Net present value method as a basic investment decision method even more accord with the assumption that enterprise's wealth maximizes and long-term development goal.In practical application,net present value(NPV) makes the investment decision of the company produce a great deviation with the actual result sometimes.Use the method of addition of the risk and consult the experience data to confirm the discount rate rationally,then introduce the option theory of material object,can improve scientificity and accuracy of decision,make the investment decision more rational.


This paper mainly studies the distributed PV interface device how to realize the control of distributed power grid, and the interface to achieve the function of islanding prevention, the integration of relay protection, measurement and control, power quality control, remote control, harmonic control functions to achieve unified management. It can be used to connect the distributed photovoltaic power generation system and the grid, to achieve unified management of distributed PV, to solve the problems of large harmonic generation in distributed generation units at low power operation without any impact on the function of power grid.


We assess adverse selection in Australian private health insurance using the longitudinal data in the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. Cross-sectional and balanced panel probit regressions specify the demand for health insurance as a function of self-assessed health condition, health risk factors, and socioeconomic controls including age, income, education, family structure, and welfare status. We find that while adverse selection is present, it has decreased over time, likely through a combination of deliberate government policy and changes in market conditions, combined with the impact of heterogeneous preferences and risk aversion. We also identify a tendency for advantageous selection in the insured pool.


Variation among animals exists at all stages of our livestock supply chains. In contrast, most manufacturing supply chains possess little, if any, unintended variation within each segment. This variation is generally an unwanted nuisance. However, when properly managed, it can provide opportunities to target multiple product end-points and turn-off dates in a dynamic manner. Moreover, optimal management can lead to high degrees of compliance with the needs of the processing segment of the supply chain and/or end-users. Management decisions can be divided into initial group formation (e.g. mating groups, feedlot entry groups) and ongoing changes to the management plan in the light of new information (including market forces, weather and genetic status of animals). In both cases, the best pattern of decision making depends, explicitly or implicitly, on the predicted effect of these decisions on future animal and processing performance. The present paper provides an overview of key factors that affect these predictions, and hence optimal management, and emphasises the potential role of genetic and genomic information for increasing focus and improving profitability in the beef supply chain.


Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) protects the kidneys from tissue ischemic reperfusion injury (IRI), but its impact on renal function is primarily limited to glomerular function. We estimated the status of renal function by a complete glomerular and tubular functional analysis to test the hypothesis that LPA treatment during ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) protects renal function by attenuating IRI. Male Wistar rats were subjected to bilateral kidney I/R. Along with ischemia, LPA was administered. LPA increased levels of plasma LPA, downregulated LPA2R, prevented interstitial fibronectin and TGF-β1 accumulation, and prevented a decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR). I/R increased urine volume and proteinuria and decreased fractional Na+ excretion (FENa) and urine osmolality. These effects were not prevented by LPA. The reduction in FENa was attributed to disruption in tubular Na+ transport and downregulation of protein kinase C (PKC) activity. LPA treatment maintained (Na++K+)ATPase activity to the control level, due to a sustained sensitivity to PLC/PKC pathway. Na+-ATPase activity was insensitivity to LPA treatment. This ineffectiveness was associated with downregulation of LPA2R, resulting in low FENa. Altogether, LPA treatment maintained normal kidney structure and prevented the reduction of glomerular function. However, even in the setting of preserved GFR, impaired tubular function may present a high risk for silent progression of kidney disease.


The nomenclature of the calappid generaCryptosomaBrulle, 1837 andCycloesde Haan, 1837 is reviewed.CryptosomaBrulle, 1837 is recognized as an available genus name of decapod Crustacea and not a junior homonym ofCryptosomaBerthold, 1827 (Insecta, Coleoptera). The Eastern Pacific and Atlantic species are assigned toCryptosomaand Indo-Pacific species toCycloes. The revision of these genera includes descriptions of two new species, one assigned toCryptosomaand the other toCycloes, descriptions of all species, distributional data, synonymies, figures of first and second pleopods, photographs and a key.


This paper demonstrates Yb fiber pulse amplifier with stimulated Brillouin scattering phase-conjugating mirrors (SBS-PCM). A linearly polarized amplified laser with low SBS threshold and nearly diffraction-limited beam is achieved by SBS-PCM operation.


A development of Callendar's continuous-mixture method for the measurement of the total heat or specific heat of a liquid is given. It consists of the determination of the amount of heat extracted by a stream of water from a hot stream of the liquid. A discussion of the heat losses and the method of reducing and allowing for these is included, as well as experimental tests of the theory of the method.


Abstract.
Efficacy of chemotherapy treatment depends on patient adherence to therap. Family support effects the patient compliance. The purpose of this study was to indentify family support, identifying compliance cervical cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and analyzing compliance support family with cervical cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. This research is correlative with the analytic cross sectional approach on the subject. Data collected method used interview guide. Data were analyzed by the Spearman Rank Correlation Test. The result showed that the median value family support 44.5 (31-46), treatment compliance with the median value of 11 (8-12). Result of analysis of family support with treatment compliance p value <0.001 with a correlation coefficient r= 0.702. Conclusions of research results is strong positive relationship exits between family support treatment compliance in patients with cervical cancer. Midives are expected to provide education for cervical cancer patients families about the benefits of family support, especially before providing therafy to assist in patien care.
Keyword: chemoteraphy; cervical cancer; famlily support; ptients


Interval velocity is one of the most important parameters for distinguishing lithology.There are some uncertainty factors to compute interval velocity by using Dix′s equation to distinguish lithology.Double critical DIVA method predicts formation lithology without computing interval velocity of strata,through drilling and logging data to obtain the velocity of pure sandstone and mudstone as setting interval velocity,according to the measured root mean square(RMS)velocity of the top interface to predict RMS velocity of the bottom interface by using inverse Dix′s equation.According to the difference between the bottom interface of measured RMS velocity and the predicted RMS velocity predicts lithology.Analysis application conditions of the Dix′s equation and advantages to predict reservoir lithology by using inverse Dix′s equation for DIVA(Differential Interformational Velocity Analysis)in this paper,use stacking velocity for double critical differential interformational velocity analysis directly.It is applied to predict turbidite sandstone,and the prediction results are identical to drill,which is a very valuable method of seismic exploration.


Just over half a decade since its debut, Comparative and international education: An introduction to theory, method, and practice has appeared in a second edition. The original has occupied a promi...


martyrs. It is in the third chapter that the results of the long analysis of the caskets are put into a larger context, taking into consideration the contemporary historical, theological and liturgical sources concerning the cult of the relics. Here also the main questions arise: what makes these boxes probably or undoubtedly containers for relics? Why decorate them if they have to be buried under the altar? What are the respective roles, in the shaping the decorative programme, of public ceremonies for the translation of relics, of the need to honour the martyr, and of apocalyptic expectations? A non-specialist reader of this book will be impressed with its richness in terms of the quantity of topics approached, but s/he will be a little critical of the lack of development in response to these principal questions – a lack not compensated by the brevity of the conclusion.


Background: Group B streptococcal (GBS) meningitis is diagnosed less frequently than in the 1970s and 1980s. There are few contemporary data regarding outcomes from GBS meningitis and factors that might predict an adverse outcome. Methods: A retrospective evaluation was conducted of term and near-term infants (≥36 weeks' gestation) with GBS meningitis hospitalized at Texas Children's Hospital from 1998 to 2006 to assess outcomes and to define features predictive of adverse outcomes. Results: Six infants had early-onset (<7 days) meningitis and 47 had late-onset (≥7 days) GBS meningitis. Three infants died. Infants received broad-spectrum antibiotics initially and then penicillin (68%), ampicillin (28%), or cefotaxime (4%) for a mean of 21 (range, 15–44) days. Among survivors, 11 (22%) were neurologically impaired at hospital discharge with manifestations including persistent seizures (10), hypertonicity (9), and dysphagia (3). The 14 infants who died or had adverse outcomes at hospital discharge were more likely to present with seizures within hours of admission (P < 0.001), have coma or semicoma (P < 0.001), require pressor support (P = 0.001), and have an initial cerebrospinal fluid protein ≥300 mg/dL (P = 0.005) or glucose <20 mg/dL (P = 0.03) than were the 39 with infants with normal neurologic examinations. Seizures at admission remained a significant risk factor (P = 0.024) by multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Despite advances in intensive care, 26% of term and near-term infants with GBS meningitis die or have neurologic impairment at hospital discharge. Additional strategies to prevent GBS meningitis are needed.


Di-alkylation of 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dithiacycloalkane-S-oxides has been achieved allowing the synthesis of two tertiary thiol centres. The diastereoisomers of the mono-alkylated products have been shown to react at different rates. The X-ray crystal structures of three substituted dithiane-S-oxides have been determined, and the conversion of the dialkylated products into cyclic disulfide derivatives of tertiary thiols (1,2-dithiolanes) has been achieved by treatment with acid.


Abstract The density and current structure at the Hawaiian Ridge was observed using SeaSoar and Doppler sonar during a survey extending from Oahu to Brooks Banks. Across- and along-ridge changes in internal wave statistics in the upper ocean within 200 km of the ridge are investigated. Internal waves with trough-to-crest amplitude as large as 60 m and horizontal wavelength of about 50 km are observed repeatedly in across-ridge sections of potential density. Within 150 km of the ridge, kinetic and potential energy density exceed open-ocean values with maxima about 10 times Garrett–Munk levels. In the Kauai Channel (KC), the kinetic energy density is largest along an M2 internal tide ray. The ray originates at the northern edge of the ridge peak at a large across-ridge change in topographic slope and terminates at the ocean surface about 30–40 km south of the ridge peak. Kinetic and potential energy density are larger on the south side of the ridge at KC, the side with larger topographic slope. Energy densi...


The principle of polishing operation with 6 wheels of belt grinding and the making method of the wheels are presented. The operation parameters and the life of the wheels of belt grinding are also studied. The problems such as surface scorching and inadequate rigidity of the tube can be solved successfully. With this processing, rough machining, semi-finishing and finish machining can be operated on one working procedure. The surface quality of the tube is improved and polishing requirements are fulfilled.


Transportation service providers may view travellers with disabilities as a positive market segment for revenue generation, rather than a regulated service requirement. In Canada, a substantial portion (40%) of potential travellers with disabilities has desirable socio-economic and demographic characteristics. A majority of these travellers (70-80%) are being accommodated within the existing accessibility of the transportation system. However, a substantial segment (20-30%) are not being accommodated to their satisfaction within the existing accessibility of the transportation system (based on their experiences while travelling), and could (likely) be induced to travel (or travel more) by improvements in transport accessibility. Based on survey data on long-distance travel behaviour of persons with disabilities, an assumption of additional costs to enhance accessibility, and taking into account demand elasticities for travel across modes of transport, it is reasonable to expect that improved transport accessibility could induce an incremental 630,000 one-way trips by Canadian persons with disabilities, and a further 415,000 one-way trips by their travel companions/accompanying persons without disabilities. This would generate transport revenue gains of $115M (best-estimate) and tourism revenue gains of $710M (best estimate) from Canadian incremental travellers. There could be additional revenue gains from world travellers with disabilities.


Climatic data of Minqin of 1961-2000 showed that the latest frosts dates were from March 6 to May 19 in this area,the most times of latest frosts were in April (It was 19),rainfall and relative humidity had a little increase and sunshine hours and accumulated temperature (stable average temperature of day and night ≥10℃) had a obvious decrease from 1961 to 2000,the sunshine hours in 1990s was 78.2% of 1960s,the accumulated temperature was 91.2%.The rainfall and relative humidity gradually increased from May to August.Rainfall in Aaugust was 1/4 of whole year.Average temperature of month increased from May to July and decresed in August.Curvilineal diagram of temperature and relative humidity of day and night in June,July and August show that both temperature and relative humidity were below in June,more high in July,especilly the time of around 20℃ and relative humidity ≥80% were longer in rain day and night of fine, temperature was below and relative humidity was high in August. Compared with characteristic of cucurbit crops and diseases and insect pests, the best sowing time is in the early May and the suitable time for disease is rain day and high humidity night in July.Shotter sunshine hours may affect fruit quality of melon.


MORE than 60 per cent vets have been injured in the course of their work over the past year, a BVA survey has found. Responses to a recent BVA 'Voice of the Veterinary Profession' survey indicated that, overall, 61.6 per cent of the 720 vets taking part had been injured in the course of their work over the past 12 months. Of those in small animal/exotic practice, 64.2 per cent of respondents reported they had been injured. Likewise, 64.2 per cent of those in mixed practice reported being injured, with 60.7 per cent of equine vets reporting injuries. In large/production animal practice, 53.2 per cent of respondents reported being injured. The most commonly reported injuries were scratches, with 83.2 per cent of the total respondents saying that they had been scratched. The next most common injuries were bites, with 66.8 per cent of respondents reporting bite injuries. When broken down by practice type, large animal/production vets and equine vets reported bruising caused by kicks as their most common injury. Asked to rate the severity of their most severe injury, 26.5 per cent of equine vets rated it as 'severe' or 'quite severe'. This compared with 19.7 per cent of mixed practice vets, 18.8 per cent of large/ production animal vets and 17.1 per cent of small animal/exotic vets. The BVA is urging practices and owners to work together to improve safety, particularly in small animal practice. 'Vets accept the daily risk of injury at work, but these figures highlight just how common injuries are for vets who care for pets,' said John Blackwell, the BVA President. 'Rather than simply accepting this as an occupational hazard, veterinary teams should ensure they are taking all appropriate measures to mitigate the risks of working with animals whenever possible. BVA provides guidance for vets, for example on preventing and dealing with dog bites in the practice. 'We also ask pet owners to work with us. The surgery can be a strange and unsettling place for animals and even the most usually placid pet can become nervous. If a vet is taking precautions, such as muzzling, it is to protect everyone and to ensure the animal in their care receives the very best treatment possible in a safe environment. We would also urge owners to inform the vet if their animal has shown anxious behaviour on previous visits to the surgery.'


Ethylenediamine (en) reacts with salicylaldehyde and beryllium(II) in a weakly basic solution to form a fluorescent beryllium(II)-Schiff base complex. A fluorometric method for the determination of en by using the beryllium(II) complex has been established. Ethylenediamine could be determined in 2×10−7–2×10−5 mol dm−3 within a relative standard deviation of 3%. The detection limit of en was 8×10−9 mol dm−3. Ammonia, diethylamine, and triethylamine does not interfere with the determination of en. The present method has been applied to the analysis of en in aminophylline tablets. The fluorometric method for the determination of trace amount of amino acid by using an aluminum(III)-Schiff base complex has also been investigated.


The present invention relates to a heat insulating sheet. Insulating sheet according to the invention is of the sheet including the PVC, and peorayiteu, vermiculite, silica beads, alumina beads, fumed silica, carbon nanotubes, zero gel, airgel, and comprises a porous material containing any of them. A mixture comprising butadiene block copolymer rubber of 70 parts by weight, and polystyrene and 30 parts by weight, said porous material by a cross-linking agent and a binder may be combined with the sheet, is the PVC, polystyrene-butadiene copolymer rubber 50 parts by weight of polystyrene It may be prepared by the use of the calendering method. In this way, and the heat-insulating property, and tensile strength, are easy the construction of the insulating sheet.


This book chapter examines how regulation mediates the relationship between the economic and social spheres in the context of managing transnational risk. It does so through the use of a case study examining blood regulation in the post HIV blood contamination era, with a predominant focus on developments at supranational level. The chapter seeks to explore two aspects of Karl Polanyi's notion of embeddedness: first, how a social sphere becomes embedded in regulation; and second, what the disembedding of the economic from the social sphere in regulatory design might mean for the management of transnational risk. In exploring these issues it is argued that we need to pay close attention to how social spheres are framed for regulatory purposes. What constitutes the social may only be a partial representation, reflective of particular historical and institutional trajectories, as well as professional ideologies. This may be particularly acute at a global level, where institutional decision-making processes are dominated by experts, regulators and industry representatives, and largely insulated from stakeholder activism, democratic politics and accountability mechanisms. In addition, where disembedding of the economic from the social sphere occurs in regulatory design as a result of this partial framing, a 'double movement' re-embedding the economic in the social sphere may not be automatic or inevitable. Instead, any countermovement may be politically and institutionally contingent, if it occurs at all. This may have adverse consequences for the effective management of transnational risk, which may prove problematic in politically sensitive policy sectors.


Framing effect is a phenomenon that an individual has different preference to the alternative programs on the same issue due to different frames.A series of research,conducted by Tversky and Kahneman,confirmed the prevalence of the framing effect.However,with further study,many researchers have found that individual characteristics,mainly including personality,cognitive ability,cognitive style,age,gender and so on,have an impact on the stability of the framing effect.In the future,to explain the individual difference of the framing effect better,a dynamic,integrated model needs to be developed,in which the cognition and emotion are considered together.


Deteriorative efficacy of storage fungi through change in the quality of different edible oils was studied. Maximum loss of oil in both rape and linseed was recorded with A. fumigatus and in black cultivar of sesame with A. niger. Refractive indices of oil decreased in most of the cases with concomitant increase in free fatty acids (FFA). The deteriorated oil samples showed change in color, saponification value and iodine value with longer incubation which depended partly on the fungus involved and partly on the type of substrate. Both A. niger and A. fumigatus produced higher amount of lipase than others. Production of lipase enzyme and mycelia were always higher on emulsified oil than on seedmeal media.


We consider the finite element method for the time-dependent Stokes problem with the slip boundary condition in a smooth domain. To avoid a variational crime of numerical computation, a penalty method is introduced, which also facilitates the numerical implementation. For the continuous problem, the convergence of the penalty method is investigated. Then we study the fully discretized finite element approximations for the penalty method with the P1/P1-stabilization or P1b/P1 element. For the discretization of the penalty term, we propose reduced and non-reduced integration schemes, and obtain an error estimate for velocity and pressure. The theoretical results are verified by numerical experiments.


In this study, a generalization of Ailamujia distribution namely Power-Lindley Ailamujia (PLA) distribution is proposed. Some statistical properties of the proposed model are discussed. The proposed distribution is more flexible and has increasing, reverse J and bathtub hazard rates. The parameters are estimated by the method of maximum likelihood estimation (MLE). Application and simulation are performed to validate the usefulness of the proposed distribution and ML estimators.


To the Editor.— Idiopathic atrophie blanche is a distinct entity characterized by recurrent painful ulcerations on the feet and lower legs. This clinical syndrome has been called atrophie blanche en plaque, livedo reticularis with ulcerations, livedoid vasculitis, and the vasculitis of atrophie blanche,1but it is more correctly a vasculopathy rather than a true vasculitis.2The lesions begin with purpuric papules and plaques and, ultimately, leave white, atrophic stellate scars after the ulcers heal. The lesions are produced when fibrin deposition blocks dermal blood vessels, causing ischemic necrosis. Larger blood vessels are not involved, and there is no associated systemic disease. Treatment with phenformin hydrochloride and ethylestrenol to promote lysis of fibrin and restore blood flow is effective,2,3but alternative therapy is needed now that phenformin is no longer available in the United States or Canada. Anticoagulant therapy may provide such an alternative. Earlier reports have shown


Dwight L Woolard, James O Jensen, R Jennifer Hwu, and Michael S Shur, eds., Terahertz Science and technology for Military and Security Applications, Selected Topics in Electronics and Systems Vol. 46 (World Scientific, 2007). 260 pp. [ISBN: 978-981-277-179-7]. Multiauthored book with 19 chapters, on Terahertz spectroscopy, sensing, imaging, with applications to defense, security, and monitoring.


Because firms invest heavily in R&D, software, brands, and other intangible assets—at a rate close to that of tangible assets—changes in measured GDP, which does not include all intangible investments, understate the actual changes in total output. If changes in the labor input are more precisely measured, then it is possible to observe little change in measured total factor productivity (TFP) coincidentally with large changes in hours and investment. This mismeasurement leaves business cycle modelers with large and unexplained labor wedges accounting for most of the fluctuations in aggregate data. To address this issue, I incorporate intangible investments into a multi-sector general equilibrium model and parameterize income and cost shares using data from an updated U.S. input and output table, with intangible investments reassigned from intermediate to final uses. I employ maximum likelihood methods and quarterly observations on sectoral gross outputs for the United States over the period 1985–2014 to estimate processes for latent sectoral TFPs—that have common and sector-specific components. Aggregate hours are not used to estimate TFPs, but the model predicts changes in hours that compare well with the actual hours series and account for roughly two-thirds of its standard deviation. I find that sector-specific shocks and industry linkages play an important role in accounting for fluctuations and comovements in aggregate and industry-level U.S. data, and I find that the model's common component of TFP is not correlated at business cycle frequencies with the standard measures of aggregate TFP used in the macroeconomic literature.


This study focused on undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing biostatistical instruction in the Health Science Centre, University of Kuwait. For the past 11 years, 14 hr of lecture have been allocated to biostatistics in the third‐year medical curriculum as a component of the three‐semester 120‐hr Behavioral Sciences lecture course. This course is taught under the aegis of the Community Medicine and Behavioural Sciences Department. A compulsory 45‐hr biostatistics lecture course is also offered to all first‐year students of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences and Nursing. On the postgraduate level, a 30‐hr lecture course on biostatistics and computers is made compulsory to all enrolled MSc students. The content ranges from introductory concepts to research design. Workshops on biostatistics and computer applications are also organized for practicing physicians and health workers as community continuing education programs. The enthusiasm of medical students as well as those in the medical profession ...


For academic libraries to thrive, they must continue to find new ways to be relevant to their campus communities. In this column, Dustin Fife and Mary Naylor describe the Utah Valley University Library's recent introduction of research services for campus administrators and decision makers—constituents who often are not directly served by campus libraries. This relatively new service already has facilitated increased access to university leaders and provided additional insight into academic affairs. As importantly, it has paid dividends for the library and librarians by raising awareness of what they have to offer. —Editor


Entertainment districts play a significant role in the post-industrial place-making for the night-time economies of many Western cities, and they are significant contributors to these economies. However, many cities are experiencing increased levels of crime in their alcohol-oriented entertainment districts. This paper explores crime in Northbridge entertainment district in Perth, Western Australia and highlights how the legacy of governance can operate counter-intuitively, to foster crime precipitators (Wortley, 2008), which can increase opportunities for crime. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) are briefly discussed and the authors argued that SCP is a more appropriate strategy to use in the dynamic and complex environmental setting of Northbridge. Based on several years of scientific observation, land-use surveys and pedestrian surveys, the authors provide a critical narrative of Northbridge and crime precipitators after dark. This narrative is expressed from the perspective of environmental criminology and SCP. This exploratory study concludes that Northbridge is in part, a legacy of previous single-issue governance, which has inadvertently created crime precipitators, which exacerbate the problems of crime in the entertainment district after dark. The need for further research is identified and the adoption of a more strategic, multi-issue and multi-agency approach is recommended.


I Price is the monetary expression of value. Value is quantitatively determined by the socially necessary production expenditures. Marx defines the value of every commodity as the amount of labor materialized in the commodity's use value — i.e., as the labor time that is socially necessary for its production.


A simple and feasible method to retrieve directional fraction of vegetation cover is presented. A digital camera is adopted to capture multi-angle images for a wheat field and trees. The viewing angles are controlled by an automatic multi-angle observation device. After image processing, directional fraction cover and gap probability can be obtained.


This study is a quantitative content analysis that analyzes how The New York Times framed income inequality between 2006 and 2010. A thorough review of the literature regarding rising income inequality in the United States, media theory, framing, bias, cultural hegemony, liberal and neoliberal political trends, and social mobility precedes findings that media coverage of income inequality declined while inequality grew. Various neoliberal, liberal, and neutral frames are identified and examined for slant and bias. I find that while the Times has a slight liberal bias in framing income inequality, a neoliberal hegemonic discourse pervades how the issue is addressed. Finally, I address the significance of social mobility as an absent frame in the media's discourse on income inequality.


The ground amplitudes produced by the detonation of small untamped surface charges of Dupont's Nitramon S Primer and EL 506 PETN flexible sheet explosive were measured on a variety of rock types. For equivalent weights, the PETN sheet explosive produced larger ground amplitudes.


The utility model discloses a sealing device with a piston ring, which is provided with an outer cylinder. An inner cylinder is arranged in the outer cylinder. An annular groove is arranged on the outer wall of the inner cylinder. A piston ring with a gap is arranged in the groove. The inner cylinder is tightly matched with the inner wall of the outer cylinder through the piston ring. By using the utility model, because of the elasticity of the piston ring, tight fit can be kept between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, and the inner cylinder has a favorable sealing effect when required to make reciprocating movement. The utility model has the advantages of convenient operation, no wearing part and long service life.


The C/EBP (CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein) family of transcription factors is important for differentiation, lipid biosynthesis, and metabolism. Here, we demonstrate for the first time the presence of C/EBP α, β, δ, and ζ messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein in Sertoli cell primary cultures. Treatment with FSH or 8-CPTcAMP strongly induced C/EBP β mRNA above basal levels with rapid and transient kinetics in Sertoli cell primary cultures as well as in whole testes from hypophysectomized rats. Whereas C/EBP β mRNA was induced approximately 50-fold, C/EBP δ mRNA was induced 5- to 8-fold by cAMP in Sertoli cells. Messenger RNA for C/EBP β and δ were induced by inhibition of protein synthesis with cycloheximide and cycloheximide acted synergistically with cAMP. Immunoblots with C/EBP antibodies demonstrated a strong induction of C/EBP β, δ, and ζ by cAMP. Electrophoretic mobility shift analysis of nuclear proteins from cAMP-treated Sertoli cells using a C/EBP consensus oligonucleotide and antibodies revealed speci...


Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) is a fatal disease caused by feline coronaviruses. The causative agent is Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus, a mutation of Feline Enteric Coronavirus. Feline Corona Virus is very common in the cat population. In Feline Corona Virus infected cats, the development of FIP depends on the cat's immune response. FIP disease is more common in young and old cats because young and old animals have a weaker immune system. The acute phase response is a complex systemic reaction that occurs as a response to acute or chronic inflammatory processes such as infection, neoplasia or immunological disorders, tissue damage, trauma and surgery. The study material included 15 cat with presumptive FIP (study group) and 10 healthy cats (control group). Of the 15 cats, 9 (60%) showed dry and 6 (40%) effusive form. Serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin (Hp),  α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), albumin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), hepcidin, alanine-amino transferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), blood urea nitrogen(BUN), and creatinine levels were measured in the serum collected from both groups. There were no difference between the wet and dry FIP in albumin values; haptoglobin, α1-acid glycoprotein, SAA and hepcidin values were significantly different between the two groups. IL-6, showed significant difference in both wet and dry FIP groups. It was also concluded that hepcidin may be used as a biomarker in Feline Infectious Peritonitis disease like other acute phase proteins.


Recent reports have demonstrated that the enteropathogenic serotypes of Escherichia coli (EPEC) are being found in increasingly large numbers of medical centers. 1-6 Furthermore, in those centers where a wider experience with new types has been gained, the importance of this group as etiologic agents is becoming more evident. 7-11 It is our impression that the EPEC are the commonest recognizable cause of infantile diarrhea. However, we also have seen instances where the EPEC were found in conjunction with Salmonella or Shigella. 1, 10,11 This aspect of the problem will be discussed below. In September of 1955 attempts were made to determine whether or not EPEC were associated with diarrheal disease in infants and children admitted to the Los Angeles County General Hospital. As the study progressed it became apparent that the EPEC were being found at a fairly uniform rate from month to month resulting in an endemic situation


Abstract Sport fisheries for muskellunge Esox masquinongy are often sustained by stocking. Size-selective mortality has been identified as an important factor affecting stocked muskellunge, However, this mortality is difficult to assess because its effects on the population can be confounded by growth. To partition observed shifts in length frequencies of stocked muskellunge into growth and mortality effects, two lots each of approximately 1,000 hatchery-reared muskellunge fingerlings were sorted into 10-mm size-groups, marked with size-specific fin clips, and stocked into two northwestern Wisconsin lakes. Beginning 30 d after stocking, we used electrofishing to examine length distributions and estimate abundance of stocked fish. Shifts in the length-frequency distributions after stocking were found to be caused by size-selective mortality and growth. Mortality was highest for the smallest fish. A size-based analysis indicated that growth in fall contributed far more than size-selective mortality contribu...


: At present, the general vocational students campus basketball match referee ability level is uneven, lack of training and management.Therefore, in addition to teaching basic skills, basketball general courses for physical education majors also need to strengthen the training of basketball referee ability for students, so as to improve the professional ability of basketball majors and meet the needs of campus culture.In view of the current situation of basketball students' ability of making decisions on the spot, this paper analyzes the causes of the problems, and puts forward some measures such as teaching methods of reforming theory, paying attention to combining theory with practice, and adopting information feedback means fully. is helpful to the study of basketball refereeing, and only 8% of the students think it is not important. This shows that the students majoring in physical education in our school have the same understanding of learning basketball referee work. Through communication with students, we know that students are


A key aspect of image retrieval using color, is the creation of robust and efficient indices. In particular, the color histogram remains the most popular index, due primarily to its simplicity. However, the color histogram has a number of drawbacks. Specifically, histograms capture only global activity, they require quantization to reduce dimensionality, are highly dependent on the chosen color space, have no means to exclude a certain color from a query, and can provide erroneous results due to gamma nonlinearity. In this paper, we present a vector angular distance measure, which is implemented as part of our database system. Our system does away with histogram techniques for color indexing and retrieval, and implements color vector techniques. We use color segmentation to extract regions of prominent color and use representative vectors from these extracted regions in the image indices. We therefore reach a much smaller index, which does not have the granularity of a histogram. Rather, similarity is based on our vector angular distance measure, between a query color vector and the indexed representative vectors.


Objective: Plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) is increased in stages of elevation of luteinizing hormone (LH) during the luteal phase of the ovarian cycle, menopause, or pregnancy. PAC is elevated in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome who have elevated circulating concentration of luteinizing hormone (LH). In addition, stimulation of aldosterone production by LH has been reported. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism by which LH increases aldosterone production in human adrenocortical cells. Design and Methods: Immunohistochemical staining for CYP11B2, the aldosterone synthase, and LH receptor were performed using autopsy adrenal gland specimens. Changes in mRNA or protein expressions of CYP11B2 after treatment with LH, angiotensin (Ang) II, or LH+Ang were compared in human HAC15 adrenocortical cells. Effects of an Ang receptor blocker (ARB), adenylyl cyclase (AC) inhibitor, cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) inhibitor, protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor, or β;-catenin inhibitor on the increase in CYP11B2 mRNA expression induced by LH+Ang ll were investigated in these cells. In addition, effects of an AC agonist on CYP11B2 mRNA expression were investigated in these cells. Results: Immunostaining for LH receptor was detected in cells positive for CYP11B2 in adrenal granulosa and fasciculata region in the human autopsy specimens. CYP11B2 mRNA and protein expressions were significantly increased after treatment with LH+Ang ll than LH or Ang ll alone in HAC cells. Elevation of CYP11B2 mRNA expression induced by LH+Ang ll was completely suppressed by the ARB, AC inhibitor, or CREB inhibitor and was significantly reduced by the PKA inhibitor or β;-catenin inhibitor in these cells. CYP11B2 mRNA expression was significantly increased by the AC agonist. Conclusion: The present study showed that LH receptor is expressed in human adrenal cortical region and that LH augments CYP11B2 expression via AC-CREB pathway in the presence of Ang ll in human adrenocortical cells.


The development and implementation of a 'future scenario development-method', is described in this paper. The scenarios should inspire designers to create products that fit the society 10 to 20 years from now. The future scenario development-method enabled both health care and product design-students to work together at different locations. The method consists of four steps: 1. project demarcation, 2. driver analysis, 3. scenario development, and 4. scenario writing. The applied method appeared helpful in communication between the different disciplines and their mutual understanding during the project.


Da'wah with an inclusive method in the current milineal context needs to be done considering that Indonesian society is very plural and the problem situation is far different from the past. This is the importance for the sake of Islam itself so that Islam is no longer preached single. More than that so that Islam still exists in accordance with the statement of the Prophet Muhammad: "al-Isla> m Yu'la> wa La> Yu'la> 'Alaihi" (Islam is a high religion and cannot be exalted by others) and according with jargon al-Isla>m S}alih li Kulli Zama> n wa al-Maka>n (Islam is good in all dimensions and places). Da'wah with an inclusive approach certainly necessitates the existence of a new methodology which contains multi approaches so that da'wah can be observed by all components of society and does not lose its relevance. Da'wah with various approaches so that Islam can be comprehensively understood and Islam becomes increasingly rich in meaning. Islam is preached singly as well as narrowing the scope of Islam itself. The use of preaching by the inclusive method in the future is very much expected by missionaries and preachers because this inclusive da'wah model is still rarely carried out even though the propaganda of this model contains messages of religious dialectics ( Jida>l H}asanah) so that da'wah is not exclusive.


Ethnic-religious based conflicts which are often occurred in many part of Indonesia are examples on how complicated of the ethnic problems in this country. On the other hand, Kudus regency that consists of society with different ethnic and religion is free from such ethnic-religious based conflict. The goal of this study is to explore the social movement done by Sunan Kudus in building multiculturalism of Kudus community, to understand the life of Kudus society in holding culture of multiculturalism, to know the relevance of such multiculturalism in the mid of various challenge in this continuous changing age. This study uses a qualitative approach. Data were collected through these ways; observation, participant observation, and in-depth interview. Data were analyzed using interpretive way, triangulation analysis with emic and ethic perspective. The findings of this study indicate the condition of religious harmony that is manifested in the social space of the communities in Kudus that are inseparable from these supporting factors: (1) awakening of multiculturalism awareness among communities in Kudus initiated by Sunan Kudus; (2) socially preserving and reproducing of the inherited multiculturalism culture initiated by Sunan Kudus, and (3) the strong image of society towards Sunan Kudus as the charismatic figure.


The problem of repairing shop replaceable units (SRUs) is aggravated by the fact that most electrical components can be expected to exceed the service life requirements of the system in which they are embedded. It is not cost-effective to require testing time (and software development time) to diagnose failure modes which will probably never occur. In practice, the person repairing a circuit knows more about the circuit than anyone else, including the original developer of the diagnostic software. It is therefore desirable that meaningful diagnostic software be able to capture this expert knowledge as it becomes available to diagnose failure modes not anticipated in the original software development. To assist in this task, a user-friendly, menu-driven, artificially intelligent software program has been developed to assist the technician in diagnosing circuit card failures. As failures are diagnosed, the technician enters the corrective action as well as the essential failure and probing information. When similar failures are encountered in the future, the neural network diagnoses the most probable failure mode and directs the technician as to the information which would be useful in pinpointing the fault.<<ETX>>


An acoustooptic (AO) signal processor is described that performs wideband signal estimation and adaptive filtering operations based on the linear least-mean-square (LMS) algorithm. An AO cell is utilized as an analog tapped delay line to provide a traveling window of the signal to be processed. The design of the AO processor is described, benefits and limitations are discussed, and applications to wideband signal estimation and multichannel adaptive noise cancellation for phased array antennas are reviewed. The operations are performed coherently, thus maintaining signal magnitude and phase information. The processor has the potential for very wideband operation compatible with signals having on the order of several megahertz of bandwidth.<<ETX>>


ABSTRACT On the basis of what is known from the literature an attempt has been made to estimate the yields in an agricultural system that is supplied with nitrogen from natural sources. For this purpose a model of Dutch agriculture is developed in which only nitrogen is considered as a variable and all other production factors (like phosphate, potassium, water, plant variety, and the skills of the farmer) are considered to contribute to productivity in their usual manner. Because there is a wide variety in natural fertility, Dutch soils have been classified into ten landuse classes. In six classes both arable and grassland farming can take place, while four classes consist of soils that are only suitable for grassland. An estimate has been made per class and per hectare as to how much nitrogen the soil can naturally provide, how much can be fixed by leguminous crops, and the amount of nitrogen that can be recycled as manure when livestock farming is practised. The productivity of the grassland is given in...


The twin-image problem, a persistent stagnation mode in iterative projection algorithms (IPAs) for coherent diffraction imaging, occurs when the ideal and twin images appear simultaneously in the reconstruction. Presented here is a methodological framework for IPAs termed the half-cycle multigrid (HMG) for use in phase retrieval to alleviate the twin-image problem during the iterative process. HMG reconstructs the low-frequency phase first to reduce the impact of oscillation caused by phase retrieval in the higher-frequency region of Fourier space during the iteration. The higher-frequency Fourier magnitude is then added to the reconstruction stage by stage using the multigrid method. The unification of phase retrieval orientation in the low-frequency region lays the foundation for that in the whole Fourier space. The reconstruction results of simulated and experimental diffraction patterns demonstrate that HMG effectively reduces the probability of the twin-image problem occurring, enhances the accuracy of low-frequency information, and achieves credible and faithful reconstruction results from noisy diffraction patterns. The combination of HMG with the oversampling smoothness framework allows more reliable reconstruction results, proving that the HMG framework has good extensibility. It is expected that HMG can be combined with other IPAs.


In accordance with Zhejiang generation market, the requirements of the bidding system is proposed according to the bidding experience of southeast company, then the function modules and hardware system of the bidding system are developed, which contains five main modules as information acquisition and processing module of generation market, market settlement module, market analysis module, bidding decision and system management module. Furthermore, TCP/IP network technique is adopted to help communication easily between headquarter and far distributed sub-companies in geography. Through one year's operation, the system can analyze actual generation bidding circumstance and help generation company bid with knowing the situations of the other partners and itself, so as to earn more economic benefits in the generation market.


A proper semantic representation of textual information underlies many natural language processing tasks. In this paper, a novel semantic annotator is presented to generate conceptual features for text documents. A comprehensive conceptual network is automatically constructed with the aid of Wikipedia that has been represented as a Markov chain. Furthermore, semantic annotator gets a fragment of natural language text and initiates a random walk to generate conceptual features that represent topical semantic of the input text. The generated conceptual features are applicable to many natural language processing tasks where the input is textual information and the output is a decision based on its context. Consequently, the effectiveness of the generated features is evaluated in the task of document clustering and classification. Empirical results demonstrate that representing text using conceptual features and considering the relations between concepts can significantly improve not only the bag of words representation but also other state‐of‐the‐art approaches.


Abstract The UV-behaviour of some chlorinated tri-cyclic dienes (1 a-e) was studied in acetone. Cycloaddition (2 a-b and 2 d-e), hydrogen-transfer (3 c′ and 3 d) and photo ene-(3 c)-reaction products could be isolated and identified with the help of spectroscopic methods.


(Tasks) provides material Ni-Cr alloy showing excellent corrosion resistance in high temperature water environment. (Assignment means) amount uniform lattice strain in the surface layer car, the following (1) and (2) Ni-Cr alloy tube which satisfies the equation. S≤0.002 ··· (1) However, it is given below are the meaning of each symbol in the above formula. S: uniform lattice strain in the surface layer ryangcha (A) D D


In this paper, we give all solutions of the constant mean curvature equation in H n ×R that are invariant by parabolic screw motion and we give the full description of their geometric behaviors. Some of these solutions give examples of non-trivial entire stable horizontal graphs that are not vertical graphs.


In the design and development of the structural configuration, many design engineers put extra time for repeated and well-defined tasks. The development of optimization approach which could be used to reduce such laborious jobs will increase the productivity of the organization. Till date there is no rational tool available in the market to portend the probable optimum design of building components. Optimization can be done with Generalized Reduced Gradient (GRG) method. This approach intends to reduce the computational costs normally associated with structural design problem. The optimization techniques in general enable designer to find the best design for the structures under consideration. In this particular case, the principal design objective is to minimize the self-weight of RCC structural element. The resulting structure, not only give optimum size but also it give optimum cost with all strength & serviceability requirements for a given applied load. This approach necessitates iterations for coming up with an economical & safe design. This study will provide the way to develop a programme in advance excel that can be used not only for the analysis and design of the building but also to estimate the optimum design of a building components such as beam, column. The present dissertation provides the comparison between regular IS code deign and optimum design of components. Firstly the comparison between two optimization methods is done, after comparing both method most feasible method is selected and then with using that method structural elements are designed with optimization approach. For using classical method like GRG method ADVANCE EXCEL is used. SOLVER TOOLBOX is used to optimize the design problem which is non-linear in behavior. The investigation is then carried out to study the use of optimization technique for design of structural element and similarly the comparative study of Standard design method and design optimization method. RCC singly reinforced beam and short axially loaded column analyzed and compared.


P D B Collins and A D Martin 1984 Bristol: Adam Hilger x + 169 pp price £9.95 (IOP members' price £7.96) ISBN 0 85274 768 3 Collins and Martin give a good account of the present status of the interactions involved in elementary particle physics, which makes a very suitable introduction to the subject for graduate students or others. At the same time, it will repay study by more established practitioners.


In this research, the writer chose the object of an advertisement for a phenomenal comic series, namely One Piece. The results of the study show that from the denotative side tells about the life of urban residents in the city center, from the connotative side it equality and from the mythical side it conveys the influence of the One Piece story on women's enthusiasm in realizing dreams. The results of the study also found 5 Roland Barthes narrative codes, including: hermeneutic code used in the dialogue about people who've never read One Piece mean they haven't truly live. Proairetic code is used influence reading One Piece. Semantic code is in the description of the main character's work. Symbolic code can be seen in the antithesis of the main character's character, namely the nature of his partner. The cultural code is found in the depiction of the main character and his partner who live together even though they are not married.


A growing number of ontologies are already available thanks to development initiatives in many different
fields. In such ontology developments, developers must tackle a wide range of difficulties and handicaps,
which can result in the appearance of anomalies in the resulting ontologies. Therefore, ontology evaluation
plays a key role in ontology development projects. OOPS! is an on-line tool that automatically detects pitfalls,
considered as potential errors or problems, and thus may help ontology developers to improve their ontologies.
To gain insight in the existence of pitfalls and to assess whether there are differences among ontologies
developed by novices, a random set of already scanned ontologies, and existing well-known ones, data of 406
OWL ontologies were analysed on OOPS!'s 21 pitfalls, of which 24 ontologies were also examined manually
on the detected pitfalls. The various analyses performed show only minor differences between the three sets
of ontologies, therewith providing a general landscape of pitfalls in ontologies.


This chapter considers Perec's interest in the infra-ordinary, on the one hand, and questions of the machine and automation, on the other. Investigating different ways in which the micro-scale emerges in Perec's work raises questions around life in relation to (computational) machines – particularly machines that are getting smaller (at once more discreet, and less discrete) – that are becoming ever more important today. This chapter examines the complex relationship between questions of life (the infra-ordinary life with its embedded habits) and questions concerning classification – here understood as a form of automation, as they are raised (and develop very differently) in Perec's work on the self, the space, the object, and the language game.


Background: cases of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) among teenagers living in Hurun Inn Boarding School at the Pondok Pesantren Darul 'Ulum Jombang are quite a lot. In the 60 teenagers get surveyed, there were 22 (36.67%) people who experienced PMS. It means the problems need acute treatment to overcome. Case presentation: This case study reports the effectiveness of giving abdominal stretching to ten teenagers who have PMS at the boarding school. The results showed a decrease in the PMS scale from a severed level (70%) to a medium-scale (60%) in the first cycle of menstruation and a mild level (60%) in the second cycle. Conclusion: Abdominal stretching can reduce PMS symptoms.


This work aimed to develop a new economic enzymatic process to treat the phenolic pollutants using pure tyrosinase in stirred vessel and adopting temperature (T), pH, rotational speed (N), initial phenol (CP,o) and enzyme (CT) concentrations as independent variables. Experimental data of the residual phenol concentration (CP) were used to calculate the oxidation efficiency (η), initial oxidation rate (-ro) and time required to reach the end of reaction (t) that were selected as the responses. Under the optimal conditions (T = 45°C, pH 6.6, N = 400 rpm, CP,o = 100 ppm and CT = 50 U/mL), η was 88.1%, -ro = 10.2 mg L-1 min-1, t = 40 min. These results suggested that tyrosinase-rich crude extracts from vegetable byproducts could be quite promising.


A total k-coloring of a graph G is a coloring of V(G)∪E(G) using k colors such that no two adjacent or incident elements share the same color.The total chromatic number of G,denoted by χ"(G),is the smallest integer k such that G has a total k coloring.Behzad and Vizing conjectured that the total chromatic number of any graph G is no more than Δ(G)+2.The conjecture has been verified to be true for planar graph when the maximum degree of G is not 6,furthermore,the total chromatic number of any planar graph G with maximum degree no less than 9 is Δ(G)+1.In this paper,using discharging method,we studied the total coloring of planar graphs with maximum degree less than 9 and proved that the total chromatic number of planar graphs G with maximum degree 4,5,6,7,8 under the condition that the girth of G is at least 8 is Δ(G)+1.


It surveys the research development of element analyzing technology,micro-zone analyzing technology,isotope analyzing technology,fluid inclusion analyzing technology,which are used in earth science modern testing at present,puts forward the key developing direction of earth science modern testing,so as to promote its application.


Tripod-type host molecules have shown new and characteristic cation binding and transport properties especially for Ag+ ion; they have a flexible open-chain skeleton as well as cryptand-like geometry. 1H N.m.r. and binding studies have shown that the Ag+ ion is completely enveloped by the tripod molecule and, in consequence, barely exchanged with K+ and other alkali-metal cations. Such three-dimensional complexation, although similar to that of related double armed crown ethers and cryptands, because of its flexible nature, offers unique and specific transport of Ag+ ion.


Five time-lapse seismic surveys have been acquired over the Ekofisk field. Progressive improvements in survey repetition accuracy has resulted in demonstrably higher fidelity time-lapse seismic data. The information obtained from this data is crucial for effective reservoir management and calibration of geomechanical models, leading to greater operational efficiency, higher recovery factors and safer operations.


Aims: This paper presents a design for a custom Application-Specific-Integrated-Circuit (ASIC) VLSI continuous time recurrent neural network computer suitable for use in Evolvable Hardware (EH) applications. Study Design: Extensive testing of a fabricated device will be used to demonstrate that the designed and fabricated neural chip possesses excellent behavioral congruence to the differential equation and ASIC hardware forms of neural networks programmed into the chip. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Wright State University, between 2009 and 2012. Methodology: The presented ASIC neural chip has been designed with specific concentration on the CMOS sub-threshold design concepts. This CMOS sub-threshold design forms the basis for underlying neural computation and also the current-mode Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) that can be used to program neuron configurations. The proposed designed has been developed to be immune to any faults introduced thru fabrication, at least to the extent that is non-detrimental to underlying neural behavior. Results: Ten separate intrinsic CTRNN learning runs were conducted on the fabricated chips. Each test was conducted on a separate fabricated chip to assess intrinsic to extrinsic transferability across individual instantiations of the device. Further, as mentioned earlier, a secondary set of tests were conducted that involved performing intrinsic match analysis for 15 (separate) extrinsically learnt CTRNN configurations to test extrinsic to intrinsic transferability. Based on the comparison metrics computed between the simulated and the fabricated chip, it has been demonstrated that the observed worst case average mismatch across all computed outputs of the four neuron CTRNNs is about seven percent on amplitude with near perfect matching for slope and frequency. Conclusion: Extensive testing of a fabricated device has been used to demonstrate that the analog computer possesses excellent behavioral congruence to the differential equation and ASIC hardware forms of neural networks are programmed into the chip. The major advantage of choosing the proposed CTRNNs chip for EH applications is that one can easily transition between model and circuit form no matter how the circuit was evolved. In this paper, we Original Research Article British Journal of Mathematics & Computer Science 4(7), 989-1003, 2014 990 demonstrated quite clearly that the barrier is either non-existent or very slight by having designed, fabricated, and tested an actual VLSI chip in the application that one would expect to be most difficult -evolution in hardware and modeling in differential equation form.


Systems, software, and methods for managing networks of connected electronic devices are described. In one example, network management policy and network management applications are transferred automatically upon detection and identification of a new device, protocol or application on the network. In another example, information related to at least one aspect of the network is obtained by an NMAS, and at least one applicable management policy is identified by the NMAS; and the identified policy is used to manage at least one aspect of the network's operation.


Methanol synthesis from syngas (CO/CO2/H2) hydrogenation on the perfect Zn-terminated polar ZnO(0001) surface has been investigated using periodic density functional theory calculations. Our results show that direct CO2 hydrogenation to methanol is unlikely because, in the presence of surface atomic H and O, the highly stable formate (HCOO) and carbonate (CO3) readily produced from CO2 with low barriers of 0.11 and 0.09 eV will eventually accumulate and block the active sites of the ZnO(0001) surface. In contrast, methanol synthesis from CO hydrogenation is thermodynamically and kinetically feasible on the perfect ZnO(0001) surface. CO can be consecutively hydrogenated into formyl (HCO), formaldehyde (H2CO), and methoxy (H3CO) intermediates, leading to the final formation of methanol (H3COH). The reaction route via hydroxymethyl (H2COH) intermediate, a previously proposed species on the defective O-terminated ZnO(0001) surface, is kinetically inhibited on the perfect ZnO(0001) surface. The rate-determini...


In this paper, a discrete auto-tuning structure is proposed for continuous time sigma-delta AD converter (ADC) and applications that require high linearity, moderate precision in RC or C/g/sub m/ time constant. Comparison with continuous gm tuning and some other passive tuning implementations is also presented. A circuit is designed in 0.5 /spl mu/m CMOS process to examine the performance of the proposed circuit structure.


We would like to thank K.T.S. Pattinson and colleagues for their interest in our review and their comprehensive comments [1]. We agree that the quality of the included studies was low, and the studies were small and not designed to examine the safety of opioids, as stated in our discussion [2]. Indeed, respiratory depression was not included as an outcome in over half of the studies. Of note, in the 25 studies that did include the outcome, only 11 stated a definition. Therefore, we recommended in our review to include "a common respiratory outcome set in all trials of opioids for breathlessness, so that a more robust synthesis could be conducted". Although chemoreflex response is useful in laboratory research, measurement of blood gases remains the basis for evaluation in clinical practice, with the assessment of arterial blood gases being more reliable than the assessment of capillary blood gases [3] or transcutaneous measurement [4]. Chronic breathlessness: care must be taken not to generalise evidence on adverse effects of opioids from chronic pain inappropriately http://ow.ly/D7sR30kfskS


According to one aspect of the present invention, a valve to provide an inflatable apparatus, the apparatus is shaped and configured for supporting at least a portion of a user, wherein the valve comprises a base, a lid having a rim and seals, wherein the base has a first region for sealing the fluid bladder disposed inflatable impervious wall means. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the base has a second region, the second region defining a bore for discharging fluid from the interior of the inflatable means, the second region is configured to provide a sealing surface. Further, the rim may comprise a generally circular edge region, the edge region includes a region below the rib and the edge portion by at least one wall of the radially inner ribs defining a chamber. Further, the seal ring may comprise a first end portion mounted on the lid region of the interior, and a second end region of the chamber which is located between at least one wall and at least one rib, which is configured to moving at least a first portion of the free end region is mounted on the cover.


Long-glass-fiber reinforced polyamide 6 composites were flame retarded with N-Br-Sb flame retardant system containing brominated tribromophenoxy(BrN) synchronized with antimony trioxide(Sb2O3).The effect of BrN synergistic with Sb2O3 on flame retarding properties of the composites was studied by limited oxygen index(LOI) measurements,thermal gravimetric analysis(TGA),UL-94,fourier transform infrared spectra(FT-IR) cone tests and scanning electronic microscopy(SEM).The results demonstrated that LOI value and UL-94 rating of BrN/LGF/PA6 composites reached 26.9 and FV-0,respectively,when it was containing 16 wt% BrN synchronized with Sb2O3.The cone and thermal gravimetric showed that the thermal stability of BrN/LGF/PA6 composites was raised by BrN in synchronizing Sb2O3 under high temperature and promoted the reaction of PA6 decomposed to form residue char,so that played an important role in flame retardancy.FT-IR,SEM and cone analyze showed that the residue chars of heat treatment of LGF/PA6 and BrN/LGF/PA6 were not the same completely,which indicated that the BrN/Sb2O3 system had flame retarded effects not only in gaseous phase but also in condensed phase.


Objective: To investigate the anaesthesia treatment during surgical therapy of cardiac and pericardial echinococcosis.Methods: The anaesthesia treatment during surgical therapy of 16 patients with cardiac and pericardial echinococcosis between 1978 and 2005 in our hospital were analyzed retrospectively.Use ECG,CVP,SpO_2,invasive ABP to monitor during operation.Results: Blood gas analysis,kalium ion concentration,urinary volume were all normal and stable during the operation.MAP,CVP and SpO_2 were stable.Assisted respiration was used for 2.0~6.5 h after operation.The extubation time was(4.5±(1.40))h on everage.All patients were healed and discharged without anesthesia complications or allergic(reactions).Conclusions: Monitoring of respiration and circulation,making the internal environment steady,preventing systemic allergy strictly were emphasized during the anaesthesia and operation of cardiac and pericardial echinococcosis.


The company carries out various ways to be able to meet customer demand quickly, one of which is to speed up the production process. In the printing process, the company encountered a problem, one of which was the high downtime caused by the setup process. The standard setup time determined by the company is 150 minutes but in fact the time required is 211.33 minutes. This shows that there are inefficient methods applied by the company. In this study, we will evaluate the work method to get errors so that the setup duration becomes high. This study will draw on the Modified Cooper Harper Scale and Single Minute Exchange of Dies (MCH-SMED) method to balance the workload between operators so that the setup time can be reduced. The MCH method is used to analyze the mental and physical workload on an operator based on a tree decision scale so that it can balance the workload between operators. SMED is used to identify on-line and off-line operations in the setup process. This study aims to produce a comparison of the standard setup times that have been set by the company and after evaluating the integration process of printing machine setup (MCH-SMED). The results of this study are to obtain a new sequence of operations that can reduce the duration of setup time to 143.19 minutes or be able to reduce the setup time by 32%. Keywords―Setup Time, SMED, MCH, Productivity.


The role of labour mobility on regional disparities is at the core of a heated debate: while standard competitive models posit that mobility works as an equilibrating device and reduces the unemployment, models featuring externalities lead to opposite conclusions. Against this backdrop, we present a simple two-region model adapted to the main features of the Italian North-South dualism that illustrates the effects of labour mobility with and without human capital externalities. We show that, when externalities are introduced, regional mobility may exacerbate regional unemployment disparities. Using longitudinal data over the years 2002- 2011 for 103 NUTS-3 Italian regions, we document that net outflows of human capital from the South to the North have increased the unemployment rate in the South and decreased the unemployment rate in the North. Our conclusions support the literature that finds an important role of regional externalities, and suggest that reducing human capital flight from Southern regions should be a priority.


Engelmann spruce is the dominant tree at timberline in the Front Range at approximately 3,350 m elevation; it occurs as krummholz in the forest—tundra ecotone up to about 3,500 m, and occasional individuals are found in the tundra up to 3,730 m. Temperatures decrease with increasing altitude above timberline, whereas wind velocity increases, especially during winter. Winter snow is deeper and persists longer in the forest than in the krummholz above, its depth in the latter tending to remain constant once the lower portions of the plants are packed. Soil temperatures fluctuate widely beneath tundra vegetation in the neighborhood of krummholz plants, whereas under forest variations are small and there is a prolonged period in spring when they remain within 0.6°C (1°F) of freezing point. Krummholz growth forms of spruce arise through death of needles and shoots exposed to the prevailing westerly winds. Even in the summer young exposed needles tend to be somewhat chlorotic, and many show lesions. In winter windward needles dry out, become bleached, and are eventually shed. Certain needles, instead of becoming bleached during winter, turn brown and dry out in early spring. In krummholz, even within a single shoot, sharply contrasting differences develop in winter between leeward needles that show only small seasonal decreases in water content, and windward needles that dry out and die. Desiccation is usually confined to krummholz, mainly affected small needles on stunted shoots and the distal needles of long, robust shoots, but in the winter of 1961—62, following a cold, wet September, it extended to leading shoots of saplings below timberline. Replenishment of water in needles during winter is probably from water stored in sapwood above the snow pack, since sapwood beneath the snow pack remains frozen in both forest and krummholz. Late—lying snow delays the spring growth of seedlings below timberline, but they occur even where snow persists until late in June. Above timberline, spruce seems to be less tolerant of late—lying snow. It is concluded that though the position of timberline is correlated with summer temperatures, dry winter winds are the immediate, though probably not the ultimate, cause of the krummholz growth forms in the forest—tundra ecotone.


Abstract The synthetic rubbers thus far developed bid fair to replace rubber permanently in hundreds of its varied uses. Though no one synthetic can, as yet, replace rubber in all of its applications, there are several synthetics available, each one of which excels rubber in one particular property. For example, some synthetics are oil- and gasoline-resistant, others resist the aging effects of heat, light, and oxygen, while still others surpass rubber in their resistance to flexing and abrasion.


In this paper, we explore issues of design, sequence and theoretical bases for the BA (Professional Writing and Communication). In the first part of this paper we discuss the interdisciplinary frame within which this award is situated and its particular foundation in the ethnography of communication and rhetoric, defined by Andrews (1992) as concerned with 'the arts of discourse and with context'. We describe different aspects of the degree program and reflect on the issues involved in developing the undergraduate learning experience offered to professional writing students. We offer examples of particular activities from two subjects with reference to student work.


Lake Nakuru is one of the rift valley lakes that has experienced flooding occasioned by climate change and catchment areas degradation. The increasing water levels have been a great threat to livelihoods and flora and fauna, to the extent of the lake experiencing flamingoes' migration. There have been attempts to establish the causes of flooding, with some scientists attributing the phenomenon to tectonic movements and geothermal power plant activities. This research aimed at studying the impact of climate change on the rising water levels of the lake. The objective of this study included assessing the rainfall amounts and temperature variations around the lake over time and predicting the lake's flooding by modelling the surface area variations. Validated rainfall and temperature data, lake's water level data with regards to surface area variations and Mau encroachment data were collected from the Kenya Meteorological Department, GIS applications and Landsat 8 and composite bands 5, 4 and 3 and the Kenya Water Towers Agency, respectively. Statistical analysis was done using Microsoft Excel 2013 and the relationship amongst various variables was determined. The statistical analysis involved a regression model equation, y=0.933x+26.606 with an r2 value of 0.79, where y-Lake Nakuru surface area (km2) and x- count of years since 1990. The findings showed that encroachment of Mau forest and high rainfall and temperature amounts in the 2010-2019 decade attributed to climate change are contributing factors to the lake's flooding. It is concluded that climate change is a major contributing factor to the rising water levels of the lake and it greatly impacts hydrologic changes that the lake continues to experience. Therefore, catchment areas have to be protected to save the situation, not only for Lake Nakuru but also for other lakes in the region.


The MASCOT thermal subsystem design is challenging due to the small size of the lander and the multiple requirements for each mission phase. Evaluation of the requirements and trade-off analysis led to assessment of different technologies and approaches, finalized only thanks to a detailed thermal design and analysis phase, an extensive testing campaign, selection of innovative solutions and technologies, development of ad-hoc heat pipe system. After several thermal vacuum campaigns, MASCOT was successfully launched on December 3rd 2014 and it's currently on its way to the asteroid 162173 1999 JU3


OBJECTIVE:To investigate the feasibility of inducing differentiation in human neuroblastoma with activating NGF/trkA signal transduction pathway. METHODS:Recombined trkA cDNA plasmid was transfected into human neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y cell line) by the lipofect method. The expression of trkA gene of cells before and after transfection was detected by RT-PCR.The differentiation extent of parent SH-SY5Y cells was compared with trkA-transfectant SH-SY5Y cells.The differentiation extent of trkA-transfectant SH-SY5Y cells befor and after NGF treatment was compared.RESULTS: trkA gene was successfully transfected into SH-SY5Y cells and stably expressed. The trkA PCR ratio: Control Group and Empty-Vec was 0.43±0.0738 and 0.44±0.09 respectively.Experiment Group 2.69±0.22, the expression of trkA gene in Experiment Group significantly higher than that in Control Group and Empty-Vec,P0.01; The percent rate of differentiated cells: Experiment Group 1 was 37.69±1.75,Experiment Group 2 26.28±1.34,Control Group 18.435±1.25 and Empty-Vec 17.61±1.69. The differentiation extent of the cells in Experiment Group 1 and Experiment Group 2 significantly increased compared with that in Control Group and Empty-Vec,P0.05,P0.01.The difference between Experiment Group 1 and Experiment Group 2 was also significant,P0.01. CONCLUSIONS: Activation NGF/trkA signal transduction pathway in neuroblastoma cells could induce fine differentiation. NGF/trkA signal transduction pathway might be an important factor in the fine differentiation of neuroblastoma cells.


Denise Brahimi : Boiled albatros in hot sauce (cape horn, 1769). ; An account like that of Cook's voyages inevitably deals with problems of food — both the crew's and that of the peoples encountered. Cook is particularly interesting on account of his own personal curiosity in this field. He believed that we must accustom ourselves to eating the most varied dishes, even if we have to vary the way they are prepared. He attempted to remove all sorts of prejudices which lead to tabous in matters of food, but he nevertheless insisted that any society must forbid the consumption of human flesh. For the rest, he is open to all sorts of new flavours, and thus appears also as an explorer of new dishes.


This paper brings together a variety of graphical and analytic tools used in the analysis of two-period crossover clinical trials for continuous data. SAS/GRAPH@ is used to construct exploratory analyses for carryover, period, and treatment effects. A number of different SAS@ procedures carry out various alternative inferential approaches to crossover studies. Introduction Two-period crossover designs are common place in clinical trial research (1 ,2). A crossover trial is a trial in which subjects are given sequences of treatments with the objective of s~dying differences between treatments. The most common crossover design is the two-period crossover study where subjects randomly receive one of two treatments and are later crossed over to receive the other treatment (1,2,3). There are several advantages of crossover trials over parallel group studies (1,2,4). Each patient acts as IMher own control. There is an evaluation of both treatments for each patient, so treatment differences can be based on within-patient comparisons instead of beWeen patient comparisons. Secause there is usually less variability within a patient than between patients, there is usually an increase in precision and therefore a decrease in required sample size for a study to detect the same specified effect size. The disadvantages of using a crossover trial include a greater inconvenience to patients because they are required to submit to multiple treatments and must stay on study longer. Dropouts are a bigger concern than with parallel group studies especially if there is unequal dropout among the two treatments. There can be no carry-over effects, no time trends, and the patients must be in a comparable state at the start of each treatment period in order to be able to draw conclusions regarding treatment comparisons. Numerous statistical techniques have been suggested for the analysis of crossover designs (1,2,6,7,8,10). In this paper, we pull together a number of these approaches into a hopefully comprehensive analysis using en assortment of SAS tools. The multi-faceted analysis code has been organized so that a single macro call can cay out the various analysis routines involved. We use an example clinical trial involving the application of capsaicin cream for postsurgical pain. Analytical Approaches: Two-Stage Analysis The most popular approach to analyzing the two-period crossover study has been to use a two-stage analysis (2,4). This method first tests for a carryover effect between the two treatment periods in which case the effects of one treatment are still present during the evaluation of the next treatment. The effects of the second treatment are hence confounded with the effects of the first treatment which makes interpretation difficult. If no carryover effect is detected, the standard analysis is carried out comparing period differences by sequence. If there is a significant carryover effect, the results of the second time period are suspect and are removed from consideration. Comparison is done subsequently using only the between patient scores in the first treatment period. Analytical Approaches: Senn's Analysis An alternative method of analysis has been documented by Senn (1993) which assumes that there has been a sufficient wash-out period and therefore no carryover effect present. The primary endpoint for this analysis is the intrapatient difference in efficacy between the two treatments under study. Confidence intervals for treatment effects can then be created and hypothesis testing carried out. Example Dataset We demonstrate the results one can obtain from using SAS procedures to carry out the aforementioned analyses on a North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) phase Ill clinical trial which evaluated the efficacy of capsaicin cream in managing surgical neuropathic pain in cancer patients (9). Patients experiencing neuropathic pain after surgery were randomly assigned to receive eight weeks of capsaicin cream followed by eight weeks of a placebo cream or vice-versa. Patients reported their pain level at baseline and weekly thereafter using a visual analog scale rated from O (no pain) to 100 (worst pain imaginable). Descriptive Analysis Results The SAS cafe first produces a simple patient listing showing all scores by sequence over time (not shown). This listing is used to make sure the data looks reasonable, to examine the extent of missing values, and for getting a general sense of the data. SAS/GRAPH is used subsequently to produce simple graphical summaries in order to get a general feel for the data. First the changes in scores over time are plotted for each patient on a template via GREPLAY. An example plot is given for one patient in Figure 1. The vertical line represents the crossover period at week 9. The efficacy of the active treatment versus the placebo is demonstrated for this patient by the fact that the pain scores in the first treatment period are consistently and substantially lower then those obtained during the second (placebo) period. The template displays up to 25 patients' data per page in a 5x5 array. This technique is useful for detecting outliers and examining individual cases. While more graphs can be displayed per page, size limitations make this impractical. These plots show how individual patients responded to the different treatments. The next method we use for getting a general feeling for the data


We consider the skew product transformation T (x, y) = (f(x), Te(x)y), where f is an endomorphism of a Lebesgue space (X,A, p), e : X → S and {Ts}s∈S is a family of Lasota–Yorke type maps of the unit interval into itself. We obtain conditions under which the ergodic properties of f imply the same properties for T . Consequently, we get the asymptotical stability of random perturbations of a single Lasota–Yorke type map. We apply this to some probabilistic model of the motion of cogged bits in the rotary drilling of hard rock with high rotational speed. 1. Preliminaries and main results. Let f be a negative nonsingular transformation of a Lebesgue space (X,A, p) into itself. Let I be the unit interval. Definition. The transformation τ : I → I is of the Lasota–Yorke type if there exist 0 = a0 1, such that for any j = 0, 1, . . . , N − 1: (i) τ |(aj , aj+1) is of class C and the limits τ (aj ), τ ′(a − j+1) exist (or are infinite), (ii) there exists a positive integer n such that inf |(τn)′| ≥ λ, (iii) |1/τ ′| is a function of bounded variation. We denote by Rτ the set {a0, a1, . . . , aN} and by Zτ the partition of I into closed intervals I1 = [a0, a1], . . . , IN = [aN−1, aN ]. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 28D05.


TWENTY minutes is rather a brief period in which to discuss the large field of industrial dermatoses, but a few thoughts resulting from twenty-five years' experience may be of interest. During that time many thousands of workers with cutaneous disturbances have been examined; key industrial plants have been inspected, and lectures have been given to workers, foremen and insurers. Most of the cases considered industrial have been treated; therefore, considerable experience has been gained by trial and error. No set rules have ever been established for the treatment of such dermatoses. The industrial patient must be treated until he is . . .


Pr 0.8 Sm 0.2 Co 5 magnets doped with Cr 2 O 3 have displayed high coercivity similar to SmCo 5 . Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction and x-ray microanalysis of a doped magnet showed absence of grains with high density basal stacking faults identified as (Pr,Sm) 2 Co 7 and (Pr,Sm) 5 Co 19 whereas microprecipitates of (Pr,Sm) 2 O 3 and CaO were located within the 1-5 grains and near grain boundaries, respectively. The resultant coercivity increase is explained by a model based on the nucleation of reversed domains. Grains with a high density of martensitic transformation twins which occasionally occur in (Pr,Sm)Co 5 magnets were identified as (Pr,Sm)Co 2 .


Offshore wind provides multiple benefits to consumers. The current paper uses a state-of-of-the-art software system, pCloudAnalyticsTM to evaluate multiple scenarios of the incorporation of offshore wind systems in the New England electric power system. By detailed evaluation of the locational marginal price (LMP) impact of increasing quantities of offshore wind capital stock it is possible to quantify the incremental benefits for a single year and the present value of the benefits over the expected lifetime of the assets. The economic benefits are incremental to those of emission reductions and reduction in fossil fuel use. Objective of the paper The objective of this White Paper is, though detailed simulation analysis, to evaluate the price suppression benefits of offshore wind development projects of increasing magnitude operating within one of the Northeast organized markets, in this instance, ISO NE. The second objective is to demonstrate the computational benefits that can be achieved in simulation of Locational Marginal Price (LMP) markets with the advent of more sophisticated and efficient Security Constrained Unit Commitment and Security Constrained Economic Dispatch structures and the availability of massive parallel processing with cloud computing. Background Offshore wind developments have flourished in the United Kingdom including Scotland and in Denmark. In 2014 the UK is reported to have 3.6 gigawatts of installed offshore wind with an output of roughly 8 terawatt hours. Denmark is reported to have 4.8 gigawatts of installed capacity and 11.1 terawatt hours from offshore wind in 2013. While significant projects have been proposed for the east coast of 1 Renewable UK. (2014, January). Offshore Wind: Offshore Wind Energy Figures. Retrieved May, 2014, from http://www.renewableuk.com/en/renewable-energy/wind-energy/offshore-wind/ 2 Vittrup, C. (2014, January). 2013 was a record-setting year for Danish wind power. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://energinet.dk/EN/El/Nyheder/Sider/2013-var-et-rekordaar-for-dansk-vindkraft.aspx the US, only two projects have so far gone through the full siting process and been set for construction. These are the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound and the Deepwater Wind project off of Block Island in Block Island Sound. Opposition to offshore wind development has most often focused on the additional cost that offshore entails (over land based wind installations as well gas fired generation). Proponents, on the other hand, argue that the increased cost of offshore relative to onshore is offset by the significant increase in capacity factor and daily wind patterns that better complement the utility's load shape. The argument in favor of wind over natural gas fired generation is focused on carbon (GHG) emissions. The discussions of off-shore wind both pro and con have focused on the cost to construct ($/MWh) and the required per kWh cost that is paid for the offshore wind generated power. The greatest experience in offshore wind development is in the UK and Scotland and in Denmark. The current levelized cost of energy from current technology offshore wind in the UK is £140/MWh ($210/ MWh). The UK stated goal is to reach £100/MWh ($150/MWh) by 2020. DONG of Denmark reports a current levelized cost of €160/MWh ($210/MWh) in 2013 with a goal of €100/MWh ($130/MWh) in 2020. These cost reductions are seen both in the UK and in Denmark as achievable though relatively ambitious. In this paper we acknowledge the reality of and uncertainty in offshore wind construction but focus on the positive market impacts of offshore wind in terms of its price suppression benefits. Offshore wind like all renewable energy sources integrated in the power sector suppresses the wholesale energy component of the retail price of electricity. We specifically analyze offshore wind because the benefits are significant and have only rarely been measured or presented in the regulatory debate which has focused more often on the cost of capital or the magnitude of power purchase agreements with incumbent utilities. Methodology Analyzing the impact of the market benefits of investments in the electric power sector has always been a significant challenge given the complexity of both the physical systems and the economics of the 3 Wind Cost Reduction Task Force. (2012, June). Offshore Wind Cost Reduction Task Force Report. UK Government. Retrieved in May, 2014, from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/66776/5584-offshore-wind-costreduction-task-force-report.pdf 4 Bakewell, S. (2013, January). Dong Targets 40% Cut in Wind Costs to Compete With Gas-Fed Power. Bloomberg News. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-01/dong-targets-40-cut-in-windcosts-to-compete-with-gas-fed-power.html 5 It should be noted that the regulatory discussion finally approving the power purchase agreement by National Grid of 18.7 cents per kWh for the energy delivered from the Cape Wind project provided the evidence of the significance of price suppression with offshore wind development on the New England market. See Charles River Associates, Analysis of the Impact of Cape Wind on New England Energy Prices, February 8, 2010 prepared for Cape Wind Associates, LLC. http://www.crai.com/uploadedFiles/Publications/analysis-of-the-impact-of-cape-windon-new-england-energy-prices.pdf?n=944 restructured markets in the US. The need to be able to simulate the hour by hour (or even more frequent) operations of the system to mimic the Security Constrained Unity Commitment (SCUC) and the Security Constrained Economic Dispatch (SCED) of the real time operation has provided significant challenge. While the problem can be broken for parallel processing, few organizations can maintain dedicated processors running the complex SCUC and SCED software such as GE MAPS , GRIDVIEW or Ventyx PROMOD. The result has been an inability to do multiple scenarios or multiple year investment analyses prevented by both hardware and time limitations. pCloudAnalyticsTM This study has been designed around our ability to utilize a state-of–the-art cloud based modeling system, pCloudAnalyticsTM (pCA) the electric power market analytics environment that is implemented in the Amazon and Windows Azure commercial clouds. The analytic engine of pCA is Power System Optimizer (PSO) that provides chronological simulations of security constrained unit commitment, security constrained economic dispatch, and provision of ancillary services. The PSO engine accurately captures the full topology of the transmission network, accounts for contingency events and models operational constraints of generating units and demand response resources. PSO is based on the same mathematical logic and technology used the actual market engines of MISO, PJM and ISO NE. pCloudAnalytics calculates and reports hourly Locational Marginal Prices for each of the load areas (ME NH, CT, VT, RI, SEMA, WCMA, NMABO) and the 359 large generator nodes (generators less than 200MW are aggregated in the analysis) The LMP values represent the marginal cost of the next unit of energy consumed or produced at that point in the ISO NE grid. From the perspective of the generator, these values are what is paid on a generator bus by generator basis to suppliers of energy. From the perspective of consumers the LMP represents the wholesale, load bus by load bus price of energy in NE. Knowing the hourly LMP at each bus and the hourly quantity delivered to the bus it is possible to calculate the total wholesale cost energy supplied to load. In addition to the PSO market engine, pCA provides vetted, proprietary data and a sophisticated data handling structure permitting both the loading and retrieval of data from the cloud in a flexible format that can readily be combined and analyzed with standard pivot tables MS ExcelTM. The result for this study is that we have been able to evaluate a base load case and the impact of five offshore wind development projects at a single location ranging in size from 100MW to 1200MW. The actual computational time would normally have been measured in weeks while with pCloudAnalyticsTM we have been able run the full set of scenarios in under an hour utilizing in excess of 60 virtual machines on the cloud and therefore a total of 60+ machine hours of cost plus data handling. The output could be verified, corrections in input data made and new results produced in multiple rounds on a given research day compared with completing one cycle of the 5 scenarios in what would have taken nearly 5 days without the cloud. ISO NE Data The analyses are based on simulating the hour by hour Security Constrained Unit Commitment and Security Constrained Economic Dispatch operation of ISO NE for 2015 based upon the generating mix reported in the 2014 CELT Report. Generation data was adjusted to 2015 for additions and retirements based upon SNL Financial reports as well as reporting in the energy press. Wind Regime Wind data was derived from NREL reported data (2006) for Block Island, Rhode Island as the closest reporting site to the hypothesized offshore wind location in Block Island Sound, Long Island Sound roughly due south of the current Brayton Point power generation station. Figure 3 shows the monthly wind pattern that results in a 44.45% annual capacity factor. The analysis utilized the same wind regime for each of the 5 scenarios evaluated. The simulation assumes that the wind energy is delivered to the Brayton Point substation. Fuel Costs All fossil fuel costs are based on SNL Financials reporting of actual forward prices for these fuels for 2015. Non-fossil fuel costs as shown in Table 1 below are derived from independently published sources. Table 1: 2015 Fuel prices for fuels with fixed annual value Fuel Type $ 2012/MMBTU Biomass 1.00 Coal at Brayton Point 3.37 Coal at Bridgeport Harbor 2.74 Coal at Mead 3.46 Coal at Merrimack 4.60 Coal at Mt T


The ability to predict American beech distribution (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) from environmental data was tested by using a geographic information system (GIS) in tandem with species distribution models (SDMs). The study was conducted in Butler and Preble counties in Ohio, USA. Topography, soils, and disturbance were approximated through 15 predictor variables with presence/absence and basal area serving as the response variables. Using a generalized linear model (GLM) and a boosted regression tree (BRT) model, curvature, elevation, and tasseled cap greenness were shown to be significant predictors of beech presence. Each of these variables was positively related to beech presence. A linear model using presence only data was not effective in predicting basal area due to a small sample size. This study demonstrates that SDMs can be used successfully to advance one's understanding of the relationship between tree species presence and environmental factors. Large sample sizes are needed to successfully model continuous variables.