Improving the effect of falling-film on heat exchange tube can significantly enhance the absorption of heat and mass transfer coefficient in the absorber.So a new type falling liquid film down the outside of a vertical tube was put forward,and the experimental research and theoretical analysis were made.The choice of liquid distributor's key parameters,such as the inner diameter of annular,the number and structural parameters of spiral grooved channel,and its effect on the falling liquid film were investigated.The experimental results show that under the condition of liquid distributor's annular gap 0.6-1.0 mm,the number of spiral grooved channel 3-5,the cross-sectional area of spiral grooved channel 1-4 mm2 based on the tube diameter and the wall thickness,the liquid distributor can fall film quickly.The relationship between the flowrate coefficients and the Reynolds number is correlated in terms of fluid flowing in the spiral grooved channel.


1. Thirteen cases of occipito-cervical fusion performed in the past fifteen years at the London Hospital are described.

2. Seven of the patients had congenital anomalies in the region of the foramen magnum, six had spontaneous atlanto-axial dislocations, and in one case the operation was performed prophylactically to stabilise a severely disorganised cervical spine.

3. Nine of the patients had evidence of neurological involvement before operation due to pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots.

4. Operative fusion was successful in all cases and there was no operative mortality.

5. The clinical results were good in eight cases and four patients were improved. The condition of one patient, in whom progressive disseminated sclerosis was also present, deteriorated.

6. The technique of operation is described, and it is recommended that it should always be performed as a combined orthopaedic and neurosurgical procedure.


Estimating the probability of and mechanism for rare events is a physically relevant and mathematically interesting question. Focussing on issues related to "constrained switching events," we describe differences from the classical Arrhenius picture and how action minimization can be used as a tool. As a specific example, we turn to the stochastic Allen-Cahn equation and explain recent results for the scaling of the action problem and the sharp interface limit.


Recently because the IS development project is large scale and complicated, the necessity of tools that can manage effectively smooth communications and the harmonized project between the interested parties is exposed. According to this fact, many companies are investing enough to the PMS (Project Management System) for the sake of the systematic management of the IS development project, and also this PMS is emerging as one of the indispensable tools for the successful IS development project by casting off from a auxiliary means for the past project management. However, as had been expected, whether the introduction of the PMS is possible to facilitate communications within a project team, and a main motivation that can derive individual performance and organizational performance that participated in the IS development project is induced or not are not verified still empirically and apparently. With respect to this, a survey was conducted to examine how PMS quality affected user satisfaction, communication, individual performance and project performance. The effects of the data gathered were verified by structural equation model analysis.


Human white adipocytes engineered to express UCP1 activate endogenous BAT and protect against diet-induced obesity when transplanted into mice. Turning up the heat Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is the major player in the energy-siphoning thermogenesis that primarily occurs in brown adipose tissue (BAT). Wang et al. generated UCP1-overexpressing human white adipocytes so that they more resembled their brown counterparts. Transplantation of the modified white adipocytes prevented diet-induced obesity and glucose intolerance and increased energy expenditure in the recipient mice. These metabolic benefits resulted from increased nitric oxide signaling in the transplanted human cells, which activated endogenous murine BAT. Future work will need to examine whether this cell-based strategy can activate BAT thermogenesis in humans. Brown and brown-like beige/brite adipocytes dissipate energy and have been proposed as therapeutic targets to combat metabolic disorders. However, the therapeutic effects of cell-based therapy in humans remain unclear. Here, we created human brown-like (HUMBLE) cells by engineering human white preadipocytes using CRISPR-Cas9–SAM–gRNA to activate endogenous uncoupling protein 1 expression. Obese mice that received HUMBLE cell transplants showed a sustained improvement in glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, as well as increased energy expenditure. Mechanistically, increased arginine/nitric oxide (NO) metabolism in HUMBLE adipocytes promoted the production of NO that was carried by S-nitrosothiols and nitrite in red blood cells to activate endogenous brown fat and improved glucose homeostasis in recipient animals. Together, these data demonstrate the utility of using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to engineer human white adipocytes to display brown fat-like phenotypes and may open up cell-based therapeutic opportunities to combat obesity and diabetes.


ABSTRACT Steel micro fibers provide strengthening, toughening and durability improvement mechanisms in cementitious composites. However, there is not much data in the literature regarding how the extent of their effectiveness changes depending on the type of matrix being reinforced. For clarifying this point, the influence of a constant volumetric ratio (1%) of 6 mm long steel micro fibers on the performance of 5 mortar mixtures was investigated and were prepared using plain, binary and ternary cementitious systems. A total of 10 mixtures were cast. The mineral admixtures used in the study include silica fume (SF), metakaolin (MK) and a Class C fly ash (FA). While the replacement levels of SF and MK were 10% by weight of the total mass of the binder, this ratio was chosen as 30% for FA. In addition to the behavior of the mixtures under compressive, flexural and impact loads, abrasion, water absorption, chloride ion penetration, freezing-thawing resistance and drying shrinkage characteristics of the mixtur...


Laser rapid manufacturing processes of metal parts can be classified as follows: selective laser sintering(SLS),selective laser re-melting(SLRM),i.e.,selective laser cladding(SLC),and direct laser deposition(DLD),i.e.,laser-engineered net shaping(LENS).This classification is based on the mechanism of powder-laser interaction(powder depositing versus powder feeding) and on the resultant laser processing mechanism(liquid phase sintering with partial melting versus complete melting and solidifying).The manufacturing principles,processing materials,advantages and disadvantages of the above three kinds of processes are addressed respectively.The effects of "balling" effect,curling deformation,and crack initiation on the laser processing ability of metal powders as well as the corresponding settlement measures are presented.


In this paper, new classes of rules are proposed for selecting from a given set of populations, a subset containing the best population. The rules have the following property: The probability that the selected set contains the best population is greater than or equal to P*, a preassigned number. The derivation of the rules is based on Schur concave functions. The rules apply to various types of distributions such as normal and gamma.


Aim. The presented study aims to identify problems and ways to overcome the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on socio-economic processes and prospects for the development of the Russian economy with allowance for the impact of various global risks.Tasks. The authors identify the major problems and barriers hindering the implementation of measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and related to its impact on socio-economic processes; document new risks caused by the wave-like nature of the pandemic; investigate the mechanism of the multiplicative destabilizing impact of global risks; determine key methods and tools of preventive risk management to reduce the negative impact of global risks.Methods. This study uses the methods of risk management, forecasting, systems and comparative analysis of retrospective and current information, scientific generalization, and comparison of statistics.Results. The authors provide estimates of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various sectors of the economy and the social sphere. Circular risk structures are identified, which generate chains of positive feedbacks that negatively affect socio-economic processes. New risks generated by the wave-like nature of the pandemic are documented. Financial instruments aimed at attracting additional funds to combat the pandemic are proposed. The reasons for the negative development of the epidemiological situation in Russia and around the world in the fall of 2021 are determined. The mechanism of multiplicative influence of various global risks on economic processes and the social sphere is determined and investigated. Factors preventing the neutralization of the negative impact of global risks and the major methods and tools of preventive risk management that could reduce the negative impact of global risks are identified.Conclusions. The COVID-19 pandemic has become a catalyst for shifting processes in the economy and the social sphere. The processes initiated by the pandemic are enhanced by the multiplicative effect of other global threats, particularly threats to climate and energy security. The impact of the pandemic on economic sectors varies: by generating high risks for some industries, the pandemic gives chances for the development of others – for example, for the wider dissemination of modern information technologies and means of remote communication. The impact of the pandemic on socio-economic processes is wave-like, which causes new risks and requires the implementation of problem-oriented preventive risk management methods and financing tools proposed in this study.


In order to evaluate the practicability of using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry to test sanitary items of stainless steel food containers,the source of uncertainty in the test is analysed by the numbers according to the general method of uncertainty evaluation in this paper,on the basis of which the uncertainty of the test result is educed.


To meet the high precision physical goals in the future e + e − circular collider (CEPC), the high resolution tracker detector for the particle track reconstruction (¡100μ m) and particle identification are required. Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is one of the main concept option of the central tracker detector. On behalf of the track detector subgroup in CEPC, the status and update R&D results of TPC module and prototype for the specific requirements will be presented in this article. TPC module will could suppress the ions in chamber continuously running in the different gains (2000-5000) and T2K mixture gases, and TPC prototype with Micro-pattern Gaseous Detector (MPGD) detector module integrated the narrow laser mimic tracks system. the update results of the spatial resolution, particles identified (dE/dx) were been investigated. In this TPC prototype, the precision drift time of the different laser mimic tracks ionized primary electrons in the specific operation working gases were recorded. Some considerations of the low power consumption readout requirements will be given according to the pad TPC detector operating at the high luminosity Z pole at CEPC.


A fundamental proposition in labeling theory is that stigmatization and alienation are conducive to the perpetuation of deviant behavior. From this perspective, the steady increase in juvenile delinquency in the past two decades has been linked to the expansion of functions exercised by the juvenile courts (increasing its potential for stigmatization) and the uncertainty of the courts' processing styles (leading to alienation). This study examines two related hypotheses subsumed by this theoretical explanation. First, because of a sup posed breakdown in alternative informal controls, urban court systems tend to expand their jurisdictions and to process large numbers of juveniles. Second, because they process so many cases. the courts tend to displace their goals. In order to explore these propositions, two juvenile court systems. one in Brazil and the other in the United States, were compared. Both function in metropolitan centers with similar ecological profiles. The cross-national scope of the design enhances the range of variation for the hypotheses at issue, and it provides a way to assess the extent to which they might be culture-bound. The data show that the United States court processed ten times more juve niles than the Brazilian court. This indicates that the direct association be tween metropolitan pressures and court expansion is not universal. The evidence supports the second hypothesis: The court processing a greater number of juveniles was found to have displaced the traditional mandates of juvenile justice.


On 22 June, 2005, after 15 plenary sessions, more than 50 meetings of the steering committee, plenty of working groups and talks the mediation process "Vienna Airport" had been completed. More than 50 interest groups had participated. The particular complexity of this process was due to the large number of participating groups and the far reaching consequences of decisions in a regional and supra-regional context. Political interests, the intricate connections of topics, interests and needs of all participants posed further challenges in the mediation. Concrete results of the mediation can be presented. In the view of the participants the process is deemed successful. In developing and guiding the mediation process in Vienna we entered new ground. On the other hand many elements known from "classical" mediation are likewise effective in this large context.


Objective To investigate the characteristic of portal vein in the colorectal cancer with liver metastasis.Methods The clinical data of the diameter,the flow-rate and incidence of tumor thrombus of portal vein in 250 colorectal cancer patients with liver metastasis were analyzed retrospectively.Results In the cases of colorectal cancer with liver metastasis,the diameter of portal vein was(10.4±1.34)mm,the flow-rate was(19.7±5.2) cm/s,and the incidence of tumor thrombi was 0.The incidence of tumor thrombi in the colorectal cancer with liver metastasis was significantly different from that of hepatocellular carcinoma(P0.01).Conclusion The diameter and flow-rate of portal vein in colorectal cancer with liver metastasis showed no significant changes,and the incidence of tumor thrombus was rare when compared with that in hepatocellular carcinoma.


Peptides characterized by single or multiple N-methylated, Cα-trisubstituted (e.g., protein) amino acids are of great interest in medicinal chemistry. Several naturally occurring peptides, remarkably stable to enzymatic attacks, are based on N-methylated residues. The classical conditions (CH3I/Ag2O in DMF, 24 h, room temperature) for N-methylation of the peptide function are useful tools for distinguishing solvent exposed from intramolecularly H-bonded –CO–NH– groups in peptides. In this work we have extended this reaction to Nα-acylated, linear peptides based exclusively on helicogenic Cα-tetrasubstituted α-amino acids, e.g., Aib (α-aminoisobutyric acid) or (αMe)Nva (Cα-methyl norvaline) residues. Under the experimental conditions used, only amide monomethylation (on the N-terminal, acylated, residue) takes place. Methylation of internal peptide groups linking two Cα-tetrasubstituted residues was not observed. Our FT–IR absorption, NMR, and X-ray diffraction investigations support the view that the β-turn and 310-helical conformations preferred by the original peptides are not dramatically perturbed in the derivatives monomethylated at position 1. In particular, the tertiary amide bonds are trans. Conversely, the packing modes in the crystals are strongly influenced by the reduction of the number of H-bonding donors. The MeXxx–Xxx peptide bond is readily disrupted under mild acidic conditions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 84: 553–565, 2006

This article was originally published online as an accepted preprint. The "Published Online" date corresponds to the preprint version. You can request a copy of the preprint by emailing the Biopolymers editorial office at firstname.lastname@example.com


The forming mechanism of oxide film in aluminium alloy forgings is introduced.The ultrasonic examination exponents in aluminium alloy forgings production are given.The decision methods of oxide film defects by ultrasonic examination are summarized at experienced base.


Bacteria have different decomposing enzymes, a feature which makes them outstanding among all other microbes. One of the major methods to reduce various pollutants is applying biologic method which is known as bioremediation. The aim of the present study was tried to analyze the existence of naphthalene-degradation bacteria phenotypically and genotypically in Qurugol Lake, located in East Azerbaijan Province in Iran. For this aim at the end of each rainy season samples were taken from the locations of the lake which were the most polluted. These samples were incubated in a specific medium where naphthalene was the only carbonic source of energy for providing the poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) energy. The single colonies were isolated and the primary phonotypic and biochemical tests were carried out. After that, for genotypic analysis, their 16S rRNA genes were separated and sequenced. Considering the fact that the decomposing bacteria of PAHs compounds, which were taken from the lake, were isolated, it became obvious that part of polluting process is done by these bacteria. The significant bacteria in this case are bacillus sp. and closely related type strains include B. pumilus (99.9%) Which are capable of decomposing PAHs efficiently in 5% salt concentrations also Shewanella sp. and closely related type strains include Sh. Xiamenensis (99.1%) which are capable of decomposing PAHs efficiently in 1/5% salt concentration. On the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic results, it is recommended that isolated RCRI7(=RCRI8) represents a novel strain of the species Sh. xiamenensis and The GenBank/EMBL accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequences of strain RCRI7 is GQ988720. The level of DNA–DNA relatedness between strain RCRI7 and phylogenetically the closest related strain, Shewanella xiamenensis JCM 16212 T was 51%.


Vitamin K belongs to the lipophilic vitamins and is present in vegetarian and animal food. In the human organism, it acts as an antioxidant, plays an important role in blood coagulation and bone metabolism. A protective function with arteriosclerosis is assumed. There are numerous study data concerning the significance of vitamin K for the bone health, which show that especially older women with an increased osteoporosis and fracture risk as well as with senile osteoporosis can profit from an individual vitamin K dose for prevention and therapy.


To make the hybrid system simulation more accurate and develop control strategy efficiently,aplatform of hardware-in-the-loop for hybrid control strategy test is put forward. The corresponding dynamic models of a hybrid system are built.Also a driver-in-the-loop real-time simulation platform including the real control box is established.The simulation experiments for a hybrid system based on the ISG hybrid vehicle were performed.It shows that the real-time simulation system can simulate the characteristics of real vehicle very well ,and get good performance.


We present a search for ZZ and ZW vector boson pair production in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV using the leptonic decay channels ZZ {yields} llvv, ZZ {yields} lll'l' and ZW {yields} lll'v. In a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 194 pb{sup -1} collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab, 3 candidate events are found with an expected background of 1.0 {+-} 0.2 events. We set a 95% confidence level upper limit of 15.2 pb on the cross section for ZZ plus ZW production, compared to the standard model prediction of 5.0 {+-} 0.4 pb.


Abstract The pyroelectric coefficient of TGS single crystal is measured by means an experimental system which is described. Below room temperature the pvroelectric coefficients of two α-LiIO3 single crystal grown from different pH solution are measured. There is evidence of the influence of crystal growth on pvroelectric properties of α-LiIO3.


The paper examines the principles of self -reliance as critical elements to the overall sustainable development of the rural economy drawing examples from Nigeria. It argues that there is a need for an alternative model for development in traditional, predominantly rural communities which avoids creating overdependence on foreign aid and allows for the empowering of local people to trust in their own capabilities and spirit. Self -reliance as an alternative to the western model if properly understood and applied can bring hope for a brighter and more sustainable future.


The utilization of hybrid nanofluids is a promising technique in the high temperature solar applications specially, parabolic trough collector (PTC). The purpose of the current research is to analyze, evaluate and compare the performance of PTC (converging‐diverging absorber tube) using mono and hybrid nanofluids to increase the convective heat transfer coefficient. To obtain this objective, converging‐diverging tube with sine geometry is examined as it enhances the turbulence in the flow due to increase in the inner surface roughness. The performance of the absorber tube is assessed for hybrid nanofluid (1.5% MWCNTs/therminol‐VPI and 1.5% TiO2/therminol‐VPI) as well as mono nanofluids (3% MWCNTs and 3% TiO2)/therminol‐VPI at a wide range of inlet temperature ranges from 350 K to 600 K. In order to compare the results of the converging‐diverging tube, a smooth absorber tube is also investigated at the same design conditions. Furthermore, our study comprises of the overall performance investigation about the exergy analysis, pressure drop, pumping power required and performance evaluation criteria to investigate the comprehensive performance of the absorber tubes. The results of the study reveal that the use of modified geometry with hybrid nanofluids considerably improves the performance of the system due to the presence of swirls and turbulence that will reduce absorber surface temperature and ultimately the heat losses. More specifically, the thermal efficiency enhancement for the converging‐diverging absorber tube with hybrid nanofluids ranges from 3.61% to 5.27%, while it is varied from 1.70% to 1.91% for smooth tube using hybrid nanofluids. Reynolds number ranges from 12 000 to 90 300 for hybrid nanofluid, while it is from 14 000 to 97 600 for pure therminol‐VPI. Furthermore, mean enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient using converging‐diverging tube with hybrid, TiO2 and MWCNTs therminol‐VPI‐based nanofluids are 1.72%, 0.67% and 0.70%, respectively at a mass flow rate of 0.6 kg/s and an ambient temperature of 300 K. The converging‐diverging/hybrid case has the values of 1.47 and 1.33 for performance evaluation criteria I and II, while all other cases has significantly less values compared to hybrid nanofluids. The thermal efficiency enhancement has a pressure‐drop penalty that leads to higher pumping power requirement; however, this requirement is very small as compared to the useful energy gain.


The article points out the disadvantages of indirect testing method in judging lexical ambiguity,and discusses the application of direct testing method and the principles throughout this method,which aims to help us judge English lexical ambiguity more accurately and distinguish it from lexical generality.


aims at defining the extent of valley inundations with real-time forecasting at the Hungarian section of the river. Model results can provide adequate support for disaster management emergency planning and security measures, such as protection of villages on open floodplain and general flood protection measures.


How genetic polymorphisms are maintained in a population is a key question in evolutionary ecology. Previous work on a plumage colour polymorphism in the common buzzard Buteo buteo suggested heterozygote advantage as the mechanism maintaining the co‐existence of three morphs (light, intermediate and dark). We took advantage of 20 years of life‐history data collected in a Dutch population to replicate earlier studies on the relationship between colour morph and fitness in this species. We examined differences between morphs in adult apparent survival, breeding success, annual number of fledglings produced and cumulative reproductive success. We found that cumulative reproductive success differed among morphs, with the intermediate morph having highest fitness. We also found assortative mating for colour morph, whereby assortative pairs were more likely to produce offspring and had longer‐lasting pair bonds than disassortative pairs. Over the 20‐year study period, the proportion of individuals with an intermediate morph increased. This apparent evolutionary change did not just arise from selection on individual phenotypes, but also from fitness benefits of assortative mating. The increased frequency of intermediates might also be due to immigration or drift. We hypothesize that genetic variation is maintained through spatial variation in selection pressures. Further studies should investigate morph‐dependent dispersal behaviour and habitat choice.


The details of a radiological procedure are presented by which it is possible to conduct continuous external detection of the rate of rectal absorption of radio-tagged compounds specially designed suppository vehicles inserted in the rectal passage of a female rat. An analysis of the rate data is presented and a mathematical expression is derived which corrects the activity detected by the counter for the effect of the diffusion of the drug within the vehicle and for the accumulation of the absorbed drug in the scanned volume segment of the animal. Experimental results on three radio iodide-131 tagged compounds are presented and appear to confirm the resulting pseudo-first order rate equation.


Trade and Industrial (T&I) teachers take on numerous roles in order to work effectively in their schools. Among their many roles they are program managers, instructional designers, facilitators of learning, and student advisors. To successfully perform these roles, they, like all teachers, master a myriad of complex skills, skills which fall into at least four categories. Danielson (1996) defines these categories as planning and preparation of instruction, creating a supportive learning environment, engaging the students in instruction, and taking on professional responsibilities outside of and in addition to those in the classroom. Customarily, new teachers complete formal training programs through coursework, workshops, student teaching, and other structured events before they obtain certification or licensure. These formal training programs are designed to produce explicit knowledge (Knight, 2002). This knowledge, in turn, is intended to prepare the new teachers to take on all the roles required of them in their future classrooms and laboratories. Traditionally, teacher educators have assumed that teaching skills are learned through formal programs. However, research from corporate training settings suggests that many job skills are learned on the job through more informal methods (Enos, Kehrhan & Bell, 2003). ______________


Human rights are enshrined in numerous human rights documents produced by the United Nations, most notably in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its related covenants outlining civil, political, economic, cultural, and social rights. However, while they are presented as aspirational guides for the way in which human beings ought to be treated, significant abuses of these rights continue to occur. This is because human rights can only be protected by nation-states through the legal rights of citizenship. Since it is costly to protect human rights, nation-states restrict access to citizenship by excluding those beyond their geographical boundaries. This often means that despite our common humanity, we have access to a range of human rights based solely on the lottery of our birth in a particular location. Citizens of one nation-state often have human rights that people in others do not have. Because of its relationship to human rights, citizenship is a contested notion, offering both inclusion and exclusion. In this chapter, we will explore the competing stories about human rights and about citizenship, and consider how they intersect in complex ways to shape access to justice globally. Like many of the other stories discussed in this book, these stories closely align with political philosophy and with sociology. The first story is drawn from political philosophy, and suggests that human rights are natural, universal, and apply equally, and that the role of citizenship is to enable access to the full range of human rights. In this story, citizenship is about an increasing level of inclusion over time. The second story is drawn from sociology and suggests that human rights are applied unequally, and that as a consequence, citizenship does not lead to an equal capacity to access the rights and privileges that are attached to a particular nation-state. In this story, citizenship is about increasing levels of exclusion over time.


A growing number of studies have found that the lymph node ratio (LNR) is an important indicator of prognosis in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Impact analysis for LNR was performed for survival in patients undergoing surgery for stage III NSCLC compared to the surveillance, epidemiology and end results databank. Clinicopathological variables, such as cancer-specific survival (CSS), were taken from the surveillance epidemiology and end result databank of stage III NSCLC patients who underwent surgery, and the LNR threshold stratification of NSCLC patients was computed by X-tile. CSS was assessed by the Kaplan–Meier method with CSS-independent risk factors calculated by multivariate Cox regression analysis. In total, 7011 lung cancer patients were included. Multifactorial analysis showed that LNR and positive node category had predictive value for stage III NSCLC. In patients with stage IIIA NSCLC, Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated that patients with T1-2N2 stage had clearly superior CSS than those with T3-4N1 stage (P < .001), which conflicted with the results from the assessment of primary tumor, lymph nodes, and metastasis/N stage. The cutoff values for LNR were 0.31 and 0.59. Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated that the CSS was substantially better in patients with LNR-low than in those with LNR-medium or LNR-high (P < .001), which was also proven by multivariate competing risk regression. Subgroup analysis suggested that the survival advantage of a lower LNR was achieved in all subgroups (sex, race, etc). In stage III NSCLC, the LNR is a valuable factor for assessing prognosis, in which a higher LNR indicates a worse prognosis.


Present article concerns the provisions about the security and order during the election of the king in Both Nations Commonwealth, which were designed to ensure the safe and lawful carrying out election conventions. The purpose of these provisions was guaranteeing: proper organization of the meeting of Legislature (known as The Circle of Knights), correct adoption of foreign envoys and lawful conduct of monarch election. These regulations were prepared to fi ght with the criminal off ences and assurance the legal instruments to cope with problems concerning with functioning security services, building infrastructural facilities and supplying food. The author points at heterogenic nature of provisions of the security and order during the election of the polish kings, which included both procedural as well as substantive rules. Furthermore, substantive rules were related not merely with the criminal provisions, but also the others, similar to present-day regulations, which secure the mass events. The author tries to present the process of preparation and implementation of the provisions about the security and order during the election of the polish kings as one of the main tasks in the process of organization of the election conventions. Normal 0 21 false false false PL X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */
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Food particulates come in various sizes and shapes, and often irregular in nature. When those particulates are subjected to any thermal treatment, their shape and size changes according to the nature and intensity of applied treatment.

Drying is one such treatment commonly applied in the food processing industry. During drying, shape and size of the food particulate are constantly changing as a result of water removal and internal collapse of the structure of the material.

The objective of this study was to investigate the dimensional changes of three different shaped foods during drying.


A major problem facing the development of technological support for groups is that many studies investigate group technology in isolation from an analysis of group activity, or focus only on discrete aspects of the process. This paper presents the findings of a study that investigated the nature and extent of group decision making and the use of group supporting technology in Irish organizations. The paper presents a model of group decision making and examines group processes and activities as well as the use of technology at each stage. The findings indicate that group decision making is a widespread phenomenon, which was found to be far more complicated than individual decision making. However, groups were found to need a great deal of control and coordination to enable members to collaborate effectively. Nevertheless, group decision making was found to receive little technological support. The available technology provided only low level support which mainly focused on supporting the asynchronous work of groups.


Background. The topical adhesive, 2-octyl cyanoacrylate, has been used as an alternative to sutures for closure of skin in a variety of surgical procedures. While potential benefits exist, reports of allergic contact dermatitis and exothermic reactions have been a barrier to widespread adoption by dermatologic surgeons. Objective. To describe our experience using a novel formulation of 2-octyl cyanoacrylate for skin closure after surgical excision of cutaneous lesions. Methods. We describe the results of 9 office-based dermatologic excisions in 8 patients utilizing a novel formulation of 2-octyl cyanoacrylate for skin closure. At two weeks of follow-up, all incisions were examined for cosmetic result and signs of infection as per the office's standard of care. Results. At follow-up, there were no signs of infection. One wound demonstrated mild tissue hypertrophy, while another showed very minimal skin separation (< 1mm) that did not require reintervention. No incidences of contact dermatitis, application discomfort, or burns were noted. Patient satisfaction was high. Conclusion. A novel formulation of 2-octyl cyanoacrylate topical adhesive demonstrates feasibility as a potential alternative to the use of sutures for skin closure following dermatologic excisions. Larger studies are imperative to fully describe the outcomes associated with use of this new preparation.


Introduction: There is substantial concern about the increasing number of obese children and adolescents, resulting in continuing risks for chronic conditions such as diabetes. This study was aimed at estimating the annual expense of out-of-pocket prescription drugs (OOP-PD) attributable to chronic diseases in adult outpatients in South Korea. Method: Korea Health Panel Survey (KHPS) data from 2008–2009 were used. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and osteoarthritis were included in analyzing OOP-PD expenses. The annual OOPPD expenses were defined as total amount paid per person during one year in 2008, for prescription drugs not listed in the national formulary and the legal copayment portion (30%) for formulary-listed prescription drugs in outpatient settings. Relationship of chronic diseases to OOP-PD expenses was analyzed using a generalized linear model with a log link function. Result: A total of 12,082 subjects were analyzed. Subjects having three or more chronic diseases showed OOP-PD values that were 5-times higher than those without any chronic diseases. Diabetes was the chronic disease contributing the most to OOP-PD expenses. The cost ratio (CR) in diabetic subjects without concurrent chronic diseases (i.e., hypertension, osteoarthritis, and asthma) was 6.1 as compared to those without chronic diseases, followed by subjects with asthma (CR = 4.7), hypertension (CR = 4.0), two or more concurrent chronic diseases but no diabetes (CR = 4.2), and osteoarthritis (CR = 2.0). Conclusion: High OOP-PD values serve as a proxy for the total healthcare expenditure in patients with chronic disease, especially diabetes. These costs might encourage accelerated prevention programs among populations at higher risks in South Korea public health point of view, as in many countries encountering budget constraints in recent years.


The authors compared plasma and tear lithium concentra- tions in seven outpatients receiving maintenance treatment. A strong correlationi'as found, suggesting that the mea- surement of tear lithium concentrations may be a viable alternative to plasma lithium determinations in some pa- tients. The use of blood levels as a means of monitoring drug levels is standard clinical practice for patients undergoing lithium carbonate treatment. Because the therapeutic-toxic index is rather narrow, this monitor- ing sometimes needs to be done frequently, especially in the initial phases of treatment. In some patients, however, venipunctures, especially repeated veni- punctures, may not be desirable. The disadvantages of venipunctures include the possibility of a hematoma at the venipuncture site and/or difficulty in finding a vein in some patients. In addition, blood drawing is experi- enced by some patients as physically uncomfortable, and the necessary frequency of this test procedure may lead to their diminished compliance and reluc- tance to accept lithium prophylaxis. Consequently, we evaluated the use of tears as a possible alternative body fluid for the measurement of clinical lithium concentrations. Method


AbstractThe prediction of convective initiation remains a challenge to forecasters in the Great Plains, especially for elevated events at night. This study examines a subset of 287 likely elevated nocturnal convective initiation events that occurred with little or no direct influence from surface boundaries or preexisting convection over a 4-month period of May–August during the summer of 2015. Events were first classified into one of four types based on apparent formation mechanisms and location relative to any low-level jet. A climatology of each of the four types was performed focusing on general spatial tendencies over a large Great Plains domain and initiation timing trends. Simulations from five convection-allowing models available during the Plains Elevated Convection At Night (PECAN) field campaign, along with four versions of a 4-km Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model, were used to examine the predictability of these types of convective initiation. A dual-peak pattern for initiation timi...


In an earlier study we examined some of the typical patterns manifested in a child's babbling on the basis of material gathered in systematic observations of the development of pronunciation in four children (Voprosy psikhologii, 1973, No. 2).* In this paper we shall present material that sheds light on the way children learn the sounds of actual speech.


The aim of this study was to use a Reality Therapy approach to identify the psychological difficulties and the psychological support requirements of the parents of disabled children and to develop a group counseling program with a group to meet these requirements, and then to experimentally assess the effect of the program on the hopelessness, and state and trait anxiety levels of the parents and their perceptions of social support. A total of 32 parents of disabled children voluntarily participated in the study, comprising 27 females and 5 males. The study consisted of 2 stages, the first of which was applied as semi-structured interviews within the framework of qualitative research. On a theoretical basis and the findings obtained from the interviews were developed into the Reality Therapy-Based Group Counseling Program (RTGCP). In the second stage of the study, the effect on dependent variables of the RTGCP was tested with a 2 x 2 design on 20 female volunteers from the 32 participants. The findings showed that the RTGCP had a statistically significant effect on the increase in multiple perceptions of social support (z= -2.67; p< 0.05) and the decrease in state anxiety levels (U=16.00; p<0.05).


OBJECTIVE To identify and analyze 20 specimens of Valerians.METHODS Powder of different species was directly compressed and determined by Fourier transformation intermediate infrared spectrum.RESULTS Different species of Valerians with respective spectral characteristics and obviously be classified into three groups by their similar characteristics;Spectral characteristics between intraspecies reflect the component constancy and habitat difference.CONCLUSION Infrared spectrum is fast and effective identification method for common medicinal plants of Valerians.


A transform-domain successive elimination algorithm for block-based motion estimation (ME) is proposed. First, a method is introduced for calculating the sum of squared differences in the transform domain. Then, based on this method, a new transform-domain criterion is proposed to eliminate impossible candidates as early as possible. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm speeds up the ME process by up to a factor of 10 compared with the conventional full search algorithm.


Optical disc birefringence affects playback performance in a variety of ways and is routinely measured as part of the manufacturing process. However, many disc manufacturers have observed significant variation in birefringence measurements when using commercially available instrumentation. To quantify the reliability of these tools, the Optical Disc Manufacturing Association (ODMA) and NIST performed a round robin intercomparison of optical disc retardance measurements. In this paper, we report that remarkably large measurement variation among instruments indeed exists. We discuss some sources of this variation to show that a substantial part is due to instrument uncertainty, and describe possible error source in one class of polarimetric instruments.


A member state's national income tax legislation, which prevents or restricts the provisions on free movement in the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union, can be justified if it meets certain criteria. The essence of this thesis is the assessment made by the European Court of Justice (the Court) to determine whether the legislation is justified or not. This means that this thesis contains an account for the so-called rule of reason-test, with focus on the last part of the test consisting of a proportionality assessment.

The proportionality test has traditionally been said to include three parts. Firstly, the rule or measure must be appropriate to achieve the desired objective. Secondly, the measure must be the least restrictive measure available to achieve the objective. Thirdly, the measure must be proportionate in a narrow sense, which means that it cannot be disproportionate to is purpose. Opinions have been put forward in judicial doctrine that the Court, as early as in the 1980's, in some cases deviated from this definition of the test by, for example, applying some procedural guarantees to the proportionality test. The above mentioned cases concerned other areas than direct taxation, none the less parallels can still be drawn from this and applied to today's legal development.

The paper deals with a number of cases from the Court which have been settled during the last couple of years. These are cases where a restricting rule on income tax has been tried against the need for preserving the effectiveness of fiscal supervision and preventing tax evasion and avoidance. It is my opinion that the Court in these cases focuses on the administrative and procedural design of the rules, rather than their substantive meaning. It is in all cases in connection with the second part of the proportionality test, which concerns the necessity of the measure, that the Court applies a number of administrative requirements on the measure in question. The primary focus of the paper's analysis is the SIAT case. SIAT is the first case concerning income tax where the Court explicitly has applied a requirement of the principle of legal certainty within the scope of the proportionality test. The Court's opinion was that rules that do not meet the requirements of the principle of legal certainty cannot be considered proportionate to the objectives pursued.

It is my opinion that the legal development in the Court's case law means that the scope of the proportionality assessment has been broadened, since the focus of the assessment increasingly seems to be on the procedural and administrative design of the rules in question. One could also suggest that the assessment has been made more stringent because of the SIAT case, since the now explicit requirement of the principle of legal certainty can limit the member states' ability to legislate on for example tax evasion and avoidance.

The requirement of the principle of legal certainty can lead to certain Swedish rules being considered not compatible with union law. The Swedish Tax Evasion Act and the rules in the Swedish Income Tax Act which limit the right to deduct certain interest expenses in the corporate sector have in regard to this been analyzed. Criticism has been expressed in judicial doctrine on both regulations, which I concur to. It is, in my opinion, not possible at the outset to determine the scope of the rules with sufficient precision and they are therefore at risk of not meeting the requirements of the proportionality test concerning the principle of legal certainty. The European Commission has taken the first step towards actions for failure to fulfill obligations, in regards to the rules concerning limitations on interest deduction. There is therefore a risk that the rules are considered not compatible with the provisions on free movement and thereby rejected as not consistent with union law.


Submitted for the DFD09 Meeting of The American Physical Society Cross-correlation PIV using infrared and visible Nd:YAG pulses and a Nikon dSLR MICHAEL HALLBERG, PAUL STRYKOWSKI, University of Minnesota — A cross-correlation particle image velocimeter is assembled using two Nd:YAG lasers and a Nikon D70 SLR camera. One laser is frequency doubled while the other is not thereby producing a pulse train of two separate colors, green and IR respectively. The internal IR filter is removed from the Nikon D70 and the resulting CCD is sensitive over a range through the visible and into the IR (up to at least 1064nm). Each image was then exposed to both laser pulses revealing two distinct particle images, one green and the other red. The doubly exposed images were separated into two images corresponding to the green channel and the red channel thereby allowing cross-correlation. Initially, the correlation was contaminated by the color filter used to produce the RGB colors on a single CCD, generating a large zero displacement peak. Image processing was employed to reduce the zero peak; the next highest peak generally yielded the particle displacements. Camera manufacturers are developing technologies that will supplant the current color filter (cf. Sigma's image sensor), hopefully making the dSLR a viable option for PIV going forward. Michael Hallberg University of Minnesota Date submitted: 07 Aug 2009 Electronic form version 1.4


The present paper deals with four species of the genus Alopecosa Simon from China. Among them, the species A. lizhan is new to science. A. akkolka Marusik, 1994, A. inquilina (Clerck, 1757) and A. solivaga (Kulczynski, 1901) are new recorded species from China. The type specimen is deposited in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. All measurements given are in millimeters.


Emerging general purpose graphics processing units (GPGPU) make use of a memory hierarchy very similar to that of modern multi-core processors – they typically have multiple levels of on-chip caches and a DDR-like off-chip main memory. In such massively parallel architectures, caches are expected to reduce the average data access latency by reducing the number of off-chip memory accesses; however, our extensive experimental studies confirm that not all applications utilize the on-chip caches in an efficient manner. Even though GPGPUs are adopted to run a wide range of general purpose applications, the conventional cache management policies are incapable of achieving the optimal performance over different memory characteristics of the applications. This paper first investigates the underlying reasons for inefficiency of common cache management policies in GPGPUs. To address and resolve those issues, we then propose (i) a characterization mechanism to analyze each kernel at runtime and, (ii) a selective caching policy to manage the flow of cache accesses. Evaluation results of the studied platform show that our proposed dynamically reconfigurable cache hierarchy improves the system performance by up to 105% (average of 27%) over a wide range of modern GPGPU applications, which is within 10% of the optimal improvement.


Histological alterations and Na(superscript +)-K(superscript +)-ATPase activity changes in gill of Cynoglossus semilaevis Gunther induced by subchronic copper exposure at different levels were studied in laboratory by combinding light and transmission electron microscope techniques and biochemistry methods. Lesion caused by copper in gill included epithelial changes such as lifting, rupture (vacuols), lamellar fusion, hyperplasia and cellular hypertrophy; mucus cells increased, rupture of pilar cells system, erythrocyte congestion, and so on. Hytrophy and hyperplasia of chloride cells and epithelial cells increased the thickness of the water-blood barrier, which indicated severe impairment of ion regulation and gas transfer of fish exposed to copper. The results of the study indicate that histology is a successful tool capable of revealing sensitively and selectively even the sublethal effects of heavy metals on the environment and aquatic biota. Na(superscript +)-K(superscript +)-ATPase activity decreased significantly as the copper concentration increased, showed significant difference from the control (P≤0.05). Fish exposed to 150μg/L exhibited behavioral alteration: uncoordinated and jerky swimming behavior, slow movement and reaction to exterior stimulus was observed after 12 days exposure. As the sensitivity and dose-depended relationship between the Na(superscript +)-K(superscript +)-ATPase activity and copper concentration in water, it has the potential to be a bio-indicator for copper pollution in aquaculture and marine environment.


Patients with trigger finger initially report an atraumatic catching and locking of the affected digit on flexion and painless snapping. This can progress with inability to actively extend the affected digit and this may require passive extension in severe cases, which can be painful. Patients can awake with a finger locked in a partially flexed position that gradually extends as the day progresses. Diagnosing trigger finger is based on a history of locking, clicking or snapping during the movement of the affected digit.


Automated extraction of geometry for hydraulic routing from digital elevation models (DEM) is a procedure that must be easily accomplished for widespread application of distributed hydraulically based rainfall excess-runoff models. One-dimensional kinematic routing on a regular grid DEM is difficult due to flow division and convergence. Two-dimensional kinematic routing on a triangular irregular network (TIN) surmounts many of these difficulties. Because TIN DEMs typically require far fewer points to represent topography than regular grid DEMs, substantial computational economy is also realized. One-dimensional routing using vector contour data overcomes the grid-based routing disadvantages but often requires several orders of magnitude more storage points than a TIN. The methodology presented in this paper represents a compromise between slightly increased computational complexity and the economy of TIN topographic representation. We take the unique approach of subdividing each topographic triangle (TIN facet) into a set of coplanar triangular finite elements, performing routing on a single facet and then routing the resulting excess hydrograph to downstream facets and channels via upstream boundary conditions. Results indicate that shock conditions are readily handled, computed depths match analytic results to within ±3% and volume balances are typically within 1%. This modeling system illustrates the viability of kinematic routing over a TIN DEM derived directly from digital mapping data.


Background: COVID-19 and the resultant lockdowns have caused a global discomposure. Out of a plethora of ramifications of this unusual state, mental health problems are becoming a serious concern. Considering the peculiarity of the situation, encapsulation of the lived experiences of people affected by COVID-19 may lead us towards a better understanding and control of the situation. Aim: The aim of the present study was to get an in-depth analysis of the lived experiences of Indian youth amid COVID-19 crisis and its impact on their mental health. Method: Ten college going students were telephonically interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule to elicit participants' experiences with COVID-19 and the impact it has posed on their mental health. Transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: The analysis revealed three master themes: (1) 'Impact on mental health', (2) 'Positive experiences' and (3) 'Ways of coping amid the crisis'. Conclusion: The study draws attention to the mental health concerns of Indian youth amid the current crisis. The findings also highlight the positive outcomes of the crisis as well as the different ways of coping adopted by young individuals in India.


The paper considers the emergence of industrial robots and quotes a number of relevant examples. These robost are then classified in four ways depending on their mode of construction. Practical parameters for choosing industrial robots are then studied. This is followed by a section dealing with remote control devices. This study is extended with the aim of classifiyng robots in acordance with their task and potentials . Intelligents machines are given some attention. Retturning to the industrial scene, the author describes avaible and also still missing qualities of robots. The paper concludes with a description of recent developments.


In order to develope rapid detection technology for avian influenza virus antigen,a disposable electrochemical immunosensor was constructed by coating the screen-printed carbon electrode with chitosan membrane and HRP-anti-AIV.Cyclic voltammetry was selected as electrochemical means to detect the products of the enzymatic reaction.According to the decrease percentage of reduction current,AIV-Ag could be detected.Under the optimum conditions of immunoreaction and electrochemical detection,AIV-Ag can be rapidly detected by sigmoidal curve method and form a linear calibration between 3.75 to 125 ng/mL with an associated detection limit of 0.56 ng/mL(S/N=3).The immunosensor had acceptable specificity,reproducibility(RSD7.10%),stability(the amperometric response was 91.46% of the initial response after two weeks) and accuracy(91.18% of the results obtained by the immunosensor were in agreement with those obtained by ELISA).In addition,four channels screen-printed carbon electrode was employed for fabricating AIV-Ag immunosensor,the results indicated that the four channels immunosensor had good consistency.Therefore,the immunosensor could be hopefully used to detect AIV-Ag rapidly.


In this article, sufficient conditions for fixed-time synchronization of time-delayed quaternion-valued neural networks (QVNNs) are derived. Firstly, QVNNs are decomposed into four real-valued systems. Then using the available lemmas and by constructing the Lyapunov function, the synchronization criterion for the neural networks is proposed. Activation functions satisfy the Lipschitz condition. A suitable controller has been designed to synchronize the master–slave systems. The effectiveness of the proposed result is validated through a comparison of the settling time obtained by applying two different existing lemmas to a particular problem of synchronization of two identical QVNNs with time-varying delay with the help of suitable controllers.


Vehicle-to-everything (V2X), including vehicle- to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, improves road safety, traffic efficiency, and the availability of infotainment services. Standardization of Long Term Evolution (LTE)-based V2X has been actively conducted by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to provide solutions for V2X communications, and has benefited from the global deployment and fast commercialization of LTE systems. LTE-based V2X was widely used as LTE-V in the Chinese vehicular communications industry, and LTE-based V2X was redefined as LTE V2X in 3GPP standardization progress. In this article, the overview of requirements and use cases in V2X services in 3GPP is presented. The up-to-date standardization of LTE V2X in 3GPP is surveyed. The challenges and detailed design aspects in LTE V2X are also discussed. Meanwhile, the enhanced V2X (eV2X) services and possible 5G solutions are analyzed. Finally, the implementations of LTE V2X are presented with the latest progress in industrial alliances, research, development of prototypes, and field tests.


The paper is devoted to the 30th anniversary of scientific and public activity of K.E. Tsiolkovsky Russian Academy of Cosmonautics. Debatable questions regarding an initiator of establishing the Academy are discussed. The main stages of TRAC's activity are mentioned. The presidents and honorary presidents of TRAC are listed. The stuff members of TRAC are presented. The main achievements of the Academy are described.


Purpose – Rewards from sales promotions may be either immediate (e.g. instant savings, coupons, instant rebates) or delayed (e.g. rebates, refunds). The latter type is of interest in this study. The purpose of this paper is to present the hyperbolic discounting framework as an explanation for how consumers delay‐discount rewards, and test whether this holds for both high‐price and low‐price product categories.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected by administering two online surveys to respondents. One survey presented choice scenarios between sales promotion formats for a high‐priced product (a laptop, n=154) and the other for a low‐priced product (a cell phone, n=98). Hyperbolic and exponential functions were then fitted to the data.Findings – The hyperbolic function had a better fit than the exponential function for the low‐priced product. However, this effect was not evident in the case of the high‐priced product; no significant difference was found between the functions. The rate of discou...


The study describes the development of a plug-in module of the realistic 3D Digital Human Modeling (DHM) tool RAMSIS that is used to optimize product development of military vehicle systems. The use of DHM in product development has been established for years. DHM for the development of military vehicles requires not only the representation of the vehicle occupants, but also the representation of equipment and simulation of the impact of such equipment on the Warfighter. To simulate occupants in military vehicles, whether land or air based, realistically, equipment must become an integral part of the extended human model. Simply attaching CAD-geometry to one manikin's element is not sufficient. Equipment size needs to be scalable with respect to anthropometry, impact on joint mobility needs to be considered with respect to anatomy. Those aspects must be integrated in posture prediction algorithms to generate objective, reliable and reproducible results to help design engineers making better products. Products that are safe, comfortable and appropriate for the Warfighter. INTRODUCTION One major challenge in the design of military vehicles is limited space for occupants. This often results in poor ergonomics. In consequence, the products often do not offer optimal conditions for the Warfighter to accomplish required physical tasks, foster effective procedures and work patterns. Military products must be safe, comfortable and appropriate for the Soldier to best support the safety and performance of the troops. To be more efficient in the design and development process, manufacturers must perform virtual testing and packaging studies, including human representation in CAD in order to optimize the layout of military vehicles in the early design stages. The top priority is the safety and survivability of the Warfighter in a tactical vehicle, whether land-based or air. Proceedings of the 2018 Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium (GVSETS) RAMSIS DIGITAL HUMAN MODELING FOR OPTIMIZED SAFETY AND SURVIVABILITY OF THE WARFIGHTER Page 2 of 7 PROBLEM Military Standard MIL-STD-1472G refers to the compatibility with users and the accommodation of the user population in military equipment, that "...equipment shall assure that suitably clothed and suitably equipped user personnel within the central 90 percent of the anticipated user population for body dimensions for threedimensional design elements (such as crew workspace) are accommodated" [1]. 3D Digital Human Modeling (DHM) is an adequate tool to ensure that those types of design standards can be considered from the earliest design stage towards the final product. RAMSIS is a 3D DHM Software. RAMSIS is an acronym in German for: "Computer Aided Anthropological Mathematical System for Occupant Simulation" [2]. It is a DHM that represents the human body in a virtual 3D CAD environment. RAMSIS is the leading DHM for ergonomic simulation in vehicle design. It has become a de-facto standard for occupant packaging and ergonomic layout in the automotive industry. The software was developed in cooperation of the German automotive industry, Tecmath in Kaiserslautern, Germany (now Human Solutions) and the Institute of Ergonomics (Lehrstuhl für Ergonomie, LfE) at the University of Technology Munich (Technische Universität München) [3]. Their goal was to overcome the insufficiency of the existing tools, e.g. the widely used two dimensional SAE J826 template, to improve consideration of human properties and proportions in vehicle design beyond legal requirements. RAMSIS is now used by almost all car manufacturers globally. Over time, additional RAMSIS modules for application in industrial vehicle design, aircraft and industrial engineering were successfully introduced into the market. The software provides engineers with a detailed CAD representation of the human body that can be positioned and animated in a virtual space to simulate the enduser. It enables design engineers and Human Factors specialists to perform extensive ergonomic analyses in the early stages of the product development process using only rudimentary CAD data, thereby preventing costly follow-up improvements. The quality of a DHM depends on the quality of the input anthropometric database for body measurements and proportions. A major benefit of the RAMSIS DHM Software is that the manikin's body measures are based on the most up-to-date anthropometric databases. This includes publicly available data as well as Human Solutions' proprietary databases, like Size NorthAmerica – the new North American Anthropometric Survey (Size NA). Size NA is a size survey of 18,000 people all over the United States and Canada using high-tech 3D body scanning technology to capture and extract body measurements automatically [4]. Another main benefit of the RAMSIS Software is the automatic posture calculation which enables the user to constrain the DHM within the CAD environment and calculate the most probable posture within the given geometry. The probability calculation is based on different Figure 1: RAMSIS Software can be used e.g. for occupant packaging studies Proceedings of the 2018 Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium (GVSETS) RAMSIS DIGITAL HUMAN MODELING FOR OPTIMIZED SAFETY AND SURVIVABILITY OF THE WARFIGHTER Page 3 of 7 posture models. This generates reliable, objective, and reproducible postures and positions as a result. Compared to other DHM Software this approach enables a user independent positioning of the manikin. The outcome of manual DHM posture modeling is always subjective. To simulate occupants, e.g. military personnel, realistically in a vehicle, clothing, shoes and safety equipment need to be considered, as they substantially impact the seating position and body posture. In general, it is possible to attach single CAD geometry elements to a manikin. Within RAMSIS it is also possible to create so-called reference points on these geometrical elements, which can be considered within the automatic posture calculation. But the amount of equipment that can be attached is limited, objects are attached as rigid CAD parts to only one single body segment, reference points refer to the manikin's skinpoints of the related body segment (fig. 2). To simulate fully encumbered Soldiers, it is necessary to enhance the DHM for a more realistic simulation and better results, making equipment an integral part of the DHM. Methods The herein described study was conducted in cooperation with the German Bundeswehr (Technical Center for Land-Based Vehicle Systems, Engineer and General Field Equipment). It describes the development of a new RAMSIS plug-in module "RAMSIS Defense" to simulate occupants realistically, with equipment that becomes an integral part of the Digital Human. Equipment attributes like size and impact on joint mobility need to be considered with respect to anatomy and anthropometry and must be integrated in the RAMSIS posture prediction algorithm. The data for the development of the module was collected with high-tech 3D body scanners (VITUS by Vitronic GmbH, Wiesbaden, Germany) and cinematographic analysis of joint movement. The VITUS body scanner measures subjects with at least 1 mm accuracy, it also complies with the DIN EN ISO 20685 international standard [5]. This scanner is based on a completely new, highly accurate calibration procedure and utilizes advanced hardware components. Color is also captured to scan garment texture. The advanced scanning volume of the VITUS also allows a greater flexibility in capturing subjects in different poses. The scanner has the ability to create an exact 360° image of the subject [6]. Soldiers of the German Bundeswehr were scanned in different configurations: lightly dressed, with light and full protective gear in order to determine the position of the protective gear with respect to the body and changes in body posture. Effects on joint mobility were carried out in a separate experiment where soldiers had to perform different motion tasks. Subjects were asked to bend specific joints to a maximum range of motion (ROM) and a subjective, comfortable ROM with and without equipment. The data was captured with cinematographic methods, results were analyzed and processed and probability distributions for joint angles were calculated. The limited ROM is calculated as the minimal interval over all ROMs, caused by the different equipment objects.


Megaloblastosis is characterized morphologically by delayed nuclear maturation 1 and biochemically by defective DNA synthesis. 2 The megaloblast has a "young" nucleus apparently due to a reduction in the ability to double the amount of nuclear DNA (DNA synthesis phase) in order for the cell to divide. The lesion in DNA synthesis usually results from deficiency of vitamin B 12 or folic acid or both. One pathway affected is concerned with the de novo synthesis of DNA thymine from deoxyuridylate (dUMP) (Fig 1). 2,3 This involves the methylation of dUMP to thymidylate (dTMP) and requires 5,10-methylene-tetrahydrofolic acid, one of the reduced coenzymes of folate. 4,5 In this pathway (Fig 1) there is interaction of vitamin B 12 , folic acid, and pyridoxine, each of which may correct megaloblastic anemia. Since the dietary amino acids methionine, homocysteine, serine, and glycine are involved in production of DNA thymine, derangements in the availability of


In this paper, we present an integrated framework for keyword-based text data collection and analysis. The integrated framework consists of four types of component: (1) user interface, (2) web crawler, (3) data analyzer, and (4) database (DB). The user interface is used to set input keyword and option values for web crawling and text data analysis through a graphical user interface (GUI). In addition, it provides analysis results through data visualization. The web crawler collects the text data of articles posted on the web based on input keywords. The data analyzer classifies the articles into "relevant articles" and "nonrelevant articles" using predefined knowledge (i.e., a set of words to be included in the articles). Then, it analyzes the text data of relevant articles and visualizes the results of the data analysis. Finally, the DB stores the collected text data, the predefined knowledge defined by the user, and the results of the data analysis and data visualization. We verify the feasibility of the integrated framework through proof of concept (PoC) prototyping. The experimental results show that the implemented prototype collects and analyzes the text data of articles reliably.


Forecast combining is an important technique for increasing the accuracy of the forecasts obtained using different alternative models. In this article, we propose the use of a generalized single multiplicative neuron as a nonlinear combiner inside of a forecasts combination model. Numerical evidences indicate that, at least for the experimental case, the multiplicative neuron is able to obtain forecasts more accurate that each individual model and the forecasts combination using a simple arithmetical average.


A three year study (July 1993 to August 1995) was conducted at Hisar to observe the emergence pattern of Amsacta moorei Butler moths in the field in relation to temperature, relative humidity and rainfall. Laboratory-reared fully grown larvae were released and allowed to pupate in the soil under caged conditions in the field. Moth emergence was observed to be directly related to the mean relative humidity (70%) coupled with mean temperature around 30 o C. About three-fourth moth population of a generation emerged during the same year and of these ca. 80% emerged within 7-10 days after rains resulting above atmospheric conditions. The remaining moths emerged in the following year(s). For initiation of moth emergence a minimum of 70-80% relative humidity was found to be necessary. Subsequent moth emergence could, however, be observed even at a lower relative humidity but not below 50%.


employment that applied largely to immigrants. Why do diversity inclusion efforts fail? In Toronto, Valverde suggests that failure may be somewhat accidental. As she explains, "social inclusion is often left out of the agenda due to the inertia, and/or lack of vision" (p. 210). Outdated legal rules, regulations, and bureaucratic traditions also stand in the way of inclusion. Missing from her analysis is any significant role for racism, or power relations with respect to racial groups. Do mechanisms of inclusion ever fail because whites would rather not give up power to non-whites? For issues of applicability to cities outside Toronto, it would have been helpful if she had spent a bit more time engaging this question. Valverde closes the final chapter of this well-written book with a prescription for cities in their efforts on inclusion. Her thoughts in this area may be one of the book's most significant contributions. Distancing herself from Jane Jacobs, Valverde compellingly argues that bringing back city planning is the best path to achieving more diverse and inclusive outcomes.


Drought stress is often the most limiting factor to maize and sorghum production in the semi-arid areas. This study evaluates the physiological (water relations, gas exchange characteristics, membrane leakage), biochemical (antioxidant protection mechanisms and photosynthetic pigment compositions) and seed viability and quality response of maize (cv Melkassa-2) and sorghum cv Macia) after exposure to and recovery from pre and post-flowering dehydration in plants grown in a controlled environment growth chamber under constant environmental conditions (12/12h day/night, 28-32/17 °c day/night temperature, 60-80% RH and PPFD of 1200-1400 Ilmol m_ S-I), at the Department of Botany, University of Cape Town. Soil water contents and relative water contents during both pre and post-flowering dehydration declined steadily for both species but the decline in these parameters during both developmental stages were more rapid in maize than in sorghum. Maize displayed leaf rolling at very early stages of pre-flowering dehydration whereas sorghum delayed leaf rolling for extended period during both pre and postDowering dehydration. Both species employed reduced gs in response to dehydration to reduce water loss over a range of relative water contents during both developmental stages which was reDected in all other gas exchange characteristics (Pn, transpiration, respiration rates and water use efficiency). In maize, stomata appeared to be closed earlier and completely, while partial stomatal closure at relatively higher relative water contents appeared to have occurred in sorghum. gs recovered to the control level in both species only following pre-Dowering rehydration. Dehydration during pre and post-flowering stages resulted in decreased pigment (chlorophyll (a+b) and carotenoid (x+c» contents of both species, but was more marked in maize than sorghum. Sorghum also exhibited better ability to restore chlorophyll and carotenoid level upon rehydration. Dehydration also led to a decrease in FvlFm ratios and increased rates of electrolyte leakage as compared to the control plants in both species. Both species, however, exhibited similar rates Un ive rsi ty of Ca p To wn


Ground source heat pump (GSHP) has been considered as one of the most promising low-carbon technologies for building heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) applications at present. Since a GSHP relies heavily on the performance of ground-coupled heat exchangers (GCHEs), this paper was focused on GCHEs key technical issues and presented results of experimental investigation and computer simulation. A test rig was built to carry out the thermal response test, and test results for a double-U tube GCHE were analyzed. Software Fluent was used to simulate the GCHEs and simulation models were created for single-U-type and double-U-type GCHEs for the depths of 50, 60 and 70 m. Based on dissipation simulation it was found that using a double-U-type GCHE to replace a single-U-type GCHE can gain an increase in the total heat dissipation capacity by over 50%, with a drawback of 20% reduction of circulating water temperature difference. The borehole depth of a GCHE can be increased to meet the requirement of a larger heat dissipation capacity. The specific heat dissipation rate will drop about 6% for every 10 m increase in borehole depth. This study is useful for design GCHEs and the ground-coupled heat pump technology. Copyright The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: firstname.lastname@example.com, Oxford University Press.


Abstract. The church of Sv. Nikola, dated to the mid-14th century, is an important medieval cultural heritage monument with vivid fresco iconography located in the village of Kalotina, Bulgaria. The church consists of a small narthex and a larger naos with an apsidal wall. Much of the decorative details are beginning to degrade which makes the need for documentation of the current state important for preservation. Due to its remote location, public access is limited for both visitors and researchers. During the recent campaign, a workflow was designed with the purpose of obtaining complete documentation of the church. The workflow aimed to be low-cost and relatively quick. Complete photographic documentation was conducted including close-range photogrammetry of the interior and exterior of the church, Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) of a selection of the graffiti within the frescoes, and 360-degree HDR panoramas. Additionally, a field survey of the surrounding area was performed by archaeologists and a geodetic survey which was used for the georeferencing of the photogrammetric 3D models. This detailed workflow developed for this project serves as a case study of a methodology for complete documentation of immovable cultural heritage.


AbstractPackaging based on immobilization of antimicrobial enzymes provides a promising form of active packaging systems applicable in food processing. Glucose oxidase and lysozyme were immobilized by the Ugi reaction with cyclohexyl isocyanide and glutaraldehyde on polyamide and ionomer films partially hydrolysed by hydrochloric acid. The immobilization of the enzymes on the surface of films was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy and the films were characterized by the specific activity of the immobilized enzymes. The enzyme migration into model solutions and the effect of pH, temperature and storage time on the activity of immobilized enzyme were also evaluated. Immobilization of lysozyme onto polyamide and ionomer films resulted in the loss of enzyme activity. The polyamide and ionomer films with immobilized glucose oxidase inhibited the growth of bacteria Escherichia coli CNCTC 6859, Pseudomonas fluorescens CNCTC 5793, Lactobacillus helveticus CH-1, Listeria ivanovii CCM 5884 and Listeria innocua CCM 4030 on agar media.


bodies did not escape scrutiny with respect to their actual or potential dirtiness. But, argues Bashford, their need, for example, to "scrub", as aseptic surgical techniques were adopted, carried far less moral meaning. The great strengths of Bashford's book lie in her ability to make new conceptual links across what are, for the most part, relatively well-worked areas, and in her sharp eye for the revealing detail, be it the meanings encoded in surgical gloves and knives or the details of instructions to probationer nurses. It is a comparatively short book, given its origin as a PhD thesis and the breadth of the themes it addresses. I would have liked more detail, or at least more extensive evidence in places, particularly in relation to her discussion of women medical students and dissection, and the continuities between asepsis as an approach to surgical practice and earlier sanitary reform. Her account of the common themes across the broad politics of health from the 1850s to the 1870s is powerful. But she does not go on to discuss how much of what she sees as a distinctively feminist project of sanitary reform became fragmented by the end of the nineteenth century; for example, as women doctors sought to distance themselves from nurses and less well-qualified missionaries to the women at home and in the Empire. The idea that women doctors may be both aligned with and seeking to distance themselves from nurses is also taken up in relation to the end of the twentieth century by Rosemary Pringle. Drawing on extensive interviews with Australian and British women doctors (and some men) in various medical specialties, she sets out to examine the difference the increased numbers of women are making to the medical profession and how they make their careers in different fields, including surgery, general practice, anaesthetics and radiology. As she herself notes, her conclusions are, compared to most accounts of medical women's careers, rather optimistic, perhaps too optimistic. For example, she discusses how women do surgery and why, not how few do surgery; how women are changing general practice, not how difficult it is being a woman GP. Her analysis does not ignore power and inequalities, but medical women are not assumed to be powerless to make choices, and so affect the practice of medicine, not necessarily through overt feminist campaigning. Indeed, her final chapter is a balanced analysis of the difficulties …


This paper discusses the general principles behind the use of computer modelling in the design of dynamic systems. Particular reference is made to a 6-DOF computer model developed for AUSROC III using MATRIXx/SystemBuild{TM} software. The model played a dual role in the AUSROC III project: as a sub-system design and analysis tool, and as an overall system performance evaluator. Essentially, the model is the chief designer's big picture of the project.


P enman-Aguilar et al, scientists or statisticians from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its arm the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), have attempted to provide substantial guidance regarding measurement of health disparities and reporting on the methods researchers decide to employ to measure disparities. But they have overlooked fundamental issues, including one NCHS statisticians attempted to address in this journal over a decade ago. Consequently, the article will do more to impede than promote efforts to quantify differences in the circumstances of advantaged and disadvantaged groups reflected by the rates at which they experience adverse or favorable health and health care outcomes.


Over the past few decades, debates about policing in poor urban areas have shifted from analyzing the state's neglect and abandonment to documenting its harsh interventions and punishing presence. Most of this research has focused on the overt actions and inactions of the state. Yet we know very little about the covert world of state action that is hidden from public view. The Ambivalent State offers an unprecedented look into the clandestine relationships between police officers and drug dealers in Argentina. Drawing on a unique combination of ethnographic research and documentary evidence, including hundreds of pages of wiretapped phone conversations, sociologists Javier Auyero and Katherine Sobering analyze the inner workings of "police-criminal collusion" and its connections to drug markets and the depacification of daily life. Through rich descriptions of the actual clandestine interactions between drug dealers and police, they argue that an up-close examination of covert state action exposes the workings of an "ambivalent state": one that enforces the rule of law while at the same time and in the same place functions as a partner to what it defines as criminal behavior. The Ambivalent State develops a political sociology of violence that focuses on not only what takes place in police stations, criminal courts, and poor neighborhoods, but also the clandestine actions and interactions of police agents, judges, and politicians that structure daily life at the urban margins. By way of empirical demonstration, the book makes an urgent call for scholars to incorporate clandestine action into understandings of the state.


Summary For the last 13 years, 47 patients with ALL over 15 years old (range 15–72; median 21) entered a 'total‐therapy' programme. All cases received a 6–8 week induction course of PRD, VCR, DRB and/or L‐ASN. Prophylaxis of CNS was done by cranial radiotherapy plus i.t. MTX in 32/45 patients who attained complete remission (CR). After CR, subsequent therapy involved a programme of maintenance with 6MP and MTX at full doses. Pulses of intermittent reinforcement (PRD, VCR and DRB) were done for 2 weeks, every 3 months, for at least 3 years. CR was achieved in 42/47 patients (89.3%). The median relapse‐free survival of the patients who attained CR was 57 months, with an 8‐year estimated disease‐free survival rate of 43% for those cases. If actuarial assumptions were to be sustained, it would indicate an encouraging cure rate of 38% of all our adult ALL patients (mainly in those cases between 15 and 30 years old).


This cohort study assessed the risk for bodyweight gain and development of glucose intolerance based on the frequency of consumption of balanced meals including grain, fish or meat and vegetables.


ABSTRACT Starch-lipid interactions involving native and acetylated pea starch were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and measurements of iodine affinity. Lipids including lauric acid, monopalmitin, and butterfat were added to aqueous starch dispersions after the starch was gelatinized at 85°C. DSC thermal curves of gelatinized modified pea starch systems containing fatty acid or monoglyceride did not show DSC transitions indicative of amylose complexes with external lipids, whereas a DSC endotherm of amylose-lipid complexes was observed for the corresponding native starch-lipid systems. However, iodine binding studies revealed that acetylated pea starch amylose complexed with added fatty acid or monoglyceride in the modified pea starch-lipid composites. The failure of DSC detection of the complexes in these systems was attributed to the absence of crystalline structures of acetylated pea starch amylose complexes. Furthermore, acetylation of starch decreased the complexing ability of the p...


Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) of rabbit atherosclerotic plaque in near-infrared (NIR) range from 1150 to 2400 nm was demonstrated. A method to identify vulnerable plaques that are likely to cause acute coronary events has been required. The object of this study is identifying vulnerable plaques by NIR-HSI for an angioscopic application. In this study, we observed the hyperspectral images of the atherosclerotic plaque in WHHLMI rabbit (atherosclerotic rabbit) artery under simulated angioscopic conditions by NIR-HSI. NIR-HSI system was constructed by a NIR super continuum light and a mercury-cadmium-telluride camera. Spectral absorbance values (log (1/R) data) were obtained in the wavelength range from 1150 to 2400 nm at 10 nm intervals. The hyperspectral images were constructed with spectral angle mapper algorithm. As a result, the detections of atherosclerotic plaque under angioscopic observation conditions were achieved especially in the wavelength around 1200 nm, which corresponds to the second overtone of CH stretching vibration mode. The NIR-HSI was considered to serve as an angioscopic diagnosis technique to identify vulnerable plaques without clamping and saline injection.


Background Rasagiline is a selective, irreversible monoamine oxidase type B inhibitor used as monotherapy in early Parkinson's disease and as an adjunct therapy to levodopa in Parkinson's disease with motor fluctuations. Objectives This meta-analysis aimed to provide updated evidence on the efficacy for motor and nonmotor symptoms and the safety of rasagiline/levodopa versus levodopa in patients with Parkinson's disease experiencing motor fluctuations. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted (January 18-19, 2021) using PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to identify randomized controlled trials comparing rasagiline/levodopa versus placebo/levodopa in patients with Parkinson's disease experiencing motor fluctuations. Outcomes included change in wearing-off time, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)/Movement Disorder Society-UPDRS (MDS-UPDRS) II and III scores, treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) summary index score. A random effect model was used to estimate the treatment effects. Results Six studies were included (1912 patients). Significant improvements in wearing-off time (standardized mean difference [SMD]: −0.50, 95% confidence interval [CI]: –0.92 to –0.09, p = 0.002), levodopa dosage (SMD: −0.18, 95% CI: −0.35 to –0.01, p = 0.041), UPDRS/MDS-UPDRS II (SMD: −0.39, 95% CI: −0.52 to –0.25, p < 0.0001), UPDRS/MDS-UPDRS III (SMD: −0.30, 95% CI: −0.44 to –0.16, p < 0.0001), and PDQ-39 summary index score (SMD: –0.21, 95% CI: –0.37 to –0.04, p = 0.013) were observed with rasagiline/levodopa versus placebo/levodopa. The incidence of TEAEs did not differ between treatments (risk ratio: 1.13, 95% CI: 0.98–1.30, p = 0.093). Conclusions This meta-analysis further indicated the superiority of rasagiline/levodopa in improving motor and nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, with a similar safety profile to that of levodopa in Parkinson's disease with motor fluctuations.


A high power prototype (HPP) of the JET ITER-Like ICRF Antenna has been built and tested in a joint effort by ORNL, PPPL, ERM/KMS, and EFDA-JET. For the first time, high power vacuum tests have been performed on an antenna with features similar to those found in the current ITER antenna design. Advances include a new matching network using internal capacitors that is insensitive to target plasma characteristics, and increased power density to minimize the amount of port space required. Three-dimensional electromagnetic modeling has been used extensively to improve the antenna design and assist in interpretation of test results. During the HPP tests, capacitor voltages greater than 45 kV were achieved for short (0.05s) pulses. Voltages greater than 35 kV, approximately the voltage needed to couple the full 7.2 MW design power into most JET plasmas, were sustained for moderate length (~0.5 s) pulses. Long (10s) pulse operation was limited by excessive heating in localized regions due to rf dissipation, a problem that will be corrected in the final antenna. In this paper test results, associated numerical modeling, and their impact on the design of the final device will be reviewed.


but one disease in the world. The proximate cause of disease is irregular, convulsive, or wrong action in the system affected."20 But just as Cotton Mather, FRS, could condemn witches in Salem yet advocate and introduce variolation for smallpox in Boston, so also could the blood-letting metaphysician Benjamin Rush advocate a humanistic approach to the study and care of the insane. He arranged for a special wing to be built for them in the Pennsylvania hospital in 1796 and he advocated forms of occupational therapy. But cold baths, bleeding, and purging were not forgotten and he devised and had constructed a special, restraining chair, into which a patient could be fastened. He had the audacity to call it a "tranquilliser" (fig 6).


The present invention discloses a switching device and a switching control method for an elevator door, in the switching device for an elevator door, set the light emitting unit and light-receiving unit in a safe guide plate, the safety guides are respectively disposed adjacent to two elevator door frame side Ends. Light emitting means for switching the direction of the elevator door station side is inclined toward the reflected detection light emitted. Reflection detecting reflected light is incident on the platform of an obstacle to the light receiving unit. If the detected reflected light is incident on the light unit, the reflection from the reflection detection means outputs a detection signal, and an operation to reverse the direction of the elevator door opening direction.


One of the most important structures in the human body is the heart. It is at the focal point of the circulatory framework. Heart disease is a potentially fatal condition that can result in death or severe long-term impairment. Therefore, efficient techniques for uncovering hidden linkages and there are no clear patterns in e-health data. Medical diagnosis is a difficult task that is crucial to preserving lives, so it must be done correctly and quickly. To lower the cost of performing clinical tests, a suitable and precise computer-based automated decision support system is necessary. The use of machine learning in health analytics has been presented as a way to anticipate reliable patient data analysis. The information generated by the healthcare industry is not mined. In the medical industry, data mining techniques can be utilized to create an intelligent model employing data sets that include patient risk factors. The emergence of ideas and techniques for making use of data has surprised knowledge discovery in databases (KDD). This study delves into the usage of deep learning and machine learning approaches in disease diagnosis. In recent years, many data mining classifiers have been created to aid in the accurate and timely identification of illnesses. This study offers a heart attack forecasting model based on deep learning methodologies, notably Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), to anticipate a patient's likelihood of acquiring heart disease. MLP is an advanced type approach that employs the Artificial Neural Network's Deep Learning approach. Deep learning and data mining are used in the suggested approach to get reliable and error-free outcomes.


This paper reports on a study of pupils' views about tackling bullying and discusses the findings in the context of related research on 'telling' and other coping strategies. The research was undertaken in two related phases. In the first phase, in‐depth focus groups were conducted with pupils in Years 5 and 8 in twelve participating schools across England. This was followed by a questionnaire survey of all pupils in Years 5 and 8 in the same schools. In total, 230 pupils participated in the initial focus group stage of the research and 953 pupils participated in the questionnaire survey. Young people's perceptions concerning the relative effectiveness of different options for tackling bullying, and the responses of others (peers, teachers, parents and other adults) to reports of bullying, were discussed. Pupils reported a reluctance to tell adults, particularly teachers, about their experiences of bullying, and this tendency increased with age. Only a third of pupils in Year 8 (31%) reported that they would find talking to a teacher about bullying 'quite easy' or 'very easy', compared with just over half of pupils in Year 5 (51%). Pupils' willingness to tell parents also declined over time. However, the likelihood of telling friends remained consistently high. This suggests that telling friends is perceived as a less risky option by both age groups, but pupils become increasing wary of telling parents and teachers as they get older. Reluctance to tell may be attributable to a variety of factors. Adult responses that were perceived as ineffective, insensitive or excessive were highlighted, as was the influence of peer cultures that discourage 'telling tales' to adults, or other help‐seeking behaviours. The implications of the findings for developments in anti‐bullying policy and practice are also discussed.


ABSTRACT Since the economic recovery heavily depends on the population attaining herd immunity against the virus through the vaccination programme, understanding the factors that improve people's intentions to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is critically important for the hospitality and tourism industry. This research investigates whether travel desire can moderate the relationship between attitude toward COVID-19 vaccines and COVID-19 vaccination intentions. The proposed model was tested utilizing two sets of data collected from a total of 1,341 adults. The results of the study show that subjective norms and perceived risk are strong predictors of attitude toward COVID-19 vaccines. The effects of subjective norms and perceived vaccination risk on COVID-19 vaccination intentions are partially mediated by attitude toward COVID-19 vaccines. The findings show that the higher the travel desire individuals have, the stronger the effects of their attitude toward COVID-19 vaccines on COVID-19 vaccination intentions are.


The article is devoted to the analysis of the current situation of procurement from small and medium-sized businesses in Russia within the framework of 44 and 223 Federal Laws. The main problems and trends of these purchases are considered. The analysis of the dynamics of the decrease in the number of insurance companies – representatives of small and mediumsized businesses in Russia was carried out. The situation with the state of licenses of insurers by types of insurance as of March 2022 has been structured. The situation with the provision of preferences for procurement from small and medium-sized businesses was considered separately within the framework of 44 and 223 Federal Laws. Proposals are made to reduce the risks of industry monopolization in these segments and the development of unfair competition due to a decrease in the number of players in the insurance market of the Russian Federation.


Imagine yourself sitting in the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, listening to a conceit given by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. On the stage-bill is the Second Piano Concerto by Johannes Brahms. I especially like this concerto because it comes as a nice double pack: Hidden in the third movement is a wonderful cello concert. Therefore, you can be sure that this important cello-solo will be played by Dr. Faust, the first solo-cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic, on an original