seminars and informal conversations, people have asked the question: How long can the current North Korean regime survive, and how will the endgame play out? Implicit in this line of questioning is not if the regime would fall, but merely when and in what manner. While some were asking this question in the face of signs of economic slowing in the 1980s, many more began asking the question in the wake of the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union around the end of the decade. The question of how long the communist regime could last in North Korea was asked with more urgency when, following several years of economic decline occasioned by the fall of communism elsewhere, Kim Il-Sung died, and his son, Kim Jong-Il, took the reins of power. In the ensuing years, the question was asked with still greater urgency in the face of a crumbling economy, droughts, floods, and the apparent onset of widespread famine. It is a testament to the resilience of the North Korean regime that after a decade of trials and failures, it shows no serious signs of collapsing any time soon. And it is a testament to the enduring human tendency to engage in speculation of the future, no matter how many failed predictions have been made before, that the cottage industry which has grown around predicting Pyongyang's future shows no signs of collapsing either. It would be unfortunate if Marcus Noland's "Avoiding the Apocalypse: The Future of the Two Koreas" was regarded as just another addition to this ever-expanding literature. While the title might mislead the potential reader otherwise, the book represents more than just another attempt to gaze into the crystal ball and ruminate on the possibilities of a soft-landing versus a hardlanding. The work distinguishes itself from others in the literature in several ways. First, as the title suggests, the book attempts, with mixed but generally favorable results, to view North Korea's future not in isolation, but in terms of its symbiotic relationship with the South. Second, the work employs scenario analysis with a rigor not seen in other studies. Finally, its multiple perspectives on matters central to Korea's future give the work an unusual degree of comprehensiveness. The book is structured into three parts. The first part, in addition to an overview, provides separate chapters that canvass the post-war development of the South and North Korean economies. The second part covers the three crises that Noland feels are critical to the future of the two Koreas: the nuclear confrontation between the US and North Korea, the North Korean famine, and the recent South Korean financial crisis. The third part explores three alternative future scenarios: successful reform in North Korea, collapse and absorption (as was the case with Germany), and continued "muddling t h r o u g h . " As noted by Noland, "there has been so little interaction between the two Koreas in conventional economic terms, that the histories of each of these economies can be written with little reference to events in the other half of the peninsula" (p. 12). In the first part, the chapter on the South Korean economy concentrates on post-war development of the economy up to the onset of crisis in late 1997. Readers already acquainted with this development will find little that has not been covered many times before. More informative and more comprehensive is the chapter on the North Korean economy. Given that it is the world's most reclusive country, it is of course a tremendous challenge trying to paint an accurate picture of North Korea. Through painstaking collection and cross-comparison, Noland does an excel© International Review of Public Administration 2001, Vol. 6, No. 1


1 The hypothesis that low temperature converts inotropic β‐adrenoceptors to α‐adrenoceptors has been tested in isolated heart preparations of the frog and rat. 2 The results do not support the adrenoceptor interconversion hypothesis. In the frog ventricle strip lowering the temperature from 24°C to 14°C did not significantly alter the inotropic potency of the sympathomimetic drugs isoprenaline, adrenaline and phenylephrine and did not reduce the potency of the β‐adrenoceptor blocking drug propranolol as an isoprenaline antagonist. In the isolated left atrium of the rat lowering the temperature from 31°C and 24°C to 17–19°C did not significantly alter the inotropic potency of isoprenaline, noradrenaline and phenylephrine, did not diminish the potency of the β‐adrenoceptor blocking drug propranolol and did not increase the potency of the α‐adrenoceptor blocking drug phentolamine. 3 Phenylephrine acted on α‐ and β‐adrenoceptors in rat left atrium at 31°C and 24°C, but only on β‐adrenoceptors at 17–19°C.


Linguists would very much like to know whether the two are the same or at least whether the latter subsumes the former. A partial answer, no, is given by the fact that HMM-taggers have not yet been found that tag 100%. The discrepancy could be non-existent (but not yet shown) or could be due to inherent limitations in HMM:s (a question which could in principle be resolved by intractable amounts of brute force). But, the discrepancy could also be due to a wrong understanding part-of-speech tagging in language, or the necessity of semantics. We will look at it from this angle. If it can be shown that taggers perform just as well on text when there is no semantic coherence, this is a good argument that the discrepancy is due to semantics. Tagging is an art over three kinds of data: text, lexicon and tag sequence. Normally, a tagger is given a (semantically coherent) text annotated with a tag sequence. The tag lexicon is either given independently or extracted from the annotated text. In our case, we have done tests varying the said parametres away from what is normally the case.


It is known that for an IP* set 𝐴 in ℕ and a sequence ⟨𝑥𝑛⟩∞𝑛=1 there exists a sum subsystem ⟨𝑦𝑛⟩∞𝑛=1 of ⟨𝑥𝑛⟩∞𝑛=1 such that 𝐹𝑆(⟨𝑦𝑛⟩∞𝑛=1)∪𝐹𝑃(⟨𝑦𝑛⟩∞𝑛=1)⊆𝐴. Similar types of results also have been proved for central* sets. In this present work we will extend the results for dense subsemigroups of ((0,∞),


tion process, presenting ideas and thoughts somewhat overlooked in other parts of the volume. The title of the book reflects the editor's ambitions to offer a historical overview of the process of desegregating the education of Roma children. Yet a decade is not long enough to make history (and write about that as a process) in the field discussed. The American experience offers many examples and ideas about ways to avoid replicating the failures of desegregation policies. One of these lessons is that every intervention reveals its expected and unexpected effects only in the longer term. To return to Carr's idea and project it on this volume, it is clear that the editor chose to focus on a narrow aspect of the question of school segregation, rather than using a broader lens that would have offered a more innovative approach to this topic and interested a larger segment of readers. But this book definitely provides an interesting approach to the question of school segregation and desegregation for researchers working in this field, as it is itself a part of the fieldwork containing the opinions of most of the scholars actively working in the domain.


FeCoC granular thin films are prepared and studied as the soft magnetic layer in order to obtain a low noise double-layered perpendicular recording medium. FeCoC granular soft magnetic underlayer prepared by cosputtering at room temperature showed good soft magnetic properties; with coercivity of a few oersteds and Bs of 1.4–1.7 T. Using a spin-stand and a ring-type head, sharper transitions can be obtained in the [Co/Pd]n media with an FeCoC soft underlayer at higher recording density compared to media without a soft magnetic layer. No spike noise was observed in the read back signals for [Co/Pd]n media with an FeCoC granular film as the soft magnetic underlayer. Preparing the [FeCo/C]n laminated films by alternately sputtering FeCo and C layers allows the properties of the films to be flexibly adjusted. A Bs of 1.9 T with relative permeability of 100–400 and coercivity lower than 40 Oe can be obtained with laminated [FeCo/C]n (210 nm) multilayer thin films.


Summary. The method of least squares is usually used in a linear regression model Y = Xfi -f- e for estimating unknown parameters fi. The case when e is an autoregressive process of the first order and the matrix X corresponds to a linear trend i s studied and the Bayes approach i s used for estimating the parameters p. Unbiased Bayes estimators are derived for the case o f a small number o f observations. These estimators are compared with the l o c a ll y best unbiased o ne s and with the usual least squares estimators.


A bi-directional connection confirmation circuit for a charging pile and a vehicle comprises a changing plug and a charging socket, the charging plug is connected with a charging pile side connection confirmation circuit, the charging socket is connected with a vehicle side connection confirmation circuit, the charging pile side connection confirmation circuit comprises a charging pile side relay, and the vehicle side connection confirmation circuit comprises a vehicle side relay. When the charging plug is connected with the charging socket, as long as an auxiliary power source or a vehicle-mounted power source is normal, the charging pile side relay and the vehicle side relay attract each other, and a connection confirmation signal is sent to a charging pile control system and a vehicle control system. When the charging plug is separated from the charging socket, whether the auxiliary power source and the vehicle-mounted power source is normal or not, the charging pile side relay breaks away from the vehicle side relay, and a disconnection signal is sent to the charging pile control system and the vehicle control system. The bi-directional connection confirmation circuit improves operation safety of the vehicle and equipment. Cost for improvement on an existing circuit is low.


Selection of better genotypes and hybrids, spinnability, yarn test and path analysis of okra fibre were carried out. On the basis of per se peiformance, KS-312 and Selection 71-14 were best among five parents and PBN-57 X Selection 71-14 and KS-312 X PBN-57 among the hybrids for both fibre yield and fibre quality. The genotypic and phenotypic co-efficient of variation were highest for fibre yield followed by dry weight of wood among the parents. For hybrids, high gcv was shown by plant height and pcv by dry weight of wood. 111e okra fibre is coarser titan jute and hence unspinnable alone. 111e tenacity of blended yarn .was poorer titan the normal jute yarn. T11e dry weight of wood showed direct effect on fibre yield. Analysis of fibre fineness and tenacity, fibre eel/ length (36 138μ) showed very high direct effect and its direct selection may improve both fineness and tenacity. 111e poor quality of okra fibre might be due to late harvesting of plants leading to /ignified coarse cell wall.


Corporations are constantly introducing new products for sale. Some new products, such as hybrid vehicles, are greener than incumbent products. Due to composition effects, certain environmental externalities could be mitigated if there were guinea pigs willing to commit to purchase new green products. In the presence of fixed costs of production, firms will be more likely to produce such products if they anticipate that there is demand. This paper examines the role of environmentalists as "guinea pigs" who purchase unproven new products that are likely to offer social environmental benefits. I focus on the diffusion of registered Hybrid vehicles across Los Angeles census tracts between 2001 and 2005.


The early accurate determination of the course of disease in Ta/T1 bladder cancers is an important issue in patient management and improvement of clinical outcome. For this purpose a comprehensive database of patients with newly diagnosed bladder cancer was retrospectively analysed by artificial neural networks (ANNs) as follows. First, stage progression in 105 patients with Ta/T1 tumours was analysed using 7 different factors including clinicopathological and molecular markers of mixed prognostic significance. Eight additional factors were then employed to analyse tumour recurrence within 6 months in 56 patients. The prediction accuracies of the ANNs were subsequently compared to those of 4 expert urologists and proved to be significantly higher in predicting stage progression. An important result of the analysis concerned the T1G3 group of tumours which is non-infiltrative at diagnosis, but has the greatest propensity to progress to muscle-invasive disease. In this group, again, the performance of the ANN exceeded that of the urologists.


Several 4-azaphthalides (=furo[3,4-b]pyridin-5(7H)-ones) and 5-azaisocoumarins (=5H-pyrano[4,3-b]pyridin-5-ones) were prepared through a tandem heterogeneous Pd/C-mediated Sonogashira coupling and a 5-exo-dig or 6-endo-dig intramolecular cyclization of 2-bromonicotinic acid (=2-bromopyridine-3-carboxyclic acid) with various ethynylarenes or 3-ethynylthiophene. In the presence of Pd/CPh3PCuI and Et3N in dry dioxane under Ar at 90°, a mixture of 4-azaphthalides (usually the major product) and 5-azaisocoumarins was obtained after 3.5 h under normal heating (Schemes 3 and 4; Tables 1 and 2). This mixture of compounds was also obtained with the same catalytic system under microwave (MW) irradiation in only 25 min (Tables 3 and 4). The 1-ethynyl-3-methoxybenzene gave on heating only the corresponding 4-azaphthalide (Table 2), while under MW irradiation, both the 5-exo-dig and the 6-endo-dig products were obtained (Table 4). For the 3-ethynylthiophene, the regioselectivity for the corresponding 4-azaphthalide was achieved with both methods (Tables 2 and 4). Although the yields and the regioselectivity of the reaction generally remained the same with both methods, the use of MW allowed us to obtain the corresponding products in a shorter reaction time. From 4-ethynyl-N,N-dimethylaniline (=4-ethynyl-N,N-dimethylbenzenamine), the corresponding 4-azaphthalide and 5-isocoumarin were only obtained under MW irradiation (Tables 2 and 4). To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that this kind of tandem reaction was applied to a pyridine derivative giving the corresponding 4-azaphthalides and 5-azaisocoumarins which are easily separated and may both show biological activity.


The rising of digital currencies and the technology behind them, "blockchain," draws much attention in many areas. According to the 2021 report of BIS, 86% of the participant central banks are actively researching the potential in this technology. This study attempts to shed light on possible expansion in monetary policy tools by the issuance of CBDC. Thus, it suggests a partial substitution of paper currency. Four design principles have been stated and discussed for a monetary system that includes CBDC and possible solutions regarding the digital bank run.


The basic principles and construction method of deep mixed cement soil cutoff wall are described. The index measures are put forward for quality control of the invisible cutoff wall for soil ground strengthening treatment.


The theory and practice of anti-Kelikong movement during Yan'an Period reflected the practical journalistic view and a firm people's stand.In the first seven years after the foundation of P.R.C,the journalism,with its practical mainstream,carried forward the tradition of Yan'an Period.The Party and its press heightened vigilance against Kelikong.However,Kelikong was extremely manifested from 1957 to 1976.It became a political demand,a way of punishment and propaganda to fool people in the two decades.During the period of socialist modernization construction with Chinese characteristics,the ghost of Kelikong still lingered but it lacked the condition of unscrupulous widespread,because during this historical period the Party's guiding line,principle and policy are practical and its demand with the press was also practical.


The present invention provides a two pull-down control module, includes a signal input terminal, a pull-down signal output terminal, a clock input, wherein the double-pull-down control module comprises: a control sub-unit, a first end of the control sub-unit connected to the signal input terminal; a second the second end of the five thin film transistor, the gate of the thin film transistor and the fifth sub-control unit is connected to a third terminal connected to a first electrode of the fifth thin film transistor and a control sub-unit, a second clock input electrode of the fifth thin film transistor terminal coupled; and a unidirectional conducting element, is connected to a first terminal of the third unidirectional element through the end of the control sub-unit, the unidirectional fifth thin film transistor and a second end connected to the gate through a second element, when the unidirectional conduction a first terminal of the level higher than the second end of the element level unidirectional conduction element, a unidirectional conductive element is turned on. The present invention also provides a shift register unit A gate driver and a display panel. The display panel has a lower power consumption.


ABSTRACT Estimation of characteristics of the demand system of underutilized indigenous vegetables (UIVs) is important to understand how they can be better utilized in developing countries. The study analyzed demand responses of households to UIV prices using the quadratic almost ideal demand system (QUAIDS). More than half of respondents were female (65%), monogamously married (68%), between 20 and 39 years of age (57%), with a mean household size of six persons and primarily employed in public service or private companies (53%). The demand for the UIVs was relatively inelastic. All of the vegetables were normal goods and their cross-price elasticities were inelastic and complementary. The UIVs are consumed along with other vegetable crops mostly by a specific consumer group who could be a niche market for the commodity.


Identifier/locator separation is a promising solution to the current Internet scaling problems. In this article, we argue that identifier/location separation can also help prevent distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. We discuss an identifier-to-locator mapping approach and explain how the approach makes it difficult for attackers to control botnets. We also present numerical results based on data from a real DDoS attack to demonstrate that, even if many zombies attack a victim, identifier/locator separation helps detect DDoS attacks.


The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory is a gamma-ray observatory sensitive to gamma rays from 100 GeV to 100 TeV with an instantaneous field of view of ∼2 sr. It is located on the Sierra Negra plateau in Mexico at an elevation of 4,100 m and began full operation in March 2015. The purpose of the detector is to study relativistic particles that are produced by interstellar and intergalactic objects such as: pulsars, supernova remnants, molecular clouds, black holes and more. To achieve optimal angular resolution, energy reconstruction and cosmic ray background suppression for the extensive air showers detected by HAWC, good timing and charge calibration are crucial, as well as optimization of quality cuts on background suppression variables. Additions to the HAWC timing calibration, in particular automating the calibration quality checks and a new method for background suppression using a multivariate analysis are presented in this thesis.


Abstract Bud rot pathogens cause diseases on Cannabis sativa L. (cannabis, hemp) worldwide through pre- and post-harvest infections of the inflorescence. Seven indoor or outdoor cannabis production sites and three hemp fields were sampled for bud rot and stem canker presence during 2019–2020. Among 178 isolates recovered from diseased tissues, sequences of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region of rDNA, the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) gene and the heat shock 60 (HSP) gene identified the following: Botrytis cinerea (162 isolates), B. pseudocinerea (2), B. porri (1), Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (5), Diaporthe eres (3) and Fusarium graminearum (5). Pathogenicity studies conducted on fresh detached cannabis buds inoculated with spore suspensions or mycelial plugs showed that B. cinerea, S. sclerotiorum and F. graminearum were the most virulent, while B. pseudocinerea, B. porri and D. eres caused significantly less bud rot. Optimal growth of Botrytis species occurred at 15–25°C. In vitro antagonism tests showed that Bacillus spp., Trichoderma asperellum and Gliocladium catenulatum inhibited B. cinerea and S. sclerotiorum colony growth. When applied as a spray 48 h prior to B. cinerea inoculation, all biocontrol agents significantly (P < 0.01) reduced disease development on detached inflorescences. Prolific growth and sporulation of T. asperellum and G. catenulatum were observed on bud tissues. The pathogens B. porri, S. sclerotiorum, D. eres and F. graminearum are described for the first time as cannabis bud rot pathogens. Inoculum from neighbouring fields of diseased garlic, cabbage, blueberry and hay pasture, respectively, likely initiated infection of inflorescences. Several biological control agents show potential for disease reduction through competitive exclusion.


Sugarbeet was planted with row and plant spacing of 65cm×20cm instead of 43cm×25cm.The experimental results showed that the root yield,sugar content and sugar yield increased by 45.1%-61.8%,0.6-0.8 °S and 50.8%-70.4%,respectively.Farmer and corporation increased by 2851-3931 yuan RMB/ha and 2835-3930 yuan RMB/ha,respectively.


Existing evaluation metrics for Person Re-Identification (Person ReID) models focus on system-wide performance. However, our studies reveal weaknesses due to the uneven data distributions among cameras and different camera properties that expose the ReID system to exploitation. In this work, we raise the long-ignored ReID problem of camera performance imbalance and collect a real-world privacy-aware dataset from 38 cameras to assist the study of the imbalance issue. We propose new metrics to quantify camera performance imbalance and further propose the Adversarial Pairwise Reverse Attention (APRA) Module to guide the model towards learning camera invariant features with a novel pairwise attention inversion mechanism.


Abstracts 1 Three Dimensional Nonlinear Analysis Method for Concrete by Kazuhiro Naganuma New constitutive models are proposed for concrete under triaxial compressive stress focusing on stress-strain relationship and nonlinear Poisson effect based on comparison between present model and experimental results. At first, past representative failure criteria are investigated in accuracy and applicability comparing with compressive test results of concrete under lateral pressure. Secondly, it is demonstrated that stress-strain relationship including compressive strain softening region is greatly affected by both uniaxial compressive strength and stress enhancement ratio due to lateral pressure. Based on this study, new stress-strain curves are proposed as a function of these parameters. Finally, after indicating that nonlinear Poisson effect is indispensable for rigorous analysis of confined concrete, new equations are proposed for that effect.


Pharmacists, physicians, and nurses have been viewed as needed and trustworthy members of the community for years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacists' authority was recognized and expanded to include provision of essential services beyond traditional medication expertise and pharmacy operations. This authority needs to be maintained post-pandemic to provide maximum benefit to patients.


Web branding is an important strategic tool for building a promising travel experience that is uniquely associated with the destination and that reinforces the emotional connection between the visitor and the place. With the proliferation of the Internet, destination marketing organizations' (DMO) websites became a crucial communication channel for projecting a desirable place brand image. With an attempt to rehabilitate the brand image of Russia, this study explores the following: (1) What are dominant attributes in the brand images of European Russia communicated via the DMO websites? (2) Which words appear most frequently on the DMO websites of European districts of Russia? (3) Is there a discrepancy between the projected brand images and stories it tells in words on the DMO websites? As these perspectives contribute to a better understanding of the induced component of Russia's destination brand image in the online environment, content analysis of DMO websites from three European Russian regions is conducted and practical implications are discussed. The results have important marketing implications.


Abstract Typhoon Morakot, which formed on 2 August 2009, was the deadliest typhoon in Taiwan's history, responsible for over 700 deaths on the island. During the typhoon evacuation process, one critical issue is how to efficiently distribute the evacuation trips to a limited number of shelters based on both spatial and temporal considerations. This paper proposes a modified entropy-based dynamic gravity model to reflect the spatial and temporal distribution of the evacuees and the shelters. A unique feature of the proposed model is that the entropy is explicitly incorporated within the travel cost constraints. The spatial and temporal relationships between evacuees and shelters can be reflected through the impedance functions and the discretized time intervals with better performance than the traditional model. A simulation-assignment model is applied to generate the zone-to-zone travel time. A calibration analysis based on the solution procedure is conducted for the Jiasian network, in Kaohsiung city, which was heavily affected by the Typhoon Morakot. The calibration results show that the modified entropy-based dynamic gravity model leads to better convergence patterns in the entropy values, higher travel cost coefficients, and lower average generalized trip costs than the traditional model, and is suitable for use with the evacuation plan during typhoons.


Jingyuan Zhang 1 Carolina Oi Lam Ung Anita Katharina Wagner Xiaodong Guan Luwen Shi 1Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China; 2State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, People's Republic of China; 3Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA; 4International Research Center for Medicinal Administration, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China Purpose: This study aims to illustrate the prevalence and patterns of medication use among pregnant women in mainland China. Patients and methods: Hospital and drugstore service data for a nationally representative sample of basic medical insurance (BMI) beneficiaries in 2015 were obtained from the China Health Insurance Association (CHIRA) database. A total of 7946 women who had singleton deliveries in 2015, aged between 12 and 54, and whose records in the CHIRA database covered at least one trimester were included in this study. We conducted descriptive analyses of sample characteristics, medication use prevalence, and number and types of medications used. Results: We found that 11.7% of women used at least one medication during the course of pregnancy (median number of medications used = 6.7). Medication use was more common among those who were older, residing in Eastern China, or employed. Most commonly used medication groups by the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System were B (Blood and blood forming organs, 49.3%), A (Alimentary tract and metabolism, 48.1%), G (Genito urinary system and sex hormones, 38.1%) and J (Antiinfectives for systemic use, 31.6%). Intravenous solutions, vitamins and minerals, progestogens, and beta-lactam antibacterials were the most frequently usedmedications from each of these four ATC groups, respectively. Moreover, 7.1% used at least one medication contraindicated in pregnancy. Conclusion: This study showed that around one in 10 women used medication during pregnancy in mainland China and found possible cases of inappropriate or unsafe medication use.


The circulation concentration of a zeotropic refrigerant mixture may differ from the refrigerant bulk concentration in a vapor compression cycle. The difference, defined as "concentration shift," is mainly caused by the differential holdup in two-phase regions and the differential solubility of the oil. In this paper the concentration shift caused by the differential holdup of the two-phase flow of liquid and vapor in the condenser and evaporator were analyzed. Detailed models for calculating the circulation concentration were created. Based on the measurement results of an air-conditioning system, the proposed method was tested and proved to be satisfactory. It can be concluded that the principles of the proposed models are valid for any zeotropic refrigerant mixture in any refrigeration system.


Anew case of female heterogamety has been described in Takydromus sexlineatus. In this species the W-chromosome has the same morphology as the Z-chromosome, but differs from it in being heterochromatic and C-banding positive. This situation is similar to that found in some snakes, and is considered by some investigators as a primitive step in the differentiation of sex chromosomes. This suggests that the mechanisms involved in sex chromosomes differentiation in lizards may be the same as those suggested for snakes.


It is shown that a periodic solution of the nonlinear infinite‐dimensional Hamiltonian system describing a particle in a scalar wave field can have only certain discrete periods that are related to zeroes of the Fourier transform of the function that realizes the coupling.


A simplified LC-hybrid active power filter(LC-HAPF) was researched to manage the harmonics generated by the nonlinear load,which consisted of three-phase two-leg inverter and LC passive power filter.For DC-link voltage-balance problem,a voltage-balance control was adopted to achieve the dynamic balance of DC-link voltage.Based on the analysis of switch model of LC-HAPF,the deadbeat control equations were derived for inverter which could realize a fast and indifference tracking of output current.Finally,the simulation and experimental results verify the proposed structure and the control method correctly.


This study was conducted to identify the factors influencing on postoperative health promoting lifestyle in patient with lung resection. Data were surveyed using interview and questionnaires by 201 patients who visited a general hospital which was located in Metropolitan area from January 16 to February 17, 2014. The results of the study are as follows. Firstly, the degree of performativity was significantly positively correlated with efficiency(r=0.28, p<0.01). Secondly, the explanatory power of health promoting lifestyle was to 45.1% by selected variables. Thirdly, multiple regression analysis results showed that efficiency was investigated the most influential and significant factor to affect the degree of health promoting lifestyle with 0.35(p=0.02). In conclusion, in order to improve health promoting lifestyle in patients with lung resection, it needs to develop and apply a comprehensive education program including the personal characteristics of performativity, self-achievement, and perceived barriers.


This paper presents an empirical comparison of several shape representations in order to search a database of training examples (silhouettes) for the task of human pose estimation. In particular, we compare the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), Lipschitz embeddings and the Histogram of Shape Contexts that has previously demonstrated some success in this task. Our results suggest that a simple linear transformation of the image (such as the DCT) is as effective as the more complex, non-linear methods.


The formalism proposed in Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 078001 (2016) for determination of the normal and tangential inter-particle forces in frictional disks from visual data was criticized in a comment to that paper. However the theory developed in the original publication is aimed at finding the forces when provided with accurate measurements while the comment addresses a different problem, being the statistics of forces in a configuration with uncertainty of the relevant parameters. We address this difference in perspectives and point out that even with experimental errors one can improve the results using an iterative procedure proposed in Phys. Rev. E. Rapid Communication, 93, 060601(R) (2016).


The growth of intelligent agent technology allows new developments in the way learners obtain knowledge on the Internet. This paper proposes an agent-mediated online learning architecture, called AMOL, to automate online learning processes.


The potency of three sulphonylureas, glibenclamide, glimepiride and gliclazide in antagonizing the vasorelaxant action of openers of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)‐regulated K+ channel (KATP) was studied in vivo and in vitro in micro‐ and macrovessels, respectively. In the hamster cheek pouch, the vasodilatation and the increase in vascular diameter and blood flow induced by diazoxide were markedly reduced by the addition of either glibenclamide or glimepiride (0.8 μm) while they were not affected by gliclazide up to 12 μm. Similarly, in rat and guinea‐pig isolated aortic rings, glibenclamide, glimepiride and gliclazide reduced the vasodilator activity of cromakalim. However, the inhibitory effect of gliclazide was considerably less when compared with either glimepiride or glibenclamide. These results suggest that, in contrast to glibenclamide and glimepiride, therapeutically relevant concentrations of gliclazide do not block the vascular effects produced by KATP channel openers in various in vitro and in vivo animal models.


The article is devoted to defining the main constituent elements of an effective legal mechanism for the implementation of legal responsibility for crimes against the environment in the context of the full-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. To solve the set goal, such research methods as the method of scientific observation were used, in particular, to form the topic and purpose of the research; the method of analysis - when determining the specifics of the implementation of legal responsibility in the conditions of the ongoing full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine; logical method - for theoretical generalization and formulation of research conclusions. Russian military aggression on the territory of Ukraine brings death, maiming, and destruction. At the same time, airstrikes and artillery shelling destroy not only the infrastructure but also the ecosystem, leading to an ecological disaster. The damage caused to the surrounding natural environment will hurt the lives and health of people, both in Ukraine and abroad, over the years. Therefore, the urgent task of international institutions, state bodies, and the public is the development of a legal mechanism for the implementation of legal responsibility, designed to punish the guilty. However, fair punishment for armed aggression and its consequences is impossible without full compensation for the damage caused to the natural environment. Accordingly, the mechanism for realizing legal responsibility for crimes against the environment should include a compensation mechanism, the reality of which will be ensured by a system of legal guarantees at the international and national levels of individual states. The basis of an effective legal mechanism for the realization of legal responsibility for crimes against the environment is the detection and recording of facts of offenses against the environment, including facts of causing damage and losses; involvement of specialists who have experience in the field of environmental protection, use of natural resources, ensuring environmental safety, conducting relevant examinations, etc.; submission of lawsuits to national and international courts that are competent to consider them; compensation mechanism.


We examine the stability and behavior of a platoon of autonomous vehicles which operate in a decentralized manner and communicate to achieve formation control objectives. We are interested in communication networks that are time-varying, with each vehicle interacting with different sets of vehicles as the system evolves. We are particularly interested in networks which are disconnected, and in which basic control objectives such as stability cannot be achieved, in a frozen-time sense. Graph theoretical concepts are used to help model the platoon and provide a framework for stability analysis. Periodic fast switching, a tool from the held of switching theory, is adopted to assess stability of systems with time-varying communication networks. We show that if switching is sufficiently fast, then a platoon of autonomous vehicles can be stabilized even when the communication network is disconnected in frozen time.


Abstract Steric and electronic effects of phosphine ligands on binding of molecules to iridium(I) have been probed by studying reactions of O2, SO2 and CH3I with trans-Ir(CO)(Cl)(P(i-Pr)3)2 and trans-Ir(CO)(Cl)(P(t-Bu)2Me)2 for comparison to known reactions with trans-Ir(CO)(Cl)L2 (L = PPh3, P(p-tolyl)3 and PCy3). Reaction of O2 is significantly retarded by increasing size of the ligand while reaction of SO2 is essentially unaffected by the nature of the phosphine ligand. Reaction of CH3I with trans-Ir(CO)(Cl)(P(t-Bu)2Me)2 produces two products which have been characterized by NMR and infrared spectroscopy.


This study has analyzed the main works of Hayao Miyazaki, a great master of Japanese animation, and inquired into the internal and external feature of characters depicted in his works. The creation of animation character starts from non-being in the planning step and becomes an important medium whic...


In a recent discussion of internal and external factors affecting the development of urban areas, Wilbur Thompson devotes much attention to the relationship between the size of an urban area and the stability of its growth (Thompson, 1968) . He states that most generally `growth creates size and size reacts to restructure the local economy so as to virtually insure further growth at the near average rate-reacts, that is, to produce growth stability . The simplest most appreciated structural change accompanying large size is toward a diversified mix of current exports'. Clearly, this statement relates growth stability to the diversification of the economic structure of given urban areas ; also, it emphasises the role of export demand in the study of urban growth . The purpose of this note is to state more formally the relationship between the stability of urban growth and the industrial composition of employment . The approach is based on the methods of portfolio analysis and discusses one method of giving operational content to the concept of `agglomeration economies' for the reduction of economic fluctuations and uncertainties . It is especially applicable to countries or regions which are undergoing a very rapid process of urbanisation .


SpaceFibre is the next generation data link and network technology being developed by University of Dundee for the European Space Agency. This highspeed technology runs over both copper and fibre optic cables and is backwards compatible with the ubiquitous SpaceWire technology. SpaceFibre provides 12 times the throughput of a SpW link (2.5 Gbps) with current flight qualified technology together with inbuilt QoS and FDIR capabilities. This paper details the first implementation of SpaceFibre in a radiation tolerant device in the frame of the VHiSSI project. The functionality of this ASIC chip is explained and the results of the functional and Total Ionising Dose and Single Event Effect radiation testing are detailed.


For a Type $T \in${I, II, III, IV} of codes over finite fields and length $N$ where there exists no self-dual Type $T$ code of length $N$, upper bounds on the minimum weight of the dual code of a self-orthogonal Type $T$ code of length $N$ are given, allowing the notion of dual extremal codes. It is proven that for $T \in${II, III, IV} the Hamming weight enumerator of a dual extremal maximal self-orthogonal Type $T$ code of a given length is unique.


There has long been a need, rendered more urgent by the Goldhagen debate of the 1990s, for a general synthetic work that brings together the many strands of research on German anti-Semitism in the Second Kaiserreich. Massimo Ferrari Zumbini, professor of history at the University of Viterbo, has now written the book that brings the strands together. It is a monumental work, both in size and in importance, which first appeared in Italian in 2001. It will henceforth constitute the starting point for future research into the problem of organized antiSemitism in modern German history. The adjective "organized" is important and explicit. Zumbini is primarily interested in organized anti-Semitism, which he sees as the root of the racial anti-Semitism that culminated in the Holocaust. He makes this claim with a great deal of subtlety and a prodigious amount of research into primary archives, mainly the papers of leading anti-Semites. His work is also based on a discerning understanding of the international research into the problems involved. Indeed, Zumbini both sums up this research and weaves his own into it. As such, the book is by far the best general statement currently available of what we know about organized anti-Semitism in the German Kaiserreich. At the same time, it delivers more than it promises. For while organized antiSemitism in Germany is the focus of the work, there are also highly textured forays into the history of mentalities, the everyday relations between Christians and Jews, and the wider European, indeed Atlantic, setting of modern antiSemitism. He also has much to say about the relations between modern antiSemitism and eugenics, the turn-of-the-century reform movements, and anti-Slavic sentiment.


This paper explores the macroeconomic implications arising from the Lebanese governments approach to dealing with its budget deficit, which has become one of the highest amongst in the Middle East.


The article discusses the problem of control automation for wells equipped with sucker rod pumps. The main goals of such automation are presented, the achievement of which allows increasing well productivity, as well as improving working conditions of staff. As a result of the study, the analysis of the features of wells automation equipped with sucker rod pumps was carried out. The principles of automation of such an object were considered and a control system diagram was presented. The presented functional diagram of the SCADA system involves the use of a number of sensors to measure the current parameters of the well. Using the expert assessment method, a reasonable choice of specific measuring devices was made. Reviewed measuring devices are modern equipment of Russian and foreign production, which has a good service life and the necessary measurement accuracy.


As one of the weak signalspsila measurements, measuring Electroencephalogram (EEG) is very complicated. The preprocessed EEG contains much power interference and other high frequency noise, it canpsilat be acquired unless those interferences are removed effectively. Through authorpsilas repetitious experimentation, it is proved that we can not only gain clear and clean Brainwave by using TMS320LF2407 but also invest less so the experiment is more convenient. According to the characteristic of Signal Processing System for EEG, this paper introduces two basic methods, the advantages and disadvantages of signal processing for EEG are compared, and also analyses the primary features of the DSP, especially TMS320LF2407.Besides, it expounds how to realize the hardware and the software of 16-channel signal processing system for EEG based on the TMS320LF2407.


Acute exacerbation (AE) of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is associated with high mortality, but there is limited clinical data on AE of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in connective tissue disease‐associated ILD (CTD ILD). The present study was conducted to provide prevalence and clinical features of AE, as well as various risk factors associated with mortality among AE CTD ILD patients.


—The solution of oscillatory motion of dusty memory fluid through porous media by finite element method is obtained; expressions for the velocity of fluid, dust and skin friction are also obtained. The effects of various parameters on above are shown graphically and discussed.


The pinning of grain boundaries by manganese sulphide particles is examined experimentally as a function of the shape and size of the inclusions. This is in the context of free-machining steels that rely on the sulphide particles to break machining debris into chips in order to make the machining process e cient while at the same time enabling a good surface finish. Nevertheless, the particles can have other consequences, such as on the development of microstructure during cooling from the fabrication temperature. Extremely long MnS particles are found to be more e ective at hindering the motion of grain boundaries than those that approximate spherical shape.


The method of single factor variance analysis was used to investigate the effect of 3 different treatment methods of Tongnaohuoluo,thrombolytics and routine treatment on NIHSS score of patients with cerebral infarction in each treating and curing time window,and the conclusion was drawn as that the curative effect of Tongnaohuoluo acupuncture method in treating patients with cerebral infarction during each treating and curing time window was significant.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the feasibility of ultrasound guided vascular access in pigs by comparing central venous and arterial cannulation techniques.

ANIMALS
Twenty-two healthy female Pietrain pigs, 14-18 weeks old and weighing 51.1 +/- 4.3 kg (mean +/- SD).

STUDY DESIGN
Comparative animal trial.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
After induction of general anaesthesia, cannulation of the external jugular vein and internal carotid artery was attempted using real-time ultrasound guidance. The quality of the ultrasound picture was assessed on an analogue scale from 1 (excellent) to 5 (insufficient). Vessel size, cannulation success rate, number of puncture attempts and time from first puncture attempt until insertion of the Seldinger wire were recorded.

RESULTS
Cannulation was successful in all but one animal in which a cut-down technique was performed. The arteries were significantly smaller than the veins (p < 0.001) resulting in a significantly prolonged cannulation time (p = 0.032) for insertion of arterial catheters without differences in success rate. In 89% of attempted cannulations, the Seldinger wire was inserted within 5 minutes.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
In anaesthetized pigs undergoing instrumentation for biomedical research, ultrasound-guided vascular access is a simple and rapid alternative to surgical cut-down. In veterinary anaesthesia, the technique might be useful in sedated or anesthetized pigs in which arterial or central venous access is required.


The initial-value problem for a one-dimensional gravity wave of amplitude a and characteristic length l in water of depth d is examined for 0 < a/d [Lt ] d2/l2 [Lt ] 1. A preliminary reduction leads to a Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation in which the nonlinear term is O(ε) relative to the linear terms, where ε = 3al2/4d3 [Lt ] 1 is a measure of nonlinearity/dispersion. The linear approximation (ε ↓ 0) is found to be valid if and only if $\epsilon\tau^{\frac{1}{3}}\ll 1 $ where $\tau = \frac{1}{2}(d/l)^2(gd)^{\frac{1}{2}}({\rm time})/l $ is the slow time in the KdV equation. The asymptotic solution of the KdV equation is obtained with the aid of inverse-scattering theory and is found to comprise not only a decaying wave train that is qualitatively similar to that predicted by the linear approximation, but also a soliton of amplitude 3V2/4d3 = O(εa) if V > 0, where V is the cross-sectional area of the initial displacement, or of amplitude = O(ε3a) if V = 0 (there is no soliton if V < 0). This soliton is fully evolved, and dominates the solution, only for $\epsilon \tau^{\frac{1}{3}} \gg 1$ if V > 0 or $\epsilon^2\tau^{\frac{1}{3}}\gg 1 $ if V = 0, but nonlinearity already has significant effects for $\epsilon\tau^{\frac{1}{3}} = O(1)$.


ABSTRACT: Embracing the spirit of the Pathways Commission's focus of enhancing the value of practitioner/educator exchanges, the inaugural Journal of Information Systems Conference (JISC) brought together 30 academic researchers and 15 practitioners to discuss the current state and the future direction of information technology (IT) audit research and practice. Panelists, comprised of practitioners from government, public accounting, and industry, provided insight into current IT audit issues. The first panel discussed the role of IT auditors in helping organizations meet compliance requirements and ensuring that information systems add value to the organization. The second panel addressed the future of IT audit in a world of advanced analytics and emerging technologies. Although the panels addressed separate topics, common themes emerged from the discussions. Issues facing the IT audit profession as a result of the increasing volume of data available, coupled with changing technology and increasing regul...


The aim of this study is to investigate the possible relationship between dento-facial deformities, craniofacial morphology and body posture anomalies. It is recommended that specialists in orthodontics give attention to the cervical vertebral column area on profile radiographs to include any deviations in the cervical vertebral column morphology and head posture, while considering diagnosis and evaluation of etiology in orthodontic patients with skeletal craniofacial deviations and in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).


Binary (0,1) matrices, commonly known as transactional databases, can represent many application data, including gene-phenotype data where "1" represents a confirmed gene-phenotype relation and "0" represents an unknown relation. It is natural to ask what information is hidden behind these "0"s and "1"s. Unfortunately, recent matrix completion methods, though very effective in many cases, are less likely to infer something interesting from these (0,1)-matrices. To answer this challenge, we propose Ind Evi, a very succinct and effective algorithm to perform independent-evidence-based transactional database transformation. Each entry of a (0,1)-matrix is evaluated by "independent evidence" (maximal supporting patterns) extracted from the whole matrix for this entry. The value of an entry, regardless of its value as 0 or 1, has completely no effect for its independent evidence. The experiment on a gene-phenotype database shows that our method is highly promising in ranking candidate genes and predicting unknown disease genes.


Background and objective:  Mongolia is experiencing rapid urbanization, and this presents a unique opportunity to assess the effects of this process on the lung health of children.


Background The digoxin range conventionally used (0.8–2.0 ng/mL) may be suitable for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), although a lower range is preferable for patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) (0.5–1.0 ng/mL). Purpose To study if digoxin is monitored correctly and according to recent evidence. Material and methods A retrospective study was conducted between January and June 2016. Field of study: two tertiary hospitals and their reference areas (the population consisted of 666 000 people). Adult patients with analytical determinations of digoxin during the study period were included. Digoxin concentrations were studied in blood samples of patients with CHF and/or AF. The percentage of patients with inappropriate levels of digoxin according to recent evidence was detected. Results were statistically interpreted. A descriptive analysis was conducted, followed by a χ2 test to calculate the differences between all variables. The possible influence of age (younger or older than 75 years) and sex were also analysed. Results A total of 102 analytical determinations in 95 patients were studied. 50% of the determinations in blood (51) showed inappropriate levels of digoxin. The number of inappropriate levels of digoxin was significantly higher in the group of patients >75 years of age (p=0.0481). However, no significant differences were found according to sex (p=0.903). 21.6% (22) of the analytical determinations showed blood digoxin levels above the range (>2 ng/mL for AF and >1 ng/mL for CHF). 28.4% (29) of patients had blood digoxin levels below the range (<0.8 ng/mL for AF and <0.5 ng/mL for CHF). Conclusion The high number of determinations not within the range may indicate that in many cases healthcare professionals are not aware of the appropriate range of digoxin for each pathology. The elderly population had higher percentages of inappropriate blood digoxin concentrations, being more likely to have digoxin levels above the range. Thus therapeutic drug monitoring of digoxin in blood is not being used as often as it should, implying poor control of patients treated with digoxin. No conflict of interest


Guizhou is one of the areas inhabited by ethnic minorities,is rich in resources,culture,ethnic Chinese medicine as a special kind of culture in its mining,development and succession played a strengthened sense of national pride,self- confidence,promoting national economic development and enhance The special role of national unity,social stability and ethnic harmony is of great significance.


Part 1 El Salvador after the March 1991 Elections: Elections and the Road to Peace, T. Gibb The Political Reality after Eleven Years of War, G.R. Vickers Commentary, J. McAward Discussion. Part 2 The United States and Democracy in El Salvador: The Role of US Policy, B.W. Aronson Commentary, H. Foote Discussion. Part 3 The Transition to Democratic Government: Human Rights - Has There Been Progress? C. Arnson The Tanda System and Institutional Autonomy of the Military, J.Z. Garcia The State of the Economy, R.M. Mexa Commentary, E. Baloyra Discussion. Part 4 The Prospects for Peace: The Negotiations after the New York Agreement, A. de Soto Discussion. Part 5 Conclusion: A Transition to Stable Democracy?, G. Bland.


P- and n-type doping of ZnSe is the key technology to fabricate blue/green laser diodes. ZnCdSe/ZnSe quantum-well stripe-geometry laser diodes have been grown by molecular-beam epitaxy with nitrogen radical doping and chlorine doping techniques. Lasing was obtained in the pulsed operation at room temperature by applying high-reflectivity facet coating and in the continuous wave operation at 77 K. The characteristic temperature was obtained to be 137 K below room temperature. The cavity parameters were investigated at 77 K for a single- quantum-well separate-confinement-heterostructure. An internal loss of 1.2 cm-1, an internal quantum efficiency of 61%, a transparency current density of 10 kA/(cm2micrometers ) and a gain factor of 0.095 cmmicrometers /A were obtained. The optical gain is improved by lowering the dislocation density in the laser structure.


Much of the published research literature on distillation column dynamics and control has been focussed on binary systems or on multicomponent systems in which key components are used to define the operations. This paper presents both non-linear mass and energy balance models and experimental results for an extractive distillation system separating acetone from methanol using a water solvent. The system comprises a 15 cm diameter bubblecap column with 13 trays and the solvent is used to break the acetone-methanol azeotrope. Fitted transfer function models are compared with simulation models describing the transient responses of the system to changes in the inlet feedrates and composition. The system is controlled by a VAX 11/750 process computer with a DPM-23 distributed front-end using on-line temperature and composition measurements.


The study focuses on exploring the concept of negative entropy flow in cyclones and investigates the potential of applying quantum-inspired approaches to better understand and estimate the negentropy of these complex systems. By incorporating principles from quantum mechanics, such as the second law of thermodynamics and Gibbs energy, we aim to improve the accuracy of entropy predictions for cyclones. Classical methods for estimating entropy flow, such as Shannon entropy and von Neumann entropy, are examined, along with their limitations in capturing the complex dynamics of cyclonic systems. Additionally, the project utilizes the simulated annealing optimization method to explore the quantum aspects of entropy flow in cyclones. The objective is to provide insights into the negentropy of cyclones and its potential applications in weather forecasting. This project analyses data from two recent cyclones "Mocha" and "Biporjoy" and estimates their negentropy using the developed quantum-inspired algorithms. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the entropy dynamics in cyclones and showcase the potential of quantum-inspired techniques in weather forecasting and related fields.


Abstract Due to the economic and social consequences of the Covid-19 emergency of 2020, many vulnerable Venezuelan migrants scattered across South America decided to return to their country overland. Simultaneously, exceptional measures imposed during the pandemic resulted in increased domestic and international political constraints to their mobility. Different strategies to resist and overcome such restrictions emerged in this scenario. Drawing upon the concept of Temporary Migrant Multiplicities (Tazzioli, 2020), I analyse how to camp became one of those collective strategies. I present the results of a digital ethnography focusing on a transitory settlement built (and later abandoned) by some 500 persons returning to Venezuela, between May and July 2020 in the outskirts of Bogotá (Colombia). I thereby explore how vulnerabilities can turn into vehicles of resistance in contexts of arbitrary control over precarised human mobility, such as Covid-19 exceptional politics.


The EON project at Stanford was a 6-year project, funded by the National Library of Medicine, to develop a component-based architecture for creating decision-support systems for guidelinebased care. As part of the architecture, the project created a suite of models and software components, including a set of middleware servers that perform the computation necessary to support specific tasks in guideline-based patient care. One such server, the guideline execution server [1], takes as inputs formalized clinical guidelines and relevant patient data to generate situation-specific recommendations. A second server, the Tzolkin temporal data mediator [2], extends the traditional relational database server to include capabilities to resolve queries involving complex temporal relationships and to create temporal intervals representing abstractions derived from primitive time-stamped data. A third component, known as WOZ [3], provides explanation services for other components. The technology developed in the EON project forms the basis for the ATHENA decision-support system for the management of hypertension, which had been deployed and validated at a number Department of Veteran Affairs sites [4].


The aim was to assess the technological feasibility of generating sodium cyanide by coal gasification, to study the effects of the process parameters (temperature, experiment duration, coal type) on the concentration of sodium cyanide in the resulting solutions, as well as to identify optimal modes of the process. Experiments were carried out on a laboratory setup consisting of a tubular cylindrical furnace equipped with a working compartment in the form of a corundum tube. Lignite and charcoal, preliminarily crushed to increase the specific surface area, were investigated. A solution of sodium cyanide was produced by sorption of gaseous hydrocyanic acid (a syngas component) with a sodium carbonate solution. A NaOH solution (pH = 10) installed in an ice bath was used in the system of absorbers. The content of sodium cyanide in the solution was determined by the titrimetric method. The HSC Chemistry 5.1 software package was used for thermodynamic calculations. During the gasification of charcoal in the temperature range 600–800oC, sodium cyanide solutions with a concentration of 0.03–0.08 wt% were obtained. An increase in temperature from 600 to 900oC led to a 4-fold decrease in the concentration of sodium cyanide in an alkaline solution, under the same duration of the experiments. A regression equation was derived for the dependence of the NaCN concentration in solution on the temperature of coal gasification and the duration of the process. It was shown that the generation of sodium cyanide by coal gasification under laboratory conditions yields sodium cyanide concentrations in solution comparable to those used for gold cyanidation at gold recovery plants. The installation of sodium cyanide generation lines directly at the production areas of gold recovery plants will reduce the production costs by eliminating expenses for purchasing, transporting and storing reagents.


Snow chemistry on the glaciers of high mountains is good indicator for atmospheric environment change research.During the summer of the years from 2004 to 2007,we measured the characteristics of snow chemistry in three snowpits of different altitudes on the Haxilegen glacier No.51 of Kuytun,the eastern Tianshan Mountains of China.Correlation analysis and sea-salt tracing methods were used in this study to find out the source of major ions and dust particles.Results showed that the insoluble dust micro-particles and major ions in the snow had obvious seasonal variation.During Asian dust period,the concentration was significantly high,but the concentration was relatively low during non-dust period,which may be caused by dust activities of central Asia.The major ionic concentration was Ca2+SO42-NH4+NO3- Cl- Na+Mg2+K+,Ca2+ was the dominate cation,and SO42-was the dominate anion.The ionic correlation coefficient analysis shows that all the ions have very good correlation coefficient except the NO3-.The glacier regions was mainly affected by dust activities.Moreover,the major ions,especially Na+,was significantly affected by the Ocean in the west,as the precipitation was mainly from the west,besides those partly originated from the dust sources of central Asian region.


Abstract Introduction:A universal health insurance coverage for uninsured population in Thailand has been implemented since October 2001. The scheme employed capitation payment with a 30 Baht copayment per visit as financing mechanism. Objective:To exzmine impacts of such policy in ambulatory patients. Methodology:Prescriptions for 11, 191 patients diagnosed with upper respiratory tract infection(URI), dyspepsia. Hypertension, and diabetes at Nakhon Panom hospital were studied. Three measures of prescribing patterns detected the policy effects controlled for variations in patient's demograpics and payment schemes using suitable regression anylysis and a generalized linear model. Results:After an implementation of the policy, mix of drug products enumerated by number of essential drug items increased by 5.5 - 10.9% per prescription for URI. A shift to te essential drugs could decrease prescription expenses by 18.1%. For patients with dyspepsia, dispite an increase in the essential drug mix by 6.0%, the expenses increased by 16.2 - 22.1% due to an increases in prescription size by 2.3 - 3.3 days of drug supplies. The policy affected essential drug proportion of antihypertensives but not antidiabetics. The prescription expenses for the latter two groups of patients in creased by 52.2 and 113.8% whereas amount of the drugs prescribed increased by 18 and 34 days. Conclusion:An increase in the prescription size per visit after the policy reflect motivation of health care providers to offset total by increasing of medical visits for chronic illnesses like hypertension and diabetes.


ABSTRACT Introduction Viscosupplementation and strength training are proposed interventions in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Objective To describe the isokinetic response in women with knee osteoarthritis who underwent both interventions. Methods A double-blind, randomized clinical trial involving thirty women diagnosed with grade II and III bilateral knee osteoarthritis using the radiological criteria of Kellgren & Lawrence. The subjects were randomized into three groups of ten patients each: one group was submitted to viscosupplementation and strength training (VST), another was submitted to strength training (ST) only, and a third to viscosupplementation (VS) only. All evaluations followed the study phases defined as pre-procedure (PRE); after 48 hours of VS (POS-VS); after 12 weeks of training (POS T); and after eight weeks of detraining (POS D). Intra-articular knee infiltrations were performed with a single dose of Hylan GF-20 and isokinetic dynamometry to determine the maximum torque in knee extension and flexion. Pain was measured by the visual analogue scale (VAS). Results The interventions promoted improvements in the isokinetic response in all three groups and in both muscle groups, with advantage for the extensor group. A significant difference was noticed in the isokinetic response of the trained groups when compared only to the viscosupplemented group (p<0.005), and the VST group showed better isokinetic response compared to the ST group. Conclusion Combined treatment with viscosupplementation and strength training, and treatment with strength training only, presented better results in terms of isokinetic response and pain reduction than viscosupplementation alone. Level of evidence I; Therapeutic studies-Investigating the results of treatment.


We present a description of granular dynamics based on the idea of differentiation between fluid and solid components. First, we construct a model of completely fluidized phase. Then we discuss a shear surface motion on the boundary of the bulk solid phase, induced by a moving wall. Our results include the thickness dependence of the velocity of a developed avalanche, density and velocity profiles in granular Couette flow experiment.


This paper aims to present a possible interpretation strategy for power relations involved in the Sao Paulo State's Land Management III Project (Micro-Catchment Program). This program is a public policy partially financed by the World Bank and implemented by Sao Paulo's Secretary of Agriculture, through its extension body called Coordenadoria de Assistencia Tecnica Integral (CATI). The program's official purpose is to promote sustainable development in Sao Paulo State rural areas. The hereby analysis is theoretically based on the following concepts: Max Weber's legitimacy, Anthony Giddens' expert system and Manuel Castells' space of flows in the information society. Documental and bibliographic researches were applied.


The aim of this study was to review the present construction strategies,the application in biological researches and commercial purposes and the potential disadvantages of the plant virus vectors.


In this paper we present a Web services-based platform that facilitates and speeds up the development and deployment of context-aware, integrated mobile speech and data applications. The platform is capable of handling different types of context and offers sophisticated personalization mechanisms. To illustrate the usefulness of the platform and to validate the claim that cross-platform application development, in particular mobile, context-aware applications is easier and faster with Web services technologies, we present a demonstration application. It serves tourists with interesting information and services in their specific context, and contributes to the achievement of their current goals. Finally, we present a number of problems that we experienced in the implementation process as well as the feedback that we received from real users who tested our application.


This patent discloses a full-starch vegetable gums and preparation method and application. The whole plant gum to starch amphiphilic matrix composite starch, physically modified starch is a starch adhesive enhancer, the enhancer and the starch matrix according to a certain mixing ratio, prepared by extrusion into a starch vegetable gums Method strip, cut can be made and then the subsequent pellets, film or sheet. Feature of the invention that the starch composite as a substrate made of vegetable gums than any single component in which the advantage in terms of physical and chemical properties, processability and mechanical properties, the article may be further used in food, pharmaceutical and paper other areas.


Growing information threats have threatened organization to lose information security controls in these days. Many organizations have accepted the various information security management systems does mention necessity of a continuous evaluation process for the executions of information security management in a theoretical aspect. This study suggests a continuous evaluation process for information security management reflecting the real execution of managers and employees in organizations.


This article investigates how environmental features built influence the processes of perception, memory, attention and decision-making in conciliation activities promoted by the State Judiciary, specifically in the reconciliation task forces. The methodological procedure used was the bibliographical review of publications related to the Environmental Cognition and human socio-spatial behavior, with emphasis on subjective aspects. The research objective is to seek strategies to provide greater comfort and well-being of users of the Goiás State Court and allow the incorporation of the knowledge acquired in projects of judicial buildings.


For the introduction of additional analysis protocols of tethered molecules, a method is presented to prepare functionalized, deuterated oligo(ethylene glycols) from ethylene glycol-d4. Partial oligomerization of ethylene glycol-d4 and conversion to ditosylates is accompanied by coupling reactions to prepare doubly benzyl protected oligo(ethylene glycols) with two to five repeating units. The tetramer bearing 16 deuteria was elaborated at both ends to eventually prepare 2,3-di-O-phytanyl-sn-glycerol-1-tetraethylene glycol-d,l-alpha-lipoic acid ester (DPTL), which bears a fully deuterated tetra(ethylene glycol) spacer group. Through linking of functionalized components, an analogue of DPTL possessing an octa(ethylene glycol) spacer group was prepared, both in deuterated and unlabeled form.


Business rules extraction is an important activity in situations in which a software system becomes obsolete and needs to be replaced by a newer system, since the replacing system needs to satisfy the business rules embedded in the legacy software system. In this paper, we investigate an approach in which the computational business rules of a legacy software system can be extracted given previously generated output of the system and without requiring access to the system's source code. Furthermore, extracted computational business rules are validated automatically with minimal involvement of domain experts through Test-Driven Development (TDD) such that test cases are constructed from historic output of the system. The proposed approach is applied to extract the computational business rules of a large-scale governmental payroll legacy software system. The study results demonstrate that the suggested approach extracted computational business rules van meet a substantial number of test cases. Thus, the efforts involving domain experts can be reduces to analyze such instances.


The dynamic pinning effects induced by quenched disorder are significant in manipulating the domain-wall motion in nano-magnetic materials. Through numerical simulations of the nonstationary domain-wall dynamics with the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation, we confidently detect a dynamic depinning phase transition in a magnetic thin film with anisotropy, which is of second order. The transition field, static and dynamic exponents are accurately determined, based on the dynamic scaling behavior far from stationary.


ABSTRACT Assessing language development in bilingual children is challenging in geographical areas where bilinguals have different native languages. Lexical development measures are often used as a starting point to study linguistic abilities in bilingual children. Non-word repetition (NWR) has been found to be very informative in detecting variation. The present study contributes to the broader research aim of documenting bilinguals' language skills. In a sample of 19 Italian-speaking bilingual children with different native languages, correlations among performance on an Italian-like NWR and receptive vocabulary score (Italian PPVT-R), cumulative exposure, age of first exposure to Italian, current Italian exposure, maternal education, parental concerns and vocabulary in toddlerhood (MB-CDI) were calculated. NWR performances correlated with PPVT-R and parental concerns, but not with maternal education and language exposure measures. Neither NWR scores nor PPVT-R scores were related to Italian vocabulary size in toddlerhood (MB-CDI). We integrate our results with those of others and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of administering NWR to bilingual children, and more generally how to perform early bilingual language assessments.


Three basic approaches towards the measurement of the visual quality of VDUs exist. These coincide with taking measures at the subject, description through display statistics, and obtaining user judgements. It is argued that the last has some specific advantages. Therefore a rating scale has been constructed for the measurement of the visual quality of alphanumeric displays. This Display Evaluation Scale (DES) is based on the notion that display quality is a multidimensional concept. The scale is intended for application in quite unrestrictive settings. The DES can be used as a design, evaluation or research tool. The DES, its development and software implementation are described. In the discussion of a number of experiments it is shown that a high reliability of the measurements can be achieved with a relatively small sample size. Preliminary results on the validity of the scale are presented briefly and implications for future research are indicated.


This research examines the academic and biographic profile of applicants to program admission and success in completing an online alternative secondary teacher certification program. Results of statistical analyses conducted on 170 applicants over the past three years affirm the importance of the applicant's performance on the state content licensure examination. Other academic variables and biographic variables were found not to influence success in completing this secondary teacher certification program. Examination of ... 2 Introduction As recently as five years ago, it was widely believed that severe teacher shortages were imminent caused by increasing student enrollments and increasing teacher turnover due to a "graying" teacher force. The resulting shortfall of teachers would force school districts to lower standards to fill teacher vacancies, inevitably resulting in high levels of under qualified teachers and lower student performance. The policy response has been to increase the supply of teachers through recruiting new candidates to teaching with careerchange programs, (i.e., troops-to-teachers), Peace Corps-like programs (i.e., Teach for America), alternative certification programs (Birkeland & Peske, 2004), and financial incentives (signing bonuses, student loan forgiveness, housing assistance, tuition reimbursement). The "No Child Left Behind Act" has provided federal funding for many of these initiatives (Ingersoll, 2003), including the alternative certification program, Accelerate Online/OPTIONS, that is discussed in this paper and is part of the Transition To Teach (TTT) program. The Transition to Teaching program (TTT) is described in Chapter B of the No Child Left Behind Act. Its purposes are "(a) to recruit and retain highly qualified mid-career professionals (including highly qualified paraprofessionals), and recent graduates of an institution of higher education, as teachers in high-need schools, including recruiting teachers through alternative routes to certification; and (b) to encourage the development and expansion of alternative routes to certification under State-approved programs that enable individuals to be eligible for teacher certification within a reduced period of time, relying on the experience, expertise, and academic qualifications of an individual, or other factors in lieu of traditional course work in the field of education" (AIR, 2006). Examination of ... 3 (a) Teacher Shortage or Turnover Recurring accounts of local school districts and state departments of education experiencing teacher shortages continue to appear in professional journals (Budig, 2006; Guarino, Santibanez, & Daley, 2006), daily newspapers (Chaker, 2006), and the evening news offered by broadcast networks. To illustrate these accounts, approximately half of our nation's promising young educators as well as their more experienced colleagues choose to leave their schools during their first five years in the profession (Levin, 2006; Weaver & O'Brien, 2004). Of those who stay, especially teachers in high need settings, some remain to gain the seniority needed to transfer to schools whose needs are not as pronounced. While not affecting the overall teacher supply in a state, transfer from high need settings can and do lead to continuing shortages of experienced teachers in high-turnover schools (Hull, 2004). Teacher turnover can be grouped under two categories, migration and attrition with about equal numbers of exiting teachers grouped under each category. Ingersoll (2003) reports that teachers usually offer personal reasons for exiting their teaching position, but some (about one-fourth of those leaving) add that job dissatisfaction due to low salaries, lack of instructional and emotional support, feelings of isolation, and little influence on how they do their work are reasons for their departure from classrooms. Approaches frequently noted in the literature for reducing teacher attrition include quality induction and mentoring programs (O'Neill, 2004); while the teacher migration problem can be addressed by providing extended professional development opportunities for all teachers beginning with induction and continuing with career-long opportunities for instructional leadership throughout their careers (Hull, 2004). (b) Quality Teacher Preparation Factors contributing to national leaders' concerns about teacher supply are that states and school districts face the challenge of attracting more people into teaching while improving teacher quality (Stroup, April 24, 2002). The report, Meeting the Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge: The Secretary's Annual Report on Teacher Quality (USDE, 2002), provides recommendations for carefully examining and changing aspects of teacher certification including: state certification requirements, minimal criterion teaching Examination of ... 4 candidate performance on state licensure examinations, and the practice of hiring teachers on emergency certificates. The following quotation captures the serious tenor of this report about teacher certification and teacher education programs across the country. Many academically accomplished college graduates and mid-career professionals with strong subject matter backgrounds are often dissuaded from entering teaching because the entry requirements are so rigid. At the same time, too many individuals earn certification even though their own content knowledge is weak (p. vii). Academic standards for teacher certification are set quite low. To illustrate, for a teacher licensure test, only 1 of 29 states sets its passing score near the national average in reading; 15 states established passing scores below the 25percentile. Similar low criterion pass scores are noted for mathematics and writing tests. These low criterion scores and the statistic that more than 90 percent of teaching candidates pass these tests do not instill confidence in the quality control aspect of licensure examinations (Goldhaber & Brewer, 2000; USDE, 2002). Other reports convey similar views, i.e., the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21 Century (also known as the Glenn Commission) reported an urgent need to "increase significantly the number of mathematics and science teachers and improve the quality of their preparation"(USDE, 2000). Similarly, the Committee on Science and Mathematics Teacher Preparation of the National Research Council called for a fundamental restructuring of teacher preparation/professional development (NRC, 2000a). A few years earlier, the authors of the National Science Education Standards advocated changes in how teachers are educated, and recommended "a new way of teaching and learning about science that reflects how science is done, emphasizing inquiry as a way of achieving knowledge and understanding about the world" (NRC, 1996, 1997). This view is reinforced by Bransford, Brown and Cocking (2000) who contend that teacher preparation programs need to prepare teachers to think about the enterprise of teaching as building on the student's existing knowledge base and preconceptions, and to continually assess student progress. These processes of knowing will facilitate deep understanding of themselves and the subject matter they will teach. For the sciences, the Atlas of Science Literacy (AAAS, 2001) provides clear guidance for teaching candidates to understand what Examination of ... 5 students can be expected to learn in different grades. (i) Higher Standards The demand for higher science education standards is evident at the state and local levels as well. Texas has added science (biology, integrated chemistry, and physics) to the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) examination that 11-grade students are required to pass in order to graduate from high school (OTHSE, 2001). Yet a major challenge to improving science education lies in the shortage of qualified science teachers (Chaika, 2005; Darling-Hammond, 2000a; NCES, 2001; NRC, 2000a, 2000b; USDE, 2000; UTC, 2000). "Research has generally shown that high school math and science teachers who have a major in the subjects they teach elicit greater gains from their students than out-of-field teachers, controlling for the student's prior academic achievement and socioeconomic status" (USDE, 2002). Supporting this point-of-view, Goldhaber and Brewer (2000) reported from their analysis of a subset of the national Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88) that 12 grade student achievement in mathematics was greater if their teachers had subject specific preparation (a mathematics degree or teacher certification in mathematics). Most experts agree that personnel entering science teaching fields should have a science major in addition to pedagogical studies (AFT, 2000; Berry, 2002; Bybee & Loucks-Horsley, 2001; NRC, 2000a). Further, DarlingHammond (2000b) emphasizes the importance of pedagogical studies in her analysis of teacher quality on student achievement citing research that reported consistent positive effects of teachers' formal education preparation on supervisor ratings of teaching performance and student learning. Nevertheless, the use of non-credentialed personnel in teaching roles was widespread in urban school districts a few years ago (UTC, 2000), with 20-25% of high school science and mathematics teachers nationwide not possessing a major or minor in their teaching field (USDE, 2000). Unfortunately, academically weak college graduates are more likely than those who are academically strong to prepare to teach and to remain in teaching (USDE, 2002). Examination of ... 6 (c) Advancing Knowledge and Understanding in Preparing Natural Science Teachers Prior reports have documented the need for fundamental restructuring of teacher preparation and professional development. In addition, a potential solution consists of directing the energy and talent of graduate students and postdoctoral scientists to reinvigorate science education


Abstract Why did the American electorate elect a solid majority of Republicans to the House in 2016 and then 2 years later replace it with a solid majority of Democrats? This article revives the idea of an electoral mandate and applies it to the 2016 and 2018 elections. It proposes a trinity of partisan attitudes serving as the components of electoral mandates: performance, values, and leadership. The election of President Trump in 2016 depended on a mix of performance evaluations (a weak economy) favoring the Republicans and leadership evaluations (Trump's behavior difficulties) muted by value considerations (conservative anger at being unrepresented and the necessity of a choice between Trump and Clinton). These offsetting partisan attitudes made the election close enough that a small number of votes in key states decided the electoral vote outcome. In 2018, performance evaluations again favored Republicans, but now because they presided over a stronger economy. Evaluations of Trump's leadership remained negative. The interaction of values with these leadership assessments now favored Democrats. As the out-party, polarized liberals were motivated by anti-Trump anger. Never-Trump conservatives who had drifted back to vote Republican at the end of the 2016 campaign did not feel that same pressure without the presidency being at stake. About two-thirds of voters in 2018 said their vote was about Trump. Republicans lost to Democrats among these voters by 16 percentage points. Republicans delivered on their 2016 mandate to boost the economy, but had failed to provide leadership that many Americans could feel comfortable with.


This paper explores the experience of education and training for rural labor forces transformed in the process of urbanization in some foreign countries. The paper especially reviews the history of government policies and interference into rural labor force transformation in developed countries like Western Europe, US, and Japan since the 1960s. The root cause for benign labor force transformation was identified based on the analysis of experience in both developed and developing countries. The paper proves that improving basic rural life and increasing skills and quality of rural labor force through science, technology and education is an important factor in guarantying the realization of benign labor force transformation.


We extended the characterization of photoinduced quantum phase transitions into the nanoscale. We demonstrate this for VO2 by accessing spatial inhomogeneities in the insulator-to-metal transition due to local strain and defects.


This paper presents a novel evolutionary and meta-heuristic algorithm known as honey-bee mating optimization (HBMO) algorithm for the optimal design of a water distribution system. HBMO algorithm is a search-based optimization algorithm that mimics the mating behavior of honey-bee. Optimal design of a water distribution system is defined here as the identification of appropriate commercial diameters for the pipes of the system while satisfying the minimum required pressure head at all nodes for consumers and meeting velocity limits with the objective of minimizing the total investments. The algorithm uses EPANET software for the hydraulic simulation of the network. The performance of the algorithm is tested and verified on a well-known network in the literature as New York Tunnel water distribution system. The results obtained are compared to the ones obtained by other optimization methods in the literature. The comparison shows the capability of the proposed algorithm to identify the near optimal solution. The time being spent for the convergence of the algorithm is considerably short rather than the other optimization algorithms. This result would be promising for applying the proposed algorithm to real world water distribution systems, compared to other evolutionary algorithms.


In order to solve the problems of various closets and serious safety risks in screen-clearing and pillow-changing construction of mountainous single line bridge,according to the screen-clearing and pillow-changing conditions of 39 large-scale bridges on Fengsha line,the paper improves the screen-clearing and pillow-changing procedures of overhaul bridge construction on mountainous single line,puts forward the safety control measures of screen-clearing and pillow-changing construction.Under the conditions of non-eternal reinforcement of the bridge structure,it finishes the screen-clearing and pillow-changing construction.As a result,it reduces the screen-clearing and pillow-changing cost of mountainous single bridge,which has provided certain guiding value for overhaul construction of domestic operation bridge.


The wave capillary flow of the surface of an inviscid capillary jet, initiated by a single $\delta$-perturbation of its surface, is studied. It is shown that the wave pattern has a complex structure. The perturbation generates both fast traveling damped waves and a structure of nonpropagating exponentially growing waves. The structure of self-similar traveling waves is investigated. It is shown that there are three independent families of such self-similar solutions. The characteristics of the structure of nonpropagating exponentially growing waves are calculated. The characteristic time of formation of such a structure is determined.


The authors report the use of ScAlMgO{sub 4} as a substrate for the epitaxial growth of wurzitic GaN. The low misfit (+ 1.8%) allows coherent epitaxy of GaN, as observed by RHEED. The congruent melting of ScAlMgO{sub 4} makes Czochralski growth possible, suggesting that large, high quality substrates can be realized. Boules about 17 mm in diameter are reported. The authors have used nitrogen-plasma molecular beam epitaxy to grow GaN epitaxial films onto ScAlMgO{sub 4} substrates. Band-gap photoluminescence has been observed from some of these films, depending primarily on the deposition conditions. A 3 x 3 superstructure has been observed by RHEED on the GaN surfaces. Structural analysis by x-ray diffraction indicates very good in-plane alignment of the GaN films. They also report thermal expansion measurements for ScAlMgO{sub 4}.


With the development of economy and improvement of technology,ARM are applied more and more widely.This paper is about a scheme which is from the medical devices based on ARM.In this system,ARM gets communication with 51SCM which has sensors by the serial ports.The SOC of the system is called S3C2410 which is made by Samsung.The platform of Linux completes the framework of system by transporting the u-boot and Linux.QT is used as the GUI and the data from 51SCM will be shown to users under QT.In addition,the system can also play mp3 and mp4,which can cure the patients as well as relaxation.


Unidentified members of a picnic party at Plimmerton, January, 1904. Photographer unidentified.
Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s).
Physical Description: Film copy negative


The vital sign, including respiration and heartbeat signal, can be detected through a non-contact Doppler radar. Since the harmonics and intermodulation products of the respiration are major interferences according to the previous researches, the heartbeat signal cannot be clearly identified without holding the breath, detected from back of the subject or just filtered to remove respiration signal. A synchronized motion technique (SMT) based on Doppler concept is proposed to suppress the interference from the respiration in non-contact heartbeat detection. The experiment results show that the SMT effectively improve the heartbeat-to-respiration ratio (HRR) up to 76 % while subject kept normal breathing. The SMT mechanism is also analyzed through non-linear simulation which agrees well with the measurement data.


Recently, the functional extension of optical coherence tomography (OCT) with OCT angiography (OCTA) allows volumetric imaging of the subsurface microvasculature without requiring exogenous contrast agents like conventional angiography techniques. However, performing OCTA requires intensive computation to extract the changes of OCT signal due to moving red blood cells in the microvascular network. In this study, we have developed a graphic processing unit (GPU)-accelerated framework to realize high speed OCTA imaging and the visualization of the microvascular network after the data acquisition. In addition, we investigate the feasibility of providing real-time microvascular imaging leveraging dynamic scattering OCT and GPU.


The continuous deterioration of college students' constitution has aroused widespread public concern.This paper conducts an analysis of its causes from the perspective of family,college,society and college students themselves,and then puts forward some altering countermeasures.


Amorphous diamond‐like carbon (DLC) has drawn a great deal of attention for its superior wear properties against ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). Its rate of wear, however, is not necessarily maintained within a specific range. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mechanical features and tribological properties of three types of surfaces: (i) uncoated, (ii) carbon‐ion implantation (CII)‐treated, and (iii) DLC‐film‐coated substrate. The surface alterations were carried out on cobalt–chrome (CoCrMo) alloy by the plasma‐source ion implantation (PSII) method. The wear properties and friction coefficient were estimated by a pin‐on‐plate wear‐tester. We found, as a result, that the implanted carbon penetrated the substrates in which good adhesion was expected. Though the surface modifications by CII and DLC hardened the surfaces, the surface with DLC was also roughened (Ra = 39 nm). In contrast, the surface modified by CII had a very smooth surface (Ra = 15 nm) and low friction coefficient (ranging from 0.15 to 0.20), resulting in a low rate of wear. Our findings suggest that CII on the CoCrMo alloy/UHMWPE pair offers potential benefits as a hard coating for artificial total‐joint arthroplasty. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


There are many religious practices are found in the construction of fiqh, both 'ubudiyah (vertical relations) and mu'amalah (horizontal relations), which are the results of the adoption of pre-Islamic Arabic traditions. Hajj, umrah, hadd al-zina and stealing, drinking khamr, qishas, diyat, qasamah and 'aqilah, until slavery and polygamy are examples of Arabic traditions (customary law) which are reformulated in the construction of fiqh. In the science of ushul fiqh, tradition gained attention, and even became one of the sources of Islamic law. In the context of life of nation and state, whatever state provisions can also be accommodated by fiqh. Therefore, customary law and also state law can be accommodated by Islam as long as it does not conflict with Islamic vision. And so, Islam does not become rigid and easily accepted by the people, as preached by the Prophet Muhammad SAW in Arab and Walisongo in Indonesia.


Impinging jets widely exist in many engineering fields,such as a short take-off and vertical landing(SVTOL) aircraft,as well as air nozzle etc.In this paper,vortex structures and flow patterns were studied by PIV(Particle Image Velocimetry) technique.Two flow modes were found out at different impinging cases,one is axisymmetric mode and another is helical mode.The flow modes may be caused by main vortex structures in instantaneous velocity field.In the fluctuating velocity field,there are second vortex structures with reverse swirling relative to the main vortex.For both flow modes,there are stronger fluctuation velocities near the wall,caused by vortex structures.


A method is described for time-lapse seismic imaging that may include detecting moire patterns in seismic images generated from time-lapse seismic data and identifying geologic features based on the moire patterns. The method may be executed by a computer system.


Microstrip antennas have been used in recent years in many microwave applications due to their advantages as for example low cost, ease of production and small size. High permittivity dielectric substrates lead to size reduction in printed antennas design, but the performances of such antennas as the bandwidth and the efficiency are considerably reduced [1]. New magneto-dielectric materials seem to overcome this limitation because of a larger bandwidth there offer compared to dielectric materials [2].


Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are the recommended treatment for Plasmodium falciparum malaria and are one of the most effective antimalarials at our disposal. However, delayed parasite clearance after treatment with artemisinin has been confirmed in countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion.[1,2] This has rendered treatment of the disease increasingly challenging and threatens malaria control achievements made in the subregion thus far.