This report is an analysis of the findings and insights drawn from six national reports, as well as a European Union (EU) and global report developed as part of the ESPREssO project ('Enhancing Synergies for Disaster Prevention in the European Union'). The analysis serves to highlight common themes and issues across EU countries, with relevant insights from the EU and global levels, concerning three central challenges for successful disaster management in the EU: (1) the integration between climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR); (2) bridging the gap between science and policy; and (3) strengthening transboundary crisis management in the EU. The purpose of the report is to provide input and insights into the final deliverables in the ESPREssO project. Chapter 3 explores the obstacles and ways forward for the integration between climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) in legislation, policies and institutional arrangements. The following issues were identified: weak horizontal and vertical coordination in CCA and DRR governance; lack of capacities of local governments for implementation of CCA and DRR strategies; resource limitations and poor implementation of strategies; lack of funding; political awareness and risk perception; inadequate platforms for stakeholder communication and engagement; unequal attention paid to CCA and DRR; and, conflicting priorities between disaster response and risk reduction. Chapter 4 addresses the problems and potentials for bridging the gap between science and policy for DRR and CCA, in order to strengthen policy-making, the quality and availability of risk assessments, as well as public awareness of hazards, risks and vulnerabilities. The following issues were identified: inadequate platforms and structures for bringing science closer to policy, and the need to build platforms; demand for risk expertise in public institutions; a lack of available risk data on vulnerability; limited scope and outlook of research; low public awareness of disaster risks and climate change impacts; complex scientific terminology; and, new media landscapes. Finally, Chapter 5 concerns the barriers and opportunities for strengthening transboundary crisis management in the EU, looking at existing agreements and arrangements between individual countries regionally, and at the EU level generally. The following issues were identified: isolated national thinking and lack of political will; absence of policies and tools for transboundary crisis management; lack of standardized forms of communication; international cooperation across national government levels; a lack of attention to CCA as a cross-border issue; and, conflicting priorities in environmental resources and DRR.


The development of an accurate model for the prediction of surface roughness is still a key issue for Micro Electro-Discharge Machining (micro-EDM) due to its complex nature. In this paper, a Finite Element Method (FEM) based thermal model is developed to estimate the surface roughness based on the geometry of crater produced during micro-EDM process. The crater geometry is obtained using the temperature field in the workpiece. More real considerations such as Gaussian heat flux distribution, temperature dependent material properties, phase change phenomena and overlapping craters are taken for development of this model. Using the present model, parametric simulations have been carried out to analyze the effect of process parameters such as discharge current, energy partition, breakdown voltage, pulse-on time and duty factor on surface roughness produced on the workpiece. The surface roughness values for AISI 4140 and Ti-6Al-4V workpieces obtained from the present developed model agree reasonably well with the experimental results under the same operating conditions, thus showing the potential usefulness of the proposed approach. Finite Element Based Modeling of Surface Roughness in Micro Electro-Discharge Machining Process


This paper proposes the design of a brain-computer interface control system based on steady-state visual evoked potential, which is complete and feasible. The system is set up on the LabVIEW platform, using LabVIEW power spectrum VI and producer/consumer design pattern to achieve the effective extraction of the steady-state visual evoked potential and real-time control of the EEG on the music player, respectively. The experimental result demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed control system.


Analysis is done to the mechanism about the forward outside toe lead of the traveler riding on ring during spinning process and the calculation involved.It shows how to decide the position of the ring-rail when the maximum of outer-obliquity angle,of forward obliquity angle,the minimum of the height of yarn-channel under the traveler in finial.


Hydrogen is a promising component for a more sustainable world, but its wide application depends upon the development of new technologies and processes. Therefore, a reliable set of thermodynamic p...


By DOLLY ANN PADOVANI-CLAUDIO The regulation of oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) proliferation, migration, and differentiation is critical for normal central nervous system (CNS) myelination. In the developing spinal cord, localized expression of the chemokine CXCL1 inhibits migration and enhances OPC proliferation by signaling through CXCR2. This work characterizes structural and functional alterations in the non-injured and demyelinated CNS of adult Cxcr2 mice. These mice exhibit in their CNS regional variation in oligodendrocyte lineage cell densities, a significant decrease in spinal cord white matter area, reduced thickness of myelin sheaths, and a slowing in the rate of central conduction of somatosensory-evoked-potentials (SSEPs) without significant changes in axonal size or number. Biochemical analyses show decreased expression of the abundant myelin components proteolipid protein (PLP) and myelin basic protein (MBP), and of the astrocytic marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). In vitro studies show a reduction in differentiated oligodendrocytes, which may account for the observed hypomyelination. In addition, the spinal cords of Cxcr2 mice exhibit more density and arborization of NG2 positive cells, an endogenous population of OPCs involved in oligodendrocyte replacement. These findings suggest that the chemokine receptor CXCR2 is important for the development and maintenance of the oligodendrocyte lineage in the vertebrate's CNS. The activation of CXCR2 mediates leukocyte arrest and infiltration into


Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of a radiation fog event occurring during ParisFog experiment have been studied with a view of analyzing the impact of the dynamics on the microphysics. The LES, performed with the Meso-NH model at 5 m resolution horizontally and 1 m vertically, and with a 2-moment microphysical scheme, included the drag effect of a trees barrier and deposition on vegetation. The model shows a good agreement with the measurements of the near surface dynamic and thermodynamic parameters as well as the cloud water content, but overestimates the cloud droplet sizes and concentration. The blocking effect of the trees induced elevated fog formation, like in the observation, and horizontal heterogeneities, and limited the cooling and the cloud water production. The deposition process was found to exert the most significant impact on the fog prediction, as it not only erodes the fog near the surface, but also modifies the fog life cycle and induces vertical heterogeneities. The comparison with the 2 m horizontal resolution simulation exhibited small differences meaning that the grid convergence was achieved. Conversely, increasing numerical diffusion through a wind advection operator of lower order led to an overestimation of the near surface microphysical fields and had almost a similar effect than removing the effect of the trees barrier. This study allows to establish the major dynamical ingredients necessary to perform correctly the fog life cycle prediction at high resolution.


We have designed a special but relatively regular model with for multiply scatter wave,and it has been forwarded through the high order finite difference scheme of the acoustic wave equation.The force and character of the multiply scatter wave can be controlled by changing the horizontal scale of the model,and the data be analyzed through high order spectrum-statistic method,and the result reveal some of the rules about the frequencies of the multiply scatter waves which are produced under different scales.


Based on the Kubo-Greenwood equation as formulated for layered systems, an approach is discussed that allows us to separate the resistance of the current leads from that of the region whose resistance we wish to calculate for current perpendicular to the plane of the layers. By applying this approach to Fe/Ge/Fe model structures related to the parent lattice of bcc Fe we find that at least nine layers of the magnetic electrodes should be considered as being part of the calculation in order to perform such a separation. With different structures in the Ge spacer, we find that the concentration of vacancies plays a crucial role for the existence of a sizeable magnetoresistance ~MR!, while the actual structure in the spacer seems to be of less importance. Depending on the type of structure and the number of spacer layers ~in a typical regime of 6–21 layers! the MR for ordered structure varies between 35% and 45%. Vacancy concentrations of more than 10%, however, wipe out the MR completely. Interdiffusion at the Fe/Ge interfaces produces very similar effects.


ABSTRACT

PCDD/Fs are typical toxic persistent aromatic compounds that greatly reduce air quality and harm human health. In this study, urea's suppressive effect on PCDD/Fs and their congener emissions was investigated via sintering pot tests, and the inhibition mechanisms were studied. The results showed that the I-TEQ values for the total PCDD/Fs decreased from 0.50 to 0.20, 0.12 and 0.20 ng I-TEQ Nm–3 after adding solid 0.02, 0.035 and 0.05 wt.% urea particles, respectively, to the iron ore sintering mixture, but these values increased for the low-chlorinated TeCDFs (from 0.003 to 0.009, 0.006 and 0.006 ng I-TEQ Nm–3) and TeCDDs (from 0.014 to 0.020, 0.018 and 0.020 ng I-TEQ Nm–3). Moreover, the average I-TEQ values for the chlorine substituents in the PCDFs and PCDDs decreased, indicating that urea inhibited chlorination or enhanced dechlorination. The potential mechanisms by which urea suppresses the total PCDD/Fs and hydrodechlorinates the high-chlorinated PCDD/Fs are discussed.


Recently, there has been wide interest in online learning environment studies during the COVID-19 crisis around the globe, but only a few studies on students' perception on emergency online remote learning have been well documented. Therefore, our purpose was to describe higher education institutions students' perception of online remote learning during COVID-19 crisis, which was conducted through a descriptive approach. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and content analysis. The findings in this study indicate that students in higher education institutions have a quite positive perception of online remote learning environment during COVID-19 crisis. They have concerns and a sensitivity to the current global situation. They hold a positive belief about lecturers' online instructions, formative assessment, and feedback as well as online class interactions. However, they hold a negative belief about online topic delivery in the sense that they still find it hard to understand the topic delivered by their lecturers. They have a quite negative perception of online remote learning experience during COVID-19 crisis. They are not satisfied with their overall online remote learning experiences including online class interactions and lecturers' topic delivery. Moreover, they are not satisfied with the Internet connection, which is poor, and the cost for the Internet access, which is expensive. In addition, they have some worries, obstacles and expectations in the online remote learning during the COVID-19 crisis. The study's implications with some suggestions for future research are also discussed.


In this paper, we considered a dual cycloid reducer(DCR) which consists of a planet gear with shortened epitrochoid and its conjugate ring gear. The geometric relations between a meshing gear pair were investigated to find the conjugate ring gear profile. It reveals that the three design parameters including the pin radii, the eccentricities, and the trochoid ratios should be identical to each other between meshing gears. Through the computer simulation for two examples, the proposed meshing conditions for the DCR are verified successfully.


Homeostasis in the cardiovascular system is maintained by physiological functions of the Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone System (RAAS). In pathophysiological conditions, over activation of RAAS leads to an increase in the concentration of Angiotensin II (AngII) and over activation of Angiotensin Type 1 Receptor (AT1R) resulting in vasoconstriction, sodium retention and change in myocyte growth. In the heart it causes cardiac remodeling which result in left ventricular hypertrophy, dilation and dysfunction which eventually leads to Heart Failure (HF). Inhibition of RAAS using angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) have shown to significantly reduce morbidity and mortality due to HF. ACEi have been shown to have higher drug withdrawal rates due to discomfort when compared to ARBs; therefore, ARBs are the preferred choice of physicians for the treatment of HF in combination with other anti-hypertensive agents. Out of eight FDA approved ARBs, irbesartan and telmisartan are shown to have PPARϒ agonistic properties resulting in improved insulin intolerance. Olmesartan treatment also improves insulin sensitivity and produces anti-atherogenic and anti-inflammatory effects in patients with diabetic nephropathy. All the ARBs demonstrate beneficial effects similar to ACEi in the treatment of HF except lower doses of losartan which leads to increase mortality in HF patients. Valsartan in combination with sacubril therapy has shown to be a promising therapy for HF. Eprosartan has an effect on the sympathetic nervous system when compared to other ARBs and it is also able to reduce catecholamine release in animal models. Therefore, eprosartan therapy may have an additional beneficial effect in the treatment of heart failure. However, eprosartan has the shortest bioavailability (< 6 hours) when compared to other ARBs. Large numbers of studies that show beneficial effects on animals have been reported but there are limited studies on humans. Hence, more human studies are warranted. Recently, crystal structures of AT1R in inactive and active state structure have been solved. Using these crystal structures and cheminformatics tools, exploring structures similar to eprosartan with an increase in bioavailability and affinity may enhance the treatment of HF.


Long-term mortality is not increased in children who have febrile seizures, although there seems to be a small excess mortality during the two years after complex febrile seizures.


We have analysed the effects of 3-O-[(Z)-2-methyl-2-butenoyl]-5, 20-O-diacetyl-17-O-benzoyl-17-hydroxyingenol (MBDH), an ingenol derivative isolated from Euphorbia canariensis, on isometric tension developed by isolated rabbit basilar and carotid arteries.

MBDH concentration-response curves (10−8 − 3. 10−5 M) were obtained cumulatively in precontracted (KCl, 50 mM) arteries. In basilar artery, MBDH induced a concentration-dependent relaxation that was not modified by incubation with NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG) (10−5 M) or indomethacin (10−5 M). In carotid artery, a slight relaxant response to MBDH was observed at higher concentrations, which turned into contraction in the presence of either indomethacin or L-NOARG.

These results suggest that MBDH has a relaxant action on rabbit basilar and carotid arteries. Nitric oxide and prostacyclin mediate this relaxant action in carotid artery but do not participate in the response obtained in basilar artery.


The basic objective of this paper is to introduce and investigate the properties of few Ngδs-regular and Ngδs-normal spaces in nano topological spaces and studied some of its relation between the existing sets.


The Tesla vehicles became very popular in the car industry as it was affordable in the consumer market and it left no carbon footprint. Due to the large decline in the stock prices of Tesla Inc. at the beginning of 2019, Tesla owners started selling their vehicles in the used car market. These used car prices depended on attributes such as the model of the vehicle, year of production, miles driven, and the battery used for the vehicle. Prices were different for a specific vehicle in different months. In this paper, it is discussed how a machine learning technique is being implemented in order to develop a second-hand Teslavehicle price prediction system. To reach this goal, different machine learning techniques such as decision trees, support vector machine (SVM), random forest, and deep learning were investigated and finally was implemented with boosted decision tree regression. I the future, it is intended to use a more sophisticated algorithm for better accuracy.


113 Comparative efficacy of xylanases on energy and nutrient digestibility in growing pigs fed cornor wheat-based diets. Elijah Kiarie*1,2, Luis F. Romero1, Susan Arent3, Rikke Lorentsen3, and Hans H. Stein4, 1DuPont Industrial Biosciences-Danisco Animal Nutrition, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK, 2Department of Animal Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, 3DuPont Nutrition Biosciences–Enzyme Research & Development, Brabrand, Arhus, Denmark, 4Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL.


A fragile four-year ceasefire is under threat in the aftermath of an audacious suicide bombing that targeted Sri Lankan Army Chief Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka on 25 April, 2006. There are fears that the attack will strained Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) between the Sri Lankan government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). A woman suicide bomber penetrated the highly fortified Sri Lankan Army Headquarter by passing herself as a pregnant woman visiting the military hospital's regular maternity clinic. However, the bulges hid a lethal mix of explosives and steel balls strapped to her stomach and chest. However, both Colombo and the LTTE have repeatedly asserted their commitment to the CFA, while civilians on both sides are clearly weary of conflict.


Store Home Gift Baskets website is designed to make it easier for buyers who are very busy so not had time to take the time to go to the store parcel. This website is developed using PHP and MySQL, where PHP is used for the manufacture of the program listing for the manufacture while MySQL database from this website. Hampers House website presents many types of parcels following description and drawings price, visitors can order the desired parcel, can see the latest news, pick polls that have been provided, and view or write on the guest book that has been provided.


Businesses along the Cairns marina and esplanade weren't taking any chances this morning, sandbagging, and in one case, siphoning water back into Trinity Inlet. However, with flood waters receding and nothing but sun being sent our way from ex-Tropical Cyclone Dylan, it seems Cairns is straight back to business.


For the purpose of anthropological investigation of the olecranon process fracture of ulna,46 cases of fracture of olecranon process of ulna under the condition of fixed function of the elbow joint were followed in order to explore the proper time of forensic investigation.The results demonstrated that the activity of the elbow joint could be recovered 40°~90° 3~4 months, 70°~120°, 6~8 months, and 110°~140° 10~12 months after injury The results indicated that the forensic investigation of patients receiving the fixation functional position after operation of the fracture of olecranon process of ulna can be carried out 3 months after injury During this period, the function of the injured elbow joint will recovered in certain degree, the clinical healing of bone fracture occurred, and joint activity might be more stable and powerful


Nowadays to ensure better plant production various artificial light sources are used in greenhouses. Light in terms of photoperiod length, wavelength and temperatures is one of the most important factors in the insect life. Whiteflies Trialeurodes spp. are known to feed on many plant species, including agriculturally important ones, and in favourable conditions can rapidly reproduce and cause vast plant damage. During our monitoring the significant increase of whitefly numbers was observed under high-pressure sodium vapor lamps Helle Magna com-pared to LED and induction lamps.


Catalogue of a poster exhibition held from September 2007-March 2008 in Cuba, Mexico and New Zealand, featuring work by New Zealand artists and writers.

Artists and writers: Simon Cuming, Dion Hitchens, Katerina Mataira, James Ormsby, Josh Watene, Nicola Farquhar, Tessa Laird, Warren Olds, Jenny Rhodes, Leafa Wilson, Jon Bywater, Te Rita Papesch.


Forty-eight cases of fatty liver disease in infancy coming to autopsy over the past 10 years at Gorgas Hospital are reported. The diagnosis of this condition is extremely difficult clinically; liver biopsy is the only certain way of making the premortem diagnosis. In Panama, vomiting, diarrhea and fever are the most frequent presenting complaints. Physical findings of help are the stunted growth, fever, and possibly enlarged liver. Other findings seen commonly in the African cases, such as edema, glossitis and dermatosis, are usually not, seen. The essential pathologic finding is a markedly fatty liver. Pancreatic changes consisting of acinar atrophy were seen in some cases. The cause of the deficiency state appears to be an inadequate protein intake, and will not be simple to deal with, as poverty and ignorance, rather than neglect, would seem to be responsible for this disease. The prognosis is extremely poor, only 11 of the 48 patients surviving for more than 24 hours after medical attention was sought. It is probable that fatty liver disease in infants is relatively common in Panama but almost completely overlooked clinically.


that the coolie trade could be stopped by controlling kidnapping within China. When ths measure proved to be a failure, Ch'ing court moved to other approaches to the solution of this thorny problem, often exhibiting considerable diplomatic finesse, showing a good sense of pragmatism even under tremendous pressure from the international diplomatic community at Peking. The book has much ground to cover, starting with the early Ch'ing emigration policy, American policy toward Chinese emigration, British policy on the same matter and the Canton experiment between 1859-1860. The Peking regulations of 1866 can be viewed as a major step toward formalization of the solution of the coolie trade problem. The Peking regulations not only refined the previous Canton regulations but also covered treatment of Chinese coolies in foreign environments and provided for their return to China at the expiration of contracts. The abolishment of the coolie trade is a center-piece of this research in which we see so many international players in the diplomatic arena, each seeking her own national interest: Great Britain, France, Russia, the U.S., Spain, Portugal and even small Latin American countries like Peru and Cuba. The newly established Tsungli Yamen had to deal with both treaty and nontreaty nations, often under the brutal threat of military intervention from a foreign power. Indeed, Ch'ing's endeavor to solve the coolie trade problem was an up-hill fight against heavy odds, as demonstrated from time to time in Irick's research. Perhaps the valuable lesson we have learned from his research is that it is too easy to accept, without critical analysis, stereotyped Western views on many foreign policy issues and problems of China. Many twisted strands of an old China story may be untangled and analyzed under a new light. Surely, Irick's new work sheds a beam of such light.


Experimental results obtained on metal-silicon Schottky barriers are presented. The investigation concerns the effect of preconditioning the silicon surface prior to metal evaporation, and also the change in barrier height with a post-evaporation heat treatment. The values for a particular metal indicate that the preannealing results in a barrier height closer to that predicted by the Schottky model. Heat treating of the formed diode shows the barrier height approaching the limiting value obtained on cleaved silicon surfaces.


A series of photochromic diarylethene derivatives containing different fluorophores was synthesized by the Sonogashira coupling reaction and characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C NMR and mass spectroscopy. Photochromic conversion of Cz-MS was observed and its structural change was confirmed by proton NMR. Switchable absorption and emission phenomena were observed for these molecules. These phenomena were attributed to the reversible photochromic fluorescence resonance energy transfer (pcFRET) process. The design of this novel photochromic system of Py-4MS enables information to be processed in a non-destructive manner. This overcomes the problem of the destructive nature of tracking photochromism using ultraviolet (UV)-vis spectroscopy.


Background Traditionally, hospice clinical staff are recruited from acute and community settings. Following a period of significant staff turnover it became apparent that, in keeping with national trends, this pool of experienced staff was diminishing. A decision was made to actively pursue diverse areas of recruitment. Aims To approach local colleges of further education delivering health care studies at level 2 and 3 and to offer work experience within a hospice setting. It was hoped that this would encourage younger members of staff into hospice services. Method The local college was approached, and a presentation given to all health care students offering placements in the day services, in-patient and community settings. Eight students requested to undertake their 50 hour placement at the hospice. An Induction Day was delivered including an overview of palliative care, safeguarding and practical care. A pre- and post- questionnaire was given to all students and feedback was sought from the college. Results With support from tutors, each student was allocated a 'day release.' Only one student was placed in each clinical area at a time and with the high number of students and college holidays, the placements were spread over a five months period. A total of six students completed the placement with an overall attendance rate of 69%. Six out of 12 questionnaires were returned. Conclusion It may be more beneficial to complete each placement over a seven-day period. This may improve student engagement, give greater support and, where possible, encourage continuity of relationships with staff and patients. Good working relationships with the college are essential to ensure students are supported. Although no new staff were recruited, it has been agreed that we will continue to work with the college offering placements, encouraging and recruiting students who show an aptitude for hospice work.


It is part of our American folk-lore that sooner or later a criminal will return to the scene of his crime. And perhaps it is a bad conscience which brings me to this topic. Nonetheless, if indeed this paper be an exercise in the amendment of life, I take comfort in the fact that a confession of sin is hardly a profession of achievement. Consequently, if at the close of this paper I leave this topic no better than I found it, the effort will yet have been a phase in my amendment of life. I do not think that any of us will come easily or quickly to an adequate understanding of how greatly we all must change our ways. Nor will the change itself be accomplished by mere good intentions.


The utility model discloses a rainproof cover of a moving contact of an isolating switch. The rainproof cover is provided with a hole matched with a contact finger of the moving contact; blocking pieces are arranged at the periphery of the hole; and the rainproof cover is made of silicon rubber. A rainproof sealing cover of the moving contact is made of the silicon rubber; the blocking pieces are arranged at the periphery of the hole for inserting the contact finger of the moving contact; sealant is easy to be coated, so that the rainproof cover is tightly attached on the moving contact, can prevent rainwater and moisture from entering, and further realizes rainproof, dustproof and ice-breaking functions. The rainproof cover is provided with reinforcing ribs, so as to be firm and durable.


OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of Wuling capsule in the treatment of CHB patients accompanied with depression.METHODS Eighty patients were divided into Wuling capsule intervention group(n=40) and Deanxit intervention group(n=40),randomly,then treated with routine CHB medicine combined with Wuling capsule or Deanxit tablet for six weeks.Clinical efficacy was assessed with the Self-Rating Depression Scale(SDS) before treatment and six weeks after treatment.RESULTS Scores of the SDS of both 2 groups significantly reduced(P0.01),There was no significant difference in curative rate between the two groups.There was no obvious side effects in Wuling group,but 4 patients in the control group had adverse drug reactions,mainly nausea,loss of appetite,insomnia.CONCLUSION Wuling capsule is effective and safe in the treatment of CHB patients accompanied with depression,which has little side-effects.


Notion of the user-centered design (UCD) is requisite to improve user satisfaction. Matching the concept of UCD, Quality of Experience (QoE) is expected to become a paradigm shift from the existing operator-initiative network services. There are, however, several difficulties to realize practical communication services based on QoE. One difficulty is how to bridge QoE and Quality of Service (QoS) parameters relevant to system performance. Moreover, since QoE is based on the end-user subjective evaluation, flexible modeling corresponding to the end-user psychological status is needed. In this paper, an interactive Web service is considered and a QoE model with end-user psychological effect is derived by use of the Weber-Fechner law. Data of QoE and QoS parameter are collected through experiments and the mapping functions between QoE and QoS are estimated from the data.


This research aimed at developing and evaluating a new generic model of individual workplace performance (IWP). First, individuals' notions of IWP were uncovered through interviews. Expert discussions of the findings provided the basis for developing an IWP model (11 categories). To assess its generalisation, a second study drew on a newly designed multirater performance measure. Whilst results suggested a more parsimonious structure of IWP, overall support was provided for model and measure.


The global business ecosystem continues to be dogged with volatility and organizations are struggling to overcome the heightened competition due to inability to match up to the increasing demands. However, the articulation of the unique capabilities necessary for creation of superior value for customers and a prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) continue to be unsettled. It is against this puzzle that this study aimed to establish the sources of SCA in a dynamic and turbulent business environment. The specific objectives that guided the study were to establish the influence of superior strategic capabilities that included knowledge management, organizational innovation, social capital integration and organizational agility, on SCA. The study was underpinned on the resource-based view, and dynamic capabilities. The study was a theoretical review that critically analysed past theoretical and empirical literature on the subject. Though the extant literature was mixed, the study concluded that knowledge management capabilities, organizational innovation capabilities, social capital integration capabilities and organizational agility capabilities are essentially instrumental towards sustainable competitive advantage. The study recommends that top management team in organizations should continually nurture knowledge management capabilities such as knowledge acquisition, knowledge codification, and knowledge utilization so as to enhance value creation. In addition, senior management should continually support acquisition and development of new resources, and create structures that enhance partnership and interaction between employees within and across departments.


Abstract Androlaelaps abrothrix n. sp., a new laelapine mite (Acari: Parasitiformes: Laelapidae), is described from the pelage of the abrotrichine rodent, Abrothrix longipilis (Waterhouse) (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae, Abrotrichini), collected from the Andean Patagonia region of Argentina. The description is based on the female, male, deutonymph, and protonymph.


A noncontact brain activity measurement system using phosphor [Li(Nd0.9Yb0.1)P4O12] which is excited by and emits near-infrared light was developed. To optimize and validate this system, first, the influence of fluorescence lifetime on the amplitude of lock-in detection was investigated to determine the optimal frequency of the light source's intensity modulation. Second, the sensitivity of the system to the internal absorbance change was estimated using a phantom measurement. Third, to clearly show that this system can detect the absorbance changes in the cerebral blood instead of those in the superficial regions, the hemoglobin changes in the same area of the prefrontal cortex were measured during a working memory task by simultaneously using this system and a conventional contact optical topography system. Finally, the precision of the system was evaluated. The results verified that this system was as effective as a conventional system in detecting human brain activity.


[1] A number of studies have attempted to characterize Martian valley and channel networks. To date, however, little attention has been paid to the role of lithology, which could influence the rate of incision, morphology, and hydrology as well as the characteristics of transported materials. Here, we present an analysis of the physical and hydrologic characteristics of drainage networks (gullies and channels) that have incised the Keanakāko'i tephra, a basaltic pyroclastic deposit that occurs mainly in the summit area of Kīlauea Volcano and in the adjoining Ka'ū Desert, Hawai'i. The Keanakāko'i tephra is up to ∼10 m meters thick and largely devoid of vegetation, making it a good analog for the Martian surface. Although the scales are different, the Keanakāko'i drainage networks suggest that several typical morphologic characteristics of Martian valley networks may be controlled by lithology in combination with ephemeral flood characteristics. Many gully headwalls and knickpoints within the drainage networks are amphitheater shaped, which results from strong-over-weak stratigraphy. Beds of fine ash, commonly bearing accretionary lapilli (pisolites), are more resistant to erosion than the interbedded, coarser weakly consolidated and friable tephra layers. Because the banks of the gullies and channels are easily eroded widths vary downslope, similar to Martian valley networks that have been characterized as "degraded." The floors of the gullies and channels tend to be low-relief with few prominent bed forms, reflecting the large proportion of sediment transported as bed load in high-energy but short-lived flood events. We calculate that the average flow velocities within the drainage networks are typically 1 m/24 h. Given some recent modeling of the early Martian climate, our observations imply that rainfall on early Mars could also be associated with large intense events and that Martian valley network formation may be related to similar cyclonic storms.


Tuberous sclerosis has many forms of clinical presentation. Rarely, multiple facial angiofibromas of unilateral distribution have been reported. We describe 2 patients with such a presentation and hypothesize that this is a mosaic form of tuberous sclerosis.


THIS, the fifth edition of Sir Arthur Keith's textbook, will be heartily welcomed, as it has occupied for many years a somewhat unique position. It embodies various distinct improvements over the fourth edition which appeared in 1923, but in spite of the accumulation of new facts and new points of view since that date, the author is to be congratulated on having been able to preserve the volume from undue expansion. His clear and popular style of exposition conveys to the readers whom he has in view—students of medicine—the end results of the work of em-bryologists better than perhaps any other textbook. The text is reduced to the minimum consistent with clarity. Much detail has necessarily been omitted, but the needs of the medical student have been in this respect kept in view. Although ideas differ regarding the relative importance of facts of observation and interpretation, Sir Arthur Keith's selection, in view of his long and varied experience, may be accepted, at least so far as organogenesis is concerned, as satisfactory.Human Embryology and Morphology.By Sir Arthur Keith. Fifth edition. Pp. viii + 558. (London: Edward Arnold and Co., 1933.) 32s. 6d. net.


The paper is discussing professor Wang Zili′s clinical experience on treating chronic atrophic gastritis by effective cases, he thinks that the disease is of liver depression and spleen deficiency pattern mostly, therapeutic methods are to nourish blood, soften liver, invigorate spleen and harmonize stomach, treatment for the disease by modified GuiShao HuaPi Tang represents Zhang Zhongjing′s aim of "spleen should be invigorated when liver disease is occurred".


We study a finite agent economy with non convex budget set due to the bankruptcy option and characterize condition that guarantee equilibrium existence. It is shown that the choice of the exogenous debt constraint and the seizure rate play an important role in this context. Pareto improvement might be achieved by an authority who regulates the exogenous debt constraint, but letting the debtor choose a too big portfolio might eliminate equilibrium via its effect on the asset price, this threshold depends on the seizure rate that can be interpret as a bankruptcy institution that could define a pro-debtor or pro-creditor law. In bankruptcy, the economy might create a new asset that is better than the exogenous one, leading to a Pareto improvement, furthermore, this bankruptcy equilibrium might be Pareto efficient when the seizure rate is chosen properly.


In this paper, we consider "diagrams of rings", or functors from a small category to the category of rings, and the corresponding diagrams of groups Ki. Classically, this was initiated by Milnor [13]. The main result of this paper is the direct comparison of the filtration in classical algebraic K-theory discussed in [6, 7] to a corresponding filtration in the BousfieldKan spectral sequence associated to a Tot-tower of simplicial groups attached to the diagram of rings.


This experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of formaldehyde and blood treatments of soyabean meal on the degradation characteristics of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) in rumen. Soyabean meal treated with 0.8 g formaldehyde/100 g CP; 0.5, 0.75, 1.5 and 2.0 l whole blood/kg DM. Three adult rumen fistulated merino rams were used in this study. Samples were incubated in the rumen for 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 48h. Rumen degradability characteristics and values of DM, OM and CP of soyabean meal samples were determined. Maximum potential degradability values of protein in rumen was not affected by formaldehyde treatment but was decreased by 2.18 -10.31% by blood treatment. Formaldehyde treatment at the level of 0.8 g /100 g CP and blood treatment at the levels of 0.5 , 1.5 and 2.0 l/kg DM increased the degradation rate constant of soyabean meal in rumen. Effective degradability value of soyabean meal protein in rumen at k = 0.05/h was found to be 50.5% . This value reduced to 32.9% with formaldehyde treatment but increased to 54.7 57.9% with blood treatments. As a conclusion, the formaldehyde treatment of soyabean meal could be effective in ruminants but blood treatment was not effective for protection from rumen fermentation.


Heilongjiang province which has rich grassland resource is one of the most important stockbreeding bases in our country.The grassland has heavily degraded because of natural disasters and human activities.The area of grassland decreased sharply and functions of grassland ecosystem descended.The current status of grassland ecosystem,grassland protection and construction achievements were summarized in this paper.Strategies of grassland ecosystem protection and construction were: Establish thought of " set up prataculture as a family property "and strengthen the understanding of grassland ecosystem function.Strengthen the basic researches on the ecosystem of grassland.Set up and amplify security system of development and utilization of grassland ecosystem.Define the object of grassland ecosystem protection and construction,set up rebuilding technology of degraded ecosystem.Strengthen legal management system,preventing grassland from illogical utilizing firmly.


. Abstract Three of the approximately twenty-three municipal wastewater treatment lagoons constructed in the 1970s and 1980s in southeastern Minnesota's karst region have failed through sinkhole collapse. Those collapses occurred between 1974 and 1992. All three failures occurred at almost exactly the same stratigraphic position. That stratigraphic interval, just above the unconformable contact between the Shakopee and Oneota Formations of the Ordovician Prairie du Chien Group is now recognized as one of the most ubiquitous, regional-scale, karst hydraulic high-transmissivity zones in the Paleozoic hydrostratigraphy of southeastern Minnesota. These


This article describes how to develop master plans for HVAC and other utilities serving large, campus-type facilities, with the focus on the phased construction over a period of years. For years, schools and colleges have developed facility master plans, but utility infrastructure master planning as a singular planning effort is relatively new. Administrators can use infrastructure master planning to plan carefully for the future and minimize risk. Master plans outline a school's or college's options for achieving a unified, efficient utility system for the present and future. Current trends point toward an increase in the following areas -- electrical power requirements, HVAC loads, ventilation (outside air) volumes, and voice/data needs. State of the art is not relevant in today's planning environment; the operative term is state of the future. Infrastructure master planning gives institutions the flexibility to embrace future technologies that will be critical to a successful mission performance.


The main properties of the power filtering operation in the fractional Fourier domain and its relationship to the differentiation operation are considered. The application of linear power filtering for solving the phase retrieval problem from intensity distributions only is proposed. The optical configuration for the experimental realization of the method is discussed.


A dynamical stability analysis is performed for Ni+Ni central collision at intermediate energies, showing that in chemical, thermal and dynamical equilibriums are reached at an early stage of system evolution. This is obtained by computing the relaxation times of the quadrupole momentum, speed of sound and electric charge density of the system. This way, fragment emission modes at low and high energies as well as the qualitative behavior of the limit temperatures are determined.


Using your personal information for other purposes We will not process your personal data for any other purpose than that for which it was collected, without first providing you with information on that other purpose and seeking your consent if applicable; except were we are required to disclose your personal data in accordance with legislation, for example, in relation to the prevention and detection of crime, counter terrorism, safeguarding, legal proceedings or to protect interests of you or another. Organisations acting on our behalf to process your personal data We use specialist printers for printing of election, referendum, polling and electoral registration stationary


We have expanded Stein's "Sweetness of Aspartame" laboratory project (Stein, P. J. J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74, 1112, DOI: 10.1021/ed074p1112) to include extensive use of statistical testing. Students ...


To solve the problems of current E-learning recommendation systems by adopting multi-agent system(MAS),a new distributed intelligent recommendation system based on Web usage mining(WUM) was put forward integrating MAS with Web services.It can help learners find resource requested by dynamically generating personal link pages based on the user identification.By adopting least recently used(LRU) policy,the recommendation algorithm of the system was proposed including the global implementing algorithm,clustering algorithm,and suggestion algorithm.Real-time application and experiments show that it is feasible and effective.


Research in the field of telecommunication is moving towards 6G. Upper mm Wave frequencies (100–300 GHz) are seen as a promising band for 6G. ITU recommendations on material characteristics are limited to 100 GHz. This study aims to further extend the currently existing knowledge on wave-material interaction and make the link between below and above 100 GHz frequencies by providing reflection measurements from 2 to 170 GHz. The material reflection coefficients of seventeen different materials e.g. glass, wood, aerated concrete, and polystyrene are continuously reported along the measured band. The measurement setup is based on a vector network analyzer with millimeter wave extension modules connected starting from 50 GHz.


TiO2/SiO2 composite film was used to modify the surface of the filter media sintered by coal refuse. 2-Diazo-4,6-dinitrophenol (DDNP) wastewater was used as the response substrate to test its photocatalytic activity in the selfmade photocatalytic reactor. The influencing factors of the photocatalytic activity of the modified filter media were studied. When the modified filter media was used, the decolorization rate and COD removal rate of DDNP wastewater reached 70.00 and 60.85%, respectively. But unmodified filter media almost had no photocatalytic activity. The orthogonal test showed that the optimal working parameters separately were: 59:1 of Ti/Si in the TiO2/SiO2 composite film, pH 1, 7 ml L H2O2 and 3000 times chroma (equivalent initial concentration of DDNP wastewater). Under the above condition, the decolorization rate and COD removal rate separately reached 98.50 and 92.50% after 1 h photocatalytic reaction. They were far higher than those in the reaction catalyzed by pure TiO2. Furthermore, under the condition of illumination and aeration, the photocatalytic activities were obviously higher than those under only illumination or aeration.


The thesis analyzes the meaning of the following three sentences in the "Sun Tzu's Art of War":"what is valued in war is a quick victory,not prolonged operations"," if double to the enemy, try to divide him; if equally matched,be capable of fighting with him"," decide your line of action according to the situation on enemy side", thus has cleared the doubts in the academics. The author argues that the precise meaning of the first sentence is that speediness can make up for ingenuousness,and that ingenuous speediness is better than genius prolongation. In the second sentence,the author maintains that "if double to the enemy,try to divide him" applies to the stratagem of use of force,and that "if equally matched, be capable of fighting with him" outlines the ability the army is supposed to possess. The last sentence, the author thinks, means that the command of army should dialectically combine the principle of use of army and flexibility.


In the article are studied the priority areas of improvement of the election legislation at this stage of state building, optimal approaches for dealing with administrative matters and adoption decisions that regulate the solution of electoral disputes. On the basis of analysis of scientific approaches and judicial policies are developed scientific-based recommendations
to improve the judicial process when considering electoral disputes.
Key words: judgment, elections, election law, election disputes, administrative proceedings, electoral process, system of democracy, system of justice.


The invention provides a resource scheduling method for a wireless communication system. Resource scheduling is finished jointly by wireless resource-based regular scheduling and service data-based event scheduling. The method includes: 1, wireless frame-based periodical scheduling; 2, regular scheduling based on wireless resource startup moment; and 3, service data-based event scheduling. The method has the advantages that system capacity of the wireless communication system is increased and transmission delay of service data is decreased.


Data stream mining is a new research aspect of data mining. It has be come a useful tool for many fields. The essential characteristic of data stream and the significance of data stream mining are introduced. The main ideal of existing data stream mining algorithms is summarized, and the limitation of the algorithms is pointed out. Some research directions about data stream mining in future work are put forward.


Q-learning, which seeks to learn the optimal Q-function of a Markov decision process (MDP) in a model-free fashion, lies at the heart of reinforcement learning. When it comes to the synchronous setting (such that independent samples for all state-action pairs are drawn from a generative model in each iteration), substantial progress has been made recently towards understanding the sample efficiency of Q-learning. To yield an entrywise $\varepsilon$-accurate estimate of the optimal Q-function, state-of-the-art theory requires at least an order of $\frac{|\mathcal{S}||\mathcal{A}|}{(1-\gamma)^5\varepsilon^{2}}$ samples for a $\gamma$-discounted infinite-horizon MDP with state space $\mathcal{S}$ and action space $\mathcal{A}$. In this work, we sharpen the sample complexity of synchronous Q-learning to an order of $\frac{|\mathcal{S}||\mathcal{A}|}{(1-\gamma)^4\varepsilon^2}$ (up to some logarithmic factor) for any $0<\varepsilon <1$, leading to an order-wise improvement in terms of the effective horizon $\frac{1}{1-\gamma}$. Analogous results are derived for finite-horizon MDPs as well. Our finding unveils the effectiveness of vanilla Q-learning, which matches that of speedy Q-learning without requiring extra computation and storage. A key ingredient of our analysis lies in the establishment of novel error decompositions and recursions, which might shed light on how to analyze finite-sample performance of other Q-learning variants.


Objectives To observe the effect of atorvastatin on the arterial elasticity and ankle-brachial index(ABI)in old patients with essential hypertension.Methods Eighty-seven patients with essential hypertension regularly taking antihypertension drugs were divided into control group(n=42)and atorvastatin group(n=45)and treated for 3 months.Brachial pulse pressure(PP),automatic pulse wave velocity(PWV),elastic indexes of large and small arteries(C1 and C2),and ABI were measured before and after treatment.Results No change of all measurements in control group was found after treatment.In atorvastatin group,however,PP decreased by(4.09±8.58)mm Hg,PWV decreased by(1.6±3.15)m/s,C2 increased by(0.42± 0.97)ml/mm Hg×100(P0.05),ABI increased by(0.08±0.16,P0.01).Conclusions Atorvastatin can reduce pulse pressure through improvement of C2 and PWV,and simultaneously improve peripheral vascular disease.


e21023 Background: CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy is important for the diagnosis of lung cancer especially in the area of precision medicine. In ASCO 2015, we reported that "Liquid withdraw" technique (to inject small amount of liquid while withdraw of the needle) can prominently reduce incidence of pneumothorax when combined with co-axial technigue in 38 cases. In ASCO 2017, we retrospectively studied 90 patients undergoing CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy to investigate the role of this technigue in reducing complications and promoting biopsy effectiveness. Based on the above studies, we conducted a prospective study to further evaluate the role of this technique in conjunction with the other eight techniques (Position compensation, Cushion for position adjustment, Skin expansion in advance, Secondary location outside the pleura, Needle core instantaneous replacement, Mutual fix, Simultaneous bleeding arrest, and Cortical displacement) in the precision diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. Methods: From January 16th, 2018 to October 11th, 2021, a total of 150 CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic biopsy procedures performed in 146 patients were prospectively evaluated. The pathologies and complications secondary to biopsy procedure were analyzed. Pneumothorax and bleeding was graded as mild/very mild, moderate, and severe. All patients were divided into two groups: the lesion depth was < 30mm from the pleura and ≥30mm from pleura. Different complications between the two groups were analyzed using Pearson's Chi-squared test for categorical values. Results: 148 cases was diagnosed out of 150 biopsies (98.67%), of which 118 cases were malignant (108 cases can be identified which type and source (91.53%), in which 68 cases were adenocarcinoma), 30 cases were benign. Pneumothorax occurred in 27 (18%) cases, among which, 12% were very mild pneumothorax and 6% were mild to moderate pneumothorax. 44 cases (29.33%) happened bleeding, among which, 21.33% could be classified as very mild, while 8% could be classified as mild to moderate. No infection, tumor implantation or aeroembolism observed. There were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of pneumothorax and bleeding at different distances from the pleura( < 30mm vs ≥30mm, P>0.05). Conclusions: This series of new techniques in CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy significantly reduced the incidence of pneumothorax and bleeding and were preliminarily proved that can facilitate acquiring more tumor tissue for molecular testing and re-biopsy of lung cancer. Clinical trial information: ChiCTR1800017958 .


The paper presents a study on existing building stock energy consumption for the country of Latvia and researches the renovation potential of multi-storey apartment buildings and its influence on indoor air quality. The study analyses IAQ parameters and the energy consumption in renovated and non-renovated buildings and presents practical examples of Latvian and Estonian case studies as well. The possible reduction of energy consumption after thermal insulation of apartment buildings and renovation of ventilation systems has been estimated at the state level. Different insulation scenarios and efficiencies of various types of ventilation systems have been evaluated.


The utility model relates to a feeding and discharging unit for a numerically controlled lathe. The utility model is arranged on the bed table of a lathe body. A Z-axis bed table is longitudinally arranged on the lathe body, and a tool turret is fixed on an X-axis bed table which is inlaid on the Z-axis bed table. One side of the lathe body is provided with an oil pressure control device and an electrical control device, a feed taking arm is arranged on the Z-axis bed table, and one side of the feed taking arm is provided with a feed arranging table which is connected with both the oil pressure control device and the electrical control device. The functions of displacement and positioning can be set by the X-axis formula and the Z-axis formula of the numerically controlled lathe, and automatic feeding, processing and discharging can be obtained by combining with the feed taking arm which can do the actions of bending, rotating, oscillating, clamping, releasing, etc.


The aim of this essay is to deal with the putative twilight of the avant-garde movement and its prospects for the contemporary 21st century. This essay first analyzes the core of Burger's avant-garde theory and appraises Buchloh and Foster's criticism thereof. Then, the issues of the avant-garde and the post-avant-garde will be scrutinized from a pro-Burger perspective with a focus on Burger's rebuttals. Burger regards the historic avant-garde as a failed project, and believes that the neo-avant-garde is a mere replica of the previously failed historic avant-garde. According to him, the neo-avant-garde has lacked the capacity to resist and to criticize ever since its beginning. However, Buchloh and Foster criticize Burger because they recognise the neo-avant-garde as taking a progressive stance. Regarding this, Burger criticizes Buchloh by stating that he is too pre-occupied with the analysis of superficial content, and therefore does not grasp the significance of the original avant-garde project in terms of a generalized theory. In addition, Burger does not deny Foster's view that the avant-garde intention is truly being practiced by the second neo-avant-garde artists. However, he points out that there is always the risk of over- and under-appreciation when we appraise the works of individual artists. Therefore he insists that establishing the general theory is of foremost importance if we can acknowledge that an artist's artwork has co-existing positive and negative features at the same time. Based on this, he argues that the avant-garde can exist only if the general population forms the belief that social change is needed to resolve conflicts within a society.


Significance Urbanization and agglomeration of economic activity are key drivers of economic development. Many factors underlying city sizes and locations continue to be well studied. However, a key factor has so far been generally ignored: the role of the ethnolinguistic composition of local populations. We address this gap, drawing on a very detailed dataset on local urban agglomeration and ethnolinguistic diversity. We find that, in multiethnic areas, social tensions arise more easily, discouraging the move to bigger cities. Ethnolinguistically diverse regions feature less urbanization and agglomeration, with potentially profound economic consequences. This article shows that higher ethnolinguistic diversity is associated with a greater risk of social tensions and conflict, which, in turn, is a dispersion force lowering urbanization and the incentives to move to big cities. We construct a worldwide dataset at a fine-grained level on urban settlement patterns and ethnolinguistic population composition. For 3,540 provinces of 170 countries, we find that increased ethnolinguistic fractionalization and polarization are associated with lower urbanization and an increased role for secondary cities relative to the primate city of a province. These striking associations are quantitatively important and robust to various changes in variables and specifications. We find that democratic institutions affect the impact of ethnolinguistic diversity on urbanization patterns.


Molten Zn2.54mass% Al (the Zn2Al) and Al2.35mass% Cu (the Al2Cu) alloys were poured on the copper chill block to obtain initially solidified structures on the bottom of the specimen. The Zn2Al alloy poured on the chill block polished with emery paper formed discs that protruded about 1 μm from the bottom of the alloy specimen, as the case of the Al2Cu alloy. From the discs, predendrites that forms a cellular structure extended radially, and then dendrites grew outside the predendrites in the preferred orientation. The solute content had a local maximum at the center of the disc, which suggests that the solidification began from undercooled liquid. The orientation of the discs formed on the bottom of the Zn2Al ally specimen was [0 0 0 1] direction, but the discs formed on the bottom of the Al2Cu alloy specimen did not show a specific orientation. With increasing surface roughness of the polished chill block, the disc diameter increased but the areal number density of discs decreased. Furthermore, with increasing pouring temperature, the disc diameter and the areal number density of discs both increased. For a buffed chill block, however, no disc appeared for the Zn2Al alloy specimen but fine dendrites appeared on the bottom. In contrast, large discs formed on the bottom of the Al2Cu alloy. In particular, when the molten Al2Cu alloy was poured at 800°C or higher on the buffed chill block, two types of discs appeared on the bottom: normal discs of 20 to 30 μm in diameter, and very large discs (superdiscs) of 100 to 200μm in diameter. Following these results, the formation process of the initially solidified structure is discussed. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.M2013160]


INTRODUCTIONSports players, analysts, and fans alike have long acknowledged the decline in performance that commonly occurs between the first and second years of players' careers. This phenomenon, nicknamed the sophomore slump, most often refers to former first-year standouts plagued with comparatively poor second-year performances.1Analyses tend give the most attention to the sophomore slump when it affects those who received the Rookie of the Year (ROTY) award. Bennett describes the ROTY award as a Most Valuable Player Award, limited to "rookie eligible" players.2 First officially given in 1947, the award honors a single rookie player (1947 and 1948) or a rookie player from the American League and a rookie player from the National League (1949 until present). Ex-post facto ROTY award winners between the years of 1872 and 1948, until each league began identifying its own ROTY, have also been named.3The contention about the relationship between the ROTY award and the sophomore slump suggests that those who have won the award may be average players who just happened to have good seasons during their first years in the major leagues. Sabermetricians have, to varying degrees, addressed this possibility before. In a discussion of his recent research regarding ROTY award recipients, Bennett implies a bit of arbitrariness to qualifying for the award, as it focuses upon a player's single-year performance with no baseline (no pun intended) by which to judge his overall performance.4 He specifically presents the sophomore slump as an aftermath of having received the award. Other studies on the matter focus upon the heightened attention to the sophomore slump for ROTY award recipients.5 Taylor and Cuave also discuss the sophomore slump in relation to players with exceptional rookie-year performance.6 Although they never specifically identify ROTY winners as the only players affected, they note that 80 percent of those who received the ROTY award between 2000 and 2003 performed more poorly during their second years in the major leagues than they did during the first. Taylor and Cuave also examined average productivity for all players receiving votes for the ROTY between 1994 and 2003, finding a 12 percent decrease between their freshman and sophomore years.Finding examples of particular Rookie of the Year award winners who have declined in performance during their second years in the major leagues provides little challenge. Consider the following.7* After a standout first season in the Major Leagues and receiving the 2002 American League ROTY award Eric Hinske's second season was plagued by injuries and a 20 percent decline in Win Shares (WS).* The WS of 1976 American League ROTY, Mark Fidrych, also dropped 20 points by the end of his second years playing Major League Baseball.* Angel Berroa, the 2003 American League ROTY, saw a 13-point drop in his On-Base Percentage Plus Slugging (OBP+) and a 6 point drop in his WS numbers between his first and second years in the Major Leagues. Berroa's performance declined so much that his team relegated him to the Minor Leagues for a portion of his second season.* Statistics for Berroa's National League counterpart, Dontrelle Willis, also indicate a decline in performance just after he received the ROTY award. Specifically, his sophomore-year Earned Run Average (ERA) exceeded his freshman-year ERA by .72 and his WS for his sophomore year fell 4 points shy of that for his freshman year in the Major Leagues.These examples only begin this list of ROTY players with worse performances during their second than during their first years in the Major Leagues. Others have had similar, although not necessarily so dramatic, experiences. Walters and Gleeman, for example, mention many of these players in their articles.8 The repeated mention of having received the ROTY award and experiencing a sophomore slump in conjunction with one another clearly suggests a connection between the two. …


Ethical and institutional approvals are essential requirements if a research proposal is to become a research project. This article critically approaches the history of ethical codes, and principles, in the context of politics and practice. It notes how international regulatory mechanisms that govern the research process in medicine and nursing represented a response to state-sanctioned human rights abuses of the last century. It is argued that ethical thinking, and awareness, is central to all stages of the research process. Attention is given to pragmatic ways that cardiac nurses can protect the rights and freedoms of individuals who make an informed decision to participate in a research study, service evaluation, or clinical audit—and how this can be documented, and conveyed, to an ethical or institutional review body. Lastly, we return to the socio-cultural and economic context that frames all health and social research, calling for equivalent standards of integrity, vigilance, and respect in nursing ...


A zoonosis known as monkeypox (MPX) is brought on by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), a kind of Orthopoxvirus similar to the smallpox virus, a member of the Poxviridae family. The MPXV was initially identified in 1958 at a laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark, had an epidemic of a pox‐like illness among monkeys. A newborn baby aged 9 months was the first human MPX case identified in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Then, six MPX confirmed cases were identified until May 1971 in West African nations. Since then, the virus has been verified in thousands of humans across 15 different nations. The first epidemic beyond the African nations was seen in the United States in 2003 after the importation of infected animals from Ghana. Since MPX re‐emerged in Nigeria in 2017, a few individuals affected with MPXV have been reported outside Africa among people who have recently traveled to Nigeria or contacted people visiting Nigeria. In 2018, three MPX cases were detected in the United Kingdom, Israel, and Singapore for the first time, demonstrating that the virus was exported from Nigeria to countries other than its endemic regions. In 2021, two people affected by MPXV were detected in the United States among travelers from Nigeria, one in Maryland and the other in Texas. In the central, northwestern, and southwestern parts of Africa, 25 suspected individuals were identified on February 17, 2022, along with three verified cases and two fatalities. On March 14, 2022, six MPXV cases with two fatalities were reported from the Central African Republic. From the first day of 2022 to mid‐April 2022, throughout 14 territories of DRC, about 1,152 MPX probable cases were recorded in 54 health centers, including 55 fatalities with a mortality rate of 4.8%. From the first day of 2022 to April 30, 2022, Nigeria reported 46 probable cases of MPX, including 15 confirmed cases. The European region recorded the highest confirmed cases of MPX. Two types of MPXV circulate in endemic areas—the Central African (Congo Basin) clade and the West African clade; the latter causes less severe disease and mortality. 2 | THE GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT


This guide provides links to printable instructional handouts for using library technology, such as computers and software, printing, and wifi.


A radial velocity survey (median velocity precision ∼1.0 km s −1 ) for 879 field stars in the direction (l, b)=(277°, 9°) has been undertaken with the bench-mounted spectrograph, ARGUS, and echelle grating at the CTIO 4.0 m telescope. The radial velocity histogram shows a marked overabundance of stars in the range 74,0-76.0 km s −1 . We observe 18 stars in this interval, whereas only five such stars (within our ∼1° field) are expected on the basis of the Institute for Advanced Study Galaxy Model. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that this feature is significant at better than the 99% level


This paper develops several lattice structures for RLS-Laguerre adaptive filtering including a posteriori and a priori based lattice filters with error-feedback, array-based lattice filters, and normalized lattice filters. All structures are efficient in that their computational cost is proportional to the number of taps, albeit some structures require more multiplications or divisions than others. The performance of all filters, however, can differ under practical considerations, such as finite-precision effects and regularization. Simulations are included to illustrate these facts.


Protein structure determination is crucial to understand a protein's function and to develop drugs against diseases. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR1) spectroscopy is an experimental technique that allows one to study protein structure in solution. In NMR Structure-based assignment problem, the aim is to assign experimentally observed peaks to the specific nuclei of the target molecule by using a template protein and it is an important computational challenge. NVR-BIP is a tool that utilizes a scoring function based on NVR's [6, 7] framework and computes assignments for given NMR data. In this paper, we incorporate HADAMAC experiment-which helps predict an amino acid class for each peak- with NVR-BIP's scoring function. Experiments show that the new scoring function results in higher assignment accuracies compared to the previous approaches.


Inflationary impacts have differentially influenced the prices of various components of water resources projects. Therefore forecasts based on statistical analyses of historical price trends are examined to determine whether the differential inflationary impacts in the future may be predicted. Simple statistical estimates of anticipated rates of change in relative prices are shown not to be reliable predictors of future price movements. Relative price movements may therefore only be forecast on the basis of fairly substantial analyses of market forces.


The position of prayer in Islamic teachings is very important. A prayer could change the destiny, and change a bad situation to be good when one does not despair of God's grace he will earnestly and sincerely to Allah Almighty. However, the redaction of prayer from the usual form of the Messenger of Allah or from verses of the holy Qur'an or from the singular to the plural phrase becomes a discourse whether it is permissible or not. Once argue the change on redaction to adapt to the existing situation or conditions, but one of the Salaf said that the prayer is generally made individually. This paper explains that the use of prayer which was edited for contextualization is part of the flexibility in Islam, but using Ma'tsur prayer is more important because then the reader will be rewarded as a reader of the Qur'an, while the adjustment with the situation together or the congregation is also allowed. The best is when the prayer by many people then it is best to use the plural editor without changing it even as it's written in Quran. Keyword—sprayer; Ma'tsur; Quranic verses


Summary: Surfaces of PTFE were modified by polychromatic UV irradiation in the presence of hydrazine vapors. The surfaces were characterized by FTIR and XP spectroscopy as well as by zeta-potential and contact angle measurements. FTIR spectroscopy revealed that – in addition to the introduction of amino and hydrazinyl groups onto the PTFE surface – a partial hydrogenation of the CF units proceeds (generation of hydrocarbon units CH). This finding is backed by XPS results. A fraction of the photochemically modified PTFE layers is soluble in aqueous media, while hydrogenated units appear to be more stable. The determination of the zeta potential (ζ) of the PTFE surface showed a shift of the isoelectric point towards higher pH values as a result of the surface modification. The zeta potential vs. pH curves are shifting steadily towards more positive values at increasing duration of the N2H4/UV treatment. The analysis of the surface tension components of hydrazine-modified PTFE indicates a strong increase of the Lifshitz-Van der Waals components (γLW) and electron-donor components (γ−) compared to untreated PTFE. These components change in different fashion after extraction of the PTFE surface with aqueous media. Finally it is shown that amino and hydrazinyl groups at the PTFE surface can be derivatized by polymer-analogous reactions with isothiocyanates and anhydrides.

Zeta-potential versus pH plots of modified PTFE samples. Dependence on the UV irradiation time in the presence of hydrazine vapor. (○) 0 min; (▴) 30 min; (▾) 45 min; (♦) 70 min; (▪) 90 min; (•) 120 min.


The objective of this study is to explore intuitional culture of private higher institutions in case of Admas University. This research had a hybrid design of both qualitative and quantitative type to fully address the stated objectives and secure the validity and reliability of the finding and it is mainly descriptive research design type. Stratified sampling technique was instrumental to select sample respondents to fill the questionnaire. The whole study populations have been classified into three groups (management, employee and student). Out of which, 11 instructors in the employee category, 5 managers from department heads and administrative staffs and 14 students were selected through random sampling method. Besides, the researcher has implemented convenient sampling method to get the opinion and response of the 4 instructors and 5 students in the informal interview session. Spiraling merits and amplifying remedies for weaknesses is the key to walk in success track. As the current state of organizational culture reveals, it's possible to say that AUC has a culture which is not perceived equally in a similar fashion by all members of the college. Besides, the paradoxical views of individuals particularly that of employees and management indicate the possible misunderstanding and disparity exist in the overall organizational culture of the college. This might in return has a negative effect on the performance and productivity of employees. Given the current situation, the college has to: invest much time and effort on providing awareness creation and information exchange sessions for all members of the college on culture and related matters; striving to create conducive work environment and relationship among members in the college might reduce the information gap exist between them and the antagonistic view held particularly by employees on managers.


Proposed by Maddah-Ali and Niesen, a coded caching scheme has been verified to alleviate the load of networks efficiently. Recently, a new technique called placement delivery array (PDA) was proposed to characterize the coded caching scheme. In this paper, we consider a caching system in the scope of ultra dense networks (UDNs). Each base station (BS) has a finite cache and stores some contents. We propose an efficient coded content caching scheme called double coded caching to make the transmission robust to in-and-out wireless network quality. Then the dynamic caching and multicast scheduling are considered to jointly minimize the average delay and power of the content-centric wireless networks. This stochastic optimization problem can be formulated as a Markov decision process (MDP) with unknown transition probabilities and large state space. We propose a deep reinforcement learning approach to deal with the decision problem. Our algorithm uses a variational auto-encoder (VAE) neural network to approximate the state sufficiently, and uses a weighted double Q-learning scheme to reduce variance and overestimation of the Q function. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed double coded caching scheme increases the probability of the successful transmission, and the caching and scheduling policy can effectively reduce the delay and the power consumption.


Recent findings in a number of laboratories suggest that there are two classes of polarization sensitivity (PS) in fish, and perhaps in other vertebrates as well. One class shows orthogonal PS only in the UV spectrum (salmonids) while the other shows PS in the long-wavelength spectrum (sunfishes). Presumably, this diversity in PS systems implicates a more variable function of PS; such as contrast enhancement and spatial orientation. The work in my laboratory centers on the role of UV cones in PS and orientation behavior. Some salient findings include: (1) salmonids have four cone pigments which overlap in the UV spectrum, (2) electrophysiological measurements of PS indicate the presence of orthogonal PS in the UV spectrum, and (3) spatial orientation behavior of salmonids requires UV light. Single-unit recording in the CNS reveals that polarization, sensitive ganglion cells project to the torus semicicularis not the optic tectum as indicated in the previous studies. I will present evidence that single neurons in the torus are capable of coding the e-vector of incident plane polarized light. Presumably, these neurons play a role in mediating polarized light guided behavior in fish, like object detection/recognition and spatial orientation in the aquatic environment.


Abstract This article is a critical analysis of a fundamental judicial ethic, the appearance of impartiality, an increasingly important public issue that is poorly understood and woefully underexamined in jurisprudence and academic literature. The ethic is pivotal to the determination of judicial disqualification, a/k/a recusal, and the public's fragile trust in the rule of law. The article explains how a mysterious metaphorical device, the "reasonable observer" (a descendant of the common law's "reasonable man") has been subjectively applied in a confusing and inconsistent manner in judicial disqualification cases. The unexamined approach has unwittingly undermined the plain text and the mandatory ethical obligation of recusal (i.e., a judge must disqualify when his or her impartiality might reasonably be questioned). The discussion: (a) analyzes the theoretical underpinnings of the reasonable person-observer analytical tool ("heuristic"); (b) explains how American jurisprudence has glibly transmogrified the appearance-recusal precept; (c) provides a unique and starkly contrasting analytical perspective demonstrating how select common law-based jurisdictions (Australia, Canada, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom) have painstakingly examined and applied the widely-recognized norm of appearance-based impartiality; and (d) synthesizes the preceding theoretical and jurisprudential information to support a proposal for a recalibrated metric and a pragmatic, clarifying heuristic. The article concludes with a model provision, in the form of a guiding "commentary," that summarizes the essential aspects of the appearance of bias precept. The article provides an interpretative approach that attempts to be faithful to the letter and spirit of the foundational judicial ethic.


In this paper, we adapt a method to enhance the efficiency of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) when solving neural architecture search (NAS) problems by improving the initialization stage with minimal costs. Instead of sampling a small number of architectures from the search space, we sample a large number of architectures and estimate the performance of each one without invoking the computationally expensive training process but by using a zero-cost proxy. After ranking the architectures via their zero-cost proxy values and efficiency metrics, the best architectures are then chosen as the individuals of the initial population. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our method, we conduct experiments on the widely-used NAS-Bench-101 and NAS-Bench-201 benchmarks. Experimental results exhibit that the proposed method achieves not only considerable enhancements on the quality of initial populations but also on the overall performance of MOEAs in solving NAS problems. The source code of the paper is available at https://github.com/ELO-Lab/ENAS-TFI.


The efficacy studies conducted for six months revealed a significant increase in Haemoglobin and serum ferritin and a significant decrease in total iron binding capacity in the subjects consumed iron-fortified rice, but more so in the subjects consumed rice fortified with iron along with either vitamin A or beta-carotene. Likewise, the serum retinol was significantly increased in children received beta-carotene or vitamin A fortified meals and more so was in the children received rice fortified with beta-carotene or vitamin A along with iron. In sensory evaluation the micronutrient fortified rice (after blending with natural rice in the ratio of 1: 100) was almost indistinguishable from natural rice after cooking except beta-carotene fortified rice which could not match the white colour of natural rice. The cost analysis revealed that cost to fortify rice can have a very small impact on rice consumption. From the present study, it can be concluded that providing micronutrient fortified rice in school feeding programme could reduce the large burden of ID, IDA and VAD among children in developing countries.


The investigation of equivalent elastic method is made to predict settlements and stresses of multi‐layered grounds and improved grounds. Analytical models to represent the heterogeneous elastic properties of layers in vertical and horizontal directions for multi‐layered grounds and improved grounds are proposed in taking into account the equivalent elastic modulus and the equivalent thickness. By introducing the equivalent thickness derived from Terzaghi's formula of the vertical stress, the equivalent elastic method of using the equivalent elastic modulus and the equivalent thickness is applied to the formulations concerning immediate settlements and vertical stresses in multi‐layered grounds and improved grounds. Comparison is performed between rigorous solutions and simulations for immediate settlements and vertical stresses in multi‐layered grounds and improved grounds. It is found that the proposed method is able to describe properly the characteristics of distributions for settlements and vertical stresses in multi‐layered grounds and improved grounds. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Methods for estimation of dispersion effects in two-level unreplicated factorial designs are studied. The consequences of non-constant variance are discussed. A natural assumption concerning the form of the covariance of location effects leads to a particular normal model. Some linear combinations of the response variables are constructed in order to make a simple structure for inference. The precision of point estimators of dispersion effects, where one is based on experiments with replicates, are compared. A numerical example is given as an illustration of a test. Finally, estimations in fractional designs are described and discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Ibn SIna. Ibn Rushd, however, is entered under the Arabic name and there is no cross-reference from Averroes. Similarly, a few Arabic book titles are entered under English translation as well as the transliterated Arabic; so they have two index entries, while the majority are entered under transliterated title only. Perhaps no one of these criticisms, in itself, is enough to vitiate the contribution that Salem and Kumar have made in opening up this historically important treatise to the monolingual English-language reader. Taken together, though, they add up to a distinctly disappointing result. GREGG DE YOUNG American University in Cairo


The present article introduced the standards of moldproof test and their application in detail, expatiated on the harmful effect of the mold on industrial materials or products and the requirements of selecting the experiment parameters, discussed the limitation of the standards for moldproof test used in China.


Cell-derived microparticles (MP), ≤1μm vesicles shed from vascular and blood cells during activation or apoptosis, circulate in plasma and are biomarkers of cardiovascular disease. The type 2 scavenger receptor CD36 binds MP via phosphatidylserine exposed on their surface. On microvascular endothelial cells (MVEC) CD36 induces anti-angiogenic signals via its cognate protein ligands, such as thrombospondin-1. We hypothesized that CD36-MP interactions on MVEC would inhibit angiogenesis. MP generated in vitro from THP1 cells dose dependently inhibited MVEC tube formation in in vitro matrigel angiogenesis assays (>50% inhibition of number of tubes formed, branch points, and segments; p<0.05). MP derived from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), MVEC and erythrocytes also inhibited tube formation showing that the anti-angiogenic effect of MP is independent of their cell of origin. THP1 MP also inhibited MVEC migration in a transwell assay by 80% (p<0.001). Early passage MVEC with high CD36 expression were inhibited more than late passage MVEC with low CD36 expression (80% vs 33%; p<0.001) establishing the specificity of CD36 in this process. Further, in HUVEC that do not express CD36, inhibition of migration by THP1 MP was only 44% (p<0.001) but lentiviral-mediated heterologous expression of murine CD36 in HUVEC restored inhibition of migration to levels similar to that of MVEC (82%; p<0.001), corroborating the specificity of CD36 in MP mediated inhibition of migration. Since CD36 dependent generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is necessary to inhibit cell migration in macrophages, we tested if MP can induce ROS in MVEC. THP1 MP dose dependently induced ROS in MVEC by two fold compared to control at 1hr (p<0.05). NADPH oxidase inhibitor, apocynin, blocked MP induced ROS induction by >95% and partially (33%) reversed the inhibition of tube formation in MVEC by THP1 MP (p<0.05). Western blots of THP1 MP treated MVEC showed time-dependent activation of Fyn kinase, and PP2, a Src family kinase inhibitor, blocked MP induced ROS induction by >95%. These studies identify a novel CD36 dependent mechanistic pathway through which cell-derived MP inhibit MVEC angiogenic activities through ROS generation involving NADPH oxidase and Src kinase Fyn.


erpetofauna that comprises amphibians and reptiles are the most important component of the ecosystem. They are threatened worldwide and are declining rapidly, mostly due to anthropogenic pressures. While Hconservation of these faunal groups has become priority, the study concerning them is scanty. Sikkim occupies a unique location in the eastern Himalaya and harbors high biodiversity including herpetofauna. Here we have complied the scattered available information on herpetofauna of Sikkim supported with our extensive field studies during 20032010. We also evaluated elevational distribution pattern, range size distribution and threats and conservation needs of herpetofauna. We prepared the checklist of herpetofauna which contains 50 species of amphibians and 88 species of reptiles that are found in Sikkim. During our study we observed 23 and 42 species of amphibians and reptiles respectively from Sikkim. Along the elevation gradient, amphibian species richness showed mid-elevation (1500-2000m) peak, whereas reptilian richness peaked at 500-1000m elevation. Amphibian distributions are influenced by both temperature and precipitation, whereas temperature alone determined reptile richness pattern along the elevation gradient. Most species of herpetofauna depicted narrow elevational range size. We found that most of the high altitude species extends their range towards low altitude but reverse is not true. Major threat for amphibian species is observed as collection by local communities and for reptiles it is rampant killing (especially snakes). Considering high richness at low elevation, narrow elevation range of many species and unique diversity, conservation of all habitats along the entire elevation gradient is necessary for conservation of herpetofauna in Sikkim. Raising awareness among people at various levels is one of the major conservation needs in Sikkim.


The methodology of product design engineering, providing a rational combination of traditional (manual) geometric modeling and capabilities of computer technology, is discussed on the example of an automobile body.


Nationally, preterm births have declined by 8.4%, from 10.4% of live births in 2007 to 9.5% in 2014, according to a recent CDC analysis. Although women of all ages had fewer premature babies during those years, a 39.5% decline in teen births and an 11.7% decrease in births to women aged 20 to 24 years had the biggest impact on the overall reduction in preterm births. An increase in births to mothers aged 30 years or older didn't affect the overall decrease in preterm births. "[B]y preventing [teen pregnancy], we also reduce the number of babies born too soon," Wanda Barfield, MD, MPH, director of the CDC's Division of Reproductive Health, said in a statement. Barfield applauded the success of teenage pregnancy prevention programs but cautioned that preterm births have increased slightly, from 9.57% in 2014 to 9.63% in 2015. "[W]hile it's too early to know what caused this increase or if this is the start of a trend, we do know that substantial racial and ethnic disparities persist," she said. In 2015, the preterm birth rate was 13.4% among African-American women compared with 8.9% among white women. Factors such as poverty and lack of access to quality health care play a role. Barfield said the United States has "a fantastic opportunity" to reduce preterm births even further through 5 strategies: Preventing unintended pregnancy and encouraging optimal birth spacing; providing access to preconception care; identifying women at risk of preterm birth and providing treatment; reducing elective deliveries before 39 weeks' gestation; and transferring only a single embryo during in vitro fertilization. The researchers also recommended tailoring public health strategies to different age groups to reduce preterm birth rates.


patients. Finally, a uremic component is supported by the observation that renal transplantation is the only definitive treatment for severe refractory UP in patients with ESRD (14). A hiccough (hiccup) or ''singultus'' is an intermittent involuntary spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles (15). It is believed to involve unilateral contraction of the left hemidiaphragm in majority of cases and may be related to irritation of the vagus and ⁄or phrenic nerves. If persistent or intractable, hiccoughs can potentially lead to poor nutrition, involuntary weight loss, fatigue, and decreased quality of life. Most of the literature on this entity arises from case reports that focus on etiologies such as star fruit, various medications, and electrolyte abnormalities such as hyponatremia. Relief from hiccoughs in dialysis patients have been reported following biotin therapy (10 mg ⁄day) (16). It is difficult to establish its true incidence and ⁄or prevalence. The relationship of hiccoughs to uremia is anecdotal; there is no published information making this link or one to inadequate dialysis clearance. Based on this evidence-based literature review, none of the above symptoms can be considered as definitive surrogates of uremia or inadequate dialysis. This is likely the case because the unique characteristics of dialysis patients with their various confounding comorbid factors, and conditions, make it difficult to identify symptoms specific enough to be considered as surrogate markers for uremia or dialysis inadequacy.


In this paper, we present DOG (Dynamic Observant Guard), an efficient information flow tracing and program monitoring system. Our system is based on dynamic binary rewriting. We proposed a number of novel techniques such as memory mapping to reduce overhead in tracing of data and monitoring of program execution. We have demonstrated that our system is effective in protecting against various kinds of exploits. We also evaluated our system performance with SPEC2000 INT [5] benchmark. Our system achieved an average slowdown of 5.5 times compared against the native execution, offering significant improvements over similar tools.


(1) In subterranean termites of the genus Reticulitermes, colonies are difficult to delineate because physical nest structures are concealed or amorphous, and colony boundaries are difficult to define. The ambiguity of colony architecture and the cryptic nesting and feeding habits of these ecologically and economically important termites hinder our understanding of their population biology. We review and synthesize current information on Reticulitermes life history, reproduction, and genetics to develop an understanding of colony and population structure, and possible modes of reproductive organization. (2) To infer colony structure, we simulate several breeding systems that might be found in Reticulitermes and determine the F statistics and relatedness coefficients expected for groups of workers drawn from the simulated populations. Available field data on the distribution of worker genotypes within and among colonies are then used to distinguish between alternate hypotheses regarding population and bree...


To identify developmental trajectories of hand function in infants aged 3 months to 12 months with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP).


Accurate modelling of fluid and particle flow is essential for reliable predictions of gas–solid reactions in the multiphase reactor. Due to the promising features such as short contact time, less back mixing of solids and low residence time, downer column has been used in industries than conventional riser configuration. However, the effective simulation and validation of the hydrodynamic characteristics have been scarce. A RANS model with an appropriate Eulerian-Eulerian approach poses a challenging task of choosing the hydrodynamic simulation parameters, such as i) particle-particle restitution coefficient, ii) particle-wall restitution coefficient and iii) specularity coefficient. The objective of the present study was to optimise these model parameters to obtain close validation with experimental data so that accurate downer hydrodynamics can be predicted. The error obtained from validating the experimental data with the CFD simulation output is our function which needs to be minimised. Newton Raphson multi-parameter root finding method was used for this purpose. The Jacobian evaluation required multiple CFD simulations at each iteration. A 61% reduction in error was achieved after 3 iterations. Thus, the optimised model parameters of hydrodynamics used for further modelling study in predicting hydrodynamic characteristics of a 200 mm diameter 8 m column. Highlights Validation of hydrodynamics of multiphase flow in downer employing Eulerian-Eulerian Approach Optimisation of hydrodynamic interactive model parameters viz., Restitution and Specularity coefficient coupled with Newton Raphson multi-parameter root finding and Jacobian Method. Agreement between experimental and simulation with optimised modelling parameters


Electric mobility is winning fans in major conurbation around the world and should begin to take off within the next five years or so. However, the mass adoption of vehicles powered purely by batteries outside those key markets could be at least 10 years away if indeed it ever happens.


Abstract: The environmental impact of ICE automobiles in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries prompted the development of electric vehicles. Electric vehicles have numerous advantages over traditional internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles, including the fact that they emit no carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. With many advantages of electric vehicles over traditional ICE vehicles, the world is moving toward EVs as a new improved means of transportation. Electric vehicles' tank to wheel efficiency is three times larger than ICE vehicles', and electric vehicles have very low running and maintenance costs. Even though electric vehicles are the best alternative, they do have significant disadvantages that are listed in the problem statement. Our proposal aims to bridge the gap between pure electric and traditional ICE automobiles by combining the primary benefits and advantages of both technologies. The project's main goal is to convert any existing ICE car into the most efficient vehicle possible. Our car can basically run on two distinct independent sources of energy, or even a combination of both. It can function as a pure electric vehicle, a pure ICE vehicle, or a hybrid AWD vehicle (where high amount of power is required). It has been shown that the average city dweller does not drive his or her car for more than 25 kilometers per day, and that the vehicle is parked the majority of the time. As a result, that individual can traverse that distance in pure electric mode, and our vehicle's solar charging mechanism will recover/recharge the energy expended while on the road. As a result, the person will be able to use our vehicle for free to generate sustainable energy. The use of ICE vehicles is rapidly increasing pollution in the environment; even pure EVs are an indirect source of pollution because the bulk of power is still generated by burning coal, thus our vehicle's use will undoubtedly make a significant difference.