Purpose: in modern conditions development of the region is a necessary element of the transition to the new paradigm of economic growth. It is known that scientific and technological progress, which is the result of the knowledge economy is intended to implement technological innovations that should lead to an increase in productivity, renewal of fixed capital and competitiveness. The status of the regions of the Russian Federation, especially in the North Caucasus Federal district (NCFD), raises the need to identify technological potential, which they have that will allow you to change the structure of the economy, to identify the most important directions of its modernisation, to improve existing technology. Methods: methodological base of research is based on the use of a systematic approach and statistical analysis methods. Applied methods of scientific abstraction, analysis and synthesis, analogies and scientific generalizations. Results: the main task that remains is to solve the North Caucasus Federal district regions is to uncover technological structure, which is dominant. Knowledge of the state of the technological structure of the region will set out its development strategy, which can be based on the use of their own potential or the application of the principles of catch-up development, from the point of view of which it is possible to implement "step over" through technological modes by conducting innovative and technological policy that will promote a new economy. Conclusions and Relevance: implementation of planned actions is possible with the use of the theory of technological structures. Approach to the study of the region from the position of this theory allows a deeper look at the status of the economic structure of the region (country), trends of its development, to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the place in the technological development of industries, to identify the main (backbone) path of further growth.


Background: Differentiating between dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON), which requires urgent therapy to prevent blindness, and moderate-to-severe Graves orbitopathy (GO) remains challenging. There is no pathognomonic feature of DON in either ophthalmological or radiological examinations. Objectives: Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of radiological signs of DON in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with moderate-to-severe and very severe GO. Methods: Two researchers reassessed MRI scans of 23 consecutive patients (46 eyes) with active, moderate-to-severe GO and 14 patients (23 eyes) with very severe GO. Typical signs of DON in MRI include apical crowding and optic nerve stretching. These were evaluated in the eyes of both groups of patients. Lack of cerebrospinal fluid in the optic nerve sheath as well as muscle index values were also studied. These clinical evaluations and laboratory results were then compared between groups. Results: At least one of the typical radiological features of DON was found in 22 (96%) and 16 (35%) eyes with very severe and moderate-to-severe GO, respectively. Each occurred statistically more often in patients with very severe GO. There were no ophthalmological signs of very severe GO observed in the group of patients with moderate-to-severe GO during the study or its subsequent follow-up (234 weeks). Conclusions: MRI is a useful tool in evaluating very severe GO. However, features typical for DON are also found in up to 35% of eyes in patients with active, moderate-to-severe GO. Therefore, ophthalmological evaluation seems to be most important in the recognition of very severe GO.


A perspective area of construction is the cottage buildings construction in suburban scenic areas. It is expedient to use prefabricated reinforced concrete structures, namely the industrial flat slab structural system, to reduce the cost and the construction time. The structure of the frame includes columns, rigidity elements and slabs of overlapping. Design schemes and testing equipment are developed and proposed for research bearing capacity of the main structural elements of the frame. The experimental investigation results of the reinforced concrete slabs from flat-slab constructive system of buildings are presented. In this case, the assessment of the main structural elements of the frame, the details of their construction are given. The flat slab frame constrictive system has already proved in practice the effectiveness of its application for the multistorey residential buildings construction. On the basis of the conducted research, constructive solutions for buildings of cottage type are proposed. Today, this frame has undergone many improvements, and therefore it can be offered for solving such problems. The proposed constructive decisions will facilitate the massive introduction of industrial frame structure in housing construction to solve the problem of providing affordable housing for the population.


Aim: The Coronavirus Dæisease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been potentially affecting the mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) especially frontline workers due to isolation and loss of social support, risk of transmission to friends and relatives, etc. We aimed to evaluate the mental health status of healthcare workers during the pandemic with the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28).
Material and Methods: This was a single-center, cross-sectional study with a population of 250 health workers at X University. The GHQ-28 scale was used to detect mental disorders in study participants. The online questionnaire was transferred via official email to the participants. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Kruskal–Wallis, Mann-Whitney U tests, and multiple logistic regression analysis. A p-value of


The province of Guadalajara deploys a great diversity of habitat types along more than 12.000 km 2 as a result of a natural formation which hosts the settlements and the vicissitudes of history. A strong dissemination in small villages characterizes most of the territory that now hosts about 500 inhabited settlements in which more than 256,000 inhabitants reside. This paper reviews the dynamics occurred in the last few centuries. The maps of the settlements in the years 1590, 1786, 1887 and 2010 are the best visual expression of the dynamics occurred in this region. A continuum of centuries was interrupted in the second half of the twentieth century between 1950 and 1981 when this land suffered one of its greatest crises causing a population loss of 60,000 inhabitants. In 2011 this region recuperated the population and then


Aim. To study the nephroprotective effect of sulfur-containing amino acids (ademetionine, taurine and glutathione) on different models of acute kidney injury (AKI) by the integral index of the survival rate of animals. Materials and methods. The experiments were performed on 105 non-linear mature white laboratory rats and 35 mice. The drugs studied – ademetionine (Geptral, Abbott SpA, Italy) in the dose of 20 mg/kg, glutathione (TAD 600, Biomedica Foscama, Italy) in the dose of 30 mg/kg and taurine (Sigma-Aldrich, USA) in the dose of dose 100 mg/kg – were injected intraperitoneally 3-7 days before AKI modeling. Rhabdomyolysis-induced AKI was modeled by the intramuscular injection of 50 % glycerol solution in the dose of 10 ml/kg, toxic AKI – by the injection of gentamicin solution in the dose of 80 mg/kg and the subcutaneous injection of ethylene glycol in the dose of 10 ml/kg. Simulation of renal ischemia was performed under general anesthesia (ethaminal sodium, 40 mg/kg) by clamping of both renal pedicles for a period of 60 min, followed by reperfusion for 24 h. Results and discusion. The experimental results show a significant improvement in the survival of animals under the effect of the drugs of derivatives of sulfur-containing amino acids studied in conditions of various models of AKI. Ademetionine, taurine and glutathione reduced the lethality of animals on models of rhabdomyolytic, gentamicin, ischemia-reperfusion AKI. In conditions of ethylene glycol intoxication the highest nephroprotective activity by the survival criterion was shown by glutathione (57.1 % survival at 48 h after administration of ethylene glycol against 100 % of mortality in the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusions. All derivatives of sulfur-containing amino acids studied (ademetionine, taurine and glutathione) exhibit the nephroprotective activity by the criterion of survival of animals on various models of AKI. Glutathione demonstrates the best survival of animals with acute kidney injury of various genesis, while ademetionine has the lowest survival.


A cam-valve mechanism is set up based on Pro/E,meanwhile the kinematics simulation analysis by using mechanism module of Pro/E is explained.The forces loaded on spring and roller and the velocities of valve are obtained through simulation analysis.


This paper presents virtual reality in digital Olympic museum using animation and supporting cross-media information retrieval. The visitors use an avatar to navigate the DOM. DOM is a large-scale distributed 3D virtual environment for demonstrating the Olympics' history, culture and highlights.


............................................................................................................................... 4 PROTOCOL SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 5 ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................... 10 RESEARCH PROTOCOL ......................................................................................................... 13 A. SPECIFIC AIMS ................................................................................................................... 13 B. BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE ................................................................................ 14 C. SUPPORTING DATA ........................................................................................................... 17 C.1 Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference ..................................................... 17 C.2 Pediatric Prone Trial ..................................................................................................... 17 C.3 RESTORE HFOV Propensity Score Analysis ............................................................... 17 C.4 Physiologic Approach to HFOV ..................................................................................... 18 D. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH ............................................................................................ 18 D.1 Design and Rationale ................................................................................................... 18 D.2 Study Population ........................................................................................................... 20 D.3 Interventions ................................................................................................................. 22 D.4 Primary, Secondary and Exploratory Outcome Measures ............................................. 24 D.5 Measurement of Study Variables During Hospital Course ............................................. 25 D.6 Study Safety ................................................................................................................. 26 D.7 Biorepository ................................................................................................................. 27 D.8 Follow-up Procedures ................................................................................................... 27 E. STATISTICAL CONSIDERATIONS ..................................................................................... 28 E.1 Study Design ................................................................................................................ 28 E.2 Analysis Data Sets ........................................................................................................ 29 E.3 Randomization and Randomization Update Analyses ................................................... 29 E.4 Consideration of Early Stopping of the Trial .................................................................. 31 E.5 Statistical Analyses ....................................................................................................... 31 E.6 Sample Size Justification .............................................................................................. 33 E.7 Dissemination Plan and Data Archiving ........................................................................ 33 F. DATA MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY CONTROL ............................................................. 34 F.1 Development of Electronic Case Report Forms (eCRFs) and Manual of Operations (eMOO) ......................................................................................................................... 34 F.2 Data Management System ............................................................................................ 34 F.3 Data Coordination ......................................................................................................... 34 F.4 Data Entry, Editing and Audit Trails ............................................................................... 35 F.5 Data Confidentiality, Security and Back-up .................................................................... 35 F.6 Firewalls ........................................................................................................................ 35 F.7 Study Monitoring ........................................................................................................... 35 F.8 Data Management for the Follow-up Procedures .......................................................... 37 F.9 Strategies to Optimize Enrollment and Protocol Adherence .......................................... 37 Protection of Human Subjects ............................................................................................... 38 Literature Cited ....................................................................................................................... 45 Clinical Protocols – V.5.1.19 ................................................................................................... 50 I. Ventilator Management Guidelines ........................................................................................ 50 PROSpect Protocol Curley, Kneyber, Cheifetz & Wypij May 1, 2019 3 A. Monitoring ....................................................................................................................... 50 B. Oxygenation and Ventilation Goals (all groups) .............................................................. 50 C. Strategy: Conventional Mechanical Ventilation (CMV) .................................................... 51 1. Initiating CMV .......................................................................................................... 51 2. Initial settings CMV .................................................................................................. 51 3. Ongoing CMV support ............................................................................................. 52 4. Escalation of Support ............................................................................................... 53 5. Failed CMV .............................................................................................................. 54 6. Weaning CMV ......................................................................................................... 55 D. Strategy: High Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation (HFOV) ............................................... 56 1. Initiating HFOV ........................................................................................................ 56 2. Initial Settings HFOV ............................................................................................... 56 3. Ongoing HFOV support ........................................................................................... 57 4. Escalation of Support ............................................................................................... 58 5. Failed HFOV ............................................................................................................ 58 6. Conversion to conventional ventilation ..................................................................... 58 II. Suctioning and Re-recruitment .............................................................................................. 59 III. Daily Test for Patient Readiness for Extubation ................................................................... 60 IV. Positional Therapy Protocol ................................................................................................. 62 A. Both Groups .................................................................................................................... 62 B. Supine Group .................................................................................................................. 62 C. Prone Group ................................................................................................................... 62 V. Prone Position Procedure ..................................................................................................... 64 VI. Prone Positioning Check Sheet ........................................................................................... 67 VII. Failed Management ............................................................................................................ 69 VIII. Hemodynamic Management Guidelines ............................................................................ 70 IX. Sedation Guidelines ............................................................................................................. 73 X. Skin Care and Pressure Injury Guidelines ............................................................................ 74 PROSpect Protocol Curley, Kneyber, Cheifetz & Wypij May 1, 2019 4 ABSTRACT Although acute respiratory distress syndrome is a life-threatening and frequent problem experienced by thousands of children each year, little evidence supports best ventilation practices during their critical illness. For over 25 years, pediatric critical care clinicians have debated the risk-benefit ratio of supine versus prone positioning and conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV) versus high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) in the management of these young patients. Without pediatric-specific data, the debate of how best to care for children with severe Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (PARDS) will continue and prevent progress in the field of pediatric critical care. PROSpect (PRone and OScillation PEdiatric Clinical Trial) is a two-by-two factorial, responseadaptive, randomized controlled clinical trial of supine/prone positioning and CMV/HFOV. Approximately 50 pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), about 2/3 U.S. and 1/3 international, with at least 5 years of experi


Phase unwrapping (PU) is a significant problem for reconstructing the deformation field during synthetic aperture radar interferometry analysis. The various 2-D PU algorithms can be divided into two categories: path-following methods and optimization-based methods. The former predefine an integration path in which the phase gradient is integrated to obtain the unwrapped results. The latter are path independent and error criterion oriented. The integration of the finite differences and the minimum cost flow solver describes a global optimization problem between the phase residues over closed spatial triangles computed over redundant neighboring edge sets. We propose a modified network using a simplified mathematical formulation for linear programming (LP) in the finite differences PU. Our algorithm has three major advantages over current methods. First, the modified network combines the Delaunay triangulation and K nearest points to avoid isolated regions in the PU process. Second, modified formulation of the LP solver can directly obtain the phase ambiguity cycles of all points without integration. Finally, the combination of the new network and modified LP can achieve better PU results than the other state-of-the-art techniques. We applied our method to synthetic and real data from January 24, 2020 Mw 6.7 earthquake in Doğanyol–Sivrice, Turkey to August 8, 2017 Mw 6.5 earthquake in Jiuzhaigou, China. Comprehensive comparisons validate the effectiveness of our method.


Author(s): Derimow, Nicholas Alexander | Advisor(s): Abbaschian, Reza | Abstract: The structure and solidification of CoCrCu-X MPEAs with X = Fe, Mn, Ni, Ti, V, FeMn, FeNi, FeTi, FeV, MnNi, MnTi, MnV, NiTi, NiV, and TiV were studied via arc-melting and electromagnetic levitation melting. The ternary mixture of CoCrCu was found to form no single phase liquid, however by systematically introducing the remaining 3d transition metals, it was found that Ni and Ti promote single phase liquid formation, eventually leading to dendritic microstructures as opposed to the highly phase separated microstructures found in ten of the alloys. The thermodynamics of the liquid phase separation in these alloys is largely dictated by the positive mixing enthalpy contributions of Cu in these systems. Of the six dendritically solidifying alloys, CoCrCuNi, CoCrCuFeNi, and CoCrCuMnNi solidified with a face-centered cubic (FCC) crystal structure for both the dendritic and interdendritic phases while CoCrCuTi and CoCrCuTiV solidified with FCC and body-centered cubic (BCC) phases. In contrast CoCrCuMnTi solidified with a hexagonal closed packed Laves C14 dendritic phase and FCC interdendritic matrix. The three FCC alloys were then prepared via powder metallurgy and processed via spark plasma sintering (SPS) to compare microstructure, crystal structure, and mechanical properties with the solidification processed alloys. It was found that the powder metallurgical processing and SPS led to a doubling of the hardness in these alloys due to the nanocrystallinity of the powder being preserved. Liquid phase separation was further investigated by neutron imaging techniques. It was found that the technique not only allows for the direct observations of molten metals, but also shows mixing and de-mixing in the liquid for these alloys. The neutron imaging technique was applied to the CoCrCuNi high entropy alloy to study the remixing of the de-mixed liquid with the addition of Ni to CoCrCu. The CoCrCuMnTi alloys were systematically studied by varying the amount of Mn in order to find the critical Mn concentration for the formation of the Laves C14 phase in these alloys. The particular composition of Co22Cr18Cu20Mn16Ti24 has high hardness of 996.6 HV 0.01 for the dendritic phase, while the hardness of the interdendritic phase is 457.3 HV 0.01. In this alloy, there is also a small dispersed Ti-rich phase. The effects of varied cooling rates on this alloy were studied, and it was found that higher cooling rates led to the suppression of the tertiary Ti-rich phase.


Light interacting with water drops on vegetation and other suitable surfaces may cause optical phenomena of different kinds. Dewbows are generated by refraction and internal reflection in the drops, and the 'wet' variant of heiligenschein, a colourless bright area around the antipoint of a light source, is formed by backscattering of the light towards the observer, so-called retroreflection, from the foci of the small, incomplete lenses formed by the drops. A less studied light-interaction effect is due to the specular reflection of light in the drops. Minnaert (1954) mentions that "large flattened drops" on leaves "have a beautiful silver sheen when seen at fairly large angles, because the rays are then totally reflected at the back surface." This is illustrated in Fig. 1. Inspecting such a drop through a magnifying glass reveals the micro-structure of the leaf. It has a partly silver shine, indicating that the total reflection of the light takes place on the lower side of the drop and that the drop is sitting very close and tight to the leaf surface, without wetting it. Darker, green details of the leaf structure seen in the drop may indicate that the drop surface is oriented here in angles that do not permit total reflection of the light towards the observer and that the light here penetrates the bottom surface of the drop. Small, more spherical drops are also lit up when seen from suitable directions, though perhaps not showing the same brilliance as the large flattened drops. To illustrate the illumination of a large flattened drop, I produced a giant water drop by filling a transparent plastic bag with water and observed it from different directions under an open sky (Fig. 2). Under special conditions, such as a deposition of drops on a horizontal, flat surface with low wettability and exposed both to a bright overcast sky and to the observer, the brightness contrasts under discussion may produce a distinct light-pattern characterised by a dark central area round the observer's nadir, where no specular reflection towards the observer occurs, surrounded by deposits brightened by strong specular reflection (combined with refraction) in the drops (Figs. 3 and 4). It may be possible to see the pattern in vegetation if the majority of the drops are sitting on horizontally-oriented beds. This may be the case in horizontally-oriented, socalled planophile vegetation with low wetBrightness contrasts in drop deposits due to specular reflection


The utility model provides a high-speed power quality processing unit based on FPGA (field programmable gate array), which belongs to the technical field of power supply monitoring and comprises an FPGA chip; the FPGA chip comprises an AD (analog-digital) sampling state machine, a dual-port RAM (random-access memory), an FFT (fast Fourier transform) calculation module, a total root mean square calculation module, a transient detection module, a frequency calculation module, a sampling pulse generating module and a waveform record control module; the FPGA chip is also internally provided with a multi-port memory controller MPMC; the MPMC is respectively connected with the AD (analog-digital)sampling state machine, the frequency calculation module and the waveform record control module through an NPI (network printer interface); the dual-port RAM (random-access memory) is connected with a CPU (central processing unit) through a CPU asynchronous bus; external 1588 pulse input and GPS (global position system) pulse input are respectively connected with the input end of the sampling pulse generating module; the output end of the sampling pulse generating module is connected with the input end of an AD (analog-digital) device through an AD (analog-digital) sampling pulse; the output end of the AD (analog-digital) sampling state machine is connected with the input end of the AD (analog-digital) device through an AD (analog-digital) control bus; the output end of the AD (analog-digital) device is connected with the input end of the AD (analog-digital) sampling state machine through an AD (analog-digital) data bus; and the MPMC is connected with a DDR SDRAM (double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory) through a DDR (double data rate) bus.


Abstract : This report describes the characteristics and some of the challenges of creating an American transitional law enforcement capability, then presents and discusses options for doing so. It summarizes the results of a research project called Options for Providing Policing Capabilities in Stability and Reconstruction Operations, sponsored by the U.S. Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute. The purpose of the project was to develop this information with the goal of contributing to stability operations policy development and to the Army's developing body of knowledge on this issue. This report should be of interest to the community of government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and scholars that are involved with, or conduct research on, stability and reconstruction operations.


1. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS The People's Republic of Poland (the PRL, in Polish), that is, the period of Polish national and state history between 1944 and 1989 will remain a subject of discussion and controversy for decades and maybe even for centuries to come. It belongs to one of the most complex and ambivalent periods in Polish history. The complexity of these times is best expressed by the title of Krystyna Kersten's book Between Liberation and Subjugation, which discusses the first twelve years of the PRL.1 Authentic, deep debates about the PRL were present from its inception; the best example seems to be the debate going on in London between Stanislaw Grabski and Stanislaw Stronski,2 two leading Polish politicians in exile. One of them chose to come back to the new Poland while the other decided to remain an emigrant. Krystyna Kersten defines the quintessence of arguments about the phenomenon of the PRL in the following way: Was there an alternative, more advantageous from the Polish point of view and at the same time realistic? Everything seems to show that there was no such alternative. This would mean that-ideological entanglement of Communists and their allies set aside-their coming to power on the mandate of Stalin should be perceived as the Polish raison d'etat and their activities assessed in the frames of leeway given to them by the Soviets. The difficulty lies in that we do not know if and to what extent these frames could have been enlarged, how many crimes and cases of lawlessness could have been prevented if Polish Communists had had will and courage. How much of what was done stemmed out of doctrinal rigor, how much from zealousness and fear? Today historians are not ready yet to answer these questions...3 It seems to me that in the passage quoted above, the author has very aptly shown the gist of the debate; the gist that not all polemicists seem to realize. On the other hand, one can be more skeptical about the phrase claiming that historians are not yet ready to answer questions asked. One can fear if they will ever be able, or to be more exact, in answering these questions in a satisfactory way. Leaving aside significant difficulties with finding reliable sources, the debate over the PRL was begun more due to ideological, ethical premises and ordinary emotions, than to a quest for historical truth, sine ira et studio, truth which is sometimes entirely inaccessible. I do not believe, for example, that it will ever be possible to say if the Red Army would have invaded Poland if General Jaruzelski had not introduced martial law. Quoting documents of various origins, we are not able to solve this issue categorically and definitely. Counterfactual analysis indicates, however, that the Russians still would have entered Poland, but it is only a conjecture. It is obvious that in this short paper I am not going to solve any of these issues. I will only point to a noticeable logic of events accompanying the process of the recovery of Poland's independence as well as to the fact that certain Polish activities and ways of thinking about independence were-in the light of that logic-more rational and therefore more pragmatic than others. I would also like to point out that even the most rational activities might sometimes bring only a limited outcome, if not one contrary to what is expected. They depend not only on the actors, but also on external conditions and circumstances. This is why all social processes, the whole structure of the social world, are always more complex and less manifest than they seems to us. 2. WORLD WARS AND THE "POLISH QUESTION" The rise and fall of the PRL cannot be described and understood only in the categories of contemporary Polish-Soviet (Russian) relations, nor even European or world relations (e.g. Yalta). The rise and fall of the PRL were the result of at least two centuries of historical processes in which Poles were largely only passive participants, but which they occasionally influenced significantly and to their advantage (although the contrary may also be true). …


This paper aims to analyse Thomas Hardy"s four poems: "Hap" (1898), "The Impercipient" (1898), "the Darkling Thrush" (1900), and "After a Journey" (1913) by putting forward that Hardy is a modern poet who is in search of finding the truth that he is alien to although those around him already know the truth that he cannot grasp. Such a questioning of the existence of the truth makes him a pessimist that is revealed almost in all his poems. The struggle of the poet to understand what the others know (the believers, the birds) is revealed through the four selected poems. The confusion, uncertainty and the complexity of the modern world make Hardy confused, doubter, unbeliever and pessimist. Therefore, his confusion, doubts and pessimism for the uncertain and changing world represented in his poems, in a way, makes him modern as studied in this paper. In "the Impercipient", and "Hap", Hardy cannot understand and find the existence of a god but wonders how the others believe in him. In his poems, Hardy idealizes or praises neither nature nor god as the Romantics did. Hardy"s pessimism as a writer of naturalist movement makes him different from the Romantics and the Victorian poets.


The diagnostic Neutral Beam Injector (DNBI) for the TCV tokamak, Plasma Physics Institute, Lausanne, was developed and commissioned by the BINP team in 1999. The DNBI is capable of providing a beam of hydrogen atoms of 50 kV maximal energy, with an equivalent beam current of up to 1 A. The injector is equipped with all the power supply units needed for operation and for control, including a 50 kV, 2.5 A modulator and 10 kW, 4.6 MHz RF amplifier. The output beam can be extracted continuously over a 2 second period or as an ON/OFF modulated sequence with arbitrary pulse repetition frequency and minimal pulse/pause duration of 2 ms. An increased noise level looks like a normal condition for all subsystem operation. The control system of the DNBI is developed under the pressure of these specific conditions with increased noise. The system includes 8 DAC, up to 64 ADC channels and 64 channels of In/Out digital status control. It operates as a selfsufficient system with minimal data exchange with the global control system of the tokamak, so it becomes flexible to adopt arbitrary external control system.


Iodine deficiency has been considered as a serious public health problem for the past decades. Universal salt iodization program is introduced and implemented to address such problem. To encourage this program in an effective and sustainable way, it is essential to regularly monitor whether salt is adequately iodized at various points along the supply chain. The traditional iodometric titration method has problems related to accessibility, cost, and time. Colorimetric test kits have been used extensively to measure coverage of iodized salt in household surveys due to its expediency and affordability. In Thailand, "I-KIT" is the most widely used. The visualization of intensive color, however, is inconvenient for untrained-user in determining the adequacy of iodine content. Thus, an improvement to make testing more precise and affordable is still required. In this respect, a new test kit namely USI-Kit was developed to assess iodine quality and semi-quantity in edible salt. The kit was tested to evaluate its performance, by comparing the result with the I-KIT and with the spectrophotometric method. Compared with I-Kit, the USI-Kit exerted the relative accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, false positive rate, false negative rate and Kappa coefficient value of 74.0, 76.3, 72.6, 27.4, 23.7 and 0.47, respectively. Compared to the spectrophotometric method, USI-Kit exerted the relative accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, false positive rate, false negative rate and Kappa coefficient value of 85.4, 80.1, 89.3, 10.7, 19.9 and 0.70, respectively. The finding suggested that a newly developed iodine test kit holds promise to be used in field inspection of iodine content in salt.


The effect of post milking teat dipping on somatic cell count (SCC) of milk was determined in 20 Crossbred cows and 20 Murrah buffaloes selected from institute's herd. The animals were divided into two groups of 10 each. Animals of Group I (control) were teat washed with water before the milking while Group II animals were applied teat dipping solution after the completion of milking. The cows were milked 3 times a day while buffaloes were milked twice a day. The milk samples were collected from control and treated animals on day 0, 5, 10, 15, respectively. The milk samples were analyzed for milk constituents like fat, protein, lactose, chloride, IgG, NEFA, pH and EC and total and differential somatic cell counts. The changes in milk composition and somatic cell counts were significantly different (p<0.01) between the animals and between the breeds. However SCC, chloride content (p<0.05) and epithelial cells (p<0.01) varied during different days of study. The alterations in SCC, epithelial cells, TLC, lymphocyte, neutrophil, IgG, and protein content were significantly different (p<0.01) between control and treated groups. The pH, EC, protein, SCC, epithelial cells, lymphocyte and neutrophil cells of milk declined significantly (p<0.05) after the application of teat dipping, the respective values were 6.5 vs 6.40, 2.28 vs 2.37 mhos, 3.33 vs 4.04%, 1.00 vs 0.87×10 5 cells/ml, 0.39 vs 0.34×10 5 cells/ml, 0.36 vs 0.31×1,000 cells/ml and 0.17 vs 0.14×1,000 cells/ml in cows. However in buffaloes, epithelial cells, lymphocytes, neutrophils, EC and SCC declined (p<0.05) after application of teat dipping, the values being 0.37 vs 0.29×10 5 cells/ml, 0.37 vs 0.25×1,000 cells/ml, 0.14 vs 0.11×1,000 cells/ml, 2.56 vs 2.37 mhos and 0.94 vs 0.73×10 5 cells/ml, respectively. The study indicated that post milking teat dipping could be used as an effective method for the lowering of SCC in milk of crossbred cows and buffaloes. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2002. Vol 15, No. 10 : 1517-1522)


Charles wore filthy trousers and a stained shirt, which he refused to part with. He rejected any suggestion that he have a wash or a bath, despite persuasion from nursing staff on the coronary care unit.


The following case is reported as being of interest because of the comparative rarity of the condition, the interesting operative findings and the recovery of the patient. History. —S. P. T., a mulatto laborer of good habits, aged 56, was seen first, March 3, 1910. He had had typhoid fever in his teens; an operation for hemorrhoids at 30, and for ten or twelve years preceding the present illness, more or less "stomach trouble" aggravated by chewing tobacco, and characterized by gas, soreness in the pit of the stomach and attacks of pain under the right lower ribs extending through, beneath the right shoulder blade and to the right shoulder. These attacks were usually accompanied by huge hives. The patient had been feeling poorly all the fall and coughed a little. Family history as far as patient knew was negative as to tuberculosis. Present Illness. —February 10, following exposure and


PURPOSE: To obtain a compact disk player serving also as a mini-disk using a single pick-up device and a single spindle assembly. CONSTITUTION: A mini-disk tray 34 and a compact disk tray 24 constitute a combined disk tray 200. The compact disk tray having a compact disk mounting part 22 forms an upper plate of the combined disk tray, the mini-disk tray having a mini-dusk mounting part forms a lower plate of the combined disk tray, and the compact disk tray and mini-disk tray are aligned and disposed vertically with respect to each other. COPYRIGHT: (C)1995,JPO


Abstract Ecosystems provide society with services such as biodiversity, carbon sequestration, scenic beauty, food and fibre yield, timber production and fr esh-water availability. Thus, society and ecosystems are interdependent, and their interactions are best studied when considering them as part of eco-social systems. To assess the vulnerability of eco-social systems to global change requires: (1) projections of changes in the provision of ecosystem services and (2) projections of the ability of the human sectors relying on these services to adapt to such changes (i.e., adaptive capacity). In the project ATEAM we are developing an approach to combining these two elements within a modelling framework, aimed at producing vulnerability maps of Europe. ATEAM considers multiple scenarios of global change (climate, land-use, nitrogen deposition and social change), which are consistent with the IPCC SRES scenarios. 10 20 30 40 To project the effects of exposure to global change drivers on the provision of ecosystem services ATEAM uses a set of ecosystem models. In a stakeholder-guided pr ocess, ATEAM produces spatially explicit projections of changes in ecosystem service provision, such as the amount of carbon sequestered or the species richness of an area. ATEAM develops spatially explicit projections of adaptive capacity by considering adaptive capacity as being determined by six factors (equality, knowledge, technology, infrastructure, flexibility and economic power), each of which is represented by two quantitative indicators (


Methods: thirty-six young ballet dancers (11.03 ± 2.18 years) from the National Dance School of Marseille participated in this study. We systematically estimated the Beighton score during the medical examination of the first audition before the dancing lesson. In addition, we measured the anterior global flexion and the plantar flexion. A descriptive statistical analysis, Spearman correlations, and a U of Mann Withney test were performed (comparison between the group of <12 years and ≥12 years old). Pertinence du score de Beigthon pour évaluer le syndrome d'hyper-mobilité des jeunes danseuses classiques : influence de l'âge sur les paramètres


Two new bicoumarins, named murradimerin A (1) and murramarin B (5) were isolated from the leaves of Murraya exotica (Rutaceae) collected in Ishigaki-island Japan. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data especially using 2D NMR spectrum. Naturally occurring bicoumarin connected two coumarin moieties by orthoester structure as in murramarin (5) is unusual type and murramarin B (5) is the first example not possessing furanocoumarin moiety.


Treatment of binary Coulomb collisions when the full gyrokinetic distribution function is evolved is discussed here. A spectrum of different collision operators is presented, differing through both the physics that can be addressed and the numerics they are based on. Eulerian-like (semi-Lagrangian) and particle in cell (PIC) (Monte-Carlo) schemes are successfully cross-compared, and a detailed confrontation to neoclassical theory is shown.


In Caucasian individuals, holistic processing and face recognition is lateralized to the right hemisphere, whereas part-based processing and word recognition is lateralized to the left hemisphere. Whether this hemispheric complementarity holds more generally is unclear. We compare the hemispheric basis of holistic processing of faces in Caucasian and Chinese observers (who, as readers of logographic script, may have different hemispheric organization). Participants made same/different judgements about the left/right halves of two sequentially presented composite faces (comprised of the left half of one face and the right half of another face) when the halves were aligned or were misaligned. There was a larger congruency effect for aligned than misaligned faces, reflecting significant holistic processing, and this was equivalent for face halves judged in the right and left visual fields and for Caucasian and Chinese observers. This same result was replicated in a second study with Caucasian observers, in which we presented the cue simultaneous with the study face, rather than simultaneous with the test face. These findings reflect equal participation of both hemispheres in holistic face perception and suggest that orthographic experience does not necessarily affect the hemispheric basis of holistic processing.


Pseudoankylosis of the mandible after a transtemporal operation is rare. In patients with severely limited mouth opening, a transzygomatic approach is the approach of choice. We report a case of pseudoankylosis of the mandible that was successfully treated by transzygomatic coronoidectomy.


Background It has been proposed that alcohol consumption may be one of the lifestyle factors associated with a westernized, urban, and affluent lifestyle contributing to the rise in atopic disease.


The typical literatures of recent 10 years were collected and reviewed in the field of traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) diagnostics,clinical,meridian,herbal medicine,etc.Analysis of the influence of the technology on TCM clinical and basic research has been done.The strategic significance of such technology on the future development of Chinese medicine has been discussed.


The Wide View Film, a novel optical compensation film for TFT-LCDs was developed to realize wide viewing angle characteristics, without sacrificing brightness of LCDs, utilizing negative birefringence of a discotic liquid cristal. The optical compensation of the Wide View film is to make the coating layer of negative birefringence material have the same orientation structure as that of TN liquid crystals in dark state of a TFT-LCD so that all components of positive birefringence of TN liquid crystals can be compensated. It was found that thin coating layer can be made of discotic liquid crystals which align obliquely and optically in high order. Therefore discotic liquid crystals were utilized as the negative birefringence material for the WV film. In this paper we describe mainly the characteristics and behavior of discotic liquid crystals on alignment layers and the application of the thin coating layer to optical compensation film for improving the viewing angle of TFT-LCDs.


The influence of the content and distribution of siver-plated fibers on the antistatic property of the plain weft knitted fabric is investigated by the testing and analysis of the antistatic properties of a group of the fabrics with different content and distribution of siver-plated fibers.The result shows that the antistatic ability of the fabric increases with the increase of the content of the siver-plated fibers, but it will be affected by the inlaying of non-antistatic yarn;the static charge deposition area will be formed owing to the inlaying of non-functional yarn,and the antistatic property of fabric depends on the size of the static charge deposition area and the antistatic ability of the functional yarn;the inlaying of non-functional yam will intensify the antistatic unevenness caused by the distribution unevenness of siver-plated fibers in the fuctional yarn;the non-antistatic yarn should not be inlaid when antistatic fabric is knitted with antistatic functional yarn of low blending ratio.


We consider a class of special flows over interval exchange transformations which includes roof functions with symmetric logarithmic singularities. We prove that such flows are typically weakly mixing. As a corollary, minimal flows given by multivalued Hamiltonians on higher-genus surfaces are typically weakly mixing.


To the Editor. —In 1962, Burch and DePasquale studied the relationship between hematocrit and myocardial infarction and reported that the mean hematocrit in 100 patients with acute myocardial infarction was significantly higher than that in 100 control subjects. 1 In 1967, Rifkind and Gale observed that hypolipidemia is a common finding in patients with chronic anemia and commented that in underdeveloped countries where anemia is common, there is also a low incidence of ischemic heart disease. 2 In 1972, Bottiger and Carlson in a study of 2458 healthy nonanemic subjects detected a positive correlation between hemoglobin levels and serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels. 3 Due to the recent interest in serum cholesterol levels, we studied the relationship between pretreatment serum cholesterol and hematocrit levels in 200 male patients from our hypertension clinic. As shown in the Figure, we found a weak ( r = 0.3) but significant ( P


This article presents a micro-historical study of two 20th-century ironworks in Sweden and Finland, examining local social structures and their dynamics. By analysing ethnographic data available on these ironworks, it is argued that the boundaries that the contemporaries observed inside the community followed occupational lines. These were based on tangible factors such as spatial issues and living standards and on general issues related to identity, all of which depended on work and occupation. Changes caused by modernization and industrialization in these tangible factors were reflected in local social structures, which helps us to understand the dynamics of both local social structures and these large processes.


This paper presents a high-speed digital simulation method-the convolution summation method by using the blockpulse responses of the multivariable linear time-varying systems to obtain the time domain responses and objective functions of the systems. For calculating optimal control functions of the systems, each control function is expressed as a polynomial and the term number of every polynomial is expanded automatically by means of a program. Thus, the speed of optimizing the control functions is expedited and the total computer time is saved.


The oxidation of alcohols is one of the most-important routes to produce carbonyl compounds, both in industrial processes and in organic syntheses, which serve as versatile intermediates and important fine chemicals. 6] Traditionally, the oxidation of alcohols is performed with stoichiometric amounts of the oxidants and high-oxidation-state heavy-metal salts. However, these oxidants are fairly expensive and the associated reaction systems often generate significant amounts of undesired byproducts, with the production of large volumes of waste water. Therefore, various environmentally friendly methods have been investigated by using air, oxygen, or hydrogen peroxide as "cleaner" oxidants and transition metals, such as Pt, Au, Pd, and Ru, as either homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts. Silver-based catalysts, including electrolytic silver and supported silver particles, have been widely employed as heterogeneous catalysts for the selective oxidation of alcohols. 13] For example, the partial oxidation of MeOH over Ag catalysts at about 600 8C is a typical industrial process to produce formaldehyde. However, possibly owing to the large catalyst size, these catalysts have typically only demonstrated appreciable activity at temperatures well above 200 8C. Accordingly, both the catalytic efficiency and selectivity are quite low. If the reaction could occur at lower temperatures, the energy consumption would decrease and, hence, the service life of the catalysts would be extended. Recently, dealloyed nanoporous metals have attracted considerable research interests as a new class of non-supported nanostructured "green" catalysts. For example, nanoporous palladium has shown remarkable catalytic activity for Suzuki and Heck coupling reactions, both under very mild conditions. Nanoporous copper has demonstrated significant activity in click chemistry reactions and nanoporous gold was found to be highly active toward CO oxidation and the oxidative coupling of alcohols. In comparison with the recent rush in searching for new Au catalysts and in screening their possible catalytic applications, Ag nanocatalysis has received much less attention, even though silver is apparently much more affordable than gold or palladium. Herein, we show, for the first time, that MeOH can be partially oxidized into methyl formate over dealloyed nanoporous silver (np-Ag) under very mild conditions. By using air as the oxidant at atmospheric pressure, this nanostructured catalyst can also catalyze the oxidation of many other primary and secondary aliphatic alcohols under ambient conditions to afford their corresponding aldehydes or ketones with high activity, selectivity, and durability. Thus, Np-Ag holds great promise as a new cost-effective catalyst for many industrially important reactions. The Np-Ag catalysts that were used in this study were readily fabricated by the selective leaching of magnesium from a Ag77Mg23 alloy foil by using an aqueous solution of tartaric acid (1 wt. %) for 1 h at room temperature. Figure 1 a shows the microstructure of the dealloyed sample. A random uniform "spongy" morphology is clearly observed, with an average pore/ligament diameter of about 25 nm. The catalytic activity of np-Ag was evaluated by using a continuous-flow fixed-bed microreactor. Figure 2 shows the catalytic performance of np-Ag for the oxidation of MeOH at different temperatures. In general, this reaction allows the direct oxidation of MeOH into methyl formate (HCOOCH3), with the formation of small amounts of formaldehyde and CO2 as the coproducts. If the reaction temperature was between 50 and 150 8C, minimal oxidation occurred, with a conversion of about 2–3 %, much lower than that with nanoporous gold. However, significant catalytic activity was observed at temperatures above this range. At 192 8C, the conversion reached 20 % with selectivity for methyl formate as high as 85 %. Further increasing the temperature to 250 8C improved the conversion to about 28 %, but the selectivity dropped to 70 %. Finally, formaldehyde became the main product at temperatures above 300 8C. As shown in Figure 3, the molar ratio between MeOH and O2 also affected the conversion and selectivity of the reaction. At a ratio of MeOH/O2 of 0.5:1, the highest conversion was obtained and CO2 was the only co-product that was formed at 200 8C. As the relative concentration of MeOH increased, the conversion gradually dropped, accompanied by a slight improvement in selectivity. At a molar ratio of about 2:1, the selectivity achieved a highest value of over 85 %. Further increasing the amount of MeOH resulted in a decrease in both conversion and selectivity and more formaldehyde was observed. SEM analysis (Figure 1 b) revealed the micro-morphology of a sample of np-Ag after the catalytic reaction. Compared to Figure 1 a, the ligament size evidently coarsened to about [a] Z. Li, X. Gu, K. Wang, W. Wang, Prof. Dr. X. Zhang, Prof. Dr. Y. Ding Center for Advanced Energy Materials and Technology Research (AEMT) and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China) Fax: (+ 86) 531-88366513 E-mail : email@example.com [b] J. Xu, Prof. Dr. Z. Zhang, Prof. Dr. Y. Ding Key Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials, Ministry of Education Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China) Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cctc.201200862.


ABSTRACT The paper focuses on the development and modelling of residual cyclic pore water pressure, u, in clay during undrained cyclic strain-controlled loading. Data obtained from a series of NGI type cyclic simple shear tests were employed. In addition to the amplitude of cyclic shear strain, γc, the number of cycles, N, and the overconsolidation ratio, OCR, a new component is incorporated in the conventional characterization of u. This new component is the volumetric threshold shear strain, γtv, of clayey soils, below which for all practical purposes u does not develop. The lack of understanding of complex clay microstructure and the associated interaction between clay particles during cyclic shearing makes the modelling of u in a manner other than curve fitting rather difficult. This is especially true in regard to the development of negative u in overconsolidated clays. A model based on the systematic curve fitting of the pore pressure data expressed in terms of γc, γtv, N and OCR is presented. The possibilities of the incorporation of such a model into existing numerical tools for simulation of the seismic and ocean wave loading response of natural soil deposits are briefly discussed as well.


The article presents the aspects of the application of the maintenance key performance indicators (KPI) in the management of the operation of the ship turbines on the floating vessels. There have been indicated the significant measurable technical, organisational and economic features of the management systems which determine the decisions related with the turbine maintenance in the good usability condition pursuant to the intended criteria. The indicators selection methods have been classified and reviewed. There has been made an attempt of the interpretation of some of their selected values. The reference has been made to the application of the indicators in the Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) and the application of these systems in the control processes for the ships' power systems.


Abstract An inversion method is presented that determines mesoscale sea surface currents using satellite altimeter data. The method directly uses geostrophic cross-track velocity components, expands the unknown velocity components with spline functions, and includes weighted constraints for divergence and kinetic energy. The success of this method is measured by the misfit between input and output velocities and depends on the weights of the constraints, the irregular space-time data distribution of the altimeter data, and the nonstationary character of mesoscale oceanic features. Negative effects of the irregular spatial distribution of the altimeter data are overcome by partitioning the larger regions of interest into smaller subareas to make independent inversions. The relatively weak effects of subtrack temporal separations in the presence of slowing evolving fields are addressed by temporal interpolations, which provide the more important benefit of filling in missing data. The procedure is evaluated...


CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF MOVING TO ONLINE LEARNING IN THE HIGHER LEARNING INSTITUTIONS IN RWANDA: LESSONS LEARNT DURING COVID -19 PANDEMICS By Daniel Twesige and Faustin Gasheja Abstract The coronavirus pandemic which started in China in December 2019 has not only created challenges on the health system, but it has had a very big impact on the education systems across the globe. This study analyzed the challenges and opportunities of moving to online learning in the higher learning institutions in Rwanda insight from the lessons learnt during Covid – 19 pandemics on the learning process of students in the higher learning institutions in Rwanda. A quantitative research design was adopted. Primary data was collected from 1170 students in 30 learning students in Rwanda using a closed ended questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical analytical tools. The results from the survey indicated Covid -19 has impacted the learning process of students in the higher learning institutions in different ways. It has led to change in the academic calendar, suspension of exams, students in the final year unable to do their research and internship, it has affected the quality of learning and lack of learning from peers due to social distancing. The study contributed to the existing knowledge by establishing by establishing the challenges and opportunities of moving to online learning in the higher learning institutions which included learning inequality among the students in rural areas and those from towns and the students from rich families and those from vulnerable families. This research adopted pragmatism research philosophy that allowed them to use both descriptive and inferential statistical data analysis tools


Introduction : rabies, a highly fatal, viral disease caused by a Lyssavirus from the family Rhadoviridae, is acquired through the bite of an infected animal, mostly dogs. It can affect all warm blooded vertebrates including man. Estimated annual global human mortalities from rabies is 55,000, of which 31,000 and 24,000 are from Asia and Africa respectively, where an estimated US$ 583.5 million is spent on its control. Rabies is endemic in Ghana. We undertook an analysis of rabies data in the Greater Accra Region to determine the magnitude and the trend of animal rabies, and assess percentage coverage of animal anti-rabies vaccinations annually from 2007 - 2011. Methods : we reviewed all rabies records for all ten districts in the region, interviewed staff of the regional rabies desks, and abstracted data from post-mortem. Data was entered and analysed with Microsoft Excel and Epi-InfoTM version 3.5.3. We calculated means, percentages, drew graphs and analysed trends. Results : a total of 309 animal specimens tested during the period, 283/309 were positive for rabies; predictive value positive being 91.6%. Of the positive cases, 272/283 (96.1%) were dogs, 276/283 (97.5%) of which had no previous vaccination history. Pet vaccinations and the number of outbreaks were highest in 2011 at 14,521 and 55 respectively. Percentage vaccination ranged from 5.9 - 7.8, falling far short of the 70% recommended by the World Health Organization.


This article discusses Imam Al-Ghazali's views on political ethics and governance. This type of research is literature using analytical methods. The primary source used by researchers is one of Imam Al-Ghazali's works, namely "Al-Tibbr al-Masbūk fī Naṣīḥah al-Mulk" and several other relevant works. This article answers the problem when in the 16th century, there was a separation between ethics and politics in the West which was pioneered by an Italian statesman named Niccolo Machiavelli which resulted in that the mindset of the government was based on its acceptance of the political system of its time. This discussion becomes important as a response to debates and dialectics about the importance of ethics in politics. This study concludes that Al-Ghazali proposed that the government system be made up of a board of directors in carrying out every government program in order to create productivity and effectiveness in running the government. The Diwan should have three institutions in the country: the deliberative council, the judiciary and the ministerial body. In addition, ethics needs to be included in the political system, this is a critique of scholars who reject ethical participation in politics. Al-Ghazali advised the rulers about the importance of ethics in politics and government. It is formulated in seven principles namely fairness, competence, humility, honesty, responsiveness, sincerity, and gentleness.


A flat tie, as well as mold installation method using the flat tie and nonmetallic sheathing board. A flat tie (20) extends through dam of each pair being spaced apart in the width direction (10), respectively the wedge holes at both end portions protruding from the outer surface of the corresponding end plate (10) (21a) is provided, a long and iron strip tie body (21), on one side of the tie body (21) located in the space between the end plate (10) of each pair being spaced apart in the widthwise direction provided, that each of the weir plate and locked with each pair sheathing board on one side of (10) (10) a plurality of space maintaining projections is to allow maintaining the set clearance (22), configured to include a . .FIELD 1


A test vehicle was designed that enabled the measurement of the dielectric constant and loss tangent of thin dielectric films from 1 KHz to 40 GHz. The test vehicle consists of a metal-dielectric-metal parallel plate structure. The measurements were made with a LCR meter and a network analyzer.<<ETX>>


Based on research of desulfurization for Shengli crude oil with methods of oxidation,catalytic oxidation and ultrasonic oxidation respectively,the effects of different desulfurizer and catalysts on the desulfurization degree were analyzed. The effects of ultrasonic oxidation desulfurization and single desulfurization were compared. Experiment result showed that different desulfurization effects were achieved with different desulfurizer,of which the desulfurization degree with D desulfurizer was up to 15. 2%. In addition,ultrasonic wave was testified to be helpful for enhancing desulfurization effect.


Approximately 50% of patients with Crohn's disease have epithelioid granulomas present in the diseased intestine. Some studies have associated the presence of granulomas with a good prognosis. In this prospective study, 44 patients with Crohn's disease requiring surgery were followed up for five years. Twenty-two patients (50%) had granulomas. Patients with granulomas were younger and had a shorter duration of disease. They also had more extensive disease and a greater degree of peripheral lymphopenia. Follow-up showed a trend toward greater recurrence rate in the patients with granulomas. It seems that patients with aggressive and extensive Crohn's disease are not protected from the development of symptomatic early recurrence by the presence of epithelioid granulomas.


This is a case study on Chinese herbal medicine treatment for depression. A 35 year old female, who suffers from depression due to separation from her husband was treated with CHM successfully.


Cybersmart's YouTube channel is now host to twelve new videos aimed at helping teens play it safe online. The videos, produced by Google and YouTube, encourage teens to think before posting, use privacy settings and talk to trusted adults when problems occur.


Bubble nucleation from supersaturated gas solutions generally takes place at much lower supersaturations than are expected from the theory. Furthermore, the same theory predicts that the threshold concentration of gas needed to cause nucleation should be essentially independent of the gas species used, a finding contradicted by experiment. There are two general explanations:  first, that the theory is wrong, or second, that there is a previously unidentified factor which is influencing the results of the experiments. Given the success of the fundamental theory in other areas, the second explanation is preferred. The previously unrecognized factor is identified here as being the surface activity of the gases which form the bubbles.


We report the demonstration of an InGaAs/GaAs quantum well (QW) broadband stimulated emission laser with a structure that integrated a GaAs tunnel junction with two QW active regions. The laser exhibits ultrabroad lasing spectral coverage of ∼51 nm at a center wavelength of 1060 nm with a total emission power of 790 mW, corresponding to a high average spectral power density of 15.5 mW/nm, under pulsed current conditions. Compared to traditional lasers, this laser with an asymmetric separate-confinement heterostructure shows broader lasing bandwidth and higher spectral power density.


This study entitled "Stinginess, Generosity in the Qur'an, and their impact on Individuals and Society" Stinginess: it goes against Generosity and Goodness, refraining from acquiring supplies that should not be fully kept, and the Stinginess raises panic on properties in which it's considered as a nasty deed in the holy Quran and Prophetic Hadiths.Generosity: is the ease of spending and avoiding purchasing non-essential supplies.Stinginess types go as follows: The most disgusting type is stinginess of money, as well as stinginess of greeting, food, stinginess of lack of words and praying on prophet (PBUH). Stinginess is a psychological illness that has a bad impact on anyone in society.Generosity: It is one of the highest morals of a Muslim. More significantly, avoid getting jealous of anyone's property. Al the Quran verses that dispraised stinginess are sufficient to demonstrate this abhorrent habit, and stinginess influences individuals and society, whether it is by spoiling the relationships between people and depriving the reward of spending for God's sake, weak faith in God can cause of the doubting in God, raising hatred towards people, and depriving himself of the permissible pleasures in this life. The remedy of the disease is patience and conviction, and considering the consequences of the misers in this world and the hereafter.


Taking Li-river scenic area as a case,the paper makes a study of ship-taking tourists'expectation and perception through questionnaire survey,using SPSS and IPA.The conclusion holds that there is positive evaluation of Li-river landscape quality,and the values of tourists'expectation and perception are higher,but the value of perception is generally lower than expectation.Tourists have the highest expectation on "the picturesque scenery of Li-river",and the best perception on"the Karst montains",and the lowest identity degree on"the clear Li-river".The results also show that there is significant difference on tourists'expectation and perception of"the picturesque scenery and clear Li-river".It should continue to highlight its landscape artistic conception,focus on strengthening water environment governance,rich waterfront landscape and tourism products experience in the tourism landscape construction of Liriver.Due to the complex Li-river's landscope elements,as we as the influence of seasonal factors the design of landscope evaluation index system should be more comprehensive scientific and rigorous,and the future studies should be carried out to select time more breadth,so as to provide more scientific guidance and reference for the construction and management of the Li-river scienic area.


We succeeded in producing Y123 bicrystal films with straight grain boundaries by the LPE method. The Y123 bicrystal films were grown on MgO bicrystal substrates with 24/spl deg/ misorientation angle. TEM images show that the grain boundary consists of straight single facets of about 50 /spl mu/m length. J/sub c/ across the grain boundary at 77 K in zero magnetic field, 1.4/spl times/10/sup 4/ A/cm/sup 2/, was one order lower than that of the intragrain, /spl sim/10/sup 5/ A/ cm/sup 2/. This suppression rate of J/sub c/ in bicrystal films with tilt angle 24/spl deg/ is lower than that in films grown by PVD methods such as PLD. The normal resistance of the intergrain boundary is small, which indicates that the effective width of the straight interface is very narrow.


The Dinarides are the mountain belt covering former Yugoslavia, Albania, and Greece; they are divided into Dinarides in the strict sense to the north and Hellenides to the south of the Scutari-Pe¢ transform. This article reminds the evolution of ideas regarding the geology, mainly the tectonics, of this belt, emphasizing the contribution of French teams. This evolution took place in several stages. Before 1890, bases of lithology and stratigraphy have been set, by French geologists firstly, then by the Vienna school during the second half of the 19th century. Only the vertical tectonics was recognized. From 1890 to the Second World War, the nappe tectonics is described in Greece and in the Dinarides s. st., essentially by German-speaking geologists, except in Albania. From 1950 to 1970, major monographs developed by the French teams in Greece establish a detailed knowledge of the stratigraphy of the different zones and of the thrust tectonics affecting them, first described in the outer zones, like the Pindos one, and then in the inner zones with the recognition of tectonic windows like the Olympus one. The general geodynamic interpretation was made within the geosyncline model, with ophiolites considered as autochthonous. Starting in 1970, the models developed in particular by new French researchers working in Yugoslavia (1960-1980) and again in Greece are in terms of plate tectonics. They show a two-stage evolution of the belt, including a palaeodinaric-eohellenic tectonic crisis at the end of the Jurassic, marked by ophiolite obduction, before the great Tertiary nappe tectonics. Since the mid-1980s, progress is being made in understanding the metamorphic units, in explaining their exhumation and the simultaneity and gradual migration of phenomena like compression, exhumation and post-nappe extension, particularly in the Aegean area. Recent models incorporate geophysical data such as seismic tomography which, with the image of a large eastward-dipping slab, strongly supports the favourite hypothesis of the French searchers implying an eastward subduction and a unique eastern origin, from the Maliac-Vardar Ocean, of the main ophiolites.


The South Yorkshire Public Transport Executive (SYPTE) identifies and responds to the travel needs of the people of South Yorkshire. An important element of SYPTE's service delivery is reliable customer travel information. Analysis confirms that maps are critical components of this information. Further, maps that succeed in making sense of complex transport networks must be well designed and show current information. SYPTE has not only conceived and designed a family of complementary travel information products, but developed a highly automated, data-driven system to produce and maintain them. Information Technology (IT) plays a lead role in the operation and continued development of this system.


The macula densa control of renin secretion and tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) both occur in the juxtaglomerular apparatus (JGA) of nephrons. The renin-angiotensin system has basked in attention for 2 decades, while TGF remains arcane to all but those who study it. Nonetheless, the body's


This article studies Hawthorne's greatest short story Young Goodman Brown from mythical archetype perspective to see whether Hawthorne creates the story based on the myths.From the analyses of its characterization and structure,the assumption is verified.And reading the fiction from this perspective,readers can further understand the features and writing purpose of Hawthorne.


Mercury is one of the world's most toxic elements. Corporate mercury reporting in Pollution Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) is compulsory in some countries but disclosure in companies' annual or sustainability reports is not mandatory. Therefore, mercury disclosure in these reports differs among the companies. This paper aims to identify the current quality of corporate mercury reporting and propose best practice mercury disclosure by analyzing the current disclosure practices of the largest mercury emitting companies.Major corporate mercury emitters were identified from Pollution Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) of the USA, Australia, Canada, the UK and the EU. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify and analyse the contents of 2013 mercury disclosures in the annual report, sustainability report, environmental performance report, or company website. Few companies disclosed mercury information. For disclosing companies the volume and dimensions of mercury disclosure significantly differed. Major dimensions of mercury disclosures include: extent of mercury emissions, sources of emissions, variation in emissions and its reasons, health safety and mercury impacts, mercury control, technologies for mercury reduction, mercury monitoring, and management. Companies from the USA and Australia disclosed more mercury information than companies from other countries. Policy implications Guidelines are proposed to assist regulators regarding policy development and enable mercury emitting companies to benchmark their mercury reporting practices. Researchers in social and environmental accounting may use the issues raised in this article for more comprehensive studies in mercury disclosure practices.Though there are many studies on mercury from scientific, physiological or environmental perspectives no studies have been conducted focusing on mercury accounting or disclosure or social and environmental accounting perspective.; ;


We study spectral properties of divergence form elliptic operators with the Neumann boundary condition in planar domains (including some fractal type domains) that satisfy to the quasihyperbolic boundary conditions. Our method is based on an interplay between quasiconformal mappings, elliptic operators and composition operators on Sobolev spaces.


This paper studies the impact of the pyramid structure on the executive perks.Using the panel data fixed effects regression model of Chinese listed companies from 2004 to 2009,the study finds: when the levels of pyramid structure is more,the degree of the perks will be higher,and when the control chain of pyramid structure is more,executive perks can be effectively significantly inhibited,especially in the non-state-owned enterprises.At the same time,when the number of the pyramid level is more than the control chain,perks are negatively related with firm performance,and when the pyramid level is less than or equal to the control chain,perks can significantly improve coporate value.This conclusion provides important empirical evidence and theoretical inspiration for the reform of the ultimate control chain and the adjustment of the listed companies' control strategy.


INTRODUCTION Plexiform Neurofibromas occur commonly in the cervical and trigeminal nerve distribution but presentation in extremities is rare. This study is a review of 4 cases of plexiform neurofibroma in the palm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2016 to December 2017,four cases of Plexiform Neurofibroma involving the median nerve in the palmunderwent excisionand reconstruction as warranted. Postoperative outcomemonitored. RESULTS: All patients underwent complete excision. Nerve grafting was done in two patients. All wounds healed without any postoperative wound complications. None had motor weakness.At the end of 6 months, sensation was S3+ in all patients. CONCLUSION: Management of plexiform neurofibroma requires proper diagnosis, meticulous surgical technique and postoperative physiotherapy to produce a good postoperative result with adequate hand function.


Maximal tree clustering method has a solid theoretic foundation and has been applied in various fields.However,its applications in sport statistics are still inadequate.In this paper,the application of the maximal tree clustering method in sport statistics is further improved to enable the audiences to grasp and apply it to solve the practical issue in sport statistics more efficiently.


In accordance with the General Theory Systems of Urmantsev (GTSU) [1, 2, 3], the set of primes is considered as a system of objects. For the relationship between objects taken the difference of prime numbers. Revealed periodicity of pairs of intervals.


Objective To know about the situation of Iodine Deficiency Disorders(IDD)and provide the bases for establishing the strategy of IDD prevention and cure.Metods Examining the goiter of children from 8 years old to 10 years old,chidren's intelligence,iodine in the urine and the salt taken by the residents with random sampling.Results Children examined were 1 200.The rate of goiter with palpation and B ultrasonography were 13.50% and 14.18%.It decreased 67.70% compared with the rate in 1994(41.80% palpation).Compared with the rate in 1999,it decreased 43.18% and 39.86% respectively.360 persons were examined the iodine in urine.The median of the iodine in urine was 238.75 μg/L.The salt were surveyed in 3 200 houses.The coverage rate and qualified rate of iodized salt and the rate of iodized salt taken by the residents were 95.83%,86.77% and 83.44% respectively.Conclusion The rate of goiter decreased gradually and the effect was nice.


Agriculture is being increasingly transformed into a technological industry and calls for a greater need for digitally literate employees. To ensure school students are best placed for this requirement, the development of teacher digital literacy, self-efficacy, and the awareness of agricultural technology is essential. The current study explores the digital literacy and self-efficacy of Australian Technology Mandatory teachers who were participants in a one-day workshop (n = 185). The workshop introduced participants to the GPS Cows module, a complete teaching resource specifically designed to cover agricultural aspects of the Technology Mandatory syllabus. Data were collected by way of classroom 'clickers' during the workshop and by a post-workshop survey. Teachers were found to have reasonable basic digital literacy but lacked the confidence to conduct more detailed analytics. There was also some evidence that a teacher's own digital literacy may also impact their perception of their students' skills. Professional development workshops, such as the GPS Cows workshop, can improve teacher digital literacy and self-efficacy through hands-on learning in a collaborative, team environment.


A mapping population consisting of 229 F2 individuals derived from the cross between maize(Zea mays L.) inbreds R15 and Ye 478 was used in this study.Plant height(PH) and ear height(EH) of 229 F2:4 population individual plants were measured at two locations by random block design in 2003.A genetic linkage map was constructed containing 146 simple sequence repeat(SSR) markers,which covered 1 666 cM of the maize genome,with an average distance of 11.4 cM.Composite interval mapping identified eight QTL for PH located on chromosomes 2,3,4,5 and 8,and three QTL for EH located on chromosome 4,with explained phenotypic variation ranging from 6.67% to 11.59% and from 10.46% to 12.15%,respectively.


China faces a serious situation with insufficiently medical and health resources as well as the unreasonable resources distribution. In this paper, evolutionary game theory is employed to investigate the underlying model of the satellite hospital and patient in telemedicine-based Healthcare Consortium System. Its evolutionary process and results are analyzed for verification of the benefits brought by telemedicine. It can be concluded through the model simulation that both sides can get the most benefit when choosing telemedicine.


Vocalism and Singing are the basic means of training students' skills and techniques in vocal music teaching.In order to improve students' sing skill and technique,it is important to select vocalization etude and song properly.


Abstract An extension of the matter‐element method was applied to estimate ambient air quality in Haizhou opencast colliery in Fuxin coal mine. Air pollutants data such as sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, total suspended particulates, particulate matter and dustfall were collected at four different air‐quality monitoring stations located in four districts around the Fuxin colliery. Results show that total suspended particulates, particulate matter <10 μm, dustfall and sulphur dioxide were the predominant pollutants. Other pollutants such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides were also detected at the Fuxin colliery. Air pollution came mainly from industrial emissions, mining activities and abandoned gangue stockpiles (mine tailings). Compared to those applied to other mathematical assessment methods, it was demonstrated that the extension of the matter‐element model was quite appropriate for air quality assessment.


-----------------------------------------------------------XI CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ---------------------------------1 1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ---------------------------------------------------------------1 1.2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES-----------------------------------------------------------------------4 1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS -----------------------------------------------------------------------5 1.4. RESEARCH PROBLEM -------------------------------------------------------------------------5 1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ---------------------------------------------------------------6 1.6. SUMMARY --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW --------------------------8 2.1. AGRICULTURAL GROWTH AS KEY SOURCE FOR DEVELOPMENT -------------------------8 2.2. NEW AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES AND INFLUENCES ON RURAL PEOPLE --------10 2.3. CONCEPT OF GREENHOUSE FARMING ----------------------------------------------------13 2.4. THE TYPES AND ADVANTAGES OF GREENHOUSES ---------------------------------------14 2.5. GREENHOUSE FARMING AS NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR AGRICULTURE GROWTH ------16 2.6. SOCIO ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF GREENHOUSE FARMING -------------------------18 2.7. GREENHOUSE FARMING AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER --------------------------------20 2.7.1. Concept of Technology --------------------------------------------------------------20 2.7.2. Agriculture and Technology Transfer ---------------------------------------------21 2.8. LIVELIHOOD AND HOUSEHOLD ------------------------------------------------------------24 2.8.1. Household -----------------------------------------------------------------------------24 2.8.2. Livelihood------------------------------------------------------------------------------24


In this study we conducted clinical research in order to assess the impact of orthodontic abnormalities (tooth crowding and open bite) on gingival health. For this purpose we have included 90 research subjects, of whom 30 subjects were without orthodontic anomalies serving as a control group, 30 with clinically verifiable frontal teeth crowding and 30 subjects with open bite. During the first visit, orthodontic diagnosis was established, dental plaque presence was noted, gingival inflammation, gingival bleeding, and acquired results were expressed through the following indices: Dental Plaque Index (DPI-Sillnes -Loe), index of Gingival Inflammation INDEX (GIILoe Sillnes) and the Gingival Bleeding Index (GBI-Cowell). At this stage the subjects were educated and motivated to maintain their oral hygiene by conventional standard methods (toothbrush type, method of tooth brushing, duration and brushing frequency). Patients have been followed for 2 and 4 weeks since the onset of education and motivation for oral hygiene maintenance. After the second and fourth week since the onset, the presence of the dental plaque has been noted, the condition of gingiva, while the findings from the research are expressed through the above mentioned indexes. The obtained results showed differences in the accumulation of dental plaque between the control group and the subjects with dental crowding and open bite (p=0,000). After the second and fourth week of education and motivation undertaken for subjects using standard conventional methods for oral hygiene maintenance, we have noted a significant decrease in the dental plaque volume, and compatible to this, also decreased inflammation and gingival bleeding (p=0.000). That difference is much more expressed in the group of subjects with no orthodontic anomalies than those with dental crowding and open bite. There is also a difference in the elimination of dental plaque from open bite and tooth crowding groups, but this difference is not statistically significant (p = NS). Clinical article (J Int Dent Med Res 2018; 11(1): pp. 8-14)


A nonlinear mirror in the form of a fiber-loop reflector with nonreciprocity is proposed as a passive mode locker. The mode-locking process occurs as a result of the interference of counterpropagating pulses, when they are properly chirped in the fiber loop. With a computer simulation, we study a simple one-cavity model and find stable solutions.


Wave propagation characteristics of apertures were analyzed to explain the light transmission of metallic nanoapertures. Based on Maxwell's equations, the wave dispersion relations of wave propagation modes in nanoapertures were derived. The resonance frequency shift of the aperture and the variation of the spot size are explained with the dispersion relations. The relationship between near-field and far-field light transmission power throughput and spot size is also shown with the wave mode change predicted by the dispersion relations.


The performance of the MUSIC (Multiple Signal Classification) algorithm in determining the bearing of a single emitter from the signals of an array of sensors is investigated. The causes and cures of ambiguities in bearing estimation, due to array response duplications, are addressed first. The statistical properties of unambiguous bearing estimates are then considered. In particular, expressions for the first two moments of the error in these estimates are presented. These expressions, being more general than those that have appeared in the literature, are not limited to a line array of isotropic elements; hence they include the effects of antenna pattern and array geometry on estimation accuracy. The numerical examples verify the analytical moment expressions.<<ETX>>


ABSTRACT This paper summarizes a study conducted to determine whether sustained silent reading (SSR) can contribute to improvement in grammar and reading comprehension in university academic English as a foreign language (EFL) courses. A total of 186 beginning and intermediate students enrolled in the English for Academic Purposes program at the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic were divided into experimental and control groups. The control groups followed the normal course syllabus, while the experimental group engaged in SSR of relevant journal articles for 30 of the total 150 minutes of instruction each week fof 10 weeks. Preand post-intervention tests using the Best and Ilyin English grammar exams and the Newbury House TOEFL Preparation Course exams found a noticeable improvement in English grammar and a very slight reading comprehension loss among SSR students. But given the wide range of student scores these results were not statistically significant. The paper includes 5 charts, 4 graphs, and 7 tables that highlight experimental studies on SSR and the results of the present study. (Contains 46 references.) (MDM)


BACKGROUND
The gut microbiota plays important roles in physiological and pathological processes of the host. The effect of black tea on the gut microbiota of healthy individuals remains unclear.

RESULTS
Healthy Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were given black tea for 4 weeks, and cecum content, serum, intestinal, and hepatic samples were collected. The results showed that black tea increased α-diversity and modulated β-diversity of the gut microbiota. Additionally, black tea enriched several short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) producers but suppressed genus Lactobacillus. Further tests revealed that the enrichment of SCFA producers was associated with a decrease in the oxidative stress of cecum content caused by black tea, and related to increased luminal butyric acid levels and enhanced intestinal barrier function. The suppression of genus Lactobacillus was related to the increase in luminal total bile acids caused by black tea. In vitro tests showed that bile acids rather than black tea directly inhibited Lactobacillus strains. The reduction in genus Lactobacillus did not affect the effects of black tea on intestinal barrier function and lipid levels.

CONCLUSION
Our results implied that the effects of black tea on gut microbiota in healthy individuals are complex and provide a new perspective on the association among black tea, gut microbiota, and health. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS AND REACTION-DIFFUSION SYSTEMS R. H. MARTIN, JR. AND H. L. SMITH ABSTRACT. Several fundamental results on the existence and behavior of solutions to semilinear functional differential equations are developed in a Banach space setting. The ideas are applied to reaction-diffusion systems that have time delays in the nonlinear reaction terms. The techniques presented here include differential inequalities, invariant sets, and Lyapunov functions, and therefore they provide for a wide range of applicability. The results on inequalities and especially strict inequalities are new even in the context of semilinear equations whose nonlinear terms do not contain delays. Several fundamental results on the existence and behavior of solutions to semilinear functional differential equations are developed in a Banach space setting. The ideas are applied to reaction-diffusion systems that have time delays in the nonlinear reaction terms. The techniques presented here include differential inequalities, invariant sets, and Lyapunov functions, and therefore they provide for a wide range of applicability. The results on inequalities and especially strict inequalities are new even in the context of semilinear equations whose nonlinear terms do not contain delays. Suppose Q is a bounded domain in RN with aQ smooth and A is the Laplacian operator on Q. Also, let m be a positive integer, z a positive number, and f = (fi)m a continuous, bounded function from [0, xc] x Q x C([-z, 0])m into Rm where C([-T, 0]) is the space of continuous functions from [-z, 0] into R. The purpose of this paper is to apply abstract results for semilinear functional differential equations in Banach spaces to reactiondiffusion systems with time delays having the form a tu(x, t) = diAu' (x, t) + ?i(t, x, ut(x, *)), t>a, xeQ, i=1,...,m, (RDD) ai(x)ui(x, t) + au i(x, t) = ,81(x, t), t > a , x EaQ u'(x , a + 0) = X'(x , 0) 5 -T 0, di > 0, and ca:Q * [0,o ) is C' and ,i:Q x [0, oo) R is C2. Here an is the outward normal derivative on aQ and if di = 0 it is assumed that no boundary conditions are specified for this i. Also, tu'(x, t) denotes the partial with respect to t, whereas ut(x, *) denotes the member of C([-z, 0]) defined by 0 -u(x, t + 0) = (u'(x, t + 0))M. Our techniques provide basic existence criteria, but the main point is that they can also be effectively applied to obtain estimates for solutions, especially Received by the editors October 7, 1987 and, in revised form, October 7, 1988. 1980 Mathematics Subject Classification (1985 Revision). Primary 35R10, 34K30.


A method may be provided in a radio node capable of operating in a Radio Access Network according to at least first and second UpLmk/DownLink subframe configurations that are different. The first UpLink/DownLink subframe configuration and the second UpLink/DownLink subframe configuration may be used far operation m a first cell and a second cell respectively, and/or the first UpLink/DownLink subframe configuration and the second UpLink/DownLink subframe configuration may be used in the first cell or the second cell at non-overlapping times. A configuration message may be received at the radio node relating to the first UpLink/DownLink subframe configuration and/or the second UpLink/DownLink subframe configuration. An operation may be performed at the radio node on signals transmitted to and/or received from the first cell and/or the second cell based on the configuration message relating to the first UpLink/DownLink subframe configuration and/or the second UpLink/DownLink subframe configuration.


Courses on Operating Systems (OS) are essential in computer science education. The topic provides the students with an excellent opportunity to experience the interplay between theory and practice. Specifically, a project-based-learning (P BL) instructional design for an OS course can provide the students with opportunities to engage i n practical projects. The PBL approach enables students to take part in learning activities which are essential for grasping underlying theoretical concepts, linking theory, practice and system-level perception. In this paper we present our experience in teaching an operating systems course wi th a continuing evolving project using a PBL approach. The findings of a preliminary assessment indicated a highly positive attitude on the part of the students towards the PBL approach used in th e course as well as towards the qualitative evaluation method that was used to assess their ach ievements.


Abstract Seasonal temperature and precipitation series of Girne and Lefkosa stations in Northern Cyprus were investigated with respect to the long-term trends and changes. Results of the study have led to the following main conclusions: (1) Statistically significant increasing (warming) trends were found in mean temperatures of Girne, while mean temperatures of Lefkosa were statistically random against to any trend in all seasons; (2) Statistically significant and the strongest warming trend showed up mainly in minimum temperatures at both stations in all seasons; (3) Increasing trends in maximum temperatures were not as strong as in mean temperatures at Girne and in minimum temperatures of both stations; (4) Warmer than long-term average temperature conditions in the series was evident especially after the year 1990; (5) However, precipitation series did not show any significant trend, being characterized mainly by wetter or drier than long-term average conditions.


Marsyas is an open source software framework for music analysis, retrieval and synthesis with specific emphasis on Music Information Retreival applications. It has been in development for 10 years and has been used for a variety of projects in both academia and industry in several countries. Based on a novel dataflow architecture named implicit patching it provides a variety of existing processing modules for digital signal processing, machine learning and audio input/output that can be combined at run-time to form complex dataflow networks expressing audio processing algorithms (black-box functionality). In addition it allows the easy addition of new processing modules that need to be compiled for performance purposes. Finally Marsyas is designed with inter-operability in mind and provides various mechanisms for communicating with other software including bindings to the run-time functionality in scripting languages (Python, Ruby), run-time data interchange with MATLAB, support for the Music Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) protocol and Open Sound Control (OSC) for communicating with controller devices, and infrastructure for easy interfacing to the GUI components of the Qt toolkit.


Objective: To evaluate the influence of the package on the acceptance of processed orange juice. Methods: Five juice brands were studied (A, B, C, D and E), which were evaluated in three steps: blind test, packaging test and test with information. The tests were applied in 51 judges, using 9 points hedonic scale. The results were analyzed by descriptive statistic and by Tukey's test (α = 0.05). Results: In the blind test, the brand E showed the best acceptance, differing of brands A and B. In packaging test, brands A, D and E did not differ, and the brand C showed the worst acceptance. In the test with information, the brands A, C, D and E did not differ. Conclusion: The results indicate that the package can positively or negatively influence the consumer's assessment of the product. In this study, information on the brand had a positive influence on brands A, B and C. For brands D and E, product information decreased the percentage of consumers who liked the product, indicating that these juices may be preferred when the brand interventions are eliminated.