The main objective of this study is to improve the oxidative stability of trimethylolpropane ester (TMP ester) by modifying the unsaturated fatty acids structure of TMP ester through an in-situ epoxidation reaction. The in-situ epoxidation reaction of TMP ester was conducted to produce epoxidized trimethylolpropane ester (epoxidized TMP ester). The synthesis takes place by the reaction of a carboxylic acid (acetic acid: CH3COOH) as the oxygen carrier with concentrated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the primary source of oxygen to produce a percarboxylic acid (peracetic acid) as an epoxidizing agent. A small amount of sulfuric acid catalyst was used to speed up the reaction to form peracetic acid. The effects of CH3COOH concentration, H2O2 concentration, temperature, reaction time and the catalyst were investigated to obtain the optimum yield of oxirane ring at 3.92%. The highest percentage of oxirane oxygen was obtained when the epoxidation was carried out using molar ratio of CH3COOH/ H2O2 at 1 : 5.5 mol, 50 oC oftemperature, 2 h reaction time, and 2% (w/w) of catalyst. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra showed the formation of epoxy group at the wave number of 824 cm-1. A central composite design (CCD) technique was used to determine the optimum conditions for the epoxidation of palm oil-based TMP ester. Four independent variables were applied (concentration of CH3COOH, concentration of H2O2, temperature, and reaction time) to correlate with three responses (percentage of oxirane oxygen, iodine value, and hydroxyl value). The optimum values of percentage of oxirane oxygen, iodine value, and hydroxyl value were 4.01, 1.94, and 0.43%, respectively under the following operation conditions; 0.59 mol of CH3COOH concentration, 7.5 mol of H2O2 concentration, temperature at 50 oC and reaction time of 7 h. The kinetics of epoxidation of palm oil-based TMP esters was studied based on the assumptions of pseudo first order and second order mechanisms. The kinetic study was conducted to cover two regions of temperatures namely low temperatures region (30, 50, and 60 oC) and high temperature region (70, 80, and 90 oC). The rate constants for pseudo first order rate model for low and high temperatures in the range of 30-60 oC and 70-90 oC were 9 x 10-4 – 5.5 x 10-3 and 1.29 x 10-2 - 2.09 x 10-2 h-1, respectively. The rate constants for second order rate model for low and high temperature regions were 1.3 x 10-3 - 1.55 x 10-2 and 0.03 - 8.37 x 10-2 l mol-1h-1, respectively. The activation energies for second order model were 69.4 and 53.3 kJ mol-1 for low temperature and high temperature region respectively. The activation energies value indicated that the reaction easy to take place at high temperature. The kinetics of oxidative degradation for epoxidized TMP ester, TMP ester, and commercial oil (cooking oil) was also investigated. This was carried out using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to analyze the rate of oxidation where is the data was obtained at a heating rate of 5 oC/min. The result showed that the onset temperature for oxidation for both of TMP ester and cooking oil was at 170 oC while for epoxidized TMP ester, it was slightly higher at a temperature of 187 oC. The activation energy for oxidation was calculated using Ozawa Flynn Wall method where is the values for epoxidized TMP ester, TMP ester, and cooking oil were 112.89, 78.28, and 75.45 kJ/mol, respectively. These results showed that the oxidative stability of TMP esters has been improved significantly by epoxidation of TMP esters. The lubrication properties of epoxidized TMP ester also indicated good potential as a base stock for lubricant formulation due to the marked improvement in lubricating characteristic compared to TMP ester. Although the pour point increased slightly but other lubrication properties are better than the properties of most vegetable oil-based commercial base oils.


Iris recognition system has achieved good performance, but it is affected by the quality of input data. In this paper, we propose a multi-unit iris recognition system, which can select the good quality data between multi-unit eye images of the same person. The system is composed of four stages. First, both iris data are captured at the same time. After that the eye image check algorithm rejects noisy and counterfeit data. At the third stage, features are extracted by Daubechies' wavelet. Finally, features are classified by support vector machines (SVM) and Euclidian distance. We select the better accuracy rate between results of two methods. Experiment results involve 1694 eye images of 111 different people and the best accuracy rate is 99.1%.


To investigate the mechanism of"Liver Regulating and Turbidity Removing Decoction"in the treatment of atherosclerosis,the aortic smooth muscle cells(SMC)of rats are cultured in vitro medium of high lipid serum or Chinese medicines.Results showed that the"Decoction"could obviously inhibit the proliferation of SMC and reduce the positive rate of proliferating cell nucleus antigen(PCNA), P 0 01.


This paper analyses foreign learners' errors of fixed structures of Chinese bei-sentences.We found:(1)The main error of BEI…GEI… is using GEI in written Chinese and NP1+BEI(NP2)VPNP3.(2)The main errors of BEI…SUO… include adding the complement or object of VP and using this structure when unnecessary.(3)The main errors of BEI…BA… include using BA before the words indicating tools,misorder of BA and BEI,misusing NP1 which has no relation to the object of BA and misusing VP which is only suitable in BA structure.


Background: Cancer related fatigue, depression and functional dependence are among a confusing array of symptoms which commonly presented in the patients undergoing cancer treatment. These symptoms especially fatigue still largely ignored in older adults, hence, identifying these symptoms and analyzing the correlation which can be exist may have a special concern and are considering important cues for effective management of these symptoms. Aim: Determine the relation of cancer related fatigue with depression and functional status among elderly patients undergoing radiotherapy. Method: This is a descriptive correlational study designcarried on 120 elderly cancer patients that were attending the outpatient clinic of the Oncology and Nuclear medicine departmentat Main Mansoura University Hospital and were undergoing radiotherapy, patients were interviewed individually by the researcher to collect data using the study tools; Tool I : Interview questionnaire sheet, Tool II: Revised Piper Fatigue Scale, Tool III: Geriatric Depression Scale –short form, Tool IV:Katz and Akpom scale, and Tool V: Lawton and Brody scale. Results: Fatigue was positively correlated with depression and Katz scale for activity of daily livings; the higher fatigue was associated with higher depression and lower independency level. Also, there was a positive moderate correlation between depression and functional dependence in anactivity of daily livings. Conclusion: Fatigue, depression, and functional dependence are commonly and correlated symptoms in elderly cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Recommendations: Counseling sessions and educational program should be offered to elderly patients to be aware of the core information about fatigue, additionally, supportive care interventions and treatment of the associated symptoms (depression) should be a part of a comprehensive management strategy of cancer related fatigue.


Abstract A vibrating cord, fixed at one end and excited by a force of white noise at the free end, has a stochastic aplitude which is estimated for large times.


The preparation of a new tridentate diphosphinosulfinyl ligand is described as well as the synthesis and properties of some of its Rh, Ir, Ni, Pd, and Pt complexes. The ligand binds in a κ^3-PS(O)P fashion in all cases. The M–S lengths in (SOP_2)RhCl and (SOP_2)IrCl (2.1340(8) and 2.1341(5) A, respectively) are the shortest of all crystallographically characterized Rh– and Ir–S(O)R_2 complexes, which illustrates the significant M–S(O) π-backbonding for these metals. Akin to Vaska's complex, (SOP_2)IrCl binds O_2 to yield a peroxide complex with an O–O length of 1.465(3) A and ^ν(O–O) = 847 cm^(–1). The C–O stretches of (SOP_2)M(CO) (M = Ni, Pd, Pt) are ~30-40 cm^(–1) higher than those of the analogous (PPh_3)_3M(CO). A number of divalent group 10 complexes of the form [(SOP_2)MX]^+ for Ni (X = Cl), Pd (X = Cl, Me), and Pt (X = Cl, Me) are reported, as well as the highly electrophilic complex [(SOP_2)Pd(NCCH_3)]^(2+). An analysis of the S–O length as a function of the M–S length for all d^8 SOP_2 Rh, Ir, Pd, and Pt complexes reveals that the electron-withdrawing capabilities of the sulfinyl group are mediated largely through π-backbonding for Rh and Ir and mostly through poor σ-donation for Pd and Pt.


This study assessed the in vitro oocyte nuclear maturation in adult and young domestic cats. Fifteen ovaries were used; 10 from adult females and 5 from young females. The oocytes collected by aspiration were quantified and classified. The oocytes classified as excellent and/or regular were grouped (10 oocyte /drop) in culture medium covered with mineral oil in disposable Petri dishes. The oocyte were incubated at 38°C and 5% de CO2 for 48 hours and then washed with 0,4% hyaluronidase, fixed in methanol/acetic acid and stained with acetic orcein. Evaluation of chromosomal configuration of oocytes matured in vitro showed 44,68% of oocyte in metaphase II in the adult female group and 25,32% in the young donor group, showing that puberty influences oocyte capacity for in vitro development.


HAp films with good adhesive property were formed by a simple sur face treatment utilizing an enzyme reaction of urea with urease. The resulting coating layer consisted of carbonate-containing HAp with poor crystallinity. The in vitro evaluation using osteoblastic cells showed that HAp-coated Ti substrate had a good cellular response, such a s cell proliferation and differentiation into osteoblast. From the results of in vivo evaluation using rabbit models, the HAp-coated Ti substrate directly bonded to bones to form large amount of new bone around implant. It has been found from both the in vitro and in vivo evaluations that the present HAp-coated Ti substrate has excellent biocompatibility.


Mass‐scattering cross sections of biological specimens as determined by several authors are compared with the values calculated for carbon from the scattering theories of Lenz, Burge and Smith, and of Sarkar. It is found that the electron scattering theory of Sarkar for carbon gives a better representation of scattering by biological specimens.


Vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) is a multifunctional cytokine involved in tumor formation. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), it is known that the malignant cells secrete VEGF and possess VEGF receptors. This suggests that an autocrine loop might be important in the pathogenesis of CLL. Here we showthat,inpatientswithlymphadenopa-thy, autocrine VEGF and (cid:1) 4 (cid:2) 1 integrin are involved in the chemokine-dependent motility of CLLcells on and through endothelium—processes important for the invasion of lymphoreticular tissues, a major determinant of disease outcome. In contrast, normal lymphocytes were not dependent on autocrine VEGF or (cid:1) 4 (cid:2) 1 for either type of cell movement. Moreover, in contrast to normal B lymphocytes, CLL cells failed to cluster and activate (cid:1) L (cid:2) 2 in response to chemokines, unless VEGF receptor(s) and (cid:1) 4 (cid:2) 1 were also engaged by their respective ligands. This is the first demonstration that autocrine VEGF is involved in CLL-cell motility, and that the (cid:1) L (cid:2) 2 onthemalignantcellsisfunction-ally altered compared with that of normal B cells in not undergoing activation in response to chemokine alone. Given the importance of cell motility for tissue invasion, the present results provide a ratio-nale for a trial of VEGF and (cid:1) 4 blockade


Abstract A discrete choice experiment, aiming to elicit public preferences for improvements in solid waste services, is carefully administered across socioeconomic zones in the city of Hawassa, Ethiopia. Observed and unobserved preference heterogeneity are analyzed using mixed logit choice models. The results show that there exists substantial willingness to pay to increase collection frequency and separate recyclable waste. A new issue is the focus on child labor in the waste management sector. Significant gender effects are found: women are more interested than men in increasing waste collection frequency and value the abolishment of child labor more highly, as do higher income households. As expected, respondents living in wealthier neighborhoods are more likely to pay higher service charges. Education indirectly influences preferences for waste separation. The study provides important insight into the social benefits of public investment decisions to improve the quality of solid waste management services in large cities in Ethiopia.


The present work investigates the effect of alumina addition on the thermal resistance of fly ash geopolymers. Fly ash geopolymers were synthesised by mixing fly ash with activator solution (A mixture of 12M sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate) at fly ash/activator ratio of 2.5 and sodium silicate/sodium hydroxide ratio of 2.5. The alumina (0, 2 and 4 wt %) was added as an additive. The geopolymers were cured at room temperature for 24 hours and 60°C for another 24 hours. After 28 days, the geopolymers was heated to elevated temperature (200 - 1000°C). For unexposed geopolymers, the addition of 2 wt % of alumina increased the compressive strength of fly ash geopolymers while the strength decreased when the content increased to 4 wt.%. The temperature-exposed geopolymers showed enhancement of strength at 200°C regardless of the alumina content. The strength reduced at higher temperature exposure (> 200°C). Despite the strength degradation at elevated temperature, the strength attained was relatively high in the range of 13 - 45 MPa up to 1000°C which adequately for application as structural materials.


AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of cough and urinary incontinence on quality of life in women and men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary health care.

BACKGROUND
Existing information on the impact of cough and urinary incontinence on quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is scant.

DESIGN
A questionnaire survey.

METHOD
The study included 391 women and 337 men, aged 50-75 years, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A self-administered questionnaire consisted of CCQ and SF-12 questionnaires. A response rate of 66% was obtained. Most patients had been diagnosed with moderate (Stage II) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RESULTS
Women and men with urinary incontinence showed a significantly higher presence of symptomatic cough and phlegm production than did women and men without incontinence. Women with incontinence had a significantly higher burden of CCQ symptoms, functional and mental state than did women without incontinence. Concerning quality-of-life scores, women with incontinence had lower physical state scores (37·6 ± 10·4 vs. 41·4 ± 9·9; p < 0·001) and mental state scores (44·3 ± 10·2 vs. 47·1 ± 10·5; p < 0·007) than did women without incontinence. Men with incontinence had a significantly higher burden of CCQ symptoms and mental state than did men without incontinence. When examining the quality-of-life scores, men with incontinence had lower mental state scores than did men without incontinence (46·0 ± 9·7 vs. 49·8 ± 9·7; p < 0·001).

CONCLUSION
The present results indicate that cough and urinary incontinence lead to poor quality of life in women and men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
In the context of primary health care, appropriate questions concerning urinary incontinence and quality of life should be included in care plans for women and men living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.


A brief review of Laminar Flow Control (LFC) techniques are given and a strategy for achieving laminarization for transonic transports is discussed. A review of some flight test results on swept-wing transition are presented. It is shown that polished leading edges can create large regions of laminar flow because the flight environment is relatively turbulence free and the surface finish reduces the initial amplitude of the stationary crossflow vortex.


PURPOSE: A lubricant supply device for a robot arm is provided to prevent the interference, abrasion, and loosening of a hose line and ensure smooth supply of lubricant because of the minimized length of the hose line. CONSTITUTION: A lubricant supply device for a robot arm comprises a lubricant pump(120), a supply pipe(130), and horizontal and vertical rotating connectors(140,150). The lubricant pump supplies lubricant to a joint(112) of a robot arm. The supply tube, through which the lubricant supplied by the lubricant pump is moved, comprises a metal pipe(132) which is arranged in a robot arm body(114) and a flexible hose(134) which is arranged on the joint of the robot arm. The horizontal and vertical rotating connectors are connected to the supply pipe and installed in joints which rotate in the horizontal and vertical directions of the robot arm.


An unusual case of acute renal failure due to infiltration of the kidneys by non-Hodgkin lymphoma is described. The diagnosis was made by renal biopsy. Extensive clinical, laboratory, and radiological examination revealed that the kidneys were the only localization of the lymphoma.


Imaging plays a vital role in the diagnosis, therapeutics-surgical or radiotherapy and prognostication of malignancies of the head and neck region. Imaging may range from simple plain radiography of the neck and the sinuses depicting mouse nibbled features of bone erosion and encroachment of air shadows, to functional imaging that analyses the metabolic status of the cancerous bed. Contrast enhancement further can delineate the vascularity of the lesion. Different imaging modalities are employed to study the various sites and sub-sites of the face and the neck to pick up the extent of infiltration into the tissues in their vicinity.


The structure of the material responsible for the room temperature and near ambient pressure superconductivity reported in an N-doped lutetium hydride [Nature, 615, 244 (2023)] has not been conclusively determined. Herein, density functional theory calculations are performed in an attempt to uncover what it might be. Guided by a range of strategies including crystal structure prediction and modifications of existing structure types, we present an array of Lu-N-H phases that are dynamically stable at experimentally relevant pressures. Although none of the structures found are thermodynamically stable, and none are expected to remain superconducting above 17 K at 10 kbar, a number of metallic compounds with fcc Lu lattices -- as suggested by the experimental X-ray diffraction measurements of the majority phase -- are identified. The system whose calculated equation of states matches best with that measured for the majority phase is fluorite-type LuH2, whose 10 kbar superconducting critical temperature was estimated to be 0.09 K using the Allen-Dynes modified McMillan equation.


After the death of Graduate Pedro de Campos, deputy mayor of the island of La Palma, in January 1640, Justice makes inventory of property, among which were the books of his own use. The set consisted of 77 titles, most of them relating to issues of jurisprudence and law, which reveals a library specializing in law, hence, a collection of practical utility. One of the hallmarks of the inventory is the mention of the place and date of publication of most books, which lets us know his real age, dating, in many cases, the mid-sixteenth century.


The process of monitoring mental health has relied on methods, such as invasive sensing and self-reporting. The use of these methods has been limited because of the invasiveness of sensing devices or the subjective nature of patients' responses. Recent research focuses on the contactless sensing methods used to objectively monitor mental health issues. These methods allow continuous collection of real-time data in a nondisruptive manner. Machine learning methods are then applied to the sensed data to predict information, such as physical activity, gestures, and heart rate. This information can be then used to assess mental health issues, such as depression, stress, and anxiety, among others. This article presents a comprehensive review of contactless sensing methods for mental health monitoring. It investigates the published research that focuses on contactless sensing methods to predict mental health condition. Moreover, this review categorizes the applications of contactless sensing methods into detection, recognition, and monitoring of vital signs. Furthermore, a comparison of recent studies on contactless sensing methods is presented, which shows the effectiveness and reliability of these methods. This study also highlights the existing challenges in contactless sensing methods and provides future research directions to mitigate these challenges.


Population Administration is a very important role in development, where the system of Population Administration can be known about the population data and information in accordance with the state of the population and about the condition of the area of residence of the population. Provisions governing the Village Administration are regulated in the Minister of Home Affairs Regulation No. 47 of 2016 on Village Administration of Village Heads authorized to organize Village Administration. The village head implements village administration assisted by village officials. Village Administration is implemented in the framework of: Governance, Development Implementation, Community Development, and Community Empowerment.The research method used in this research is qualitative research, with the focus of research: (1) The Role of Village Government in Population Data Collection In Bandur Picak Village Koto Kampar Hulu Sub-District (2) Factors Influencing Implementation of Role of Bandur Picak Village Government in Population Data Collection in Bandur Picak Village.The result of the research is that the implementation of the role of village government as the administrative organizer of the village has not been maximally can be seen from the implementation of the role of village government, in data collection and handling of moving documents, there are still many immigrants who have no identity including the letter moved from their place of origin. While the sanctions provided by the village government are not in accordance with the rules contained in the village regulations. So the rules made by the village government from 2014-2016 do not work.


Decided in the middle of 2011, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes has inspired nearly uniform condemnation from scholars. The decision has been decried as the death knell of employment class actions, a retrogressive outcome that imperils civil rights. But whether the case was rightly decided depends on the rule's text, purpose, and history rather than policy preferences. That is to say, courts should decide outcomes based on what the rules are rather than what they should be. This essay examines the 1966 amendments that gave birth to the modern class action. By examining the events leading up to the rule's amendment in 1966 and contemporary commentary, I will show that, as amended and modernized in 1966, Rule 23 was never meant to be a cure-all in situations where a number of prospective plaintiffs might identify the same defendant. Rather, it was designed as a joinder device guaranteeing preclusive effects on rulings that had previously bound only named parties. The Committee intended the device to be used only in limited situations — a use that bears no resemblance to that seen today. Thus, typical criticisms of Wal-Mart have force only in a normative sense — perhaps the rule should be amended to account for its limitations. Critics' charges that the Supreme Court stripped the rule of its potential reach are not well taken.The essay takes an atypical structure. After a brief history of class actions, it explores the 1966 amendments through five miniature biographies of key Rule 23 framers. With the groundwork thus laid, I then address Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes specifically, demonstrating why its holding was appropriate in every respect.


Type of funding sources: Public hospital(s). Main funding source(s): CHUV

 Marfan Syndrome (MFS) is an autosomal dominant inherited connective tissue disorder affecting the cardio-vascular system. Aortic dissections and ruptures are the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in these patients. MFS is a genetic disorder due to mutations in the Fibrillin1 gene or in genes coding for the proteins of the TGF-beta signaling pathway. No treatment really cures Marfan patients.
 Interestingly, in humans, mutations in the gene coding for the C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) or its receptors lead to a "Marfan-like syndrome". CNP is a local regulator of skeletal growth and of vascular homeostasis, remodeling and angiogenesis. CNP binds to two receptors, NPR-B and NPR-C, expressed on endothelial and smooth muscle cells (SMCs). CNP is constitutively released by endothelial cells, whereas TGF-beta stimulates its secretion by SMCs.
 The aim of this project is to determine whether altered CNP signaling pathway contributes to the development and progression of the vascular dysfunctions in MFS.

 Plasma and vessel biopsies were taken from Marfan patients (RAVAD registery, CHUV Lausanne) and from Fbn1C1041G/+ mice, a mouse model which recapitulates several of the human phenotypes, including aortic wall degeneration and aneurysm development. CNP and TGF-beta concentrations were measured in the plasma. CNP, NPR-B and NPR-C protein levels were evaluated by Western blot analysis in aortic tissue during the development of MFS. In parallel, human and mouse SMCs were isolated and cultured in vitro with different CNP concentrations.

 CNP plasma concentration was decreased in Marfan patients compared to age and sex-matched non-Marfan patients (18 pmol/l versus 310; p=0.07). Two fold less CNP protein level was detected in the abdominal aorta of a Marfan patient.
 In 6-7 week-old male Fbn1C1041G/+ mice, CNP protein levels were 1.5 and 2.5-fold increased in the ascending and descending aorta, respectively. NPR-B and NPR-C protein levels remained unchanged. In 24 week-old Marfan male mice, CNP protein level was normalized. In female mice, we detected no alterations of the CNP protein level but the NPR-B and NPR-C protein levels were decreased in the descending aorta 6 and 24 weeks after birth, respectively.  In vitro, CNP simulates both human and mouse SMC proliferation in a dose-dependent manner (+ 40% for human SMCs stimulated with 0.02 nM CNP).

 Our results suggest that the early step of the syndrome is associated with high level of CNP (detected in 6 week-old male mice), whereas the late advanced stage of the disease is associated with decreased CNP protein level (detected in Marfan patients). These results could open the door to new therapies for Marfan patients.


Spectrum sensing is a key technology in the field of cognitive radio.Two main measures of spectrum sensing transmitter detecting part are analyzed:energy detection and static cycle stationary detection,as well as their theory basis and implementation mechanism.Then those two measures are combined as an organic whole to appy in emission signal detections of different modulation formats.Subsequently,The relevant parameters(energy detection double threshold,static cyclic spectrum detection threshold) are explored according to validity and reliability index(false alarm probability,redetect probability and detection probability).Finally,the detecting effect consideration to both reliability and validity in different modulation formats can be achieved by simulating and analyzing the changing trend of detection probability associated with SNR at the receiving end.


Serving learners from kindergarten through age 21, this field-tested curriculum is a must for professionals and parents devoted to directly preparing a student to function in the world. It examines the role of community living domains, functional academics, and embedded skills, and includes practical implementation strategies and indispensable information for preparing students whose learning needs go beyond the scope of traditional academic programs.


By using aeroponics culture system,this paper studied the effects of root zone hypoxia(10% and 5% O2) stress on the root nitrogen metabolism of Cucumis melo during its fruit development period.During the 30 days experiment,the root NO3--N and NH4+-N contents and nitrate reductase(NR) and glutamine synthetase(GS) activities of C.melo in treatments 10% and 5% O2 decreased after an initial increase,as compared with the control(21% O2).At the 20 days of hypoxia treatments,the above-mentioned indicators were significantly higher than those of the control,while it they were adverse at the 30 days of hypoxia stress treatments.Moreover,the magnitude of the change was greater in treatment 5% O2 than in treatment 10% O2.The root glutamate dehydrogenase(GDH) activity at the 10 days of hypoxia stress treatments was significantly lower than that of the control,while the difference was not significant at the 20 days of hypoxia stress treatments.No significant difference was observed in the root glutamic acid oxaloacetate transaminase(GOT) activity among the hypoxia stress treatments at the 20 days,but the GOT activity was significantly lower than that of the control at the 30 days.The root glutamic acid-pyruvic acid transaminase(GPT) activity in treatment 5% O2 at the 30 days and in 10% O2 treatment at the 20 days was significantly lower than that of the control.During the 30 days experiment,the root soluble protein content and the total amino acid content and most amino acids in xylem sap decreased with the decrease of rhizosphere O2 concentration.It was concluded that when the rhizosphere O2 concentration during the fruit development period of muskmelon fall to 10%,the root nitrogen uptake and assimilation,amino acid synthesis,and nitrogen translocation of the muskmelon were inhibited.


The Eurasian Badger (Meles meles) density was determined over
 a 58 square kilometers area located in a rural environment in Massif Central (Puy-de-Dome, France). The
 landscape of the study area, located between 680 and 930 meters above sea level, is composed by 85 % of
 meadow (grazes and mow), 10 % of several small woods and hedges, and 5 % of villages. The area has been
 entirely prospected in detail, in order to localize every main sett (TP) and the majority of secondary setts
 (TS). The total density of badger setts is 4.5 per km2. Every main sett and 95 % of the secondary setts are
 located in wooden areas in a broad sense (grove, thicket, hedge, etc.). The density of main setts (n = 26) is
 0.45 per km2. The average number of TS is 5 by TP. Countings by direct observation, completed by the use
 of infra-red photos-videos traps, have been done between May and July 2010 on half of the main setts. It
 allowed to assess a minimum average number of 2 adults + 2.2 juveniles of the year per main sett occupied,
 that is to say a global average density of 0.9 adults + 1 juvenile of the year per km2 at the beginning of the
 summer. The density of main setts seems higher than averages concerning various landscapes in continental
 Europe, but close to those in similar landscapes. Added to the main setts, the prospection effort enabled to
 highlight a density of 0.81 main sett abandoned per km2. That figure, very high, seems to show a spatial
 instability of social groups on a several years scale. This instability can be explained by the importance
 of the anthropic pressure of disturbance, which may be voluntary or involuntary. The importance of this
 phenomenon seems rarely taken into account in studies about badger's populations. In a general context of
 increasing fragmentation of the agro-natural lands in Europe, it is likely that the higher disturbances related
 to the increasing fragmentation of its habitats might be, in a long-term scale, one of the major threats for the
 conservation of badgers


According to EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility), a special interest concerning the protection of the human body on board is given to the determination of the secondary radiation created by the plane metal structures of a navy ship, due to the reflection of electromagnetic waves emitted by the radio and radar antennas. For this purpose we propose a new method based on the calculation of the plane-parallel shield using Helmholtz propagation equation. The results of the modeling are useful to identify the adequate protection solutions for onboard personnel against the secondary radiation, but they can be used for other real situations where such conditions appear.


Weighted Petri nets are common tools for modeling and validating discrete event systems involving resource allocation, such as flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs). A subclass of weighted Petri nets called a system of sequential systems with shared resources (S4R) has the power for modeling complex FMSs where the execution of an operation may require multiple resource types and multiple units of some resource types. Deadlock resolution is a crucial issue for the operation of an FMS. A direct and efficient policy is developed in this paper for detecting deadlock markings by extracting a weighted resource flow graph (WRFG) from an S4R and recovering them by synthesizing a recovery-transition-based controller. This study contributes to the field with five folds: 1) with S4R, an efficient integrated policy is put forward for robust supervisor synthesis; 2) it enhances an algorithm for extracting the WRFG from an S4R to reveal the shared resource competitions by different processes; 3) to detect partial deadlock markings, a technique for finding weighted circular wait graphs (WCWGs) in WRFG is presented; 4) with WCWGs, an algorithm is designed for the design of recovery-transition-based controller such that the resulting controlled system becomes deadlock-free; and 5) it presents a comprehensive analysis to demonstrate the proposed method by using the Integrated Net Analyzer (INA). With the proposed policy, it is not necessary to generate a reachability graph, making the method efficient. Finally, the performance of the proposed policy is illustrated by some commonly used examples.


Abstract The paper reports on a methodology for monitoring and evaluating the progress of cutting tool wear and an optimization strategy for turning operations in which the progress of cutting tool wear is taken into account in optimizing process parameters. The methodology evaluates tool wear history' when a cutting tool is used under different process conditions (e.g. change in workplace material and range of cutting parameters) which a cutting tool is likely to encounter in small batch production operations. The optimization strategy proposed attempts to maximize material removal rate taking into account surface roughness, system stability and cutting tool failure as its technical constraints. One of the novel aspects of this work is that it enables a more complete tool failure avoidance strategy to be developed, taking into account tool wear progression under a variety of conditions. The machining strategy is aimed at optimizing batch production in turning where it is likely that the same cutting tool edge is used to process parts made of different workpiece materials and therefore the cutting tool reaches its limiting flank wear under variable sets of cutting conditions.


The concept and the basic theory of reverse engineering are introduced in this paper.The process of reverse engineering in the course of designing and developing new products are presented,and the key techniques are explained.By adopting this technique a rapid and effective method to develop new products is presented,and that guide the designing work effectively.


A large number of researches at home and abroad have indicated that patent data can play the role of quantitative analysis of measurement innovation activities excellently. This article has made quantitative analysis of patent factors in independent innovation pattern from the perspectives of patent quantity and quality based on summarizing the current measurement innovation activities of patent data applied at home and abroad and has reflected the property right factors of the independent innovation pattern by applying indexes of the patent self-citing rate and non-self-citing rate. This article has built the quantitative analysis index system of enterprise independent innovation based on patent metrology that is suitable for the actual conditions in China so as to complete the research into the independent innovation pattern factors thus providing relevant theoretical analysis model and tools for the study and selection of independent innovation pattern of China's enterprises.


The analysis and design of complex or critical facilities, such as tall buildings, nuclear power plants, offshore structures, or cable stayed bridges requires that these facilities be made safe against the effect of earthquake induced loads. With the advent of digital computers it was possible to perform large scale computations to simulate the effect of dynamic loads on structures. Currently a number of sophisticated computer programs exist that allow us to perform analysis and design of complex structures. However, none of these programs have any reasoning capability. Users of numerical packages must anticipate the behavior prior to analysis. The purpose of the analysis is usually to confirm the anticipated behavior. In this paper we describe the architecture of QSEIS, a system implemented in C and Prolog, that derives the qualitative behavior of structural systems under seismic loads from structural descriptions based on heuristic expert knowledge and qualitative reasoning capabilities.


When implementing a function mapping on the contemporary GPU, several contradictory performance factors affecting distribution of computation into GPU kernels have to be balanced. A decomposition-fusion scheme suggests to decompose the computational problem to be solved by several simple functions implemented as standalone kernels and to fuse some of these functions later into more complex kernels to improve memory locality. In this paper, a prototype of source-to-source compiler automating the fusion phase is presented and the impact of fusions generated by the compiler as well as compiler efficiency is experimentally evaluated.


Various kinds of biomaterials that have biocompatibility and biodegradability have been used for the tissue engineered organ reconstruction. Their characteristics have relationship with functional and morphological reconstruction. However, it is not clear which types of biomaterials provide the best outcomes after transplantation. For the reason, in this study, to compare synthetic biomaterial and natural biomaterial, we developed two kinds of patches to compare affects of biomaterials for cell transplantation and organ reconstruction. The one was coated with PLGA sheet and the other was coated with autologous dermal sheet. Cultured PKH26-labeled cells were seeded on the patches and then the patches were transplanted onto tracheas. After three months, we found that each biomaterial had a different tracheal reconstruction pattern: the PLGA patch was suited for airway patency(tracheal passage with stable inside diameter for air exchange) but not for epithelial layer reconstruction whereas the dermal patch was suited for epithelial layer reconstruction but not for airway patency. Consequently, while selecting biomaterials for transplantation and reconstruction, not only their biological effects on the body but also their effects on organ morphology and function should be considered.


This paper describes a methodology for evaluating propulsor mechanical flow power on a 1:11 scale, electrically powered, wind tunnel model of a boundary layer ingesting (BLI) aircraft. The use of a full aircraft aerodynamic configuration precluded direct in-situ measurements of the mechanical flow power, a key metric for BLI aircraft performance. The measured electrical power thus had to be converted to flow power through two sets of supporting experiments. The first set of experiments were flow power measurements with the propulsor in a small wind tunnel which replicates the incoming flow conditions of the powered wind tunnel test. The second set were motor calibration experiments that allowed the motor losses and aerodynamic inefficiencies to be determined separately, giving insight into the motor and the aerodynamic operating point of the propulsor. Using this combined approach, the measurements of electrical power were converted to mechanical flow power with an experimental uncertainty of less than 1%.


This article is based on a selection of images of girls and young ladies – the future women of America – that figure predominantly in visual representations in the 19th century, in painting and, in the second part of the century, in photography. As an icon of America's future, white middle-class American girls became a major subject matter and were represented in a variety of media and situations in comparison to Native American and Black girls, whose depiction is extremely rare but symbolically very telling if we consider their role in society from a white perspective. A common thread is the lack of agency in American girls throughout the century in comparison to the representations of boys; they are commonly objectified, supposedly pure and innocent, belonging to the separate sphere of domesticity. But they do not always comply with this vision inherited from the Cult of Motherhood. A form of empowerment can be found in subject matters related to education, more than in tomboy depictions. Access to education is truly paramount in the process of agency while, at this time, working at a young age in difficult conditions was far from being key to any form of independence.


We report a Nested Antiresonant Nodeless hollow-core Fiber (NANF) operating in the first antiresonant passband. The fiber has an ultrawide operational bandwidth of 700 nm, spanning the 1240–1940 nm wavelength range that includes the O-, S-, C- and L- telecoms bands. It has a minimum loss of 6.6  dB/km at 1550 nm, a loss ≤7  dB/km between 1465–1655 nm and ≤10  dB/km between 1297–1860 nm. By splicing together two structurally matched fibers and by adding single mode fiber (SMF) pigtails at both ends we have produced a ∼1 km long span. The concatenated and connectorized fiber has an insertion loss of approximately 10 dB all the way from 1300 nm to 1550 nm, and an effectively single mode behavior across the whole spectral range. To test its data transmission performance, we demonstrate 50-Gb/s OOK data transmission across the O-to L-bands without the need for optical amplification, with bit-error-rates (BERs) lower than the 7% forward error correction (FEC) limit. With the help of optical amplification, 100-Gb/s PAM4 transmission with BER lower than the KP4 FEC limit was also achieved in the O/E and C/L bands, with relatively uniform performance for all wavelengths. Our results confirm the excellent modal purity of the fabricated fiber across a broad spectral range, and highlight its potential for wideband, low nonlinearity, low latency data transmission.


According to market economy, the increasing worldwide demand for energy has continuously forces a rise on the price of fossil combustibles. In fact, the demand for energy is expected to grow faster than the finding out of new available fossil resources in the near future. The sun or solar energy had been identified as the most powerful energetic power source in our planet and it is expected that the sun will become the main electricity production source. The solar energy distribution is more depended on the position of the panel and the sun location. This project is about designing and analyzing the manual sun tracking system that can follow the sun movement. The objectives for this project are to design and analyze the single axis sun tracking system for flat plate solar collector. This project involves designing five main part of the manual sun tracking system which is frame, base, link, crank and pin. The analysis is done using SolidWorksSimulationXpress, ALGOR(FemPro) and Sam6.1. SolidWorksSimulationXpressis used to simulate and analyze the frame, base, link and crank part while ALGOR(FemPro) are used to simulate the designing part of pin. Sam6.2 is used to simulate and analyze the mechanism of the assembly design. All the designed part have safety factor more than one and are properly design and stable. However field test should be done to validate the final design and study the effect of the sun tracking system to solar collector.


The computer aided collimation gamma camera is aimed at breaking down the resolution sensitivity trade-off of the conventional parallel hole collimator. It uses larger and longer holes, having an added linear movement at the acquisition sequence. A dedicated algorithm including shift and sum, deconvolution, parabolic filtering and rotation is described. Examples of reconstruction are given. This work shows that a simple and fast algorithm, based on a diagonal dominant approximation of the problem can be derived. Its gives a practical solution to the CACAO reconstruction problem.


Specimen containers incorporating a sensor are provided with features for decreasing the volume of polymer matrix material required for the sensor. Such volume-reducing features can take the form of scallop-like indentations projecting inwards towards the interior of the container formed in the transition between the side wall of the container and the base of the container. Alternatively, the base of the container includes a raised rim extending upwards into the interior of the body inward of and spaced from the side wall. The rim defines a chamber for the sensor. Methods of manufacturing specimen containers with cured liquid phase sensor matrix materials are also disclosed.


This paper presents a panorama generation algorithm based on spherical projection model,which achieves a seamless spherical panorama stitching to a sequence of images captured by ordinary camera.With bilinear interpolation algorithm to solve the spherical projection transformation of the deformation problem,we propose a method based on matching feature points to achieve a seamless spherical panorama stitching.Experimental results show that the algorithm generates high quality spherical panoramas,which has a good robustness.


Teaching administration is the essence of school management and whether it is done properly or not immediately concerns about achievement of instructional objectives even of the educational aims.But there are many abuses on today's teaching administration.So in this article the author analyzes the present situation and put forward the principle of humanitarianism based on it and also gives some advice on how to implement this principle.


We developed a new, fast and accurate simulation tool which enables the prediction of multi-species reaction kinetics coupled to nonlinear electrophoretic transport. We present here the capabilities of the code, its validation against published experiments, and demonstrate its use in simulation and prediction of complete biosensing assays.


Context: Increasing evidence has underlined the importance of haematological parameters in the Pathophysiology of hypertension and its contribution to the associated complications. However the correlation between haematological parameters and blood pressure levels is not clearly understood. Aims: Study was done to evaluate the haematological parameters in patients with hypertension and to check their correlation, if any, between these parameters and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Settings and Design: Its observational study. Methods and Material : Hemoglobin (Hb), Packed cell volume (PCV) and Red blood cell (RBC) count were measured in thirty hypertensive and thirty normotensive subjects. Statistical analysis used: Pearson's correlation analysis was performed to study the correlation between these parameters and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Results: Hemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV) correlated negatively with systolic and diastolic blood pressure in hypertensive. No significant correlation was observed between these parameters and blood pressure levels in normotensive controls. Conclusions: Lesser hemoglobin level was observed in hypertensive subjects as denoted by decreased Hb levels and decreased PCV. secretion and tubular reabsorption of sodium, increasing total body fluid volume. [11] There are multiple factors responsible for lesser hemoglobin level in cardiovascular disease like hemodilution [12] , pro-inflammatory cytokines, malnutrition due to right-sided heart failure, iron deficiency, decreased bone marrow perfusion and drug therapy for hypertension (like angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, aspirin), decreased erythropoietin production and decreased iron supply for erythropoiesis. Several of these mechanisms act simultaneously, and the anemia is the result of a complex interaction between them. [13,14] Long standing high blood pressure affects kidney, heart and many organs leading to chronic anemia. [15,16] Sympathetic overactivity associated increase in β 2 mediated renin release results in hemodilution via aldosterone. [17] This sympatho-adrenal axis induce hemodilution is responsible for lesser Hb in hypertensives as compared to normotensives. [18] In CHF pseudo anemia is mainly because of hemodilution besides other factors. [19] The present study showing statistically significant lesser hemoglobin and PCV level in hypertensive patients confirms the results of previous studies. However whether the hemodilution is cause or the consequence of hypertension is not clear and it needs further evaluation. We further examined the possible relationship between these parameters and systemic blood pressure levels. Negative correlation was observed between Hb and PCV level and systolic and diastolic blood pressure in hypertensive subjects. These findings point to the fact that severity of lesser Hb and PCV level parallels the degree of rise in blood pressure in patients with hypertension. The correlation observed in this study assumes a great importance due to the fact that low Hb level might contributes to the complications of hypertension including heart failure. Thus it seems logical that normalization of BP may considerably check haematological parameters and reduce the


Hacettepe Üniversitesi Ev Ekonomisi Yüksek Okulu Aile ve Tüketici Bilimleri Bölümü ANKARA ABSTRACT Today, as a result of being separate from economical and social activities due to the traditional sex role as well as the long life period of women, elderly women have come across with economical, psycho-social problems more than before. In the future, elderly people especially elderly women will form the significant part of our population. For the sake of increase of their life quality and to sustain the existence of their active life, to constitute necessary social support are crucial both for the society and the family.


GaN-based LED wafers with nano-folding InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) are grown on n-GaN nanopillar array templates which are fabricated using self assembled Ni nanodots as etching mask. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the wafer show uniform light emission wavelength over the whole area of it. No blue shift of the main peak is observed in the electroluminescence (EL) spectra of the LED devices fabricated with the wafer as the injection current increases from 10 mA to 80 mA. This can be ascribed to the reduced quantum confinement Stark effect (QCSE) and the resulting less band gap tilted by strain relaxation in the nano-folded MQWs. The device shows an excellent rectifying behavior with a forward voltage of 4.6 V under 20 mA injection current.


The slaughtering of pig for celebrating the Spring Festival is the traditional custom in many ethnic regions of China. For most people, this is only for a delicious meal. But for the big and small Liangshan Yi people, it has typical religious value embodied in the ritual of offering sacrifice to the ancestors. The ritual displays the custom of ancestor worship of the Yi people.


For centuries body piercing has been part of ritualistic and cultural practices, but it is now becoming mainstream.1 A survey published in The BMJ in 2008 of 10 503 adults in England found that out of the 659 women aged 16 to 24 included in the survey, 46.2% (n=305) admitted having a piercing at a site other than their earlobe2—a category that I also fall into. Likewise, tattoos—once a marker of someone on the fringes of society—are so common that one in five people has one,3 including the UK prime minister's wife Samantha Cameron.4

Yet, while the General Medical Council encourages medical schools to select students from a diverse range of backgrounds, the medical profession maintains a conservative stance towards the display of body art. Hospitals in the United Kingdom vary in their rules on what is acceptable to display in clinical practice. East Cheshire NHS guidance, for example, strictly states …


In discrete upscaling methods, the saturation history of corefloods is often lost, while automated upscaling methods retain the saturation history of corefloods. A reservoir simulator is used to upscale imbibition relative permeability using discrete and automated methods. Both discrete and automated upscaling methods can be categorized according to a Peclet number ratio, which describes relative permeability upscaled in the capillary limit for stratified and random rock type assemblages. The upscaled results are then compared to both the rock type curves and to results from different cores to validate whether the effects of rock type volume fraction and distribution are preserved. The term random here refers to a carbonate sample relative to its stratified counterparts. In the cores with stratified geometry, a Peclet number ratio is used to ensure multiphase capillary limit flow and preserve adequate scaling. The ratio is determined from the Peclet number in adjoining rock types; a Peclet number ratio is computed from a pair of rock types (or pseudo-rock types if more than two rock types are present), since the geometric and associative relationships of rock types are ill-defined. The discrete method follows an isolated dual-rate injection, while the automated procedure is performed by sequential dual-rate injection.
 The effects of rock type volume fraction and distribution are preserved while upscaling in the capillary limit for core assemblages possessing stratified and random configurations; this is true for both discrete and automated methods. Behavior in the stratified cores at the saturation endpoints is then used to further classify the behavior of the random assemblage. The primary conclusion is that automated relative permeability upscaling in a commercial reservoir simulator is a viable alternative to discrete upscaling methods, as it is both functionally efficient and maintains a saturation distribution and profile analogous to the standard coreflooding process. Secondarily, upscaled relative permeability is rock type dependent on the distribution and volume fraction of the differing rock types in the capillary limit. An analysis of curves generated in stratified geometries and randomly assembled rock types, such as carbonates, shows discernable differences and suggests care must be taken during upscaling from pore to core to ensure rock type volume fraction and distribution effects are not lost.


A method for compressing computer-generated holograms (CGHs) using genetic algorithm optimized quantum-inspired neural network is proposed. Genetic algorithm is a global optimization algorithm, which can provide better initial weights for the quantum-inspired neural network. The global optimization ability of genetic algorithm is combined with the local optimization ability of the quantum-inspired neural network enables the network to achieve better convergence effects. Under different compression ratios, CGHs are compressed by the genetic algorithm optimized quantum-inspired neural network and the quantum-inspired neural network respectively, and Fresnel transform technology is used to reconstruct the decompressed CGHs. The experimental results show that the genetic algorithm optimized quantuminspired neural network can obtain better quality reconstructed images than the quantum-inspired neural network while using fewer learning iterations.


This paper describes the revolutionary new wind turbine GARBI 150. The 150 kW permanent magnet synchronous generator and its full power converter with control in four quadrants make it interesting in medium scale wind power applications. The generator allows direct connection to the electrical distribution grid. The torque and pitch control have been designed to maximize energy capture and minimize fatigue loading of the turbine structure. These controllers are being validated with a first wind turbine prototype. A supervision system has also been implemented.


A compact and versatile ultra-high vacuum chamber in combination with a resistively heated graphite tube atomic beam apparatus for sub-Doppler fluorescence experiments has been designed and developed. The spectral resolution achieved in the developed system is more than adequate to clearly observe all the subDoppler hyperfine features in the D2 spectrum of rubidium. The compact interaction geometry, flexibility in changing the atomic beam source and simplicity of the entire set up makes it useful for the measurement of isotope shifts and hyperfine structure with a precision of <100 kHz. The developed system is versatile enough and can be adopted to carry out high resolution atomic fluorescence experiments on radio-active isotopes after making minor modifications to ensure radiation safety. The spectral resolution and small sample size requirement would enable accurate measurements of nuclear parameters such as nuclear size, deformation, magnetic moments, quadrupole moments, spins etc. This finds applications in AVLIS and ADSS programmes.


Understanding the mechanistic controls of microbial denitrification is of central importance to both environmental microbiology and ecosystem ecology. Loss of nitrate (NO3 � ) is often attributed to carbon-driven (heterotrophic) denitrification. However, denitrification can also be coupled to sulfur (S) oxidation by chemolithoautotrophic bacteria. In the present study, we used an in situ stable isotope ( 15 NO3 � ) tracer addition in combination with molecular approaches to understand the contribution of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria to the reduction of NO3 � in a eutrophic lake. Samples were incubated across a total dissolved sulfide (H2S) gradient (2 to 95 µM) between the lower epilimnion and the upper hypolimnion. Denitrification rates were low at the top of the chemocline (4.5 m) but increased in the deeper waters (5.0 and 5.5 m), where H2S was abundant. Concomitant with increased denitrification at depths with high sulfide was the production of sul- fate (SO4 2� ), suggesting that the added NO3 � was used to oxidize H2S to SO4 2� . Alternative nitrate removal pathways, including dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), did not systematically change with depth and accounted for 1 to 15% of the overall nitrate loss. Quantitative PCR revealed that bacteria of the Sulfurimonas genus that are known denitrifiers increased in abundance in response to NO3 � addition in the treatments with higher H2S. Stoichiometric estimates suggest that H2S oxidation accounted for more than half of the denitrification at the depth with the highest sulfide concentration. The present study pro- vides evidence that microbial coupling of S and nitrogen (N) cycling is likely to be important in eutrophic freshwater ecosystems.


Background: When root canal infections are concerned, the causative factor is primarily the microbial inhabitation, which leads to the spread of infection. The literature evidence supports the aspect that frequent usage of antibiotics induces resistance and threatens the effectiveness of the treatment. So, the current issue that is faced globally is the development of resistant microbial species. To combat this interest, towards the usage of newer herbal horizons is increased. Materials and Methods: The antibacterial effect of Ethanolic Leaf Extract of Morinda Citrifolia was investigated against Enterococcus Faecalis (E. Faecalis). Agar well diffusion and broth dilution methods were used to determine the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC). Results: The MIC of Ethanolic Extract of Morinda Citrifolia extract was found to be 250 μg/ml, and the MBC


ABSTRACT This article seeks to answer two research questions: does public-private partnerships (ppp) live up to its promises to government? How do contractual arrangements affect ppp performance? We propose a conceptual framework to evaluate ppp performance by comparing actual project outcomes to government goals in initiating the partnerships, and to explore how a set of contractual arrangements affect the ppp performance on each identified goal. The framework is applied to a comparative case analysis of highway ppp experiences in the commonwealth of virginia (us) since the 1990s. The results show that these ppp cases were successful in accessing innovative finance, but their performance was mixed on reducing construction risk and transferring revenue risk. Generally improved over time with later projects, the ppp performance was affected not only by interaction among contractual arrangements –private partner selection, financial arrangements, role division, risk allocation, and project characteristics – but also by authorizing and supportive legislation in the policy domain.


Mobile robotic technology and its application in various field is currently an area of high interest. Especially, the progression of a mobile robot and communication techniques enables intelligent robots to be developed with more versatile applications. Telerobotic techniques combine robotic systems with remote control technology to enable the performance of task which is impossible or hazardous for human to perform directly. Through these ubiquitous robot controls, the paradigm of robot which performs specific tasks remotely has changed into intelligent robots to perform public and individual tasks. The purpose of the SG-Robot(Security Guard Robot) project is in-line with on-going activities towards the development of autonomous robots for security guard design at home. In security industry, ubiquitous robots have provided a variety of information to the user and achieve its duty through the Web. The mentioned project aims at the development of interactive security guard robots, which are able to be operated with a mobile phone. Last year, the interface for telepresence robot has developed over the Web or RF between robots, but these systems have the demerits of limited distance or geographical limit to be established to an internet link. In this paper, we propose the SG-Robot that can be operated and conduct surveillance of the environment around itself anytime/anywhere using wireless communication networks such as CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) Networks. This robot has the functionalities of detecting and avoiding obstacles, recognizing face, navigating using a map, capturing and compressing image at high speed, transferring image at real time to CDMA phone, and operating remotely by a mobile phone. The goal of these functionalities is to tele-operate robot using a mobile phone anytime/anywhere and to construct the systems that has the home network function, ubiquitous computing, and home security.


NOx can be formed in the incineration chamber within high-temperature oxidation of azote in the air, as a result of low-temperature oxidation of azote-containing ignitable compounds, due to the collision of hydrocarbon radicals with azote molecules in the incineration reaction zone in the presence of temperature fluctuations. To analyze the education of NOx in the topper of inland incineration CI engine, attempts have been made to apply a bimolecular mechanism. In some cases, using the indicated mechanism, a fairly good agreement was obtained between the experimental and calculated cluster of NOx. The data obtained on variations in the indexes of the massive cluster of NOx within the operation of a CI engine on methyl hydroxide are presented in this article. The readings were taken experimentally on a two-topper CI engine at various plant corners for determining ignitable shot.


There are more and more tumor data from different laboratories and different technology platforms. Data from independent laboratory is often difficult to explain and unreliable. So there comes a challenging task which is to develop robust integration algorithms to integrate microarray data from various experiments and platforms. We studied the traditional integration algorithm, and found that it was effective to use Combat to integrate the data. Combat is characterized not only in the integration of small samples, but also in the case of large samples. It is comparable with other integration algorithms and performs well on various evaluation indicators. But we find that Combat is a combination of mean and merging variance for several batches, and integrate directly without fully considering the information from sample data, which we believe will ignore a single Batch characteristics and parameters are estimated to be biased. So an improved algorithm is proposed to find the mean and variance for a single batch, and when integrating, consider the first principal component of a single batch and segment the sample using the first principal component, and then integrated. In the experimental part, we first evaluate our algorithm with the commonly used evaluation index.There are more and more tumor data from different laboratories and different technology platforms. Data from independent laboratory is often difficult to explain and unreliable. So there comes a challenging task which is to develop robust integration algorithms to integrate microarray data from various experiments and platforms. We studied the traditional integration algorithm, and found that it was effective to use Combat to integrate the data. Combat is characterized not only in the integration of small samples, but also in the case of large samples. It is comparable with other integration algorithms and performs well on various evaluation indicators. But we find that Combat is a combination of mean and merging variance for several batches, and integrate directly without fully considering the information from sample data, which we believe will ignore a single Batch characteristics and parameters are estimated to be biased. So an improved algorithm is proposed to find the mean and variance for a single b...


This paper describes an effort to utilizing prospect theory within Soar architecture to build human decision behaviors into Agents. Prospect theory provides a decision-making model of human being. By applying prospect theory in the decision phase of Soar architecture, human decision-making character is integrated into the deduction process of Soar. A example is given at the end of the paper.


A guide to basic resources for Business research. This is a short guide on how to request books and articles through interlibrary loan.


The antibiotic cotrimoxazole was associated with poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and maghemite, aiming to reach a controlled drug release system. PLGA was synthesized through the polycondensation of lactic acid and glycolic acid in an equimolar ratio, and maghemite was synthesized through the coprecipitation method. The drug cotrimoxazole was inserted in the composite through three different procedures: solution, fusion, and in situ to check the best insertion method. Several techniques were used to characterize the materials. The copolymer was characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance and size-exclusion chromatography. In addition, the maghemite, the composites containing the drug, and the polymer were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) with attenuated total reflectance device, small-angle X-ray scattering, and magnetic force, this last according to the methodology developed by our group. The root mean square error was used to compare the FTIR spectra of the samples, proving that the fusion method was the best way to insert the drug and maghemite in the polymer. Therefore, composites containing the drug and the nanoparticles were prepared by the fusion method. These composites were used for dissolution profile studies, which were monitored with and without magnetic field, aiming to understand the influence of the magnetic field on the dissolution profile. The dissolution was monitored and quantified using the ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, following the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) method for cotrimoxazole tablets. Results demonstrated that nanocomposites presented a good magnetic force, able to keep the magnetic composite trapped in a specific place or tissue. The presence of the nanoparticles in the composites changed the kinetics of the drug release, as they constitute physical barriers to the drug diffusion, contributing to a sustained drug release process. Furthermore, in the presence of a magnetic field, the magnetic nanoparticles were able to perform a magnetic constriction of the material, making the drug release faster than in the absence of the magnetic field, which may be useful to perform a fine tuning of the system, allowing the easier adjustment of the speed and amount of released drug, useful to improve medical treatments and even the welfare of the patients. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 53:2308–2317, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers


The specificity of the serologic reactions of benzene derivatives has been investigated with a rather large number of substances. Recently Berger and Erlenmeyer (1) have examined a serum got by using an azoprotein made from 3-amino pyridine and their results would seem to indicate that in this case less specific antibodies are formed than are obtained with benzene derivatives. In order to investigate further this question we have prepared antisera against two pyridine amino carboxylic acids as well as against 3-amino pyridine. The behavior of these antisera with related antigens and the inhibitory effect of related haptens on the precipitation with the homologous antigen have been studied and the results are recorded in this paper.
 Technic. Preparation of haptens and inhibitors. 3-amino-4-carboxy pyridine and 4-amino-3-carboxy pyridine. Cinchomeronic acid was prepared by the oxidation of isoquinoline using a method essentially that of Hoogewerff and van Dorp (2).


The success of the Rechtspfleger in reducing excessive workloads in the judicial system in Germany and Austria, the difficulties in the functioning of the judicial systems in Eastern Europe and the closeness of certain countries to the German legal tradition have all influenced the implementation of the institution of Rechtspfleger in Eastern Europe. The paper deals with the institution of the Rechtspfleger in German and Austrian law and the reception of the Rechtspfleger in Eastern Europe (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina). In the conclusion are given some remarks regarding the need of the Rechtspfleger in Croatia.


A practical and diastereoselective synthetic study towards the cytotoxic and antimalarial compounds aculeatin A and B is described, which started from commercially available 1-tetradecanol and proceeded through a key Evans aldol reaction.


Background: Microbes endemic to student desks can survive for long periods and infect students. The effectiveness of conventional cleaning and disinfection practices and electrostatic disinfectant spraying were examined. Methods: Six K-12 schools in Southeastern Ontario participated in the study. The viable microbial loads on 100 student desks were assessed via Replicate Organism Detection and Counting (RODAC) plates before and after cleaning and disinfection procedures. Results: The adjunctive effect of electrostatic disinfectant spraying was tested on 36 desks. Mean pretest colony-forming units (CFUs) per desk were 126.8 (SD 95.7), after conventional cleaning and disinfection mean CFUs were 73.4 (SD 93.0) (t = 4.0, P = 0.0003), and subsequent electrostatic disinfectant spraying further reduced mean CFUs to 54.2 (SD 85.0) (t = 2.6, P = 0.02). The independent effect of electrostatic disinfectant spraying without an intervening conventional cleaning step was tested on 64 desks. Mean pretest CFUs were 106.4 (SD 94.5) and after electrostatic disinfectant spraying mean CFUs decreased to 62.9 (SD 87.1) (t = 3.3, P = 0.001). Conclusions: Conventional and electrostatic disinfection methods were both effective in increasing the hygienic state of student desks. Electrostatic disinfection spraying improved hygienic state when conducted after conventional cleaning and disinfection and when used independently.


A restrospeclive study of leptospirosis cases at Cipto Mangunkusumo and Persahabalan hospilal from January 1993 to December 1996 was done to determine the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic characteristics. Fron t7l patienrs, 76,9ok were male and 43,796 were female. The average age was 36,9 years (SD + I3) and 43,7 years (SD + t3,S). The incidences were increased between ver, muscle pain, respectively. The mylase and blood SGOT/SGPT, and 56% L. bataviae), double leptospira (68% L. hardjo and bataviae), triple leptospira (50% L. icterohaemonhagica, javanica, and celledoni) detected ii lb.cN,' 23.1% and I.9oA patients, respeclively.There were no signiJicant dillerences between sumive and died cases with sex, age, hemoglobin,. leukoiyte and


Majority of rural drinking water supply in India depends on the hand pumps. Drinking water sources often get contaminated resulting in excess fluoride from geogenic sources. As per recent estimates millions in India are affected by fluorosis. Fluoride is a normal constituent of natural water and weathering of fluoride bearing minerals along with groundwater conditions lead to higher fluoride levels in aquifer in certain arid regions, which become endemic for fluorosis. In this scenario, Defluoridation using nano hydroxyl apatite was prepared by using various methods and approaches using the combination of various natural materials for fluoride removal. The nano material application of fluoride removal from the groundwater and its utility in the filed level.Various survey techniques were adopted for this study along with detailed discussion on the community level for erection of Fluoride removal tank (FRT) using locally available natural materials. The details of community level FRT with mechanism of fluoride removal are expressed. The materials used has been attempted to make as hollow brick resistance to leaching. This also includes cost evaluation of the treated water.


We propose analytical expressions of the pressuremeter curve that generalise previous equations found in the literature. We consider a linear elastic plastic model with strain-softening, assuming a Mohr-Coulomb yield surface. The softening behaviour affects either the cohesion or the friction angle. Three parameters are required to describe the softening behaviour. We finally show the effect of each of these three parameters on the pressuremeter curve.


Global governance is a concept that advocates sustainable development as the primary consideration for managing biological resources, and operates through international agreements/multilateral treaties/global conventions with their own provisions and obligations. The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity was the first major step taken by humankind for promoting the conservation of bioresources, their sustainable use and sharing (in a fair and equitable manner) of the benefits arising from their commercial utilization. The 2010 Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) provides regulatory framework for users' authorized access to genetic resources and providers' sharing of the benefits with the owners of those resources. National obligations on ABS under the global governance system are met by enacting national laws and rules for regulation of ABS and their implementation, in turn, involves various agencies, institutions and organisations working at different levels. This paper aims at creating awareness on the complex interplay of ABS governance at the international and national levels.


This project deals with two kinds of relationships: the one between people and the environment and the one amongst people. The project to house the Mapungubwe National Park Interpretive Center refl ects the natural landscape in its materials and the cultural landscape in its form. The project is conceptualized as a place for commemorating the historical relevance of the site in relation to a past civilization. The overall design relies on a spatial concept aligned to a narrative and coupled to building shapes which respond to the natural landscape. The buildings are inspired by an innovative construction technique of a light-weight vaulted-system for roofs and walls fabricated using stabilized earth-tiles. The adaptation of the vault-system with the objective of using local materials combined with a smart construction technology and thus enhancing skills development and employment opportunities are the key merits of this project.


[Objective]To study the digit ratio of Bouyei ethnic group in Guizhou,ananlyze the mean values of left and right hands of different sexes.[Methods]Physique measurements were used to study the digit ratios(2D︰3D,2D︰4D,2D︰5D,3D︰4D,3D︰5D,4D︰5D)of left and right hands of 312 individuals(153 males,159 females)of the Bouyei.[Results]The mean values of digit ratios presented a trend as:2D︰3D2D︰4D3D︰4D2D︰5D4D︰5D3D︰5D.Significant differences of 2D︰3D,2D︰4D of left and right hands were found between males and females(P0.05 or P0.01).Females had higher mean values than males.[Conclusion]There is sexual difference in digit ratio and an obvious sexual difference in 2D︰4D.


An explicit form is given for the unitary irreducible representations of the principal nondegenerate series of the group SU(2, 2). These representations are then restricted to the subgroup SU(1,1)⊗SU(2) and are found to be equivalent to the regular representation of SU(1,1)⊗SU(2).


Some of the organic acids of lower molecular weight play an important role in the nutrition of ruminants. Recent studies in vitro by Woodman and Evans (15) indicated that lactic and pyruvic acids and the volatile fat ty acids, especially acetic acid, are the products of cellulose digestion in the rumen of cattle. Forage crops preserved by acid fermentation, such as corn, grass, and legume silages, are becoming an increasingly important part of cattle rations. These feeds contain appreciable quantities of lactic and acetic acids. I t is, therefore, of practical and theoretical value to know how efficiently the energy of these low-carbon organic acids is utilized by animals.


Objective:To discuss the value of non-enhanced CT in diagnosing strangulated intestinal obstruction.Methods:Retrospetive analysize the data of non-enhanced CT about the thirty-four patients with histologically confirmed strangulated intestinal obstruction.Results:Thickening and edema of bowel wall, target sign, ascites, mesenteric edema, vortex sign and beak sign are reliable signs of diagnosing strangulated intestinal obstruction. Bowel wall thickening and losing layering, increasing density of regional bowel wall and intestinal juice, ascites, pheumatosis of bowel and the portal vein are intensively suggesting necrosis of bowel wall.Conclusion:Non-enhanced CT can diagnose strangulated intestinal obstruction quickly and effectively.


We determine the first through fourth moments of the order parameter, and various ratios, for several one- and two-dimensional models with absorbing-state phase transitions. We perform a detailed analysis of the system-size dependence of these ratios and confirm that they are indeed universal for three models, the contact process, the $A$ model, and the pair contact process, belonging to the directed percolation universality class. Our studies also yield a refined estimate for the critical point of the pair contact process.


PURPOSE: An electro-deionization device for ultra pure production is provided to increase the efficiency of ion exchange by evenly inducing an electric field between a positive electrode and a negative electrode by designing the positive electrode and the negative electrode in a cylindrical shape. CONSTITUTION: An electro-deionization device for ultra pure production includes a first electrode(201) having the cylindrical or rod shape made of metal; a second partition wall(213) made of a nonconductive material; a second ion exchange film(207) having a cylindrical structure; a first ion exchange film(205) having a cylindrical structure; an ion exchange resin(209); a first partition wall(211); and a second electrode(203) made of metal. The second partition wall is installed along the outer periphery part of the first electrode. The ion exchange film forms a second space part(217) by being separated from the second partition wall. The first ion exchange film is separately installed in the second ion exchange film. The ion exchange resin is filled between the first ion exchange film and the second ion exchange film. The first partition wall is separately installed in the first ion exchange film in order to form a first space part(215). The second electrode is installed along the outer periphery part of the first partition wall. The pulse signal of 15-20 kHz frequency is supplied to the first electrode and the second electrode in order to strengthen the intensity of a magnetic field.


Acicular goethite (α-FeOOH) nanopowders were synthesized at a high temperature via a CTAB-assisted hydrothermal method. Their morphologies, mechanism of saturation magnetization and coercivity, and conversion to rice-like α-Fe2O3 after annealing are studied. It is found that the α-FeOOH should be synthesized at a temperature lower than 240 °C, and the acicular α-FeOOH structure actually consists of slender α-FeOOH nanorods. With the increase of CTAB content from 0.2 g to 0.4 g, the synthesized α-FeOOH nanorods become more and more slender, accompanying with the enhancement of the saturation magnetization from about 0.05 emu g−1 to about 0.25 emu g−1, which can be ascribed to the increase of the surface area of the α-FeOOH nanorods. The as-synthesized acicular α-FeOOH powders exhibit a large coercivity with a maximum value of about 120 kA m−1 (∼1500 Oe) due to the shape anisotropy. It is also found that the acicular α-FeOOH powders gradually convert to rice-like α-Fe2O3 particles after annealing at high temperatures.


A cute herpes zoster, also referred to as shingles, is a clinical condition caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chicken pox. Although not proved, shingles is believed to be the result of a reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus in the dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord. Acute herpes zoster is usually associated with a painful vesicular rash, with both the pain and rash usually resolving over 2 to 3 weeks.


Unique Zurich Airport is set to start using DARTS (Departure and ARrival Traffic Management System) developed by Delair Air Traffic Systems. DARTS takes over operations in a fully integrated system that allocates runways for arrivals and departures, plans the overall sequence of arrivals and departures, constantly compares planned sequences with actual operations and adjusts them as needed, and keeps each aspect of airport operations informed of what the other is doing. In one example, DARTS calculates backwards from a takeoff time to allocate start-up and pushback times. DARTS also decides on optimal flow patterns for other elements such as air traffic control, baggage handling, runway availability. At Zurich, DARTS is set to go into operation in June 2002 with integration into another Delair system, the airport reSource ALLocation management sYstem (SALLY), which flows operations from passenger check-in through the aircraft parking stand, with DARTS taking over from there. Gate to gate control is the aim.


The Night Projects Directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is developing a new planning and scheduling environment and a new scheduling algorithm to enable a paradigm shift in planning and scheduling concepts. Over the past 33 years Marshall has developed and evolved a paradigm for generating payload timelines for Skylab, Spacelab, various other Shuttle payloads, and the International Space Station. The current paradigm starts by collecting the requirements, called ?ask models," from the scientists and technologists for the tasks that are to be scheduled. Because of shortcomings in the current modeling schema, some requirements are entered as notes. Next, a cadre with knowledge of vehicle and hardware modifies these models to encompass and be compatible with the hardware model; again, notes are added when the modeling schema does not provide a better way to represent the requirements. Finally, the models are modified to be compatible with the scheduling engine. Then the models are submitted to the scheduling engine for automatic scheduling or, when requirements are expressed in notes, the timeline is built manually. A future paradigm would provide a scheduling engine that accepts separate science models and hardware models. The modeling schema would have the capability to represent all the requirements without resorting to notes. Furthermore, the scheduling engine would not require that the models be modified to account for the capabilities (limitations) of the scheduling engine. The enabling technology under development at Marshall has three major components: (1) A new modeling schema allows expressing all the requirements of the tasks without resorting to notes or awkward contrivances. The chosen modeling schema is both maximally expressive and easy to use. It utilizes graphical methods to show hierarchies of task constraints and networks of temporal relationships. (2) A new scheduling algorithm automatically schedules the models without the intervention of a scheduling expert. The algorithm is tuned for the constraint hierarchies and the complex temporal relationships provided by the modeling schema. It has an extensive search algorithm that can exploit timing flexibilities and constraint and relationship options. (3) An innovative architecture allows multiple remote users to simultaneously model science and technology requirements and other users to model vehicle and hardware characteristics. The architecture allows the remote users to submit scheduling requests directly to the scheduling engine and immediately see the results. These three components are integrated so that science and technology experts with no knowledge of the vehicle or hardware subsystems and no knowledge of the internal workings of the scheduling engine have the ability to build and submit scheduling requests and see the results. The immediate feedback will hone the users' modeling skills and ultimately enable them to produce the desired timeline. This paper summarizes the three components of the enabling technology and describes how this technology would make a new paradigm possible.


Dr. Annette Schaper is a Senior Research Associate at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), Germany. During the next few decades, the international community faces the challenge of dealing with unprecedented amounts of inadequately secured fissile materials. This challenge has emerged as the result of sweeping nuclear arms reductions in Russia and the United States, insufficiently safeguarded civilian and military nuclear installations in the newly independent states (NIS), and the rapid development of the nuclear industry in East Asia. Stockpiles of such material are likely to continue growing, as further RussianAmerican nuclear reduction agreements (beyond START II) are likely, and both Moscow and Washington are all but certain to declare additional weapons-grade nuclear material excess to their defense requirements. So far, however, many aspects of these activities remain under national control and are not transparent to the international community. All the laudable progress made thus far toward nuclear disarmament, therefore, remains reversible, should the international situation deteriorate.


Any online collaboration, workshops, as well as other e-activities, has become crucial in the present days but it is a great opportunity for computer science students and non-CS ones to master their soft skills. The motivation of the paper is to provide a recipe to switch from the 100% in-person, international and intensive mobility event into an online one by presenting a scaffold of the online event. A solution to the problem is crucial for the universities and academies etc. with CS students that have planned mobility in Erasmus+ projects.


Relativistic configuration interaction results are presented for the x-ray rates from 2s{sup 2}3p and 1s2s{sup 2}3p configurations of Li- and Be-like ions, respectively. The x-ray energies and rates are calculated for 14 ions in the range Z=10-54 using multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock wave functions in the active space approximation. The convergence of the eigenvalues and the effect of different shells on the rates have been studied as the active space is being gradually increased. The influence of configuration mixing on the decay rates of x rays from Li- and Be-like ions are analyzed. Our calculations show that strong configuration mixing reduces substantially the single configuration decay rates from Li-like ions considered in this work whereas it enhances significantly the allowed dipole rates from Be-like ions with Z<32. For other ions, the dipole rate decreases. The configuration interaction reduces the spin-forbidden rates of all the ions. The results are compared with other available values.


Some of the most important technical advances of the 20th century were enabled by decades of fundamental scientific exploration, whose initial purpose was simply to extend human understanding. This era marked the creation and widespread usage of "classical" computers, which represent information as bits – 0 and 1. Despite the continued computational advances we have experienced over the past century, there are still many important and relevant problems that "classical" computers cannot solve.

We are witnessing rapid progress in a new computing paradigm – Quantum Computing. Quantum computing takes advantage of the laws of quantum mechanics found in nature and represents a fundamental change from classical information processing. Two properties of quantum behavior – superposition and entanglement – may allow quantum computers to one day address problems intractable for today's conventional classical machines.

During this talk, Dr. Gil will give an overview of quantum computing, what it means for the future of technology, and how we can separate hype from reality.


The objective of the present study is to empirically explore the implementation of Green IT measures from the perspective of the dynamic resources in organizations. To this end, the paper integrates two streams of research1) the dynamic resources or capabilities of a firm and, 2) the adoption of Green IT measures. The findings suggest that two organizations in our sample have been successful in mobilizing their dynamic resources while implementing Green IT. As a result, these organizations have leveraged Green IT implementation for strategic purposes. Organizational awareness about Green IT is critical to initiating strategic actions in this area.


Photonics is playing important role in current technological development and is finding numerous applications ranging from telecom, data-com to bio-sensing. The conventional low index contrast devices used to fabricate integrated photonic circuits require wide separation between the devices having large bending radius and causing high coupling loss. In this paper we have worked on high index contrast channel waveguides based on silicon oxycarbide (SIOC) core with silica (SiO 2 ) clad which result in increased confinement factor, low bending radius, low coupling loss and higher integration. Integration of several components permits us to have various functionalities onto a single chip which will also reduce the cost. We have analyzed the characteristics of silicon oxycarbide waveguides with software based on beam propagation method (BPM). Silicon oxycarbide being a novel material has been analyzed having refractive index to be tuned from 1.58 to about 1.82. With the tuning of refractive index from 1.58 to 1.82 the simulation result of confinement factor is observed to increase from 32% to 61% and the coupling loss remains in acceptable range of below 3db.


(10 mg/kg intravenously) abolished the inhibitory effect of adrenaline on the bronchial muscle but not that of ascorbic acid. Reserpinisation of the animals with four daily doses of reserpine, 2 mg/kg, intraperitoneally, did not modify the action of ascorbic acid on the spasmogen response. Dr. Collier & Mrs. Piper also tell us that adrenalectomy does not reduce the protective effect of ascorbic acid on bradykinin bronchospasm. The present results show that the inhibition of bronchospasm by ascorbic acid is not mediated by catecholamines, does not involve P-adrenergic receptors since its action is not prevented by pronethalol, and is probably a direct effect.


Bath time offers a multimodal sensory environment, including interactions with other people, that seems to encourage an infant's social, cognitive and behavioural development. The unique anatomical pathway of olfaction means that it can influence mood, memory and the ability to use new information. Furthermore, numerous studies from several species suggest that tactile stimulation may improve cognitive, behavioural, motor and social development. Bath time offers an ideal opportunity to expose a child to a wide range of tactile stimuli. However, many parents do not seem to appreciate the potential opportunity offered by bath time to strengthen their bond with their infant and bolster their child's development.


Route panorama is a new image format extracted from a video sequence taken by a camera mounted on a moving vehicle. We select a virtual slit in the image frame and continuously capture the slit view on the frame. The consecutive slit views are connected to form a 2D spatial image. It is a continuous, compact and complete visual representation of scenes along a route, which will play an important role in digital city, virtual tour, and navigation application. Route panorama has unique properties as compared with normal perspective images. In our experiment, we found that distant objects from the camera path are blurred horizontally in the route panorama. In order to understand resolution of route panorama images, we study theoretical definition and real physical formation of route panoramas in this paper. We have examined that scenes at different depths are sampled differently by the route panorama. This work investigates various factors that determine the spatial resolution of route panoramas. The results are particularly important to the capturing of route panoramas and depth estimation based on blurring.


The Language Zone at the University of Leeds, UK, is well established as a hub for language learners across the campus, both those on language courses and those studying languages independently for a variety of reasons It has been operating entirely online since March 2020 and will do so until the campus fully re-opens This written account gives a brief overview of the changes made to the Language Zone's services and provision of learning materials in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including how the team members' roles were adapted to ensure staff skills were taken into account In addition to showing how services were maintained when the campus was closed at short notice and teaching was moved online until further notice, the study outlines how the Language Zone developed a platform to support the 2020 summer pre-sessional programmes to be delivered completely online Finally, reflecting on the recent achievements and considering how to support students in the future, it aims to inspire other self-access centres to think about what they can do to develop their services in response to the crisis and beyond


Arbitration is a private system of justice that serves as an alternative to litigation. Though arbitration began as a tool for resolving disputes between businesses, recently, arbitration is frequently used in disputes between businesses and consumers in the United States. Often, arbitration agreements are commonly included in a consumer contract of adhesion, and they prohibit consumers and employees filing class actions in courts or arbitration forums. However, since individual consumers cannot carry out their private lawsuits, without class action, because their individual damage awards are too small. Though, The Federal Arbitration Act(FAA) mandates that arbitration agreements "shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable," with some exceptions, such as "grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract." In the United States, where class action prohibitions have the effect of allowing small but widespread illegality claims to go unheard, federal and state courts were split on whether these provisions are unconscionable. Recently, The United States Federal Supreme Court held that the FAA preempted the California's Discover Bank rule to hold arbitral class action waivers unconscionable. However, since this decision prohibits courts from applying the unconscionability doctrine to arbitration clauses, it seriously limits the availability of consumer class actions. Therefore, this paper introduced and analyzed the United States Federal Supreme Court's Concepcion case, regarding the enforceability of a class action waiver in a consumer adhesion of contract.