoms) were investigated. Preliminary data on the first wave were collected between September and November 2021 through patient associations and social networks.40 RMDs patients (Rheumatoid Arthritis 57.5%, Psoriatic Arthritis 35%, Fibromyalgia and others 7.5%) prevalently women (97.5%) were included in the survey. During the pandemic, 72% of respondents reported cancellation or delays in scheduled appointments and 50% did not have alternative contacts (telephone consultations, e-mail prescriptions, telematics training) with the hospital. 40.5% of patients reported difficulty in finding DMARDs and material for the treatment of ulcers, 28.2% reported difficulties in accessing the health facilities. In particular, 34.2% reported the total closure of the hospital facilities.Moreover, our data show a worsening of health status due to an increased anxiety concerning the management of their RMDs, an increased stress within the family, a reduced access to care facilities due to their closure or travel restrictions. In 57% of patients, a worsening of health status was reported, while in 90% stress and a feeling of abandonment was developed since the beginning of the pandemic. In this context, telemedicine was considered useful by 97.5% of patients, although patients felt that an improvement was necessary with an integration with the regular follow up.Patients with RMDs reported that the significant delays or cancellation of the outpatient visits provoked an increase of stress, worry and anxiety for their health. The majority was very concerned about the overall management of their RMDs. The worsening of symptoms in more than half of the patients was the most worrisome observation. Almost all patients agreed that Telemedicine might help the clinical evaluation of their RMDs, also providing a significant support to their psychological condition because of the direct contact with the caring physician and health professionals.[1]Morales-Torres J, Aceves-Ávila FJ (20210) Rheumatologists in the COVID-19 era: will there be a new role for the rheumatologist in the care of rheumatic patients? Clin Rheumatol 39(11):3177-3183. doi: 10.1007/s10067-020-05380-1[2]Webster P. (2020) Virtual health care in the era of COVID-19. Lancet 395(10231):1180–1181. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30818-7[3]Matsumoto RA, Barton JL (2021) Telerheumatology: before, during, and after a global pandemic. Curr Opin Rheumatol 33(3):262-269. doi: 10.1097/BOR.0000000000000790.[4]El Aoufy K, Melis MR, Bellando Randone S, Blagojevic J, Bartoli F, Fiori G, Nacci F, Conforti ML, Cometi L, Bruni C, Orlandi M, Moggi-Pignone A, Rasero L, Guiducci S, Matucci-Cerinic M. The positive side of the coin: Sars-Cov-2 pandemic has taught us how much Telemedicine is useful as standard of care procedure in real life. Clin Rheumatol. 2022 Feb;41(2):573-579. doi: 10.1007/s10067-021-05975-2. Epub 2021 Nov 5. PMID: 34739619; PMCID: PMC8569841.None declared


Recently, the pollution from pond aquaculture waste water has become more and more serious. In order to perfectly deal with such problem, the paper discussed the feasibility of using photochemical reactivity to remove pollutants through improving pond aquatic ecosystem from wastewater with the aim of water recycling and zero discharge. A photochemical treatment system (PTS) was designed that used photochemical reactivity to treat the polluted aquaculture wastewater. A spot observation method has been used in discussing the reactivity for the treatment of pond aquaculture wastewater with this system on a shrimp farm in Hainan province of China. The result showed that culture pond with PTS could realize progressive efficiency of pollutant removal without water exchange in a recirculating system, which could perfectly meet the need of environment protection and culture production.


Letter from I. H. Kempner to I. H. Kempner, Jr., discussing obtaining information from the Second National Bank and City National Bank in Houston, and plans for the fourth of July.


Abstract In polycrystalline samples of the halogenoaluminates MeIAlCl4 (MeI - Cu, Ag), CuAlBr4, C6H6 · CUAlCl4 and halogenogallates CuGaCl4, MeIGaBr4 (MeI = Cu, Na, K, NH4, Rb, Cs, Ga), MeIGaI4 (MeI = Cu, Cs), MeIGa2Br7 (MeI = K, NH4, Rb, Cs), CsGa2I7, the halogen, MeIII , and Cu-NQR spectra were studied, partly as a function of temperature. Phase transformations are found in NH4GaBr4, CsGaBr4, and RbGa2Br7. The spectroscopic results are discussed and a charge distribution analysis is given, based on the Townes-Dailey theory. Symmetry properties of the solids are pointed out in connection with multiplicity and intensity ratios of the NQR spectra.


Observations of the pressure and composition of interstitial fluids permit more intelligent interpretation of the geological data on the solid rocks in a prospective area. In plains areas, oil-field waters usually are End_Page 1687------------------------------ static, although regional tilting has shifted the location of some oil fields. In mountainous areas artisan flow occurs, which commonly flushes certain parts of prospective oil-bearing strata. The flushed areas usually can be recognized by a characteristic water composition. In zones of recent rapid sedimentation such as the Gulf Coast, shale is less compacted than normal and associated lenticular sandstone contains fluids under abnormally high pressure. Similar abnormal pressure is found in front of overthrust mountains because of the rapid addition of stratigraphic sections by tectonic processes. This suggests that during compaction of shale the pore water follows bedding planes and usually does not migrate across the strata or along fault. High pore pressure in shale facilitates large-scale gravity slumping and sliding which are more common than have been supposed. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1688------------


The first demonstration of a silicon-on-insulator polarization splitter-rotator using TM0-TE1 mode conversion in a bi-level taper is reported. The device was fabricated in a foundry process and exhibits a polarization crosstalk <;-13 dB.


Fibrous hamartoma (FH) is a rare and benign fibrous proliferation of soft tissue and is usually diagnosed during the first two years of life. Only less than 10% of cases have been diagnosed during the second year of life (1). These rare lesions occur two to three times more commonly in males (2, 3), and recurrence is noted in 10–15% of cases (1). To date, fewer than 200 cases have been reported in the medical literature, and very little is known about its histiogenesis (4). We report a case of FH diagnosed in a two-year-old girl from Malaysia because of its extreme rarity. A two-year-old female presented with a two-month history of progressive enlarging, painless swelling over the right upper anterior chest wall. There was no history of trauma, fever or discharge from the swelling. General examination revealed that the lump (12 x 10 cm) was warm, non-tender and hemispherical in shape and extended over to the right upper anterior chest wall. It was overlaid by dilated superficial capillaries and was not attached to the skin (Fig. 1). Ultrasound findings revealed the possibility of subcutaneous lipoma. Additionally, the lump was warm and had dilated superficial capillaries. Therefore, haemangioma and lipofibromatosis were ruled out. Computed tomography (CT) scan showed a hypodense lesion, suggestive of a fatty component with multiple septate (Fig. 2). The lesion was located beneath the pectoralis major muscle which was stretched and thin without any bony involvement, suggesting the presence of lipoblastoma. The patient was operated under general anaesthesia, and the lump was excised. The patient showed no sign of recurrence six months after surgery (Fig. 3). Histologically, the lump was composed of matured adipocytes separated by


Hexanal and trimethylamine are products formed in the process of fish deterioration and it is believed that both these substances contribute somehow to the typical off-flavour developing in the course of this process. In aqueous hexanal solutions and in hexanal solutions with added trimethylamine the intensity differences in the odour of hexanal and the difference thresholds for hexanal solutions were determined.


Most of control schemes proposed so far have been focused on the verification of asymptotic stability even though the finite time control is very important in the actual industrial applications. Recently, nonsingular terminal sliding mode control systems have been studied to guarantee that the error gets to zero in a finite time. The nonsingular terminal sliding surface proposed so far used a power function whose exponent is a rational number with an odd number over and odd number. Thus, in this paper, we propose a novel nonsingular terminal sliding mode surface using power function whose exponent can be a rational number.


We announce some new results for proving Holder continuity of weak solutions to quasilinear parabolic equations whose prototype takes the form $$u_t - div (|\nabla u|^{p-2}\nabla u)= 0 \qquad \text{or} \qquad u_t - div (|u_{x_1}|^{p_1-2}u_{x_1},|u_{x_2}|^{p_2-2}u_{x_2},\ldots |u_{x_N}|^{p_N-2}u_{x_N})=0$$ and $1<\{p_1,p_2,\ldots,p_N\}<\infty$. We develop a new technique which is independent of the ``method of intrinsic scaling'' developed by E.DiBenedetto in the degenerate case ($p\geq 2$) and E.DiBenedetto and Y.Z.Chen in the singular case ($p\leq 2$) and instead uses a new and elementary linearisation procedure to handle the nonlinearity. Since, we do not make use of any intrinsic scaling nor logarithmic estimates, all the estimates that we use is essentially the linear version, as a consequence of which our proof is quite simple and direct. In the process, we solve several long standing open questions in full generality.


Based on the two-factor theory,the paper puts forward suggestions on how to mobilize the enthusiasm of new generation of migrant workers and how to carry out effective management of them.


In this project PHBV particles containing a water soluble model drug (Folic acid), were obtained by the double emulsion/solvent evaporation technique. Folic acid was encapsulated into PHBV polymer matrix by means of homogenization of aqueous and organic phases. Several samples were prepared in order to observe the effect of each composition on the encapsulation efficiency, and Drug loading. The concentration of folic acid in water was changed to obtain particles with different ratios of PHBV and Folic acid. These particles were obtained by using Polysorbate 80(tween80) as a surfactant and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a film forming agent in primary and secondary emulsions respectively.


ANALYSIS AND CONTROL OF PERIODIC GAITS IN LEGGED ROBOTS Hasan Hamzaçebi Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering Advisor: Ömer Morgül November 2017 The analysis, identification and control of legged locomotion have been an interest for various researchers towards building legged robots that move like the animals do in nature. The extensive studies on understanding legged locomotion led to some mathematical models, such as the Spring-Loaded Inverted Pendulum (SLIP) template (and its various derivatives), that can be used to identify, analyze and control legged locomotor systems. Despite their seemingly simple nature, as being a simple point mass attached to a massless spring from dynamics perspective, the SLIP model constitutes a restricted three-body problem formulation, whose non-integrability has been proven long before. Thus, researchers came up with approximate analytical solutions or they used some other different techniques such as partial feedback linearization for the sake of obtaining analytical Poincaré return maps that govern the motion of the desired legged locomotor system. In the first part of this thesis, we consider a SLIP-based legged locomotion model, which we call as Multi-Actuated Dissipative SLIP (MD-SLIP) that extends the simple SLIP model with two additional actuators. The first one is a linear actuator attached serially to the leg spring to ensure direct control on the compression and decompression of the leg spring. The second actuator is a rotatory one that is attached to hip, which provides ability to inject some torque inputs to the system dynamics, which is mainly inspired by biological legged locomotor systems. Following the analysis of MD-SLIP model, we utilize a partial feedback linearization strategy by which we can cancel some nonlinear dynamics of the legged locomotion model and obtain exact analytical solutions without needing any approximation. Having exact analytical solutions is crucial to investigate stability


SUMMARY This study explores the use of TerraSAR-X (X-Band) and Sentinel-1 (C-Band) SAR data for detecting degraded forests and deforestation in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador. The study area shows a complex topography and permanent cloud cover, which complicates forest monitoring from optical remote sensing. Thresholds of canopy cover for degraded forest were identified by field data. Then a straightforward object-based approach was applied. Statistics on SAR backscatter were estimated from the objects and used as input to a random forest classification to map forest and non-forest areas. Finally, forest degradation was assessed using a moving window procedure applying the earlier identified thresholds on the forest / non-forest map. The SAR data were found adequate to map deforestation (overall accuracy of 81% for forest/non forest maps) but less accurate to fully assess forest degradation. However, multi-temporal SAR data can be useful to construct baseline data of the forest extent. Polarization and interferometric information could enhance the presented results for classifying forest / non forest areas and mapping forest degradation.


A simplified form of the vorticity equation is derived for arbitrary coordinate systems. The present work unifies and extends the previous findings that vorticity is conserved in planar Euler flow, while in axisymmetric Euler rings it is the ratio of the vorticity to the distance from the symmetry axis that is conserved. The unifying statement is that in any Euler flow, all components of the vorticity tensor of a streamline coordinate system that are normal to the streamline direction are conserved along streamlines. This is true for both two- and three-dimensional flows, whether the flow is axisymmetric or not, with or without swirl. What remains of the nonlinear convective terms in the vorticity equation, after the mathematical simplification, is the Lie derivative of the vorticity tensor with respect to fluid velocity. A temporal derivative is defined which, when set to zero, expresses either the continuity or vorticity equation (excluding the viscous term), depending upon the argument supplied to it.


Ab initio quantum mechanical methods have been applied to the SiH (X 2 Π) insertion into the H 2 molecule. The transition state has no elements of symmetry. The classical barrier height is predicted to be 5.6±1 kcal/mol. The barrier is qualitatively consistent with an estimate from Jasinski's experimental reaction rates, which are much slower than those observed for the related CH+H 2 , SiH+SiH 4 , and SiH 2 +H 2 reactions.


A comparative study of the surface layer bio-optical properties of the Barents and Norwegian Seas in the summer of 2017 is carried out. Ship data were obtained during the 68th cruise of the R/V 'Ak...


Objective: To explore the effect of tigecycline on patients with pulmonary infection with acute leukemia after chemotherapy (PIALC) and its effect on serum inflammatory factors and liver and kidney function. Methods: A total of 62 patients with PIALC were enrolled in our hospital. Patients were randomly divided into observation group (OG) and control group (CG) according to random number table, with 31 cases in each group. CG was treated with a conventional dose of tigecycline (50 mg, 1/12 h), and the observation group was treated with an overdose of tigecycline (100 mg, 1/12 h). The serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and CRP were measured by double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The total effective rate was evaluated according to the evaluation criteria of clinical efficacy, and the liver and kidney function tests of the two groups were observed. Results: The total effective rate of OG was 74.19%, and the total effective rate of CG was 54.84%. There was a statistical difference between the groups (P < 0.001). The serum levels of inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and c-reactive protein (CRP) were decreased in both groups after treatment compared with those before treatment (P < 0.001). The level of inflammatory factors in OG was decreased more than that in CG (P < 0.005). There were differences in the levels of alanine aminotransferase (GPT/ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST/GOT) before and after treatment in CG (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Tigacycline had little effect on liver and kidney function. Tigecycline was safe and effective in patients with PIALC.


Procedure for determining data relating to driving performance of a vehicle (3), in which data relating to driving performance by a central electronic equipment (1) which are transmitted from a communication device are determined ( 4), via a communication link (6) which can be established, at least data driving performance of the vehicle and / or data derived therefrom, at least based on at least part of the data transmitted from the driving performance and / or data derived therefrom to the vehicle (3) that has sent the data automatically transmitted data driving performance of the vehicle and / or data derived therefrom, after a stop of the vehicle (3) from the communication equipment (4) to the central control unit (1), characterized in that, if data driving performance of the vehicle and / or data rivados thereof for a vehicle (3) is not transmitted to the central control unit (1) after the expiry of a time interval defined, a representation of data driving performance by the central electronic equipment is carried out (1) through the communication link (6).


In a social and economic environment characterized by change, Romania's public administration must integrate and implement the administrative values characteristic to the European space: transparency, predictability, responsibility, adaptability and efficiency. These ones must be found in the administrative institutions and processes on all levels. This research is aimed to establish what change in public administration represents, to quantify the main directions of action in the change process regarding public management at the level of local collectivities and to trace the results of the projects financed by the Operational Programme Administrative Capacity Development (OPACD) as well as the expected impact of these ones on the local public administration from Arges county.


describing interaction with the bulk. For models under study, the tensor Πνμ has zero divergence, allowing one to assume E μ = 0. Under this assumption, we try to extend to brane worlds some theorems valid for scalar fields in general relativity (GR). Thus, the list of possible global causal structures in all models under consideration is shown to be the same as is known for vacuum with a cosmological constant in GR: Minkowski, Schwarzschild, (anti-)de Sitter and Schwarzschild–(anti-)de Sitter, and horizons which bound a static region are always simple. A no-hair theorem, saying that, given a potential V ≥ 0, asymptotically flat black holes cannot possess nontrivial external scalar fields, is proved under certain restrictions. Some objects, forbidden in GR, are allowed in a brane world: a traversable wormhole supported by a scalar field, a particlelike solution with V ≥ 0, and a black hole with scalar hair whose event horizon is located beyond a wormhole throat.


Additive series of experiments were conducted under field conditions to detect the effect of duration of interference of different initial population densities(5,10,20and 30plants/m2) of purple nutsedges ( Cyprus rotundus L.)on the yield losses of drill-seeded rice(Giza 178). Increasing weed population or/and the duration of interference increased reduction of rice grain yield. The severe reduction due to weed population of 30 plants/m2 recorded 31and 27% for the first and second seasons, respectively. The highest reduction due to duration of interference recorded 53 and 39% when purple nutsedge was allowed to compete for 120 days with rice during first and second seasons, respectively. Moreover, the interaction between weed densities and duration of interference showed severe reductions under the high populations(20 and 30 plants/m2) when interfered with rice 40 days or more


The paper analyses the impact of age on the ranking of recorded popular songs in the Dutch Radio2 Top2000 chart in the years 1999-2013. We measure the competition between the loss of collective memory and nostalgia with respect to popular songs. Nostalgic feelings seem to be relevant to recorded songs with an age of 20-40 years. It is shown that the superstar status of the performing artist, the length of the recorded song, and the use of the domestic language (Dutch in our sample) as well as the debut ranking are predictors of the lifespan of a song in the chart.


A content analysis of the samples used in 136 empirical studies published in three mainstream strategic management journals is conducted. The samples are categorized based on the sampling technique...


This paper considers two subsets $\Omega _0 $ and $\Omega $ of $\mathbb{R}^n $, $n = 2$ or $n = 3$, and two continuous real-valued functions $g_0 $ and g defined on $\partial \Omega $ and $\partial \Omega _0 $, respectively. The position of $\Omega $ is allowed to vary inside $\Omega _0 $ and the author looks for the minimum of the Dirichlet intergral of the function u, which is harmonic in $(\Omega _0 \backslash \Omega )$ and verifies the following boundary conditions: $u = g_0 $ on $\partial \Omega _0 $, $u = g$ on $\partial \Omega $ Under certain hypotheses on the regularity of $\partial \Omega _0 $ and $\partial \Omega $, and on $g_0 $ and g, an existence theorem is proved for the minimizing position of $\Omega $; it is shown through an example that the solution of the considered problem is not unique in general.


A novel wide stopband one-dimensional PBG structure with fractal features is proposed, which is useful for microstrip circuits. The proposed structure is with the same size as the conventional PBG structures, but boasts the characteristic of ultra-wide stopband and low ripple level in the passband. In this paper, a microstrip low-pass filter is designed employing the proposed wide stopband PBG structure. The simulation results show the low-pass filter is able to achieve a 3-dB lower passband of 4.65 GHz with a ripple level of 0.78 dB and a maximum reflection loss of-15dB and a20-dB stopband of above 15 GHz with an attenuation of over 50.00 dB. The measurement results are found to be in good agreement with the simulation results.


The laminar boundary layer separation flow over a two-dimensional bump controlled by synthetic jets is experimentally investigated in a water channel with hydrogen-bubble visualisation and particle image velocimetry (PIV) techniques. The two-dimensional synthetic jet is applied near the separation point. Two Reynolds numbers (Re = 700 and 1120) based on the bump height and free-stream velocity are adopted in this experiment, and seven different excitation frequencies at each Reynolds number are considered, focusing on the separation control as well as the vortex dynamics. The experimental results show that the optimal control can only be achieved within some excitation frequencies at both Reynolds numbers. However, beyond this range, further increasing the excitation frequency leads to an increase in the separation region. The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) technique and vortex identification by swirling strength (Λci) are applied for the deeper analysis of the separated flow. The reconstructed Λci field by the first four POD modes is used and vortex lock-on phenomenon is observed. It is found that the negative synthetic jet vortex with clockwise rotation draws the separated wake shear layer as it is convected downstream, and then they syncretise together. Thus, the new vortex is induced and shedding downstream periodically.


Summary In the present paper, a theory is developed giving the approximate velocity at any point in an inviscid compressible fluid flowing through a divergent nozzle. The method of calculation assumes a radial pattern for the stream lines, as suggested by the theoretical and experimental work on flows in diffusers carried out by Gourzhienko (1939). The velocity field is extended by successive applications of the known solution for radial flow from a point source. The formulae obtained in the present paper are applicable to either subsonic or supersonic flows, they may be applied over any length of tube ; and from them the variation of the local speed of sound and Mach number may be estimated.


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This study aimed was to empirically examined the correlation between parent-child communication openness to the future orientation among adolescents. A quantitative research with 106 teenagers within the age of 15 to 18 years old respondents were used. Based on analysis using Pearson's Product Moment correlation technique shown a positive significant relationship between parent-child communication openness to the future orientation among adolescents, where the higher communication openness point resulted in higher the future orientation, and vice versa.


Adversarial examples resulting from instability of current computer vision models are an extremely important topic due to their potential to compromise any application. In this paper we demonstrate that instability is inevitable due to a) symmetries (translational invariance) of the data, b) the categorical nature of the classification task, and c) the fundamental discrepancy of classifying images as objects themselves. The issue is further exacerbated by non-exhaustive labelling of the training data. Therefore we conclude that instability is a necessary result of how the problem of computer vision is currently formulated. While the problem cannot be eliminated, through the analysis of the causes, we have arrived at ways how it can be partially alleviated. These include i) increasing the resolution of images, ii) providing contextual information for the image, iii) exhaustive labelling of training data, and iv) preventing attackers from frequent access to the computer vision system.


Abstract. The study of phytobiotics application is one of the topical directions in the strategy of antimicrobial resistance containment. The aim of this work was to study the effects of separate and combined use of enrofloxacin and phytobiotic drugs in 400-day-old laying hens. Methods. The studies were conducted on four groups of Loman-classic layers; in the course of the experiment, enrofloxacin and a phytobiotic based on sea buckthorn cake and mustard, cedar and sea buckthorn oils were introduced into the diet. Results. It was found that the use of drugs had no significant effect on the composition of microflora and the level of antibiotic resistance of gastrointestinal bacteria in chickens because by the age of 400 days the intestinal microbiomes of laying hens were already formed, stable and contaminated with AMR agents. Also when combining antibiotic and phytobiotic there was an increase in egg laying rate, average egg weight, accelerated excretion of enrofloxacin from the body of layers and reduction of its content in the egg to the detection limit. While in the group of laying hens receiving only enrofloxacin, its residual content in the egg was detected 2 weeks after cessation of its introduction. Thus, in the course of this research, the most optimal was the combined use of enrofloxacin with a phytobiotic drug, which had the most noticeable positive effect on metabolic parameters, productivity and egg quality. The novelty of the work is to obtain data on the effect of phytobiotic drug on a number of health indicators, productivity of laying hens and egg quality, and the selection of promising scheme of its use.


Reliability analysis of the geo-structures has contributed a lot to the field of Geotechnical Engineering. This area of study gives an overview of the probability of failure of different structures. First-order second-moment method (FOSM) is a method, incorporated in this study, to determine the reliability index of the geo-structures (and other structures as well). In this paper, design of retaining wall is modelled using Functional Network (FN), Genetic Programming (GP) and Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH). These soft computing techniques have removed the cumbersome nature of the problem and have increased the precision of the result. The uncertainties involved in this problem is reduced. As these methodologies are evolved and are heated topics in the artificial intelligence field, they have eliminated the drawbacks of several other soft computing methods involved previously in the reliability problems. These methodologies employ genetic algorithm (GMDH) and make use of domain knowledge along with data knowledge accordingly (FN). These techniques have made problems facile and can produce a precise result. Performance of these methods has been assessed using different performance analysis, criterions and parameters. This paper is a comparative study between FOSM, FN based FOSM, GP based FOSM and GMDH based FOSM.


A joint compaign is launched to control vectors in Xiamen city.Elaborating organization,scientific planning,strengthen information dissemination,comprehensive ecological improvement,innovative inspection are done to effect the vector control compaign.Vector density could be controlled well through traditional patriotic health movement with comprehensive control strategies.


When the are welding robot Motoman-L10ω is applied in the production of hoisting jacks,a flexibleproduction line may be established.Many problems in it are discussed in this paper such as clampers de-sign,application development of I/O interface,robot grounding,demonstration and reappearing,ete.The paper analyzes at last the benefits of the flexible production unit established.


Objective:To assess the preventive efficacy of lamivudine in reducing the incidence of hepatitis B virus(HBV)reactivation during cytotoxic chemotherapy.Methods: Total of 60 patients histologically proved malignant tumor with HBV-DNA positive were divided into two groups: the research group(prophylactic lamivudine group) and the control group(without prophylactic lamivudine group).In the research group,100mg daily lamivudine was administered 2 weeks before and until 8 weeks after discontinuing chemotherapy.HBV-DNA levels were observed before and after completion of chemotherapy,and the outcomes were compared between the two groups.Results: In research group,HBV-DNA levels were less than 10 4 copies / ml,and there were 12 patients developed hepatic toxicity.Only one patient in the preventive lamivudine group developed HBV reactivation.In the control group,HBV DNA levels were more than 10 4 copies / ml,there were 23 patients developed hepatic toxicity and 7 patients developed HBV reactivation.In prophylactic lamivudine group,there was significantly less HBV reactivation(3.3% vs 23.3% in the controls,P 0.05) and fewer incidences of hepatic toxicity(40% vs 76.7%,P 0.05).Conclusion: Prophylactic lamivudine can significantly reduce the incidence of HBV reactivation and hepatic toxicity of cancer patients with HBV-DNA seropositive undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapy.


Two cases of primary intracranial germ cell tumours are reported. Both serum alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) and serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were raised preoperatively, but became normal during postoperative radio‐ and chemotherapy. Immunofluorescence microscopy of tissue specimens from both tumours showed a slight staining for AFP mainly localized in the endodermal vesicles, whereas a more intensive staining for hCG could be identified in the giant cells.


In this paper we present a simple solution to provide secure access to users/terminals asking for Internet connectivity through a wireless access network. The proposed solution is based on some standard protocols (DHCP, Radius, EAP, and IPSec) and enables user authentication, network configuration parameters personalization, and secure communications on the wireless links. The main strength of our approach is that it can be easily implemented in a wireless local site (WLAN or WPAN) independent of any layer two mechanism and of the manufacturer's implemented features in the wireless user terminal.


This paper describes exploratory work on two allocation models for policy makers in Papua New Guinea using goal programming. The first model allocates national financial resources for health among the 19 provinces. Determinants of the model include health status, population, manpower, and access provisions and previous resource distribution. The second model utilizes the results from the first model to allocate resources among different health activities within each province. Determinants of the model include major health problems of each province and available health resources. The paper concludes with a dicsussion on the use and implications of the model in the Papua New Guinean situation.


Sustainability reporting is one of accountability form of the company in the disclosure of organizational performance that includes economic reports, social, and enviromental. The existence of narrative text in the sustainability reporting gives the company an opportunity to affect the stakeholders by the way to manipulate sentences are used. The purpose of this research was to analize the structure of sustainability reporting and to investigate whether there was a use of language narcisism on the report or not . This research was conducted in qualitative research methods by using semiotic ananlysis. The data analized were sustainability reporting on one of mining and plantation company. The result of this research showed that the structure of sustainability reporting on both companies (PT. Katim Prima Coal dan PT. Perkebunan Nusantara XIII) had a lot similarities although both of them have  different characetrisitics. In addition, this research also showed that there was language narcicism that can be classified as the comapny's efforts in forming positive images, avoiding negative images and obtaining legitimation from the stakeholders.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of body condition on pregnancy rate of Nellore cows, commercial herd undergoing artificial insemination programs in fixed time (TAI). 181 cows were used multiparous Nellore, the coastal plains region of the state of Rio de Janeiro, with more than one hundred days after birth, kept on pasture and divided into two groups subjected to the same synchronization protocol for TAI (D0-2 , 0 mg of estradiol benzoate + device with 1.0 g bovine intravaginal progesterone implant removal D8-250?g of cloprostenol + + 300 IU of eCG, D9-Bz 1.0 mg. Estradiol, D10-TAI). The groups were divided according to body condition score (BCS with scale of 1-5) in Group I, n=96: BCS ? 3,0, Group II, n=85: BCS ? 2.5 ? 2.0. All females were exposed to bulls, from 24 hours to pass after TAI, remaining with them until the end of the breeding season. The overall pregnancy rate was 86.5% (83:96) and 65.9% (56:85) for group I and group II, respectively. Data were evaluated by chi-square analysis and the results show a statistically significant difference (P <0.05) between groups, which may be concluded that the females of poor body condition (BCS ? 2.0 ? 2.5 ), have lower pregnancy rates compared to those best condition (BCS ? 3) when subjected to TAI program.


This article argues that international political theory requires better ways of thinking about the formation of transnational (or, as it is suggested, translocal) political identities in the wake of changing configurations of territory/political space. More specifically it identifies discrepant forms of political practice-typified by transnational communities, borderzone identities, and spiritualist movements-whose political practices problematise the dominant statist assumption of equivalence between territorial situatedness and political identity.


In order to solve the error result of the penetration depth that was caused by confused sign convention for the phase factor of electromagnetic sinusoidal waves,inconsistency was found in the expression of the phase shift and the relation of the phase shift and the penetration depth.The results on the phase shift and penetration depth of metal mirror in microcavities were reported.A series of λ/2 cavities with the symmetrical structure of Glass/Ag/LiF/Ag was made by changing the thickness of Ag film.The penetration depths at different thickness of Ag film were obtained from the transmittance peaks of the cavities.Phase shift upon reflection at LiF-Ag interface was calculated based on the measured optical constants.The formulation between phase shift and penetration depth was proved by the experimental results,which are in good agreement with the theoretical calculations.


This paper constructs a new anonymous IBE scheme,and expands it to an anonymous HIBE scheme secure against full adaptive-ID attacks.These systems are built in composite order groups,which have four prime order subgroups.To achieve the anonymity,the authors blinded the public parameters and ciphertexts using the random elements of same subgroup.Moreover,the authors used the random elements of different subgroup to construct secret key for properly decryption.This idea is inspired by the related work,which proposed by Seo et al.in PKC 2009.To obtain full security,the authors applied the new techniques for dual system encryption recently introduced by Lewko and Waters in TCC 2010.Like the techniques used in their paper,the authors also used the semi-functional structures,and employed a hyhrid argument in the security by a sequence of games proof.And employed an additional dummy semi-functional structure to overcome the difficulty in the proof of the anonymity.The new anonymous HIBE scheme has short ciphertexts,and can be proven to be secure in the full-ID model using static assumptions.However,the previous schemes were only proven in the selective-ID model,under some non-static assumption which depended on the depth of the hierarchy.


This study was conducted to determine the effects of Reiki on pain and vital signs when applied for 15 minutes to the incision area of the body after cesarean section surgery. The study was single-blinded, randomized, and double-controlled (Reiki, sham Reiki, and control groups). Forty-five patients


Elimination of boron-oxygen related degradation (BO-LID) in a coupled fast firing and regeneration belt furnace setup with halogen lamps was investigated. A design of experiment layout was used to systematically change the processing parameters peak firing temperature, belt velocity and illumination intensity in the regeneration tool. The results indicate that a certain threshold illumination intensity is required using typical firing conditions to yield almost complete regeneration. Incomplete regeneration is observed below that threshold intensity. This can be explained by insufficient optical heating and in consequence temperatures too low so that, even though the regeneration process starts as intended, it simply takes too long and is not completed within processing time in the regeneration tool. The results also demonstrate that small variations in firing conditions and precursor quality fluctuations are of minor influence for the regeneration process and that regeneration, for a sufficient illumination setting, can be achieved in a 15 to 30 second timeframe by a regeneration tool based on halogen lamps.


Inertial devices in weapon system are generally in no-working states of storage, maintenance and measurement. The storage reliability is as important as the working reliability. In order to know the characteristics of weapon's inertial device and to provide the information for prolonging its using period and maintenance, it is necessary to estimate and predict the storage performance reliability. A modeling approach for grey Markov chain prediction was discussed. The proposed method possesses the advantages of grey model and Markov chain model. It makes good use of dynamic modeling idea of grey model to predict the general trend of original reliability data. Then according to the trend, the states are divided so that it can overcome the disadvantage of large volume calculation of state transition probability matrix in Markov chain. Moreover, the presented approach expands the applied scope of grey model and makes it fit for forecasting of random data with bigger fluctuation. Finally, the storage performance reliability of the rate gyroscope for some missile was estimated and forecasted using the hybrid grey Markov chain.


Education is one of the most basic things for humans. The progress and development of a nation cannot be separated from the development of education in a nation. To advance education, it's necessary to have innovation and creativity in learning. In the decade of this century the development of technology has increasingly become necessity for humans and can not be separated from education. To produc an innovative education, there is a need for collaborative learning with technology. Therefore, educators must conquer technology in order to make Indonesian education competitive. When the world experienced the covid 19 outbreak. Indonesia was the affected. Therefore, learning activities are required to innovate, one of which is by using technology as a learning medium, to achieve learning targets in the curriculum during the pancemic, so it is necessary to measure the relevance of online learning media based on Whatshapp, Google Form and Google Meet for learning during the covid 19 Pandemic. How the relevance of the use of the media in learning activities during the covid 19 pandemic.


In a broad sense, the term "competition" defines the relations between economic operators acting on the same market seeking attainment of certain interests in economic freedom conditions. The need for regulations in the area of competition stems from the nature of free, open market economy which is founded on the existence of fair competition between economic agents, competition which must be observed, maintained and protected by the law. Public authorities who issue various regulations should be cautious about how far this role is played in the economy and they way adopted regulations affect competition in the market. Hence, the need for prior assessment relating to the potential effect of a regulation on competition. It was proven in practice that some regulations may lead to measures that may affect competition directly or indirectly by: limiting the number or range of suppliers; limiting supplier capability to compete and reducing interests of suppliers to compete vigorously.


The cell cycle refers to the a series of events that describe the metabolic processes of growth and replication of cells. The bulk of the cell cycle is spent in the "living phase", known as interphase. Interphase is further broken down in to 3 distinct phases: G1 (Gap 1), S (Synthesis) and G2 (Gap 2). G1 is the phase of growth when the cell is accumulating resources to live and grow. After attaining a certain size and having amassed enough raw materials, a checkpoint is reached where the cell uses biochemical markers to decide if the next phase should be entered. If the cell is in an environment with enough nutrients in the environment, enough space and having reached the appropriate size, the cell will enter the S phase. S phase is when metabolism is shifted towards the replication (or synthesis) of the genetic material. During S phase, the amount of DNA in the nucleus is doubled and copied exactly in preparation to divide. The chromosomes at the end of G1 consist of a single chromatid. At the end of S phase, each chromosome consists of two identical sister chromatids joined at the centromere. When the DNA synthesis is complete, the cell continues on to the second growth phase called G2. Another checkpoint takes place at the end of G2 to ensure the fidelity of the replicated DNA and to re-establish the success of the cell's capacity to divide in the environment. If conditions are favorable, the cell continues on to mitosis.


The study of functional state of thyroid gland and the structure of thyroid pathology for patients suffering from various forms of fibrotic-cystic disease was carried out. A total of 200 women with benign breast diseases were examined. A significant increase in the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone and antibodies to thyroperoxidase was observed in patients with pronounced mastopathy. Predominance of fibrotic component in breast tissue of patients with autoimmune thyroiditis and of cystic component of patients with iodine-deficient diseases of the thyroid gland was found. Correction of thyroid status in the presence of concurrent pathology was shown to be necessary.


The N-tertbutyloxycarbonyl-L-aspartic acid-β-benzylester was synthesized started from L-aspartic acid. The structure was characterized by ESI-MS, IR, 1HNMR and 13 CNMR.


finds along with those that are scientific, literary, aesthetic and institutional, a religious heritage that outshines all the others. We are 4 heirs of all the ages,' religiously as well as in other respects. . . . One cannot be regarded as well educated who has not been led into the possession of his religious inheritance." While our republic is irrevocably committed to the doctrine of the separation of Church and State, it is of superlative importance nevertheless that our training system shall imbue youth with ideals which reach beyond the sordid lines of Here and Now. " Where there is no vision the people perish ". Herbert Hoover, in a very recent utterance declared:


X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been used to study the surface composition and chemistry of Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) exposed materials including silvered Teflon (Ag/FEP), Kapton, S13GLO paint, quartz crystal monitors (QCM's), carbon fiber/organic matrix composites, and carbon fiber/Al Alloy composites. In each set of samples, silicones were the major contributors to the molecular film accumulated on the LDEF exposed surfaces. All surfaces analyzed have been contaminated with Si, O, and C; most have low levels (less than 1 atom percent) of N, S, and F. Occasionally observed contaminants included Cl, Na, K, P, and various metals. Orange/brown discoloration observed near vent slots in some Ag/FEP blankets were higher in carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen relative to other contamination types. The source of contamination has not been identified, but amine/amide functionalities were detected. It is probable that this same source of contamination account for the low levels of sulfur and nitrogen observed on most LDEF exposed surfaces. XPS, which probes 50 to 100 A in depth, detected the major sample components underneath the contaminant film in every analysis. This probably indicates that the contaminant overlayer is patchy, with significant areas covered by less that 100 A of molecular film. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) of LDEF exposed surfaces during secondary electron microscopy (SEM) of the samples confirmed contamination of the surfaces with Si and O. In general, particulates were not observed to develop from the contaminant overlayer on the exposed LDEF material surfaces. However, many SiO2 submicron particles were seen on a masked edge of an Ag/FEP blanket. In some cases such as the carbon fiber/organic matrix composites, interpretation of the contamination data was hindered by the lack of good laboratory controls. Examination of laboratory controls for the carbon fiber/Al alloy composites showed that preflight contamination was the most significant factor for all the contaminants generally detected at less than 1 atom percent, or detected only occasionally (i.e., all but Si, O, and C). Flight control surfaces, including sample backsides not exposed to space radiation or atomic oxygen flux, have accumulated some contamination on flight (compared to laboratory controls), but experimentally, the LDEF exposed surface contamination levels are generally higher for the contaminants Si and O. For most materials analyzed, Si contamination levels were higher on the leading edge surfaces than on the trailing edge surfaces. This was true even for the composite samples where considerable atomic oxygen erosion of the leading edge surfaces was observed by SEM. It is probable that the return flux associated with atmospheric backscatter resulted in enhanced deposition of silicones and other contaminants on the leading edge flight surfaces relative to the trailing edge. Although the Si concentration data suggested greater on-flight deposition of contaminants on the leading edge surfaces, the XPS analyses did not conclusively show different relative total thicknesses of flight deposited contamination for leading and trailing edge surfaces. It is possible that atomic oxygen reactions on the leading edge resulted in greater volatilization of the carbon component of the deposited silicones, effectively 'thinning' the leading edge deposited overlayer. Unlike other materials, exposed polymers such as Kapton and FEP-type Teflon had very low contamination on the leading edge surfaces. SEM evidence showed that undercutting of the contaminant overlayer and damaged polymer layers occurred during atomic oxygen erosion, which would enhance loss of material from the exposed surface.


The interactions of ionic liquids (ILs) with organic solutes are of interest to many applications involving the use of ILs as task-specific solvents, such as in sensing devices or catalysis. However, currently little is known about these specific interactions. The interactions of two structurally-similar organic analytes with different functional groups (alkyne and cyanide) in the IL [C2C1Im][MeSO4] are studied via density functional theory. By analysing the type and strength of the interactions between the organic solutes and ionic liquid using explicit solvation, the study aims to better understand of the possible noncovalent interactions between them. Implicit solvation models were also adopted to obtain solvation energies from solvent continuum. The understanding of IL-solute interactions and solubilities are critical in many applications such as improving the analytical performance of ILs-based sensors.


We evaluated the floristic and structural composition of a tree community in an ecotone between Cerrado (cerradão) and Atlantic Forest (seasonal semideciduous forest) domains located in Porto Ferreira State Park (PFSP), southeastern Brazil. We compared the floristic relationships of this ecotone with those of previous surveys carried out on the same vegetation types and checked the species distribution among the Brazilian biomes. We sampled all living trees with PBH>10 cm in 64 10x10 m plots (0.64 ha), totaling 1,755 individuals belonging to 101 species and 37 families. The richest families were Myrtaceae (13 spp.) and Fabaceae (11 spp.), and Siparuna guianensis was the most abundant species (188 individuals). We reported two threatened species. A great number of species are widely distributed, occurring in different Brazilian biomes. Floristic similarity values were low among the selected studies, but our sampled community clustered with communities of cerradão and ecotone areas of previous surveys. Our results corroborate that ecotonal areas have great tree diversity and the predominance of widely distributed species. This fact, combined with the vegetation thickening verified through historical photographs, reinforces that the study area belongs to an under-changing ecotone.


Using crossbred cows derived from suitable breeds is a way of increasing weaning weights and weaning rates (Baker et al. 1981; Deland 1982). However, more information is needed on the carcass characteristics of the progeny of crossbred cows. In 1978 cows derived from Hereford (H), Friesian (F), Charolais (C) and Brahman (B) sires and H and F dams were mated to H bulls (Morgan and Clark 1982). All the resulting progeny, except females from HH, FF and CF dams were slaughtered at 9 months of age. Measurements taken on 140 carcasses were analysed by least squares with means adjusted for dam age, sex and slaughter age. Results for the effects of breed of grand-sire (GS) and breed of grand-dam (GD) are presented in Table 1.


The iterative (2k−1)-st spline algorithm is an extension of the iterative cubic spline algorithm developed and used by Groeneboom, Jongbloed and Wellner to compute an approximation of the "invelope"of the integrated two-sided Brownian motion+t4 that is involved in the limiting distribution of the MLE or the LSE of a non-increasing and convex density on (0,∞) (Groeneboom, Jongbloed and Wellner (2001A, 2001B)). The iterative (2k−1)-st spline algorithm was developed to compute the LSE of a k-monotone density on (0,∞) for any integer k ≥ 2 and also to calculate an approximation of the envelopes ("invelopes") of the (k − 1)-fold integral of two-sided Brownian motion + (k!/(2k)!) t2k when k is odd (even) on a finite interval [−c, c] for some fixed c > 0. To compute the MLE, another variation is used and involves the computation of a spline of degree k − 1 instead of a spline of degree 2k − 1. The principal of both algorithms is explained in details. We also show many examples of their applications. 1 Research supported in part by National Science Foundation grant DMS-0203320 2 Research supported in part by National Science Foundation grants DMS-0203320, and NIAID grant 2R01 AI291968-04 AMS 2000 subject classifications. Primary: 62G07; secondary 90C99.


Market goods do not directly yield utility but are inputs that help to produce service flows that do yield utility. The size and composition of a family, the talents of its members, and time combine with market goods to produce service flows. When the size and composition of a family are altered because of the death of one of its members, the ability of the family to produce service flows is altered. This paper uses the service-flow concept, developed by Edward Lazear and Robert Michael (1980), to estimate self-consumption allowances in wrongful death situations. The paper starts with a description and summary of part of Lazear and Michael's paper. This section ends with a brief discussion of a new estimate of service flows in a single-parent family. The next section uses the service flow concept to estimate self-consumption allowances. This section also compares service-flow estimates with other self-consumption estimates. The final section contains some conclusions and directions for further research.


Statements concerning the truthfulness of claims made in 16 tape-recorded commercials about fictitious products were judged by 40 college students. In half of the commercials a claim was directly asserted while in the other half the claims were pragmatically implied. Pragmatic implications are statements that lead a person to believe something that is neither explicitly stated nor necessarily implied. As expected based upon previous research, subjects often responded to implied claims as if they had been directly asserted (particularly by subjects in the short delay group). In addition, differences were found in the effectiveness of four different types of pragmatic implications for misleading subjects. Language: en


EA. 004 770 I !Wines,. Delores Structuring communication with Parents: Participation in Common Terms, -I California Univ.. Angeles. Center for the Study of Evaluation.. 4 National Center for 'Educational Research and Develoiment (purst,m) Washington, D.C. CSE-82 BR-671646 Oct '72 6-1909 38p. 14Y-$0.65 HC-$3.29f Communication iThinight Transfer); *Communication Probleixts; *Educaii4ional Needs; *Education]. ObjeciaVes; *Ele6entary Ediication; Inform Seeking; *Parent Participation; Parent Schoo Relakionship; Technical Reports; Theories_ .


In developing a systematic framework for identifying ethical issues in Machine Learning Health Care Applications (ML-HCAs), Char et al. (2020) have helpfully synthesized heretofore distinct stands ...


With the widespread use of wireless network technology, more and more attention has been paid to the Internet of things (IoT) device security. The radio frequency fingerprint-based device identification technology can effectively improve the security of wireless devices. In this paper, a novel RF fingerprint extraction method employing least mean square (LMS) filter coefficients is proposed. The work involved in this paper includes two parts: feature extraction and feature identification. The feature extraction stage includes signal synchronization, frequency offset estimation, phase offset estimation, and adaptive filtering parameter extraction. In the feature identification stage, random forest (RF) is used to verify the distinction of this fingerprint, and isolated forest (IF) is used to identify the fingerprint from unknown devices. Our experiment is conducted on 54 ZigBee devices. The experimental results show that the recognition accuracy of legal equipment and illegal equipment is 100% and 89.83% respectively in a 10dB signal-noise ratio (SNR) environment, and 98.15% and 99.55% respectively in a 30dB SNR environment.


Various hypotheses have been given by several investigators on the relationship between the rate of flow and the intravascular pressure. In 1902 Bayliss' described a myogenic reaction which is evoked by the changes in intravascular pressure. Burton2 insisted on the existence of the critical closing pressure at which a complete closure of the lumen of a vessel is brought about. Folkow & Lofving,3 on the other hand, emphasized the significance of elastic


Purpose. The novel coronavirus is the recently emerged disease of the respiratory system for which various national and international research agencies are putting joint efforts towards finding a permanent cure. Recently, the vaccine against coronavirus has been designed by various pharmaceutical agencies that are currently undergoing clinical trials. Since vaccines prevent infection by strengthening the defense system of the body, we proposed that yoga and physical exercises could act as an integrative approach to synergize the immunogenic response of the coronavirus vaccine. Yoga and physical exercises are already known to boost immunity against several other infections.
Materials and Methods. In the present review article, we aimed towards exploring the role of yoga and physical exercise as an immunity booster against coronavirus infection. Being India is a low-income country, yoga and physical exercises could be an excellent cost-effective strategy that could be administrated along with vaccine trials to enhance immunity against virus infection.
Results. In the present review, we analyze the studies conducted to date focusing on finding the role of yoga and physical exercises to prevent coronavirus infection. We also described the potential exercises, which are already known to enhance the immunity of the body by particularly targeting respiratory disease.
Conclusion. The present review article will help in providing the health agencies potential targets, which could further be explored to established a standard exercise module to enhance the vaccine-mediated immunity against coronavirus infection.


The mathematical model of DC motor induction motor in the rotational coordinates system(M,T system) is deducted.The model is simulated and encapsulated with Matlab/Simulink.The simulation result is given and the encapsulated model of motor is added to the warehouse component.The correctness of the model is also verified.


This paper presents results of a study conducted to determine and evaluate the petrophysical properties of "Main Limestone" reservoir units in north Iraq with a view to understand their effects on the reservoirs hydrocarbon prospect and oil productivity of the field. The evaluated properties include porosity, fluid saturation and net / gross thickness, which are obtained from wire-line logs. A full set of wire-line logs including of gamma ray, resistivity, neutron and density logs for three wells from Bai-Hassan oil field were analyzed for reservoir characterization of the field. The analyses carried out involves description of lithologies, identification of reservoirs and fluid types, wells correlation and determination of petrophysical parameters of identified reservoirs. Petrophysical parameters of "Main Limestone" reservoir rocks revealed that the reservoir unit (B) has the better properties compared with the other units. The majority of total porosity is primary porosity through the whole succession within the studied area. The water saturation is affected significantly by increasing the volume of shale, which was often greater than 10 %. Key word: Petrophysical properties, Main limestone reservoir, North Iraq, well logs. INTRODUCTION Petrophysics is the study of physical properties of the reservoir rocks and their interactions with fluids (gases, liquid hydrocarbons). Detailed knowledge of the distribution of petrophysical parameters such porosity, permeability, water saturation and barriers influencing fluid flow are important for reservoir evaluation project. Reservoir characterization is undertaken to determine its capability to both store and transmit fluid. Hence, characterization deals with the determination of reservoir properties/parameters such as porosity (Φ), permeability (K), fluid saturation, and Net Pay thickness. Because petroleum reservoir rocks must have porosity and permeability, we are most interested in the properties of porous and permeable rocks. Porosity, which is a measure of reservoir storage capacity, is defined as the proportion of the total rock volume that is void and filled with fluids. Permeability is the capacity of a reservoir rock to permit fluid flow. It is a function of interconnectivity of the pore volume; therefore, a rock is permeable if it has an effective porosity. The fluid saturation is the proportion of the pore space that is occupied by the particular fluid. A reservoir can be water either saturated (Sw) or hydrocarbon saturated (1-Sw) depending on the type of fluid it contains. Many sub-surface data are obtained from drill coring and cuttings, but the method is highly expensive and has many limitations. Well logging provides a cheaper, quicker method of obtaining accurate sub-surface petrophysical data. AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The aim of this study is to analysis the petrophysical parameters to qualify and quantify reservoirs in order to assess the production potential of main limestone reservoir in Bai-Hassan oil field. The objectives includes:  Interpretation of porosity logs and porosity data.  Identification the reservoir and non-reservoir rocks using gamma ray log.  Analysis and interpretation of reservoir fluids.  Identification of productive zones.  Determination the depth and thickness of productive zones.  Knowing the lithology through the identification of sand units from main limestone reservoir top sand to the last hydrocarbon-bearing sand. International Journal of Enhanced Research in Science, Technology & Engineering ISSN: 2319-7463, Vol. 5 Issue 12, December-2016 Page  | 116 LOCATION OF STUDY AREA The "Bai-Hassan" oil field is locates near Kirkuk in North Iraq. The Iraqi Oil Company (IPC) and having come on production in 1960 have discovered the field in 1953. The structure of the field is about 40km long and about 3.5 km wide and consists of a longitudinal, sinusoidal, asymmetrical anticline. The southern limb of the structure is steeper (37°-65°) than the northeastern limb (22°-35°). Figure (1) below. Figure 1: Location map of the Bai-Hassn field. The structure of Bai-Hassan consists of two main domes of Kithka at the southern east and Daoud at the western north. The two domes are separated by Shahal saddle, which its base is about 90m deeper than Daoud dome's crest. The crest of Kithka Dome is 335m higher than Daoud dome's crest. This study focus on the three units which are Unit (A), Unit (A') and Unit (B) from Tertiary period reservoir sequences (Main Limestone) which comprise many economically important units particularly reservoir pay zone as shown in table (1). Table 1: Tops and thickness of main limestone reservoir units under study. Tops (m) / thickness (m) Reservoir Units Well No.3 Well No.2 Well No.1 1560 / 1


It is especially significant for improving classification accuracy to make use of effective multiple features of remote sensing data and a suitable classification method. According to the feature knowledge, a method combined supervised classification with knowledge classification is presented to extract the forest information in Zayu County in this paper. In order to eliminate the influence of the shadow, the texture feature is used to obtain it, which is received from the image fused the panchromatic band with multispectral band from ETM+ image. And then, the gray values below the shadow are resumed by means of histogram matching. On the process of information extraction, the optimal band combination which is generated by difference or ratio approaches based on spectral feature, GIS data which includes DEM, slope and aspect, and the habitat difference of species are considered as classification knowledge to establish the corresponding expert rule of each object. Appling this, the total accuracy of classification and the kappa coefficient reach 84.22%, 81.83% respectively. KeywordsGIS; ETM+ image feature; information extraction; supervised classification; knowledge-based classification; accuracy assessment


For the damage mode recognition in the fatigue coupon test of T800 carbon fiber/bismaleimide, the acoustic emission is employed. However, the latter application is hindered by noises produced by various environmental factors, which may suppress damage-induced ones. In this study, external noises are effectively reduced by the absorbing adhesive. For damage mode recognition, an integrated strategy is proposed, which features a combination of a characteristic signal extraction and damage mechanism analysis via piezoelectric and fiber Bragg grating sensors. The final verification shows that the different damage modes of the composite specimen can be clearly distinguished based on this method.


A method of routing in a network includes dividing a time corresponding to a predetermined maximum registration age of a first node registered with a second node into a number of first time intervals and second time intervals. The first time intervals each have a predetermined duration and the second time intervals each have a duration greater than the predetermined duration of the first time intervals. Each of the first and second time intervals are assigned a metric designating a cost associated with a path between the first node and the second node. The metric increases in value for each of the first and second time intervals as registration age increases. The second node sends a message including the metric associated with the time interval during which it is transmitted.


According to the AISC Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings (AISC341‐16) and EC8, the inelastic rotation demand at the design story drift is limited to 0.08 rad for I‐shape shear links in eccentrically braced frames (EBFs). Numerical studies on EBF archetypes show that the single‐sided inelastic rotation demands can be much higher than the limiting value. In addition, these links can fail due to low‐cycle fatigue (LCF) which depends on the loading history. A mid‐spliced end‐plated detachable replaceable link has recently been developed to promote easy replacement of end‐plated links. In this paper, a frictional mid‐spliced shear link is developed to increase the inelastic link rotation capacity and LCF life of shear links. The proposed link utilizes a splice connection at the mid‐length, where frictional faying surfaces are introduced to dissipate energy. Slip at the mid‐splice connection causes a relative vertical displacement between the link ends which eventually reduces the rotation demands on the I‐shape members. Experimental and numerical studies were conducted to study the proposed link concept. Three conventional and eight frictional mid‐spliced links were tested using a nearly full‐scale test setup. The results showed that the proposed links have a pinched link shear versus link rotation response. The links were able to sustain a link rotation demand of 0.23 rad together with a significant increase in their LCF life. Numerical studies were conducted to investigate the link rotation, interstory drift, and residual interstory drift of EBF archetypes equipped with the proposed frictional link.


10. Endress C, Gary DGK, Wollschlaeger G. Bowel ischemia and perforation after cocaine use. AJR Am J Roentgenol 1992; 159:73-75 11. Hazanas FH, Torres CP, Delgado Fl. Multiorgan failure and intestinal ischemia after cocaine intoxication (Letter). Intensive Care Med 1993; 19:239-240 12. Hon DC, Salloum LI, Hardy HW Im, Barone JE. Crack-induced enteric ischemia. N J Med 1990; 87:1001-1002 13. Garfia A, Valverde JL, Borondo JC, Candenas I, Lucena J. Vascular lesions in intestinal ischemia induced by cocaine-alcohol abuse: report of a fatal case due to overdose. J Forensic Sci 1990; 35:740-745


A sensitive extraction-spectrophotometrie method for determination of cobalt(II) with Eriochrome Black T is described, which involves the preliminary separation of cobalt from aqueous solution by the benzene extraction of methyltrioctylammonium tetrathiocyanatocobaltate(II). The quantitative formation of ion pair between cobalt–Eriochrome Black T complex anion and the quaternary ammonium cation is attained by shaking the resulting extract with aqueous Eriochrome Black T solution of pH 5.5–8.2. Beer's law holds for 0.57–4.0 μg cobalt in 5 ml of the extract with the molar absorption coefficient of e587=6.62×104 cm−1 mol−1l (Sandell sensitivity 8.90×10−4 μg cm−2). The composition of the extracted ion pair is estimated to be cobalt: Eriochrome Black T:methlytrioctylammonium ion=1:2:3.


The wireless local loop (WLL) network is designed using TelAIR RF engineering tool developed by LGIC. Since the WLL is a fixed radio communication system, a narrow beam antenna can be employed at both the base station and subscriber's side. This gives the WLL many advantages over a CDMA mobile system, such as a larger coverage area, low power, reduced interference, higher capacity, no fast fading, no hand-off, etc. In order to design the WLL CDMA system, several parameters such as path loss, E/sub c//I/sub t/, handoff status and WLL system parameters are considered. In order to optimize the base station location and predict the service coverage, a precise propagation model is needed. A measurement-based model that is applicable to each environment is suggested. Also, the E/sub c//I/sub t/ and hand off status is analyzed for implementing an effective WLL network.


The invention discloses a speed reducer for stir driving. The speed reducer comprises a gear box (1) and a driving motor (2) positioned on the gear box (1), wherein a motor shaft hole (3), a variable stage shaft hole (4), a third shaft hole (5) and an output shaft hole (6) are formed in the gear box (1); the distance between the axial center line of the motor shaft hole (3) and the axial center line of the third shaft hole (5) is equal to the distance between the axial center line of the variable stage shaft hole (4) and the axial center line of the third shaft hole (5), so that transmission of the driving motor (2) to an output shaft (12) in the output shaft hole (6) is in two stages or three stages. The two-stage speed reduction or three-stage speed reduction of the speed reducer is conveniently converted, a clamping spring fixing bearing is adopted, the speed reducer can be directly connected with a stirring shaft for bearing an axial stirring load and a radial stirring load, and zero leakage of lubricating oil is realized by virtue of the design of a static oil isolating cylinder; moreover, by virtue of the standardization design of all parts, the production cost is reduced.


Objective: To compare the efficacy of needle aspiration versus incision and drainage (I & D) in management of peritonsillar abscess (PTA) in terms of recovery period and recurrence rate.
Study Design: Randomized controlled trial.
Place and Duration of Study: Otolaryngology departments, Combined Military Hospitals, Rawalpindi and Multan, from January 2011 to January 2013.
Material and Methods: Using World Health Organization sample size calculator, a calculated sample of 60 subjects was divided into two equal groups. One group underwent needle aspiration and the other group underwent I & D for PTA. The groups were compared for recovery period and recurrence using independent samples t-test and Fisher's Exact test respectively calculated through SPSS version 20. A p-value


Teaching approaches and techniques shape classroom practices and ultimately contribute to students' learning and achievement. While abundant research exists on how such practices impact student learning in EFL classes around the world, this research still remains scarce in Kosovo. Therefore, the current research addresses this existing gap by exploring the link between teacher classroom practices and student learning. Participants of this study included 10th and 11th grade students across six municipalities in Kosovo (N=237). The respondents were asked to complete a questionnaire inquiring about practices adopted by teachers to teach EFL. The results reveal disparate teaching practices adopted by teachers to teach the material. To that end, female students report enhances participatory and collaborative approaches used by teachers and in the meantime an overall higher perception of the chances given by teachers to express opinions and ideas in class, compared to male students. Similarly, 10th grade students reported higher opportunities provided by the teacher in class to express opinions as well as collaborate with other students to complete tasks. Finally, significant positive correlations are evident between certain collaborative and participatory approaches utilized by teachers in class as well as students' motivation. Evidently, students enjoy problem solving tasks and are much more active in cases when they collaborate with other students. In conclusion, this study sheds light on how students perceive teacher techniques and teaching methods used in EFL classes.


x CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale 2 Problem Statement 4 Significance of Study 4 Objectives 6 Definition of Terms 9 CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF LITERATURE 11 The Historical Development of Distance education 11 The Characteristics of Online Learning 12 Theoretical Background 14 CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 24 Population and Samples 24 Ethical Considerations and Study Approval 24 Instrumentation 24 Pilot Testing of Study Instrument 26 Data Collection 28 Procedures to Address Non-Response Error 29 Data Analysis 30 CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS 36 Objective One 36 Objective Two 41 Objective Three 46 Objective Four 49 Objective Five 51 Objective Six 54 Objective Seven 56 Objective Eight 59 Objective Nine 62 CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 65 Purpose of the Study 65 Summary of Major Findings by Objective 67 Conclusions 70 Recommendations 72 REFERENCES 75