OBJECTIVE: Elevated plasma lipid levels are believed to be probable cause of endothelial cell dysfunction. We planned to measure the changes in the lipid levels in patients of PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension) and compare it with that of normotensive pregnant females. MATERIALS & METHODS: We studied 804 pregnant women. 624 patients studied were of PIH and 180 patients were healthy pregnant women. Lipid levels were estimated in these pregnant women. RESULTS: We found a significant rise in the serum lipid levels in the PIH patients group as compared to normotensive pregnant females, which were highly significant (P 0.05) and total cholesterol. Amongst the different lipoprotein ratios, TC: HDL, LDL: HDL, TG: HDL, and HDL: VLDL ratios were found highly significant (p<0.001) in PIH patients group. CONCLUSION: It is essential that blood lipid concentrations be estimated in pregnant women during antenatal care since it could be useful in early diagnosis and prevention of obstetric complications such as PIH. INTRODUCTION: Pregnancy induced hypertension is recognized since ancient times. It has been described in reviews of Thiagarajha and Chesley1. Hypertension after 20 weeks of pregnancy in a woman with edema and proteinuria without previous history of hypertension is called pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). When associated with proteinuria, the disorder is termed pre – eclamptic eclampsia/ toxemia and when present without protein in the urine, it is called transient hypertension or gestational hypertension2. Raised blood pressure is present in 5% of entire pregnancies, in 10% of primiparous women and 20 – 25% of women with pervious history of chronic hypertension. It is the major cause of fetomaternal morbidity and mortality3. When blood pressure rises in pregnancy with significant protein in the urine, it is called preeclampsia. It may occur from 20 weeks of pregnancy. It can also occur upto 6 weeks post partum. Delivery of the placenta is the ultimate treatment. It may affect both fetal and mother survival4. Eclampsia is a dangerous complication of pregnancy with a sudden onset and has the features of developing tonic – colonic seizures in a patient who has pre – eclampsia. With increasing age, the risk of developing PIH increases5.


These are from my long studies long into the night. William Tyndale was burned at the stake in 1536 for translating the Bible from Hebrew and Greek as a Jordanian pilot was burned by ISIS for making accessible his forays into a country not his own. A Bible belongs to the clergy, the clergy said. A Bible belongs to the people, Tyndale said. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, in thy likeness— Psalm 17:7 KJV When I awake, I shall be satisfied with beholding thy form— Psalm 17:7 RSV It is evident in subsequent translations of the Bible there are different modes of travel. Transportation was among the most important discoveries of the world. To see or to be is the cause. Did Tyndale see the form or become it? Holy Man walks the world. Holy Man looks for bait. Holy Man goes fishing. Holy Man leaves his paw print on the bank of the creek. It is a consuming world for Holy Man— arms outstretched to the air. Over the box. The church pews. The restless hymnals.


Summary:Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG) is a rare angio-destructive lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) ofuncertain etiology, with prominent pulmonary involve-ment. Recent studies indicate that LYG is an Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-associated B cell LPD with large num-bers of background reactive T lymphocytes (T cell-richB cell lymphoma). Although the disease frequently, butnot exclusively, occurs in various immunodeficiencystates, it has not been reported in association with thetransient immunosuppression following autologousbone marrow/peripheral stem cell transplantation(ABM/PSCT). We describe a patient who developedlymphomatoid granulomatosis of the lung approxi-mately 2 weeks after high-dose chemotherapy and auto-logous peripheral stem cell transplantation for multiplemyeloma. Although molecular studies showed noevidence of EBV genome in the biopsy material, theserologic profile with high IgM titers was suggestive ofprimary EBV infection. Complete radiologic remissionoccurred following reconstitution of the patient'simmune response after a 2-week course of ganciclovirtreatment. Despite the apparently low frequency of LPD(both LYG and EBV-associated post-transplantlymphoma) in the ABMT setting, we believe that itshould be considered in the differential diagnosis ofpatients whose clinical course following ABMT is com-plicated by fevers, in the absence of an identifiable infec-tious process.Keywords: EBV; lymphomatoid granulomatosis; auto-logous transplantation; immunosuppressionLymphomatoid granulomatosis, initially described by Lie-bow in 1972, is characterized histologically by a polymor-phic lymphoid infiltrate with varying degrees of necrosis


Our accompanying presentation overviews the constructs of Adaptive Model Theory, a computational account of human movement control that has evolved over a research lifetime that began in the 1950s. Its origins are in the fascination of two young people with the prospect of applying their training in physics, mathematics, and engineering principles to the modelling of biological systems. Unlike today, it was an era in which such interdisciplinary work was rare and the path to undertaking it was essentially of one's own making. In this presentation we explore some of the history of that journey. There was the getting of technical jobs in UNSW's newly established medical school to provide a gateway to the biological world; the finding of labs where "way-out" ideas were tolerated, if not entirely understood; and the support for part-time graduate research. Not to mention the finding of unmeetable mentors accessible only via the literature.


The aim of this article is to develop the concept of time-space complexity as a way of discussing how territorial time-space production affects urban life and use. The discussion is based on a comparative study of opening hours in four centrally located European retail areas: Angers, Lisbon, Malmo and Porto. Following a comparative study of these areas, we discuss tendencies of temporal and spatial homogenisation, the production of ever-more distinctive time-spaces, and also initiate a discussion on the trend of  city a la carte . Finally we argue that discussions of time-space complexity need to be taken more seriously in research on urban development, and that the issue of spatio-temporal homogenisation need to be handled more actively in urban planning and design. Keywords : Consumption, urban planning, opening hours, city centres, public space, time-space http://dx.doi.org/10.17127/got/2017.12.007 Data de submissao: 2017-07-05 Data de aprovacao: 2017-10-09 Data de publicacao: 2017-12-30


for an Invited Paper for the MAR06 Meeting of The American Physical Society Many-body effects in low-density strongly-interacting 2D structures: Fermi liquids or not? SANKAR DAS SARMA, Condensed Matter Theory Center, University of Maryland I will discuss our many-body theoretic studies of low-density semiconductor-based 2D carrier systems, emphasizing remarkable qualitative and semi-quantitative agreement with recent experimental measurements. In particular, our Fermi liquid many-body theory quantitatively explains the experimentally measured density, temperature, disorder, and magnetic field dependence of bilayer drag, thermodynamic parameters (e.g. spin susceptibility, quasiparticle effective mass), and transport properties in both electron and hole-based low-density 2D semiconductor structures. Our work convincingly demonstrates that the 2D electron liquid remains a Fermi liquid down to fairly low densities, and speculative non-Fermi liquid considerations are unnecessary in order to understand the phenomenology of low-density 2D systems. This work is done in collaboration with Euyheon Hwang, and supported by ONR, LPS, and NSF.


'Building the land of the pure' talks about Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first fully elected prime minister of the belatedly formed government of Pakistan. It mentions Bhutto's affiliation to the religious clergy for support and constitution of the newly christened 'Islamic Republic'. The prime minister's move marked the slow but sure shift towards political orthodoxy in Pakistan in line with the influence of the Sunni state of Saudi Arabia. The exclusion and reaffirmation of the religious identity of Pakistan as the core for building the country was the land of the pure. There were persistent voices of dissent to this one way of imagining a nation.


Background: Overexpression of the epigenetic repressor KDM2A promotes lung tumorigenesis. Results: Transcriptional inhibition of HDAC3 expression by KDM2A releases cell cycle and proinvasive genes from HDAC3-mediated repression and positively regulates cell proliferation and invasiveness. Conclusion: KDM2A-mediated repression of HDAC3 is linked to KDM2A-promoted tumorigenicity. Significance: Our findings provide a novel epigenetic insight into how KDM2A promotes lung tumorigenesis and have implications for therapeutic intervention. Dysregulated expression of histone methyltransferases and demethylases is an emerging epigenetic mechanism underlying cancer development and metastasis. We recently showed that the histone H3 lysine 36 (H3K36) demethylase KDM2A (also called FBXL11 and JHDM1A) is necessary for tumorigenic and metastatic capabilities of KDM2A-overexpressing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Here, we report that KDM2A transcriptionally represses the histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) gene by removing methyl groups from dimethylated H3K36 at the HDAC3 promoter in KDM2A-overexpressing NSCLC cells. KDM2A depletion reduced expression levels of cell cycle-associated genes (e.g. CDK6) and cell invasion-related genes (e.g. NANOS1); these levels were rescued by ectopic expression of KDM2A but not its catalytic mutant. These genes were occupied and down-regulated by HDAC3. HDAC3 knockdown significantly recovered the proliferation and invasiveness of KDM2A-depleted NSCLC cells as well as the levels of CDK6 and NANOS1 expression in these cells. Similar to their previously reported functions in other cell types, CDK6 and NANOS1 were required for the proliferation and invasion, respectively, of KDM2A-overexpressing NSCLC cells. In a mouse xenograft model, HDAC3 depletion substantially restored the tumorigenic ability of KDM2A knockdown cells. These findings reveal a novel cancer-epigenetic pathway in which the antagonistic effect of KDM2A on HDAC3 expression releases cell cycle-associated genes and cell invasion-related genes from HDAC3 repression and indicate the importance of this pathway for tumorigenicity and invasiveness of KDM2A-overexpressing NSCLC cells.


Abstract : ON 2 March 1982, an intensive cultural resources survey was conducted by the Environmental Resources Section of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District, over approximately 22 acres of croplands of an 80 acre permit area. Approximately 60 acres of the area is low woodlands and 25 acres classified as wetlands. The area is located in Township 12N, Range 3E, E1/2, SE1/4 of Section 31 and SW1/4, SW1/4 of Section 32, and Township 11N, Range 3E, NW1/4, NW1/4 of Section 5 and E1/2, NE1/4, NE1/4 of Section 6, Poinsett County, Arkansas. A literature search and a pedestrian survey failed to locate any cultural indicators or remains.


The results of development of the humanistic values of future teachers in the process of harmonization of their linguistic identity are pointed out, Based on the analysis of the "autobiography of the future", I diagnostics, results of measuring the degree assertiveness students, characteristics of their verbal teaching potential impacts identified author's technology development of linguistic identity primary school teachers, it is shown that this technology provides the dynamics of the development of their personality development, improving humanistic value disposition of the individual.


Floatex density separator (FDS), the hindered settling
classifier is used to separate the particles on the basis of their specific gravity. Optimum recovery of high
quality products at a large throughput allows simpler and less costly operation in the FDS. However, a thorough
understanding of the system dynamics is required to
develop a proper control strategy of the FDS. This paper
addresses some of the issues . Computational intelligence
(CI) is primarily concerned with the development of
computer systems that are capable of adapting to and
exploiting information about their environments. Thus
image processing and analysis acts as an important Cl
technique that can be used for Floatex Density Separator
to develop a process control system suitable for effect-ively manipulating this complex engineering system chara-cterized by relatively stow process dynamics.


To successfully produce metal parts by SLM, additional support structures are needed to support overhanging surfaces in order to dissipate process heat and to minimize geometrical distortions induced by internal stresses. These structures are often massive and require additional post-processing time for their removal. A minimization of the extent to which support structures are needed would therefore significantly reduce manufacturing and finishing efforts and costs. A specific component segmentation strategy is developed. It allows the segmentation of critical areas of the component by applying a specific scanning strategy with appropriate energy input and optimized supporting strategies. The results indicate that the supporting effort can generally be reduced, e.g. overhang geometries with an angle to the horizontal of less than 35° can be manufactured without any support. The successful realization of the segmentation strategy in combination with optimized support structures allows the implementation of a stacking strategy, thereby using the available work space more efficiently.


The present study was conducted in Navsari and Dang districts of Southern region of Gujarat state. The findings of this study reported that out of all constraints reported by the respondents, lack of proper marketing channels at village level was considered as major constraint by the farmers and ranked first followed by lack of finance to start new enterprises got second rank, inadequate information regarding different enterprises ranked third among different constraints, while in case of suggestions, proper market facilities should be made available at village level, considered as most important suggestion and ranked first followed by easy institutional credit facility should be made available especially to small and marginal farmers got second rank, training should be organized for dissemination of information about agricultural diversification ranked third among different suggestions.


Background: The presence of pathologies of vocal folds cause significant changes in their normal vibratory patterns, which impact the resulting voice. Accurate and early diagnosis is needed for proper and timely management of the underlying vocal cord pathology. Diagnostic assessment in dysphonic patients should comprise both clinical aspects and voice-related problems experienced by the patients in their daily life. A combination of video-stroboscopy, acoustic analysis and Voice handicap index (VHI) helps in detailed evaluation of vocal cord abnormalities.
Methods: This was a prospective, observational study. A total of 134 patients with voice disorders were included in the study. The VHI-10 questionnaire was filled by the patients. Acoustic analysis of their voice samples and Video-stroboscopic evaluation of their larynx was done.
Results: A VHI-10 score of >11 was noted in 102 patients. Fundamental frequency, jitter and shimmer were significantly related to the type of lesion. All the video-stroboscopic parameters were significantly related with the vocal cord lesions.
Conclusions: Acoustic analysis along with video-stroboscopy serve as a better diagnostic tool for quantification and categorisation of vocal cord pathologies. VHI-10 helps in assessing the limitations/the impact on quality of life (QOL) (caused by the various vocal cord pathology).


Perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union opened a new era of relations between China and independent Kyrgyzstan. Geographic proximity and dynamic socio-economic development played essential roles in the establishment of good neighbor relations. Interstate treaties were signed and diplomatic relations initiated deeper development of bilateral relations. But the major part of trade ties with China is related to Chinese migrants, legal as illegal. This article therefore focuses on these Chinese migrants and petty traders working at Kyrgyz markets, in commercial centers or small enterprises. Chinese migrant entrepreneurs feel Beijing's support in promoting their business plans through various mechanisms of social and financial incentives. This plays an important role in their activities in the Kyrgyz market, where local citizens cannot compete and some of them feel compelled to migrate to other countries.


Objective: To study the corrosion behavior of Cr alloys in the artificial saliva with higher NaCl value in vitro by way of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS).Methods: The corrosion and corrosion resistance mechanism on Cr alloy in the artificial saliva with 0.9%,2%,3% NaCl had been investigated by mensurating the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy curves and imitating the Qdl and Rt.Results: When the NaCl concentration in the artificial saliva increased,the Rt value of three types of alloys decreased,the Qdl value of three types of alloys increased,and the corrosion speed of Cr alloy increased.But,the Rt value of Co-Cr alloy was higer than that of Ti alloy or Ni-Cr alloy.Conclusion: In the artificial saliva with higher NaCl concentration in vitro,the corrosion reaction of three types of alloys expedited,the corrosion resistance of three types of alloys descended evidently.The corrosion resistance of Co-Cr alloy was superior to that of Ni-Cr alloy and Ti alloy.


Glaucoma is a common cause of blindness worldwide, yet the etiology of the disease is unclear. A leading hypothesis is that elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) affects the biomechanical environment within the tissues of the optic nerve head (ONH), and that the altered biomechanical environment contributes to optic nerve damage and consequent loss of vision. The biomechanical environment of the ONH is strongly dependent on the biomechanical properties of sclera, particularly scleral stiffness. However there is significant variability in reported stiffness data for human sclera. Therefore, our research goal was to measure the stiffness of human sclera and incorporate this information into finite element models of the human eye to characterize and quantify the biomechanical environment within and around the optic nerve head region at different IOP levels. Human sclera adjacent to the optic nerve head showed highly nonlinear, nearly isotropic and heterogeneous stiffness which was found to be substantially lower than that previously assumed, particularly at lower levels of IOP. The products c*c1 and c*c2, measures of stiffness in the latitudinal and longitudinal directions from the Fung constitutive model, were 2.9 ± 2.0 MPa and 2.8 ± 1.9 MPa, respectively, and were not


The medical signal acquisition techniques are constantly evolving in recent years and providing an increasing amount of data which should be then analyzed. In this context, automatic signal processing methods are regularly proposed to assist the expert in the qualitative and quantitative analysis of these images in order to facilitate their interpretation. These methods should take into account the physics of signal acquisition, the a priori we have on the signal formation and the amount of data to analyze for a more accurate and reliable interpretation. In this thesis, we focus on the two-dimensional 2D Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence HSQC spectra obtained by High-Resolution Magic Angle Spinning HR-MAS NMR for biological tissue analysis and the functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI images for functional brain activities analysis. Each processed medical information will be characterized by a set of objects that we seek to extract, align, and code. The clustering of these objects by measuring their similarity will allow their classification and then the identification of biomarkers. It is this global content-based object indexing and retrieval scheme that we propose. We are interested in this thesis to properly model and integrate the a priori knowledge we have on these biological signal allowing us to propose there after appropriate methods to each indexing step and each type of signal.


Summary
An understanding of the mechanisms responsible for direct and indirect effects of pesticides on Heteroptera were studied by comparing densities within fields of winter wheat on organically and conventionally managed farms. Weed and insect densities were estimated in 56 fields in 1990 and 62 in 1991. Four out of five of the heteropteran groups studied were more numerous within organic fields in both years, however differences were statistically significant in only one out of 10 comparisons. Differences in agricultural practices between the two farming regimes are given as possible reasons for the densities observed.


This paper deals on the method of ZOOM FFT based on analytic signal and band pass filter, which is different from other methods of ZOOM FFT. It is used on computer with larger zoom ratio; higher compute speed and so on than other ways for offline testing. It provides a new method for the development of Virtual Instruments on ZOOM FFT analysis.


The aim of pre-pregnancy counseling is to address issues regarding women's concerns about their ability to fall pregnant and to give birth to a healthy baby at the end of pregnancy. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)1 and endometriosis2 are both risk factors associated with subfertility and thus could potentially lead to failure to become pregnant. In the event of a successful conception, tubal damage secondary to these pre-existing disease processes increases the risk of an ectopic pregnancy. Of great importance, a prior history of an ectopic pregnancy is a possible indicator of existing tubal damage and hence a strong risk factor for reoccurrence3. Such an event will not only be associated with an unsuccessful pregnancy, but also with maternal morbidity at the very least, if not mortality. Even in the presence of first-world medical facilities, ectopic pregnancy still remains the leading cause of maternal mortality in the first trimester, with three women dying in the UK4 and 45 in USA every year5. With the development of early pregnancy assessment units, screening for risk of ectopic pregnancy, one of WHO's primary objectives6, not only is possible, but also has been shown to be cost effective7. It is therefore imperative to use the opportunity, when meeting a potential mother to be, to identify risk factors for ectopic pregnancy and to decide upon a management plan in advance for possible complications that may arise. PRIOR PELVIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE


Entity Relationship Modelling (ERM) is a fundamental skill in database design. Though ERM concepts are simple, the modelling process itself is a complex activity. Novice ER modellers make systematic errors in their models. Current tool-based support for learning ER modelling is limited, since it concentrates on notation at the expense of methodology, and provides little or no feedback to the learner about the quality of her constructed models. A text-based virtual learning environment, based on the Multi-User Dimension paradigm, is described, in which learners undertake ER modelling tasks by interacting with objects in a virtual world. This learning environment concentrates on the methodology of ER modelling rather than its notation, and provides immediate feedback to a learner about the quality of her models. Preliminary results suggest that this learning environment is both easy to use and effective.


The study was carried out to investigate the Effect of use of Instructional Materials on Cognitive Achievement of Secondary Schools Students in Economics in Gombe Metropolis, Gombe State, Nigeria. The study had 2 specific objectives, 2 research questions and 2 null hypotheses. Quasi experimental design was used. The population of the study comprised of 1054 SS II economics students in 17 secondary schools in Gombe Metropolis. Government Day Secondary School Gandu (GDSSG) was purposively selected. The entire 120 SS II economics students of the school formed the sample. The students were divided into two groups (experimental and control group). Economics Cognitive Achievement Test (ECAT) of reliability 0.82 was used as instrument for the study. The experimental group was taught using instructional materials while the control group was taught without instructional materials. Data collected was analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test statistics. The findings revealed that students taught with instructional materials performed better than those taught without instructional materials. Also, there is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of males and females' students. The null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance indicated that there is significant difference between the achievement scores of those taught with instructional materials and those taught without instructional materials. It was therefore concluded that using instructional materials in teaching and learning in secondary schools has positive impact on student's academic performance. The study recommended among others that instructional materials be used in teaching and learning in secondary schools because it has positive impact on student's performance.


Element-Free Galerkin Method(EFGM)is a new method for electromagnetic field computation.It does not require meshes,only a distribution of points and description of the boundaries.Therefore,EFGM can resolve effectively some problems that Finite Element Method(FEM)can not resolve in electromagnetic field,such as thin plate problems,narrow air gap problems,moving conductor problems,etc.In this paper,detailed research is done on some key problems,such as the treatment of imposing boundary conditions and interface conditions, the selection of the weighted function.Some examples are given.


All rings are commutative with identity and all modules are unital. We give several properties of quasi-invertible submodules of multiplication modules generalizing those of quasi-invertible ideals. We introduce the concepts of generalized Dedekind modules, completely integrally closed modules, ∗-modules and v-multiplication modules and study the relationship among these modules in case they are faithful multiplication modules over integral domains. Finally, we introduce RTP and TPP modules and show that they are equivalent in the class of one dimensional faithful multiplication modules.


In PNAS, Seok et al. advocate against relying on mouse models to study human inflammatory diseases, because genomic responses in human and mouse leukocytes correlate poorly (1). We fully agree with the conclusion of the authors that it is incorrect to believe "that molecular results from current mouse models developed to mimic human diseases translate directly to human conditions" (1). Several mouse studies—although yielding solid and interesting results—have been the victim of overinterpretation; for example, by extrapolating successful pretreatment in mice to therapeutic treatment in men. However, this aspect does not render these results useless. In the field of inflammation, valuable human therapies have been derived from mouse studies (e.g., anti-TNF treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease). In the field of sepsis, failure of the phase III clinical trial inhibiting NO synthases, which had to be terminated because of excess mortality, was actually predicted in assorted murine shock models (2).


Fiber optics, optrodes, and fluorescence spectroscopy have been combined to form the new technology of remote fiber fluorimetry (RFF). Both in-vivo and in-vitro clinical measurements can be made by using this technique. The optrode, a fiber termination with preselected chemical or physical properties, is attached to the distal end of the optical fiber so that specific, in-situ measurements can be made. RFF systems for pH, blood pressure, oxygen, and carbon dioxide are being completed, and other optrodes are in the development stages.


Based on comparing specified in relevant standards, gaving instructions to transient frequency difference (from initial frequency ) of alternating current generating sets.


The history of this complaint dated back to World War I1 when he was struck by a truck which injured both lower extremities. He was hospitalized and treated at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, in 1946. Since that time he had a stasis dermatitis of the left leg. He reported superficial ulcerations w i t h chronic drainage for the past 3 years. There was no history of fever or chills. For the past 4 years he had noted, in the right side of his neck, a swelling which had slowly increased in size. He denied symptoms suggestive of hyperthyroidism or airway obstruction, but added that he was "bothered" by the mass and would like i t removed.


To identify the nature of the decoration applied to the windows
and other associated joinery elements in three significant rooms
within the building. Samples
were removed from the box
frames, sashes, architrave, shutters and skirting boards and in
the case of Mr Gaskell's study, a bookcase thought have been
installed at about the time the Gaskell's took up residence in
1850. The bookcase provided a useful reference when
compared to other samples, helping to identify the target period
of interest. The three rooms are identified as follows: Mr
Gaskell's Study (window 24), t
he dining room (window 17) and
the living room (window 19).
The client's brief required identification of the appearance of all
three windows during the period of occupation by the
nineteenth century novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, resident from
1850 to 1865.
The house remained with the Gaskell family until 1913 (see
fig.1) and this report will analyse the decorative schemes only
up to the early C20 – the period when the family vacated the
property.


The market of meat processed products, including hamburgers, grows up every year and consumers demand quality and convenience.  The objective of this study was to prepare a hamburger with chicken meat, making use of the chicken meat cuts that are considered more noble such as chicken breast and thigh, source of unsaturated fatty acids, in packaging cook in. The formulation was defined based on market survey and testing in a pilot plant through various modifications of the formulation, seeking the care of sensory patterns, a chicken burger formula with 50.0 % breast and 23.0 % thigh, added aroma identical to pizza, provolone cheese and ground dried tomato was used in the tests and its physicochemical, microbiological and sensorial analysis. Physicochemical, microbiological and sensorial analysis was carried out of this burgues. The samples were tested by 53 tasters without training, through affective hedonic scale of 5 points. The physicochemical analyses indicated the following contents: moisture 62.42 %, proteins 16.00 %, lipids 15.25 %, fiber 1.83 % and sodium chloride 1.90 %, all of which meet the requirements of Brazilian legislation. The sensorial analysis indicated excellent acceptance of the product, with an average score of 4.44, classifying it as "like it moderately" and "like it very much." Thus, the product developed has great potential for dissemination in the consumer market as well as being innovative by using a packaging type bakes easy that allows for adding value and differentiation for consumers seeking sensuousness and practicality in your meals.


We explored the `spectro - temporal' behaviour of outbursting Black Hole sources in X-rays, at the time of jet ejections which are observed as radio flares. The energy dependent evolution of the properties of all the sources studied, shows that during the ejections the QPO frequencies `disappear' as well as the disk (thermal) emission increases, implying the soft nature of the spectrum. These results can be understood based on the TCAF model (Chakrabarti & Titarchuk 1995), in the presence of magnetic field.


Expandable tubular techlology is a new technology in the well engineering industry.The microstructure of L80 casing tubes expanded by 16%and 22%respectively was studied before and after expansion.The corrosion behaviors were studied by weight-loss method in autoclave and electrochemical tests before and after tube expansion. The electrochemical characteristics showed that the corrosion potential became more negative after the expansion deformation,and I_(corr)increased with the increase of the amount of deformation.The results matched well with the results of weight-loss experiment.


This study utilized Nanofluid as a cold fluid in evaluating the counter flow double tube heat exchanger, which was one meter long, had an outer diameter of 19 mm, and an inner diameter of 9.5 mm made from copper. Water was the basic fluid, with the size of 40 nm and a volume concentration of (0.5%)  and (1%), respectively, of CuO nanoparticles being added. At 2 L/min and 4 L/min and 6 L/min, the Nanofluid flows inside the inner tube. At 20°C, the Nanofluid enters the heat exchanger. The flow of hot water into the heat exchanger is 4 L/min through an annular space with an entry temperature of 65 °C. to achieve better heat exchanger performance, the experimental results will be compared to those obtained when using pure water. The improvement in performance with Nanofluid as a working fluid was discovered during experiment analysis. (40%) maximum heat exchanger effectiveness obtained at Nanofluid flow rate of 2 L/min has (0.5%) volume concentration ,effectiveness (54%) at (1%)  a volume concentration.


The paper presents a method of designing ultrawide band (UWB) pulse array beamformer in the case of nearfield. Firstly the principle of space-time processing of UWB pulse array is discussed. The radical beampattern transform based on spherical coordinates is employed to solve the nearfield beamforming of UWB pulse array. The frequency invariant technology is considered for the frequency dependent beampattern of UWB pulse array. We use a multirate bank scheme of to implement the FI beamformer of UWB pulse array. By using multirate filters in each element channel, it can make the response of the UWB array to avoid distortion in the whole band. The simulation resultes are given to prove the efficiency and feasibility of this method. Keywords—UWB pulse array, frequency invariant, multirate bank, nearfield beamformer, radical transform


Abstract It has been shown (Hill and Kelly, 1953) that chicks in new quarters respond only to relatively high levels of aureomycin. The diet used in those studies contained substantial amounts of animal products in the form of fish meal and whey. It has been shown by Heuser and Norris (1952) and others that antibiotics exert less growth promoting effect for chicks when animal products are included in the ration. It was important, therefore, to determine whether or not animal products exerted any effect on the response of chicks to a high level of antibiotic fed in clean quarters. Immediately prior to the initiation of this study the chick room was thoroughly cleaned. All equipment was washed with hot water and steam. The room and all equipment were then fumigated with formaldehyde. New Hampshire chicks of mixed sex were obtained from a commercial hatchery and placed on experiment at one day …


Homoeopathic tincture may act due to presence of active C-glycosylflavonoids and other flavonoids. Flavonoids have antioxidant property is well known ,but a class of flavonoid C-Glycosylflavonoids apart from antioxidant property have different pharmacological properties, identification, separation is done but purification of C-Glycosylflavonoids and individual study of such separated and purified flavonoids in vitro and vivo is still lacking .


Numerical calculations for three-dimensional vapor–liquid equilibria have been accomplished by lattice Boltzmann simulations. The aim of this investigation is to test the capability of the lattice Boltzmann method in comparison with solutions obtained by the underlying equation of state. As a result we have found a finite-size effect (just like the ones obtained in one and two dimensions) at small lattice sizes for all phase equilibrium properties and related constants such as the critical exponent β. Here, systems with up to 1003 lattice sites are investigated. Reasonable convergence has been obtained from about 323 lattice sites.


Human Resources Professionals in many companies have shifted to become data-driven organizations where every decision at operational, functional and top levels of an organizational hierarchy rely on data to make decisions. The decision-making style based on mere intuition has vanished due to the emergence of data which directed the organizations to achieve their objectives efficiently. There are drastic changes taking place in the field of Human Resources and everyday HR managers learn something new. With rapid and dynamic changes in the field of science and technology, the emerging use of artificial intelligence and growth in the gig economy, the perception of Human Resource Analytics has changed over time.HR professionals with the help of data make decisions which enable to attract, retain and improve the employee performance. An organization can sustain in the long run only if it keeps itself updated with the latest trends happening in the field of HR Analytics. By entering into new decade there is a need to understand what transformations happening around the globe and the implications it will have on organizational performance. This is a descriptive study which focuses on trends in Human Resource Analytics and how it shapes the organization to perform better in the upcoming years. Keywords—Human Resource, Analytics, Strategies, HRM


Skin factor is an important parameter in petroleum production engineering. Skin factor is used to optimize production, petroleum production analyzing and forecast, and help determine the Inflow Performance Relationship curve. Skin factor are usually determined by Pressure Transient Analysis which certainly causes the temporary close of the production, hence it also leads to the financial loss because of non-productive time of the well. In order to avoid this unwanted situation, this paper presented another method to determine skin factor using production data analysis. A workflow to calculate the skin factor is proposed for two different methods. The first method is based on production data analysis and the second one is based of the Pressure Transient Analysis. A process to estimate the skin factor by the Pressure Transient Analysis method was proposed which consisted of 6 main steps: collection of input data, data pre-processing, running model, model matching, selection of model, and sensitivity analysis. Another workflow using production data analysis was also proposed in this research to estimate the skin factor as well. The workflow consisted of three main steps: preparation of input data, selection of suitable flow regimes, and sensitivity analysis. The paper also pointed out the uncertainties of these two methods and how to deal with them in order to have highly reliable results. These proposed workflows for the two methods were then applied for a real case study with actual data and results were compared to analyze the feasibility of the proposed workflow. The factors affecting the accuracy of skin factor estimation were discussed also based on the obtained results. This research showed that it was possible to estimate skin factor daily based on production data because the difference between results obtained by the two methods were small and acceptable.


A 37‐year‐old man was admitted to the hospital with fever. Because of a history of intravenous drug abuse, and a picture consistent with septic pulmonary emboli, right‐sided endocarditis was suspected. However, transthoracic echocardiography did not reveal any vegetations. Transesophageal echocardiography was therefore done, and excellent visualization of the tricuspid valve with the horizontal plane view showed what appeared to be a normal tricuspid valve. However, the vertical plane image clearly showed a large tricuspid vegetation. This case illustrates the advantage of the biplane transesophageal transducer, as the diagnosis would have been missed with a standard single plane probe.


The horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus is an ancient chelicerate that is a model organism for the study of the evolution and function of peptidases. It contains a member of the astacin metallopeptidases, the mechanism of latency of which was revealed by X-ray structural analysis.


An experimental study is conducted in order to identify the major physical processes leading to the breakout of half‐buried submarine pipelines from the seafloor under ocean‐wave action. Both the hydrodynamic loading on the exposed surface of the pipe as well as the pore‐pressure distribution on the buried surface were measured. The resulting displacement histories of the pipe were recorded and analyzed in order to identify the critical pipe‐soil‐wave conditions for the detachment of the pipe from the seabed. The paper examines the balance of the pipe under the combined lift and drag loading from the water wave. The experimental coefficients of drag, lift, and added mass have been calculated by the least squares method and compared with theoretical predictions. As for the soil response, a simple theoretical model is worked out to describe the pore‐pressure resistance force at the soil‐pipe interface. An experimental breakout force‐time power law is obtained and compared with the theoretical model.


AbstractThe uncertainties in projected water demands and changes in pipe roughness values over time are common causes of hydraulic failure of water distribution networks. Such hydraulic uncertainti...


This paper discusses implementation of Eisner's Developer Off-the-Shelf Systems (DOTSS) system acquisition approach. The DOTSS method involves reuse of entire systems rather than reuse of modules or subsystems. Reuse issues, including methods, benefits, and obstacles as they relate to the DOTSS approach, are presented. The use of Domain Analysis is proposed as a means of developing a set of high-level system requirements that are not overly specific to the problem domain at hand, thereby allowing existing systems from related domains to be considered for reuse. A set of evaluation criteria that can be used to differentiate candidate systems is also included.


The elastoplastic numerical simulation of thin-wall stainless steel tube was proceeded in bended forming process using LS-DYNA solver of ANSYS finite element analysis software.The simulation value and test results of bending angle of the tube were compared and analyzed,which proved the validity of finite element model for the tubes.Based on this,the stress and strain of the tubes in bending forming process were studied,meanwhile,the basic law of plastic deformation and effects of stess and strain on the tubes quality were posted.The results show that the medial surface wrinkling and the lateral surface unstability are the main failure form of the thin-wall stainless steel tubes in cold bending forming.


Based on the analysis of building enterprise security costs,the safety evaluation of the construction was evaluated by the method of catastrophe progression.The system was verified by the actual project,which can be used as references for the safety investment analysis of the enterprise safety management on the Long jiang Yun shan village of the Ambassador Avenue in the Minhou County of Fujian.And the results show that this method is practicable and effective.From its evaluation results,this method is appropriate and accurate,which overcomes the large complex calculations about fuzzy math and main ingredient.Therefore,the safety evaluation of the construction has more practical value.


Support Your Community. The computing world is still a dangerous place for most people to venture. A minefield of bad design is ready to explode in their faces at every step. Over the last quarter century, the three cornerstones of HCI-researchers, usability professionals, and interaction designers—have honed a proven process and methodology for achieving successful design. The only thing perpetuating bad design today is the failure of interaction designers to convince the people who need them the most to hire them. CHI will continue to be the fountainhead for our design profession, but interaction designers also need a "guild" similar to the UPA. Following the lead of the usability professionals, the same grassroots group that chose our name has launched a new organization called the Interaction Design Group, or IxDG. For more information about IxDG, see Elizabeth Bacon's article in this issue, "Defining Interaction Design." I urge interaction designers to become active members of IxDG and, following in the footsteps of UPA, help move IxDG toward maturity.


We report the realization and characterization using coherent population trapping (CPT) spectroscopy of an octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS)-coated centimeter-scale Cs vapor cell. The dual-structure of the resonance lineshape, with presence of a narrow structure line at the top of a Doppler-broadened structure, is clearly observed. The linewidth of the narrow resonance is compared to the linewidth of an evacuated Cs cell and of a buffer gas Cs cell of similar size. The Cs-OTS adsorption energy is measured to be (0.42 ± 0.03) eV, leading to a clock frequency shift rate of 2.7 × 10−9/K in fractional unit. A hyperfine population lifetime, T1, and a microwave coherence lifetime, T2, of 1.6 and 0.5 ms are reported, corresponding to about 37 and 12 useful bounces, respectively. Atomic-motion induced Ramsey narrowing of dark resonances is observed in Cs-OTS cells by reducing the optical beam diameter. Ramsey CPT fringes are detected using a pulsed CPT interrogation scheme. Potential applications of the Cs-OTS cell ...


The 2010 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide (2010 30YPGA) is a milestone achievement in the planning of public transit networks for the Greater Adelaide metropolitan area because of its explicit strategy of intensifying development densities along the city's major transport corridors and its vision of creating a network of transit oriented developments serviced by high quality integrated transport services. The improvements to the Adelaide-Gawler commuter rail line which are envisaged in the new Plan, call for increased urban densities 800m on either side of the rail line together with several transit oriented developments (TODs) along its 42km length. In addition to the efficiency and viability of public transit along the Adelaide-Gawler line being dramatically improved, the functionality, vibrancy, diversity and quality of urban life also have the potential to be significantly revitalised. This paper reviews the Portland paradigm that has strongly influenced the content and policy direction of Adelaide's 2010 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide (2010 30YPGA), and then reviews the latest policy changes for transforming the Adelaide-Gawler commuter rail line into a genuine public transit corridor that is part of a wider metropolitan public transit network. The example of Mawson Lakes, an emerging TOD along the Adelaide-Gawler commuter rail line is used as a case study for exploring how this urban transformation is currently progressing and should provide lessons for the future planning and development of other proposed TODs along this line, such as at Salisbury and Elizabeth.


Injuries to the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPJ) of the finger are common in ball sports (Burton & Eaton 1973) and are often caused by hyperextension and axial loading, resulting in impaction of the volar articular surface of the middle phalanx against the condyles of the proximal phalanx (Eaton & Malerich 1980). PIPJ injuries are frequently missed and pain, stiffness, instability and degenerative arthritis are a common sequelae (Agee 1987; Dennys et al 1992; Eaton & Malerich 1980; Hastings & Carroll 1988; Robertson et al 1946; Schenck 1986; Viegas 1992). Injuries involving the PIPJ present a therapeutic dilemma, and the wide spectrum of treatment options reflects the diversity and inherent complexity of managing these injuries.


Lupinus mutabilis Sweet "Andean Lupin" has been a neglected and marginalized Andean crop since the last decades. This plant grows naturally in Peru and in other cases it is cultivated for its delicious seeds. Unfortunately, there are very few laboratory studies carried out on this plant and many of its benefits have not been studied or are in preliminary stages. So what is known comes from the ancestral knowledge of indigenous people who grow it (mainly from Peru and Bolivia). In order to disseminate the different properties of L. mutabilis, this review article focuses on the nutraceutical and medicinal potential benefits, aiming to arouse the interest of different countries in the study of this great scientific value species.


Human thyroid carcinomas deriving from the follicular cell are commonly divided into three categories based on different clinical-pathological parameters: (I) well differentiated, (II) poorly differentiated and (III) undifferentiated thyroid carcinomas. Well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas include papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) and follicular thyroid carcinomas (1,2).


A spring stream method used for unstructured grid and a transfinite interpolation method used for structured grid are discussed.A method using radial basis function is proposed,which resolves moving mesh problem without any grid-connectivity information.Corresponding mesh numerical program is developed.Rotation of a two-dimensional rhombic aerofoil and deformation of a three-dimensional F104 aerofoil are taken as examples to show effects of function and radius on mesh quality and numerical efficiency.Results are compared with mesh-deformation using lineal spring method.It validats availability of the RBF method.We concluded that the RBF method is remarked with simple data structure,high numerical efficiency and strong adapting ability for large mesh deformation.It could be applied to CFD dynamic mesh problems.


Aims:  To investigate the transfer of antibiotic resistance from a donor Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 strain to a recipient Escherichia coli K12 strain.


Traditionally, the strategy to defend one's organization as best as possible is to detect any failures in the defense, and then react to those failures. The problem with this approach is that it is purely defensive; the enemy is on the attack. Honeypots attempt to change this; they give the organizations the ability to take the initiative. Honeypots help to explore new vulnerabilities in an organization and defining the security policy of an organization. A honeypot is used in the area of computer and Internet security. It is a resource, which is intended to be attacked or compromised to gain more information about the attacker and his attack techniques. It can also be used to attract and divert an attacker from the real targets. This paper focuses on the possibilities of honeypots and their use in an educational as well as productive environment. Also 'Mirage' - honeypot developed by us has been discussed. This system was not only implemented but also tested for several days and the collected data of the attacks was analyzed. A conclusion about the new technology of honeypots and a look into the future of honeypots is discussed.


The null vector method, based on a simple linear algebraic concept, is proposed as an initialization method for nonconvex approaches to the phase retrieval problem. For the stylized measurement with random complex Gaussian matrices, a nonasymptotic error bound is derived, stronger than that of the spectral vector method. Numerical experiments show that the null vector method also has a superior performance for the realistic measurement of coded diffraction patterns in coherent diffractive imaging.


The environmental conditions under which dielectric materials are used have become more and more serious with the progress of science, and demands for a higher reliability and a higher stability of dielectric materials have become even stronger. Therefore, a proper method to diagnose the condition of dielectric materials is required. Recently, diagnosis of degradation of power cables or transformer bushings by recovery voltage measurement and the theoretical background of recovery voltage have been discussed. In this paper, we propose a simple equation of recovery voltage based on an equivalent circuit and a theoretical equation that we proposed in our previous paper and show the validity of this simple equation by comparing experimental data with theoretical curves. The capacitance and the resistance associated with traps in the dielectric solid are also estimated.


An experimental and numerical investigation of fully developed forced convection in large rectangular packed ducts is presented. The horizontally oriented ducts have the length-to-separation distance ratio of L/H=16 with two aspect ratios of W/H=8 and 4. A constant heat ux is supplied to the top wall, while the bottom and side walls are insulated. Packing of hard polyvinyl chloride Raschig rings with outside diameters of 48 and 34 mm, and expanded polystyrene spheres with diameters of 48, 38 and 29 mm are used in the air ow passage. The experiments are carried out for 200 < (Rep=udp/nf ) < 1450, and 4.5 < de/dp < 9.0. The pressure drop, the heat ux, axial and transverse temperature pro®les of air ow inside the ducts are measured at the steady state. Similar experiments have also been carried out with empty ducts. Numerical predictions of two-dimensional quasi-homogeneous model are found to be in agreement with the experimental results of the packed ducts. The correlation equations for the Nusselt number are obtained. It is found that the introduction of packing into the air ow passage yields about a three times increase in the wall-to-air heat-transfer rate compared with that of the empty duct. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


Rational: Depo-Provera©; (Medroxyprogesterone Acetate, DMPA) is a long-acting, injectable progesterone derivative contraceptive that is currently used by 30 million women in 90 countries, including the United States and Canada. Objective: DMPA classified as sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). In this study the effect of (DMPA) on Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was investigated on rats. Design: Sixty mature healthy female rats (Rattus norvigcus) with average body weight ranged (130 – 200 gm) were injected intramuscularly with DMPA human therapeutic (150 and 300 mg) equivalent to rat doses (2.7 mg or 5.4 mg/ rat) and sacrificed after 10 and 15 days of the treatment. Methods: DNA was extracted from liver tissue samples using SS-phenol /chloroform, quantified by spectrophotometer and separated electrophoretically on agarose gel. Gels were photographed images were analyzed using RFLP software version Windows. The Student's "t"-distribution were adopted for assessment of significant changes occurring between the groups. Results: DMPA induced decrease in the concentration of the nucleic acid (DNA) as well as DNA damage manifested in fragmentation and adduct formation. Conclusion: The findings of this study shed more light and traceable to effects of this contraceptive agent on the adult female rats. It also suggests a genotoxic potential of DMPA and advisable to be careful of the potential hazards of DMPA. This demands the lowest possible use of effective and acceptable doses of these drugs so as to minimize any potential risk. Otherwise they may become capable of attacking the genetic material.


This paper describes the preparation of semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots) and their application for single-molecule imaging and biosensing. The Pdots possessed high fluorescence brightness, with a 16 nm Pdot being ~9 times brighter than 13 nm Quantum Dots (Qdots). The surface of Pdots was successfully conjugated with streptavidin, which made Pdots suitable for specific subcellular labeling and targeting. The interior composition of Pdots was also successfully modified, through which the Pdots obtained additional functionalities. We demonstrated the utility of gold nanoparticle embedded Pdots in dual-modality imaging. We also demonstrated that Rhodamine B embedded Pdots were able to function as ratiometric temperature sensor in live-cell imaging mode.


Using a collimated sodium iodide scintillator wi th associated electronics and a multichannel pulse-height analyzer, pulseheight spectra were measured for the collimator viewing monoenergetic plane sources of gamma radiation. These "response functions" (ratios of the counts per pulse-height unit per unit time to differential gammaray flux per steradian at the source plane) were measured for nine gamma-ray energies between 46 keV and 1.114 MeV, and for two collimator aperture sizes (two-inch diameter and one-half inch diameter). A point source superposition technique was used to simulate the infinite plane source. The two-inch collimator response functions were compared with previously measured responses on the same system. The two measurements were made independently of each other and used two different techniques for simulating the infinite plane source. The response functions agreed favorably. No such direct comparison was possible with the half-inch collimator response functions since no previous data were available. The source strengths of the point sources were determined using three different methods. An absolute counting technique was used for four of the calibrations; comparative counting was used for two of the determinations. National Bureau of Standards certified sources were used for the comparative method. Three of the determinations were based on intercomparisons of data with data from the other six measurements.


This paper attempts at examining the ways in which various factors affecting savings influence different aspects of a savings decision. The three aspects of a decision to save were identified as the ability to save, the willingness to save and the opportunity (availability of institutional infrastructures) to save. It also analyses the contributions of rural savings in the total financial savings in India over a period of time. It was observed that though the growth in rural financial savings, especially deposits with the banking institutions was not discouraging, it needs to be further accelerated. The paper suggests the need for mobilising rural savings and highlights the problems that inhibit the mobilisation of rural surpluses. It also suggests various measures for increasing mobilisation of savings and discusses the role of financial intermediation in the savings process with special reference to rural India.


This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. In March 2020 the UK government enforced a nationwide 'lockdown' to curb the spread of Covid-19, which has resulted in medical schools having to close and deliver teaching remotely through online platforms. This presents a number of challenges, especially for clinical and practical skills teaching which is usually very 'hands-on'. At St Georges, we have adapted Peytons '4-stage approach' to devise a tool that can be used to structure and deliver clinical skills teaching to small groups, with the help of online videos. This framework preserves the most important aspects of the '4 stage process' and allows the continuation of teaching in a way that replicates conventional face-to-face teaching practices as closely as can be possible under the current constraints.


Abstract
The single-action pedal harp was a fashionable instrument from the Age of Enlightenment to the early Romantic Period. However, the historical performance practice of the single-action pedal harp has been neglected for a long time, and this has consequently influenced our approach to and evaluation of Classical and early Romantic repertoire for the harp.
This research seeks to fill a gap in the current knowledge and understanding of the characteristics of the single-action pedal harp and their implications for the performance practice of its repertoire from 1760 to 1830. It will also offer insights by identifying the capabilities of the instrument and will clarify the status of the single-action pedal harp as an independent instrument with its own repertoire.
Key aspects of this investigation are analyses of instructional treatises and editions from the period of the compositions. These are relevant to a series of exploratory recordings of harp repertoire from the period in which the differences between current performance practices are explored. Important treatises on the single-action pedal harp, by Ph. J. Meyer and J. G. H. Backofen, together with other relevant sources, provide a basis for investigating Meyer's own compositions along with those of Backofen and L. Spohr.
Guidance for approaching the repertoire and integrating the practices of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries into our current practice is provided, benefitting not only players of the historical harp but also players of modern harps who wish to deliver musical and stylistic performances of repertoire from this period.
The dissertation includes three sets of exploratory recordings of compositions by Meyer, Backofen, and Spohr. Short demonstration films, made using authentic harps, demonstrate the historical practices described in the treatises. This will be the first comprehensive film documentation of the performance practices of the single-action pedal harp; the films will be presented on a separate DVD disc.
This research seeks to establish the value and indispensability of scholarly research into the hidden meanings that underlie notations and their implications of these meanings for performance. It also seeks to validate the contention that 'historically informed performance' does not imply 'restriction', but on the contrary, leads to the 'liberation' of the music.


This paper estimates the optimal saving rate through the method of numerical simulation,utilizing the neo-classical modified Golden Rule.After comparing with actual saving rates,the major findings are:1)the annual average saving rate of China from 1978-2003 is 38%,less than the benchmark value of optimal saving rate 40.3%,indicating that China did not over-save and Chinese economy is dynamically efficient;2) since 1990,the actual saving rate was greater than the benchmark value by a small margin,so in this period too much capital was over-accumulated and Chinese economy might be dynamic inefficient.


The prospects of the dynamic interactive environment that was established with distance education can be broadened by the development of information and communication technology (ICT). The digital folder (e-portofolio) constitutes an educational breakthrough which fulfils the criterion of polymorphism. Our goal, in this study is the research concerning the contribution of the e-portofolio in the promotion of the cooperative freedom during flexible zone to second grade primary school students. As a basic research tool we created an e-portofolio utilising the Mahara software. In this research, 12 second grade students from an urban area of Athens took part. The introduction of the e-portofolio was created in two phases during the school year 2014-2015. Initially, the pilot application in the program 'all the earth, an embrace' and the main one was realised with the program 'the water'. Through the methodological approach of the qualitative action research we concluded that cooperation and autonomy can be achieved within the context of the educational community in a distance learning environment with the use of guided educational dialogue.


Question
Global change is likely to strongly affect alpine and sub-alpine regions, in which bryophytes are important components. Global change effects on sub-alpine vegetation, bryophytes in particular, however, have been addressed in few studies. We ask if global warming and increased nitrogen (N) deposition, two of the most important components of global change, will have different effects on bryophyte communities and species in sub-alpine coniferous and shrubland ecosystems.

Location
Eastern slope of the Tibetan Plateau.

Methods
We established a warming by N deposition experiment, using a 2 × 2 factorial design, replicated three times, in each of two sub-alpine ecosystems. Effects on bryophytes at the community and species levels were evaluated after 4 (shrubland) and 5 (coniferous forest) years of warming and N deposition treatments.

Results
Bryophyte cover increased in the first two growing seasons and thereafter decreased until the end of the experiment in all treatments, most strongly in warming plots in both ecosystems and in N deposition plots in the coniferous forest. At the species level, the pleurocarpous bryophyte Pleurozium schreberi was resilient to warming but sensitive to N deposition, while the acrocarpous bryophytes Rhizomnium tuomikoskii and Racomitrium japonicum were resilient to N addition but sensitive to warming.

Conclusions
Effects of warming and increased N deposition on bryophytes were species- and to some extent also ecosystem-specific in the experiment in the sub-alpine region, indicating that bryophytes do not respond to global change as one single functional group. The observed species replacements in response to warming and N deposition may affect ecosystem processes.


In this paper, a new virtual framework for load aggregation in the context of the liberalized energy market is proposed. Since aggregation is managed automatically through a dedicated platform, the purchase of energy can be carried out without intermediation as it happens in peer-to-peer energy transaction models. Differently from what was done before, in this new framework, individual customers can join a load aggregation program through the proposed aggregation platform. Through the platform, their features are evaluated and they are clustered according to their reliability and to the width of range of regulation allowed. The simulations show the deployment of an effective clustering and the possibility to meet the target power demand at a given hour according to each customer's availability.


Semi-autonomous driving is rapidly evolving and one of its major issues is the reduction of the driver's attention to his/her environment. After a brief study of current interactions increasing this situational awareness, and more particularly haptic interactions, this article proposes the use of vibrations in the seat. Vibrations, due to their location and variations in frequency and amplitude, make it possible to convey different information to the driver such as the position of obstacles around his/her vehicle as well as the state of deterioration of the road markings. The results of initial exploratory tests are promising on the use of haptic interactions. They make it possible to set up the design and procedure for future experiments.


Spices are long known to be triggers of migrainous attacks. This Letter to the Editor reports a case of migraine with a paradoxical response of oral chili ingestion in aborting an acute attack of migraine. A 21-year-old right-handed female college student presented with a history of episodic headaches that were bilateral and alternating between left and right, frontotemporal in location, throbbing in character, and associated with photophobia and vomiting for the previous 3 years. There was no history of aura. The headache would start in the frontotemporal region and spread to affect whole of 1 side of the head, becoming generalized in the process. The attacks were partially relieved by sleep or aspirin/paracetamol. Pain became intense in the 6 months prior to presentation and could not be relieved by aspirin intake. During that time, the patient learned, accidentally, to abort the attacks using a one-and-a-half teaspoonful measurement of chili sauce. The response to chili ingestion was dramatic, and the attacks disappeared even while the patient was swallowing the chili sauce. The patient's mother also possessed a history of migraine headache.There was no significant past medical or psychiatric history for our patient. A general physical and systemic examination was unremarkable. A detailed neurological examination was normal. A magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and MR angiography of the brain were unremarkable. An electroencephalogram was normal. Migraine is a common cause of chronic headache and is more common in young women. A number of relieving factors have been identified, which include cold stimuli, sitting or reclining in bed, isolation, inducing vomiting, scalp massage, changing diet, symptomatic medications, and becoming immobile during attack. Capsaicin is a naturally occurring alkaloid that is obtained from chilis. It is fat-soluble and is known to absorb from biologic surfaces like skin and mucosa. Analgesia produced results from a depletion of substance P in small fiber nociceptive neurons on which the transient receptor potential action channel (subfamily V), type 1 (TRPV1) is predominantly located. It binds to the vanilloid receptor TRPV1 that acts as a molecular integrator of chemical and physical painful stimuli. Capsaicin could possibly act as a calcitotin-related gene peptide release inhibitor. Topical capsaicin has been reported to relieve migraine attack in a substantial number of patients. In addition, capsaicin has been used intranasally in migraine and cluster headache effectively. A possible mechanism of headache relief, this case may be the modulation of peripheral and central sensitization of trigeminovascular pathways. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first instance of chilis being used as an aborting agent for acute migraine.


Physicians are increasingly expected to know when, how, and in whom screening tests should be applied to promote the health and well-being of their patients. This article from Seminars in Medical Practice examines how to take an evidence-based approach to deciding whether it is worthwhile to screen a patient for disease.


Vanillin, an organic material, was grown as single crystal by solution growth technique using a mixed solvent methanol and chloroform. XRD study confirms that the grown crystal belongs to monoclinic system with space group P21. The surface features of the crystal were analyzed with Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The important optical parameters such as absorption coefficient, extinction coefficient, refractive index, optical band gap, optical conductivity and electrical conductivity were estimated from UV–vis–NIR spectral analysis to study the linear optical behavior of the material. The dielectric studies of the sample were carried out in the frequency range from 50 Hz to 5 MHz. The second harmonic generation efficiency (SHG) was evaluated both theoretically and experimentally to analyses the NLO behavior of the material.


Highly oriented pyrolitic graphite (HOPG) was irradiated with 1.8 MeV electrons at 45° and near grazing (86°) angles of incidence. For doses up to 10 16 cm −2 the surface for the case of 45° incidence, observed by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), remained the same as the original sample showing only the usual periodic atomic corrugation. For near grazing incidence, at a dose of 5×10 −2 cm −2 , nm-hillocks are observed, some elongated along the direction of the beam incidence. These are attributed to the effects of single electron-carbon interactions in the top surface layers. At a dose of 5×10 14 cm −2 (near grazing incidence) STM observations show an anomalously large (period 2.5 to 17 nm) superperiodicity superimposed on the normal 0.246 nm atomic spacing of graphite. This Moire-like pattern suggests that the corrugations are electronic as well as topographic in origin. We propose that near grazing incidence electron irradiation causes a break-up of the surface layers into fragments, largely retaining the six-fold atomic rings, that rotate by a small angle resulting in the observed pattern by interaction with the deeper bulkstructure layers.


When taking pictures using a commodity camera in a scene with strong or harsh lighting, such as a sunny day outdoors, we often see a loss of highlight details (overexposure) in some bright regions and a loss of shadow details (underexposure) in some dark regions. In this paper, we develop a wavelet tight frame--based approach to reconstruct a well-exposed image with better visibility of details than that with over-/underexposed regions. There are two modules in the proposed approach: one in lightness channels that inpaints the clipped lightness and adjusts image contrast, and the other in chromatic channels that inpaints the saturated color regions. The experiments show that our method can effectively repair over-/underexposed regions, and it performs better than other existing methods on tested real photographs.


Great Britain and the United States seek a closer relationship between their cipher experts and Churchill admits decrypting America's diplomatic codes.


This paper empirically studies the determinants of firm bribery activities from the perspective of ownership structure. Using the survey data of Chinese firms from the Enterprise Surveys conducted by the World Bank (2002–2012), we compare the bribery activities of firms with various forms of ownership. We find that compared with private and foreign firms, state-owned firms in China are not only more likely to receive bribe requests from government officials, but are also more likely to actually pay bribes. Moreover, our research shows that more time spent dealing with the government leads to more bribery, while longer market experience and stringent audit procedures help to reduce bribery activities.


In 1919 Helene Kröller-Müller acquired an Indonesian sculpture from Frederik Muller & Cie, a well-known auction house in Amsterdam at the time (PI. 1). The inventory of the auction which took place on 25-28 November 1919 listed the sculpture under lot numbers 1548-1567, together with 19 other sculptures from the Netherlands Indies: 'Collection de vingt sculptures en gres, d'idoles, etc. des Indes néerlandaises. (Boroboudour, Java?). Par pièce'.2


The process condition for removing Ca2+ , Mg2+ from crude nickle sulfate by chemical precipitating is studied. The result of test shows that the effect of purification by com-plex precipitant is good,the optimum conditions of the process are determined as following:temperature 60 'C ,pH 3. 0 -6. 0.dosage coefficient 1. 5,reaction time 1 h. The finished product quality can reach the battery grade standard.


After the German reunification, the situation of Berlin has been rapidly and radically changed. As it is the only place where East and West Germany are spatially organizing an urban society, it seems to be obvious that the city has been shaped by processes of national scope. The replacement of the German government from Bonn to Berlin has been a mayor step in the way of reorganizing the total German urban network. Many infrastructural projects are enlisted to be following this trend. At the same time, the city claims to become a "Global City" with an interconnecting position between the west and east of Europe. It is beyond political rhetoric that Berlin has integrated into the world economy and has found some gateway function in the European networks. The paper outlines some major developments of Berlin and debates in how far certain areas of the urban development are more linked to national or global influences. It argues that globalization has a limited effect on urban development in the case of Berlin. It is insufficient to identify Berlin as the "German Global City" as the city is only in some areas and clusters playing a predominate role in comparison to Frankfurt, Munich, and Hamburg. As globalization is assumed also to change the cultural and social architecture of cities, particular attention will be paid on the development of the social and ethnic composition of Berlin.


Multi-person tracking is still an important issue in computer vision due to fast changing and complexity in environment, the similarity of pedestrians and occlusions. Inspired by the success of sparse representations in single-object tracking, sparse representations is utilized to describe the target. In this paper, the integrated framework is provided for multiple single-object trackers to achieve multiple object tracking. Each target is corresponding to a specific tracker relied on the Bayesian Inference method, and the person-specific classifier depended on sparse representations is learned online to discriminate the target from the background. Based on the tracking-by-detection framework, we design an affinity matrix for targets computed by the classification score to solve the problem of the data association. In addition, various types of occlusions can be processed by the tracking algorithm in which the associated targets and the classifiers are embedded. Experimental results reveal the enhanced performance of the proposed method, comparing with the other state-of-the-art algorithms on three public sequences.


n HVDC grid in the North-Sea is considered to have a high potential to aid the energy transition in Europe.n HVDC grid in the North-Sea is considered to have a high potential to aid the energy transition in Europe.A High investment cost and operational challenges are the major roadblocks in its realisation. This paper proposes a demonstration grid in the North-Sea and shows that it is a financially viable project. A sensitivity analysis corresponding to line capacities and base prices is performed. Recommendations for the construction and operation of such a grid are made from the regulatory stand point.


Marketing the sports event as a commodity is an objective and inevitable choice in market-oriented economic operation system. The marketing is about the production distribution and after-sales service and a series of market-related business activities carried out by enterprises centering on customer demands. Sport marketing is a new marketing mode based on marketing theory and an innovative extension of the system of economic theory and sports marketing theory system and its nature is to create wealth out of sports events.


A s indicated in the closing paragraphs of the previaus ar t ic le of this series, we have attempted to sketch the enera1 outlines of the writings on piano technique over three centuries. ?his sketch ended with a brief presentation of excerpts fmn Xavier Scharwenka's M e t W i k des Klavierspiels (5). It seems to us that Scharwenka' s description of the 'playing act' is perhaps the most informative and the most accurate of any that have cane to aur knowledge. ?he sensitive mader (one wrho has sane tqmrience in the delicate ccatmlled adjustment while pla* the piano) with careful reading and practice perhaps can obtain the necessary feel of playing the piano.


In order to judge the running state of the grate cooler more accurately, this paper takes the grate cooler as the research object and proposes a method for identifying the working condition of the grate cooler based on RPROP-RF algorithm. First, the typical working conditions are obtained according to the expert knowledge, and the random forest algorithm is selected to model the typical working conditions, and the typical working condition labels are obtained. Then, RPROP neural network is used to predict the grate pressure, and the grate pressure trend label is obtained through trend identification. Finally, a working condition recognition model is established according to the grate cooler working condition evaluation rules, and five working conditions of the grate cooler are identified. In this paper, the actual operation data of a cement plant is used for simulation, and the simulation results verify the effectiveness of the method in this paper.


This article introduce the TRICON ESD system.That were illustrates the design principle,work theory,system structure,software and hard ware configurationand actual application in Acrylic Acid Plant of ESD.


†† Summary Because of today's increased traffic volume and sophisticated attacks, implementing a network intrusion detection/prevention system (NIDS/NIPS) with a single workstation has been challenging. In this paper, we propose Brownie, a system for improving performance by coordinating configurations of alreadyexisting, independently-managed NIDSs in an organization. Instead of installing one expensive hardware or parallel NIDSs at a network entry point, Brownie achieves performance improvement by 1) offloading overloaded NIDS, and 2) eliminating redundant rules. First, Brownie exchanges NIDSs' load status and transfers some rules from overloaded to light-loaded NIDSs, which prevents the overloaded NIDSs from bottlenecking the network. Second, if some NIDSs on a network path enable the same rules, Brownie eliminates the redundant rules, which reduces the aggregate overhead of the NIDSs. The experimental results with a web server benchmark suggest that Brownie increases the benchmark throughput by more than 10%. In addition, Brownie running with a university full-packet trace successfully offloads overloaded NIDS and eliminates redundant rules.


The article analyzes the artistic features of lyrical and ethical works in the poetry of the outstanding poet, laureate of the State prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhumeken Nazhimedenov. The poet's poetry is dominated by civil-Patriotic lyric poetry, psychological and philosophical integrity of the sung questions: the native land of the great Steppe, the sacred homeland, the continuity of generations, respect for ancestors, etc. At the same time, the author analyzes the poetic and aesthetic semantic features of artistic images in lyrical poems about nature in the poet's poetry (personification, metaphor, epithet, comparison, symbol, allegory, psychological parallelism, etc.). the Lyrical and psychological nature of civil dedications to things and phenomena in nature is determined by text analysis. We also analyzed critical motives expressed by images of irony and sarcasm in the poet's poems, which assessed gaps and shortcomings in the system of relations in the domestic and social environment. Differentiated features of the historical-philosophical, aesthetic-poetic artistic solution of the poem in the epic poetry of the poet in the generalization and reflection of the reality of life with artistic reality. The research is highlighted in the context of a new consideration of the text analysis of the poetic features of works in the poet's poetry.


Even though the turbo roundabouts have been designed in the Czech Republic since the beginning of this century, until the middle of 2015, there was no national regulation which would describe the way of their construction. As a result of this, there are only 10 turbo-roundabouts with various widths of design elements and different traffic signs in the Czech Republic now. From this number there are some that even cannot be considered a turbo-roundabout. The aim of this paper is to present the results we gained within the research project and to present readers with the approach to the construction of geometry of turbo-roundabouts in the conditions of Czech road network and existing legislation and standards.


THIS PAPER describes a read-write nondestructive read-out (NDRO) ferrite-core memory system with a 1.5-mc (megacycle) read cycle and a 160-kc write cycle. The evolution of this system (Fig. 1) was a result of demand on memories by higher speed data processing.


The open secret of Bush-era American politics is not that President George W. Bush and his Administration have lied, a lot, but that so many Americans, for so many years, knew this and did not seem to mind. At minimum, this fact President Bush has lied, a lot did not matter enough or did not matter to enough voting-age Americans to result in his defeat in 2004. If many, if not most, Americans have long known that Bush does not tell the full truth and have not cared, this apparent indifference derives in part from the expectation many Americans now have that their Presidents lie. It is not that Presidential lies have no consequences after all, Willi*10 Jefferson Clinton was impeached, essentially for lying about sex. Because sex is *n overburdened site of moral anxiety and regulation, sexual lies partake of a dynarnl that exceeds the category of the "Presidential lie."3 However, the relatively free pass George Bush received well into his second term for his Administration's lies abo weapons of mass destruction and Iraq's connection to 9/11 is due to more than )u a chastened press corps, the special volatility of sexual allegations, or a Republicmajority unwilling to investigate, let alone impeach, its own.4 These are all factors in the differential treatment and reception of Bush's »c~ opposed to Clinton's, to be sure. But, this shrugging acceptance of something than the truth depends as well on the way popular culture has habituated us to manufacturing of reality as entertainment. Are we all postmodernists now, c\' ' decoding and avidly consuming the shimmering surfaces of the real? Against sl backdrop, what Bush says matters less than how he says it: "sincerely." Bush's sin ity converts surface into depth, where depth is not about facts but feelings. He r Atter bontag


Ferroelectricity—a spontaneous electrical polarization—was first discovered in potassium sodium tartrate, a salt, in 1920. The effect is reminiscent of ferromagnetism. At first, hydrogen bonding was thought to be essential for this property, until the finding of the ferroelectric oxide BaTiO3 two decades later. In 1974, ferroelectric liquid crystals were produced, following theoretical predictions based on intuitive symmetry arguments. Since then, intense scientific efforts have uncovered hundreds of ferroelectric materials in various forms, including submicron films, nanotubes, nanowires, integrated ferroelectrics, etc., many of which are neither hydrogen bonded nor oxides [1]. Now, writing in Physical Review Letters, Yuanming Liu and co-workers at the University of Washington in Seattle, with collaborators at Boston University, Massachusetts, demonstrate evidence of ferroelectricity in mammalian tissue [2].


Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is an imaging technique combining strong contrast of optical imaging to high spatial resolution of ultrasound imaging. These strengths are achieved via photoacoustic effect, where a spatial absorption of light pulse is converted into a measurable propagating ultrasound wave. The method is seen as a potential tool for small animal imaging, pre-clinical investigations, study of blood vessels and vasculature, as well as for cancer imaging. The goal in PAT is to form an image of the absorbed optical energy density field via acoustic inverse problem approaches from the measured ultrasound data. Quantitative PAT (QPAT) proceeds from these images and forms quantitative estimates of the optical properties of the target. This optical inverse problem of QPAT is illposed. To alleviate the issue, spectral QPAT (SQPAT) utilizes PAT data formed at multiple optical wavelengths simultaneously with optical parameter models of tissue to form quantitative estimates of the parameters of interest. In this work, the inverse problem of SQPAT is investigated. Light propagation is modelled using the diffusion equation. Optical absorption is described with chromophore concentration weighted sum of known chromophore absorption spectra. Scattering is described by Mie scattering theory with an exponential power law. In the inverse problem, the spatially varying unknown parameters of interest are the chromophore concentrations, the Mie scattering parameters (power law factor and the exponent), and Gruneisen parameter. The inverse problem is approached with a Bayesian method. It is numerically demonstrated, that estimation of all parameters of interest is possible with the approach.


Background: A genetic predisposition has been identified in different forms of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Most pathogenic variants have been identified in BMPR2 in hereditary PAH. However, many further PAH genes have been described. Objective: The aim of this study was to screen for all known PAH genes in a large cohort of patients with PAH and other forms of PH who have been referred for genetic testing. Methods: DNA from 244 patients was extracted and sequenced using a PAH specific gene diagnostics panel for the genes: ACVRL1, BMPR1B, BMPR2, CAV1, EIF2AK4, ENG, GDF2, KCNA5, KCNK3, KLF2, SMAD4, SMAD9 and TBX4. Of these, 180 samples were also sequenced for ATP13A3, AQP1 and SOX17. Results: Of the 244 patients about 50% were classified as IPAH and 17% as HPAH. Further patients with associated PAH such as congenital heart disease or connective tissue disease patients, pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) and patients with sarcoidosis associated PH were included. A total of 70 pathogenic variants were identified in 66 patients. The majority of the variants (56%) was located in the gene BMPR2 but the others were found across 10 other PAH genes. Most HPAH patients had pathogenic variants in BMPR2 but also in AQP1, KCNK3, SMAD9 and SOX17. Two sarcoidosis associated PH patients carried pathogenic variants in the genes GDF2 and SOX17. Conclusion: Pathogenic variants were located in BMPR2 and in further PAH genes. Genetic predisposition was not restricted to HPAH, IPAH and PVOD but could also be identified PH with sarcoidosis and other forms of associated PAH. Thus, genetic diagnostics might be useful in a larger patient cohort than currently recommended.


Lifelong learning is a key element in the professional development of secondary education teachers, a collective that must adapt to the characteristics of the context and time in which they are integrated. In the 21st century, the command of social skills for the management of the interactions among the different community sectors within the school is a very important issue to support coexistence. Bearing this reality in mind, this study designs and implements a cooperative training process aimed at secondary education teachers and focused on conflict resolution, with the objective of enhancing their social skills. The efficacy of the training process was verified through the design of a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest assessment, using the Gismero's Social Skills Scale (2000). There were 34 teachers from the province of Salamanca (Spain) involved in the training process. The results obtained show significant differences (s.l. .05) in favour of the programme in two out of the six dimensions. In its turn, the variable gender appears as a differentiating feature regarding the individuals' social skill level. We conclude with the need to implement specific training programmes for the improvement of teacher social skills from a professional development approach.


Polymer Chemistry and Physics was one of the most important required courses for polymer materials major,which was also a selective course for applied chemistry and other non-polymer engineering specialties.In accordance with the characteristics of Polymer Chemistry and Physics in applied chemistry specialty such as more content and limited class hour,the method for how to improve the quality of teaching,stimulate students' learning interest and cultivate students' innovation consciousness was discussed.Several effective measures such as organize the teaching content reasonably,integrate theory with practice and carry out interactive teaching were suggested.


A high-efficiency dynamic Web modeling technology is studied to overcome the shortcoming of the current modeling development process based on embedded Linux. This paper presents a dynamic Web model with Thttpd and CGI technology. In CGI, Sed is used to output dynamic webpages, htpasswd can control access of users. And this model supports remote management for embedded devices. So it has better safety performance, stability and portability. In the paper, it discusses structure and work flow of the model with Thttpd and CGI, analyzes its performance features, and presents implementation method of the model. This model has numerous advantages and a wide application foreground by practical application it proves.


The paper presents a full envelope frequency domain based quantitative feedback theory control system design for a marine auto-pilot. An initial H/spl infin/ controller was designed for a nominal plant. The design was then improved using a quantitative analysis of the closed-loop specifications. The full envelope control design was obtained by an analysis of plant uncertainty. Control system designs were then validated through nonlinear simulations.


While in the previous legislation (Law no. 130/1996 regarding the collective labor  contract, republished, rescinded by the Law of the social dialogue no. 62/2011, applicable to this day) it represented a contravention, according to art. 5, both the employer's act as to not initiate the negotiation and his refusal regarding the obligatory request stated, subsidiarily, by the labor union or the employees representatives, to the same effect, the new provisions, in effect, of the art. 217 paragraph (1) letter b) of the Law no. 62/2011 specifies that it represents a contravention only "the refusal of the employer to begin the negotiation of the collective labor contract". Nevertheless, in practice, confusions are being made between the two situations, probably from the inertia of the interpretation according to the old interpretations (rescinded), and the employers are forced to appeal the contravention because of this situation, or they don't know they have this possibility. Therefore, we consider to be necessary, of lege ferenda, clarifications for that purpose. How to cite: Oprea, R. (2017). Does it Represent a Contravention the Uninitiation of the Collective Negotiation at Organization Level by the Employer or the Refusal to Answer to the Obligatory Request Stated by the Labor Union Subsidiarily?. Jurnalul de Studii Juridice, XII (3-4), 69-72. https://doi.org/10.18662/jls/14


This article describes China's transportation future, as the country's residents rapidly migrate from rural areas in the country to rapidly growing cities. It focuses on mass transit, bus rapid transit (BRT), and rail. A short sidebar examines China's boom in privately owned vehicles. The Chinese government plans to increase mass transit use to 60 percent in its largest cities—those over 10 million people; to 40 percent in medium-sized cities; and to 20 percent in cities with fewer than 1 million residents. The aim is also to reduce China's ever-increasing carbon footprint. Urban centers are embracing BRT concepts and the government is promoting use of vehicles powered by non-petroleum fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas, biofuels, and electricity. The author also describes the country's expanding rail network and its use of Maglev technology.