Feed constituents such as the non–starch polysaccharides (NSPs) not only affect nutrient digestion in general, but also influence gut dynamics through changing the types and numbers of the microflora and the secretory response of the gut. The use of nutrients such as starch through microbial fermentation is not energy efficient; increased endogenous secretion of water, protein, lipids and minerals can affect post–digestive and, perhaps, post– absorptive processes because the gut secretes some 20 hormones or regulatory peptides. This paper discusses the importance of evaluating feed constituents from the standpoint of 'efficiency' and presents some experimental data on the effect of soluble NSPs on the net energy value and losses of energy as heat and as volatile fatty acids in the excreta of broiler chickens.


The invention relates to a laser rapid drilling device and a laser rapid drilling method. A beam expander is arranged at the optical path output end of a laser; a reflector assembly is arranged at the optical path output end of the beam expander; the optical path output end of the reflector assembly is joined with a scanning galvanometer; a cutting head is arranged at the optical path output end of the scanning galvanometer; a focus lens is arranged in the cutting head; the optical path output end of the cutting head is over against an X-Y motion platform. After laser emitted by the laser is processed by the beam expander, wider parallel beams are obtained; the parallel beams horizontally enter the scanning galvanometer after being regulated by the reflector assembly; by angle regulation of a lens inside the scanning galvanometer, a required drilled hole pattern is rapidly fit; finally, the laser beams enters the focus lens to implement laser focusing and are matched with an image system so as to control a laser drilling position; the laser is fed back to a uniform-speed motion platform according to a machining pattern in a coordinate system mode. Not only is smoothness of the machining process ensured, but also the pattern fit by the scanning galvanometer ensures roundness of a machined small hole.


-Little is known of nest predation patterns in the dry subtropics. We used artificial nests to examine patterns of nest predation and to identify possible nest predators in the Bahamas. Unlike predation patterns in temperate areas, we found no relationship between predation rates and nest cover or distance to the road. Instead, the rate of nest predation depended on distance to ocean. This result and a photograph taken at a disturbed nest implicated the giant white land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi) as a possible nest predator. Because land crabs are prevalent throughout the subtropics and could potentially influence nesting behavior, we advise researchers to consider variables associated with land crabs when examining nest predation in the subtropics. Received 14 July 1998, accepted 15 April 1999. Nest predation studies are abundant in the literature; most have been conducted in northern, temperate areas (reviewed by Paton 1994, Major and Kendal 1996, Hartley and Hunter 1998). Although a few similar studies have taken place in the tropics (e.g., Gibbs 1991, Laurance et al. 1993) and wet subtropics (Latta et al. 1995), no such study has been conducted in dry, subtropical habitat where predator species assemblages may be quite different. Patterns of nest predation might differ in the dry subtropics as a result of differences in numbers and species of egg predators. Long Island, an outer island in the southern Bahamas archipelago, is characterized by dry, scrubby vegetation and a relatively depauperate fauna. There has been no prior study to examine avian nest predation on any of the Bahama islands or to determine which egg predators are present. We used artificial nests to determine factors influencing nest survival of ground-nesting birds and to identify important nest predators on Long Island and Hog Cay, Bahamas. Artificial nests are frequently used in predation experiments where it is assumed that they provide a reasonable assessment of the impact of predators on real nests (Burger et al. 1994, but see Major and Kendal 1996). In temperate zone studies, nest predation rates often varied with nest visibility (Major and Kendal 1996) and distance from edge (Paton 1994). We conducted an experiment to determine whether pattems of nest predation in the Bahamas were similar to those observed elsewhere and to identify possible nest predators. STUDY AREA AND METHODS We conducted our study on the northern 20 km of Long Island and on Hog Cay, Bahamas. Long Island, one of the outer islands of the Bahamas archipelago, is 128 km long and 6.4 km wide at its widest point. Hog Cay is a small (100 ha), privately owned island located off the northern tip of Long Island. Both islands are covered with dry, scrubby vegetation. Mangroves (Rhizophora mangle and Avicennia germinans) grow along the coasts of both islands. We observed 7 ground nesting bird species on Long Island and Hog Cay, Bahamas. The largest included the West Indian Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna arborea) and White-cheeked Pintail (Anas bahamensis bahamensis). Smaller species included Antillean Nighthawks (Chordeiles minor), Common Ground-Doves (Calumbigallina passerina), Snowy and Wilson's plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus and C. wilsonia), and Willets (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus). Potential terrestrial nest predators included introduced rats (Rattus spp.), domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), and native giant white land crabs (Cardisoma guanhumi). Possible avian egg predators included Laughing Gulls (Larus atricilla), Yellow-crowned I James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History and Graduate Program in Conservation Biology, 100 Ecology Building, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108. 2Conservation Biology Institute, 800 NW Starker Ave., Suite 31C, Corvallis, OR 97330. 3Graduate Program in Conservation Biology, 100 Ecology Building, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108. 4U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Kerr Research Center, P.O. Box 1198, Ada, OK 74820. s Corresponding author; E-mail: nstaus @ earthdesign.com This content downloaded from 188.8.131.52 on Thu, 08 Sep 2016 05:28:39 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 562 THE WILSON BULLETIN * Vol. 111, No. 4, December 1999 Night-Herons (Nyctanassa violacea), and Smoothbilled Anis (Crotophaga ani). We utilized artificial ground nests in two experimental trials lasting from mid-May through July 1995. Each trial was 30 days, the approximate incubation time for several ground nesting species in the Bahamas (Paterson 1972). For each trial, two plots were selected on Long Island and one plot was selected in similar habitat on Hog Cay. Trial 1 took place May 17-June 19 and consisted of 25 and 16 nests on Long Island, and 30 nests on Hog Cay. Trial 2 took place June 20July 21 and consisted of 24 and 16 nests on Long Island, and 30 nests on Hog Cay. Artificial nests were placed in a grid pattern within each of the six sites such that one edge of the grid was located parallel to and 50 m from a road. All nests within the grid were placed 25 m apart and were randomly assigned as "hidden" or "open." Hidden nests were completely covered by vegetation, whereas open nests could be seen from within 1 m. Nests consisted of a shallow scrape containing five domestic chicken eggs located under thatch palm (Thrinax microcarpa) or a dense bush. Although some studies have detected effects of egg size because small predators (e.g., mice) were unable to break larger eggs (Picman 1988, Haskell 1995), we believe that all potential predators in our study sites were large enough to handle chicken eggs. Nests were examined for survivorship at days 6, 12, 18, and 24, and were considered depredated if one or more eggs was missing or


The feasibility of an autonomous video guidance system that is capable of observing a planetary surface during terminal descent and selecting the most acceptable landing site was demonstrated. The system was breadboarded and "flown" on a physical simulator consisting of a control panel and monitor, a dynamic simulator, and a PDP-9 computer. The breadboard VGLIS consisted of an image dissector camera and the appropriate processing logic. Results are reported.


A number of researchers have found that adolescents who score high on measures of spirituality or religiosity are less likely than their peers to engage in violent or other antisocial behavior (Benda & Corwyn, 2002). This research explores selected spiritual factors (Islamic behavior) that research has indicated may play an important protective role in strengthening resilience in young people and minimizing at-risk behavior that may be associated with school violence in Indonesia. Islamic behavior and manners are supposed to be derived from the Qur'an and sunnah. In this research, we review the professional literature regarding selected Islamic tenet as they pertain to adolescents and at-risk behavior and consider these factors might be useful in the prevention of youth violence in Indonesia. We use these factors to treat the adolescents from, who were sentenced more than 3 months in Kutoarjo adolescents prison. The subjects were 30 adolescents who were approximately at the same age. Result: there was the important role of Islamic behavior toward youth emotion in prison.


Aluminum was determined radiometrically by using Ca/sup 4/s/sup 5/ and cation exchange resin. The sample solution oontaining Al/sup 3+/ was adjuated to a pH of 3.0 to 4.0 and was treated with the cation exchanger of Ca-R type labeled with Ca/sup 45/. The radioactivity of eluted calcium was exactly equivalent to the amount of aluminum ion present. Interferences of ferrous, magnesium, and ammonium ions were examined, and no serious effect was observed. This method was applied to the determination of aluminum in carbon steel, and the results obtained agreed with those by photometric method. (auth)


Across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) four countries (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen) experienced regime change during the Arab Spring uprisings. Scholars argue that a primary reason why regime change occurred was due to the behavior of the military (Barany 2011; Bellin 2012; Lutterbeck 2012). When a government faced mass political protest did the military support the incumbent regime or the protestors? What caused this variation in military behavior? Recent literature has pointed to multiple factors causing this variation including economic self-interests (Goldstone 2011), the size of the social movement (Bellin 2012), ethnic affiliation (Barany 2011) and international actors (Nepstad 2013; Goldstone 2013). While these previous explanations are informative I argue that in order to more fully understand Arab military behavior during the Arab Spring it is important to also examine the relationship between the military and internal security forces (ISF) and the role of the military in relation to the entire state security apparatus. I broadly define security apparatuses as the entire collection of a state's security forces that range from external security, internal security, intelligence, paramilitary and policing. I argue that across the region the relationship between the military and the larger state security apparatus varies and that different security apparatus structures help explain the divergent behavior demonstrated by Arab militaries during the Arab Spring. I posit that certain security apparatus structures allowed some militaries to more easily defect against the regime and support protestors, whereas other security apparatus structures made it institutionally difficult and costly for militaries to defect against the regimes.


In situ test of hydraulic fracturing (HF) provides the only way to observe in situ stress magnitudes directly. The maximum and minimum horizontal stresses, SHmax and Shmin, are determined from critical borehole pressures, i.e., the reopening pressure Pr and the shut‐in pressure Ps, etc, observed during the test. However, there is inevitably a discrepancy between actual and measured values of the critical pressures, and this discrepancy is very significant for Pr. For effective measurement of Pr, it is necessary for the fracturing system to have a sufficiently small compliance. A diagnostic procedure to evaluate whether the compliance of the employed fracturing system is appropriate for SHmax determination from Pr was developed. Furthermore, a new method for stress measurement not restricted by the system compliance and Pr is herein proposed. In this method, the magnitudes and orientations of SHmax and Shmin are determined from (i) the cross‐sectional shape of a core sample and (ii) Ps obtained by the HF test performed near the core depth. These ideas were applied for stress measurement in a central region of the Kumano fore‐arc basin at a water depth of 2054 m using a 1.6 km riser hole drilled in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 319. As a result, the stress decoupling through a boundary at 1285 m below seafloor was detected. The boundary separates new upper layers and old lower ones with an age gap of ~1.8 Ma, which is possibly the accretionary prism. The stress state in the lower layers is consistent with that observed in the outer edge of accretionary prism.


Objective:To analysis the PFNA treatment of intertrochanteric fractures in elderly patients with clinical efficacy.Methods:From January 2006 to January 2010 PFNA surgical treatment of elderly patients with intertrochanteric fractures of 26 patients,11 males and 15 females,aged 70 to 90 years,mean 76.9 years old,were followed up for 6 months to 4 years average 3.1 years,mean preoperative Harris score(46.5±7.2) points.Results:All patients were followed after the final follow-up from preoperative Harris score(46.5±7.2) points increased to(84.5±5.7) points,which,excellent in 14 cases,good in 8 cases,may in 4 cases and poor in 0 cases,joint excellent rate of 84.6% was not found spiral cutting blade,exit,no avascular necrosis and hip varus deformity.Conclusion:PFNA treatment of intertrochanteric fractures with a minimally invasive,shorter operative time,less bleeding,biological fixation,anti-rotation capability,fixed firmly stable,can be an early postoperative functional exercise,less complications,is the treatment of elderly osteoporosis in patients with in tertrochanteric fractures as a good way.


In this paper a linear programming technique is used as an aid in selecting storage reservoirs for a hydroelectric power development system at the feasibility stage of investigation, and for maximizing system guaranteed hydroelectric power by optimum regulation of discharge through power plants and from diversions for a selected time period. The linear programming technique is used as an allocation or screening model that provides information on system operation and response which would be useful in the preliminary design of hydroelectric power producing facilities and from which basic data and guidelines could be extracted for extending the investigation to the study of long-term system response by use of simulation models.


Tokyo X is a synthetic pig strain that was developed at the Tokyo Metropolitan Livestock Ex-periment Station by crossing Duroc, Berkshire, and Beijing Black breeds. The Tokyo X breeding program has been run for maintaining the strain while avoiding inbreeding since 1997, when Tokyo X was registered as a distinct strain by the Pig Breeders' Association of Japan. However, Tokyo X has been maintained for 20 years, resulting in concerns regarding changes in the genetic diversity and structure. In addition, since the Beijing Black breed, one of the founder breeds of Tokyo X, itself is a synthetic pig strain and the genetic compositions of Beijing Black is not well studied, the phylogenetic property of Tokyo X is little known. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to characterize the phylogenetic position as well as the genetic diversity and structure of Tokyo X by analyzing microsatellite DNA in comparison with other domestic pig breeds. Genomic DNA was extracted from 72 Tokyo X pigs in 2014. In addition, genomic DNA of five Western breeds (Landrace, Large White, Middle White, Duroc, and Berkshire) and two Chinese breeds (Jinhua and Meishan) was used to represent other domestic pig breeds. Thirty microsatellite (MS) loci recommended by FAO/ISAG were used as DNA markers. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), phylogenetic analysis, as well as population structural analysis using the STRUCTURE program consistently supported the formations of two major clusters representing Western breeds and Chinese breeds, and Tokyo X was nested within Western breeds. In addition, these results also indicate that Tokyo X genetically resembles Duroc and Berkshire while still exhibiting a unique genetic structure. This unique structure seems to result from the original crossing with Beijing Black and the subsequent genetic drift occurring during the maintenance of the strain. Genetic diversity indices of Tokyo X were generally equal to those of Western breeds and higher than those of Chinese breeds, indicating that even though Tokyo X has been raised as a closed herd for 20 years, genetic diversity has been maintained in the population. Moreover, the results of PCoA and F IS value revealed that Tokyo X was not subdivided into subpopulations. Genetic contributions of founder breeds based on pedigree information were almost equal in every individual. These suggest the pedigree control program of Tokyo X has effectively sup-pressed inbreeding. However, as far as the closed herds with the small population size are maintained, it is inevitable that the inbreeding coefficients will gradually increase no matter how the pedigree will be controlled. Therefore, it is important to use the genotype information obtained in this study for the pedigree control program to enhance the heterozygosity for suppressing the inbreeding degenerations. Jpn. J. Swine Science, 55 : 142


The article presents an analysis of statistical data on expenditure on resource management in the European Union countries over the period of 2006-2017. In analysis, only the countries for which the full range of information was obtained were taken into account. The trend of changes in the amount of expenditure was analyzed and the amount of expenditure in individual countries was compared. Attention was also drawn to the structure of expenditure by areas of natural resources management.


The Afro-Sri Lankans are an ethnic minority who have long been overlooked and have received little academic attention. They are a marginalised group, part of a culture which is undergoing rapid assimilation, and any information that we have at present about them may be lost if it is not recorded. There is as yet no adequate history of the Afro-Sri Lankans. The three waves of European colonisers (Portuguese, Dutch and British) that came to the shores of Sri Lanka brought Africans with them to this island in the Indian Ocean. This paper focuses on the largest Afro-Sri Lankan contemporary community. Since Sri Lanka regained its independence, the Afro-Sri Lankans have had to cope with the socio-political changes that have occurred in postcolonial Sri Lanka. The Portuguese identity of the Afro-Sri Lankans is expressed through language, religion, music, song and dance.


Statins , the most effective drugs for the treatment of hyperlipid e mia also exhib it other effects unrelated to their lipid lowering effects among which are antioxidant and anti - inflammatory actions . To investigate the gastroprotective effects of simvastatin and rosuvastatin against NSAID induced gastric mucosal damage and also to eval uate the influence of the antioxidant activity of th o se two chemically different statins on their gastro toprotective effects. The study was conducted on 6 0 adult male albino rats, divided into 6 groups, the first served as a control received the vehicle , the second received 60mg/kg indomethacin orally . The third and fourth groups were pretreated with either simvastatin or rosuvastatin respectively in a dose of 20mg/kg orally for 2 weeks and then received indomethacin 60mg/kg one hour before the last dose of the statin . The role of nitric oxide (NO) in the gastroprotective effect s of statin s was investigated by using 20mg/kg intraperitoneal N G - L - Arg inine Methyl Ester (L - NAME) a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor which was given 30 minute s prior to the last dose of either simvastatin or rosuvastatin and this served as fifth and sixth group s respectively . The rats were then sacrificed after 6 hours and their stomachs were isolated and submitted to macroscopical ass essment and for the measurement of the g astric prostaglandinE2 (PGE2) , and myeloperoxidase (MPO ). Rosuvastatin and simvastatin produced significant gastroprotective effects. Their protective effects were associated with marked decrea se in MPO activity and increase in gastric PGE2 levels . However , the gastroprotective and antioxidant effects of the flurophenyl containing rosuvastatin were significantly better than that of simvastatin. L - NAME pretreatment decreased the protective effects of both rosuvastatin and simvastatin and this indicate s the r ole of NO in their gastroprotective effect s .


Cotton in the U.S. is classified for color using the Uster® High Volume Instrument (HVI), and the parameters Rd and +b are used to designate color grades for cotton fiber. However, Rd and +b are cotton-specific color parameters, and the need existed to demonstrate the relationships of Rd and +b to L*a*b* if "standards" are to be developed for cotton color measurements. The relationships of Rd and +b from the HVI to the globally recognized L*a*b* color system from color spectrophotometers was verified and validated previously. A program was implemented to 1) determine the impact of applied pressure on spectrophotometer fiber measurements and 2) to develop an improved, pressurized fiber sampling system that can precisely measure large cotton fiber samples (e.g., standard AMS bricks). The pressure impact results on small fiber "fluff" samples indicated that applied pressure impacted primarily fiber L*. The optimum applied pressure for small "fluff" fiber color measurements was 30 psig (pounds per square inch gauge). For large fiber samples (e.g., Agricultural Marketing Service/AMS cotton bricks), a prototype sampling system was developed. Protocols for pressurized fiber measurements on spectrophotometer color measurements were developed.


Manure treatment technologies are becoming important tools for the application of
regulations concerning water and soil protection, greenhouse gasses emission mitigation,
fertilizer resources recovery and renewable energy production. The technological strategy to
be applied, as a combination of processes to fulfil a given objectives, depends on many
factors, mainly related to local or regional conditions. As a result of the study described,
19,196 treatment units were identified, processing 7.8% of the livestock manure production
in the EU, equal to 108 million tonnes/year, containing 556,000 tonnes of nitrogen and
139,000 tonnes of phosphorus. Products obtained from processing were classified in 11
groups, with three types of manure processing products being marketed at considerable
volume, namely


Personality development is one of the basic courses that must be taken by nursing students which aims to find out their potential and improve their quality, one of which is through career planning; this helps students know the path that students will take in achieving their desires in the nursing profession. The purpose of this research is to explore the effectiveness of GROW virtual coaching on the ability of nursing students in career planning. The research is a classroom action experiment by providing mentoring (GROW coaching ) which is carried out virtually involving 23 participants. Collecting data using worksheets or assignments, assessments before and after coaching which are then percentage and categorized, analyzed quantitatively descriptively. The results of this study indicate the effectiveness of GROW virtual coaching on the ability of nursing students in career planning as indicated by the ability of nursing students to set goals in professional nursing career development (91.3%); able to identify self-potential (86.96%); able to find alternative solutions to problems; able to describe actions to achieve targets; able to make a career planning portfolio where the three assessment indicators are nursing students reaching 82.61%. The application of GROW virtual coaching is able to be one of the solutions to the personality development approach for students in career planning, so that the effectiveness and efficiency of e-learning is still possible to be carried out optimally with the expected achievement of learning competencies


[1] Sea ice in the Southern Ocean is a major controlling factor on phytoplankton productivity, but the relationship is modified by regional differences in atmospheric and oceanographic conditions. We used the phytoplankton biomass, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and cloud cover data from Sea-viewing Wide Field of View Sensor (SeaWiFS), ice concentrations data from Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E), sea-surface temperature data from advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR), and a vertically integrated model to estimate primary productivity south of 60°S. We also selected six areas within the Southern Ocean and analyzed the variability of the primary productivity and trends through time. We found substantial interannual variability in productivity from 1997 to 2005 in all regions of the Southern Ocean, and this variability appeared to be driven in large part by ice dynamics. The most productive regions of Antarctic waters were the continental shelves, and no sustained blooms occurred in waters of greater depth (>1000 m). We suggest that this is due to the slightly greater mixed layer depths found in waters off the continental shelf, and that the interactive effects of iron and irradiance result in the limitation of phytoplankton biomass over large regions of the Southern Ocean. Annual productivity of the Southern Ocean averaged 23.65 g C m−2 a−1, but yearly means for the years between 1998 and 2004 ranged from 22.10 to 25.49 g C m−2 d−1, respectively. Annual primary productivity over the entire Southern Ocean appears to have increased significantly since 1998, and much of this increase was confined to the months of January and February. Causes for this trend are presently unclear.


50 college students practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program were administered the Culture Fair Intelligence Test and Group Embedded Figures Test. Significant longitudinal increases over a 3- to 5-yr. period were found in performance on both measures. In the context of normative data, these findings indicate that the practices contribute to an increase in the effectiveness of cognitive ability and cognitive style. The results are consistent with previous findings on the positive effect of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program on these variables in an educational setting.


Entrainment in stably stratified shear flows such as gravity currents is a widespread phenomenon and has recently received increased attention due to its relevancy in the context of oceanic overflows. These flows are observed to play a key role in the thermohaline circulation and consequently the climate dynamics. While small scale aspects of entrainment in unstratified flow have been analyzed on many occasions, corresponding studies for flows featuring a stable density gradient are missing up to this point. Therefore, it is the aim of the present investigation to examine stratification effects on the physics of the entrainment process by means of an experimental study in a gravity current. In a first step, a suitable experimental facility is designed specifically for this purpose. Since it was found that relying on natural transition to turbulence would require a prohibitively long streamwise development length for a laboratory experiment, a turbulence generator is included in the inflow section. The new setup further allows to gently resupply entrained fluid in order to avoid recirculation in the flow tank. The effectiveness of this measure is verified through large scale measurements which also prove that no appreciable turbulence levels exist outside the actual current. The necessary density difference in the flow is realized by adding ethanol and sodium chloride in specific ratios that allow to match the refractive indices of the solutions whilst changing their respective density. Keeping variations of the refractive indices to a minimum is a crucial prerequisite to allow for the application of optical measurement techniques. Since the objective of the study necessitates the simultaneous capture of 3D data of the velocity and the density field, two measurement methods that have so far only been applied separately are combined. The velocity gradient tensor is obtained on a 3D domain through scanning particle tracking velocimetry (PTV), while the density field within the same volume is measured indirectly via scanning laser induced fluorescence (LIF). The newly developed measurement setup employs two cameras and makes use of a scanning light sheet such that the density field can be obtained by a tomographic re-


We conducted petrogenetic studies of 25-26 Ma Cieneguilla basanites of the Cieneguilla volcanic field in the southern Española Basin to improve our understanding of early Rio Grande rift magmatism. We sampled 3-4 lava flows at two different locations north of La cienega: an unnamed knoll (LcB1) and cerro Seguro (LcB2). all sampled cieneguilla basanites are olivine porphyritic, magnetic, slightly vesicular, and relatively unweathered. They contain mildly to moderately altered olivine phenocrysts in a very fine-grained framework of intergranular clinopyroxene-magnetite and interstitial nepheline. The estimated titanium content of the Fe-Ti oxide phase ranges from 0.106-0.210 at LcB1 and from 0.019-0.115 at LcB2. The cieneguilla basanites are mildly alkaline and fall within the sodic series of the alkali olivine basalt scheme. They have low silica values (42.40-44.10 wt %) and high MgO values (11.50-13.50 wt %) and are some of the most primitive eruptive products in the central Rio grande rift. The rocks display a narrow range of caO (10.68-11.45 wt %), FeO+Fe2O3 (12.37-13.25 wt %), K2O (0.61-1.05 wt %) and TiO2 (2.16-2.37 wt %). compatible trace elements, like Sr (758-1031 ppm), cr (457-553 ppm), ni (263-288 ppm), and Co (61.1-67.6 ppm) show a wider range of concentrations. The major and trace element values are sufficiently distinct between LcB1 and LcB2 to suggest that they are separate batches of magma, yet similar trace element patterns suggest that they share a similar source. The basanites are enriched in LRee relative to hRee ((La/Yb)n=18-26). They have (La/nb)n values between 1.2-1.5 and moderately high nb/Ba and Ta/Ba ratios consistent with an origin from an ocean island basalt-modified lithosphere source region. These data suggest that the Cieneguilla basanites have both asthenospheric and lithospheric mantle components and that the Rio grande rift contained mixed mantle source regions during its early history.


The future of civic engagement is characterised by both technological innovation as well as new technological user practices that are fuelled by trends towards mobile, personal devices; broadband connectivity; open data; urban interfaces; and, cloud computing. These technology trends are progressing at a rapid pace, and have led global technology vendors to package and sell the 'Smart City' as a centralized service delivery platform predicted to optimize and enhance cities' key performance indicators – and generate a profitable market. The top-down deployment of these large and proprietary technology platforms have helped sectors such as energy, transport, and healthcare to increase efficiencies. However, an increasing number of scholars and commentators warn of another 'IT bubble' emerging. Along with some city leaders, they argue that the top-down approach does not fit the governance dynamics and values of a liberal democracy when applied across sectors. A thorough understanding is required, of the socio-cultural nuances of how people work, live, play across different environments, and how they employ social media and mobile devices to interact with, engage in, and constitute public realms.

Although the term 'slacktivism' is sometimes used to denote a watered down version of civic engagement and activism that is reduced to clicking a 'Like' button and signing online petitions, we believe that we are far from witnessing another Biedermeier period that saw people focus on the domestic and the non-political. There is plenty of evidence to the contrary, such as post-election violence in Kenya in 2008, the Occupy movements in New York, Hong Kong and elsewhere, the Arab Spring, Stuttgart 21, Fukushima, the Taksim Gezi Park in Istanbul, and the Vinegar Movement in Brazil in 2013. These examples of civic action shape the dynamics of governments, and in turn, call for new processes to be incorporated into governance structures. Participatory research into these new processes across the triad of people, place and technology is a significant and timely investment to foster productive, sustainable, and livable human habitats. With this chapter, we want to reframe the current debates in academia and priorities in industry and government to allow citizens and civic actors to take their rightful centerpiece place in civic movements. This calls for new participatory approaches for co-inquiry and co-design. It is an evolving process with an explicit agenda to facilitate change, and we propose participatory action research (PAR) as an indispensable component in the journey to develop new governance infrastructures and practices for civic engagement.

This chapter proposes participatory action research as a useful and fitting research paradigm to guide methodological considerations surrounding the study, design, development, and evaluation of civic technologies. We do not limit our definition of civic technologies to tools specifically designed to simply enhance government and governance, such as renewing your car registration online or casting your vote electronically on election day. Rather, we are interested in civic media and technologies that foster citizen engagement in the widest sense, and particularly the participatory design of such civic technologies that strive to involve citizens in political debate and action as well as question conventional approaches to political issues (DiSalvo, 2012; Dourish, 2010; Foth et al., 2013).

Following an outline of some underlying principles and assumptions behind participatory action research, especially as it applies to cities, we will critically review case studies to illustrate the application of this approach with a view to engender robust, inclusive, and dynamic societies built on the principles of engaged liberal democracy.

The rationale for this approach is an alternative to smart cities in a 'perpetual tomorrow,' (cf. e.g. Dourish & Bell, 2011), based on many weak and strong signals of civic actions revolving around technology seen today. It seeks to emphasize and direct attention to active citizenry over passive consumerism, human actors over human factors, culture over infrastructure, and prosperity over efficiency.

First, we will have a look at some fundamental issues arising from applying simplistic smart city visions to the kind of a problem a city is (cf. Jacobs, 1961). We focus on the touch points between "the city" and its civic body, the citizens. In order to provide for meaningful civic engagement, the city must provide appropriate interfaces.


Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of revolving moxibustion plus acupuncture in treating periarthritis of shoulder.Method A hundred and thirty-five patients with periarthritis of shoulder were randomized into a treatment group,a control group,and a combined group.The treatment group was intervened by revolving moxibustion,the control group was by ordinary acupuncture treatment,and the combined group was by revolving moxibustion plus acupuncture treatment.VAS scores of before and after treatment and clinical efficacy were evaluated in the three groups.Result The inner-group comparison showed that the three groups all had significant changes in VAS score after treatment(P0.01).In comparing the change of VAS score after treatment,the combined group and treatment group were both markedly different from the control group(P0.01,.P0.05).The recovery rate was 42.8%in the combined group,versus 32.6%in the treatment group and 14.7%in the control group.The combined group and treatment group both had significantly better recovery rate than the control group(P0.01).The difference was significant in comparing recovery rate between the combined group and treatment group(P 0.05).Conclusion Revolving moxibustion plus acupuncture is an effective approach in treating periarthritis of shoulder.


The pervasive availability of the Internet, coupled with the development of increasingly powerful technologies, has led digital images to be the primary source of visual information in nowadays society. However, their reliability as a true representation of reality cannot be taken for granted, due to the affordable powerful graphics editing softwares that can easily alter the original content, leaving no visual trace of any modification on the image making them potentially dangerous. This motivates developing technological solutions able to detect media manipulations without a prior knowledge or extra information regarding the given image. At the same time, the huge amount of available data has also led to tremendous advances of data-hungry learning models, which have already demonstrated in last few years to be successful in image classification. In this work we propose a deep learning approach for tampered image classification. To our best knowledge, this the first attempt to use the deep learning paradigm in an image forensic scenario. In particular, we propose a new blind deep learning approach based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) able to learn invisible discriminative artifacts from manipulated images that can be exploited to automatically discriminate between forged and authentic images. The proposed approach not only detects forged images but it can be extended to localize the tampered regions within the image. This method outperforms the state-of-the-art in terms of accuracy on CASIA TIDE v2.0 dataset. The capability of automatically crafting discriminant features can lead to surprising results. For instance, detecting image compression filters used to create the dataset. This argument is also discussed within this paper.


The mobile payment system has not only changed the payment pattern but also has improved the performance of small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) and individuals' quality of life by saving their energy, reducing the risk of taking cash, and enabling them to give more time to businesses and do international business. Besides, with the current advancement in the Internet as well as the digital transformation, SMEs are being forced to adopt mobile payment systems (MPS). The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of technological-organizational-environmental (TOE) determinants on the adoption of MPS and its impact on SMEs' firm performance operating in Ghana. This research employed a closed-ended questionnaire to collect data from January 2020 – April 2020. This study used a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach using SmartPLS 3.0 for path analysis of 145 responses. The findings of the study include the statistically significant effects of technological (relative advantage and compatibility), organizational (top management support and employees' readiness), and environmental (social influence and competitive pressure) factors on the adoption of MPS. Furthermore, this study also proved the positive and statistically significant effect of MPS on SMEs' performance. This study demonstrated that the TOE factor explains 70% variations in the adoption of MPS. Keyword: Mobile Payment System, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Firm Performance, Technological-Organization-Environmental


Some recent progress in the field of stratified turbulence is r po ted. The progress has been made by combining recent theoretical development with simulations and data a n lysis. On the basis of scaling arguments, numerical simulations and observational analysis it is argued that th e dynamics of the mesoscale range, that is wave lengths from one to five hundred kilometres, in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere is controlled by a special type of forward energy cascade which is typical for strongly stratified turbulence. In contrast to the classical Kolmogorov cascade, the stratified turbulence cascade is ch aracterised by two radically different length scales in the horizontal and the vertical and is a cascade of both kinet ic and potential energy. Kinetic energy is observed to be approximately equipartitioned between vortical and d ivergent modes. It is also suggested that this type of dynamics can be found in the interior of the ocean at horizont al scales between 10 metres and 10 kilometres. A number of observational studies previously reported in the li erature will be referenced in support to this.


1. MDScholar, Department of Panchakarma, Government Ayurveda College, Trivandrum. 2. Professor, Department of Panchakarma, Government Ayurveda College, Trivandrum. 3. Assistant Professor, Department of Panchakarma, Government Ayurveda College, Trivandrum. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History Received: 05 June 2020 Final Accepted: 10 July 2020 Published: August 2020


of our Teas and Coffees has served to make this business grow as much as any other factor in its development. Have you yet experienced the delightful flavor that conies fromblending Java and Mocha in the way that produces our Pure Java and Mocha Blend ? Pure J a v a and Mocha Blend Coffee 28c pound, 20 stamps free. If it is not the best coffee you have ever used bring it back and get your money. When we began business we didirt put coffee in one order out of fifty. Look into the order boxes now as they are being loaded on our wagons and what do you find, coffee in every box. It was a slow, tedious task to convince the people that our coffee was best but by means of giving a much better article than other stores ever dreamed of giving we have one by .one convinced the trade of the superiority of our coffee and they have now taken it into esteem. REMEMBER YOU GET RED OR GREEN TRADING STAMPS HERE.


Silicone implants have been widely used for breast reconstruction and augmentation for years. One of the potential complications of these implants is rupture. Once rupture they start a granulomatous foreign body reaction in the surrounding tissue. The resulting mass formation poses diagnostic difficulties for the surgeons, as it mimics cancer. We report a case of 40 years female who underwent bilateral mastectomy and immediate reconstruction with implants, later presented with a mass. We suspect it local recurrence of tumor on initial presentation and radiology. Definitive diagnosis was only made after complete excision of the mass and histopathology report. No further treatment required and patient doing well.


The study, which is published today (Tuesday) in the European Heart Journal [1], is the first to show that it is possible to immunise genetically modified mice with a molecule that causes the body to produce antibodies against an enzyme called PCSK9 (Proprotein covertase subtilisin/kexin type 9), which plays a role in preventing the clearance of low density lipoprotein cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) from the blood.


Seven classrooms of students with deaf-blindness or visual and multiple impairments were observed to document the emergent literacy supports that were present, including environmental characteristics, strategies, or activities. The findings revealed that the majority of classrooms used emergent literacy supports that were previously documented for students without disabilities. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.


The quantitative determination of bata-cypermethrin and tetramethrin in the meantime by HPLC with ZORBAX RX-SIL column at UV240 nm was described. The mobile phase was hexane+ethylacetate(93+7) The results showed that the standard deviation was 0.07% and 0.09%, the coefficient of variation was 0.69% and 0.9%, and the recovery was 99.1%~101.3% and 99.7%~101.2%.


The paper herein is dedicated to mathematical models and software development for evacuation problems in emergency situations at educational organization, there is offered the problem solution method and algorithm, allowing to structure the evacuation optimal plan, changing in real time, according to a timetable and people amount. The optimization task is proposed and algorithms to find maximum flow on limited base are proposed.


Degradable electronics that dissolve or disintegrate in the environment after completing target functions are highly desirable due to great capabilities to eliminate the disposal, retrieval, and recycling of electronic waste worldwide. Constructing electronic systems on water‐soluble substrates via transfer printing technology has emerged as a promising approach toward this goal. However, the current approach suffers from low yields and thus hinders the complexity and scale of the obtained system in practical applications. Here, a wafer‐scale manufacturing process is proposed for degradable systems with high yields. As a demonstration, chips based on carbon nanotube thin films are 100% successfully transferred to water‐soluble substrates with an average device yield of 96.6%. Great uniformity is also obtained in the transferred thin‐film transistors (TFTs) and integrated circuits with a minimum standard deviation of 55 and 60 mV in the threshold voltage of TFTs and switching threshold voltage of inverters, respectively. System‐level demonstration of real‐time environmental monitoring is implemented in a simulated ecosystem together with a degradation demonstration under artificial rain. With its combined great performance, processing robustness, and high yields, this technology provides new opportunities for batch manufacturing of degradable electronics and next‐generation ecofriendly sensing platforms for the coming Internet of Things era.


The paper put forward a hot metal temperature time series prediction method based on principal component analysis(PCA) and least squares support vector machine(LS-SVM).The improved method made master component analysis on the data which affect the change of molten iron temperature,calculated principal components as the input variables of the model first,followed by the establishment of least squares support vector machine time sequence prediction model,and used the particle swarm algorithm to optimize the model parameters,then predicted output.It also used the online collection data from a large blast furnace as an application case,and established the prediction model of improved method.Compared with wavelet neural network forecasting model of time series,the improved method not only can consider all factors on the hot metal temperature,but also has the advantages of short training time,and high prediction accuracy.The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the improved method.


This brief is to present a resonator reuse approach in implementing a high-attenuation notch next to a passband. Each resonator is utilized twice in producing bandpass and bandstop responses at the same time, which leads to size reduction. The filter structure employs cylindrical cavity resonators and utilizes the two orthogonal TM110 modes in each cavity resonator. The proposed filter has an excellent insertion loss since the TM110 mode has a high unloaded Q-factor. For verifying the proposed filter structure, we have designed and fabricated a second-order waveguide filter having a second-order bandpass-bandstop filter cascade response.


Roots of Endangered Species Conservation Purpose and Objectives of Book Early Roots of Conservation History of American Conservation and Endangered Species Legislation The Endangered Species Act Agencies Administering the Endangered Species Act International Protection of Endangered Species Some Basic Concepts Ecology Autecology and Synecology Autecology Synecology Species and Taxonomy Subspecies Genetics and Natural Selection The Endangered Species Act: The Statute and the Regulations Overview of the Statute Some Basic Definitions Endangered Threatened Proposed Candidate Critical Habitat Delisting and Downlisting: What the Act Seeks to Achieve Extinct: What the Act Seeks to Avoid The Listing Process (Section 4 of the Act) Criteria for Listing Process for Listing Development of Recovery Criteria and a Recovery Plan Other Key Sections of the Act Section 7: The Government's Planning and Consultation Process Section 9: You Cannot Knowingly Kill or Harm Listed Species Section 10: But You Can Get a Permit to Do So Rare Species Designations Outside the Scope of the Endangered Species Act Related Environmental Statutes and Regulations The National Environmental Policy Act The Clean Water Act The Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act The Migratory Bird Treaty Act Others Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain Management) Executive Order 11990 (Protection of Wetlands) Executive Order 13112 National Historic Preservation Act Section 7: The Federal Consultation Process Who Must Comply Basic Information Sources Web Sites Other Data Sources Informal Consultation Targeted Surveys Biological Assessments Definition and Overview of the Biological Assessment Project Description in a Biological Assessment Description of Potentially Affected Species and Habitats Impact Assessment in a Biological Assessment Impact Assessment from Ecological Risk Assessment Perspective Cumulative Impacts in a Biological Assessment Biological Assessment Conclusions Take Permits and Mitigation Incidental Take Permits for Federal Agencies Biological Opinions Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives Incidental Take Statements Incidental Take Permits for Nonfederal Applicants The Permit Application Process Habitat Conservation Plans Mitigation Mitigation under the National Environmental Policy Act Wetland Mitigation Endangered Species Act Mitigation The Future of Mitigation The Endangered Species Act and the States Overview of State Endangered Species Regulation Examples of State Endangered Species Acts Maryland Florida Texas Future of the Endangered Species Act Basic Sources of Support for the Endangered Species Act Basic Sources of Opposition to the Endangered Species Act Private Property Rights Concern over Depressing Economic Activity Specific Recent Controversies Republican Contract with America Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County, Rapanos, and Other Limitations on Section 404 Scope Proposed Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005 Polar Bear Listing Bush Administration 2008 "Midnight Rule Changes" The Tea Party Movement and 2010 Pledge to America The Endangered Species Act and the 2012 Presidential Election The Future of the Endangered Species Act Index


Reactor design and feeding strategies are the key to successful trichloroethylene (TCE) treatment via cometabolism. An easy to maintain and operate laboratory scale packed‐bed biofilm reactor, featuring recycled gas and liquid effluent streams, was developed for continuous aerobic aqueous‐phase TCE biodegradation using Pseudomonas putida F1 as the biocatalyst and toluene as the primary substrate. The impacts of the influent toluene and TCE concentrations, flow rates, and recycle rates on TCE biodegradation were studied. Multivariate factors, including influent toluene and TCE concentrations, their interactions, and flow rates were further analyzed via a response surface model (RSM). Results showed that such bioreactor design eliminated oxygen limitation and removed or substantially reduced toluene competitive inhibition on TCE degradation. A TCE removal efficiency of >90% was achieved at an influent TCE concentration of ≤0.3 mg/L under an ˜8‐min mean hydraulic retention time. Toluene and TCE concentrations, in both linear and quadratic forms, were the most significant factors for TCE degradation, indicating both cell regenerating and inhibiting effects from toluene and a toxic effect from TCE. This RSM analysis has successfully identified an optimal influent toluene concentration path for each influent TCE concentration and provided insight for an extended TCE degradation at higher TCE concentrations.


Summary: A study of the use of glycosylated haemoglobin (glyco Hb) levels to identify the pregnant woman with abnormal glucose tolerance and as an adjunct in the control of the diabetic pregnant patient was undertaken.


Mention the name Professor Ioan Lewis when you are in a group of Somalis, or people interested in Somalia, and one is almost bound to get a reaction. The distinguished social anthropologist, who died on 14 March 2014, is a household name in many parts of Somalia, especially the former British protectorate of Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991 but has not been recognized internationally. He is viewed by many as the founding father of Somali studies, an area of academic pursuit almost as difficult and controversial as the country itself. His work continues to inspire, and to generate controversy and debate. I have heard Somalis arguing vigorously about the theories of 'Professor Lewis' in the teashops of Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Nairobi and London. I have seen heated discussions on Facebook and Twitter and in internet chatrooms. Ioan Myrddin Lewis was born in Scotland to a Welsh father and a Scottish mother. His father died when he was young, so he and his mother moved in with her parents who lived in Glasgow. His first area of academic interest had nothing to do with Somalia or the social sciences, as he started off studying chemistry at the University of Glasgow. As an undergraduate, he found out about a scheme whereby students of natural science could convert to human science. He switched both subject and university, moving to Oxford to study social anthropology. There he studied under the pioneering social anthropologist Sir Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard, whose works on the Nuer and Azande of South Sudan are ethnographic classics. Lewis's interest in Somalia was sparked in the 1950s while he was conducting desk research about communities in the Horn of Africa. His Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho was published by the International African Institute in 1955 as part of its Ethnographic Survey of Africa. He then received a research grant from the Colonial Office and set off with his wife, Ann, for the British Protectorate of Somaliland. They 'went native', living among the proud, hardy nomads of the Isaq clan as they herded their camels, sheep and goats through the dry, harsh scrubland. The Lewises had a slightly superior tent, and carried live chickens on their camels to ensure a supply of fresh eggs. Initially, the Somalis did not welcome Lewis. At the time, they were particularly distrustful of the British, who had handed over to Ethiopia territory they saw as rightfully theirs. The nineteenth-century explorer Richard Burton described the Somalis as a 'fierce and turbulent race of republicans'; Lewis wrote about their 'open contempt for other people'. One young man was especially aggressive towards Lewis, wrapping a cloth around his mouth every time he came near him in order to avoid being 'contaminated' by this foreigner. When Lewis met the man again many years later, he was astonished to discover that he had actually inspired him to take up social anthropology and to write a well-received book about the Somali warrior poet Sheikh Abdille Hassan, also known as 'The Mad Mullah', who for twenty years fought against colonial forces, including the British. Africa 85 (4) 2015: 750–52 doi:10.1017/S0001972015000583


Three types of self-contained navigation systems may perhaps be found, operating independently on airliners flying polar routes; doppler, astro and inertial. We may also find hybrid systems with doppler, astro and inertial components. The combination of doppler and astro systems should be the first step towards self-contained automatic navigation and this combination could be used with great advantage by the airlines for global operations. The more sophisticated doppler and inertial combination may be found too expensive for airline operators and may therefore be restricted to military uses.


Hikikomori is a common phenomenon reported in Japan and many other countries. However, the broad trends of the research publications on hikikomori are unclear. Therefore, this study examined the patterns of research on hikikomori using bibliometric analysis.


The scientific language and the philosophical language are both the forms of rational marks and have the rational relativities,however,the scientific language and the philosophical language have the special system of their own.They are different in characters.The scientific language has characters of speciality,preciseness,universalization and application.The philosophical language has characters of universalization,speculation and individuality.They express their own theory and reveal"world prospects" of different grades and ranges.By comparing and demonstrating scientific language and philosophical language,we can grasp better their characters,relation,status,function in the development of science and philosophy.


Matthew Murray is commissioned to photograph an above the line advertising Print Campaign titled PANTOMINE HORSE done through Saatchi & Saatchi London advertising agency for product: Shreddies Cereal Bar (brand: Shreddies) in United Kingdom.

Matthew Murray Worked in collaboration with Saatchi & Saatchi Creative Team: Tony Granger,Joel Bradley,Phil Clarke, Sophie Hinds (Art Buyer), Typographer: Alex Normanton, Account Supervisor: Stephen Ellis-Smith
Advertiser Supervisor: Ben McMullen to produce an above line advertising campaign working with the creative team Matthew Murray wrote treatments for each ad shot, which involved, camera format, lighting, location, composition, model casting. © Matthew Murray


"The field of bioethics is beginning to take its own narrative turn. Long dominated by the aspirations to objectivity and universality as embodied in its dominant 'Principlist' paradigm, bioethics is now witnessing an explosion of interest in narrative and storytelling as alternative ways of structuring and evaluating the experiences of patients, physicians, and other health care professionals" (Arras 1997: 66). In this paper I want to throw a little light on the recent trend in bioethics described by Arras in the passage above. I intend to explore the question of what significance and what place within the system should be given to a narrative bioethics, taking bioethics primarily as medical and biomedical ethics. The first part of the paper therefore deals with the broader concept of ethics and narration, or more specifically, with identity and "narrativity", since it is with the question of moral selfhood that narrativity primarily emerges.


Awake intubation is the choice for airway management in anticipated difficult airway (DA), which means establishing airway without induction of deep sedation; however, in cases where sedation is precarious, decision in emergency situations, success in awake intubation is dependent on proper regional airway block. A 21 year old man with bilateral temporo-mandibular ankyolosis and a 25 years old female with mandibular hypoplasia suspected of having Pierre Robin syndrome were candidate for elective facial plastic surgery. Case one was intubated by flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope and case two with retrograde intubation. In DA with mandibular problem, awake intubation is indicated under regional airway block and topicalization.


PLACE: VANIER HALL, Room 063 Prof. Steve Fortin has been a faculty member at McGill University, in Montreal, Canada, since July 1999. Prior to joining the faculty at McGill, he worked as an auditor for Deloitte & Touche in Canada for three years, and completed a Ph.D. in Accounting at the University of Waterloo. Prof. Fortin's research interests include the impact of audit quality on security pricing, financial derivatives, and financial accounting. His work has been published in the Journal of Accounting and Economics and in Contemporary Accounting Research. He has presented his research in numerous conferences and institutions worldwide. Prof. Fortin currently teaches in the Bachelor of Commerce and Graduate Diploma in Public Accounting programs at McGill. He has also been involved in executive training in Canada and Europe. Prof. Fortin is a Chartered Accountant in Canada. ECOLE DE GESTION SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITE D'OTTAWA UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA


ABSTRACT Among the various brain diseases, stroke is the major cause of death worldwide, next to heart attack. This paper proposes an algorithm in predicting the ischaemic stroke lesion using midline sketching and histogram bin-based technique. The visible ischaemic stroke lesion region and the normal region of the same computed tomography image are segmented with the help of histogram bins and the features are extracted. The first- and second-order statistical features for both regions are analysed. The differences in the features are utilised to categorise the lesion and non-lesion region. The statistical t-test analysis-based observations with a confidence interval of 95% for each feature are tabulated. These observations indicate that among the nine features, as per the statistical analysis, six features provide the clear differentiation between normal and abnormal regions.


In this paper we present a new method for the point-to-point motion control of the end-point of a single flexible link manipulator. The technique is based on an exact system inversion procedure, that allows to define a suitable motion law for the hub in order to reduce the residual vibration at the end of the tip motion. Thus, the end-point control is actually performed in open-loop, therefore avoiding the use of a sensor to measure the actual tip position. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach and that the overall control system is inherently robust to modelling errors.


The invention relates to a preparation method of an embedding material for a pure-titanium baked porcelain substrate. The preparation method disclosed by the invention comprises the following steps of thermally processing ZrSiO4 sand at 1000 DEG C, and mixing the ZrSiO4 sand with 3Y-TZP powder according to the mass ratio of 1:4; adding 0.5% of electrically molten MgO and 0.5% of Ti powder, putting the mixture obtained from the former step into a ball mill to mill and mix for 48h, and then adding ethanol, and drying in an oven at 80 DEG C to obtain mixed powder; mixing ZrOCl2.8H2O with ethanol, and electromagnetically stirring till the solution is colourless and clear; adding acetylacetone, dropping gamma-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, slowly dropping the mixed solution of DM and ethanol till the pH value is 3, and stirring to obtain zirconia sol; and mixing the mixed powder with the zirconia sol according to the ratio of 7.5:1 to obtain an embedding wax type, placing at room temperature for 4h to form a cast type, cooling to room temperature after roasting in a roasting furnace at 900 DEG C, and casting by utilizing a centrifugal titanium casting machine to obtain a pre-formed pure-titanium casting. According to the preparation method disclosed by the invention, the process precision is increased; and the manufacture cost is reduced.


Author(s): Harvell, Tony | Abstract: This is a general overview of how EDIFACT electronic invoice works, why libraries use it, and how book vendors can benefit by using it. The presentation also includes instructions on how to use MARCEdit software to facilitate loading approval plan invoices into the ILS.


Currently, sustainability is considered a priority by society, with the household appliances being one of the economic sectors involved in achieving sustainability. However, the existence of several issues (e.g., energy and water consumption, reliability, initial cost, and illuminance, among others) together with the diversity of brands and models on the market, make the consumer's decisions regarding sustainable options difficult, according to their concerns and related to each sustainability dimension (economic, environmental, and social). By combining evolutionary algorithms (EA) with multicriteria techniques, it is possible to achieve sustainable solutions for the consumer based on their requirements. In this paper, a method is presented to support the consumer by obtaining a set of sustainable household appliances on the market that suit their preferences, concerns, and needs. By using a case study to apply the approach developed here, a set of sustainable appliances from the market is obtained, where several benefits are achieved (e.g., energy and water consumption savings, avoidance of CO2 emissions) during the lifecycle of each appliance, chosen from the appliance's industry.


Smart environments enabled by the Internet of Things aim at improving our daily lives by automatically tuning ambient parameters and by achieving energy savings through self-managing cyber-physical systems. Commercial solutions, however, only permit setting simple target goals on those parameters and do not mediate between conflicting goals among different users and/or system administrators, nor across different IoT verticals. In this article, we propose a declarative approach (and its open-source Prolog prototype) to represent smart environments, user-set goals and customisable mediation policies to reconcile contrasting goals across multiple IoT systems.


The invention provides a method for phased synthesis of a SnS, SnS2 or SnS/SnS2 heterojunction nanocrystalline material by one-step process, comprising the following steps: using tin diethyl dithiocarbamate as an organic precursor of Sn, and conducting phased synthesis of SnS, SnS2 or SnS/SnS2 heterojunction nanocrystallines by changing the additive amount of CS2 in the precursor; keeping the reactant at a constant temperature of 120 DEG C for half an hour, then raising the temperature to 280-320 DEG C, reacting for 10-30 min; after the reaction, conducting centrifugation to obtain the corresponding S-Sn compound nanocrystallines. According to the invention, the method has the advantages of low requirement of devices, simple operation, and easy control of components, can be put into mass production, and provides the application of the S-Sn compound in thin-film solar cells and photocatalysis with a good preparation technology.


The article deals with topical issues of valuation activities: the negative attitude of the society and the state to the activities of appraisers, information pressure on them and the possibility of introducing criminal liability. The author describes the main scenarios of the industry and it is concluded that the professional appraisal community faces a choice: either it will be able to consolidate themselves and get out of the crisis or him in this «help», and then it will implement one of the negative scenarios. Offer specific solutions to remedy the industry from the crisis and ensure its sustainable development.


IN THE PAST WEEK, THE OPEN Society Institute (OSI) announced the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI), a movement to remove the barriers that limit access to scholarly journals to those who can pay And eight research library associations announced the formation of the International Scholarly Communications Alliance (ISCA) to "collaborate with scholars and publishers to establish equitable access to scholarly and research publications." BOAI says it will help traditional journals fund implementation of free online access to their research literature content. It will also support the development of new online journals that have free-access policies. In addition, BOAI backers are encouraging authors and their institutions to deposit their peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as unreviewed preprints, in digital archives. OSI is putting $3 million into open-access projects over the next three years. Supported by the investor and philanthropist George Soros, the institute develops and implements social pro...


Urea is the main solid N fertilizer used worldwide. Among its advantages are the high nutrient content, ease of handling and application, and low cost. Urea is subject to high losses through NH3 volatilization if surface-applied on soils. Therefore, ammonium nitrate is the preferred N source, especially in the ratoon cycles. Urea treated with the urease inhibitor NBPT and controlled-release fertilizers are options to replace ammonium nitrate. Controlled-release urea (CRU) is produced by coating the urea granules with resin or synthetic polymers so that the urea in the nucleus is not in contact with soil moisture. This study aimed to test CRU in sugarcane ratoons compared with ammonium nitrate (AN) and urea treated with urease inhibitor (UR-NBPT) at three rates: 60, 120 and 180 kg ha–1. Efficiency was also compared with two control treatments, the N control and the NPK control. Two field experiments were established and conducted in 2020 and 2021 in Sao Paulo state, Brazil. Sugarcane yield was evaluated in both experiments. N losses as NH3 volatilized were measured in the first experiment. All sources were equally efficient in promoting increases in sugarcane ratoon yield in both experiments. The relative yield obtained with N fertilizers and the control without N showed yield increases in the first experiment of 40, 54 and 68% for 60, 120 and 180 kg N ha–1 as AN, respectively; 29, 61 and 61% for 60, 120 and 180 kg N ha–1 as
urea-NBPT, respectively; and 32, 62 and 67% for 60, 120 and 180 kg N ha–1 as CRU, respectively. Yields were higher in the second experiment, but increases in yield were lower compared to the first. Increases of 7, 10 and 16% for AN in three doses, 5, 12, 15% for UR-NBPT and 7, 9 and 14% for CRU were observed, respectively. N losses as NH3 volatilized were relatively low; CRU fertilizer showed good protection against NH3 losses by volatilization, protecting urea for about 30 days. This protection, however, did not affect yield. NH3 losses reached 13% of the N applied in the treatment with urea (about 16 kg N ha–1), 11% for Urea-NBPT (about 13 kg N ha–1) and 9% for CRU (about 11 kg N ha–1). Analyzing the results of both experiments CRU did not show an advantage in efficiency compared to AN and Urea-NBPT.


First sight - or rather at first read - Dickens might seem a natural for translation into television. H e was by nature flamboyant and theatrical; an actor manque but also a playwright manque who, to the great good fortune of English literature, devoted himself mainly to other things.


Description of test and diagnostic standards The Q-EDD was designed as a self report questionnaire that yields frequency data for individual behaviours and categorical labels. Using decision rules, individual participant responses were combined into an assessment of meeting or not meeting all criteria for a specific diagnosis or category. The independent Structured Clinical Interview (the diagnostic standard in the first sample) followed the format of the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I DSM-IV Disorders (SCID) for Module H. On the basis of the interview, the interviewer judged whether the participant met each of the DSM-IV criteria for eating disorders and placed each participant into a diagnostic category. In the second sample the diagnostic standard was clinical judgment. Main outcome measures Sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios.


Abstract The determination of lignin structures by ozonation is rather unique and unlike other analytical techniques is based largely on the formation of side-chain oxidation products. Also, it can readily reveal the proportion of the two stereoisomers of β-aryl ether structures from the yields of erythronic (E) and threonic (T) acids. We have observed that the relative yields of these two acids vary significantly depending on how they are determined. For example, the E/T ratio of these two tetronic acids from the ozonation of spruce wood lignin in situ varies from 1.10 to 1.57 based on their analysis as the free acid and lactone derivatives, respectively. Thus, the work-up procedure of the reaction products is very important to the ozonation technique.


Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is a major sub-type of oral cancer
that shares 90% proportion of oral cavity cancers. It is declared as the sixth most frequent cancer
among all cancer types throughout the world. Higher morbidity in Asian countries is reported due to
frequent use of Smokeless Tobacco (SLT) products besides exposure to other risk factors. Hyperactivation
of epidermal growth factor receptors is a molecular event in many solid tumors including
oral cancer making them potential therapeutic targets.

Current study was designed to explore the effect of varlitinib, a pan-HER inhibitor, on oral
cancer cell line. We investigated key regulatory genes in downstream pathway in response to drug
treatment. Furthermore, we also examined expression profile of these genes in malignant and healthy
oral tissue.

Gene expression pattern in drug treated and untreated cancer cell line along with OSCC tumor
samples (n=45) and adjacent normal tissues was studied using real time PCR.

In response to varlitinib treatment, significant suppression of oncogenes (IGF1R, MAPK1,
SFN and CDK2) was observed. Interestingly, mRNA expression level of CDKN1A and Akt1 was found
to be the opposite of what was expected. In case of malignant tissue, over expression of oncogenes
(IGF1R, Akt1, MAPK1, SFN and CDK2) with simultaneous down expression of tumor suppressor
genes (Tp53 and CDKN1A) was noted. STRING analysis indicated a strong association among differentially
expressed genes suggesting their combined role in carcinogenesis.

In summary, our results indicate that varlitinib can be considered as a potential therapeutic
agent in oral cancer due to its antitumor potential.


ABSTRACT In this article, we establish the existence of the solution to the càdlàg perturbed Skorohod problem. As an application, we obtain the existence and uniqueness of the solution to the perturbed reflected jump diffusion processes.


We constructed a precision mathematical model for quantitative evaluation of the micro-dynamics of cultured cells measured with ECIS (electrical cell-substrate impedance sensing) system that could separately estimate cell-to-cell distance and cell-to-substrate distance. For wide applications of this method, we constructed mathematical models describing for some kinds of cell and some kinds of confluent conditions. The mathematical models of these impedances could be fit well especially from 1 kHz to 10 kHz, which were most interesting frequency range for micro-dynamic analysis in ECIS methods


Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been associated with an increased risk of a few malignancies. However, the prognostic impact of HBV infection remains unclear in cervical cancer.


‹Objective› To examine the effects of a twelve-week home-based bench step exercise program on aerobic capacity, lower extremity power and static balance in elderly subjects. ‹Methods› Thirty-eight elderly men and women participated in this study (age: 75±4 years, mean±SD). The subjects were randomly assigned, according to the area in which they resided, into either the exercise group (EG: 11 men, 8 women) or the control group (CG: 14 men, 5 women). The EG performed a 12-week home-based bench step exercise program (7 sessions/week, 20-30 minutes/session, bench height 15.0-20cm). They recorded the length of exercise and their physical condition. Before and after the intervention a sub-maximum bench step test, a leg extension power test and a one-leg balance test with eyes open (balance test) were performed to assess the subjects' aerobic capacity, as determined by the lactate threshold (LT), as well as lower extremity power and static balance ability. ‹Results› The LT (3.9 (3.2, 4.9) vs. 5.4 (4.8, 5.6) METs; p<0.01) and leg extension power (7.1 (6.2, 9.9) vs. 10.3 (7.2, 13.7)watts/kg; p<0.05) significantly increased while the balance test (9 (4, 25) vs. 16 (6, 35)) sec; p<0.1) also tended to increase in the EG. Conversely, these parameters did not significantly change in the CG (4.5 (3.9, 5.1) vs. 4.9 (4.3, 5.5) METs; 7.4 (6.7, 12.5) vs. 8.1 (7.3, 12.5) watts/kg, 17 (8, 50) vs. 11 (6, 20) sec, neither N. S.) Based on the diary data, the subjects in the EG exercised an average of 164±56 minutes/week for twelve weeks. ‹Conclusion› This study showed that a bench step exercise program effectively improved not only aerobic capacity but also lower extremity power and static balance ability in elderly subjects.


The Geotail spacecraft frequently observed the cold dense ion flows (CDIFs) containing heavy ion species in the distant tail lobe/mantle region. The ion components always streamed tailward along magnetic field lines, and the flow velocities, parallel and perpendicular to the fields, were nearly the same for all ion species The multicomposition ion flows are a consequence of the solar wind penetration into the cusp or the mantle and the mixing with the terrestrial ions outflowing from the ionosphere/plasmasphere, probably in the vicinity of the Earth. The ions flowing in the lobe/mantle were generally believed to be injected into the plasma sheet through the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL). The two proton flows with different bulk velocities were usually observed in the PSBL by Geotail : One is the high-speed flow of central plasma sheet (CPS) origin, and another is the component carried from the lobe/mantle. The parallel velocity of the high-speed flow was higher near the lobe/mantle than that near the CPS. On the other hand, the perpendicular velocities were almost equal for the two proton components and significantly increased as approaching the CPS. It is usual that the double components finally merged with each other in the CPS. The Geotail observations also suggest that a large amount of the ions flowing in the lobe/mantle would escape to the magnetosheath when the magnetosheath field lines were reconnected with those in the magnetotail. Then, the plasma at the magnetopause would consist of two components: A solar wind component injected into the magnetotail and a magnetospheric component outgoing from the lobe/mantle. The perpendicular velocities of the ions in the vicinity of the magnetopause generally increased as Geotail moved toward the magnetosheath. The velocity of the solar wind component changed at kinks of the open field lines. This type of plasma escape from the magnetotail into the magnetosheath could occur under not only northward but also southward interplanetary magnetic field conditions.


That wonderful production of the human mind, the undulatory theory of light, with the phenomena for which it strives to account, seems to me, who am only an experimentalist, to stand midway between what we may conceive to be the coarser mechanical actions of matter, with their explanatory philosophy, and that other branch which includes, or should include, the physical idea of forces acting at a distance; and admitting for the time, the existence of the ether, I have often struggled to perceive how far that medium might account for or mingle in with such actions, generally; and to what extent experimental trials might be devised which, with their results and consequences, might contradict, confirm, enlarge, or modify the idea we form of it, always with the hope that the corrected or instructed idea would approach more and more to the truth of nature, and in the fulness of time coincide with it. The phenomena of light itself are, however, the best and closest tests at present of the undulatory theory; and if that theory is hereafter to extend to and include other actions, the most effectual means of enabling it to do so will be to render its application to its own special phenomena clear and sufficient. At present the most instructed persons are, I suppose, very far from perceiving the full and close coincidence between all the facts of fight and the physical account of them which the theory supplies. If perfect, the theory would be able to give a reason for every physical affection of fight; whilst it does not do so, the affections are in turn fitted to develope the theory, to extend and enlarge it if true, or if in error to correct it or replace it by a better. Hence my plea for the possible utility of experiments and considerations such as those I am about to advance.


This paper introduces the EMC Standards in several major countries and the requirements for the EMC standard testing of fundamental items.


The following nonlinear fractional boundary value problem is researched.We obtain the existence results of positive solutions by applying Leray-Schauder nonlinear alternative theorem.We give the uniqueness of positive solution by means of Banach fixed point theorem.


Abstract Chebyshev was the first to observe a bias in the distribution of primes in residue classes. The general phenomenon is that if a is a nonsquare (mod q) and b is a square (mod q), then there tend to be more primes congruent to a (mod q) than b (mod q) in initial intervals of the positive integers; more succinctly, there is a tendency for π(x; q, a) to exceed π(x; q, b). Rubinstein and Sarnak defined δ(q; a, b) to be the logarithmic density of the set of positive real numbers x for which this inequality holds; intuitively, δ(q; a, b) is the "probability" that π(x; q, a) > π(x; q, b) when x is "chosen randomly". In this paper, we establish an asymptotic series for δ(q; a, b) that can be instantiated with an error term smaller than any negative power of q. This asymptotic formula is written in terms of a variance V(q; a, b) that is originally defined as an infinite sum over all nontrivial zeros of Dirichlet L-functions corresponding to characters (mod q); we show how V(q; a, b) can be evaluated exactly as a finite expression. In addition to providing the exact rate at which δ(q; a, b) converges to 1/2 as q grows, these evaluations allow us to compare the various density values δ(q; a, b) as a and b vary modulo q; by analyzing the resulting formulas, we can explain and predict which of these densities will be larger or smaller, based on arithmetic properties of the residue classes a and b(mod q). For example, we show that if a is a prime power and a′ is not, then δ(q; a, 1) < δ(q; a′, 1) for all but finitely many moduli q for which both a and a′ are nonsquares. Finally, we establish rigorous numerical bounds for these densities δ(q; a, b) and report on extensive calculations of them, including for example the determination of all 117 density values that exceed 9/10.


The author briefly outlines Nissan's approach to limiting the effect of vehicles on air quality and global warming. Emissions have been tackled since the 1970s with a three-way catalyst. This has recently been improved by the addition of a metal substrate for greater durability at high temperatures and a pre-catalyst to reduce emissions from cold starts. Global warming is being tackled through fuel efficiency improvements. Modifications to engine and power train, body weight and rolling resistance to achieve this are briefly mentioned. Projects underway in the field of alternative fuels are listed. These include a gasoline/methanol hybrid and hydrogen-powered and electrically-powered vehicles. Also being investigated are ceramic gas turbine engines. A graph compares the carbon dioxide emissions of alternative fuels and gasoline. For the covering abstract see IRRD 864909.


Gleditsia polysaccharide gum was extracted by water,followed by ethanol precipitation.The water-soluble selenide gleditsia polysaccharide gum was prepared with sodium selenite.The structure of selenide gleditsia polysaccharide gum was linked by β-glycosidic and contains Se=O though UV and IR.The selenium mass fraction in selenide gleditsia polysaccharide gum was 38.4mg/g by ICP.The selenide gleditsia polysaccharide gum had good thermal stability though DSC.The antioxidant activity was evaluated by two antioxidant assays including 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl(DPPH)radical scavenging and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assay.The result showed selenide gleditsia polysaccharide gum had some effect on both.The antioxidant activity was linear with concentration.The scavenging rate was 46.4%towards DPPH at the concentration of 3.02mg.mL-1.The scavenging rate was 77.7% when the hydrogen peroxide concentration was 2.02mg·mL-1.


Hydrodynamics allows to describe the transport in solid-state devices, hence, attracts a considerable attention since the pioneering paper[1] for 3D Poiseille flow in a wire. The recent interest to hydrodynamic description is mostly related to 2D systems[2–6] including graphene[7– 13]. Usually, the hydrodynamic description of the electron transport is believed to occur only in ultraclean crystals at sufficiently low temperatures when the meanfree path for carrier scattering with impurities and(or) phonons, lp, is expected to highly exceed that lee for ee collisions. This requirement defines, in fact, a direct choice of the objects for up-to-date experimental studies. At present, we intend to consider the opposite case of highly disordered 3D metal falls into Ioffe-Regel[14] regime, when the mean-free path becomes comparable with the interatomic distance a. Following the arguments put forward in Refs.[15, 16], after a successive scattering the subsequent collision event of an electron is only possible after a finite time a/VF of transit between neighbors atoms, where VF is the Fermi velocity. With the help of "parallel-resistance" formula[16] the total resistivity ρ yields:


Convolution Neural Network (CNN)-based deep learning models have recently been employed in Automated Modulation Classification (AMC) systems, with excellent results. However, hardware deployment of these CNN-based AMC models is very difficult due to their large size, floating point weights and activations, and real-time processing requirements in hardware such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). In this study, we designed CNN-based AMC techniques for complex-valued temporal radio signal domains and made them less complex with a small memory footprint for FPGA implementation. This work mainly focuses on quantized CNN, low precision mathematics, and quantization-aware CNN training to overcome the problem of larger model sizes, floating-point weights, and activations. Low precision weights, activations, and quantized CNN, on the other hand, have a considerable impact on the accuracy of the model. Thus, we propose an iterative pruning-based training mechanism to maintain the overall accuracy above a certain threshold while decreasing the model size for hardware implementation. The proposed schemes are 21.55 times less complex and achieve at least 1.6% higher accuracy than the baseline. Moreover, results show that our convolution layer-based Quantized Modulation Classification Network (QMCNet) with pruning has 92.01% less multiply-accumulate bit operations (bit_operations), 61.39% less activation bits, and 87.58% less weight bits than the 8 bit quantized baseline model whereas the quantized and pruned Residual-Unit based model (RUNet) has 95.36% less bit_operations, 29.97% less activation bits and 98.22% less weight bits than the 8 bit quantized baseline model.


We discuss inflationary solutions of the coupled Einstein–Klein–Gordon equations for a complex field in a five-dimensional spacetime with a compact x5 dimension. As a new feature, the scalar field contains a dependence on the extra dimension of the form exp(imx5), corresponding to Kaluza–Klein excited modes. In a four-dimensional picture, a nonzero m implies the presence of a new term in the scalar field potential. An interesting feature of these solutions is the possible existence of several periods of oscillation of the scalar field around the equilibrium value at the minimum of the potential. These oscillations lead to cosmological periods of accelerated expansion of the universe.


We propose an all-optical scheme for bright γ rays and dense positrons generation by irradiating a 1022 W/cm2 laser pulse onto an Al cone filled with near-critical-density plasmas.


We review the role of the generalized Gaussian solution to the Migdal-Kadanoff renormalization group for SU(N) lattice gauge theories, and point out that it can be continued down to very low values of the inverse coupling ..beta... We thus explain the long-distance stable line of actions observed in numerical investigations of SU(2), and propose a simple SU(3) mixed action which should exhibit improved scaling behavior.


A radiotracer technique to study wear of materials that cannot withstand a conventional surface activation by beam bombardment is presented. The thermal neutron induced fission fragments emitted from the U layer were implanted into a sample surface in order to create a radioisotope label. Neutrons were generated by means of the Li(p,n) Be reaction. The proton beam from the 2.5 MeV Van de Graaf accelerator was employed. The depth distribution of the implanted fragments was determined and appeared to be ideally suited for a surface degradation study. The fragments suitable to serve as tracers were determined and their γ-spectra were measured. The degradation of the surface was derived from the activity loss. Advantages of the method are demonstrated through the application to abrasion testing of an electrostatic accelerator charge conveyer belt. The described technique may be useful for wear studies of parts made of plastics, rubber, ceramics etc.


Most freshwater lakes in Canada are small (< 4 ha) and shallow (< 6 m average depth). To interpret lake sediment records in terms of fl uctuating climate, it is necessary to understand contemporary processes operating in these lakes and within their catchments. As well, although these lakes comprise signifi cant habitat for a wide variety of species, very little is understood about how climate change will affect the physical state of these lakes. Canoran Lake, Lunenburg Co., and Sandy Lake, Annapolis Co., have similar volumes, areas, and elevations but have unique basin morphometries. Datalogged thermistor strings were placed in the littoral and profundal zones of both lakes and data was collected hourly from May – August, 2003. Thermistors were also placed in the canopy surrounding the lake to monitor air temperature change. The physical (morphometric) character of each lake was determined using 50 kHz sonar and the water quality characteristics (in particular lake trophic state) were determined using a wide variety of standard analyses. Sonar results indicate that these lakes have very different morphometries, though surface areas and volumes are almost the same. Canoran Lake is a complex basin with two profundal zones and a discontinuous, vegetated littoral zone; Sandy Lake, has one profundal basin and a continuous, largely unvegetated littoral zone. Preliminary thermal results indicated that these two lakes reacted uniquely to thermal variation. For instance, during a rapid 10°C temperature decline (a low-pressure system infl ux) Sandy Lake mixed to a 5 m depth within a 24 hour period whereas only the top 3 m of Canoran Lake mixed over a period of 50 hours. During the subsequent temperature increase (high-pressure infl ux) Sandy Lake stratifi ed more rapidly than Canoran Lake. Littoral temperatures in both lakes warmed from about 15 to 25°C during the study period. Profundal lake temperatures remained nearly constant in Canoran Lake but increased consistently in Sandy Lake; at


The Paris court of appeal has ordered the exhumation of the body of Yves Montand to resolve a long drawn out paternity suit. Apart from the macabre aspects of such a procedure, the decision has raised ethical and legal questions.

In 1974 Montand, a crooner and actor and one of France's most popular symbols, met Anne Drossart, a young actress with whom he had an affair. A year later she gave birth to …


The digital economy continuously injects new momentum into the traditional economy and has become an important driving force for national economic development. Against this backdrop and using input-output data from the WIOD from 2002 to 2014, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of the development of the digital economy on the domestic value-added rate of Chinese manufacturing industry exports and the mechanism underlying this relationship. The results show that (1) digital economic input significantly promotes growth in the domestic value-added rate of manufacturing industry exports, (2) digital economic input mainly increases the domestic value-added rate of intermediate-product exports, (3) digital input has a significant positive impact on the capital-intensive and knowledge-intensive manufacturing industries, and (4) technological progress and cost reduction are important mechanisms through which the digital economy promotes the domestic value-added rate of exports.


Prior research shows that novices learn more from examples than unsupported problem solving. Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) support problem solving in many ways, adaptive feedback being one of them. However, when students repeatedly request hints from ITSs, problem solving is eventually replaced with worked examples when students request solutions to the current step or the whole problem. We conducted a study to observe the difference in learning outcomes when novices and advanced students learn from examples or with an ITS. The study had three conditions: Examples Only (EO), Problems Only (PO) and Alternating Examples and Problems (AEP). After each example/problem, students received Self-Explanation (SE) prompts. The result shows that novices learnt significantly more conceptual knowledge in the AEP compared to the PO condition. Moreover, novices in the AEP and PO conditions performed significantly better on SE prompts than students in the EO condition. Advanced students who learnt from examples only did not significantly improve in the study. Overall, the study suggests using AEP for novices and either AEP or PO for advanced students. The results clearly reveal that using examples alone is not an effective approach for novices and advanced students in comparison with ITSs.


In this essay length critical review (for the online Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews) I set out the main themes and arguments of Jeffrey Reiman's new book and offer a few criticisms. Reiman offers a novel argument for Rawls's difference principle as the centerpiece of a species of liberalism he dubs Marxian Liberalism. While there are difficulties with the argument and details, Reiman does successfully draw to the surface some important Marxian themes in Rawls's thought.


I done got my feet caught up in the sweet flypaper of life. Langston Hughes, 1955 April 24, 2005: Katy Hogan, owner of the radical Chicago coffeehouse Heartland Cafe, at speak-out against the Iraq ...


I am a postdoctoral researcher working with Rachel Cerdan at the Laboratory of Pathogen– Host Interactions (LPHI) in Montpellier. I aim to unravel fundamental aspects of phospholipid metabolism in Plasmodium falciparum in order to identify key targets for the development of new atypical antimalarials. I graduated with a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Strasbourg University, where I studied the dynamic flexibility of protein prenyltransferase activities in plants with Dr. Andréa Hemmerlin and Dr. Catherine VonthronSénécheau. After the defense of my thesis, I stayed on for a year to finish and promote some of my PhD projects.


In this work we compare the O/N2 number density ratios determined from mass spectrometer measurements to O/N2 ratios determined from photoelectron spectra. The photoelectron spectra analyzed are from the Photoelectron Spectrometer (PES) experiment on the Atmosphere Explorer E (AE-E) satellite. Relative production rates from the photoionization of O and N2 (as calculated from PES data) were used to derive O/N2 ratios for altitudes from 150 to 250 km for a number of orbits of AE-E. In order to demonstrate the validity of the method we have used to analyze the spectra, we include a comparison of a modeled spectrum to a spectrum from PES. The ambient O/N2 is derived for each 15-s interval of the orbits studied. The O/N2 ratio derived from the photoelectron spectrum is compared to the O/N2 ratio from each of two mass spectrometers (Neutral Atmosphere Composition Experiment and open source neutral mass spectrometer) that flew with PES on AE-E. We conclude that atmospheric O/N2 ratios from photoelectron spectra agree (within the error of our measurement) with those from the mass spectrometers. We include in this work suggestions for improvements to the PES experiment that would reduce the uncertainty of any future determinations of atmospheric O/N2 ratios from photoelectron spectra.


Abstract - One of the obstacles in the way of wide scale industrial application of biosurfactants is the high production cost coupled with a low production rate. In order to lower the production cost surfactin production by Bacillus subtilis MTCC 2423 was studied in submerged batch cultivation using waste frying oils. It was observed that the decrease in surface tension was 56.32%, 48.5% and 46.1% with glucose, waste frying sunflower oil and waste frying rice bran oil, respectively. Biomass formation was 4.36 g/L, 3.67 g/L and 4.67 g/L for glucose, waste frying sunflower oil and waste frying rice bran oil, respectively. Product yield (g product/g substrate) was 2.1%, 1.49% and 1.1% with glucose, waste frying sunflower oil and waste frying rice bran oil as substrates. This process facilitates safe disposal of waste frying oil, as well reducing the production cost of surfactin. Keywords : Biosurfactants; Bacillus subtilis ; Surface Tension; Waste frying oils; Secondary metabolite.