INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is the leading cause of death in patients with systemic sclerosis1 Newer treatment modalities have improved the outcome; hence the early identification of this complication is important. AIM To study the predictors of PAH in patients with Systemic Sclerosis who attended the out patient service of Pulmonary Medicine, Medical College, Kottayam. METHODS We studied 28 cases of systemic sclerosis.18 patients had diffuse form, 8 had overlap syndrome and 2 had limited form of the disease. All patients were evaluated by spirometry, DLCO, HRCT of the lungs, and echocardiography examination. They were grouped to different forms by clinical examination and by antibody detection. Statistical study was done using independent t test and chi-square test. RESULTS All 28 patients were females. Among the diffuse form 13 patients (72%) had interstitial lung disease (ILD) and 6 patients (33%) had PAH Among patients with overlap syndrome (including PSS) 5 had ILD (63%) and 3 had PAH (38%). No patient with limited form had ILD, but all the two had PAH(100%). Among 18 diffuse form 6 patients had PAH and their mean FVC is 52.6% and DLCO of 29%. Patients without PAH had a mean FVC of 53.0% and a mean DLCO of 46%. CONCLUSIONS Higher prevalence of PAH was observed in patients with limited variety when compared with diffuse form and overlap syndrome. In diffuse form PAH was associated with ILD and no such association was found in limited variety. A decreasing DLCO is an excellent predictor of the development of PAH in diffuse Systemic sclerosis2 . References: 1. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2003 May;29(2):335-49 2. ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM;Vol. 48, No. 2, February 2003, pp 516–522.


DOI: 10.21276/sjahss.2018.6.4.11 Abstract: Information and communications technologies (ICTs) have the potential to widen access to educational resources. They can also improve quality of teaching and learning and build a well-established knowledge society. The study explored how ICTs support teaching and learning processes, how lecturers and students make use of the Moodle platform developed for teaching and learning, the factors that affect the effective use of ICTs on teaching and learning, and how effective use of ICTs can be improved in order to enhance teaching and learning in the institution. The study was carried out in a private tertiary institution in Langata, Nairobi County, Kenya. It adopted a qualitative paradigm and used case study in the design. It was anchored on the Constructivism Learning Theory. The study purposively sampled 10 students and 4 staff members. Interview guide and focus group discussion guide were used for data collection. The interviews were transcribed, coded, categorised into themes, interrelated, and interpreted. The study revealed that ICTs enable lecturers and students to access educational resources easily, make teaching and learning interesting and motivating, also promote easy diffusion of information and knowledge. Furthermore, despite the relevance of the Moodle platform developed for teaching and learning in the institution, the platform is rarely used due to technophobic attitude among the lecturers, and the dysfunctional nature of the Moodle platform. To overcome this challenge, the study recommended need for full administrative and technical support so as to enhance quality teaching and learning by the use of ICTs.


PURPOSE:To transfer information on an originating-subscriber's number to a terminating-subscriber's terminal via the channel of an oscillation station during a call, and then to display the number by providing a sending method for the originating- subscriber's number to the oscillation station. CONSTITUTION:An exchange containing originating subscriber SUBA is provided with method REC of receiving a request signal for an originating-subscriber's number, method ID of extracting the originating-subscriber's number, and method OS of sending out the originating-subscriber's number, and the other exchange containing terminating subscriber SUBB is provided with method SPT of sending out the originating-subscriber's number request signal, method IR of receiving the originating-subscriber's number, and a method of sending the originating-subscriber's number to the terminating subscriber. In addition, the switching network is provided with memory method MEM stored with the originating-subscribers's number. The originating-subscriber's number request signal is sent out from the terminating- subscriber's terminal in a busy state and by this signal, the originating-subscriber's number stored in memory method MEM is sent out to the terminating-subscriber's terminal, so that display unit TER will display the originating-subscriber's number.


Guillain‐Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare but possible complication that may occur after COVID‐19 vaccination. In this systematic review, we found that GBS presented in patients with an average age of 58. The average time for symptoms to appear was 14.4 days. Health care providers should be aware of this potential complication.


Between 1973 and 1982, the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center conducted "coast-down" tests demonstrating means for reducing the drag of trucks, buses, and motor homes. Numerous configurations were evaluated using a box-shaped test van, a two-axle truck, and a tractor-semitrailer combination. Results from three configurations of the test van are of interest now in view of a trucking industry goal of a 0.25 drag coefficient for tractor-semitrailer combinations. Two test van configurations with blunt-base geometry, similar to present day trucks (one configuration has square front comers and the other has rounded front comers), quantify the base drag increase associated with reduced forebody drag. Hoemer's equations predict this trend; however, test van results, reinforced by large-scale air vehicle data, indicate that Hoemer's formula greatly underestimates this dependence of base drag on forebody efficiency. The demonstrated increase in base drag associated with forebody refinement indicates that the goal of a 0.25 drag coefficient will not be achieved without also reducing afterbody drag. A third configuration of the test van had a truncated boattail to reduce afterbody drag and achieved a drag coefficient of 0.242. These results are included here and references are identified for other means of reducing afterbody drag.


The auroral line of oxygen at 5577 A has properties which may make it useful for a high energy storage, short pulse, visible gas laser. Reactions and kinetics which would affect the operation of an Laser fusion requires a laser with at least kilojoules of energy storage that can generate high intensity subnanosecond pulses. This requirement p-Jts three general restrictions on potential laser devices for this application: (1) The stimulated emission cross section must be low enough that super-fluorescence and other parasitic processes do not depopulate the upper state in a large amplifier, yet large enough that the saturation flux for a subnanosecond pulse is less than the optical breakdown thresh old of the active medium. This condition requires that the stimulated emission cross section be near 10 cm . (2) The wavelength of the laser should be short, yet not so short that twc-photon absorption to the intrinsic conduction band will be possible in convenient optical materials. (3) Storage of energy at high excited state densities (a few hundred or thousand auroral line laser are reviewed. A kinetic model of a possible laser using photolytic decomposition of N"0 by krypton excimer radiation is described. Other possible excitation mechanisms are discussed. joules per liter) is desirable to minimize the bulk of the laser. This memorandum presents the 5577 A auroral line of atomic oxygen as an interesting candidate for such a laser. The stimulated emission cross section for this transition, assuming a 300°K -20 "> Doppler-broadened line, is -9 X 10 cm . This leads to a saturation energy flux of 4 J/cm , a value v>Lu.in the limits of for mirrors and for a The oxygen S Q a low deactivation a the energy is stored in a single atomic state, it is available for efficient picosecond pulse extraction.


Basically,there are two translation strategies:the original-language-centered strategy and the target-language-centered strategy,reflecting respectively the difference in emphasis,which is laid on the original by one and on the target by the other.The causes,or the determiners,for the difference, consist of six factors,namely,the consistency in the text-writing norm between the original and the target text,the text type of the original,the importance of the original,the translation initiator's brief,the target text readers' expectations and the social demands.The most influential of the six factors is the translation initiator's brief,which is formulated and given to the translator by the translation initiator who,as the sponsor or even the investor of translating,is well informed of the communicative occasions of the target text,seeks to fulfill his interest by meeting translation readership's expectations and social demand by means of the translation brief binding to the translator.It follows naturally that in factual translating the decision on translation strategies is a compromise as a result of the interactions of the six factors.


The article covers the comparative analysis of the economic concept content of «costs» and «expenses», the economic essence and content of costs of an enterprise.


Private equity is best understood not as a financing method but as a governance structure, one that emphasizes strong performance incentives, rules over discretion, and a strong alignment between ownership and management. Briefly, private equity governance makes owners into active managers and makes managers behave like owners. As such, private equity is often regarded as a more "entrepreneurial" form of governance than that associated with the publicly traded corporation. We argue for a balanced view in which private equity is best regarded as a governance structure that, like all forms of organization, has benefits and costs that vary according to circumstances. Building on the "judgment-based" view of entrepreneurship, we note that managers of privately held firms, as owners, exercise a strong degree of entrepreneurial judgment over the use of assets, unlike salaried executives of publicly held companies. At the same time, however, privately held firms are often constrained from pursuing potentially at...


This chapter lays out in general terms how Spinoza uses the tools of conceptual sensitivity, variability, and identification to satisfy these competing desiderata of perfection. At its core, Spinoza's strategy appeals to one of the most interesting features of concepts: one thing can be truly conceived in a variety of ways, even when the different ways involve distinctive content. This will be the key to Spinoza's reconciliation project. If the world's diversity is conceptually structured in the right ways, then Spinoza will be able to show how diversity is consistent with the various identity theses he also defends. We will then be primed to see how and why many of Spinoza's central metaphysical views utilize this conceptualist machinery. Having focused on the more familiar cases of attribute and causal structure plenitude here, the rest of the book unpacks the consequences of Spinoza's conceptualist gambit for his metaphysics and ethics.


Dichloroacetate (DCA) has recently been proposed as a novel and relatively non-toxic anticancer agent that can reverse the glycolytic phenotype in cancer cells through the inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase. Over 90% of all tumours show an increased glycolysis and this response could contribute to tumour progression, metastasis and resistance to various chemotherapy agents. Reversing the glycolytic phenotype could potentially slow down tumour growth, induce apoptosis and delay metastasis and is therefore a potential anti-cancer strategy. Aims and Methods Rat breast adenocarcinoma cell lines were used to examine the effect of DCA both in vitroand in vivo. Results The growth of several breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, T47D, 13762 MAT and V14 cells) was found to be inhibited by DCA in vitro.Further examination of 13762 MAT breast adenocarcinoma cells found that reversal of the glycolytic phenotype by DCA correlated with the inhibition of proliferation without any increase in cell death. This was despite a small but significant increase in caspase 3/7 activity, which may sensitise cancer cells to other apoptotic triggers. In vivo,DCA caused a 58% reduction in the number of lung metastases observed macroscopically after injection of 13762 MAT cells into the tail vein of rats (p = 0.0001, n>9 per group). The lesions in the DCA treated rats developed less tumoral necrosis, had a higher mitotic count and a greater lymphocytic infiltration than the control group. Conclusion These results demonstrate the anti-cancer potential of DCA and the reversing the glycolytic phenotype.


Summary The Center for Social Justice Research and Education at Saint Louis University has implemented a model of collaborative research and education among social work practitioners, university faculty and students. The partnerships promote creative practice of social justice in the community. Social workers in community agencies articulate the relevant practice problems for students and faculty; faculty offer methodological and resource assistance to practitioners; students learn social justice best at the intersection of the perspectives of university and community. Steps in the implementation of the model and examples of the collaboration are described.


The vast majority of entrepreneurs originate from large established firms; however our knowledge of how specific firm characteristics impact employee entrepreneurial outcomes remains remarkably sparse. This paper addresses this gap by developing a theoretical framework explaining how certain high performance human resource practices that are designed to promote competitive advantage may in fact lead to increased levels of employee entrepreneurial activity. Accordingly, the incumbent firm may not capture the value created by such human resource practices; rather the value may be transferred to a competing new venture started by an ex-employee. Using theoretical rationale from the jack-of-all-trades theory of entrepreneurship (Lazear, 2004; 2005), social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986), and equity theory (Adams, 1963; 1965), I argue that high performance human resource practices which (1) reduce perceived organizational complexity and (2) signal the value that an employee creates for the firm and the value...


Self-consistent calculations of the energy-loss spectra of charged particles moving near a plane-bounded free electron gas are reported. Energy-loss probabilities are obtained, within linear-response theory, from the knowledge of the density-response function of the inhomogeneous electron system. Self-consistent single-particle wave functions and energies are obtained by solving the Kohn-Sham equation of density-functional theory, and the electronic response is then computed either in the random-phase approximation or with the use of an adiabatic local-density approximation. Special emphasis is placed on the various contributions from collective and electron-hole excitations to the energy loss of charged particles moving parallel with the surface. The effect of the electronic selvage at a metal surface on the energy-loss spectra is also discussed, by comparing our full self-consistent calculations with those obtained for electron densities that drop abruptly to zero at the surface.


Since technology allows tourist companies to replace expensive human labor with electronic labor, labor expenses are reduced, yet customer service concerns are often avoided. Companies and organizations face new challenges daily. Increased consumer demands and global competition result in significant adjustments in the industrialized world. On the other hand, technology can bring forth entirely new types of unintended effects. There are new prospects for the tourist sector with the rise of big data. Data mining and cloud computing are widely used in the tourist sector to extract useful information from vast quantities of data. A new tourism marketing management model based on big data can be developed with this function. This research thus presents a big data and cloud computing-integrated tourism decision-making (BC2TDM) paradigm to analyze the behavior of travel consumers. This model uses the deep learning model to forecast the travel consumer behavior to ensure a personalized tourism experience.


Belying its comparatively small size, the Chattahoochee River has consistently provided upward of two-thirds of metropolitan Atlanta's drinking water. But beginning in the early 1960s, warnings were periodically issued that called into question the ability of the river to indefinitely supply the lion's share of the region's water. Seemingly ignoring these warnings, Atlanta's regional leaders pushed ahead, using the supposed threats to the region's water supply to support their efforts to shape the metropolis into a deeply manicured, low-density sprawl. Choosing this path eventually led to a courtroom showdown with neighboring states Alabama and Florida, in a case that could seriously curtail Atlanta's future withdrawals from the river and undermine the region's progrowth agenda. This article describes how and why this happened by telling the story of a complicated set of relationships that developed in 1970s between Atlanta's regional planning agency, the state of Georgia, and several federal agencies.


It is concluded that acid gases corroding concrete involved the three respects: carbonation, sulphate corroding and acid corroding. Through some typical experiments or some in-situ samples tested, the advances in both experiments methods and the study of the theory are introduced. Two mathematical formulas and two typical numerical simulating models (Mehta holistic model and Saetta finite model) for concrete corrosion prediction are also presented. Some major tests and all kinds of effective methods for prevention are narrated too. The conclusions as following are made at the end: Though much advances had been made so far, there were a lot of void in the study of concrete corrosion resulted from acid gases or from acid rain. Especially the grading of the pollution, the study of stress corrosion after sulfate corroding and the models for predicting corrosion rate should be intensified as soon as possible.


ABSTRACT. This text is a fragment of an investigation for doctoral thesis. It deals with the Early Learning content reinvented from the curriculum idea in action (Gimeno, 2000), comprising such a practice as shared authorship process among adults and children. We take the curriculum prescribed as scores and observe that, just as musicians, the subjects involved in the curricular practice - the melody - reinvent themselves indicating other possibilities and directions. Retaking past references to think about the present and advance towards the future occurs as a need to "brush history against the grain" - Benjamin. We have noted the practices of Freinet in France, as an indication that human development should take the dimension of work, participation and authorship as curriculum components. Similarly, the experience of "Children's Playgrounds" with Mario de Andrade in Brazil, emphasizing the artistic dimension of knowledge and popular culture. Both experiences reflect the need for dialectic construction of the Early Childhood Education curriculum respecting and recognizing the diversity of childhoods, but as the foundation of human essence. As for methodology, we adopt a qualitative approach (Minayo, 2006) with the references indicated in the ideological principles from the militant research (Malo, 2004). The participatory research (Brandao, 2003) is installed as a facilitator in the process of reflection, analysis and dialogue with the participants and the data that the concrete reality reveals. We also have the methodological foundations of Sociology of Childhood with its techniques of approach towards children. Keywords: curriculum; early childhood education; freedom practice.


In Southern African Litigation Centre and Another v. National Director of Public Prosecution and Others the High Court of South Africa held that South African authorities were legally obliged to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity committed in Zimbabwe by Zimbabweans against their own nationals. This was based on the strength of domestic law, in particular the universal jurisdiction provision of Section 4(3)(c) of the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act ('ICC Act'), together with South Africa's international legal obligations as a state party to the International Criminal Court ('ICC') and the principle of complementarity. This decision has likely been the catalyst for the opening of other investigations by South African authorities of extraterritorial international crimes allegedly committed in Madagascar and Zimbabwe. This chapter takes a critical approach to the invocation of complementarity in a universal jurisdiction context. It argues that, in cases such as the present, complementarity can only be invoked when a state's domestic jurisdiction over international crimes matches those of the ICC. That is, when committed by the nationals of an ICC state party or on their territory. To hold otherwise, as the High Court did in the Zimbabwe case (a state which is not a party to the ICC) invites results that completely transforms the traditional understanding of complementarity beyond that intended by its creators. Nevertheless, South Africa may still have an international (or domestic) obligation to investigate international crimes pursuant to its universal jurisdiction, but it cannot be based on the Rome Statute or complementarity.


Introduction:
 200 million patients worldwide undergo noncardiac surgery every year. Overt stroke is a serious complication of noncardiac surgery with significant impact on duration and quality of life. In the non-surgical population, covert stroke is 10 times more common then overt stroke and is associated with an increased risk of dementia and cognitive decline. The epidemiology of covert stroke after noncardiac surgery is not well characterized.

 Study Objectives:
 We undertook a pilot study to determine the incidence of covert stroke after noncardiac surgery.

 Methods:
 This was a prospective, international cohort study. Eligible patients were 65 years or older, and were admitted to hospital for at least one night after noncardiac surgery. A sampling strategy was employed to ensure a representative surgical population. Study personnel recorded clinical characteristics and the incidence of perioperative adverse events. We also assessed neurocognitive function, physical function and quality of life before surgery and 30 days after surgery. Patients underwent a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study between postoperative days 3 and 10. Fluid attenuated inversion recovery, gradient echo, T2 and diffusion-weighted imaging MRI sequences were obtained.

 Results:
 A total of 70 patients from three centres were enrolled in this study. The incidence of covert stroke was 11.4% (8/70 patients, 95% CI 5.9% to 21.0%). The single overt stroke was diagnosed after the research MRI study demonstrated findings of an acute stroke. All three centres experienced a similar prevalence of covert stroke (range 8.0% to 15.0%), and covert stroke was found in patients undergoing general (4/16), orthopedic (3/36), and urological/gynecological surgery (2/8).

 Conclusions:
 There is a significant risk of covert stroke after all types of noncardiac surgery. Given that globally 200 million adults undergoing major noncardiac surgery every year, postoperative covert stroke may be responsible for a significant proportion of small vessel cerebral ischemic disease in the overall population. A large study is needed to characterize the impact of postoperative covert stroke on clinically meaningful outcomes.


A generalized flux-vector splitting implicit Galerkin finite-element algorithm for the Euler equations in curvilinear coordinates for ideal and reacting gases is derived. For an arbitrary equation of state, the curvilinear-coordinate flux vector is split in kinematic and kinetic components, and the associated jacobian matrix eigenvalues explicitly depend on the metric data. After directional semidiscretization, the terminal ordinary differential-equation system is solved via a nonlinearly stable implicit Runge-Kutta scheme in concert with an accurate tensor matrix product factorization. The results for selected two-dimensional supersonic and axisymmetric hypersonic flows validate the algorithm and verify its robustness for curvilinear-coordinate computations. The evolution towards a steady state is achieved for large Courant numbers without indication of numerical instabilities.


The ultraviolet absorption spectrum of Northrop's pure crystalline pepsin has been determined. The curve of calculated molecular extinction coefficients is given. There is noted a general resemblance of the absorption curve for pepsin to that for urease and tyrosine; the absorption band is maximum at 2750–2800 Å.µ., minimum near 2500. A slight hump on either side of the peak of the extinction curve may be significant.


The Transportation Research Institute at Oregon State University (TRI/OSU) is undertaking a project to develop Ergonomic Performance Guidelines for Customer Information Systems. This is a result of research undertaken previously by TRI/OSU indicating the need for consistency and standardization of the new electronic information system technologies that are used in transportation facilities. The research has focused on ergonomic performance guidelines for the man-machine interface between the electronic information systems and users. The paper summmarises the international effort that has led to the development of draft ergonomic performance guidelines that are sensitive to the needs of persons with sensory and cognitive disabilities.


Abstract The paper explores one of the most useful and interesting facilities for a CAD system: the bilateral relation with a database. This connection allows the development of a new tire in data management, establishing a permanent relation between graphic information (handled by a CAD system), and non graphic information (handled by a database manager). The novelty of the paper consists in exposing the internal mechanisms of data management, which are the basis of handling foreign data in Mechanical Desktop environment. All the considerations are done for version 6 of Mechanical Desktop, in connection with the version 15 of ARX library.


This report presents a summary of the studies and analyses that compose the retrospective evaluation of the U.S. Department of Energy s low-income Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). WAP provides grants to Grantees (i.e., states) that then provide grants to Subgrantees (i.e., local weatherization agencies) to weatherize low-income homes. This evaluation focused on the WAP Program Year 2008. The retrospective evaluation produced twenty separate reports, including this summary. Four separate reports address the energy savings, energy cost savings, and cost effectiveness of WAP across four housing types: single family, mobile home, small multifamily, and large multifamily. Other reports address the environmental emissions, macroeconomic, and health and household-related benefits attributable to WAP, and characterize the program, its recipients, and those eligible for the program. Major field studies are also summarized, including a major indoor air quality study and a follow-up ventilation study, an in-depth in-field assessment of weatherization work and quality, and a study that assesses reasons for variations in energy savings across homes. Results of surveys of weatherization staff, occupants, occupants satisfaction with weatherization services provided, and weatherization trainees are summarized. Lastly, this report summarizes a set of fifteen case studies of high-performing and unique local weatherization agencies.


This paper provides orders of magnitude of the importance of CO2 emissions from international freight transport activities under a variety of scenarios regarding trade and climate policies. It is based on a stylised multiregion, multisector CGE model that includes the four modes of international transport (air, water, road and rail) and where choices regarding the energy mix and transport modes have been endogeneised. A separate decomposition of emission changes into the well‐known scale, composition and technique effects is provided. Scale effects turn out to be roughly double in international transport than in exports, while technique effects are weaker due to less substitutability between energy inputs. As a result, international transport represents half of the world increase in global emissions when trade liberalisation is considered in isolation. When trade liberalisation is coupled with a carbon tax limited to rich countries, the change in international transport emissions represents roughly one‐eighth of the carbon leakage effect.


Waterfowl managers in Minnesota and other states are concerned that increased kill rates associated with the use of spinning-wing decoys (SWDs) may negatively affect local breeding populations of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos). I conducted 219 experimental hunts to evaluate hunting vulnerability of mallards to SWDs during the 2002 duck-hunting season in Minnesota. Following experimental hunts, I asked volunteer hunters to complete post-hunt questionnaires to document their hunting experience, and their use and opinions of SWDs. Finally, I used stable isotope methodology to determine natal origins of HY mallards killed during experimental hunts. I found that mallard flocks (≥1 duck) were 2.91 times more likely to respond (i.e., approached within 40 m of hunters) when SWDs were turned 'ON'. Sizes of responding mallard flocks were 1.25 times larger, on average, when SWDs were turned 'ON' than 'OFF'. Mallards killed/hr/hunter/hunt averaged 4.71 times higher (P < 0.05) when SWDs were turned 'ON' than 'OFF'. More HY and AHY mallards were killed when SWDs were turned 'ON' than 'OFF'; however, AHYs were relatively less likely than were HYs to be killed with SWDs turned 'ON'. Based on my stable isotope analysis, more local and migrant HY mallards were killed by hunters when SWDs were turned 'ON' than 'OFF', but local HY mallards were not relatively more likely than were migrant HY mallards to be killed by hunters using SWDs in Minnesota. I found no evidence that SWDs reduced crippling nor allowed hunters to harvest relatively more drakes than hens. I estimated that if 46% and 79% of Minnesota hunters used SWDs in 2000 and 2002, respectively, Minnesota mallard harvest would increase by factors of 2. However, increasing use of SWDs may result in a partial re-distribution of annual mallard harvests if naïve ducks are harvested upon initial exposures to SWDs, and those ducks that survive migrations to wintering areas become habituated to SWDs, as suggested by my results. My study was confined to a


Nowdays, in 21st century, it has been recognized for its easy access to technology for communication and gathering information. People are starting to use ICT to simplify or improve their work, as well as in education. This study aimed to find out (1) obstacles that English language teachers face while integrating ICT in teaching and learning process; and (2) solution of how to overcome those obstacles. This study used a survey research design. Questionnaire will be given to 35 samples of Junior High English teachers in public schools in Kota Bengkulu. Results showed that most teachers feel ready to undertake ICT tools in English teaching and learning process. In addition, there are several major obstacles in ICT implementation, such as lack of financial support, technological difficulties, academic dishonesty, and time limitations. It also uncovered that financial problem is the first obstacle to be solved in order to overcome others obstacles.


Performance of any electrical machine during dynamic and steady state condition is assessed by stability analysis of the machine. Three phase induction motors are widely used for a number of applications in industries because of their reliability and low cost. In close loop control system complex circuits are there so the problem of stability is always arises. In this paper a dynamic model of voltage flux linkage relationship. A linearized model is used to evaluate the control characteristics of the five phase induction motor drive which is based on the Conventional methods such as Root Locus technique, Bode plot, Nyquist plot etc. are used for stability analysis of high phase induction machine. Small perturbations are applied with the model to evaluate the control performance. Voltage current relationship is developed to study the behavior of the machine. In this paper voltage-current model is utilized to determine the stability of the motor under different load conditions. MATLAB codes have been developed to carry out this study.


The search for bioactive compounds from a variety of living organisms as alternative source of cure is a relentless effort of man to fight various diseases. Recently, natural products from freshwater fish have been exploited. Hence this study was conducted primarily to tap the dominating invasive fish species Hypseleotris agilis Herre of Lake Lanao, Philippines as possible source of indigenous drugs. The fish is locally known as Katulong belonging to the family Eleotridae which believed to have been accidentally introduced sometime in the 1960s along with tilapia and milkfish fry stocking in the lake for aquaculture. This preliminary study specifically aimed to evaluate the antibacterial and antifungal potentials of the freshwater fish. Crude methanol extract of the whole fish were assayed for antimicrobial activity using the filter paper disc diffusion assay against one fungal strain Candida albicans , two Gram-negative bacterial strains Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli and two Gram-positive strains Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis . As shown in the measured zones of inhibition, the fish extract significantly inhibited the growth of S. aureus, B. subtilis, and P. aeruginosa but not the C. albicans and E. coli and. Results indicated the potential of the fish as source of natural products with antibacterial properties.


Introduction OCCC has high incidence in Asia with frequent occurrence at early stage but without sufficient data on molecular stratification for high-risk patients. Recently, immune-hot features have been proposed as an indicator for poor prognosis for early-stage OCCC. Specific patterns of intra-tumoral heterogeneity (ITH) associated with immune-hot features need to be defined. Methods Formalin-fixed paraffine embedded (FFPE) tumor sections from 10 early-stage OCCC patients were included. Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) of 18 protein targets was conducted by using the nanoString GeoMx system to profile selected regions of interest (ROIs) based on the reference H&E staining morphology. Areas of illumination (AOIs) were defined according to ROI segmentation by the fluorescence signals of visualization markers pan-cytokeratin (PanCK), CD45, or DNA. Results Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of 252 AOIs from 229 ROIs showed that PanCK segments expressed different combinations of immune markers suggestive of immune mimicry features. Three immune-hot clusters were identified: granzyme B high (C1-a), immune signal high (C1-b) and immune-like cells (C1-c); two immune-cold clusters were identified: fibronectin-high (C2-a) and signal-cold (C2-b). Immune cells around C1-b and C1-c PanCK+ AOIs were tumor infiltrating immune cells (TIIs) with higher expression of CD68, while those around C1-a, C2-a and C2-b PanCK+ AOIs were non-TIIs with higher expression of SMA. C1-c and C2-a PanCK+ AOIs were associated with OCCC recurrence. TIIs had higher frequencies in C1-b and C1-c PanCK+ AOIs and were associated with OCCC recurrence. Correlating with morphology, tumor samples with recurrence showed higher frequency of papillary pattern. Plus, ROIs with papillary pattern had extremely high frequency of PanCK segments of C1-c feature, higher frequency of TIIs, and macrophage lineage immune mimicry with high intensity of CD68. Conclusions Spatial profiling of early-stage OCCC tumors revealed that immune mimicry of tumor cells, the presence of TIIs, and papillary pattern in morphology were associated with recurrence.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between college students' self-regulated learning and educational factors through meta-analysis and to synthesize evidence and develop educational implications. This study analyzed 22 primary studies and calculated correlation effect size including overall effect size, effect size of sub-group analysis, and meta-regression. The analysis result is as follows: First, the overall effect size for all studies was .213, and it was a medium effect size. Second, the effect size of sub-self-regulated learning category was similar among cognitive/metacognition, motivation, and social/ environmental factors. Third, the relationship between self-regulated learning and educational domains is larger for affective domain, then cognitive domain, and achievement. The implication and limitation of analysis results, and the direction of future research were discussed.


This paper investigates a novel position sensor based force reflection framework for multi degrees-of-freedom bilateral teleoperation systems in unstructured environments. The conventional position sensor based force reflection method, known as position error feedback, may generate grossly inaccurate force reflection directions during collisions involving the slave manipulator links. The proposed restriction space projection framework calculates the instantaneous restriction space to provide the accurate force reflection regardless of kinematic dissimilarity conditions of bilateral teleoperation systems. Three examples address how to apply the proposed framework to diverse bilateral teleoperation systems. Simulation results confirmed the validity of the proposed framework in a kinematically dissimilar bilateral teleoperation system under various constraint conditions.


Crystal and magnetic structures of complex manganese oxides Sr2GaMnO5+delta (deltasimilar or equal to0.01,0.52) and Ca2GaMnO5+delta (deltasimilar or equal to0.05) were studied by neutron powder diffraction (ND) and muSR technique in the temperature range 2-300 K. The crystal structures contain single MnO2 layers separated by three nonmagnetic cation-oxygen layers. The principal difference between the deltasimilar or equal to0 and deltasimilar or equal to0.5 compounds is the Mn valence: Mn3+ or Mn4+, and the structure of the (GaO1+delta) buffer layer, which is formed by tetrahedra or partially filled octahedra, respectively. The magnetic moments of the manganese ions are coupled antiferromagnetically in the MnO2 plane, but antiferromagnetically (G type) or ferromagnetically (C type) between the planes for the reduced and oxidized compositions, respectively. The transition from the G- to C-type magnetic structure by oxygen doping is explained by strong diagonal 180degrees superexchange antiferromagnetic interaction between Mn4+-ions in the adjacent layers through additional oxygen atoms in the GaO buffer layer. The magnetic moments in Sr-based samples are appreciably reduced in comparison with the spin-only values of the corresponding Mn ion. By using complementary information on local magnetic field distribution from muSR we show that the reduced magnetic moments seen by ND are caused by the presence of locally flipped Mn spins and a short-ranged (40 Angstrom) antiferromagnetic phase. The magnetic disorder can be caused by the disorder observed in the oxygen positions of the GaO1+delta layer, because the coupling between the MnO2 layers is mediated by the geometry of the superexchange path through these oxygen atoms.


The state of residual stress in welded joints is a well-studied topic, and many methods of residual stress measurement are now available. However, far less is known about the transient strains which occur during the welding process, even though these are the direct cause of residual stresses. Efforts to model welding processes usually include transient stresses and strains among their results, but in general these models can only be easily compared against experimentally measured residual stresses: there is a lack of published data covering strain in the transient regime.


Differential Drug Effects on Anisotropic Conduction. Introduction:Anisotropic conduction characteristics, expressed as the ratio of conduction velocities in the longitudinal (Vl) and transverse (Vt) fiber directions, may play a role in the mechanism of some ventricular tachycardias and is influenced by pharmacologic interventions. Discrepancies exist among the reported orientation‐dependent effects of available Class I antiarrhythmic drugs. The aim of this study was to assess the respective effects of quinidine (Class IA), flecainide (Class IC), and cibenzoline (not subclassifled) on the anisotropic conduction of porcine hearts, in corroboration of their effects on ventricular action potentials.


The position of multinational corporations in today's world places them at the center of any discussion on ethics and economies. These firms forge international linkages among fragmented, nationalistic eco? nomies. As managers allocate resources across the multinational corpo? rate system, they exert a far-ranging influence on the lives of many people. The resource balance among nations is modified as is the flow of resources to groups within those countries where multinationals oper? ate. Of particular importance in today's world is the resource balance between the developed nations of the Northern Hemisphere and the poor peoples in the less-developed countries. The nature of corporate regulation and economic systems at both the national and the international levels places the multinational manager in the position of having to allocate resources in the absence of adequate market or legal signals. This raises issues of fairness, equity, and justice not faced by executives in developed Western countries. Unfortunately, the rancor over multinational presence in the Third World has too often shut the executive off from the guidance of people with interests such as those reflected among the participants at the Marquette Centennial Conference who can be of great help in dealing with this ethical dimen? sion of corporate decision-making.


Crisis communication research establishes the importance of relationships between organizations and their publics. While theoretical treatments and case studies support this relationship, limited empirical investigations have examined how organizational responses to crisis influence public responses. This study sought to determine if grocery shoppers responded differently to organizations engaging in crisis communication practices and those that do not. Results indicate that respondents express stronger intention to continue purchasing from an organization and see the organization as concerned and respectful of the consumer when it engages in crisis communication practices. The discussion section addresses implications of these findings for future research and public relations practice.


Cryptosporidiosis is an infectious emerging zoonotic protozoan disease occurring in both human and animal populations all over the world. Cryptosporidiosis is caused by Cryptosporidium, a tiny parasite that affects humans as well many species of animals. Although Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium hominis (formerly known as C. parvum anthroponotic genotype or genotype 1) are the most common species causing disease in human beings, Cryptosporidium felis, Cryptosporidium meleagridis, Cryptosporidium canis, and Cryptosporidium muris infections have also been reported. Waterborne transmission via drinking water or a swimming pool is common, and outbreaks have been reported in several countries. The most common symptom of cryptosporidiosis in humans is watery diarrhea. People with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to contract serious, long-term, and even fatal infections. The laboratory endeavor is required to make a precise diagnosis of the disease. The demonstration of oocysts of Cryptosporidium in the fecal samples is still used as a simple, easy, and cost-effective technique for the diagnosis of disease. As a preventative and control measure, appropriate hygienic practices must be practiced everywhere. Furthermore, the veterinarians play a crucial role in the treatment of disease in domestic animals.


This book offers to study locally compact groups from the point of view of appropriate metrics that can be defined on them, in other words to study "Infinite groups as geometric objects", as Gromov writes it in the title of a famous article. The theme has often been restricted to finitely generated groups, but it can favorably be played for locally compact groups. The development of the theory is illustrated by numerous examples, including matrix groups with entries in the the field of real or complex numbers, or other locally compact fields such as p-adic fields, isometry groups of various metric spaces, and, last but not least, discrete group themselves. Word metrics for compactly generated groups play a major role. In the particular case of finitely generated groups, they were introduced by Dehn around 1910 in connection with the Word Problem. Some of the results exposed concern general locally compact groups, such as criteria for the existence of compatible metrics on locally compact groups. Other results concern special classes of groups, for example those mapping onto the group of integers (the Bieri-Strebel splitting theorem for locally compact groups).
Prior to their applications to groups, the basic notions of coarse and large-scale geometry are developed in the general framework of metric spaces. Coarse geometry is that part of geometry concerning properties of metric spaces that can be formulated in terms of large distances only. In particular coarse connectedness, coarse simple connectedness, metric coarse equivalences, and quasi-isometries of metric spaces are given special attention. The final chapters are devoted to the more restricted class of compactly presented groups, generalizing finitely presented groups to the locally compact setting. They can indeed be characterized as those compactly generated locally compact groups that are coarsely simply connected.


Exception handling and recovery are necessary parts of WFMS. This paper provides a set of methods of exception finding, handling and transferring, for multi-agent virtual organization-based WFMS SaFlow; moreover, suggests a resource-centric transaction model, supporting concurrency control, canceling and recovery of workflow.


I. Introduction, 430. — II. Internal rates of return and the ranking of projects, 434. — III. Calculating the opportunity cost of capital, 440. — IV. Conclusions, 449.


We summarize recent measurements made at the Tevatron Collider using top event candidates. Cross section and mass measurements are discussed in a separate contribution to these Proceedings. Here we report on studies of the top P T distribution in t{anti t} production and studies of single top production. Properties of top decays examined are: BF(t {yields} Wb)/BF(t {yields} Wq), helicity amplitudes of W's from top decays and correlations of t{anti t} decay products. Searches for new physics in rare top decays and a search for a state X {yields} t{anti t} are also reported.


The problem of allocating scientific effort between a number of competing projects is considered. A stochastic mathematical model is set up, and for the case of just two competing projects a number of results are proved which enable the best policy to be determined. An indication is given of the ways in which these results might be extended so as to deal with more general situations.


In this paper, the kinetic long time behaviour of nonautonomous nonlinear KDV type equations was studied, and by applying the method of nonautonomous system given by Chepyzhov V V and Vishik M I, it was proved that the uniform attractors existed in the system under the external force satisfying some conditions.


A methodology to predict local scour depth at a complex pier is presented that recognises the relative scouring potentials of the components of complex piers, and the transition of scouring processes occurring for varying pile-cap elevation. Scour depths are predicted over the entire range of possible pile-cap elevations using a combination of existing expressions for scouring respectively at uniform piers, caisson-founded piers, pile groups with debris rafts, and pile groups alone. The validity of the method is confirmed using measurements of local scour at complex piers, and a case study is used to highlight application of the methodology. For design purposes, the method highlights respective pile-cap elevations that maximise (i.e. to be avoided over the pier life) and minimise local scour at complex piers. The method reinforces that where the pile-cap elevation relative to the bed can vary with time at a bridge site, potential local-scour depths need to be assessed over the range of possible pile-cap elevations for the pier.


The purpose of this study is to view the process of the regional growth of urbanized area in Japan. As Japan experienced the rapid urbanization after the Second World War like other industrialized nations did, the rapid and continuous city-ward movement of population and industry has been promoted swiftly. In the past 25 years, the urban populations has increased rapidly from 37.5 to 75.9 percent of the total population in Japan. This can be considered as one of the clear indicators which show the transformed condtions from the significantly rural to the urban society. Although this phenomenon has served as the driving force for the rapid and enormous growth of Japanese economy on the one hand, it also caused some serious social problems such as inequal areal distribution of the population on the other. Specifically, the Japanese population is distributed densely in cities and sparsely in provincial areas.Admitedly, a city has a pivotal function for its outlying areas in terms of politics, economy, culture, and other aspects. In other words, a city has become to act as the nucleus in a certain integrated area (a rural-urban community) where the closest and most intensive associations with suburban areas are maintained. Consequently, the traffic demand around the city has increased heavily, and many important problems concerning traffic planning has come into existence.It goes without saying that there are many points to be discussed on the matter above mentioned, but it is very important from the view point of traffic planning to clarify definitely the process of the spatial changes of the regional structure of urbanized area in which the city and outlying areas connect and exist together. For this purpose, we have to make researches in a large number of urbanzed area.Therefore, we need to take into considerations the following three points; (1) The intercouse between a central chty and its outlying area.(2) The movement of population and employment within urbanized area.(3) The difference of growth rate between each urbanized area.


We examine how organizations that mediate "life-of-project" employment segment the labor market in a culture industry. Using longitudinal data on writers for television and feature films, we examine trends in the extent to which type of agency representation affects writers' employment and earnings. Elite or "core " agencies are those that transcend their role as market brokers between the suppliers and purchasers of writing services by participating actively in the production process. Writers who are represented by such agencies are substantially more likely to find employment, and they earn considerably more than equally accomplished writers with noncore agency representation. We discuss the implications of these findings for contingent employment of professionalized employees in other highly institutionalized industrial sectors.


When thermal simulations for car environment in natural convection conditions are requested, often the basis of using a default air velocity of 0.2 m/s, instead of 0.0 m/s, as the boundary condition, is called into question. If you use an air velocity of 0.0 m/s, the system is isolated from the rest of the car cabin and extreme real-world conditions are not reproduced anymore in simulations. The methodology used in the paper comprises the analytical approach, numerical and experimental measurements. The analytical approach is based on the equilibrium of the gravitational, buoyancy, drag and viscosity forces. The numerical analysis is performed by ICEPAK commercial software based on the finite volume method. Experimental setup used for validation of both analytical and numerical analysis covers perfectly both the geometry and physical conditions presented.


To investigate the effects of proton pump inhibitor(PPI) on plasmacytoid dendritic cells(pDCs) of hydroxychloroquine(HCQ)-treated SLE in vitro and in vivo, twenty-seven cases of inactive SLE patients, including15 patients treated with HCQ(HCQ group) and 12 patients treated with HCQ plus PPI(PPI group), were recruited,and flow cytometry was used to measure the pDCs numbers in PBMC and the expression of pDCs surface molecules.On the other hand, the cord blood precursor pDCs were obtained using beads sorting and co-cultured with HCQ and PPIs in vitro, then the expression of pDCs surface molecules were detected by flow cytometry, while IFN-αlevel in the supernatants was detected using ELISA. The pre-pDCs sorted from healthy donors using magnetic cell separation with BDCA-4 beads were co-cultured respectively with HCQ and PPIs in vitro, in the presence of fluorescent probes, and then the changes of lysosome pH values were determined by laser scanning confocal microscope after 30 min's incubation. Compared with HCQ group, PPI could reduced the number of pDCs in PBMC(P0.05) and reduced the expression of CD32 on pDCs(P=0.05) of patients. In vitro, BDCA-2 expression in PPI group was significantly lower than that in HCQ group(P 0.05). Furthermore, the fluorescence intensity decreased in HCQ group and further decreased in PPI group accompanied by pH elevation. In conclusion, treatment with PPI plus HCQ results in the decrease of pDCs number and CD32 expression, the reduction of BDCA2 expression on pDCs in vitro,and the elevation of lysosomes pH of pDCs in patients with SLE. Thus PPI may have antagonistic effect on HCQ.


In an attempt to identify cellular genes that might be involved in simian virus 40 (SV40) transformation, we have set out to isolate cells which express T antigen but are not transformed. SV40 DNA and the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene were cotransfected into tk- 3T3 fibroblasts. Of 72 colonies screened that were resistant to hypoxanthine-aminopterin-thymidine, 57 were T antigen positive as judged by immunofluorescence. One of these lines, A27, had a normal growth phenotype in monolayer overgrowth and soft agar assays. It contained intact SV40 sequences that could be rescued by fusion to permissive cells. This rescued virus was fully capable of transforming nonpermissive cells to the same extent as did wild-type virus. The A27 cells, however, were not transformable by infection with SV40 or by transfection of SV40 DNA. It is likely that these cells were altered in a cellular function required for the establishment of the transformed state.


Purpose The aim of the study was to identify the duration of surgery, the incidence of Descemet's membrane (DM) perforation during deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK), and the incidence of conversion to a penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) surgery when the procedure are performed by a single corneal surgeon during his learning curve. Setting This study was conducted in a specialized eye hospital from March 2013 to April 2014. Design This was a retrospective noncomparative case series study. Patients and methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of the first 52 cases of planned DALK that used the big-bubble (BB) technique, focusing on the 10 cases that were converted to PKP (19.23%). The cases were subdivided into four groups, categorized chronologically from A to D, comprising 13 patients each. Results DM perforation occurred during initial trephination in one case (10% of converted cases), during BB (over) injection with escape through (iatrogenic) DM break in one case (10% of converted cases), and during air injection with escape through a pre-existing big DM break in one case (10% of converted cases). During initial stab/deroofing of the BB using a superblade, perforation occurred in two cases (20% of converted cases). Perforation was most commonly encountered during supradescematic cleavage plane dissection, which happened in five cases (50% of converted cases). However, microperforations that occurred during dissection into the bare DM in six cases (11.53% of total cases) were managed successfully without conversion to PKP. Of the successful DALK cases, five were converted to manual DALK with complete baring of DM. Conclusion Despite a learning period needed to successfully perform DALK with the BB technique, complications related to this technique and total surgery duration decrease significantly after the first 10 cases.


The model for active galactic nuclei of Kazanas and Ellison (1986a), employing quasi-spherical accretion onto a black hole, when scaled down to solar mass objects, provides a straightforward account of the bimodal spectral behavior of Cyg X-1 and the other galactic black hole candidates. It is argued that the change in the spectrum is due to the drastic increase of the source compactness with the accretion rate and the subsequent conversion of most of the energy released by accretion into e(+)e(-) pairs. It is also argued that similar changes may be observed in active galactic nuclei.


The invention discloses a touch screen based on a touch control pen, a transparent conducting film thereof and a touch control mobile terminal. The transparent conducting film comprises a transparent substrate and multiple induction electrodes. The transparent substrate is provided with two opposite surfaces, the induction electrodes are arranged on one surface of the transparent substrate and arranged in parallel at intervals, and the center-to-center distance d between every two adjacent induction electrodes meets the following conditions that 1.5 phi<=d<=2 phi, wherein phi is the diameter of a touch region, on the touch screen, of the touch control pen. The center-to-center distance between the induction electrodes of the transparent conducting film of the touch screen based on the touch control pen is larger than or equal to 1.5 times the diameter of the touch region, on the touch screen, of the touch control pen, and smaller than or equal to 2 times the diameter of the touch region, on the touch screen, of the touch control pen, in this way, the touch control pen falls on different induction electrodes every time touch control is performed, then the coordinates of a touch control point each time can be touched, and then the touch control precision of the touch screen based on the touch control pen is improved.


A technique has been developed for fabricating polyimide x‐ray masks of high durability and excellent dimensional stability. It is found that the most serious factor causing the distortion of the polyimide membrane is the nonuniformity of the back‐etching rate. Improvements were effected to the etching apparatus and wafer holder to ensure a high uniformity of the etching rate of 3% over an 80 mm diam window. In addition, a gold layer was inserted between the polyimide membrane and the silicon wafer, and it is found that this etching stopper is very effective in reducing distortion. In addition, the distortion of the polyimide membrane is reduced, increasing the thickness of polyimide film and also decreasing the window size. As a result, polyimide x‐ray masks having a 4‐μm‐thick membrane and a 40‐mm‐diam window have been obtained with a distortion less than 0.15 μm (σ). They have shown excellent dimensional stability against a high‐level x‐ray irradiation amounting to 40 J/cm2 over one week.


This brief statement is taken from the author's comments at a conference on group work with children and youth held on October 29, 1999. It highlights the importance of peer group experiences in the development of self and the ability to relate to others, as well as the key role of committed adults who can help with this process.


Recenty, image steganalysis has attracted more attention. In this paper, a new method for detecting the secret message and estimating the secret message length of bit-streams embedded using J-Steg like steganography is proposed. First, based on the model of statistical distribution of quantized DCT coefficients, the histogram of the cover image is estimated from the stego image. Then, the secret message is detected as well as the estimation of the secret message length using the estimated cover histogram. Interestingly, our study on steganalysis of J-Steg like embedding offers a proof of Zhang et al. 's method (2003). The methodology described in this paper is a framework which can also be applied to many other stegaographic methods such as JPEG2000 file format embedding.


Region growing normally produces segmentation with closed connected region objects. In remotely sensed images of the earth, objects with similar spectral signature appear in spatially separated locations. In this paper presented approach for integrating region growing with nonadjacent region object aggregation which we call hierarchical segmentation or Hseg. But the original implementation of nonadjacent region object aggregation in Hseg required excessive computing time. This problem was solved by recursive approximation of Hseg which we call RHseg. In RHseg region growing algorithm, it can reduce computational time and also the proposed method significantly improves classification accuracies when compared with previously proposed classification techniques .


We report on a study of the capacitance of silicon pixel detectors to be used as tracking devices for high energy physics experiments. The pixel capacitance matrix plays an important role in system design issues, such as preamplifier matching and cross-talk among pixels. Test results on 100 x 100 pm2 pixels are compared with data obtained from a massively parallel tridimensional simulation code which is necessary to account for the intrinsically 3D nature of the pixel structure.


The author analyses the symbolic and conceptual dimension of the architecture of Ricardo Porro, and above all of the Schools of Art of Havana. Contents derived from the iconographic analysis by E. Panofsky which inspired Porro himself in his courses, conferences and publications.


Dr. Lewis has been Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois since 1948. Previously he was Field Representative for Latin America, Office of Indian Affairs; Social Scientist for the United States Department of Agriculture; and Visiting Professor at the University of Havana, Cuba. During 1952-1954 he was a Consulting Anthropologist in India for the Ford Foundation. His field research has been conducted in the United States, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, and India. He is author of: On the Edge of the Black Waxey: A Cultural Survey of a Texas County, 1948; and Life in a Mexican Village: Tepoztldn Restudied, 1951.


Software reliability testing is an emerging form of software testing that emphasizes the quantitative relationship between software testing and software reliability, and is aimed to quantitatively improve and assess software reliability. However it is diffcult to quantify the relationship between software testing and software reliability in a rigorously mathematical manner. In order to justify this observation, this paper highlights several issues in software reliability testing, including software defect estimation, mathematical modeling of software testing process, and optimal software reliability assessment. It is argued that software reliability testing is a research direction that involves different research fields and mathematical theories.


This work considers the behavior of the Ising model of a ferromagnet subject to a strong, randomly switching external driving field. A formalism based on the master equation to handle such nonequilibrium systems is introduced and applied to a mean field approximation, and one- and two-dimensional variants of the model. A novel type of phase transition related to spontaneous symmetry breaking and dynamic freezing occurs which depends on the strength of the driving field. The complex analytic structure of the stationary magnetization distributions is shown to range from singular-continuous with euclidean or fractal support to all continuous. Analytic results are presented for the mean field and one-dimensional cases, whereas Monte-Carlo simulations provide insight into the two-dimensional model. Also, an interpretation of the model from a neurobiological point of view is given.


1. The pressor responses to angiotensin II injections of 29, 117 and 468 pmol/kg and infusion at 54 pmol/kg per min were compared in near‐term pregnant and matched non‐pregnant rabbits. The responses to noradrenaline injections of 652, 2608 and 10 432 pmol/kg and infusion at 1185 pmol/kg per min were similarly compared.


The British Society of Gastroenterology invites applications from ordinary members of the Society for grants in support of research projects. Further details are set out in an explanatory leaflet which together with application forms is available from the BSG Secretariat, University College Hospital Medical School, Department of Surgery, The Rayne Institute, University Street, London WCIE 6JJ.


Tensile properties of plain and nanoclay reinforced epoxy matrix syntactic foams with three different sizes of ceramic microballoons are investigated experimentally. Nine series of plain syntactic foams with 20, 40 and 60 volume fractions of microballoons are prepared and tested to study the volume fraction and size effects. Also nano syntactic foams specimens with six different weight fractions of nanoclay (0, 1, 2, 3, 5 & 7%) are tested and the effect of nanoclay content on the tensile properties is investigated. In addition to tensile tests, fracture modes of all syntactic foams are considered thoroughly by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).


This study examines how orbital debris may affect the efficacy of space architectures over the next decade. Parametrical modeling in two dimensions is performed to examine sensitivities related to space architectures under the influence of the growing space debris hazard. The two dimensions include (1) three debris environment scenarios and (2) three low Earth orbit (LEO) space architecture options. Results highlight the possibility that spaceflight safety can be enhanced by anticipating and leveraging space system design trends and knowledge of debris hazard evolution uncertainties. There is neither a sure fire way to prevent debris from impacting LEO constellations but also no certainty that current practices will lead to failures over the next decade. However, actions taken now will have long-lasting impact on future deployments and operations. BACKGROUND Orbital debris and satellite constellations are both "trending" in the aerospace community. Satellite constellations of smallsats have great potential for responsive global capability for communications, remote sensing, internet delivery, surveillance, reconnaissance, and on and on. Similarly, the pallor of orbital debris hangs over many space systems creating angst about the potential for mission-degrading impacts and even complete destruction. Catastrophic collision events will produce hundreds to thousands of fragments and pose collision risks to even more operational satellites. While constellations are typically expert at avoiding collisions with their own systems they will be threatened by debris from other activities. The figure to the right (provided by Mark Matney at NASA) plots the spatial density (SPD) of orbital debris of various sizes in low Earth orbit (LEO). This data shows how the debris hazard peaks near 850km in altitude (in the heart of the sun-synchronous orbits) plus another little peak around 1500km. The 10cm curve represents what is cataloged and, therefore, whose encounters can be predicted. A collision with a 10cm fragment would most likely breakup any operational satellite it might strike. Unfortunately, fragments as small as 1cm cannot be seen reliably but can degrade or Figure 1. The spatial density (number of objects per km) plot provides a description of lethal collision hazard. Unfortunately, we can only track the objects larger than 10cm in LEO. 31 Space Symposium, Technical Track, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America Presented on April 13-14, 2015 Page 2 of 5 terminate the mission of an operational satellite. This 1-10cm range of debris is often called the lethal nontrackable (LNT) population. Constellations may be considered more at risk since they may have many satellites and, thus, a large total exposed area to the debris hazard. Collisions with any debris, 1cm or larger, will likely render the impacted satellite nonoperational, yet only a small amount of that lethal population can be seen and avoided. It should be noted that ORDEM has recently been updated and the new model is being continually scrutinized and modified, as appropriate, so the data that created Figure 1 represents the design environment to which NASA space systems must use to design satellites currently under development.


Studying cardiac electrophysiology in isolated perfused beating murine hearts is a well-established method. The ranges of normal values for left atrial (LA) action potential durations (LA-APD), activation times (LA-AT) and effective refractory periods (atrial ERP) in murine wildtype (WT) are not well known.

 This study aimed to establish reference values for LA-APD, LA-AT and atrial ERP and to identify the influence of genetic background, sex and age on these electrophysiological parameters in WT mice.

 We combined results from isolated beating heart Langendorff experiments carried out in WT mice between 2005 and 2019 using an octopolar catheter inserted into the right atrium and a monophasic action potential electrode recording from the LA epicardium. Electrophysiological parameters (LA-APD at 50%, 70%, 90% repolarization (APD50, APD70, APD90), LA-AT and atrial ERP) at different pacing cycle lengths (PCL) were summarized. We analysed effects of PCL, genetic background, age, gender, heart weight to body weight ratio (HW/BW), LA weight to body weight ratio (LAW/BW) as well as coronary flow and temperature as experimental conditions.

 Electrophysiological parameters from 222 isolated hearts (114 female, mean age 6.6±0.25 months, range 2.47–17.7 months) of different backgrounds (77 C57BL/6, 23 FVB/N, 33 MF1, 69 129/Sv and 20 Swiss agouti) were combined. Coronary flow rate, flow temperature and start of isolation to cannulation time were constant experimental conditions over the timespan of experiments. LA-APD was longer while LA-AT decreased with longer PCL throughout all genetic backgrounds (Figure 1A). Genetic background showed strong effects on all electrophysiological parameters. LA-APD70 and atrial ERP were significantly shorter in Swiss agouti background compared to others. LA-APD70 was also significantly prolonged in 129/Sv background compared to MF1 (Figure 1B). LA activation was delayed in 129/Sv compared to other backgrounds (Figure 1C). Atrial ERP was longer in FVB/N compared to other backgrounds. Atrial ERP was also significantly prolonged (+ 3.4 ms, + 13.5%) in female mice compared to males (Figure 1D). Age effects were compared in groups. Atrial ERP was significantly longer in mice younger than 3 months compared to older mice (Figure 1E).

 This dataset summarises left atrial electrophysiological parameters in the beating mouse heart and can serve as a reference for design and interpretation of electrophysiological experiments in murine models of commonly used genetic backgrounds. We demonstrate that PCL, genetic background, age and gender affect atrial electrophysiological parameters. Awareness of these will support successful experimental design.
 Figure 1

 Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – EU funding. Main funding source(s): This work was partially supported by the European Commission (grant agreements no. 633196 [CATCH ME]) to LF and PK, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG FA413, British Heart Foundation (FS/13/43/30324 to LF and PK; AA/18/2/34218 to LF and PK).The Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences has received the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Accelerator Award (AA/18/2/34218). JO has received financial support for abroad studies within his scholarship of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Scholarship Foundation).


Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) has used various ways to craft curriculum that directly meets employers' and students' needs in key economic drivers in the State of Colorado. Moving beyond the standard industry advisory councils used in many, especially professional programs, the institution has consulted with industry leaders prior to building facilities and developing curriculum to ensure industry needs are met. As MSU Denver faculty collaborated with their industry partners, they worked to embed both content and skills throughout the curriculum to ensure alumni were prepared for this 21st Century workplace. Additionally, MSU Denver has honored past experience and on the job training of employers and employees in a way that many four-year institutions have resisted.


In this work, a three-dimensional numerical simulation is carried out on an ideal Faraday MHD accelerator for the thrust boosting effect in terms of the configuration of magnetic field. The study is performed by using a low magnetic Reynolds number magnetohydrodynamic model under the effect of a uniform magnetic field and a non-uniform magnetic field, respectively. With the increase of the applied potential, the channel under both types of magnetic fields show an increase in thrust and a decrease in electrical efficiency. For a fixed applied potential, the thrust under the non-uniform magnetic field is higher compared with one generated by the uniform magnetic field. This deviation becomes more pronounced under a larger conductivity or magnet field strength. However, the increase in potential has negligible effect on the difference in the thrust. With the magnetic field at 1.5 T and the potential at 600 V, the channel thrust under the uniform magnetic field is 883.9 N, which makes the increase rate of 47.6%. With the maximum magnetic field strength in the Z direction at 1.5 T and the potential at 600 V, the channel thrust under the non-uniform magnetic field is 885.37 N, which makes the increase rate of 47.9%.


Curriculum is an integral part of formal education. A well devised curriculum is an unavoidable necessity to make the learners equipped with the knowledge which they need to cope with the challenges of modern world. Different scholars and specialists viewed curriculum from different perspectives. Some saw curriculum as a body of knowledge to be transmitted, some saw it as a process through which the knowledge is conveyed to the learners and some saw it as all the practical activities which the teachers do to transmit the knowledge. In fact all these are different aspects of curriculum. Whatever be the definition of curriculum, it must have an aim, well arranged content, guideline of dealing with the content so that maximum benefit could be achieved and a good evaluation system to be sure that the curriculum is working well. One of the key aspects of curriculum is that it is modifiable as per the demand of the age. Keeping this aspect in view the government of Bangladesh has recently introduced a new curriculum in the secondary schools of Bangladesh replacing the earlier one. The curriculum experts worked hard to equip it with all important aspects of curriculum, such as it has a definite aim, the contents are well arranged, the system of dealing with the content is also commendable and the evaluation system is also worthwhile. So it can be said that the curriculum is appropriate. This article at first describes some important aspects of curriculum and then focuses on the concern of Bangladesh government with education as well as its development and then deals with government initiatives to change the curriculum of the secondary schools of Bangladesh especially the English curriculum of secondary schools. Finally it explores whether the important aspects of curriculum have been given due importance here or not.


The natural active higher alcohols of sugarcane were extracted and produced from the bagasse of cane epidermis using supercritical CO2 fluid extraction technology and which has been put forward a technical reference for extracting and separating the pollution-free natural active products of sugarcane in this study. The extraction processes were optimized and the optimized technological process of extraction pressure is for 25 MPa, the temperature is for 50 ℃ and the lasted time is for 4 hours. From the analytic identification and quantification using GC-MS, the natural active higher alcohols of sugarcane obtained was found up to 85 % purity and which containing the higher aliphatic alcohols with even number of carbon atoms from 22 to 30 and the phytosterol derivatives. Octacosanol is detected as the main component of natural active higher alcohols with the highest content of 45 %. Phytosterol is existed in the form of ergosterol derivatives and stigmasterol derivatives and which content is range from 6.33 % to 8.66 %. In this paper, the whole trials and processes were simple and the natural active higher alcohols of sugarcane obtained have a higher purity, which provides health food and pharmaceutical industries with the natural additives.


Beauveria bassiana, which is widely used in insect pest biocontrol, is one of the most common species of entomopathogenic fungi. This species is widely distributed as an anamorph and a potential teleomorph has only recently been identified. The genes of the 5.8S rRNA and the complete internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions from Cordyceps bassiana and B bassiana, isolated from this Cordyceps specimen, were sequenced and compared in this study. The results showed that C. bassiana and B. bassiana have the same ITS 1 -5.8S-ITS 2 nucleotide sequences, which strongly supports the fact that C. bassiana is the teleomorph of B. bassiana. Molecular phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the conidial isolate of C. bassiana belongs to the widely distributed B. bassiana species complex.


Estimation of results of foreign economic activity in the region can be divided into two groups: evaluation of indexes for traditional forms like foreign trade indulging exports and imports; and evaluation of indexes for progressive forms of foreign economic activity like industrial, scientific-technical, investment and financial cooperation. Concrete measure instruments are systemized. The author gives arguments for possibilities to apply each group of indexes in concrete researches.


Abstract We examined the consequences of both chronic and life-event stressors for older adults, as well as antecedent strategies, such as proactive coping and mindfulness, that may mitigate stress. Given the potential negative outcomes associated with stress in older adulthood, exploring strategies to reduce or mitigate the negative impact of stress may be useful in promoting well-being in adulthood. Proactive coping involves an accumulation of resources that leads to reduced or avoided stressors in the future (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997). Mindfulness calls an individual's attention to the present moment, or may be characterized as an open, accepting attitude (Brown & Ryan, 2003). Using data from the Mindfulness and Anticipatory Coping Everyday study (English et al., 2019; Neupert & Bellingtier, 2017), 296 older adults in the United States, aged 60-90 years (M = 64.67, SD = 4.36), participated in relevant online survey measures. Results from multiple regression analyses suggested that people high in both chronic stress and life event stress had worse health, and that people high in proactive coping and mindfulness reported less stress. Study results underscore the impact of stress on health outcomes, and provide support for the use of antecedent strategies to address negative impacts of stress.


Generally,the fact that the owner of an enterprise has the final say satisfies the needs of enjoying the rights and bearing the risks but this is not universally acceptable,especially when the assets are less than the debts or the owner is in the state of bankruptcy.When the risks do not remain the same,the adjustment of the distribution rate between the owner and the creditor can help protect the lawful rights of the creditor.


The study involved 120 patients with hypertension and ischemic heart disease". The patients represented a police staff. We studied prevalence of multifocal atherosclerosis and features of atherosclerotic lesions. A survey was also conducted in patients with essential hypertension Stage I-II. Carbohydrate metabolism was assessed for early detection of diabetes mellitus type II and detection of endothelial dysfunction of the arteries. In the group of patients with coronary artery disease and hypertension with diabetes mellitus type II atherosclerotic process had multi-segmentand diffuse nature, stenosis of the brachiocephalic arteries was 50% more common tan in the group without diabetes mellitus type II. In hypertension and diabetes mellitus type II endothelial dysfunction and thickening of the intima media thickness were identified in the majority of patients.


Subject: The financial management of companies is examined in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the relationship between their capital structure and risk changes during the pandemic is scrutinised.
The purpose of the article: To determine how companies' total, systematic and idiosyncratic risks changed during the COVID-19 pandemic depending on their capital structure based on a sample of organisations listed at the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Methodology: The study involves the use of a panel data regression model.
Results of the research: The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the risk of overleveraged companies and underleveraged ones alike. Its influence on their total risk was weaker among the underleveraged organisations. Regarding systematic risk, its levels did not generally change significantly in the wake of the pandemic, but idiosyncratic risk, only in the case of the overleveraged companies increased statistically significantly.


The transition to a post-industrial society in both China and Italy triggered changes to their economic and political systems. This resulted in profound transformations that had an enormous influence on the social and physical structure of their cities. In China, the market-oriented economic reforms of the 1980s sparked radical urban transformation and new challenges (Gaubatz 1995; Hsing 2010). The advent of new market forces in a realm that was predominantly public during the industrial era (Ma and Wu 2005) sparked substantial transitions in community building and place making (Hamama et al. 2019). The pre-existing urban spaces, originally produced to serve the socialist ideology and industrial production, have been transformed to meet the new market mechanisms and standards of the post-reform era. This period of radical change was characterized by a desire to boost rapid economic growth and transform China's industrial-based socio-spatial structure. It was within this environment of great adjustments that Chinese cities witnessed an unprecedented increase in the involvement of real estate industries and market forces in the (re)development of urban land, often resulting in the process of growing social dissent (Mars and Hornsby 2008) and other associated phenomena, e.g., the restructuring of local communities (Hsing 2010), the strengthening of local identity, and the rising of cultural and creative industries. In parallel, since the 1980s, the post-industrial restructuring in Italy, and more generally in Europe, has led to important social and economic changes and the widespread cultural renewal of cities. In order to diversify the economy, promote a new urban image, and attract international investments, the municipal authorities in major European cities encouraged the implementation of cultural policies and strategies involving the reuse of existing building stocks (Bianchini and Parkinson 1993), the adoption of a creative economy (Howkins 2001), and social innovation (Florida 2002). The renovation of former industrial sites has become experimental fields for the definition of new models of urban development that is able to replace or complement its traditional industrial specialization. Starting from these places and the active preservation of their physical legacy, local administrations have tried to strengthen the relationship between urban space and the renewed social fabric. Given the broadness of post-industrial (re)development topic, the complexity and diversity of the Chinese and Italian urban contexts, this research is designed in


It is the objective of this study to investigate preliminary expansion program requirements for process water, as supplied by 190 Building equipment; from the point of view of practical pumping, flywheel and pump suction head requirements. These requirements are to be determined at this time in such a form and accuracy as to be useful in refined estimating for budget study purposes. In order to obtain the objectives of this study at this time it has been decided to consider five different conditions of process water flow to a reactor. These conditions are flow to the reactor under summer conditions of operation in gallons per minute with a corresponding top of riser pressure in pounds per square inch: 85,000 gal/min, 580 psi; 100,000 gal/min, 480 psi; 130,000 gal/min, 280 psi; 150,000 gal/min, 280 psi; and 150,000 gal/min, 150 psi.


Significant curriculum reform has been undertaken in Hong Kong for over a decade. There has been substantial education initiatives designed to enhance Hong Kong students' English proficiency. The most prominent initiative has been the introduction of the Native English Teacher (NET) Scheme. However the effectiveness of the collaboration between local English teachers (LET) and NETs has not been critically investigated with respect to student expectations and perceptions of their teacher's culturally developed teaching styles and how these perceptions impact on classroom learning expectations and behaviour.
This paper seeks to engage in a critical analysis of the pedagogy used by LETs and NETs in a local Hong Kong primary school setting. In this paper, it is intended that light will be shed on the implications of the pedagogy and cultural factors relating to primary school students' perceptions of those factors that support effective English learning in Hong Kong ESL classrooms.


Abstract 911 Introduction: Recently, a small subgroup of pediatric acute T-lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) was described, which is closely associated with the gene expression profile of early T-cell precursors (ETPs). This subtype, termed ETP-ALL, showed a highly unfavorable outcome compared to non-ETP(=9typical9)-ALL. Based on the results of Coustan-Smith et al. (Lancet Oncology, 2009), the Italian national study Associazione Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica (AIEOP) and St-Jude Children9s hospital modified their treatment in children with ETP-ALL to a more intensive regime including stem cell transplantation. ETP-ALL is characterized by a specific immunophenotype (CD1a-, CD8-, CD5weak with expression of stem cell or myeloid markers). Here we explored the existence of ETP-ALL in adults and further studied the molecular characteristics of this specific T-ALL subtype. Patients and methods: We examined the gene expression profiles of 86 adult T-ALL patients obtained from the Microarray Innovations in LEukemia (MILE) multicenter study (HG-U133 Plus 2.0, Affymetrix, Haferlach et al., JCO in press). In addition, bone marrow of 296 patients from the German Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Multicenter Study Group (GMALL) were analyzed by flow cytometry and expression levels of BAALC, IGFBP7, MN1, and WT1 were determined by real-time-PCR. Results: Using the published list of differentially expressed genes in ETPs (Coustan-Smith et al. 2009) we performed unsupervised clustering analyses of the 86 T-ALL samples. A cluster of 17 samples (19.8%) displayed an ETP-associated gene expression profile and were defined as ETP-ALL. Comparing the gene expression profiles of ETP-ALL and typical T-ALL, 2065 probe sets were differentially expressed in ETP-ALL (FDR 0.05). In addition to genes used for classification, we also identified genes known to be involved in the pathogenesis of T-ALL (e.g. PROM1, BCL2, LMO2, LYL1). In particular, stem cell associated genes such as, BAALC (2.52-fold, p=0.003), IGFBP7 (2.76-fold, p=0.002) or MN1 (3.41-fold, p Conclusion: In adult T-ALL, a subset of patients shares the gene expression profil and immunophenotype of ETP-ALL, which is in line with recent findings in pediatric patients. The gene expression profile of this subset is significantly correlated to stem cell associated markers predictive for inferior outcome in T-ALL. Interestingly, adverse factors in CN-AML are also aberrantly expressed in ETP-ALL suggesting a myeloid origin of ETPs and indicating a closer relationship between ETP-ALL and AML. The prognostic impact and the determination of the most appropiate set of markers needs to be further investigated. These results support the GMALL strategy to regard early T-ALL patients as high risk with assignment to stem cell transplantation. Disclosures: Haferlach:MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Equity Ownership.


The formula in the article for Model Agreement Index is incorrect. It has an extra N in the denominator that should not be there. The correct formulae for the Model Agreement Index is shown below. The analyses presented in the paper were conducted with the correct formula.


Infinite time Turing machines with tape length $\alpha$ (denoted $T_\alpha$) were introduced by Rin to strengthen the $\omega$-tape machines of Hamkins and Kidder. It is known that for some countable ordinals $\alpha$, these machines' properties are quite different from those of the $\omega$-tape case. We answer a question of Rin about the size of the least ordinal $\delta$ such that not all cells are halting positions of $T_\delta$ by giving various characterizations of $\delta$. For instance, it is the least ordinal with any of the properties (a) there is a $T_\alpha$-writable real that is not $T_\delta$-writable for some $\alpha<\delta$, (b) $\delta$ is uncountable in $L_{\lambda_\delta}$, or (c) $\delta$ is a regular cardinal in $L_{\lambda_\delta}$, where $\lambda_\delta$ denotes the supremum of ordinals with a $T_\delta$-writable code of length $\delta$. We further use these characterizations together with an analogue to Welch's submodel characterization of the ordinals $\lambda$, $\zeta$ and $\Sigma$, to show that $\delta$ is closed under the function $\alpha \mapsto \Sigma_\alpha$, where $\Sigma_\alpha$ denotes the supremum of the ordinals with a $T_\alpha$-accidentally writable code of length $\alpha$.


ABSTRACT Background New and emerging infectious diseases such as the Ebola virus and the recent coronavirus create ideal conditions for cross-border disease outbreaks. The need to undertake comparative studies across contexts in affected regions becomes important for health communication and policy decision making. The purpose of this study is to compare the differences in knowledge, risk perception, affect, and self-efficacy about Ebola between respondents in an affected and an unaffected but proximate country in West Africa. Method This study used a survey with multi-stage sampling of community members in two peri-urban districts in Ghana and Liberia. Results Transmission knowledge lowered comparative vulnerability and perceived risk, while knowledge about signs and symptoms and knowledge about prevention increased self-efficacy. But knowledge was not a predictor of self-efficacy. Affective imagery analysis presents distinct affective profiles of respondents in the two countries. Conclusions Different kinds of knowledge relate to risk perception and self-efficacy differently and this should be considered when developing health communication campaigns. Health and risk communication should no longer be just a context specific affair but must have a regional or sub-regional component that considers unaffected but at-risk countries. Finally, risk and health communicators need to consider the affective states of community members because affective states may indicate the basic feeling (individual and societal) profile of the audience, which will be beneficial for determining the level and type of messaging likely to be effective.


Preservation of raw milk quality by activation of lactoperoxidase system (LPs) was studied for the inhibition of microorganism growth. The antimicrobial effects of LPs were examined by measuring thiocyanate (SCN) concentration, lactoperoxidase (LP) activity, milk composition, total bacterial count (TBC) and coliform count (CC). All parameters were analyzed at 0 h and at 25°C and 30°C as a control. Thus, the experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of 2 different temperatures (25°C vs 30°C) and 4 ratios of NaSCN:2Na2CO33H2O2 (0:0, 7:15, 14:30 and 21:45 mg/L) on milk samples (both uninoculated raw milk samples and Escherichia coli (E. coli) inoculated milk samples) with 8 replicates per run using 0-12 h incubation time in vitro assay. The runs were conducted on the same 4 NaSCN:2Na2CO33H2O2 ratios and different temperature and time of incubation were used. The results showed that the milk SCN concentration and LP activity increased with increasing NaSCN:2Na2CO33H2O2 ratios. Milk compositions retained the quality of normal milk fat, protein, lactose, solid-not-fat (SNF) and total solid (TS) contents, and they were not significantly affected by the LPs activation. An obvious effect of the LP activated milk was the inhibition of TBC in uninoculated raw milk samples for 6 to 12 h both at 25°C and 30°C), and for 6 to 9 h in E. coil inoculated milk samples, whereas CC (6 h at 25°C and at least 3 h at 30°C for both uninoculated and E. coil inoculated milk samples). It is concluded that improved preservation of milk can be achieved through the addition of 14:30 and 21:45 mg/L of NaSCN:2Na2CO33H2O2 in uninoculated and E. coil inoculated milk samples respectively, to extend milk quality during storage.


Through the selection of HLB value and the mix of non-ionic emulsifier with anionic emulsifier,several UV absorbers and HALS free radical catching agents were emulsified.These emulsion were used to treat polyester fabrics respectively or in combination.The anti-UV effects and light fastness of the treated fabrics were studied.UV absorber UV-360 and low molecular weight free radical catching agents UV-770 were selected to form an effective light stabilizer,which was used to dye polyester fabrics with disperse dyes in one bath.The result showed that the combined effective light stabilizer had obviously results in improving UV protective properties and light fastness of dyed polyester fabrics.


PurposeThis study examines the impact of influential shareholders, namely, state and influential businessmen, on the dividend policies of firms. A special focus is made on the causal effect of exogenous changes: general and personal economic sanctions leading to toughened state policies concerning dividends.Design/methodology/approachRussian firms included into the Moscow Stock Exchange Broad Market Index were examined for a period from 2009 to 2019 using a generalized method of moments and a tobit model. The effect of personal sanctions was elucidated with the use of difference-in-differences method with multiple time periods.FindingsThe analysis showed that government or businessmen's ownership does not affect dividend payments. However, after 2014, state-owned companies began to increase their payments. At the same time, owing to a series of changes triggered by general economic sanctions, businessmen-owned companies decrease their dividends payout ratio. Personal sanctions imposed do not have long-term effect on Russian companies' dividends.Originality/valueThis study estimates the effect of ownership structure on dividend payouts after an exogenous change. The results show that there is heterogeneity in influential owners' decisions regarding dividends and changes strengthening it.


In this paper Markov chain perturbations of a class of partially expanding attractors of a diffeomorphism are considered. We show that, under some regularity conditions on the transition probabilities, the zero-noise limits of stationary measures of the Markov chains are Sinai–Ruelle–Bowen measures of the diffeomorphism on the attractors.


Abstract
This chapter investigates the antecedents of individuals' emotional outcomes from their dining-away-from-home experiences and conceptualizes how food and emotions are related and how travel and emotions are associated. The study applies the stimulus-response theory to set up the premise that emotions that individuals experience while dining out comprise a pivotal part of their emotional well-being and their emotions can be triggered by stimuli encountered on trips and in other away-from-home situations. Cognitive appraisal, arousal, and other causes that are responsible for awakening affective responses are utilized in developing six propositions regarding individuals' emotional outcomes in travel and dining contexts. Theoretical and practical implications are suggested following the discussions on these propositions.