This paper discusses the current analysis of a large set of child-robot interaction experiments, in which a 2–4 year old child plays a set of games with a small humanoid robot, with the goal of detecting early signs of autism in toddlers based on the interactions. Our first goal in this paper is to condense and display these child-robot interactions as multi-channel time series, starting with the distances between the child, robot, parent, and experimenter. Our second goal is to use these data displays to compare and contrast different children, with the aim of clustering children with similar interaction patterns. Using a ceiling-mounted camera, we record the interaction between a child and a robot which performs different games and dances. After analyzing the video footage for the loca- tions of all people and the robot in the room over the variable length of the interaction, we condense the interactions into simplified, quantifiable, scale-invariant data. We show how the distances between the child and robot, experimenter, and caregiver can be discretized into a few location zones and compared across children using classic similarity measures. Proxemics (social distances) between the child, robot, caregiver, and experimenter during a child-robot interaction show differences between participants and hence can provide addi-tional information for behavior analysis.


A three-band model for copper oxides in the region of parameters where the second hole on the copper has energy close to the first hole on the oxygen is considered. The exact solution for one hole on a ferromagnetic background of the ordered copper spins is obtained. A general procedure for transformation of the primary Hamiltonian to the Hamiltonian of singlet and triplet excitations is proposed. Reduction of the singlet-triplet Hamiltonian to the single-band Hamiltonian of the generalized t-J model is performed


Abstract The aim of this article is to move towards the comprehension of education policy processes and change in terms of an expanded sociology of education policy that studies policy networks and employs new perspectives on governance. It comments upon a perceptible conceptual convergence between education policy research and more general policy studies.


The main body of the three main characteristics of autonomy,initiative,creativity,and this article from a focus on scientific inquiry teaching,teaching experience,attention to promote exchanges and cooperation in learning,promoting the reform towards innovative learning objective,only from the perspective of secondary school mathematics teaching,the development of student body of three dimensions:autonomy,initiative and creativity of the three aspects of the design of classroom instruction are discussed.


This article studies the historical trace of the development of human industrial production from the ancient times to the modern world from the view point of the combination of aesthetics with industrial technology. It holds the view that the production of modern industrial products is not only promoted by science and technology but also by aesthetics, which is an unnegligible aspect in its application to the production of industrial products. With the development of modern industry, the role of aesthetics in industrial products is becoming more and more important. The production of industrial products needs the close combination of aesthetics with industrial technology. While paying attention to the quality and modernity of products, they must pay attention to the individuality, humanity and aesthetics of product appearance and packaging and pay attention to the harmonious relationship between products and environment and to the aestheticrequirements of consumers thus promoting the internationalization of the national products.


. The structure of a certain subalgebra of Brauer's centralizer algebra is given for all values of the parameter for which it is semisimple. The algebra admits a trace functional whose weights on the simple components of the algebra are calculated. The algebra may be exhibited as a quotient of the affine Hecke algebra of type Ani using generators and relations. Brauer's centralizer algebra is defined abstractly as having a basis of diagrams as below, multiplied in a rather obvious fashion (see [B]) which involves a parameter 5. This algebra is an abstract model for the commutants of the tensor powers of the defining representations of (odd) orthogonal and symplectic groups, the parameter ô in the algebra being ± the dimension of the space. For generic values of the parameter the Brauer algebra is semisimple and its structure is known (see [W], [HW]).


As the global population increases and the climate changes, ensuring a secure food supply is increasingly important. One strategy is irrigation, which allows for crops to be grown outside their optimal climate growing regions and which buffers against climate variability. Although irrigation is a positive climate adaptation mechanism for agriculture, it has a potentially negative effect on water resources as it can lead to groundwater depletion and diminished surface water supplies. This study quantifies how crop yields are affected by climate variability and extremes and the impact of irrigation on crop yield increases under various growing-season climate conditions. To do this, we use historical climate data and county-level rainfed and irrigated crop yields for maize, soybean, winter and spring wheat over the US to analyze the relationship between climate, crop yields, and irrigation. We find that there are optimal climates, specific to each crop, where irrigation provides a benefit and other conditions where irrigation proves to have marginal, if any, benefits. Furthermore, the relationship between crop yields and climate has changed over the last decades, with a changing sensitivity in the relationship of soybean and winter wheat yields to certain climate variables, like crop reference evapotranspiration. These two conclusions have important implications for agricultural and water resource system planning, as it implies there are more optimal climate conditions where irrigation is particularly productive and regions where irrigation should be reconsidered as there is not a significant agricultural benefit and the water could be used more productively.


A series of tabletop models was built to demonstrate the interactions between a fictional cell-surface receptor, the receptor's natural ligand, and eight potential therapeutic agents. Students assessed the eight therapeutic agents as agonists, antagonists, or neither agonists nor antagonists, first as a pencil-and-paper exercise and then subsequently using the three-dimensional models. Students found the activity to be engaging and were more accurately able to identify the correct roles of the agents when using the models.


In order to explore the electrodynamics mechanism of electro-demulsification deeply,taking singular water droplet as a research object,ellipsoidal droplet polarization model under electric field is established.Droplet's polarization characteristic in the process of electro-demulsification and its interrelated affecting factors are analyzed.Formula about each of basic parameter in system is obtained.It is simulated and calculated that polarization per unit volume of a droplet,respectively in sunflower oil,palm oil and calibration oil.The results show that oil-water interface tension and ratio of oil and water permittivity have an influence on droplet's polarization directly.Relative error of droplet's polarization per unit volume by spherical drop model and ellipsoidal drop model is 22.5% in low electric field and 13.5% in high electric field.Therefore,ellipsoidal droplet polarization model is better for studying technology of electro-separating,which is used in oil and petroleum industries.


A smart supramolecular artificial glutathione peroxidase (GPx) with tunable catalytic activity was prepared based on host–guest interaction and a blending process. The functional guest molecules ADA-Te with catalytic center, ADA-Arg with binding site and the cyclodextrin-containing host polymers (CD-PNIPAMs) were first synthesized. The artificial glutathione peroxidase was constructed by host–guest interaction of ADA-Te and a series of CD-PNIPAMs with different molecular weights. Through altering the molar ratio of building blocks (CD-PNIPAM73, ADA-Te, ADA-Arg), the optimum artificial GPx (SGPxmax) with vesicle structure was prepared via a blending process. Significantly, SGPxmax displayed a noticeable temperature responsive catalytic activity and exhibited typical saturation kinetics behavior of a real enzyme catalyst. It was proved that the change of the self-assembled structure of SGPxmax during the temperature responsive process played a significant role in altering the temperature responsive catalytic behavior. The construction of SGPxmax not only overcomes the insurmountable disadvantages existing in traditional supramolecular artificial GPxs but also bodes well for development of other biologically related functional supramolecular biomaterials.


A method of measuring convergence in precipitation using a Doppler radar is described. A case study illustrates the results obtainable. The presence of a 'wind front' (sloping shear zone), which could not be related to any feature on the synoptic scale, was revealed (Fig. 6). Layers of convergence and divergence, particularly in association with a frontal inversion, were identified (Fig. 7). Convergence below the front was largely compensated by a pronounced divergence (D ∼ 50 × 10−5 sec−1) immediately above the front. The computed vertical velocities (Fig. 9) showed ascent of the order of 10−2 mb sec−1 during the rain.

Although measurements were made over an area of less than 300 km2, the evidence suggests that the variations of convergence were not purely local, but were a consequence of an organized dynamical system on a scale comparable with other features of fronts.


An approach for testing multiple upper outliers with slippage alternative in an exponential sample, irrespective of origin, is discussed. The outlier detection procedure is based on a ratio of two estimates, obtained by the maximization of the two log-likelihood functions. One is the complete data log-likelihood and the other is its conditional expectation, given the regular observations. The exact null distribution of the test statistic is derived and no new table for critical values is required. A simulation study is also carried out to compare the performance of the test with the earlier work.


A new process for reviewing papers submitted to the Journal has been adopted that will shorten the review process while insuring a fair and thorough review for each paper. The process draws on the experience and expertise of all the members of the editorial board as well as the Journal coeditors. The abstract, keywords, and references for each paper that is submitted to the Journal is scanned by a coeditor (COE), and the paper is assigned to a member of the editorial board (MEB) whose expertise and interests are similar to the topic of the paper. The MEB suggests three reviewers to the COE. The COE reviews the list to insure that the same individuals are not overburdened with review requests and then forwards the names to ASTM. Coeditors or members of the editorial board are not involved in the process for papers that they submit as an author or coauthor. ASTM then sends the papers out for review. The MEB and COE follow the progress of the paper, suggesting new reviewers if needed, and assessing the adequacy of the author's reply to the reviewer's comments. At this stage, the paper may either be accepted, rejected, or returned to the author for further revision. After a second revision by the author, the paper will either be accepted or rejected. Any appeals by authors for rejected papers will be resolved by the Chairman of the ASTM Committee on Publications who will confer with the COE and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal. This new procedure has been implemented since July of 1991 and appears to be running smoothly. The communication between the COE, MEB, and ASTM has been conducted by phone or FAX whenever possible to speed up the process. However, the willingness of reviewers to conduct their reviews in a timely fashion continues to be the key to the process. ASTM and the Journal coeditors appreciate the contribution these reviewer's make to the quality and timely publication of the Journal.


Among the many common criticisms of the Turing test, a valid criticism concerns its scope. Intelligence is a complex and multi-dimensional phenomenon that will require testing using as many different formats as possible. The Turing test continues to be valuable as a source of evidence to support the inductive inference that a machine possesses a certain kind of intelligence and when interpreted as providing a behavioural test for a certain kind of intelligence. This paper raises the novel criticism that the Turing test represents an example of Goodhart's Law operating in the field of artificial intelligence. As one measure towards the goal of creating genuinely intelligent machines, the Turing test must not be confused with the goal itself. Moreover, the Turing test ought to be augmented such that through its use additional evidence could be secured to support the strong inference that a machine, were it to pass the Turing Test, could think like a human.


The traditional approach to measuring the scientific strength of nations is to count articles and/or citations by discipline. Sources such as the biannual Science & Engineering Indicators Reports (SEI) track these values by year, enabling national leadership trends to be shown. Fields or disciplines in these studies are broadly defined (e.g. physics, chemistry, clinical medicine), and are typically based on journal categories. We argue that the traditional discipline-based approach to measuring scientific leadership is obscuring actual patterns of scientific leadership. For example, according to the method adopted in the SEI report, neither Germany nor the United Kingdom are leaders in any disciplines in physics or chemistry (1). This is counter to common knowledge and common sense. Something is fundamentally wrong with this traditional measurement approach. In this paper we present a new method for measuring and visualizing the scientific strengths of institutions and nations. We will show how this measurement technique is far more accurate than the traditional discipline-based approach. We will also show how this new technique can effectively visualize the evolution and dynamics of scientific strengths in the U.S. and China.


A novel IKONOS image fusion method based on tasseled cap(TC) transformation was proposed.The TC method transforms the multispectral IKONOS image to brightness,greenness,and moisture feature variables,and matches the histogram of the IKONOS pan image with that of the brightness image.Then the brightness variable of the TC transformation is replaced by the histogram-matched panchromatic image.Finally,an inverse TC transformation is performed to create a new fused image.Some conventional fusion methods were reviewed and compared with the TC method in terms of fusion quality.The results indicate that the TC method can fuse the spectral information of multispectral image and the texture information of pan image into a new fused image in relative better quality.Both visual and statistical analysis show that the TC method significantly improves the fusion quality compared to the conventional HIS,Brovey,principal component(PC) and weighted fusion techniques.Comparison shows that smoothing filterbased intensity modulation(SFIM) is a superior fusion technique in conserving the spectral information while the TC method is good at improving the spatial detail of fused images.


With the increasingly harsh global environment, the new energy industry has received strong support from national policies. On this basis, the enthusiasm of relevant departments and enterprises for the new energy industry has increased. This paper discusses the development of new energy vehicles by analyzing the development status, market development prospects and limitations of new energy vehicles. In addition, we conduct a corresponding valuation analysis of BYD Automobile, which is a leader in the new energy vehicles of China. According to the analysis, the intrinsic value of BYD's stock will be lower than its stock value, indicating that the investment value is higher perceived at this stage. As a consequence, the investment in BYD nowadays ought to be reduced in the future. These results shed light on offering better understanding of the development status and limitations of new energy vehicles, as well as providing a guideline for investment evaluation of the industry.


In an effort to improve the contacting performance of a sieve tray, a meshed chamber was placed on the sieve tray. Its hydraulic and mass transfer characteristics were measured and compared with those of the sieve tray without the meshed chamber. The hydraulic characteristics of a sieve tray with a meshed chamber such as dry pressure drops, total pressure drops, and clear liquid heads on the tray were compared with the sieve tray alone using the air-water system. Effective interfacial areas on the tray were determined from absorption experiments in buffer solution and compared with the tray with a meshed chamber.


The objective of this paper is to present data available in the literature and to offer alternative methods to calculate greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission baselines for the electricity generation sector in Brazil. From the analysis of the data collected, GHG emission patterns are identified and a standardized baseline is proposed.


Hepatic cardiomyopathy, a special type of heart failure, develops in up to 50% of patients with cirrhosis and is a major determinant of survival. However, there is no reliable model of hepatic cardiomyopathy in mice. We aimed to characterize the detailed hemodynamics of mice with bile duct ligation (BDL)–induced liver fibrosis, by monitoring echocardiography and intracardiac pressure–volume relationships and myocardial structural alterations. Treatment of mice with a selective cannabinoid‐2 receptor (CB2‐R) agonist, known to attenuate inflammation and fibrosis, was used to explore the impact of liver inflammation and fibrosis on cardiac function.


Since the United States Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore, the public's support for the judicial system looms as an especially important concern. Although studies have confirmed that the Supreme Court's reservoir of public goodwill has remained largely intact following the politically divisive decision, the status of public support for other American courts has received little attention. This reflects a broader trend in judicial politics scholarship toward placing inordinate attention on explaining public support for the U.S. Supreme Court while largely ignoring the courts where most of the policymaking in the nation occurs—state courts. We use a national survey to assess the factors influencing diffuse support for state courts. We find that although many considerations affecting diffuse support for state courts parallel the determinants of such support for the nation's high Court, important differences exist between explanations of citizen support for state courts and the Supreme Court. Most notably, judicial elections and concerns over judicial campaign contributions work to undermine citizens' support for their state courts.


Experience shows that the conservation easement can be a useful and effective tool for a state to encourage conservation of historical, scenic, open space, wildlife, or agricultural resources. The conservation easement approach keeps property in private ownership, keeping the responsibility for property maintenance and diminished property taxes with the landowner. Existing common law easements, covenants, and equitable servitudes have not been adequate, from a legal standpoint, to create effective and enforceable conservation easements. Carefully drafted statutes can remove common law impediments and provide a tool flexible enough to meet the needs of landowners, state and local governments, and conservation organizations. Such a statute could allow Utah to preserve its threatened natural resources without the cost of public ownership.


High-valent iron-nitrido species are nitrogen analogues of iron-oxo species which are versatile reagents for C-H oxidation. Nonetheless, C-H activation by iron-nitrido species has been scarcely explored, as this is often hampered by their instability and short lifetime in solutions. Herein, the hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reactivity of an Fe porphyrin nitrido species ( 2c ) toward C-H substrates was studied in solutions at room temperature, which was achieved by nanosecond laser flash photolysis (LFP) of its Fe(III)-azido precursor ( 1c ) supported by a bulky bis-pocket porphyrin ligand. C-H bonds with bond dissociation enthalpies (BDEs) of up to ~84 kcal mol -1 could be activated, and the second-order rate constants ( k 2 ) are on the order of 10 2 -10 4 s -1 M -1 . The Fe-amido product formed after HAT could further release ammonia upon protonation.


Pursuant to Section 1(1) of the Tax Control Act (Skattekontrolloven), all taxpayers in Denmark are in principle required to submit an annual self-assessment of their income. There is no general obligation for taxpayers to submit information about their assets, but under special provisions on capital gains tax and value tax on property (ejendomsværdiskat) taxpayers must submit information on some assets, e.g. shares, bonds and property. Furthermore there is an obligation to submit information on taxable deficits and losses that are to be carried forward. If information about losses is not submitted, the taxpayer will not be able to carry them forward.


This article introduces a method for the generation of the sinusoid for control by stepping motor.In order to generate the sinusoid for testing control,the normal sinusoid is changed into time data of the timer by software.According to the data of the timer,the singlechip turns the electromotor by the law of sinusoid.The parameters of sinusoid control signal are optional.


Numerous materials exhibit superconductivity, a state of zero measurable resistivity and perfect diamagnetism, when cooled below a superconducting transition temperature Tc. In conventional superconductors, this transition is due to the formation of electron pairs known as Cooper pairs, which condense into a coherent macroscopic wave function, allowing them to carry charge through the material without scattering. In thin films, Tc is reduced as thickness decreases: below a certain thickness, superconductivity becomes impossible, and resistance increases as temperature approaches zero. This creates a thickness-tuned Insulator-Superconductor transition (IST). In uniform films, this transition is thought to be due to the destruction of Cooper pairs due to electron localization. However, in films with thickness variations, localized Cooper pairs are believed to be present in the insulating state, leading to reentrant behavior in the plot of resistance versus


In this paper we propose an iterative technique that enhances the average event related potential (ERP) by correcting the delay associated with the ERP in each trial. This correction is done in three steps: in the first step a sparse template function is estimated. In the second step, this template is utilized in estimating the inter-trial ERP delays. The ERPs fromeach trial are time-aligned using the estimated delays. In the third step, a new estimate of the ERP waveform is obtained by averaging these time-aligned signals over the trials. The algorithm iterates through these three steps until convergence. The sparse template is estimated in each iteration through the minimization of a convex objective function which compromises between the fit of the estimated ERP waveform to the template, and the sparsity of the estimated ERP waveform.


Process for preparing an emulsion formulation comprising: (1) obtaining oil bodies from a cell; (2) washing the oil bodies to obtain a preparation of washed oil body comprising intact oil bodies of size, shape and approximately uniform density, the preparation containing oil body wash less than 10% of other seed proteins; (3) formulating the washed oil body preparation into an emulsion formulation; and (4) treating said emulsion formulation such that avoid contamination by bacteria, fungi, mycoplasmas, viruses and the like or undesired chemical reactions.


Growing nation needs the promotion of entrepreneurship as a whole in order to develop in the
world economy and overcome the cutting throat competition. Economy has dominated men for years, and
women have become a central player in any nation's economic growth in the new century. In recent decades, the
increasing interest and activities in women entrepreneurship have been aimed at addressing the unintentional
neglect of women entrepreneurs. Because of globalization, economic growth and social stability, women's
empowerment through entrepreneurship has now become a key part of our globalization in India. This research
will explore the field by reviewing the related publications and expanding the explanation why the new horizons
in the work and related literature are created and summarized. This study explores the obstacles and
opportunities women face in developing countries as an entrepreneur. The need for time is to create transnational
networks, so for scholars to explore new territories by creating a rich and deep understanding of women
entrepreneurship.


Images are a core element in the teaching of the history of graphic design, but the way they are used and often de-contextualized in publications and classroom presentations can alter the perception of graphic artefacts, which instead of being seen as examples from a specific historical context are transformed into undisputed icons from an ideal gallery of masterpieces. How is it possible to—at least partly—overcome these limits? An educational approach developed by the author since 2012 in her teaching at ISIA Urbino (Italy) proposes some viable solutions. Individual image analysis, comparisons and connections to other images, and the development of collective timelines are some of the tools used to help the students develop a critical attitude towards the contemporary and historical artefacts they observe.


In order to engage our elderly citizens and promote communication, a base of shared meaning needs to be established. Commonality in beliefs, attitudes, values and experiences can serve as a secure base for interaction, since the expectation is that initial agreement leads to further agreement and understanding. In order to facilitate communication, familiar words and symbols, acceptable channels and credible sources can serve to bridge the generational gap and differences which otherwise will tend to isolate the elderly.


A y ATTEMPT TO discuss the Kantian philosophy in terms of the success or failure of specific doctrines, such as the distinction between phenomena and noumena, is premature unless guided by an understanding of what Kant refers to as its architectonic-the systematic unity of the various modes of knowledge expressing a prephilosophical Idea which serves as the norm for the possibility as well as doctrinal components of philosophy as metaphysics. As stated by Kant:


An ionized gas particle created by spark discharge between electrodes has a density different from that of the surrounding gas. This difference of densities causes errors in measuring the velocity when a spark tracer method is applied to an accelerated flow. In this paper, assuming a simple flow model, the error associated with the difference of densities of tracer and surrounding gas has been calculated for an unsteady accelerated flow induced by an expansion fan in a shock tube and for a steady accelerated flow in a subsonic nozzle. The error increases with time in the latter case, but in the former case it becomes maximum at a certain time. The calculated results qualitatively agree well with the experimental values measured in a driver section of a shock tube. Furthermore, the relation between the error and the magnitude of acceleration has been discussed.


Background We investigated serial serum levels of GDF‐15 (growth differentiation factor 15) in Fontan patients and their relation to outcome. Methods and Results In this single‐center prospective study of consecutive Fontan patients, serial serum GDF‐15 measurement and clinical assessment was done at baseline (n=81) and after 2 years (n=51). The association between GDF‐15 and the combined end point of all‐cause mortality, heart transplant listing, and Fontan‐related hospitalization was investigated. Median age at baseline was 21 years (interquartile range: 15–28 years). Median GDF‐15 serum levels at baseline were 552 pg/mL (interquartile range: 453–729 pg/mL). GDF‐15 serum levels correlated positively with age, age at Fontan initiation, New York Heart Association class, and serum levels of NT‐proBNP (N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide) and ɣGT (γ‐glutamyltransferase) and negatively with exercise capacity. During a median follow‐up of 4.8 years (interquartile range: 3.3–5.5 years), the combined end point occurred in 30 patients (37%). Multivariate Cox regression showed that patients with the highest baseline GDF‐15 (n=20, defined as the upper quartile) had a higher risk of hospitalization or death than the lowest 3 quartiles (hazard ratio [HR], 2.76; 95% CI, 1.27–6.00; P=0.011). After 2 years of follow‐up, patients in whom serum level of GDF‐15 increased to >70 pg/mL (n=13) had a higher risk of hospitalization or death than the lowest 3 quartiles (HR, 2.69; 95% CI, 1.03–6.99; P=0.043). Conclusions In Fontan patients, elevated serum levels of GDF‐15 are associated with worse functional status and predict Fontan‐related events. Furthermore, serial measurements showed that an increase in GDF‐15 serum level was associated with increased risk for adverse outcome.


To the Editor: Gaucher's disease (GD, OMIM 230800, 230900 and 231000) is the most prevalent sphingolipidosis with a frequency of 1 in 50,000–100,000 live births in Caucasians and 1 in 850 in Ashkenazi Jews (1). GD results from an inherited deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GBA) (E.C. 126.96.36.199) (2). More than 200 mutations in the Gba gene are known to date. Three clinical forms (types 1, 2, and 3) of GD have been described. The perinatal lethal form of Gaucher's disease (PLGD, a type 2 variant) presents with symptoms at or shortly after birth that include rapid neurodegeneration, hepatosplenomegaly, ichthyosis, and on occasion, non-immune hydrops fetalis. Here, we present the clinical and molecular analysis of an infant with PLGD and a brief review on 30 reported cases. The female patient was the second child born to non-consanguineous Caucasian parents at 39 weeks of gestation after an uncomplicated pregnancy. The infant had fetal decelerations 2 h prior to delivery and was delivered by vacuum extraction. The infant exhibited spontaneous tremors with baseline hypotonia. She had a very weak cry and weak respiratory effort that required mechanical ventilation. The initial Apgar scores were 1, 5, and 7 at 1, 5, and 10 min with initial pH of 7.2. Miosis, lethargy and hypotonia led to an initial diagnosis of Sarnat and Sarnat stage 2 perinatal asphyxia. Detailed physical examination identified an infant encased in a glistening translucent covering resembling ichthyosis. There was no evidence of ectropion or limb contractures; however, cobbling of the ears was notable. Abdominal examination showed hepatomegaly at 3 cm without splenomegaly. In the subsequent 24–48 h, seizures and multisystem organ involvementwerenoted (i.e. hematuria, elevated creatinine, elevated liver enzymes and thrombocytopenia). The infant was extubated to room air on her fifth day of life without residual cardiorespiratory issues. The hematuria resolved and creatinine levels returned to baseline, however, liver enzymes remained elevated and thrombocytopenia persisted, requiring multiple transfusions. Abdominal examinations showed a progressively enlarging liver and splenomegaly. Physical examination at 2 weeks of age was remarkable for the following findings: hypertension (.95th percentile for age), scleral icterus, generalized jaundice, marked abdominal distension with caput medusae, hepatomegaly of 8–10 cm and splenomegaly of 5 cm. There was resolution of the ichthyosis, but the hands were held in a flexed position with evidence of contractures. Abdominal ultrasound and hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scans showed a markedly enlarged liver and spleen with a combined volume filling at least three-fourth of the abdominal cavity. The diagnosis of PLGD was evaluated and confirmed biochemically, as shown by deficient leukocyte GBA activity at 0.9 nanomole/h/ mg protein (normal: 5.6–12.5 nanomole/h/mg protein). The infant expired from cardiorespiratory failure at 2 months of age. Gba genomic DNA was amplified from a dot blood sample collected on FTA filter paper (Fitzco Inc., Maple Plain, MN) using a two-step nested polymerase chain reaction method and resolved by agarose gel electrophoresis (3). DNA sequence analysis was performed on a CEQGenetic Analysis System Capillary Electrophoresis DNA Sequencer (Beckman Coulter, Mississauga, ON) using the CEQ Dye Terminator Cycle Sequencing Kit (Beckman Coulter). A novel C/T missense and heterozygous mutation of paternal origin was identified by DNA sequence analysis in exon 8 (cDNA position 1112), resulting in proline to leucine substitution at GBA polypeptide position 332 (P332L). Residue P332 lies in the loop between a-helix 6 and bbarrel 7 in the catalytic domain of GBA (4). The presence of proline, an alpha-imino acid with an established role in protein secondary structure, between the two catalytic moieties (E235, the acid/ base catalyst and E340, the nucleophile) may be important for correct positioning of the two


Technology scaling into subnanometer range will have impact on the manufacturing yield and quality. At the same time, complexity and communication requirements of systems-on-chip (SoC) are increasing, thus making a SoC designer goal to design a fault-free system a very difficult task. Network-on-chip (NoC) has been proposed as one of the alternatives to solve some of the on-chip communication problems and to address dependability at various levels of abstraction. This chapter concentrates on system-level design issues of NoC-based systems. It describes various methods proposed for NoC architecture analysis and optimization, and gives an overview of different system-level fault tolerance methods. Finally, the chapter presents a system-level design framework for performing design space exploration for dependable NoC-based systems.


Process for the preparation of balls of aromatic vinyl polymers expandable flame retardant, can produce expanded articles with a reduced thermal conductivity by aqueous suspension polymerization, comprising polymerizing at least one vinyl aromatic monomer in aqueous suspension in the presence of a peroxide initiator system, active at a temperature above 80 ° C, a blowing agent, added before, during or after polymerization, and in the presence of: - an amide of general formula R1CONHCH2-CH2NHCOR2 (I) wherein R1 and R2, which are identical or different, represent a radical (iso) alkyl CH3 (CH2) n, with n comprised between 10 and 20, an aromatic radical or C6-C12 alkylaromatic C7-C25; and - a flame retardant system comprising a brominated additive to a content exceeding 30% bromine by weight.


2 Abstract: This research study analyses energy and environmental influences of three energy scenariosin three different sectors of Pakistan.Coal-fired energy is majorly used in the industrial sector as well as for the power generation in Pakistan. The LEAP (Long Range Energy Alternative Planning System) model was used to estimate total coal energy demand and the fired-coal emissions for the base year 2010and extrapolated till 2030 for the future predictions. This paper focuses on the total coal consumption per sector and the emission factors COx, NOx, SO and CH gas in the corresponding industries. Solar energy and biodiesel are proposed as 24 alternatives to the coal energy in LEAP. Solar energy and biodiesel have potential of 2.3% and 1.9% respectively.The principal objective was to estimate the optimal energy source, which limits the future emissions. This study simulates the coal energy demand in order to find out economically viable energy mix with limited impact on environment.


Three farms in Gharbiya Governorate, Egypt, were studied from September 1982 to August 1983 to determine the host-feeding patterns of Culex pipiens and Culex antennatus. Mosquitoes were collected by dry-ice-baited light traps and aspiration, and a host census was taken. Antisera were prepared in rabbits and chickens to human, cow/buffalo, sheep/goat, horse/donkey, dog, cat, rat, general mammal, and general bird. A total of 2327 mosquito blood meals were analyzed by the modified precipitin technique; of these, 68 (3.0%) were multiple-host feedings and 12 (0.5%) were nonreactive. Both Cx. pipiens and Cx. antennatus fed almost exclusively on mammals; only 5 Cx. pipiens (2.1%) fed on birds. Culex pipiens remained closely associated with the host after feeding, but Cx. antennatus left the immediate vicinity of the host to rest elsewhere.


In the course of assessing OPC compact modeling capabilities and future requirements, we chose to investigate the interface between CD-SEM metrology methods and OPC modeling in some detail. Two linked observations motivated our study: 1) OPC modeling is, in principle, agnostic of metrology methods and best practice implementation. 2) Metrology teams across the industry use a wide variety of equipment, hardware settings, and image/data analysis methods to generate the large volumes of CD-SEM measurement data that are required for OPC in advanced technology nodes. Initial analyses led to the conclusion that many independent best practice metrology choices based on systematic study as well as accumulated institutional knowledge and experience can be reasonably made. Furthermore, these choices can result in substantial variations in measurement of otherwise identical model calibration and verification patterns. We will describe several experimental 2D test cases (i.e., metal, via/cut layers) that examine how systematic changes in metrology practice impact both the metrology data itself and the resulting full chip compact model behavior. Assessment of specific methodology choices will include: • CD-SEM hardware configurations and settings: these may range from SEM beam conditions (voltage, current, etc.,) to magnification, to frame integration optimizations that balance signal-to-noise vs. resist damage. • Image and measurement optimization: these may include choice of smoothing filters for noise suppression, threshold settings, etc. • Pattern measurement methodologies: these may include sampling strategies, CD- and contour- based approaches, and various strategies to optimize the measurement of complex 2D shapes. In addition, we will present conceptual frameworks and experimental methods that allow practitioners of OPC metrology to assess impacts of metrology best practice choices on model behavior. Finally, we will also assess requirements posed by node scaling on OPC model accuracy, and evaluate potential consequences for CD-SEM metrology capabilities and practices.


Author's response to reviews: see over Reviewer's report Title: Effects of thoracic epidural analgesia on plasma cAMP and cGMP levels in patients with heart failure Introduction-introduction needs to be expanded with more emphasis on the relevance of epidural anaesthesia to heart failure with support of literature. At present there is only one selfcitation. Heart failure is the final stage for several types of heart diseases and many related illnesses. Although the use of cardiotonic drugs, diuretics, β-blockers, and angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) can improve the cardiac function in patients with heart failure [1-3], the morbidity and mortality of heart failure continues to remain high [4, 5]. Therefore, it is indispensable to search for new treatments for heart failure. In the past two decades extensive investigations have developed several effective approaches for reducing the morbidity and mortality of patients with congestive heart failure. These include pharmacological [2, 3, 6] and cardiac device therapies [7], but significant improvement on the clinical outcome has not been observed. Recently, cell-based therapy has been demonstrated as an effective method for treating heart failure in vitro and in vivo [8]. Sympathetic hyperactivity is a compensatory response to cardiac function that can activate several signal transdustion pathways [9], but eventually becomes part of the disease process and may result in worsening cardiac function. It was speculated that inhibiting the hyperactive sympathetic nervous system would correct the abnormal signal transduction and improve the cardiac function in patients with heart failure. High thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) been used extensively to treat myocardial infarction patients with severe chest pain, with a major mechanism of action being selective blockading of cardiac sympathetic [10, 11]. Kock et al. have reported that TEA can improve the left ventricular function during stress-induced myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease [12]. In addition, we have previously reported a satisfying outcome by one patient treated with TEA [1]. Based on these preliminary results, this isclinical study was designed to demonstrate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of the TEA treatment in a clinical trial setting. The results will be useful for improving the clinical outcome of TEA in patients with heart failure. Methods – Please do not mention the type of NYHA class the patients were before starting treatment. This suggests randomization was not properly done. Mention them in the result section. Forty patients (including 32 males and 8 females) with heart failure were randomly divided into …


The two poems Mao wrote in Shanbei in 1947 were examined to be recorded according to his manuscripts.The place names,the events and scenery truly reflected his experience at that time.The style of the two poems accorded with the fact that he wrote classic poetry.The rhymes in Hunan dialect in the poems is one of the noticeable characteristics of his poetry.In a word,the two poems mentioned above in the collection are not counterfeits.


The Catholic Church was not the only theater of conflict between the Irish and the Italians. One of the most revealing chapters in this book describes the discrimination experienced by young Italian Americans in the police departments of New York City and Brooklyn (a separate city until 1898). Although these idealistic young men were often motivated by a desire to combat crime in their own neighborhoods and were admirably equipped to do so because of their fluency in Italian, they found it almost impossible to gain the confidence of their Irish American superiors.


The running college with characteristics is the mainly manifests of colleges' development.Henan Institute of Science and Technology which just changed the name in order to prominent its characteristics,must definite a science and accurate localization,found the name brands,expant the achievement of "four pair of projects",deepen scientific research to press the characteristics.


Abstract Let G be a finite group. The subgroup intersection graph Γ ( G ) \text{Γ}(G) of G is a graph whose vertices are non-identity elements of G and two distinct vertices x and y are adjacent if and only if | 〈 x 〉 ∩ 〈 y 〉 | > 1 |\langle x\rangle \cap \langle y\rangle |\gt 1 , where 〈 x 〉 \langle x\rangle is the cyclic subgroup of G generated by x. In this paper, we show that two finite abelian groups are isomorphic if and only if their subgroup intersection graphs are isomorphic.


CHAPTER 1
Introduction 1
CHAPTER 2
Materials and Methods 7
1. Study Sample and Data Analyses 9
2. Measures and Variables 10
CHAPTER 3
Results 13
1. Bivariate Analyses 15
2. Multivariate Analyses 17
CHAPTER 4
Discussion 19
References 25


Twenty preterm and term female neonates were exchange-transfused with males donor fresh blood during their first days of life because of hyperbilirubinaemia or severe septicaemia. In order to study the presence of donor lymphocytes in the neonates peripheral blood, chromosome studies were performed immediately after,12 and 72 hours following the exchange transfusion. We used the fluorescent-binding technique in order to distinguish the donor's cells by the presence of the γ-chromosone or other fluorescent markers in at least 300 mitotic figures in each speciment. We found that in jaundiced babies immediately following exchange transfusion less than 10% of the lymphocytes came from the donor and 12 hours later only 1-2% were still present.However in neonates exchange-transfusion for septicaemia the percentage of donor's lymphocytes immediately following the proceedure sometimes reached 50% and dropped to less than 10% by 12 hours.This shows the inability of the depressed by the infection host defence mechanisms of the newborn to deal with the donor's lymphocytes.


The present investigation was aimed at formulating a fermented beverage with incorporation of Moringa Pod Powder (MPP) to develop therapeutic buttermilk. Dahi (prepared from standardized milk) mesophilic/ thermophilic dahi culture. Optimisation of the product formulation was done by using Response Surface Methodolo-gy (RSM) with central composite rotatable design (CCRD) with varying levels of MPP, total milk solids (TMS) in but-termilk and acidity of dahi. It was found that 5.60 % TMS, 0.90 % acidity of dahi and 1.92 % MPP gave the most acceptable product with a desirability of 0.917 which is very high. From amongst various stabilizers, it was found that a blend of 0.04 % pectin and 0.015 % carrageenan most suitable and addition of salt, sugar and spices blend @ 0.5 %, 4.0 %, 0.5% respectively were most acceptable. The proximate chemical composition of Moringa Pod Buttermilk (MPBM) was 11.77 % total solids, 1.51 % protein, 1.84 % fat and 0.89 % ash. One serving size (300 g) of MPBM could be an "excellent source of calcium" having 21 % Daily Value (DV). The product could be labelled as "a good source of Vitamin A, calcium and iron" providing 10, 18 and 11 % DV respectively. MPBM was found to have consid-erable amount of Potassium and Vitamin C and fiber (9.0, 9.0 and 6.5 % DV respectively). The shelf-life of the prod-uct was 20 days under refrigeration (7±2⁰C). The developed product is rich in fiber and iron, that is conventionally deficient in milk and hence makes the developed product complete food.


A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Master of Arts in Public Administration and Management Degree of Makerere University.


The irreversible loss of lithium from the cathode material during the first cycles of rechargeable Li‐ion batteries notably reduces the overall cell capacity. Here, a new family of sacrificial cathode additives based on Li2O:Li2/3Mn1/3O5/6 composites synthesized by mechanochemical alloying is reported. These nanocomposites display record (but irreversible) capacities within the Li–Mn–O systems studied, of up to 1157 mAh g−1, which represents an increase of over 300% of the originally reported capacity in Li2/3Mn1/3O5/6 disordered rock salts. Such a high irreversible capacity is achieved by the reaction between Li2O and Li2/3Mn1/3O5/6 during the first charge, where electrochemically active Li2O acts as a Li+ donor. A 13% increase of the LiFePO4 and LiCoO2 first charge gravimetric capacities is demonstrated by the addition of only 2 wt% of the nanosized composite in the cathode mixture. This result shows the great potential of these newly discovered sacrificial additives to counteract initial losses of Li+ ions and improve battery performance.


This device comprises two longitudinal rods (7) adapted to be fixed on the spine and to extend respectively on each side of a section of the latter and, for a given vertebra (3), a hook (12) and two vertebral bearing means associated with said hook, which is adapted to bear against the median part of the vertebral posterior arch (20) between two longitudinal rods, the hook is provided with transverse rods (27, 28) for connection to the longitudinal rods and is made in two parts (13, 14) capable of being assembled to constitute the hook, namely a first part (13) comprising a body extended by a blade (16) which extends with a lateral off set relative to the body and is so profiled and adapted to be capable of bearing against a central region of the vertebral posterior arch (20), and a second part (14) forming a connector for connection with the first part, comprising a body integral with a transverse stem (21) insertable in a transverse bore in the body of the first part (13), means (41) being provided for fixing this rod in a detachable manner to the body of said first part (13). The invention avoids cutting the ligaments between the spinous processes to allow mounting hooks.


The motion of electrons and holes is considered in relation to the PN junction and it in turn is considered in relation to the junction transistor. Electrical properties, equivalent circuit diagrams, and limiting conditions of operation of junction transistors are discussed. Special equations and features of the common base, common emitter, and common collector configurations are developed and tabulated.


Aim To study the biocompatibility of recombinant human-like collagenⅡ(RHLCⅡ)membranes crosslinked with glutaraldehyde.Methods RHLCⅡwas crosslinked with different concentrations(0.005 mol/L and 0.01 mol/L) of glutaraldehyde to form two groups of RHLCⅡ membranes.Fibroblasts were cultured as seeding cells on RHLCⅡ membranes,then the cells-material complex was observed with contrast and scanning electronic microscope.The proliferation of fibroblasts were tested by MTT.RHLCⅡ membranes′ cytotoxicity was evaluated.Results After 6 h cultivation,fibroblasts adhered to both groups.Fibroblasts formed several confluent layers on two groups of RHLC membranes in 96 h.Fibroblasts can proliferate on two kinds of RHLCⅡ membranes within 96 h.Compared with RHLCⅡ membranes crosslinked by 0.005 mol/L glutaraldehyde,RHLCⅡ membranes with 0.01 mol/L glutaraldehyde have stronger cytotoxicity.But reaction scales of both RHLCⅡ membranes 0-1 level.Cytotoxicity of RHLCⅡ membranes met the requirement of standards.Conclusion RHLCⅡ membranes crosslinked with 0.005 mol/L and 0.01 mol/L glutaraldehyde have good biocompatibility and can become ideal materials for skin tissue engineering.


INTRODUCTION: Endochondral bone formation, which is an essential process for skeletal development in vertebrates, consists of series of events including an aggregation of mesenchymal cells, their differentiation into chondrocytes, followed by chondrocyte proliferation, hypertrophy and apoptosis, leading to the replacement by bone. Sox9 is an essential transcription factor in the early stages of these sequential steps. Recent studies showed that Sox5 and Sox6 served as chondrocyte-specific transcription cofactors of Sox9 and that the cooperation of Sox5/6/9 plays important roles in chondrogenesis [1]. However, transcriptional targets of Sox5/6/9 and, more importantly, biological function of the target molecules in endochondral bone formation are unknown. Here, we focused to study Dmrt2 (double-sex and mab-3 related transcription factor 2), since we found that Dmrt2 expression was markedly up-regulated in the mesenchymal stem cells that differentiated to chondrocytes following Sox5/6/9 introduction by microarray analysis. Moreover, recent genetic studies have reported that a loss of Dmrt1/2 genes causes growth retardation and malformation of fingers in human [2] and that Dmrt2-deficient mice show malformation of rib and sternum [3]. These results collectively suggest a critical role of Dmrt2 in chondrocyte differentiation and consequent vertebrate skeletal development. METHODS: All experiments were conducted according to the ethical guidelines of the Institutional Review Boards and approved by the Institutional Animal Use Committee of the Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry. C3H10T1/2 cells were introduced with Sox5/6/9 using the adenovirus system, cultured for 7 days, mRNA was collected and microarray analysis was carried out using Affymetrix Genechip® mouse genome 430 2.0. Localization of Dmrt2 proteins was examined by immunohistochemistry in E14.5 mouse embryo hind limbs. To investigate the role of Dmrt2 in chondrogenesis, we either overexpressed Dmrt2 or suppressed Dmrt2 expression by siRNA in primary chondrocytes isolated from 4-week-old ICR mouse costal cartilage. Chondrocytespecific gene expression was examined by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). To study in vivo significance of Dmrt2 during endochondral bone formation, we generated transgenic (TG) mice carrying the full-length Dmrt2 gene driven by the Prx1 promoter which allowed us to selectively overexpress genes of interest in the developing mouse limb bud. E14.5 tibiae of TG and wild type mice were histologically analyzed by double-staining with alcian blue and alizarin red, and H&E staining and in situ hybridization (ISH). Statistical analysis was performed using student t-test. P values less than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: Microarray analysis using C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal stem cells overexpressing Sox5/6/9 or GFP showed that Dmrt2 was a transcriptional target of Sox5/6/9. Dmrt2 was highly expressed in E14.5 mouse embryo hind limbs compared with other organs and tissues determined by real-time RT-PCR. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that Dmrt2 was strongly expressed in the late proliferating to pre-hypertrophic chondrocytes. These data led us to hypothesize that Dmrt2 regulated both proliferating and hypertrophic stages of chondrocyte differentiation. To prove this hypothesis, we investigated the effects of Dmrt2 on the expression of Col10α1, a well-accepted marker of hypertrophic chondrocytes. Overexpression of Dmrt2 up-regulated Col10α1 mRNA expression in primary chondrocytes, whereas suppression of Dmrt2 by siRNA decreased it. Molecular study showed that Dmrt2 increased the Col10α1 gene promoter activity by directly binding to the putative Dmrt2 binding elements. We next examined the role of Dmrt2 in the early stages of endochondral bone formation. When Dmrt2 was overexpressed in primary chondrocytes, Col2α1 and aggrecan mRNA expression were markedly decreased. We also found that knockdown of Dmrt2 increased these early chondrocyte markers. Interestingly, overexpression of Dmrt2 reduced the expression of Sox9 and Sox9-induced Col2α1 expression, suggesting that Dmrt2 serves as a negative regulator for Sox9 (Fig.1). Finally, we studied in vivo significance of Dmrt2 during endochondral ossification by examining TG mice carrying Dmrt2 gene that was driven by the Prx1 promoter. Of note, TG mice exhibited severe defects in limb development (Fig.2). Hind limbs isolated from E14.5 TG mice showed reduced Col2α1 and aggrecan mRNA expression compared with WT mice. ISH analysis further revealed that early stages of endochondral bone formation were disturbed in TG mice. DISCUSSION: Dmrt2 regulates cartilage differentiation through inhibiting early-stages and promoting late-stages of chondrocyte differentiation. Since our data show Dmrt2 is expressed in the late stages of proliferating zone and negatively regulates Sox9 function, it seems likely that Dmrt2 works as a switching regulator to forward endochondral bone formation. Further elucidation of Dmrt2 function in chondrogenesis would contribute to better understanding of the mechanism underlying skeletal development. REFERENCES: [1] Lefebvre V., et al, 1998. EMBO J. 17: 5718–5733. [2] Ounap, K., et al, 2004. Am J Med Genet., A 130, 415–423. [3] Seo, K.W., et al, 2006.Dev. Biol. 290, 200–210.
 Fig.1 Inhibitory effects of Dmrt2 on Sox9 function and expression (* p<0.05). Fig.2 Disturbed limb development in E14.5 TG mice. Poster No. 957 • 55th Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society


A study was done to see the effect of progressive muscle relaxation (Jacobson's) on stress of persons with alcohol dependence syndrome at selected de-addiction centre. The objectives were 1) identify the effect of progressive muscle relaxation (Jacobson's) on stress of persons with alcohol dependence syndrome 2) explore the correlation between stress and advanced warning signs of relapse of persons with alcohol dependence syndrome. True experiential pre test post test control group design was used for 100 samples, control and experimental groups (50 each) were selected by simple random method. Structured questionnaire for personal data, perceived stress scale and Advanced Warning Signs of Relapse scale were used as tools in the study. The control and experimental groups were statistically evaluated by Friedman's Repeated Measures of ANOVA on ranks with Dunn's method and Mann Whitney Rank sum test. Karl Pearson's correlation was used to correlate the parameters. The study concluded that the progressive muscle relaxation was effective for reducing stress and Advanced Warning


Corresponding Author: Halit Fidancı E-mail: email@example.com Submitted: 30 July 2018 Accepted: 27 December 2018 You may cite this article as: Fidancı H, Savrun Y, Cengiz B, Kuruoğlu HR. The importance of arm-elbow velocity difference in the diagnosis of ulnar neuropathy at the elbow. Neurol Sci Neurophysiol 2019; 36(1): 16-21. Abstract Objective: Diagnosis of ulnar neuropathy at the elbow (UNE) by measuring the forearm-elbow velocity difference (FEVD) is subject to significant limitations because Wallerian degeneration might occur in severely affected patients. The contribution of the arm-elbow velocity difference (AEVD) in the diagnosis of UNE may be more valuable because this segment is less affected by pathologic changes.


Neutrino oscillations have been observed and confirmed at {Delta}m{sup 2} {approx} 10{sup -3} and 10{sup -5} eV{sup 2} with various experiments. While oscillations at other mass splittings are prohibited by the current standard model, the LSND experiment observed an excess of electron antineutrinos in a muon antineutrino beam, indicating a possible oscillation at {Delta}m{sup 2} {approx} 1 eV{sup 2}. To test the oscillation at {Delta}m{sup 2} {approx} 1 eV{sup 2}, we search for muon neutrino disappearance using the Fermilab Booster Neutrino beamline and two experiments, SciBooNE and MiniBooNE. The neutrino fluxes are measured in the SciBooNE and MiniBooNE detectors, located at 100 m and 540 m downstream from the neutrino production target, respectively. We collected beam data from June 2007 through August 2008 with SciBooNE, and over a five year period with MiniBooNE. A preliminary sensitivity for a joint v{sub {mu}} disappearance search is presented.


PREVIEW Many patients are considered to have resistant hypertension when their blood pressure remains elevated despite use of multiple antihypertensive agents. However, the prevalence of the problem is difficult to determine because of differences in diagnostic criteria, physicians' practice patterns, and therapeutic approach. Numerous factors can contribute to treatment resistance, so every patient should undergo a thorough, orderly, and carefully directed evaluation. In this article, Dr Vidt describes such an evaluation.


The regulation of the capital market has been in crisis since the start of the new millennium. A series of cases of fraud and company insolvencies on a scale never before experienced in Europe and overseas has resulted in the loss of billions and shattered the trust of investors in the capital market. This work examines the legal structures of the primary market and analyses possible methods of the further development of the German Investor Protection Act based on the example of the underwriting bank or rather the underwriting syndicate, which consists of several banks.


The purpose of this study is to verify differences between the college students communication pattern and problem-solving ability according to the degree of their internet game addiction. Data were obtained through 295 respondents from the college students in Seoul, Kyungsang and Junra Provinces and analyzed by one-way ANOVA. The findings are as follow: First, respondents has some significant differences in communication pattern according to the degrees of the internet game addiction. Second, the high level of addiction group shows the less functional communication pattern such as placating, blaming, irrelevant stance. Third, faced with the problem, the high level of addiction group has a tendency to use more negative problem-oriented, impulsive and careless-style, avoidance-style than rational problem solving style.


ABSTRACT The development of mobile Internet, smartphones, and location-based services has enabled ridesourcing, which pools vehicles and drivers to provide on-demand travel services. As an alternative transportation option, ridesourcing has significant impacts on urban travel. However, the unique mobility pattern of ridesourcing and its impact on vehicle electrification have not been well studied. To address this gap, this paper presents a comparative, big-data-driven framework to characterize the ridesourcing mobility pattern, and evaluate the acceptance potential of electric vehicles for ridesourcing in comparison with other types of vehicle use. Multi-temporal resolution ridesourcing trips are extracted from raw GPS trajectories. The patterns of three urban travel (household, ridesourcing, and taxis) are extracted from GPS trajectories in Beijing, and compared. The electrification potentials of these types of travel under different charging levels are then evaluated. The results demonstrate that mobility patterns of household, ridesourcing, and taxi drivers are similar when a single trip is considered but differ significantly when total vehicle travel is considered. We show that potential acceptance of electric vehicles decreases significantly from household to ridesourcing and taxi vehicle use. These findings provide useful insights into of the role vehicle electrification can play in sustainability of urban personal transportation across a range of drivers.


This study analyses the behaviour of students and lecturers activities in an e-learning using Moodle course logs and pivot table. Moodle course logs are mined and subsequently are integrated to be data pivoting toward visualization. The number of "view" and "update" activities are extracted from Moodle course logs and are visualized into meaningful insight of elearning evaluation. There is high correlation between lectures and student in "update" activity. Its similarity in activity trends between lecturers and students provides an opportunity to build a preliminary hypothesis that lecturer activity will affect student activity in an asynchronous e-learning model. Meanwhile, the correlation value between "views" and "update" activities was low within lecturer activities. Several rationalities are discussed in this study. The most performed activity by lecturers is File while the Lesson is the least activity. The future work of research is that "views" and "update" are an indicators of student and lecturer participation where its amount have been said to be an important predictor of engagement and success in running elearning. Keywords—view, update, moodle, log data


Storage (1) of a motor vehicle, comprising: - a spool (10) having at least a retracted position in a housing of the motor vehicle and an extended position of the housing, - a tray locking mechanism (10), comprising: - a control member (20), and - a locking piece (40) arranged to have at least: - a locking position, wherein the locking piece (40) is engaged in a portion of the housing (50) to lock the drawer (10) in the retracted position in the housing, and - a so-called free position, wherein the movement of the drawer (10) is possible relative to the housing, characterized in that the control member (20 ) comprises a variable-tooth shaft (20b) arranged to cause the passage of the locking piece (40) from the locking position to the free position.


Neuroimaging studies have revealed strong selectivity for scenes in the parahippocampal place area (PPA). However, the mechanism of this selectivity remains unknown. One possibility is that scene-selectivity reflects tuning for particular low-level stimulus features characteristic of scenes but not other non-preferred categories. Supporting this view, Nasr and colleagues (2014) recently observed that stimuli that were shown to strongly activate the PPA in previous studies tended to contain more rectilinear edges than non-preferred stimuli. Moreover, they demonstrated that PPA response is modulated by rectilinearlity for a range of non-scene images. Motivated by these results, we tested whether rectilinearity suffices to completely explain PPA selectivity to scenes. We scanned participants with fMRI while they viewed grayscale photographs of natural scenes and faces matched on rectilinearity, presented in a block design. To equate scene and face rectilinearity, 940 scene and face images were ranked according to their relative rectilinearity, and stimuli (52 unique images per category) were then drawn from this set so that average rectilinearity was matched across categories. Faces and scene categories were also matched on a number of other low-level image properties, including mean high spatial frequency content, luminance, and contrast. Despite matched rectilinearity, we found that the PPA - as well as the other scene-selective regions, the retrosplenial complex (RSC) and occipital place area (OPA) - still exhibited a significantly higher response to scenes than faces. Thus, the preference for low-level rectilinear edges does not suffice to completely explain selectivity for scenes in the PPA. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


Results from 1,041 groundwater samples (U.S. Geological Survey, 2016) collected during 1986‒2015 from 16 geologic units in Pennsylvania, associated with 25 or more groundwater samples with concentrations of radon-222, were evaluated to create this dataset in an effort to identify variations in radon-222 activities or concentrations and to classify potential radon-222 exposure from groundwater and indoor air. Radon-222 is hereafter referred to as radon. Radon concentrations in groundwater were aggregated according to geologic unit for spatial analysis. Median radon concentrations in groundwater for 16 geologic units were compared to associated median indoor air radon concentrations and areas served by public water supply systems to explore potential radon exposure from indoor air and groundwater.

Radon concentrations in groundwater greater than or equal to the proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL) for public-water supply systems of 300 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) were present in about 87 percent of the water samples, whereas concentrations greater than or equal to the proposed alternative MCL (AMCL) for public water-supply systems of 4,000 pCi/L were present in 14 percent. All of the geologic units, except for the Allegheny (Pa) and Glenshaw (Pcg) Formations in the Appalachian Plateaus Physiographic Province, had median radon concentrations greater than the proposed EPA MCL of 300 pCi/L, and the Peters Creek Schist (Xpc), which is located in the Piedmont Physiographic Province, had a median radon concentration greater than the EPA proposed AMCL of 4,000 pCi/L. Also, the Peters Creek Schist (Xpc) was determined to be the area with highest potential of radon exposure from groundwater and indoor air and one of two units with the highest percentage of population assumed to be using domestic self-supplied water (81 percent), which puts the population at greater potential of exposure to radon from groundwater.

Potential radon exposure determined from classification of geologic units by median radon concentrations in groundwater and indoor air according to proposed and recommended regulatory limits is useful for drawing general conclusions about the presence, variation, and potential radon exposure in specific geologic units, but the associated data and maps have limitations. The aggregated indoor air radon data have spatial accuracy limitations owing to imprecision of geocoded test locations. In addition, the associated data describing geologic units and the public water supplier s service areas have spatial and interpretation accuracy limitations. As a result, data and maps associated with this report are not recommended for use in predicting individual concentrations at specific sites nor for use as a decision-making tool for property owners to decide whether to test for radon concentrations at specific locations. Instead, the data and maps are meant to promote awareness regarding potential radon exposure in Pennsylvania and to point out data gaps that exist throughout the State.


We propose and study a mathematical model governing interactions between cancer and immune system with an oncolytic viral therapy (OVT), wherein cancer cells can activate and inhibit immune cells simultaneously with saturations. When the therapy is not applied, it is shown that the interaction can support at most three hyperbolic positive equilibria where two of them are always asymptotically stable and the other is a saddle point. The reachable stable tumor burden can be either small or large depending on initial tumor size. We analyze the full model by proving global asymptotic stability of the virus‐free equilibrium that corresponds to OVT failure. Sufficient conditions based on model parameters are derived under which the model is uniformly persistent. The proposed system is validated using a mouse model of human pancreatic cancer carried out by Koujima et al. Global sensitivity analysis indicates that the rates of tumor‐mediated killing and immune cell exhaustion are critical for tumor progression and therapy success. Numerical bifurcation analysis reveals that the saddle point can be utilized to estimate the maximum tumor load for eradication by OVT. Moreover, an immunosuppressive microenvironment may enhance viral therapy efficacy.


Cesarean section is one of the most common surgical operations performed on women worldwide. This review will consider the benefits and harms of both vaginal birth after cesarean section and elective repeat cesarean section for women in a subsequent pregnancy. In addition, consideration will be given to the role of induction of labor for women with a prior cesarean birth, women's views and preferences for care, and future research directions.


Telephone calls after therapy sessions, concurrent individual treatment of family members, the offer of secret revelations, and the use of psychoactive drugs all involve issues and events that can be insidious to effective family therapy. Various tactics are presented which not only succeed in controlling these incidents, but which also use them as important occasions for therapeutic intervention within the model of family therapy developed by Selvini Palazzoli and her colleagues in Milan.


The aim of this research is to describe the science literacy of eleventhgrade of science class in SMA Negeri 9 Pontianak, which used inquiry model on "reaction rate" subject matter. The method of this research is descriptive with qualitative approach. The technique of collecting sample is purposive sampling with number of participants are 28 students. The instruments that be used to collect the data to measure student's science literacy are learning outcome test and student practical worksheet. Science literacy that be measured are science content, science process, and science context. The learning outcome test is used to measure the content and context of science. While the student practical worksheet is used to measure the science process. The analysis of the data shows that student's science literacy of eleventh grade of science class in SMA Negeri 9 Pontianak is about 82,14%, it belongs to average category. Thus, inquiry model can improve the student's science literacy.


Objective:To compare the offect of preventing and controlling houserats by ecological method or by drugs only. Methods:On the basis of the experiment from 1995 to 1996, To observe the effect,monitoring the houserat density every season. Results:In ecological prevention area, the houserats density was reduced apparently to 3% (state standard).and it keeps the same level for four years: In the area applying drugs only the houserat density was reduced for the first two months,in the months later,it rised to 6%, sometimes even to 10%; in the bland area,the rat density may reach 12%-14%. Conclusion:With four year's observation, the effect of taking ecological measures to prevent and control houserats in Urban residential area was better and longer than that of using drugs only.


Location of the epiglottis and larynx is usually easy. In Tracheal intubation for administration of anaesthesia addition, the optimum depth of insertion is determined was rarely used until it could be performed under automatically by the valecula. However, there is a vision. Within a few years of the first description of significant incidence of failure to see the larynx with tracheal intubation by direct laryngoscopy [1], tracheal the Macintosh laryngoscope [8]. Furthermore, there intubation under vision was used regularly to provide are now six series [9] in which optimum straight larynmaximum airway security for the anaesthetized goscopy techniques have facilitated a view of the patient. These early tracheal intubations involved the larynx in most patients in this situation. It seems that use of straight laryngoscopes, but few authors gave the price to be paid for the ease of use of the Macintosh details of their techniques. However, Jackson [2] technique in most patients, is more frequent failure stressed the importance of keeping the laryngoscope to visualize the larynx than is the case with straight lateral to the tongue (paraglossal technique). Magill [3] laryngoscopy techniques. Because difficult tracheal also recognised the importance of inserting the larynintubation is a major cause of serious complications goscope from the right side of the tongue, and went in anaesthesia (vide infra), it is probable that exclusive on to refine the technique, when difficulty was exuse of the Macintosh laryngoscope is responsible for perienced, by keeping the laryngoscope in the right avoidable morbidity and mortality, with serious conside of the mouth throughout laryngoscopy and trachsequences for patients, individual anaesthetists, and eal intubation. Others subsequently recommended [4, healthcare costs. 5] or illustrated [6] use of the straight laryngoscope in It is time to reassess the role of the Macintosh the centre of the mouth, suggesting that it made technique. Important questions are: identification of landmarks easier. This may be true in some patients, but in the more difficult case it renders 1 What are the implications of the failure rate of the the straight laryngoscope technique more difficult, Macintosh technique? more traumatic, and more likely to fail. This failure to 2 What are the advantages and limitations of blind adhere to the details of Magill's recommendations techniques of intubation, when the Macintosh techset the scene for the introduction of the Macintosh nique fails? laryngoscope [7]. At present, straight laryngoscopes 3 Why is failure with the Macintosh laryngoscope are rarely used for tracheal intubation of adults in inevitable in some patients? 4 Can we use straight laryngoscope techniques to Europe, and skill in the technique has been lost. Furreduce the morbidity of tracheal intubation? thermore, it is difficult to rediscover these skills, since 5 If so, what are the implications for clinical practice many textbooks give the erroneous impression that and training? straight laryngoscopes should be used in the midline. The Macintosh curved laryngoscope [7] was introduced in conjunction with a technique of indirect What are the implications of the failure rate of elevation of the epiglottis. It requires less effort to the Macintosh technique? master the Macintosh than straight laryngoscopy techniques. Although the Macintosh laryngoscope is inBecause the Macintosh laryngoscope is used almost serted lateral to the tongue, the tongue is moved to the exclusively for tracheal intubation of adults in Europe, complications of tracheal intubation can be regarded left and the laryngoscope is advanced in the midline.


The first frontier to the Mississippi and beyond across the great American desert the last frontier the frontier in books.


According to the basic theory of lexicography,this paper compares and analyzes the differences of "Hong、Cheng、Huang、Lu、Qing、Lan、Zi" in "Modern Chinese Dictionary" and "Standard Modern Chinese Dictionary" from the perspective of definition method,then points out some deficiencies of both dictionaries,and provides some revising opinions with reference of the definitions of color words in "Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English".In order to find the best objects as examples in definition,an investigation is designed and held.Finally this paper provides a better definition draft for revising the dictionary.


We have studied epitaxial lateral overgrowth from the liquid phase in the system Si/SiO{sub x}/Si using a dedicated, synchrotron-based x-ray diffraction setup (topomicroscopy) and transmission electron microscopy. A combination of high angular resolution in reciprocal space with a high spatial resolution in real space may probe lattice tilts in the microradian range on a micrometer scale. We attribute the observed curvature of the silicon lamella to an oxygen loss within the SiO{sub x} layer. Finite-element calculations on the elastic strain distribution and a numerical description of the x-ray scattering process strongly support this scenario.


This paper reports the results of investigating the impacts of weather and personalisation on asthma exacerbations. Additionally, several machine learning classification algorithms were applied and evaluated to develop an intelligent mHealth solution that can offer accurate personalised estimations of asthma exacerbations based on weather and demography and provide tailored precautionary guidelines for selfcare to each user. Consequently, the proposed solution will enhance asthma self-management by assisting patients with chronic asthma to plan their daily outdoor activities and limit exposure to weather triggers, thus controlling their asthma exacerbations.


Thisstudywill attemptto showthepathof resear ch anddevelopmentof a hugeandcurrentlyimplementedSCADA (Super visoryControl andData Acquisition)systemproduct.Thedesigner sandtheir managershaveidentifiedmovemento, and implementationof, distributedoperating principlesto be the only way to ensure thesurvivalandcompetitiveedge of the currentlysuccessful productimplementedby ISTEnergy. Thefield of DistributedOperatingsystemsis not a new field,neitheris it a smallone. It is, however, a field underconstant development whereold theorieswhich havenotbeenprovenin thefieldcannowbeimplemented ueto thehardwarecosts andconstraints,like speed,becominglessandlessa problem. Dueto thefact that computer s andcomputingsystemsof variouskindspermeateour everydaylivesvisibly and invisibly, thesheeramountof currenthardware in thefieldmakesanyattemptsat total replacement useless.Thatis whyDistributed Operating theorieswhich adhere to strong principlesof interaction, autonomousness, linearizationand integration are morevaluablethanshort-termideaswhich mightmovea systemup a proverbial one-waystreetof development.


Introduction Flat extensions for moment matrices The singular quartic moment problem The algebraic variety of $\gamma$ J. E. McCarthy's phenomenon and the proof of Theorem 1.5 Summary of results Bibliography List of symbols.


We investigated whether the combination of surfactant replacement therapy and early application of high‐frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) was more effective in patients with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) than late application of HFOV and conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV). To determine this, we retrospectively reviewed the cases of 126 neonates with RDS who received surfactant replacement therapy within 4 hr after birth. Patients were grouped into those who received HFOV immediately after birth (HFOV group), those who initially were ventilated by CMV and subsequently received HFOV (CMV/HFOV group), and those who did not receive HFOV (CMV group). Changes in respiratory system compliance (Crs), arterial‐alveolar oxygen gradient (a/ApO2), and mean airway pressure (MAP) were compared.


An investigation entitled "Studies on genetic diversity of fruit yield and its component traits in Bhendi [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench]" was carried out in the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University during 2013 – 2015. Thirty five genotypes were evaluated with the objective of selecting superior genotypes for fruit yield traits. The degree of divergence among 35 genotypes was computed using Mahalanobis D2 analysis. These genotypes were used to assess the variability, heritability, genetic advance, and genetic diversity. For this programme, morphological characters viz., days to first flowering, number of nodes per plant, number of fruits per plant, fruit length, fruit girth, fruit weight, plant height, and fruit yield were studied. Analysis of variance for 35 genotypes of bhendi revealed that all the genotypes were significantly differed among themselves for all the ten traits studied. The mean fruit yield per plant was the highest (more than 300 g per plant) with the genotypes viz., G12 (Pusa A4), G20 (Parbhani Kranti), G31 (Punjab Padmini), G9 (Varsha Uphar), G11 (PB 7), G33 (Harbhajan), G26 (PB 266) and G8 (Hissar Unnat). These genotypes also recorded the maximum (more than 20 fruits per plant) number of fruits per plant. High PCV and GCV were observed for the traits fruit yield per plant, plant height and number of fruits per plant. The traits viz., fruit weight, fruit length and girth showed the moderate PCV and GCV. Heritability was high for most of the traits except number of nodes to first fruit and number of branches per plant. Genetic advance as per cent of mean was also high for most of the traits except number of branches per plant. Thirty five genotypes were grouped into ten clusters. Clusters I, III, IV, VI, VII and IX had two genotypes each. The clusters II, V and VIII comprised 12, six and four genotypes, respectively. The cluster X had only one genotype. The intra-cluster distance varied from 0.00 to 29.26. Intra-cluster distance was the minimum between cluster IV and IX and the maximum between cluster VII and X. The traits namely, fruit yield per plant, plant height and fruit length contributed maximum to the genetic diversity and were the major forces of discrimination among the genotypes tested.


Children's Literature post 1970 does not often tackle the First World War, and this paper investigates why this might be so. What emerges are a series of texts which are often received with some acclaim, but are also restricted to very specific patterns of representation. These patterns clearly follow a morally didactic way of representing WW1, one which often restricts the ability of writers to diversify their writing and seek alternative representations. This paper examines the way that several texts have dealt with these 'parables' of warfare, and asks whether diversification might be a more healthy alternative.


INTRODUCTION: An easily implemented, clinically applicable staging system for chronic pelvic pain remains elusive but extremely useful. The Patient Reported Outcome Measures Information System is a multidimensional, National Institutes of Health-supported method for assessment, independent of diagnosis. Previous work has demonstrated distinct clinical phenotypes in chronic pelvic pain based on latent class modeling of a semiquantitative physical examination. OBJECTIVE: Of this study was to validate a newly developed Patient Reported Outcome Measures Information System-based chronic pelvic pain staging system with an examination-based phenotype. METHODS: Four hundred eighty-one patients meeting the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists criteria for chronic pelvic pain completed Patient Reported Outcome Measures Information System testing and a phenotyping physical examination based on four regions: pelvic abdominal wall, vulva, pelvic floor muscles, and uterosacral ligaments. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis with geomin rotation on the 12 Patient Reported Outcome Measures Information System domains produced four groupings of domains with significant loadings: negative affect, pain effect, social function, and lassitude. Latent profile analysis produced three distinct latent classes of pain patients where scores on the four groupings of Patient Reported Outcome Measures Information System domains changed in an ordinal fashion identified as low (88 patients [18%]), moderate (266 patients [55%]), and severe (127 patients [26%]). Clinical examination phenotype was the strongest differentiator of class membership with odds ratios (±95% confidence interval) for low compared with severe of 17.73 (3.75±83.71; P<.001); low compared with moderate of 7.13 (1.77±28.80; P=.006); and severe compared with moderate of 2.48 (1.07±5.76; P=.034). CONCLUSION: Patients with chronic pelvic pain can be classified according to this novel, multidimensional assessment into three stages: low, moderate, and severe, which are strongly predicted by physical examination-based phenotype.


A 10 kW@20 K helium refrigerator has been established in the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. To evaluate and improve this refrigerator's reliability and availability, a reliability and availability analysis is performed. According to the mission profile of this refrigerator, a functional analysis is performed. The failure data of the refrigerator components are collected and failure rate distributions are fitted by software Weibull++ V10.0. A Failure Modes, Effects & Criticality Analysis (FMECA) is performed and the critical components with higher risks are pointed out. Software BlockSim V9.0 is used to calculate the reliability and the availability of this refrigerator. The result indicates that compressors, turbine and vacuum pump are the critical components and the key units of this refrigerator. The mitigation actions with respect to design, testing, maintenance and operation are proposed to decrease those major and medium risks.


According to the combining principle of factor analysis,mathematics model of scale factor,financial factor,business factor,profit factor and developing factor are established.By means of analysis of the realistic competing ability and latent competing ability,business competing ability and continued development are evaluated.


This paper deals with the narrative construction of the agrarian laws in the Early Roman Republic (5th-4th centuries BC). According to Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the legislative corpus comprises 38 laws, but only five of them have been well studied by modern scholarship, for a simple and understandable reason: they are the only ones on which we can find more extensive information. Nevertheless, the study of the whole corpus makes it possible to distinguish two levels of narrative hierarchy in the traditional account. The first one (called "primary framework") consists of five episodes, which serve as a basis for the historical reconstruction. The other (called "secondary framework") is made up of six occasional literary patterns, which present each of the agrarian laws in a well defined way.


Aims:  To develop a novel PCR‐based method able to detect potential cellulolytic filamentous fungi and to classify them exploiting the amplification of the cellobiohydrolase gene (cbh‐I) and its polymorphism.


Robert Borsley has recently argued for a VP analysis of control and raising verbs in Welsh, as opposed to a full sentential complement analysis (Borsley,I984). Borsley's reasoning is close and he does indeed show a number of weaknesses in the sentential complement view. I believe this is a step in the right direction. At the same time, however, there are a number of misappraisals of the facts of Welsh which weaken Borsley's own argument. It seems that in the rush to establish his position, Borsley has failed to consider critically some of his data. Let me say first that I have no vested interest in either the sentential or the VP analysis of these phenomena. I rather believe they are both misguided. The traditional treatments (with some adjustments in the light of modern theory) serve these cases quite well. The mere fact that the traditional analysis is 'traditional' cannot be taken as a reason to discard it. The fact is that the traditional analysis accounts for these forms while avoiding the problems pointed out by Borsley and by myself below. I will say more on this at the end of the note. For now, it is enough to note that I do not intend to counter-argue Borsley's critique; I content myself with pointing out the facts of Welsh his own account fails to handle. Firstly, though Borsley indicates (278, fn) that he is using only literary


Several geophysical arguments important in the theoretical consideration of the contraction hypothesis of orogenesis are analyzed in detail with respect to their physical bases. Specifically, it is shown (a) that a thin surface layer of a sphere will fold in a smaller pattern than a thicker surface layer if the interior shrinks by the same amount; (b) that the speed of cooling of a sphere decreases if some radioactive and hence heat generating material is moved from the surface towards the center (and conversely); and (c) that at the level of no strain of a cooling sphere the temperature–depth curve must be almost straight. Those geological theories in which these considerations are important are indicated.


It is revealed that there is a link between the quantization approach employed and the dimension of the vector parameter which can be accurately estimated by a quantized estimation system. A critical quantity called inestimable dimension for quantized data (IDQD) is introduced, which does not depend on the quantization regions and the statistical models of the observations but instead depends only on the number of sensors and on the precision of the vector quantizers employed by the system. It is shown that the IDQD describes a quantization-induced fundamental limitation on the estimation capabilities of the system. To be specific, if the dimension of the desired vector parameter is larger than the IDQD of the quantized estimation system, then the Fisher information matrix for estimating the desired vector parameter is singular, and, moreover, there exist infinitely many nonidentifiable vector parameter points in the vector parameter space. Furthermore, it is shown that under some common assumptions on the statistical models of the observations and the quantization system, a smaller IDQD can be obtained, which can specify an even more limiting quantization induced fundamental limitation on the estimation capabilities of the system.


In the last decades there has been an increase in the consumption of medicinal plants worldwide. In Argentina, this increase coincides with an inefficient action of the control organisms. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to medicinal plants sellers at 13 sites in Bariloche in order to investigate general aspects of marketing. In total, 64 samples were obtained for the most traded species in the city; these were analyzed by morphological and micrographic methods, determining the degree of adulteration. The monoherbs are marketed mainly by their common name, packed in transparent cellophane bags, and the materials are mostly fragmented. About 30% of the samples showed adulteration, the main adulterant being grasses. We conclude that in Bariloche, the quality control agencies are inefficient, which can lead to health problems for people and discredit to phytomedicine.


Many botanic gardens and conservation agencies are now cultivating threatened native species specifically for reintroduction programmes in response to the second part of Target 8 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). While collection, cultivation and reintroduction techniques are frequently discussed in workshops and described in papers, few seem to have considered the threats of introducing non-native pests, diseases, weeds and hybrids between different populations of the same species. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has been cultivating plants for its Target 8 programme since 2005 and now grows 82 per cent threatened Scottish species. It is running active reintroduction programmes for nine of these species with programmes planned for a further five species. In recent years increasing attention has been paid to reducing the risks of introducing non-native organisms and hybrids between different populations of native species into the wild.This paper describes the protocols that have been developed, including verification, screening for pests and diseases, averting spontaneous hybridisation and preparing plants for reintroduction.


Sign text extraction and character recognition from natural scenes is always a hot area in the field of digital photograph.The current algorithms have some shortcomings to this problem,such as low precision,low recall,and poor robustness.In this paper,we present a new highly efficient text extraction algorithm from complex images of natural scenes.Firstly,as sign text images usually have complex natural background,the original image is vaguely processed.Then through Laplacian marginal extraction and deletion of the long brink of non-text image,the text is extracted according to connected component analysis and edge scanning.From a large number of photographs testing in ICDAR'2003 Robust Reading Competition,this algorithm shows its robustness,accuracy and efficiency in identifying text language,color,font size and configuration from complex background.


The invention provides a method and device for controlling traffic signals of intersections. The method for controlling traffic signals of intersections comprises the following steps: (1) detecting whether the road between an upstream intersection and a downstream intersection is congested or not by a congestion detector, wherein the congestion detector is arranged between the upstream intersection and the downstream intersection; and (2) if the road is congested, prolonging the time of the green light of the downstream intersection or shortening the time of the green light of the upstream intersection. When the road is congested, by prolonging the time of the green light of the downstream intersection, vehicles on the congested road can pass through the downstream intersection and run away from the congested road because of longer green light time, so that the congested road can be unblocked quickly; or by shortening the time of the green light of the upstream intersection, the number of the vehicles running on the congested road is reduced, so that the congested road can also be unblocked quickly, thereby realizing the purpose of reducing the occurrence of the phenomenon that the traffic capacity of the road network in a large range is lowered because a single intersection is congested.


The random phasor approach to reverberation noise gives Gaussian statistics for intensity and is stationary in time and space. We show that fundamentally different things happen when the noise is defined by a superposition of random propagating pulses that have width. We calculate the nonstationary autocorrelation function of such a model and describe how it evolves in time and space in a dispersive medium. Furthermore, we give criteria for when a nonstationary autocorrelation function is locally stationary in time and/or space. We also consider how and under what conditions the noise evolves to the stationary case given by the ransom phasor sum. [Work supported by ONR.]


Role of Cartography in Digitizing World is more and more
important. It can be seen from important international
initiatives like INSPIRE and GMES.


Soil particulate organic matter (POM) represents a labile soil organic matter (SOM) fraction and is an important source of nutrients for soil microorganisms and plants. This study assessed C and N stocks in POM and soil mineral-associated fractions for forage mixtures of rhizoma peanut (RP; Arachis glabrata Benth.) and bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) in contrast with their monocultures. Treatments included two bahiagrass entries receiving 90 kg N ha–¹ harvest–¹, two RP entries, and the four bahiagrass–RP combinations. Samples were collected from the 0- to 15-cm soil depth in July 2015 and in September 2016, after seven harvests. Soil samples were fractionated into POM and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) by dispersion with sodium hexametaphosphate and sieving (53 μm). Samples were analyzed for δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and total C and N. Groups of bahiagrass, bahiagrass–RP, and RP were contrasted. There were no differences in N stocks among forage treatments. Bahiagrass–RP mixtures had greater soil POM-C stock (5.1 Mg C ha–¹) than RP monocultures (4.0 Mg C ha–¹). Soil POM C/N ratio was lower for bahiagrass (18.2) and RP monocultures (16.2) than bahiagrass–RP (20.6). Bahiagrass–RP and bahiagrass had similar soil δ¹³C and were less depleted than RP (–23‰ vs. –26‰ and –26‰ vs. –28‰, for POM and MAOM, respectively). Soil POM-C stock under forage mixtures was not different from N-fertilized bahiagrass, and it was greater than RP. Hence, mixing RP and bahiagrass can be an option to increase POM-C without the need of N fertilizer.