We provide non-parametric empirical evidence regarding negative volatility risk premium using LIFFE equity index options. In addition, we incorporate the moment-adjusted option delta hedge ratio to mitigate the effect of model misspecification. From the results, we observe several interesting phenomena. First, the delta-hedged gains are negative. Second, with a correction for model misspecification, higher-order moments measures show less significance and the volatility risk premium still plays a key role in affecting delta-hedged gains. All empirical evidence supports the existence of negative volatility risk premium in LIFFE equity index options.


Since 1997, RIKEN Nishina Center has been constructing the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory (RIBF) and succeeded in beam commissioning of its accelerator complex at the end of 2006. The world's first superconducting ring cyclotron (SRC) is the final booster in the RIBF accelerator complex which is able to accelerate all‐element heavy ions to a speed of about 70% of the velocity of light. The ring cyclotron consists of 6 major superconducting sector magnets with a maximum field of 3.8 T. The total stored energy is 235 MJ, and its overall sizes are 19 m diameter, 8 m height and 8,300 tons. The magnet system assembly was completed in August 2005, and successfully reached the maximum field in November 2005. The first beam was extracted at the end of 2006 and the first uranium beam was extracted in March 2007. However operation of the helium refrigerator was not satisfactory although the commissioning of SRC was successful. Operation was stopped every two month due to degradation of its cooling power. In Febru...


S.R. Caliari, M. Ramirez, B.A.C. Harley. 1 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. Statement of Purpose: Within the United States there are more than 32 million injuries to tendons and ligaments per year with an associated cost of $30 billion [1]. While small tendon injuries can heal naturally, larger injuries undergo a repair-mediated process. The resultant repair tissue does not recapitulate the native hierarchical structure of tendon extracellular matrix (ECM) and displays inferior biomechanical properties. Current surgical and tissue engineering approaches have had only limited success, particularly due to high failure rates. Results in the literature suggest that successful regeneration templates for aligned tissues such as tendon must recapitulate aspects of the native tissue anisotropy [2, 3]. Collagen-glycosaminoglycan (CG) scaffolds have previously been used as successful regeneration templates for skin and peripheral nerves [4], but do not typically have requisite mechanical integrity for orthopedic applications. The objective of this study was to develop a CG scaffold variant with aligned microstructure and sufficient mechanical competence for tendon tissue engineering, while using soluble factors to improve scaffold bioactivity (cell motility, proliferation). Methods: Composite scaffolds were created from a relatively porous CG scaffold and relatively dense CG membrane. CG scaffolds and membranes were fabricated from a suspension of type I collagen and chondroitin 6sulfate in acetic acid [5]. CG membranes were created via an evaporative process. CG scaffolds were fabricated via lyophilization [5] in a manner that integrated the CG membrane into the scaffold structure. CG scaffolds with longitudinally aligned pore microstructures were fabricated in a Teflon mold with a copper base; the mismatch in thermal conductivity was used to promote unidirectional heat transfer through the copper bottom, resulting in aligned pores. Pore size was controlled by the final freezing temperature [5]. Scaffolds were then dehydrothermally crosslinked (105oC, 24 hours, <25 torr). Scaffold pore size and morphology were assessed using a stereological approach via a linear intercept macro in Scion Image. Longitudinally and transversely oriented scaffold samples were embedded in glycolmethacrylate, sectioned, stained with aniline blue, and observed using an optical microscope [5]. Tensile testing of CG scaffolds, membranes, and composites (dry, hydrated) was performed using an MTS Insight 2. Tenocyte and tenocyte precursor cells (TTPCs) were harvested from horse tendinopathies. Soluble factor (IGF1 and PDGF-BB) induced TTPC motility and chemotaxis was assessed using a 24 hour transwell membrane assay. TTPC motility across the transwell membrane was assessed in the presence (random motility) and absence of each soluble factor and for a gradient in soluble factor concentration across the membrane (chemotaxis). Results: SEM analysis of CG scaffolds reveals aligned, elongated pores in the longitudinal plane compared to rounder pores in the transverse plane (Figure 1). Mean pore diameters of 41.9 ± 3.8 μm (Mean ± SD) for scaffolds flash frozen in liquid nitrogen and 92.7 ± 13.0 μm for scaffolds frozen at -60oC were observed. Elongation of pores was assessed by measuring the aspect ratio (AR) of the best fit ellipse obtained from the linear intercept macro. Pores in the longitudinal plane (AR: 1.60 ± 0.12) were significantly more elongated than pores in the transverse plane (AR: 1.06 ± 0.04, p < 0.0001).


Filial piety is the traditional culture essence and the Chinese heritage for thousands of years. We want to deeply integrate filial piety culture into the ideological and political education for college students in the new century, and to achieve the following purposes. With the subtle influence of fine traditional culture of students' ideological and moral development, make the students understanding the spirit connotation of filial piety culture in the new century, and internalizing their own quality, so as to achieve the purpose of education is a long-term and arduous task. This paper attempts to explain the latest filial piety culture from the development and evolution of filial piety culture in China in the new period, and to guide students to compare the generalized and narrow filial piety culture, and combine their own situation, starting from small things and changing from small points, in order to achieve the effect of moistening things quietly.


Summary form only given. The rapid evolution of tools and software systems to design experiments, automatically monitor, collect and warehouse large amounts of data, from applications such as life sciences and industrial processes has resulted in a new paradigm shift. This change of paradigm is so fast that some of the practices for optimization and management of these processes that were valid only 5–10 years ago may no longer be fully acceptable or sufficient for today's business optimization and management. This has a direct influence on the best practices for knowledge discovery and management of the discovered knowledge in real-world data mining applications. Establishing and managing a real-world data mining project in any domain, in particular in today's life science industry, is not a trivial task. A few approaches have been proposed in the literature. However, initiation and successful management of such efforts may depend on where a given case study fits in the overall classification of data mining approaches. Today's knowledge discovery from data can be classified in several ways: (i) data mining on engineered systems (e.g. complex equipment) or systems designed by nature (e.g. life sciences), (ii) explanatory or predictive data mining, (iii) data mining from static data (e.g. data warehouse) or dynamic data (e.g. data streams), (iv) user operated or automated data mining. There could still be other ways to classify data mining applications. This talk provides an overview of the above listed knowledge discovery applications. We provide examples where we demonstrate how small or large amounts of data, when understood from a real-world data mining point of view and the required data is properly integrated, can result in novel knowledge discovery case studies. We explain motivations and challenges of establishing real-world dat


Pressure refill canister 5 which houses a reservoir 31 of the propellant and the nicotine or the pharmaceutically acceptable derivative or composition comprising a salt. Reservoir 31 is 400kPa greater pressure 20 ° C. Refill outlet valve 20 is provided with a stem 6 having an axial bore 24 which opens in the axial end portion that is farthest in the axial direction from the reservoir to provide an outlet for discharging the composition in the axial direction ing. Stem 6 in order to open the flow path to the outlet from the reservoir, from the closed position being urged by a large spring force than 10N by the first elastic member when the external force is not applied, the supply position to, can be displaced against the action of the first elastic member.


The legal situation with the turnover of personal data in services that provide remuneration to the user for the processing and resale of his data is investigated. The offers of a group of such services are considered, their differences and common approaches are described. Suggestions are given for practising lawyers and the regulator.


A model equation has been proposed to describe bimodal features in vehicular traffic flows. The dynamics of the bimodal distribution reveals the existence of a fixed point that is connected to itself by a homoclinic trajectory. The mathematical conditions associated with bimodality have been established. The critical factors necessary for both a breaking of symmetry and a transition from bimodal to unimodal behaviour, in the manner of a bifurcation, have been analysed.


........................................................................................................... 10 Introduction....................................................................................................... 11 Self-Regulation Theory ................................................................................. 11 Goal Adjustment............................................................................................ 11 When is it Time to Disengage? ..................................................................... 13 Aims .............................................................................................................. 14 Method ............................................................................................................. 15 Eligibility Criteria............................................................................................ 16 Information Sources ...................................................................................... 18 Search Terms and Strategy .......................................................................... 18 Study Selection ............................................................................................. 20 Data Extraction ............................................................................................. 20 Study Evaluation ........................................................................................... 20 Results ............................................................................................................. 21 Critical Summary .............................................................................................. 33 Participants ................................................................................................... 33 Design ........................................................................................................... 33 Measures ...................................................................................................... 34 4 Running Head: GOAL FLEXIBILITY AS A PREDICTOR OF DEPRESSION Goal Disengagement .......................................................................................... 34 Depression .......................................................................................................... 34 Summary of Findings .................................................................................... 35 Goal disengagement and depression in student samples .................................... 35 Goal disengagement and depression in older adults ........................................... 36 Goal disengagement, depression and physical health ......................................... 37 Goal disengagement and depression in a community sample ............................. 39 Discussion ........................................................................................................ 39 Strengths and Limitations .............................................................................. 45 Clinical Implications ....................................................................................... 46 Future Directions for Research ..................................................................... 47 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 48 References ....................................................................................................... 49 Appendices....................................................................................................... 61 Appendix A Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and CrossSectional Studies .......................................................................................... 61 Appendix B Preparation and Submission Requirements for Personality and Social Psychology Review ............................................................................ 65 EMPIRICAL PAPER ......................................................................................... 67 Abstract ............................................................................................................ 68........................................................................................................... 68 Introduction....................................................................................................... 70 Self-Regulation Theory ................................................................................. 70 Goal Adjustment Theory ............................................................................... 71 5 Running Head: GOAL FLEXIBILITY AS A PREDICTOR OF DEPRESSION Rumination .................................................................................................... 73 Homesickness ............................................................................................... 74 Aims and Hypotheses ................................................................................... 76 Method ............................................................................................................. 79 Participants ................................................................................................... 79 Power Analysis ................................................................................................... 79 Design ........................................................................................................... 80 Measures ...................................................................................................... 80 The Goal Adjustment Scale (GAS) ...................................................................... 80 The Patient Health Questionnaire 8 (PHQ-8) ...................................................... 81 Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ) ...................................................... 81 Homesickness Questionnaire (HQ) ..................................................................... 82 Procedure ..................................................................................................... 83 Analytic Strategy ........................................................................................... 83 Results ............................................................................................................. 85 Sample Characteristics ................................................................................. 85 Preliminary Analyses ..................................................................................... 86 Hypothesis 1 ................................................................................................. 90 Hypothesis 1a ..................................................................................................... 90 Hypothesis 1b ..................................................................................................... 91 Hypothesis 1c ..................................................................................................... 92 Hypothesis 1d ..................................................................................................... 94 Hypothesis 2 ................................................................................................. 96 Hypothesis 2a ..................................................................................................... 96 6 Running Head: GOAL FLEXIBILITY AS A PREDICTOR OF DEPRESSION Hypothesis 2b ..................................................................................................... 98 Discussion ...................................................................................................... 102 Goal disengagement and depression, rumination and homesickness ........ 102 Goal reengagement and depression, rumination and homesickness .......... 104 Limitations ................................................................................................... 107 Clinical Implications ..................................................................................... 108 Future Direction........................................................................................... 109 Conclusion...................................................................................................... 110 Reference ....................................................................................................... 111 Appendices..................................................................................................... 121 Appendix A University of Exeter Ethical Approval ..................................... 121 Appendix B Study Questionnaires ............................................................ 123 Goal Adjustment Scale ...................................................................................... 123 Patient Health Questionnaire 8 .......................................................................... 125 Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire ............................................................... 126 Homesickness Questionnaire ............................................................................ 127 Appendix C Participant Information sheet ................................................. 129 Appendix D Consent Form ........................................................................ 132 Appendix E Debrief Form .......................................................................... 135 Appendix F Dissemination Statement ....................................................... 136 Appendix G Preparation and Submission Requirements for Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin .......................................................................... 137 7 Running Head: GOAL FLEXIBILITY AS A PREDICTOR OF DEPRESSION List of Tables Literature review Table 1. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria for the Literature Review...................17 Table 2. List of Search Terms Used in the


to design a tour plan which provide a maximum satisfaction, before have any experiences with the destination can be hard and time consuming process. The goal of this study is to create an algorithm that efficiently generate a tour plan with high or maximum satisfaction within a reasonable processing time. The memetic algorithm which is a combination of genetics algorithm and local search algorithm would be created to solve this problem. This study used real data gathered from trusted tourist community in Thailand such as TripAdvisor.com, Wongnai.com, etc. The result of this study shown Memetic Algorithm (MA) approach could solve tour trip design problem efficiently since both saving in computation time and % gap are in a good shape and well-balanced.


Diffractive Fresnel Lenses (FL) were designed, fabricated and tested. The lens aims for increasing the sensitivity of a Non-Dispersive InfraRed (NDIR) silicon based optical gas system, focusing as much radiation as possible onto the detector. The studied wavelengths are 10.6μm and 3.4μm, which are the main absorption lines for ethylene and ethanol respectively. The lens diameter (5mm) and the focal length (4mm) are fixed by the detector package. Those diffractive lenses are compatible with the planar nature of silicon microtechnology. A theoretical study about the global lens efficiency as a function of the technological constrains and the process complexity has been carried out. Using only three photolithographic masks, eight quantization steps can be etched and a theoretical lens efficiency of 95% can be achieved. Once the devices were fabricated, the focal length and the spot size have been measured.


Background  TrichoScan Professional is a computerized program used for digital measurement of hair growth and hair loss. The aim of our study was to undertake an evaluation with TrichoScan Professional of female patients consulting at our hospitals for hair loss. The purpose of our study was to determine whether TrichoScan was able to identify differences in hair parameters that would correlate with the pattern of alopecia or according to the age of the patients evaluated.


The failure of simple ionic theories to account for association of thallous salts in aqueous solution is discussed. Accepting experimental evidence that the associated species are ionic, it is shown that on a dielectric continuum model neither dielectric saturation of the solvent nor polarization of the ions can account for the association. Consideration of the thermodynamics of association shows that hydration effects cannot be neglected and it is suggested that Tl+ differs from alkali metal ions in association reactions because of the tendency of Tl+ to distort in an unsymmetrical field.


This research is in farm manufacturing. The manufacturing is less aspect health and occupational safety (K3) for each worker, especially in the boiler workers. Element works at the boiler station the disposal of burning done manually and repeatedly. Activity manual work done this repeating if done in long period of time, will cause injured 'musculoskeletal' which led to declines in productivity company. It needs to be an assessment of posture work at the station boiler so as not to cause risk injured. The method used to assess the relative posture work is the method quick exposure check (QEC). QEC is a method of assessment using a questionnaire as an instrument to analyze posture work perceived workers for does its work. The research results show that the score exposure from workers at the station boiler high, so that need to be taken of action investigation and improved soon as soon as possible. The score exposure workers Operator 1 is 67,04 %, workers Operator 2 is 69,31 % and Operator 3 is 64,77 % Keywords— Musculoskeletal, Work Posture, Quick Exposure Check (QEC), Operator, occupational safety.


Department of Biotechnology, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain, University of Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain, Spanish Biomedical Research Centre in Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Disorders (CIBERDEM), Madrid, Spain, Department of Physiology, Institute of Bioengineering-ISABIAL, University Miguel Hernández School of Medicine, Alicante, Spain, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China, School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China, International Society on Aging and Disease, Bryan, TX, United States, Cardiovascular Pathophysiology, Institute of Biomedicine of Seville, University Hospital of Virgen del Rocío, University of Seville, CSIC, Seville, Spain, Department of Medical Physiology and Biophysics, University of Seville, Seville, Spain, Pediatric Cardiology Unit, Virgen del Rocio University Hospital, Seville, Spain, Institute of Biomedicine of Seville, University Hospital of Virgen del Rocío, University of Seville, CSIC, Seville, Spain


Exploitation of equipment with polyethylene (PE) insulation requires condition monitoring and diagnostics. Traditionally diagnostics of insulation condition is carried out by means of partial discharges (PD) registration. There are a number of works that allow identification of the defect by the PD method. However, such identification of defects, for example, voids, inclusions or treeing, does not show the danger from the point of view of full insulation gap breakdown and insulation construction failure. Information about the form and size of defects formed on high voltage treeing is necessary for prediction of the remained resources of PE insulation. For this purpose we carry out experimental research for determination of the dependencies of PD characteristics in PE upon electrical stress and fractal dimension of corresponding treeing. The investigations were carried out by means of electrical measurement of PD current and simultaneous optical recording of treeing form.


What Is the Potential for Organ-Preserving ECMO Donors? Despite major technological and therapeutic advances, ECMO remains associated with considerable morbidity. Neurological complications are the leading causes of mortality and disability in ECMO patients. However, there are limited data regarding the incidence, pathophysiology, risk factors, and management of neurological injuries, and there are no widely accepted guidelines for their prevention, detection, and management. Among them, brain death is prominent and accounts for 1% to 8%. Yet, data are missing for brain-dead potential donors with hemodynamics instability, and therefore, the numbers are anticipated to be higher. For example, it is estimated that DCD donors will increase UK heart transplant activity by 30%.


New knowledge is presented that may reverse basic concepts of the relative merits of single-vs 3-phase motors for residential uses and start a trend in favor of single-phase residential service.


In the future, the domenstic construction businesses are expected to be out of the existing task of construction scheduling operated by imperfection and non-automatic system in order to answer satisfy the globalizatioin resulted from the UR conference. Now is the time to pay particular attention to the introduction of new techniques for construction scheduling as well as that of design and construction techniques. Therefore, this research shows the recent operating status of construction scheduling through the survey and verifies it as an appropriate measures for operation improvement. Also, the data demonstrated are considered to be a effective way in the construction scheduling operated in the field.


The fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm uses the Euclidean distance between the sample points and the cluster center as the similarity index. By iteratively calculating the cluster center and the membership matrix, the difference of the objective function can reach the termination error or the number of iterations, so as to realize the automatic classification of data objects. In this paper, a mathematical model of fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm is constructed. In view of the existing defects, the initialization of cluster centers and the merging of cluster centers are improved. An improved fuzzy C-means clustering process is designed, and the work content of each step is explained. On this basis, a mental health intelligent evaluation index system is constructed, and the application method of the fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm in the mental health intelligent evaluation system is pointed out, which provides a basis for carrying out mental health counseling and formulating mental health improvement strategies.


We have built and tested a compact, low-cost, but very-high-performance astronomical polarimeter based on a continuously rotating half-wave plate and a high-speed imaging detector. The polarimeter is suitable for small telescopes up to ~1 m in aperture. The optical system provides very high transmission over a wide wavelength range from the atmospheric UV cutoff to ~1000 nm. The high-quantum-efficiency, low-noise and high-speed of the detectors enable bright stars to be observed with high-precision as well as polarization imaging of extended sources. We have measured the performance of the instrument on 20 cm and 60 cm aperture telescopes. We show some examples of the type of science possible with this instrument. The polarimeter is particularly suited to studies of the wavelength dependence and time variability of the polarization of stars and planets.


Abstract : A laboratory simulation experiment was performed to determine the effect of the TV camera lens field of view upon air-to-ground target recognition by closed-circuit television. Measures of performance were probability of correct target recognition, range of correct recognition, and number of errors committed. It was found that, as the field of view decreased (1) probability of correct recognition decreased, (2) range of correct recognition increased, (3) incorrect target recognitions did not vary, and (4) number of no-response targets increased. The results were discussed in terms of their applicability to tactical airborne situations. (Author)


On the breakthrough and rebellion of classicism,romanticism built its own poem theoretical system.This rebellion mainly includes as follows:irrational against rational,image against deduction,original creation against rules.From the target of literary expression,psychological process of creation to concrete literary form,it represent the basic feature of romantic literature.Thus,rebellion won't happen unexpectedly,the skeptical spirit of period of enlightenment,the creation of emotional modeling representing by Rousseau,all of these are the first signs of romanticism.


BACKGROUND
The landscape of treatment strategies for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) has dramatically changed due to the emergence of chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of two CAR-T cell treatments for RRMM patients from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system.

METHODS
Markov model was used to compare currently available salvage chemotherapy with Idecabtagene vicleucel (Ide-cel) and Ciltacabtagene autoleucel (Cilta-cel) for treatment of patients with RRMM. The model was developed based on data from three studies: CARTITUDE-1, KarMMa and MAMMOTH. The healthcare cost and utility of RRMM patients were collected from a provincial clinical center in China.

RESULTS
In the base case analysis, 3.4% and 30.6% of RRMM patients were expected to be long-term survivors after 5 years of Ide-cel and Cilta-cel treatment, respectively. Compared to salvage chemotherapy, Ide-cel and Cilta-cel were associated with incremental QALYs of 1.19 and 3.31, and incremental costs of US $140,693 and $119,806, leading to ICERs of $118,229 and $36,195 per QALY, respectively. At an ICER threshold of $37,653/QALY gained, the probability that Ide-cel and Cilta-cel are cost-effective were estimated to be 0% and 72%, respectively. With younger target people entering the model, and partitioned survival model in scenario analysis, the ICERs of Cilta-cel and Ide-cel changed rather mildly and their cost-effectiveness results were same to base analysis.

CONCLUSIONS
Base on the willingness-to-pay of 3 times China's per capita GDP in 2021, Cilta-cel was considered to be a more cost-effective option compared to salvage chemotherapy for RRMM in China, while Ide-cel was not.


Individuals sit on the board of directors and set organizational goals, individuals make the prod- uct, push new marketing campaigns, make tough deci- sions, create new products, and so on. What is the role of social responsibility (SR) in their thinking? Do individuals need to behave responsibly to live in a social environ- ment? Could this be grounded in their cognition? Fur- thermore, is there room for SR in our cognitive processes? And then, how can this analysis help studies on socially responsible business? The article presents how the distributed cognition approach provides a viable expla- nation for SR in human thinking. The exploitation of external - both social and nonsocial - resources shapes cognitive processes such that the idea of the "isolated brain" is definitely abandoned. Our social cognition uses responsibility as a support mechanism that sustains or discharges distributive processes. The article uses the notion of docility to keep cognition and social behavior together. The conclusion is that SR is (1) a mechanism that allows individuals to maintain cognitive advantages and (2) it emerges when the same social channel is


In its 1987 report, the Task Force on Blood Pressure Control in Children, sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Heart, Lung,


We show how changes in the global distribution of anthropogenic aerosols favor different spatial patterns in the North Atlantic sea‐surface temperature (NASST). The NASSTs largely show the expected decrease associated with the anthropogenic aerosols in the 1970s, but also an unusual warming response in the eastern sub‐polar gyre, the region of the North Atlantic warming hole. The NASST response reversed for the anthropogenic aerosols in the 2000s against 1970s. The regional reduction in anthropogenic aerosols favored as follows: (1) a strengthening of the warming hole and (2) a NASST increase at high latitudes associated with changes in the coupled atmosphere‐ocean dynamics. We found that the gyre component of the northward Atlantic heat transport in mid‐to high latitudes is an important driver for the heat convergence associated with the NASST patterns. At least two‐thirds of the NASST response in MPI‐ESM1.2 is associated with aerosol‐cloud interactions, highlighting the need to better understand them.


Computational techniques are widely used to reduce costs associated with new drug development with the ability to bind a specific molecular target. These studies need a Brookhaven protein data bank structure sample of the enzyme interaction with an inhibitor of adequate size. In this context, a new computational methodology is postulated to be used when there are no published samples fulfilling this requirements. In this study, 7 compounds, which showed anti‐T. cruzi, L. donovani and L. infantum properties, and proved to be inhibitors of their Fe‐SOD enzymes, have been theoretically evaluated against related parasites Fe‐SOD enzymes, which have been proposed as targets for antiparasitic drugs. This methodology may be applied to similar cases and also to generate starting structures to be used with different CADD methods


Graphology has been considered to be useful in identifying a person's personality in some European countries. However, the International Graphonomic Society recommended that scientific evidence is also needed to associate the usage of graphology to identify these traits. The objective of this research is to identify the relationship between the meaning of selected graphology features and Cattell's 16PF. A set of questionnaires have been distributed to personologists in order for them to verify the relationship between the meaning of five main features in graphology namely proportion, caliber, baseline, slanting and space with the 16 personality factors in Cattellpsilas 16PF. From the findings, 80.9% of the relation was positively confirmed by the personologist, this shows that the selected graphology features and Cattellpsilas 16PF do have some relations. As a result, a matrix table of graphology and Cattelpsilas 16PF is obtained.


Following the release of life insurance market in Taiwan, new companies and new products consistently made their appearances; however, life insurance industry confronted severe competition and challenges. As a result, the competition of traditional cost can no longer ensure the competitive advantage. Satisfying the demand of diversified life insurance product and increasing the degree of customer satisfaction are major strategic directions in life insurance industry. Thus, this study aims at building the conceptual structure of customer satisfaction in the insurance industry, including cognitive construct, affective construct and disconfirmation, and at building upon the satisfaction toward loyalty. The findings reveal that, with the integral concept, conferring on the cognition, affection and disconfirmation serves the best capability of explanation in customer satisfaction. Further, the satisfaction positively correlates with the positive affection and disconfirmation, whereas negatively correlates with the negative affection, and in addition, positively correlates with repurchase intention and world-of-mouth. Finally, the results of verification reveal that positive affection tends to directly influence the world-of-mouth.


Solar Tower systems accomplish high operating temperatures and therefore high conversion efficiencies especially when using combined cycles. A high overall efficiency for the conversion of solar radiation can be achieved by introducing solar energy into a Brayton cycle. One key component of a solar gas turbine system is the receiver. This component has to fulfil several needs at high loads. Main points to bear in mind are the requirement for a limited pressure drop while the receiver is subjected to high and inhomogeneous heat fluxes. Using ceramic materials (SiC) for a solar receiver could rise the outlet temperature significantly as the possible material temperatures can be higher than using metallic alloys. Recently, fully-welded, so called monolithic SiC heat exchangers became available. The monolithic SiC-blocks as key component can withstand extreme temperatures and pressures > 16 bar. A feasibility study was done to estimate the receiver area and mass necessary to achieve an outlet temperature of 1000°C with a thermal power of 3.7MW. The system shall be connected in series with a metallic tubular receiver. The proposed modular approach provides several advantages for designing the geometric arrangement between the receivers.


The apparent simplicity of Velázquez's Sevillian works has been a focus of art historical discussion; since Pacheco stated in his Arte de la pintura (published posthumously in 1649) that Velázquez had hit upon the 'truthful imitation of nature' ('la verdadera imitación del natural') and described the skills he refined to achieve this, such as life study and the mastery of relief, much attention has been dedicated to discussion of the painter's study of nature and the development of these studies into paintings.2 However, critical discussion of the Sevillian paintings has demonstrated an increasing awareness of the 'complex world' that produced Velázquez's 'imitation of nature'. In the nineteenth century Stirling Maxwell in his Velázquez (1855) cited the significance of the Church as patron and later Justi's Velázquez and His Times (1888) considered the appeal of picaresque


The invention relates to a network device management method based on an SNMP protocol and a primary device. The method is characterized in that the primary device reads and analyzes a device template file and a device instance file, integrates the information, such as a device name, a device ID, a template ID, a signal ID and a control ID, in the two files according to the template ID and then saves in an integrated information array, generates an MIB file and a mapping relational file according to the data in the information array and uploads the generated MIB file to a network management center; and during the management operation, the primary device receives an SNMP protocol message sent by the network management center, extracts an OID and an operational order in the message, seeks a corresponding sub-device through the mapping relational file and performing the corresponding operational order for completing the management operation. The primary device in the invention is the primary device for implementing the above-mentioned method. The method and device in the invention realize dynamic update of the MIB file in the network device management, improve management efficiency and have evident advantages.


This study evaluates the performance of different MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol algorithms during fine particle pollution events over the Beijing‐Tianjin‐Hebei region using Aerosol Robotic Network aerosol optical depth (AOD). These algorithms include the Deep Blue (DB) Collection 5.1 (C5) and Collection 6 (C6) algorithms at 10 km resolution, the Dark Target (DT) C5 and C6 algorithms at 10 km, the DT C6 algorithm at 3 km, and the Simplified Aerosol Retrieval Algorithm (SARA) at 500 m, 3 km, and 10 km resolutions. The DB C6 retrievals have 34–39% less uncertainties, 2–3 times smaller root‐mean‐square error (RMSE), and 3–4 times smaller mean absolute error (MAE) than DB C5 retrievals. The DT C6 has 4–8% lower bias, 4–12% less overestimation, and smaller RMSE and MAE errors than DT C5. Due to underestimation of surface reflectance and the use of inappropriate aerosol schemes, 87–89% of the collocations of the DT C6 at 3 km fall above the expected error (EE), with overestimation of 64–79% which is 15–27% higher than that for the DT C6 at 10 km. The results suggest that the DT C6 at 3 km resolution is less reliable than that at 10 km. The SARA AOD has small RMSE and MAE errors with 90–96% of the collocations falling within the EE. Overall, the SARA showed 15–16% less uncertainty than the DB C6 (10 km), 69–72% less than the DT C6 (10 km), and 79–83% less than the DT C6 (3 km) retrievals.


In the last several years, a new body of sociological literature on sadomasochism (SM (b) a discussion and assessment of what is now known about a number of sociological issues and an attempt to resolve some definitional problems in the study of SM and (c) suggestions for additional directions for future research on S&M.


The normal balance between coagulation and fibrinolysis in the lung is disrupted in acute lung injury syndromes, such as adult and neonatal respiratory distress syndromes (ARDS and RDS), leading to widespread interstitial and broncho-alveolar fibrin deposition. Persistence of the fibrin deposits has been associated with the development of pulmonary fibrosis and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Procoagulant activity in lung is due to tissue factor (TF) produced by alveolar epithelial cells and fibrinolytic activity is due to urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA). Dexamethasone(dex) has been used in the treatment of these syndromes, but its use is controversial. Many clinical studies have suggested that long term outcome in acute lung injury syndromes is unchanged or worsened with use of dex. The reasons for the lack of efficacy of steroids in acute lung injury syndromes is unknown.


Paraguay is unique among the countries of the Americas in that nearly 90% of the largely non-indigenous population speaks an indigenous language, Guaraní. The majority of the country is also bilingual in Guaraní and Spanish. Since the end of Stroessner's 35 years of dictatorship in 1989, Paraguay has made significant progress in language planning and policy within a more democratic framework. An initiative to implement universal, two-way bilingual education in Guaraní and Spanish has resulted in the widespread, if still somewhat limited, use of Guaraní in the classroom. Despite disagreement over the purism of textbook Guaraní, the programme has been received positively by parents, students, and teachers. As documented in a recent report on human rights in Paraguay (United States Department of State, 2000), the situation of indigenous populations is precarious. Their survival will depend not only on more clearly articulated language policy that upholds their linguistic rights, but as well on support by the government of other basic human rights, such as preventive medical care and land reform.


s submitted to the Dental Materials Group are also accompanied by an extended abstract that is recorded on microfilm. It may be that many of the authors of such extended abstracts do not consider it necessary to prepare a full paper. However, such extended abstracts do not receive the same scrutiny as papers submitted to peer-reviewed journals. A second possibility is that a manuscript was prepared but the work was considered so poor, or the paper was so badly written, that it was rejected by one or more peer-reviewed journals. The third possibility is that a manuscript was never prepared or submitted for publication, and there may be several reasons for this. The work could be insufficiently important to justify full publication. Submission of abstracts reporting trivial research will probably continue for as long as there is the misguided institutional practice of making travel expenses to meetings dependent on acceptance of an abstract. The work might also have been criticized severely at the meeting, so that the authors realized that their methods, results, or conclusions were inappropriate. The work could be of importance but, because of delays in the writing of the manuscript, similar results were published first by other workers. Whereas submission of an abstract must always meet a deadline, there is no deadline for completion of a manuscript. Thus, human nature being what it is, authors' priorities may change, so that the manuscript is never written. This is particularly likely to occur when authors have their names on large numbers of abstracts at one meeting (a figure of 20 is not unknown). Such authors would need to write papers at the rate of one every 2.5 weeks, although often the work may have been sliced into small portions ("salami-science") to allow colleagues or students to receive travel support to attend the meeting. It is also possible that the presenter of the abstract was a graduate or undergraduate student who left the field before writing a manuscript. Finally, there may have been disputes of various types among the authors that precluded agreement on the contents of a manuscript or on who was entitled to be named a co-author. Another finding by Ms. Corry was that in 30% of abstracts subsequently published as full papers, there were discrepancies between the abstract and the manuscript in the names of authors. Omission of a name from the manuscript could mean that that person disagreed with the contents of the paper or perhaps had left the laboratory and had really only made a small contribution to the work. Alternatively, he/she could have been deprived of appropriate recognition. Addition of names to a manuscript could mean that the work had expanded beyond that reported in the abstract and had involved additional researchers or consultants. Perhaps the project was initiated by one student but completed by another. Changes in the title between abstract and final publication are not at all unexpected, since the number of words allowed for the title of an abstract is limited; the emphasis in the final paper may have changed or the title may have been revised on the basis of suggestions by the reviewers or editor. Of more interest is the finding by Ms. Corry that the conclusions in the publication often differed from those in the abstract. This could result from discussions or criticisms of the presentation at the meeting or because of rapid advances in the research field. It may be that the abstract reported the results of a pilot project, but the full study gave different results. Occasionally, of course, the abstract may report "expected" results that were not found when the authors actually carried out the study! While there are sound and sufficient reasons for many abstracts not subsequently being published, it is a matter of concern that three out of four IADR/AADR abstracts never reach this goal. As Ms. Corry notes in her article, 30-55% of abstracts presented at meetings of other scientific societies are subsequently published. This would seem to be a reasonable objective that could be reached by more careful evaluation of proposed abstracts by senior investigators and their institutions, as well as by the IADR/AADR Program committees. The latter currently reject 10-12% of submitted abstracts. Elimination of the practice of making support for travel to meetings dependent on acceptance of an abstract would also be a significant step in the right direction.


The purpose of the study was to seek the intervention schemes improving each area workers' job satisfaction by investigating the job satisfaction level of elderly nursing home employees and by researching the characteristics of those differences by metropolitan area, small city, and rural area. The quantitative research method and the qualitative research method were utilized in this study. The objects of this study were all of elderly nursing home employees placed in Gwangju city and Jeon-Nam area. Total of 399 employees were sampled for quantitative research. As a result of the study, the mean score of the job satisfaction level was 65.8. Job satisfaction levels of 'Job Contents' and 'Payment System', the lower elements of Job characteristics, were low. The elderly nursing home employees in rural area showed the lowest job satisfaction levels in 'Promotion and Compensation' and 'supervisor', which were the lower elements of Organization characteristics. As the intervention schemes to give elderly nursing home employees the same job satisfaction level, several suggestions were made including reinforcement of vocational education, reorganizing elderly nursing home structure and supervisor qualification enforce a system


Abstract.  This essay discusses the deep perceptual and social changes that the advanced applications of biotechnology could bring in the West. It examines the probable collapse of a fundamental perceptual bipolarity on which the Western mind and social mobilization have been based since its inception in the West: Athens--Jerusalem. This collapse will quite possibly radically reshape Western perceptions of self and nature and will remodel established constellations and modes of social mobilization and social organization. The radical collapse of the preceding established feature of Western modernity is due to take place in the field of biotechnology, since the latter promises to produce a deliverable perfection of flesh and an equally corporeal personal bliss. I call this promise ``eutopia,'' an actual and tangible utopia-- ``a laboratory on the hill.''


Simon and Alouini (2001) have derived the structure of the optimal N-length differential detector for differentially encoded M-ary phase-shift keying signals, transmitted over a slow fading diversity channel. Even though there is no explicit phase estimation and compensation being performed at the receiver, it was demonstrated that as N increases, the error performance of this multiple-symbol differential detector approaches that of maximal-ratio combining (with differential encoding). Unfortunately, efficient implementation of this optimal receiver is not possible, and it exhibits a computational complexity exponential in N. The computational complexity can be reduced dramatically to N log N if the receiver first performs coherent combining of the received multichannel baseband signals, followed by single-channel multiple-symbol differential detection (MSDD). A coherent combiner is introduced that is capable of cophasing the multichannel signals without violating the fundamental nature of differential detection, i.e. to avoid explicit phase estimation. The proposed suboptimal coherent combining MSDD (CC-MSDD) receiver essentially consists of two differential detectors: one operating across diversity branches, and one operating across time. Owing to the dramatic reduction in complexity, a very large observation window is used with the CC-MSDD. With window size N=64, the asymptotic performance of the CC-MSDD is only 0.5 dB away from maximal-ratio combining with differential encoding. This translates into a 1.5 dB gain in power efficiency over conventional equal gain combining for a second-order diversity system. The authors also investigate suboptimal receivers which perform selection combining, followed by single-channel MSDD. Although these selection combining MSDD receivers provide less than satisfactory performance in stand-alone mode, they are promising candidates for the initial detector in blind, iterative coherent detectors that operate on the principle of decision feedback.


A new practical approach to the preparation of highly and multiply deuterated isoprenoids, archaeal membrane lipid, diterpene antibiotic terpentecin, and carotenoids as examples, and its potential for analyzing the biosynthetic mechanism of isoprenoids are described by using fully deuterated mevalonolactone (MVL-d 9 ). Racemic MVL-d 9 was successfully synthesized starting from deuterated dimethoxyphenylacetone and trimethyl phosphonoacetate in gram scale. Enantiomerically pure (R)-MVL-d 9 was also synthesized using Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation. The methodology for biosynthetic studies using MVL-d 9 is meritorious for mechanistic enzymology, particularly, the key transformation involving proton attack and/or proton quench as observed in isoprenoids biosynthesis.


Despite an alarming increase in the prevalence of hypertension among Chinese young adults, longitudinal studies investigating factors that affect the maintenance of normal blood pressure (BP) in this population are lacking. Our study aimed to address this knowledge gap. A total of 7100 participants from the Kailuan Study who had normal BP and were aged <30 years at their first physical examination between 2006 and 2016 were included in this study. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess hazard ratios (HR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess the associations between influencing factors and the maintenance of normal BP in young adults. Analyses were stratified by sex. During the follow‐up period (mean, 7.98 years), 1921 participants (27.06%) maintained normal BP. Higher education levels (HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.00–1.22), low salt intake (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.04–1.51), being underweight (HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.02–1.31), and having normal weight (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.01–1.39), normal blood glucose (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.02–1.46), and no family history of hypertension (HR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.41–1.92) at baseline were found to be associated with maintaining normal BP. Compared with female smokers, female non‐smokers had 1.68 times higher odds of maintaining normal BP. This study identified factors that influence the maintenance of normal BP in the young population in China. This information can assist clinicians in establishing comprehensive and effective primary prevention measures for hypertension.


The objective of this study was to determine the public's likelihood of being willing to use an emergency department (ED) for urgent/emergent illness during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic.


Abstract : A shipboard surveillance and an engineering analysis were performed by ARINC Research Corporation to compare the cost-effectiveness of the microelectronic AN/UCC-1C teletype-communication terminal equipment with that of the AN/UCC-1 transistorized terminal equipment. The data employed included those obtained from observations made aboard the USS Topeka (CLG-8) and the USS Cavalier (APA-37), data extracted from the Navy Maintenance Data Collection System (MDCS), and procurement-cost data. Insufficient data were available to identify any difference in effectiveness between the UCC-1C and the UCC-1 terminal equipments. However, there was a reduction in cost in the UCC-1C. The report identifies reliability problems of the teletype-communication system and recommends actions to correct them. (Author)


Porous composites sca olds of di erent concentration of chitosan/ Poly(DL,lactide) were fabricated for tissue engineering applications by thermally induced phase separation and lyophilization techniques. The in vitro bioactivity evaluation of the sca olds was carried out by analyzing the apatite layers produced on them using Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) as incubation medium. The interaction between functional groups in the composite was analyzed using di erential scanning calorimetry. The apatite formation was analyzed using FTIR spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled to energydispersive electron X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray di raction. The cumulative results obtained from IR spectra and SEM-EDS, suggest that the developed composites might have potential applications in tissue engineering.


Tradisional snacks in one component in everyday in life. Not only bacause of tradisional snackstaste good or unique color and appearance, but also because the tradisional snacks are valuable ancestral cultural heritage deriveed from earlier ancestors. But today's current society has lost of modern snacks modern, then ignored tradisional snacks. The design of this book aims to remind the public to the importance of the existing tradisional hawker markets, necessitating, a variety of recipe books snacks that can assist in making tradisional snacks of processed foods, so the quality is safe and secure. Based on the results of various design book of tradisional recipes snacks can be a concern for people, especially those who have forgotten the kinds of snacks, so that with the book design of various recipes of tradisional snacks can make the community will get to know more of the snacks about their own tradisional snacks. Keyword: Design, Various Recipe Books Snacks, Padang City


Citral in the liquid phase was reduced in a low-pressure hydrogenator by using catalysts consisting of palladium supported on (a) a mixed 80:20 SiO2/AlPO4system and (b) sepiolite from Vallecas (Madrid, Spain). A kinetic study provided the reaction orders in the substrate concentration and hydrogen pressure. Experimental variables such as temperature, hydrogen pressure and the type of solvent were adjusted in order to optimize the reduction process. The presence of additives of the Lewis acid type such as FeCl2was found to considerably alter the hydrogenation mechanism; under these conditions, the selectivity proved strongly dependent on the Fe2+/Pd atomic ratio. The reaction products were characterized by using gas chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry.


In the era of knowledge explosion, text classification is becoming increasingly crucial. At the same time, with the proposed Blockchain, it is of great research significance to actively explore the combination of Blockchain and AI, especially to apply text classification technology to the security classification of Blockchain technology. In this paper, we propose a hybrid neural network model (MLCNN & BiGRU-ATT) based on Multilayer Convolutional Neural Networks (MLCNN) and Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit (BiGRU) with Attention Mechanism in the news text classification field. GRU (Gate Recurrent Unit), a variant of LSTM (Long-Short Term Memory), has the natural advantages in processing time series tasks, which can readily capture the characteristics of text context information. Due to its prominent advantages in local feature extraction, CNN is also applied to NLP area, in which the researchers have made substantial progress. The experiment results reveal that our model has achieved higher accuracy on THUCNews dataset and Sougou news corpus classification.


A smart city is a developed urban area that excels in the area of economy, governance, people and life through strong human capital, social capital and ICT infrastructure. It is a new approach to managing the complexity of city life, increase efficiency, reduce expenses and improve the quality of life of the citizens. This paper is on potential smart cities applications as applied to the domains of smart transport, smart tourism and recreation, smart health, ambient-assisted living, crime prevention and community safety, governance, monitoring and infrastructure, disaster management, environment management, refuse collection and sewer management, smart homes and smart energy. These smart cities applications support the future vision of cities, which aim at exploiting ICTs, namely internet of things technologies (IoT), for value-added service delivery. Furthermore, the paper presents a technical solution for energy control and comfort in a home for proof of concept of a smart city infrastructure application. The demonstrator described here is on how smart applications can manage energy control and comfort in a room that has a varied number of people and electrical appliances, with each being a source of heat.


The main objective in conducting this research has been investigating and enquiring into the migration processes and border crossing practices of irregular migrants from South Asian and Middle Eastern countries, who entered Turkey via Iran, especially from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh and Somalia. Within this context, the study aims to reveal the reasons for the departure of immigrants in their countries, immigrant profiles, factors affecting immigration decisions, Iran's attitude towards immigrants, the cost of immigration, the difficulties encountered in the immigration process and the border crossing practices of immigrants. Examining the issue of security along with migration at Turkey-Iran border has been another objective of this study. In the study, in which the qualitative research method was adopted, primary data were obtained by using interviewing and various interview techniques. As a secondary data source, previous academic studies, data from the Directorate of Migration Management and the Provincial Migration Administration of Van Governorate were used. While dealing with the issue of irregular migration, which is a multidimensional and multi-actor phenomenon, actors such as immigrants, migrant smugglers, security forces, civil administrators and border villagers were used.
 Afghans, Pakistanis and Iranians constitute a significant part of the immigrants who have increased in number in recent years and entered Turkey via Iran. Although their number varies from year to year, the rate of Afghans varies between 30% and 45% annually. It is seen that the main factor in the increase of both Afghan and other immigrant groups is security concerns and economic reasons. The Iranian administration's directing the immigrants in the country to the west and the activities of migrant smugglers also play an important role in this situation. Immigrants have to struggle with many difficulties, especially geographical conditions and abuses of smugglers, during the travel process. One of the most dramatic is migrant deaths. The number of immigrants who froze to death just on the Turkish-Iranian border each year is around 50.
 It is hoped that this study, which focuses on the issue of migration, which has become one of the most important agenda topics of Turkey and the world in recent years, especially the issue of migration from the east, will contribute to both the literature and policy makers.


Dr. Eric Blackwell: "I'm Eric Blackwell, I'm the Co-Editor of the History of Ultrasound section along with Joan Baker for OBGYN.net and the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers. We're coming to you this time from the 45th Annual Convention of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine in Orlando, and I'm pleased to have with me Dr. Leeber Cohen from Northwestern University in Chicago. I know Dr. Cohen has interests in gynecology and especially gynecologic oncology and three-dimensional acquisition of gynecologic information. I'd like to ask you first something about how you became involved in ultrasound. How did you first take an interest in ultrasound itself?"


[reaction: see text] A poly(ethylene glycol)-supported chiral diamine (PEG-2), in which the polymer is attached to the phenyl rings, has been synthesized and shown to be highly effective in asymmetric hydrogenation of unfunctionalized aromatic ketones with the possibility of reuse. PEG-2 can also serve as a chiral scaffold on which various immobilized chiral catalysts could be easily built.


Among the best known of the soil micro6rganisms are the spore-forming bacteria. They have been described as soilbacteria ever since the first bacteriological investigations of soil were made; and a more thorough taxonomic study has been made of them than of any other bacteria except those which have sanitary significance. It is seldom, however, that they comprise more than 10 per cent of the total flora of soil. Hiltner and St6rmer (1903)2 recognized three groups of colonies upon gelatin plates made from soil: liquefiers, non-liquefiers and Streptothrix forms. The liquefiers averaged about 5 per, cent of the total flora. The ordinary spore-forming bacteria in soil are all rapid liquefiers and must have been included in this 5 per cent mentioned by Hiltner and St6rmer. Similar results have been obtained by various other investigators. The spore-forming bacteria, B. mycoides, B. cereus, and B. megatherium, are practically always present in soil and have always been considered characteristic and important soil organisms. These bacteria develop on gelatin or agar plates much more rapidly than those which comprise the other 90 to 95 per cent of the soil flora, and form large, striking colonies. They are among the largest of all bacteria and have an unusually interesting morphology, so it is not surprising that they have been studied most extensively of all the soil organisms growing


This paper elaborates the principles and strategies involved in writing and critical thinking development,based upon the latest research findings in this area domestic and abroad.With regards to the domestic context,efforts need to be made further to improve English writing and critical thinking.


Wars, Pestilence and the Surgeon's Blade charts the evolution of the British Army MedicalServices from the Peninsular War to the beginning of the Great War. It is a timelycompanion to the highly recommended book War Surgery 1914-18 (Solihull, England:Helion & Company, 2012) co-edited by Scotland and Heys, after many visits to theGreat War battlefields of France and Flanders. That was their first joint publication onBritish military history. This is their second.


We perform a joint likelihood analysis of the power spectra of the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies under the assumptions that the initial fluctuations were adiabatic, Gaussian and well described by power laws with scalar and tensor indices of n(s) and n(t). On its own, the 2dFGRS sets Light limits on the parameter combination Omega(m)h, but relatively weak limits on the fraction of the cosmic matter density in baryons Omega(b)/Omega(m)- (Here h is Hubble's constant H-0 in units of 100 km s(-1) Mpc(-1). The cosmic densities in baryons, cold dark matter and vacuum energy are denoted by Omega(b), Omega(c) and Omega(Lambda), respectively. The total matter density is Omega(m) = Omega(b) + Omega(c) and the curvature is fixed by Omega(k) = 1 - Omega(m) - Omega(Lambda).) The CMB anisotropy data alone set poor constraints on the cosmological constant and Hubble constant because of a 'geometrical degeneracy' among parameters. Furthermore, if tensor modes are allowed, the CMB data allow a wide range of values for the physical densities in baryons; and cold dark matter (omega(b) = Omegabh(2) and omega(c) = Omega(c)h(2)). Combining the CMB and 2dFGRS data sets helps to break both the geometrical and tensor mode degeneracies. The values of the parameters derived here are consistent with the predictions of the simplest models of inflation, with the baryon density derived from primordial nucleosynthesis and with direct measurements of the Hubble parameter. In particular, we find strong evidence for a positive cosmological constant with a +/-2sigma, range of 0.65 < U(U) < 0.85, independently of constraints on Omega(Lambda) derived from Type Ia supernovae.


Reconstructed temperatures through the Phanerozoic indicate a gradual cooling or, at best, no significant temperature trend, despite a 4.4% increase in solar heating. It is possible that an underlying warming trend has simply been swamped by 'noise' due to significant data‐errors and/or natural fluctuations. Alternatively, the lack of warming may indicate cooling by biological and/or geological processes, which happen to have the right amplitude to cancel the effects of solar warming. This paper demonstrates that the absence of Phanerozoic warming cannot be explained as a warming trend hidden by noise. It also shows that, given widely accepted estimates of climate sensitivity, it cannot be explained as cancellation by negative feedback in the climate system. The Gaia hypothesis, anthropic selection or some other unconventional mechanism may therefore have to be invoked to explain the absence of long‐term warming through the Phanerozoic.


Progesterone (P4) has a crucial impact on the transcriptome of the uterine endometrium and the preparation of the uterus to support implantation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of follicle aspiration just before ovulation on corpus luteum (CL) development, circulating P4 concentrations and the ability of the uterus to support embryo development and conceptus elongation. We tested the hypothesis that the unavoidable loss of follicular fluid and some granulosa cells during aspiration of the preovulatory follicle would compromise the development and function of the developing CL and that this would be associated with reduced P4 and a poorer uterine environment. Oestrous cycles of crossbred beef heifers were synchronized using an 8-day CIDR treatment with administration of a prostaglandin F2α analogue on the day before CIDR removal to ensure CL regression. Heifers were checked for signs of oestrus 4 times per day commencing 30 h after CIDR withdrawal and only those recorded in standing oestrus (Day 0, n = 20) were used. All heifers received a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (0.01 mg buserelin) 48 h after CIDR removal to induce an LH surge. Half of the animals underwent follicle aspiration 20 h later, while the remainder underwent ovulation. Daily transrectal ultrasonography was carried out from Day 3 to 13 to record CL development. Daily blood samples were collected from Day 0 to 14 for circulating P4 concentrations. To test the ability of the uterus to support embryo development and conceptus elongation, Day 7 in vitro-produced blastocysts were transferred to the uteri of synchronised recipients (7 to 10 blastocysts per recipient). All recipients were slaughtered on Day 14 to assess embryo survival and conceptus size. CL diameter and CL area were significantly reduced in the follicle aspirated group compared with controls from Day 6 onwards (P ≤ 0.05). Similarly, at slaughter on Day 14, CL weight (4.17 ± 0.48 vs 7.05 ± 1.65 mm), diameter (19.89 ± 1.35 vs 24.64 ± 2.07 mm) and area (321.94 ± 45.01 vs 510.18 ± 69.41 mm2) were lower in aspirated heifers (P ≤ 0.05). Circulating P4 concentrations were lower at all time points from Day 3 to Day 14 but were only significantly lower from Day 12 onwards (P ≤ 0.05). Conceptus length (2.08 ± 0.29, n = 56 vs 4.55 ± 0.78 mm, n = 45) and area (2.52 ± 0.39 vs 5.61 ± 1.12 mm2) were lower (P ≤ 0.05) in heifers undergoing follicular aspiration compared with those undergoing ovulation. In conclusion, aspiration of the preovulatory dominant follicle just before expected ovulation was associated with a compromised CL in terms of size and P4 output and this, in turn, was associated with a reduced capacity of the uterus to support the initiation of conceptus elongation. Supported by Science Foundation Ireland (07/SRC/B1156).


The utility model discloses a metal composite plate, which belongs to the building material, comprising an upper metal plate, an intermediate noninflammable polyurethane foam and a lower fiber cement board. Wherein, the density of the noninflammable polyurethane foam is between 40kg/m and 220kg/m , the edges of the four sides of the metal plate are bended as a packing style, and the intermediate noninflammable polyurethane foam is wrapped by the metal plate. The thickness of the metal plate is between 0. 2mm and 3mm, and the material of the metal plate is the stainless steel material or the copper material or the alloy material or the colorful material or the aluminum material. The metal composite plate has the advantages of light weight, good fireproof performance, high flexibility, good weatherability, and firm combinability between the composite bed.


Methods for genomic sequence analysis have been studied for more than a decade. One line of investigation is to locate the biologically meaningful segments, like conserved regions or GC-rich regions in DNA sequences. A common approach is to assign a real number (also called scores) to each residue, and then look for the maximum-sum or maximum-average segment. In this chapter, we address a few interesting applications concerning the search for the "heaviest" segment of a numerical sequence that naturally arises in the biomolecular sequence analysis. We also introduce some fundamental algorithmic techniques for solving them.


It is known that exposure to whole-body vibration when driving different types of vehicles may cause health effects and discomfort. Absorbed power might be a good quantity for assessing the risk of injury due to such exposure. Mechanical impedance is a measure which describes biodynamics and can define human response to vibration. It can then also be used in the design of preventative measures. The mechanical impedance of the human body in the vertical direction is presented in the ISO-standard 5982 (1981). However, it does not show concordance with results from later studies. This study has investigated how to measure and quantify absorbed power and mechanical impedance in a real vehicle environment. The vehicle was an 8-seater minibus driven on a snow covered gravel road at a speed of approximately 50 kmh−1. Three male subjects were exposed to vibration in the vehicle, sitting on a rigid seat mounted at the back of the minibus. Two postures were used, sitting erect and relaxed. Force and acceleration were measured using a specially designed seat plate. The results showed that absorbed power and mechanical impedance can be measured in a vehicle, but the results differ from other published single-axis exposure results. There seems to be a force cross-talk between the directions. This force distorts the results if the difference in vibration magnitude is as large as in this study. For instance, absorbed power negative results are shown around the frequency range 5–10 Hz in the x direction. Further research is needed in order to define the level and linearity of the force cross-talk. In addition, studies to investigate other conditions, such as back and arm rests, seat foam and suspension seats he of great interest.


We describe the concept of utilizing tetherless microstructured grippers with attached silicon (Si)-based chips for event-based gripping. Grippers were fabricated using photolithography, and Si chips were bonded to them using a solder-based directed assembly approach. Because we propose the use of these grippers as tags or to attach electronic devices to various surfaces, we also attached commercial microtransponder chips to the grippers as a specific example of an integrated and commercially available electronic device. After assembly, we released grippers with integrated chips from the substrate. Grippers closed upon exposure to heat (>; 40°C) or specific chemical environments that softened or degraded a polymer trigger layer incorporated within each hinge. We investigated gripping capabilities of chip-carrying grippers on woven textile fibers and a live caterpillar; these demonstrations were achieved without any attached wires or electrical power. The autonomous thermochemical closure response of the grippers coupled with convenient and secure attachment of wireless microtransponders is a step toward the creation of smart event-based gripping platforms with communication modules.


The latest in organic electronics-based sensing and biotechnology

Develop high-performance, field-deployable organic semiconductor-based biological, chemical, and physical sensor arrays using the comprehensive information contained in this definitive volume. Organic Electronics in Sensors and Biotechnology presents state-of-the-art technology alongside real-world applications and ongoing R & D.

Learn about light, temperature, and pressure monitors, integrated flexible pyroelectric sensors, sensing of organic and inorganic compounds, and design of compact photoluminescent sensors. You will also get full details on organic lasers, organic electronics in memory elements, disease and pathogen detection, and conjugated polymers for advancing cellular biology.

Monitor organic and inorganic compounds with OFETs
Characterize organic materials using impedance spectroscopy
Work with organic LEDs, photodetectors, and photovoltaic cells
Form flexible pyroelectric sensors integrated with OFETs
Build PL-based chemical and biological sensing modules and arrays
Design organic semiconductor lasers and memory elements
Use luminescent conjugated polymers as optical biosensors
Deploy polymer-based switches and ion pumps at the microfluidic level

Table of contents
Ch 1. Scaling Effects in Organic Transistors and Transistor-based Chemical Sensors
Ch 2. Organic Thin-film Transistors for Inorganic Substance Monitoring
Ch 3. Strain and Pressure Sensors Based on Organic Field Effect Transistors
Ch 4. Integrated Pyroelectric Sensors
Part I. Electrical Semiconductor and Dielectric Analysis
Part II. Integrated Pyroelectric Sensors
Ch 5. Progress and Challenges in Organic Light Emitting-Diode (OLED)-based Chemical and Biological Sensors
Ch 6. An Introduction to Organic Photodetectors
Ch 7. Organic Semiconductor Lasers as Integrated Light Sources for Optical Sensors
Ch 8. Organic Electronics in Memories and Sensing Applications
Ch 9. Luminescent Conjugated Polymers for Staining and Characterization of Amyloid Deposits
Ch 10. Electrophoretically Deposited Polymers for Organic Electronics
Ch 11. Electrochemical Surface Switches and Electronic Ion Pumps Based on Conjugated Polymers


The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has quickly impacted health care systems and especially primary care pediatricians. Although fortunately cases of severe COVID-19 and the associated multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children have been rare, the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed the financial vulnerability of independent pediatric practices that rely primarily on fee-for-service revenue. Social distancing and stay-at-home advisories have led to the cancellation of routine well-child and follow-up visits for many children and young adults nationwide, as evidenced by the steep drop in childhood vaccines since March. Furthermore, social distancing has led to a significant reduction in the incidence of common infections and playground and sports injuries, further diminishing the need for office visits. And, even when children do become ill or injured, parents fear exposing their children to infection by bringing them for care during the pandemic. Yet although children have been relatively spared from the brunt of direct health effects of COVID-19, social isolation and lack of school attendance have placed them at increased risk for mental health disorders, missed screenings for lead poisoning, poor nutrition and/or exercise habits, and undetected child abuse, which are situations that call for a strengthening of the primary care infrastructure to assure children's health needs are met.


In 2014, a British journalist coined the term spornosexual to account for the emergence of a body-obsessed version of metrosexuality . While metrosexuals practice beautification rituals, spornosexuals are men obsessed with developing muscular bodies and self-objectifyingly flaunting them online. In an age of neoliberalism and globalization, this form of masculinity has now spread worldwide, including to Singapore, as a hegemonic ideal male figure. Using a multimodal analysis, we investigate four racially Chinese, Singapore-based Instagram users who represent prototypical spornosexual ideals through their bodies and fitness practices. We examine the way these Instagram users embody the personhood of a spornosexual through their construction of mediatized identities online. The meanings and values associated with the muscular body are also explored and subsequently compared with traditional notions of masculinity in Singapore.


Resveratrol has cardioprotective effect against ischemia‐reperfusion injury. Opening of MPTP causes mitochondrial swelling, ATP depletion, oxidative phosphorylation and apoptosis/necrosis. The aim of this study is investigated the effects of Atractyloside(Atr), MPTP opener, on cardioprotective effects of resveratrol. After anesthesia rat heart was mounted on Langendorff apparatus. In the control group‐global ischemia; preconditioning group‐hearts were perfused with resveratrol (10–5 M), before global ischemia; third group‐Atr (3–100 μM) and resveratrol were perfused before global ischemia. All groups were made 120 min. reperfusion after 30 min. ischemia. Left ventricular development pressure (LVDP), left ventricular end‐diastolic pressure (LVEDP), ±dP/dt, rate pressure product (RPP) were evaluated, infarct size was evaluated at end of reperfusion. In control hearts, LVDP and LVEDP were significantly reduced during reperfusion as before ischemia. Resveratrol was reversed LVDP, LVEDP, ±dP/dt value as compared Atr. Co‐administration with Atr (100,30 μM) and resveratrol were significantly changed LVDP, LVEDP, ±dP/dt values of resveratrol group. RPP values were changed resveratrol group compared with control and high doses of Atr. Infarct size was significantly increased in Atr+resveratrol groups as resveratrol group. MPTP may mediate the effect of resveratrol.


Objective. To assess quality of life (QoL) using the Short Form Medical Outcomes Study (SF-36) questionnaire before and after surgical treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in patients undergoing renal replacement therapy. Methods. QoL was assessed before surgery and in the period from 4 to 30 months after surgical treatment of SHPT. Twenty patients were questioned according to SF-36 questionnaire in a longitudinal study and in comparison, with the population indicators of the Irkutsk region residents. The median age before surgery was 53 years, the median level of PTH before surgery was 1715 pg/ml. After surgical treatment, the median of PTH was 12.9 pg/ml, calcium - 1.99 mmol/l; phosphorus - 1.72 mmol/l within 6-12 months. Results. An unfavorable effect of SHPT on QoL of patients receiving hemodialysis was shown in comparison with population indicators. Evaluation of the effectiveness of surgical treatment of SHPT in relation to changes in the quality of life of patients is given. A statistically significant increase in QoL indicators after surgical treatment was proved for all the studied scales (pW<0.05). In the long term after the operation, QoL of patients receiving hemodialysis exceeds the population indicators on the scales of the psychological component of health, pain intensity, social and role functioning. Conclusion. The SHPT in patients receiving hemodialysis is the cause of a decrease in QoL in comparison with population indicators was shown for the first time. Surgical remission of the disease leads to a statistically significant improvement in QoL, and on the scales of the psychological component of health, intensity of pain, social and role functioning, the quality of life of patients exceeds population indicators in a similar age group. The data obtained allow us to consider postoperative hypoparathyroidism as one of the favorable factors in course of postoperative period and criterion for remission of the disease. What this paper adds It has been shown that the secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients undergoing hemodialysis is the cause of a decrease in life of quality in comparison with population indicators. Surgical remission of the disease leads to a statistically significant improvement the quality of life. The data obtained allow considering postoperative hypoparathyroidism as one of the favorable factors in the course of the postoperative period and criteria for remission of the disease.


When Strindberg completed To Damascus I in 1898, he had already written two other journey plays, Lucky Peter's Journey and The Keys to Heaven. Whereas both treated religious themes, To Damascus I was the first of Strindberg's dramas to link self-recognition with the quest for God. The pilgrimage of the Stranger, or literally of the Unknown One, is toward recognition of God and self, and is modeled after the journey of Saul, a journey which led to his conversion . In the play, the Stranger's conversion, or near conversion, takes place through interaction with the landscape and important characters, male doubles of himself, all reflections of his guilt and preoccupations. The emphasis is on recognition. If one sees the resemblance between landscape and self, one is brought face to face with painful aspects ordinarily hidden , and forced to see clearly as in an undistorted mirror. Since spiritual and psychological change is brought about by seeing, the decor is crucial.


According to the preceding letter, Richard Bellman thinks that our predictions about heuristic programming are incorrect, irresponsible, and sensationalist. We should like to comment on these three points in turn.


Objective To explore the organization framework and personnel structure of the medical establishments in institutions of higher education in Guangdong and to provide reference for the construction of medical such establishments.Method The authors of this paper have conducted a survey on 41 medical and health care establishments in regular institutions of higher education in Guangdong province,based on which a statistic analysis has been made. Results The ratio of the number of the regular service targets to that of the medical personnel is 933∶1; The medical personnel-student ratio descends in the order as follons; the main campus of universities,the campus in the university town,the non-government founded institutions and independent institutions; Most of the medical personnel in those medical establishments are over 45 years old; and percentage of the personnel who have senior,middle and primary titles is 16.3%,52.0% and 31.7% respectively. Conclusion It is highly necessary to provide with more medical personnel and to upgrade the professional knowledge of the medical personnel in medical establishments in institutions of higher education in Guangdong with a view to ensuring better medical and health care service to staff and students as well.


The purpose of this study is to identify the application of aspects of corporate governance in family businesses and SMEs scale non-family businesses in the Special Region of Yogyakarta and to identify differences in the application of aspects of corporate governance in family businesses and non-family businesses on the scale of SMEs in the Special Region. Yogyakarta. Respondents in this study involved SMEs in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Five family businesses and five SME scale non-family businesses in the Yogyakarta Special Region were selected in each sampling location. The sample was determined by the convenience sampling method. This study will first examine the application of governance in family businesses and non-family businesses separately, then compare the application of governance between the two types of business.This study indicates that each type of business has carried out corporate governance in its business, but not maximally. There are advantages and disadvantages in its application. Most of the reasons for these differences in implementation arise from the basic characteristics that differentiate family businesses and non-family businesses, namely the ownership structure and the business structure. The more concentrated ownership and business structure, the less transparency, accountability, responsibility, independence, and fairness the company tends to be. On the other hand, in companies with more dispersed levels of ownership concentration and business structure, the application of the five aspects of corporate governance will increase.Keywords: Good Corporate Governance, Small and Medium Enterprises, Family and Non-Family Business


With rapid urbanization, population is moving into the coastal regions around the world. These regions mostly consist of highly compressible and weak soft soil up to great depths. It is essential to improve these soils to achieve desired load carrying capacity. In this environment, surcharge preloading will not only be time taking it will also be needed in large height. Vacuum preloading can be of significant utility compared to the surcharge load. Reduction in pore pressure during vacuum consolidation is a complex phenomenon & is not uniform throughout the soil mass. Near the drainage boundaries i.e., PVDs it will be rapid, and between the PVDs, it will be gradual. However, it is observed that pore pressures show an initial increase between the two drainage boundaries before they finally decrease. This phenomenon of increase in pore pressure due to the application of load is called as Mandel-Cryer effect. The increase is small when compared to the overall vacuum pressure applied. Rapid reduction in pore pressure at the drainage boundary is considered to be the main cause behind this phenomenon. To have a better understanding of this behaviour in vacuum consolidation, a two-dimensional numerical study has been conducted using Plaxis 2D incorporating fully coupled flow-deformation analysis. The pore pressure changes at different depths in the soft clay layer have been shown. The effect of variation in poisson's ratio on the change in pore pressure is discussed. Displacements obtained with different Poisson's ratio of soft clay are also compared and presented.


We apply techniques from the field of computational mechanics to evaluate the statistical complexity of neural recording data in fruit flies. We connect statistical complexity to the flies' level of conscious arousal, which is manipulated by general anaesthesia (isoflurane). We show that the complexity of even single channel time series data decreases under anaesthesia. The observed difference complexity between the two conscious arousal states increases as higher orders of temporal correlations are taken into account. In contrast to prior work, our results show that complexity differences can emerge at very short time scales and across broad regions of the fly brain, thus heralding the macroscopic state of anaesthesia in a previously unforeseen manner.


restricted Hartree – Fock (HF) calculations [28] as well as by DFT. [80] In addi-tion, the tautomers of hypericin were calculated by FF, [27,64,81] semiempir- ical AM1, [29] and restricted HF [28] calculations; however, a systematic study at the DFT level had not been reported so far. Conformers were achieved by torsions of the aromatic backbone, characterized by two dihedral angles Θ 3,3a,4a,4 and Θ 10,10a,11a,11 , whereas tautomers are de fi ned by the positions of the carboxyl groups at the peri region. All energy minima were con fi rmed by the absence of imaginary frequencies. Furthermore, transitions states in the conformational isomerization, tautomerization, and the newly de fi ned H- fl ip at the 3-, 4-position were studied in detail. The transition states were characterized by one imaginary frequency, referring to a local maximum (the saddle point), and re fl ecting the dynamic pathway between two adja- cent local minima. [82]


This study evaluated, for the physicochemical, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities using vitro assays of water extracts from juice and seed of commercially grown pomegranate fruit. The fruit weight, fruit length, fruit volume, fruit length and fruit diameter, were in the range of 258.33 g, 264.77 cm 3 , 72.42 mm and 76.03 mm respectively. Total soluble solids content, pH, titratable acidity and total sugars are matching the literature reviewed. Juice having higher total phenolic content and fewer flavonoid contents and visa versa in seed. Antioxidative property was deliberated based on their free radical scavenging ability and reducing power, in which the juice exerted higher (48% and 310µg/ml) potential than seed (36% and 297 µg/ml) respectively. The investigated results against normal erythrocytes exposed to both heat and hypotonic induced lyses exhibited juice (49.23% and 29.65%) have higher potency than seed (36.25% and 19.57%) at 1mg/ml compared to the standard drug acetyl salicylic acid (64.28% and 52.29%) at 0.1mg/ml respectively.


Objectives: To compare immunogenicity among an inactivated hepatitis A vaccine (Healive®) with one-dose and two-dose regimens, and three kinds of live attenuated vaccines in children. Results: No significant differences were observed in seroconversion rates (seroprotection rates) among the five groups at 6 or 12 mo (p > 0.05). The geometric mean concentration (GMC) of anti-HAV IgG was significantly higher in the two-dose Healive® group than in the one-dose Healive® group and the attenuated vaccine groups at 12 mo (932.4 vs. 112.7, 135.8, 203.3, 212.8 mIU/ml, respectively, p < 0.05). In the one-dose Healive® group, the GMC was significantly lower than that in the attenuated vaccine B and C groups at 6 mo (152.6 vs. 212, 204 mIU/ml, p < 0.05) and at 12 mo (112.7 vs. 203.3, 212.8, p < 0.05), but was similar to the attenuated vaccine A group at 12 mo (112.7 vs. 135.8 mIU/ml, p > 0.05). The GMCs were significantly higher in the 1–2 y of age group than in the 3–6 y of age group for all types of vaccines except the attenuated vaccine C (p < 0.05) at 12 mo. Methods: A single-blind, randomized, parallel-group clinical trial was conducted among healthy children aged 1.5–6 y in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China. Subjects were randomly assigned to 5 groups. Two groups were administered one-dose or two-dose inactivated vaccine and the remaining groups were immunized with one of three kinds of attenuated vaccines, respectively. Serum samples were collected at 6- and 12-mo follow-ups. Anti-HAV IgG was measured with a microparticle enzyme immunoassay. Conclusions: A higher GMC of anti-HAV IgG was induced in the two-dose Healive® than in the one-dose and the attenuated vaccines at 12 mo. The attenuated vaccine B or C produced higher GMCs than the one-dose Healive® at 6–12 mo after vaccination.


Objective To explore the application effects of detail management in anterior decompression for patients with cervical spine fracture.Methods The 80 patients were divided into the observation group and the control group,the control group was given routine nursing care in perioperative period,the observation group was treated with the details management,two groups were compared with nursing effects.Results The scores of sense,movement,activity of daily living in the observation group were significantly higher than those in control group ( P < 0.05 ),the incidence of complications,nursing quality satisfaction,health knowledge awareness rate in the observation group were significantly better than those in the control group ( P < 0.05 ).Conclusions The detail management can give correct guidance and care for the patients,promote postoperative recovery and reduce the complication.

Key words:
Detail management; Cervical spine fracture; Anterior decompression; Effects


Report on the principle of measuring the time-of-flight of neutrons, magnetic-core storage of detector pulses, how pulses are stored, current generator, storage cycle generator, and cathode ray oscillograph.


The surface tension in aqueous solutions of glucosyl alkylbenzenes having various alkyl chain-lengths has been measured. The surface tension vs. concentration relation of these compounds obeys Szyszkowski's equation in a relatively wide range of concentrations. For these compounds the free energy, ΔG°, of adsorption was calculated; ΔG° changes by 650–700 cal./mol. for each CH2 added to the alkyl chain, except in the case of going from glucosyl methylbenzene to glucosyl ethylbenzene. The adsorbed monolayer obeys an equation of state of the form Π(A–AO=xkT at relatively high pressures, where AO is independent of alkyl chain-length in the present experiment. Contrary to expectation, the value of x, which is governed by the attractive force between hydrophobic portions, is not influenced by the alkyl chainlengths; the benzene ring in the hydrophobic portion seems to play an important role in this attraction between the hydrophobic portions.


Affective factors play a significant role in language learning. Among the four skills: listening, speaking ,reading and writing, speaking is extremely affected by affective factors. The author argues that positive emotions can facilitate speaking process and improve learners' speaking performance, while negative emotions will bring barriers to speaking and reduce learner' learning capacity. This paper mainly discusses the influences of negative emotional factors on speaking, such as anxiety, low self-esteem, insecure classroom atmosphere, etc. Some suggestions on how to overcome affective barriers are put forward.


Abstract : This is the 43rd volume in the Occasional Paper series of the U.S. Air Force Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). This paper, while it reports the results of research undertaken across the year prior to the events of September 11 and their aftermath, presents an analysis that is both timely and relevant given those events. This important paper represents the kind of original thinking that this Institute was designed in the hope of fostering. The two authors, each of whom is individually the winner of a previous INSS outstanding research award, develop and test a systematic, targeted, and useful methodology for examining the non-state political violence and its practitioner that the United States now faces. Their analysis also is grounded in Central Asia, a new but increasingly important region to United States military interest and presence. The paper stands well on either of those legs -- a systematic methodology for violent non-state actors or a detailed and security-oriented examination of an emerging critical region. Taken together, the two legs mark it as a singularly significant work, one well worthy of serious study.