As new information technology, blockchain has produced a new computing model and penetrated various industries, realizing the transformation from information Internet to value Internet and triggering a new round of technological innovation and revolution. Blockchain has great potential and a wide range of applications. Currently, its application fields are constantly expanding and there are application scenarios in many fields. It has also been widely used in the railway industry. For example, information sharing of data generated in railway construction and security guarantee of data flow are important development directions of railway construction in the future. All these require data exchange between the railway and other industries, but data exchange is difficult in the following aspects: (1) The traditional data exchange process requires the exchange service manager, who can access, utilize and control all exchanged data. No matter which party chooses to assign the role to the manager, other business parties will lose the effective supervision and management of exchanged data; (2) There is business competition between the railway and other transportation industries. The mining and analysis of exchange data by competitors make all parties face pressure. How establish an effective trust mechanism is a difficult problem. (3) Through the traditional centralized database to achieve data sharing, hackers only need to attack the exchange database to obtain data, which increases the risk of data leakage. In this paper, the Byzantine redundant error algorithm (PBFT) is used to ensure the safety and accuracy of the system.


: We consider F ( R ) cosmological models with a scalar field. For the R 2 model in the spatially flat Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric, the Ricci scalar R can smoothly change its sign during the evolution if and only if the scalar field is a phantom one. In the Bianchi I metric, the Ricci scalar cannot smoothly change its sign if the corresponding solution is anisotropic at R = 0. This result does not depend on the type of the scalar field. In the Bianchi I metric, the general solution of evolution equations has been obtained.


The paper describes an approach to establish library for epitaxial layer monitoring using spreading resistance profiling (SRP) technique. This library can be used as complementary technique for conventional epitaxial monitoring such as inline four-point probe (FPP) or surface charge profiler (SCP).


1. The respiratory and circulatory effects of graded arterial hypoxia, alone or with superadded hypercapnia, were studied in four groups of unanaesthetized rabbits including normal animals and those with selective section of the aortic nerves, selective section of the carotid sinus nerves and section of both sets of nerves.


ABSTRACT This paper describes a method for the multielement determination of Ti, V, Cr, Co, Ni, As, Rb, Sr, Ba, Th, and U in water from the Bouregreg River (Morocco) by use of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The distribution of trace elements in water samples of the Bouregreg River and its tributaries was determined by measurements at 10 sampling sites. The data obtained show that the spectrum of normalized concentrations with regard to concentrations found at the reference station (site AGL1) have rather identical forms for sites located downstream in the river, wheres a certain dispersal was observed for sites situated upstream in the river (BLH, KSK1, KSK2, and AGL2). The concentrations of most elements are particularly low at the reference station (site AGL1). The elements Co, As, and Rb show a maximum concentration at the site AGL2 situated downstream of Aguelmous and close to a public discharge; this is explained by an anthropogenic origin for the concentrations of these elements.


Abstract Dry ashing five different plant tissues at temperatures from 400 to 700° Cat 4 and 15 hours affected the concentration of Al, B, Cu, Fe, K, and Mn found upon analysis by both emission and atomic absorption spec‐troscopy. The elements Ba, Ca, Mg, Mo, P, Sr, and Zn were not affected by the varying temperatures and times. Dry ashing at 500° C for 4 or 15 hours gave results comparable to the known element concentration or that determined by wet ashing. At temperatures below and above 500° C, volitilization losses and absorption occurred.


Thin film in today's world found to have documented record of more than 5000 years. Investigation on thin film have directly or indirectly influence many new areas of research in solid state physics and chemistry that are based on the thickness, geometry and structure of the thin film deposited. Processing of material into thin film provide us an easy way to incorporate it into devices. This review paper discusses different thin films material in-depth, their deposition methods, characterization techniques and applications. This summarized review on chalcogenide and metal oxide thin film characterization, shall help researcher in their area of optoelectronic, photovoltaic and magnetic device fabrication and their low cost applications.


Sixty diverse genotypes of Virginia groundnut were evaluated during kharif 2013 for variability parameters. The estimates of PCV and GCV were high for plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of mature pods per plant, 100-pod weight, 100-kernel weight, biological yield per plant, kernel yield per plant and harvest index. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance expressed as percentage of mean was observed for 100-pod weight, 100-kernel weight, biological yield per plant and kernel yield per plant indicating that these traits were mainly governed by additive gene action and responsive for further improvement of these traits. Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a highly self pollinated crop and can be grown successfully in tropical and subtropical areas. The crop has narrow genetic base therefore, it is essential to create more variability in the segregating materials. Genetic variability is the basic requirement for crop improvement as it provides wider scope for selection. Thus, effectiveness of selection is dependent upon the nature, extent and magnitude of genetic variability present in the material and the extent to which it is heritable. Hence, in present investigation an attempt was made to assess the variability of important pod yield and yield contributing traits, along with the indices of variability i. e. genotypic coefficient of variation (GV), phenotypic coefficient of variation (PV), heritability in broad sense genetic advance (Gs) and genetic advance as percentage of mean (GA). This study will facilitated an understanding behind expression of character and also role of environment therein. -1 as it is a recommended dose for kharif cultivation of groundnut in the region. Other recommended agronomical practices in vogue were followed for reaping good crop. Data were recorded on randomly selected five plants from each genotype and average value was used for the statistical analysis for 15 characters viz., days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height (cm), number of primary branches per plant, number of mature pods per plant, 100-pod weight (g), 100-kernel weight (g), sound mature kernel (%), shelling out-turn (%), biological yield per plant (g), harvest index (%), kernel yield per plant (g), pod yield per plant (g), oil content and protein content (%). The data subjected to different statistical analysis viz., analysis of variance, magnitude of genetic variability were performed following the standard procedures, phenotypic (PCV) and genotypic (GCV) coefficients of variation were estimated as suggested by Burton (1952), heritability (broad sense) and genetic advance as followed by Allard (1960). The analysis of variance showed significant differences among the accessions indicating sufficient variability exist among the accessions. The present experimental material showed a wide range of variation for plant height, number of mature pods per plant, 100-pod weight, 100-kernel weight, shelling out-turn, plant height, kernel yield per plant, pod yield per plant, biological yield per plant and harvest index (Table1). Wide range of phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV) was observed for plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of mature pods per plant, 100-pod weight, 100-kernel weight, biological yield per plant, harvest index, kernel yield per plant and pod yield per plant. High phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) and genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) were recorded for plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of mature pods per plant, 100 pod weight, 100-kernel weight, biological yield per plant, kernel yield per plant and harvest index.


Status of study and development of positive material nickel hydroxide used in alkali rechargeable batteries at home and abroad is summarized.The problems in recently research and development at home are also investigated.Basing on results of a controlled crystallization experiment,seven factors which influence preparation and performance of the spherical nickel hydroxide,such as pH of the reaction systems,reactant concentration,agitation strength,kinds of altivated additive et al are analyzed.It is possible to produce excellent performance products with higher density and finer crystallization,with tap density higher than 2.0g·cm -3 ,specific surface area about 15m 2·g -1 ,full width of half maximum intensity of the XRD patterns more than 0.9° and specific energy capacity higher than 260 mAh·g -1 by means of rational control and optimized the process parameteis.


This special issue seeks to explore various dimensions of social differentiation in Laos, namely politics, religion, economics, ethnicity, and history. The guiding question is how contemporary Lao society develops within the framework of the conflicting tendencies of globalization, nationalism, capitalism, and traditionalism. The papers collected in the volume tackle different aspects of the question that complement each other to form the outline of a comprehensive picture and are mainly based on original, anthropological fieldwork. All authors view differentiation from a sociocultural and "indigenous" rather than from a descriptive, Orientalist, or universalist perspective — but they still pursue ambitious empirical and theoretical aims. The term "social differentiation" is most readily associated with modernization theory (e.g., Rostow 1960; Parsons 1971). Contemporary globalization casts doubt on modernization theory — and on the sociological tradition as a whole (Nederveen Pieterse and Rehbein 2008). Few theories continue to portray democracy and capitalism in contemporary Europe and/or the United States as the universal models for the entire world and as the "end of history" (Fukuyama 1992). As Europe and the United States cease to be the unequivocal models of all other societies (and to be the dominating world powers), other empirical cases emerge as legitimate objects of study — not only for anthropology and area studies but for theoretically minded social sciences in general. At this point countries like Laos and regions like Southeast Asia are not mere objects of anthropological curiosity or the application of Western theories any more, but begin to be legitimate bases for theory-building and conceptual work (Alatas 2001). This line of argument informs the present volume. Instead of repeating Eurocentric theories and uncritically applying them to societies of the global South, the authors of the volume propose to perform empirical studies of differentiation from the perspective of


Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), while still in relatively early stages of its development, has become a widespread tool for addressing issues in the neurobiology of language and other cognitive domains (e.g., Belliveau et al., 1991; Binder et al., 1994; Cohen et al., 1994; Hickok et al., 1995; Shaywitz et al., 1995; for a review of the technique see Bandettini et al., 1995). In a typical fMRI experiment, stimuli are presented in blocks of say 20–40 sec that alternate through several cycles with an equally long baseline/control period. So for example, a subject may see individual words presented one-at-a-time for 30 sec, then non-words for 30 sec, and so on for five cycles. This presentation scheme provides a serious constraint on experimental design in fMRI studies and consequently limits the kinds of questions one can address with this methodology. One cannot, to cite just one example, use lexical decision as a behavioral measure in the magnet because the item type (word/non-word) is fully predictable from the experimental design. Relatedly, under these experimental conditions it is unclear to what extent fMRI activations are due to expectation-driven (controlled) processes versus lower-level perceptual (automatic) processes. Here we present data from an alternative fMRI presentation scheme used with auditory speech perception. The paradigm is modeled on standard methodologies in event related potential (ERP) studies where test items are ran-


Young mammals of numerous species have been found to be less effective producers of antibodies thaii adults of the same species. This problem of the relative difference in the ability of young and adults to produce antibodies has been studied most extensively in man, rabbits and guinea pigs (reviewed by Baumgartner, '34). Wolfe and Dilks ( '47) found this to be equally true of chickens. Chicks less than 5 weeks old often failed to produce detectable precipitins. Very little work has been done on the changes in the spleen of the young animal after the injection of soluble antigen, although a great deal of interest has centered around the changes in the spleens of adult mammals after such injections. Rich, et al. ('39) pointed out that infants are deficient in their ability to produce antibodies and that acute splenic tumor rarely becomes so well developed during infections in infants as in older children or adults. Gross ('19) in a study of the human spleen in relation to disease states that the spleens in middle age show reactive phenomena to disease in contrast to the behavior of young spleens. The spleen's


Background: to evaluate nursing practice in periodic health examination.
Methods: We make a retrospective evaluation of process data through 10 explicitc criteria.
We selected a random sample (in evaluation process) and a institutional based sample and population
universe (re-evaluation process) of both male and female patients who underwent health examination in nursing
consults of a urban health center.
Results: We found a substantial improvement in fulfilling degree in 8 out of criteria, although best standar
only was reached in 3 criteria (blood pressure determination, somatometrics and tobacco smoking investigation).
We also remark thc high proportion of risk factors, tobacco smoking (51.6%), obesity (37.6%) and dislipemia
(25.5%).
Conclusions: We remark thc importance of entering and developing evaluation and quality assurance
methodology among common tasks of primary care teams and correct ubication of periodic health examination
in nursing process.


Purpose
This study aims to determine the direct and indirect effects of Islamic spirituality on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) Islamic perspective (OCBIP), identifying the role of spiritual and marketing strategy at work and organizational commitment to mediate the effect of Islamic spirituality on OCBIP.

Design/methodology/approach
The research population is all employees of Sidoarjo BRI Syari'ah Branch Office. Total sample involves 130 fulltime employees. Proportional random sampling technique is a selected technique. Data is collected directly from respondents. The analysis used in this study uses Partial Least Square.

Findings
The research results show that Islamic spirituality has no direct effect on OCBIP. Spiritual at work mediates the effect of Islamic spirituality on OCBIP; organizational commitment mediates the effect of Islamic spirituality on OCBIP.

Originality/value
The OCBIP variable is used as the originality in this study. Another finding in this research is the marketing strategy of sharia-based companies. There has not been a comprehensive examination of the influence of Islamic spirituality and marketing strategies on OCB with spirituality at work and organizational commitment as a mediating variable. This Islamic perspective is very important considering the majority of Indonesian citizens are Muslims.


action in a foundation of self-consciousness. Kangas is selective in what he covers and takes a sample from each major phase of Kierkegaard's writings. The earlier discourses he chooses take up the themes of temporality, patience and gift. In the middle section, we ponder how truth draws us from knowledge to confession, and what it means to think with death (rather than about it). The final chapters explore the beautiful meditations Kierkegaard wrote on the biblical image of the carefree lilies and birds. Without collapsing these strands together, Kangas succeeds in drawing out connections: Kierkegaard is challenging us to abandon the conception of human life that entails us mastering its limits, subjecting it to our projects. In the process, Kangas offers a radical rereading of what Kierkegaard means by such theological categories as God and sin. Those versed in Kierkegaard might wish for a more developed argument on such issues at times. However, I found the book's theses compelling and exciting ones, which will speak to theological debates well beyond the preserve of Kierkegaard specialists. The work is beautifully written. At times it deploys specialist terms and language, and necessarily gets us to think about paradoxical issues. It is, however, largely free of unnecessary scholarly clutter and the obsessive need to cite every book or article that mentions a subject. It is a luminous work, which befits its subject matter and provides a wonderful legacy for a scholar whose humane voice will be missed.


Pipe cutting operations are often a critical part of stuck pipe situations, well interventions and plug and abandon operations which all need to remove cut sections of pipe from the well. Unlike traditional 'blade' style e-line cutters, which can jam under pipe compression or explosive pipe cutters, which need to dress-over the jagged cut by the rig, a new electric line mechanical cutter's unique design enables performance even if the pipe is under compression, in tension or is neutral. It can also perform multiple cuts in the same run, while creating a clean and machined cut with tool-entry friendly shape.
 This paper will describe the technology of the new generation cutter, present two case histories; one of multiple cuts of stuck drill pipe, per each run in hole, from Germany and one of a critical tubing cut from a subsea well in Nigeria, using electric wireline and tractor conveyed services for many tasks traditionally performed with coiled tubing in highly deviated wells. These "light vs heavy" solutions can often be done off-line from the rig.


Aim: To assess (a) the extent to which DV offenders specialise in DV offending (b) the type and frequency of involvement in non-DV offences by DV offenders and (c) the similarities and differences between DV assault offenders and non-DV assault offenders. Method: To address the first two questions we examine non-DV offending by offenders convicted in New South Wales (NSW) of a DV offence between 2008 and 2017. To address the third we use classification techniques to determine how well DV assault offenders and non-DV assault offenders can be separated on the basis of demographic and criminal justice variables or (in a separate sub-analysis) how well they can be separated on the basis of the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R). Results: A little over a third (35.25%) of the cohort had a DV conviction as their only conviction. The remainder (64.75%) had at least one general (non-DV) offence. DV offences accounted for only 38 per cent of all the offences committed by DV offenders between 2008 and 2017. DV offenders committed more than 2.5 times as many non-DV offences as DV offences. The 65,183 DV offenders who committed at least one non-DV offence, between them generated a total of 385,741 proven non-DV offences The most common non-DV offences committed by DV offenders in the cohort were traffic offences (27.99% of all non-DV offences), theft offences (14.67% of all non-DV offences) and drug offences (12.31% of all non-DV offences). DV assault offenders and non-DV assault offenders differ very little in terms of their demographic and criminal justice profile or in terms of their LSI-R profile. Conclusion: Policing strategies aimed at deterring or incapacitating domestic violence offenders are likely to produce spill-over benefits in terms of other forms of crime. Further research is urgently needed to determine what works in reducing the risk of DV reoffending for those who specialise in DV and those whose offending involves both DV and non-DV offences.


Introduction Awide variety of natural phenomena is characterized by power law behavior of their parameters. This type of behavior is also called scaling. The first observation of scaling probably goes back to Kepler who empirically discovered that squares of the periods of planet revolution around the Sun scale as cubes of their orbits radii. This empirical law allowed Newton to discover his famous inverse-square law of gravity. In the nineteenth century, it was realized that many physical phenomena, for example diffusion, can be described by partial differential equations. In turn, the solutions of these equations give rise to universal scaling laws. For example, the root mean square displacement of a diffusing particle scales as the square root of time. In the twentieth century, power laws were found to describe various systems in the vicinity of critical points. These include not only systems of interacting particles such as liquids and magnets but also purely geometric systems, such as random networks. Scaling is also found to hold for polymeric systems, including both linear and branched polymers.4 Since then, the list of systems characterized by power laws has grown rapidly including models of rough surfaces, turbulence and earthquakes. Empirical power laws are found to characterize also many physiological, ecological, and socio-economic systems. These facts give rise to the increasingly appreciated "fractal geometry of nature". A major puzzle concerning genomes of eukaryotic organisms, is that the large percent of their DNA is not used to code proteins or RNA. In human genome, this "junk" DNA constitutes 97% of the total genome length which is equal to 3 billion nucleotides also called base-pairs (bp). The role of non-coding DNA is poorly understood. It seems that it evolves by its own laws not restricted by a specific biological function. These laws are based on probabilities of various mutations and as such resemble the laws governing other complex systems listed above. In this chapter, I will review the degree to which power laws can characterize fluctuating nucleotide content of the DNA sequences, see also a critical review of W. Li.16 The term "long range correlations" is often misunderstood, implying some mystical long-range interactions or information propagation in space. Therefore, I will start with a brief introduction in the theory of critical phenomena, in which this concept has been developed. An impatient reader can jump directly to section "Correlation Analysis of DNA Sequences".


Computer virtualization is not new; however, it has become increasingly important because of the many advantages it offers businesses and individuals to reduce costs. A company can reduce maintenance, hardware, and energy costs by running virtualized servers on a single physical machine. Although virtualization offers these advantages, it introduces new challenges to current computer forensic techniques as well as computer system defense tools. As this technology continues to be adopted by more and more companies every year, malware and hacker attacks are potentially going to affect virtualized systems as they have been affecting physical systems in the past. Therefore, the increasing growth of virtualization has created the need for a new generation of computer system defenses as well as computer forensic techniques to effectively defend these systems before or after they have been attacked. Because of the nature of how virtualization operates, new techniques to interact with these systems have become available. These techniques allow us to increase the effectiveness of current forensic and system defense tools to create new tools to defend or analyze virtualized systems. Virtual Machine Introspection (VMI) is one of these techniques that have formed the basis of a number of novel approaches in the field of Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity. In this paper, we present what VMI has offered to Digital Forensics and the new challenges it brings. Likewise, we discuss why traditional Digital Forensic techniques are not reliable to analyze virtual machines once they have been attacked.


The domestic water buffalo relates to the genus Bubalus bubalis [1]. Entirely European buffaloes are claimed to be of the Mediterranean breed, which comprises those from Italy, Egypt, Greece, Bulgaria, Syria, and Turkey [2]. The second-most valuable species in the world for milk production is the buffalo [3]. Although Egyptian-raised dairy cow breeds produce more milk than buffalo do, the price of buffalo milk is almost three times more than that of dairy cattle [4]. The Italian buffalo is perhaps the one that has been studied the most extensively worldwide, and considerable DUE to the inadequate inheritance of resistance to digital dermatitis (DD), breeding for it is difficult. There may be a connection between genetic and metabolic variables and the development of DD. In this study, 80 pure Italian buffaloes were utilized to examine the relationship between immunological and metabolic gene mutations and digital dermatitis (DD). The incidence and history of digital dermatitis were screened, and the animals were divided into two groups: the affected group (n = 40), and the resistant (healthy) group (n = 40). Ten millilitres of blood were collected from each buffalo for DNA extraction. PCR-DNA sequencing of immune (TLR4, IL-8, CATH, IL-17, IL-13, DEFB123, ASB16, and SCART1) and metabolic (CMPK2, POPDC3, KIF26A, SYT8, ASPG, NRXN2, RND1, GPHN, LPCAT1, FPGT, TNN13K, and NDUFS6) genes revealed coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between DD healthy and affected buffaloes. A substantial variation was observed in the frequency of genes, based on Fisher's exact test of discovered SNPs. The identified SNPs could be employed in marker-assisted selection for digital dermatitis resistance/ susceptibility in buffaloes. These findings propose a hopeful approach for limiting digital dermatitis in buffalo through discriminating breeding of animals established on genetic markers accompanying genetic resistance to infection.


A new optically pumped polarized H ion source was installed on the BNL 200 MeV linac in 2000, and has operated very reliably for RHIC polarized proton running during two periods of approximately 3 months each. This source, originally from KEK, was upgraded at TRIUMF for higher intensity operation [1]. It typically produces 0.5-1.0 mA of polarized H, in 400 microsecond pulses, 1 Hz, with a polarization of 75-80%. The 35 keV beam from this source passes through a pulsed dipole, so one is able to interleave polarized and high current unpolarized beam pulses before injection into an RFQ. Transmission from the source to the end of the linac exceeds 50%. One is able to continuously monitor beam polarization at 200 MeV. The layout and performance of this new injection line is described, including transverse matching, and design features of the beamline for preservation of polarization.


To further improve the hardness of the laser cladding layer on the surface of the vermicular graphite cast iron, the structural parameters of the laser cladding Co-base were designed and optimized, and the properties of the clad layer were evaluated using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), electrochemical workstation, and friction wear equipment. The results show that the average hardness of the molten layer of Ni and Co-based composite cladding layer is 504 HV0.5, which is 0.64 times that of the Co-based cladding layer due to the combined factors of Ni-Cr-Fe equivalent to the dilution of the Ni-based cladding layer to the Co-based cladding layer. Due to the potential difference of the Ni, Cr, and Co elements on the surface of the cladding layer, the self-corrosion potential of the Ni and Co-based composite cladding layer is 1.08 times that of the Co-based cladding layer, and the self-corrosion current density is 0.51 times. Laser cladding Co-based cladding layer has high corrosion resistance. Under the influence of plastic deformation and oxidative wear of the cladding layer of the Ni and Co-based composite cladding layer, the wear amount of the cladding layer of the Ni and Co-based composite cladding layer is less.


INTRODUCTION
We present the results of an anthropological and paleopathological analysis of 7 graves discovered at the site of a church-hospital complex existing in the 14th-18th century in Łeczyca (province of Łódź). The aim was to determine whether the skeletons revealed features typical for the function of the complex.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The graves contained the remains of 8 persons: 4 men (2 of them aged 20-40 years and 2 aged 40-60 years), 2 women (aged 40-60 years), and 2 children (one aged 2-4 years and a 10-month-old fetus or neonate buried together with one of the women).

RESULTS
Four skeletons of adults (out of 5 skeletons in a condition adequate for the study) showed pathological (degenerative) and traumatic lesions. Pathologies of the masticatory organ (mainly intravital loss of teeth and recession of the alveolar process) were seen in all preserved adult skulls.

CONCLUSIONS
The high incidence of pathologies indicates that we were dealing with the remains of patients of a hospital.


In this paper the term under study will be the volume fraction of water in O/W (oil in water) emulsions, and the study was later extended to the purpose of better understanding of the phenomena involved, analysis of saline water samples and Air itself. This quantity will be initially studied in static tests in two test vats, but can be extended to flows. Impedance, salinity, Oil


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Stroke subtypes and prognosis differ among older black patients compared with whites; however, few data are available regarding stroke among young black patients.

METHODS
To determine the risk factors for stroke, stroke subtype, and prognosis among young black patients, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all 15- to 44-year-old patients admitted with stroke to a university-affiliated public hospital from January 1990 through June 1994.

RESULTS
Of the 248 eligible patients admitted with stroke, 219 were blacks. Hypertension was more frequently associated with stroke in young black than in non-black patients (55% versus 24%, P = .003). Cocaine abuse was frequent among both black and non-black patients (27% versus 38%, P = NS). Hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (64%) was the most common subtype of intracerebral hemorrhage (n = 67), and lacunar infarction (21%) was the most common subtype of cerebral infarction (n = 112) in young black patients. Outcome in black patients with stroke at discharge was 69% independent, 8% dependent, and 23% dead.

CONCLUSIONS
The high frequency of hypertension, hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage, and lacunar infarction among young black patients with stroke suggests accelerated hypertensive arteriolar damage, possibly due to poor control of hypertension.


Maternal antibody against fetal platelet antigens inherited from the father is a cause of severe thrombocytopenia in the neonate. Most cases of neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT) are associated with antibodies against the human platelet antigen 1a (HPA-1a). Treatment is usually focused on suppressing the maternal antibodies, but the optimal agents and doses …


Optical surface measurements include alignment error from rigid body position uncertainty. Extracting irregularity from the measurement is straightforward for spheres. We examine challenges when fitting alignment error on aspheres and freeforms.


Based on the observation of gymnast's swing-up movement, a simplified three-link horizontal bar robot is designed. With corresponding mathematic model developed, its dynamic characteristics are analyzed and simulation results are presented. From a general control perspective, an effective approach, that combines human simulated intelligent control method with Schema theory, and its feasibility are pointed out to obtain the planning motion control.


The paper gives a brief presentation of typical design features of slow-speed diesel engines, while emphasizing combustion chamber configurations and scavenging principles. Based on recent fuel comparison research from a test-engine, the particular merits of slow-speed diesel for burning future low-grade fuels are discussed. With the scope of further development towards either improved fuel economy or higher engine rating, the design philosophy behind the state of the art is given so as to indicate where design and development efforts are being deployed.


The influence of mechanical spring back on bending angle can be eliminated, if it is in certain range of opposite direction and the same amount. The following elements exter influence on bending: press-brak, die, work piece geometry, product properties and friction. This paper analysis the influence of friction on the accuracy of bending and bending in two stages.


Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with first void urine (FVU) for the diagnosis of Mycoplasma hominis in male patients. Methods: Matched FVU specimens and urethral swabs were collected from 194 male patients with Nongonococcal Urethritis and tested by nested PCR and cell culture. Cell culture was used as a gold standard for evaluating other assay techniques. Results: For FVU nested PCR assay and FVU cell culture,our results showed that the sensitivity was 100% and 93.3%;specificity was 97.0% and 98.2%; positive predictive value(PPV) was 85.7% and 90.3%, negative predictive value (NPV)was 100% and 98.8%, respectively. The total consistency between the two techniques was 97.4 %. Conclusions: For the diagnosis of Mycoplasma hominis in men, nested PCR detecting FVU is a highly sensitive and specific method. First void urine can replace swab culture or PCR in terms of acceptability and feasibility.


Despite the fact that there has been an increase in the number of reports related to Social Responsibility practices published by universities, the content of these reports is unbalanced and heterogeneous. Social Responsibility reports have a problem with the evaluation and comparison of the university's results achieved in this area. The main goal of this paper is to analyze different universities' reports in order to obtain the information necessary to identify to which extent these reports are comparable to each other. A content analysis has been carried out by analyzing six different Catalan universities as a case study. Findings show that there are important differences in the structure and the content of these reports. With this information a basic guideline for the structure of these reports is proposed with the aim of improving the capacity to compare these documents and thus, the social responsibility of universities. The results of this study can be used as a tool to attract both students and investors to these universities.


Climate change will have a great impact on the hottest climates of southern Europe and the existing residential stock will be extremely vulnerable to these future climatic conditions. Therefore, there is an urgent need to update this building stock considering imminent global warming by applying climatic files that predict future conditions in building performance simulations. This research makes use of the two most applied tools (Meteonorm and CCWorldWeatherGen) for generating future climate hourly datasets for 2050 and 2080 in southern Spain. The results predicted for outdoor and indoor thermal conditions and cooling and heating demands are evaluated for two different scale simulation models: a test cell and a multi-family building located in southern Spain. The main aim of this work is the development of a comparative analysis of the results to highlight their potential differences and raise awareness of the influence of the climate data projection method on the simulation outcome. The results show that the projection method selected for producing future climatic files has relevant effects on the analysis of thermal comfort and energy demand, but it is considerably reduced when an annual evaluation is developed.


The decays Bd → ππ and Bs → KK provide an interesting strategy to extract the CKM angle γ at "second-generation" B-physics experiments of the LHC era. A variant for "first-generation" experiments can be obtained, if Bs → KK is replaced by Bd → πK. We show that the most recent experimental results for the CP-averaged Bd → ππ and Bd → πK branching ratios imply a rather restricted range for the corresponding penguin parameters, and upper bounds on the direct CP asymmetries Adir CP(Bd → ππ) and Adir CP(Bd → πK). Moreover, we point out that interesting constraints on γ can be obtained from the CP-averaged Bd → ππ and Bd → πK branching ratios, if in addition mixinginduced CP violation in the former decay is measured, and the B d–B 0 d mixing phase is fixed through Bd → J/ψKS. An extraction of γ becomes possible, if furthermore direct CP violation in Bd → ππ or Bd → πK is observed. ∗ E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


action was inhibited to an impressive extent by a wide variety of institutional and ideological constraints. Even if one were to argue that there was a relative increase in royal prerogative toward the end of the Yi dynasty (an argument that I do not make), the reality of the situation was certainly far different from that presented by Sands, and by extension, by Patterson. To regard Kojong as "the law personified" is highly inaccurate. It seems to me that Patterson is confusing classical Chinese theories about the rise and fall of dynasties with the political and economic realities of late Yi Korea. Patterson's reliance on theoretical ideals of Chinese and Korean institutions is clear when he states at the end of Chapter 10: "At the end of a long dynastic cycle, late Yi Korea seemed enervated by corruption, high taxes, and general mismanagement, which added to the discontent of the people." In any case, his arguments about decline and corruption are not very credible when supported only by Western observers, of questionable authority. Even with these reservations, I found The Korean Frontier in America to be a highly readable and interesting look at the dynamics of a particularly important period of time. This book provides a worthwhile and unique perspective on the fall of the Yi dynasty and the tangled relationships among Korea, Hawaii, Japan, and the U.S. It will be useful even for those readers who might not have any specialized interest in Korean or Hawaiian immigration studies.


Fluorescence lifetimes have been measured under supersonic jet conditions for various N, K-rotational levels of three vibrational levels (T, T+ν2, and T+ν3) of the B 2A′ state of CCH. It was found that the lifetimes of levels T+ν2 and T+ν3 are significantly shorter than that of level T. Furthermore, the lifetimes vary in a complicated way from one rovibronic level to another, indicating the presence of local perturbations. The previously reported CC–H bond energy ranges from 95.6 to 116.3 kcal/mol, which leads to a large uncertainty in assigning the onset of the dissociation process, CCH (X 2Σ+)→C2(X 1Σg+)+H(2S1/2). In this work, fluorescence excitation spectra of photofragment C2 via D 1Σu+←X 1Σg+ and d 3Πg←a 3Πu have been recorded to determine the predissociation processes of the B state. Assuming no barrier is present in the dissociation process of the X and A states, the upper bound of D00(CC–H) was estimated as 39 388±7 cm−1(≃112.62 kcal/mol). Hence, the lifetime quenching phenomenon observed in ...


This article analyses the character of local religious practice in the archdiocese of Michoacán during Mexico's cristero rebellion, and explores the relationship between 'official' and 'popular' religion under persecution. In particular, it shows how the Catholic clergy and laity reconstructed the religious life at parish level in an attempt to mitigate the effects of the revolutionary state's campaigns against the Church. For a variety of reasons, the significance of such passive resistance to the state, and the complexity of the interaction between the ecclesiastical elite and the Catholic laity, tend to be downplayed in many existing accounts. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many historians see cristero violence as the most important response to religious persecution, and therefore study it to the exclusion of alternative, less visible, modes of resistance. As for the Church, the hierarchy's wranglings with the regime similarly tend to overshadow the labours of priests and their parishioners under persecution. But the full range of popular experiences has also been deliberately compressed for ideological reasons. Many Catholic writers, for instance, seek to exalt the Church by describing a persecution of mythical ferocity. While Calles is likened to Herod, Nero, or Diocletian, the clergy and laity comprise a uniform Church of martyrs designate in revolt against a godless state. To achieve this instructive vision, however, a few exemplary martyrs—such as Father Pro and Anacleto González Flores—are allowed to stand for the whole mass of priests and believers, in the same way that Edmund Campion is revered as the protomartyr of the Elizabethan persecution in England. As a result, a stereotypical but politically serviceable image of a monolithic Church is perpetuated, an image which was recently institutionalised by the canonisation of 25 'cristero' martyrs in May 2000.


A first-principles study of adsorption of metal adatoms on ultrathin oxide film FeO/Ru(0001) in the presence of CO
Run-Hai Ouyang, Wei-Xue Li*
State Key Laboratory of Catalysis,Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, China
*E-mail address: firstname.lastname@example.com

Abstract: In recent years much attention has been paid to ultra-thin oxide (UTO) films deposited on transition metals (TM) because it acts as a suitable model to explore the oxides themselves. Moreover, UTO have been shown to have many special properties different form bulk oxides and emerge as novel materials that have many potential applications in microelectronics, magnetics, environmental protection and heterogeneous catalysis [1]. One particularly interesting UTO is the uncompensated polar thin oxide film epitaxially grown on metal supports. The polar thin oxide film FeO(111)/Pt(111) [2] shows attractive and rich chemical properties such as self-ordering distribution of Au atoms and magnesium phthalocyanine molecules, promoted low temperature CO oxidation [3, 4, 5] etc. However, theoretical understanding of chemistry of the FeO/TM surfaces as well as its interaction with metal adatoms and reactants at microscopic point of views remain a challenge, because the first-principles study of the superstructure FeO/TM is computational prohibited yet.

In this talk, we present first density functional theory study of the adsorption of late TM adatoms on FeO/Ru(0001) in the presence of carbon monoxide based on massive computational platform. In the absence of carbon monoxide, we find that the adsorption of these adatoms shows a distinct preference and behavior on the different FeO domains. For the 3d and 4d TM adatoms, it prefers to coordinate with three-fold O layer in FCC and HCP domains and is positive charge. Whereas, for Au adatom, it adsorbs preferentially in the HCP domains coordinated directly with Fe2+ cation and is negative charge. In the presence of CO, we find that adsorbed CO would move Au adatom to neighbor sites accompanied by the change of the sign of charge state. In contrast, for 3d and 4d TM adatoms, there is no change of sites induced by the adsorption of CO. The origin of the difference is analyzed in details, and will be presented in the talk. The insights and implication of the findings to the heterogeneous catalysis will be highlighted.

Keywords: ultrain thin oxide film, metal adatom, carbon monoxide, first-principles

Reference:
[1] N. Nilius Sur. Sci. Rep. 64, 595 (2009).
[2] M. Ritter, et al. Phys. Rev. B 57, 7240 (1998).
[3] L. Giordano, et al. Phys. Rev. Lett 101, 026102 (2008).
[4] X. Lin, and N. Nilius J. Phys. Chem. C 112, 15325 (2008).
[5] Y.-N. Sun, et al. J. Catal. 266, 359 (2009).


Social agents in the youth sport domain (coaches, parents, and peers) play a crucial role in developing the motivational approaches of youth sport athletes. One theory which has been useful in explaining the important role of such social agents has been Achievement Goal Theory (Nicholls, 1989). Specifically, Achievement Goal Theory was used to delineate various peer behaviors as being task-involving (Ntoumanis & Vazou, 2005) and was used to predict subsequent relationships relationship between the task-involving motivational-climate created by teammates and athletes' mastery goal orientations and self-esteem, sport competence, enjoyment, and intention to continue playing sport. Participants were 405 boys aged 12-15 years. Using structural equation modeling, an exploratory analysis and confirmatory analysis revealed that higher levels of task-involving behaviors from peers predicted mastery goal orientation. Participants with higher mastery goal orientation reported greater sport competence, self-esteem, and more enjoyment; enjoyment was the strongest predictor of intention to continue. These findings both emphasize the importance of peer relationships within sport on a variety of motivationally and psychologically salient outcomes and provide direction for the development of training programs targeted to create positive and healthy sport experiences.


CONTEXT
Children with spina bifida are at high risk for urinary tract infections (UTI). However, there is no standardized definition of UTI in this population, leading to variability in both clinical management and research. This was highlighted in the 2013 systematic review on the same topic.

OBJECTIVE
Evaluate the frequency with which researchers are defining UTI in their studies of children with spina bifida and to determine what parameters are used.

DATA SOURCES
We searched Medline and Scopus databases for articles that included pediatric patients with spina bifida and used UTI as an outcome.

STUDY SELECTION
Exclusion criteria included publication before October 1, 2012, non-English language, and nonprimary research articles.

DATA EXTRACTION
Two independent reviewers each extracted data.

RESULTS
A total of 39 studies were included; 74% of these analyzed included an explicit definition of UTI. The most commonly used definition included a combination of symptoms and culture results (34.5%), whereas 31% used a combination of symptoms, culture results, and urinalysis data. Only 3.4% of articles used a urine culture alone to define UTI.

CONCLUSIONS
More articles that focus on children with spina bifida included a definition of UTI. However, significant variability persists in the definition of UTI in this patient population.


Abstract. Microwave dielectric properties and the related microstructural characteristics of pure Ca(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (CMN) were investigated by measuring the relative permittivity (εr), dielectric Q values, and temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τf), and by microstructure analysis using XRD, SEM, and TEM. The XRD analysis indicated CMN has a complex perovskite structure with 1:2 ordered monoclinic unit cell that has anti-parallel shift of the A-site cations and both the in-phase and anti-phase tilting of the oxygen octahedra. The properties of CMN depend on the processing conditions. CMN ceramics exhibited the highest Q values (Q.f=66000 at 3.8GHz) with εr≈27 and τf≈-40ppm/°C when the cooling rate was 360°C/h.


Prediction and analysis of stock market data have a vital role in current time's economy. The various methods used for the prediction can be classified into 1) Linear Algorithms like Moving Average (MA) and Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA). 2) Non-Linear Models like Artificial Neural Networks and Deep Learning. In this work, we are using the results of previous research papers to demonstrate the potential of some models like ARIMA, Multi-Layer Perception (MLP) ), Convolutional Neural Neural Network (CNN), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) for forecasting the stock price of an organization based on its available historical data. Then, implementing some of these methods to check and compare their efficiency within the same issue. We used Independently RNN (IndRNN) to explore a better efficiency for stock prediction and we found that it gives better accuracy prevailing methods in the current time. We also proposed an enhancement to IndRNN by replacing its default activation function with a more effective function called Parametric Rectified Linear Unit (PreLU). Our proposed approach can be used as an alternative method for predicting time series data efficiently other than the typical approaches today


A review of riometer data from the south pole (74.2° invariant latitude) for a 7-year period (1967–1973) indicates the occurrence of sc-triggered poleward expansions of auroral absorption regions. For 15 such events the average AE index in the hour before the sc's was twice as large as that for 30 sc's that did not trigger substorm events at auroral latitudes. This result indicates that the triggering of substorms involves the enhancement of processes already in progress by the compression of the magnetosphere.


When computing the reliability of a system consisting of several components, it is usually assumed that the components are statistically independent of each other. In case the components are associated, it is known that this leads to underestimation if the system is a series, whereas the converse holds for parallel systems. In this paper, we consider general monotone systems and study the error resulting from the independence assumption when the component states are, in fact, distributed according to certain dependence models. We also consider some applications of the results to network systems.


Women with excess gestational weight gain (GWG) have an increased risk of negative reproductive outcomes and major knowledge gaps remain in our understanding of specific causes of excess GWG. Maternal cigarette smoking is not only one of the most important modifiable risk factors for a variety of pregnancy outcomes, but smoking cessation is also a possible predictor for excess GWG. This study's objective was to examine for the first time the association between smoking cessation at different time points during pregnancy and excess GWG among 124,807 women in Pennsylvania, while taking racial/ethnic differences into account. The data are from Pennsylvania (PA) 2008 birth records. Results from our logistic regression analyses show that after adjusting for covariates, all quitters were at a higher risk of excess GWG as compared to non-smokers. Women who quit prior to pregnancy were 56% more likely to gain excessive weight as compared to non-smokers (OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.46, 1.66), whereas women who quit later on during pregnancy had a higher risk for excess GWG compared
to non-smokers (OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.23, 1.70 for 1st trimester quitters; OR = 1.44, 95% CI:
1.23, 1.69 for 2nd trimester quitters). We found an interaction between race/ethnicity and smoking status in predicting excess GWG (χ2(8) = 16.5, p = 0.03) suggesting that the association between smoking cessation and excess GWG differs by race/ethnicity. These findings are of great public health importance since they emphasize the need for individualized attention to

smoking habits from health care professionals so that pregnant women can successfully gain weight within their respective recommended range.


Instantaneous Frequency Measurement (IFM) devices are the essential parts of any ESM, ELINT, and RWR receiver. Analog IFMs have been used for several decades. However, these devices are bulky, complex and expensive. Nowadays, there is a great interest in developing a wide band, high dynamic range, and accurate Digital IFMs. One Digital IFM that has suitably reached all these requirements is mono-bit zero-crossing IFM, made by some different producers at present. In this paper, the performance of mono-bit digital Instantaneous Frequency Measurement (IFM) device is analyzed. This analysis includes quantization error, thermal noise, clock jitter, comparator bias and also "Pulse-on-Pulse" occurrence. The error limits due to all these factors are computed and analyzed, and a unified approach to the system design is presented. Review History: Received: 12 November 2016 Revised: 30 August 2017 Accepted: 3 September 2017 Available Online: 15 October 2017


Objective
To evaluate the clinical effect of buccal administration of Kangfuxin Liquid combined with conventional treatment for infantile herpetic stomatitis.

Method
A total of 103 infantiles with herpetic stomatitis were randomly divided into a Kangfuxin group (51 cases) and a conventional group (52 cases). The conventional group received ribavirin aerosol, and the Kangfuxin group recived buccal administration of Kangfuxin Liquid based on the intervention of convertional group. All children were treated for 5 days. The white blood cell count (WBC) and the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined.

Result
The total efficiency rate in the Kangfuxin group was significantly higher than that in the conventional group (94.1% vs. 78.8%, χ2=3.895, P<0.05). The healing time of oral ulcers (5.8 ± 1.3 d vs. 7.9 ± 1.5 d, t=10.715), body temperature recovery time (2.1 ± 1.1 d vs. 3.3 ± 1.5 d, t=4.623), and eliminating time of oral mucosal hyperemia and edema (4.3 ± 1.3 d vs. 5.3 ± 1.4 d, t=3.755) in the Kangfuxin group was significantly shorter than those in the conventional treatment group (P<0.01). The WBC (6.5×109 ± 2.2×109/L vs. 9.4×109 ± 2.3×109/L, t=6.537) and serum CRP levels (6.7 ± 1.2 mg/L vs. 9.7 ± 2.5 mg/L, t=12.686) were significantly lower in the Kangfuxin group was significantly lower than those in the conventional treatment group (P<0.01).

Conclusions
The total efficiency rate of buccal administration of Kangfuxin Liquid combined with conventional treatment for infantile herpetic stomatitis was higher than conventional treatment alone. And the remission time of symptoms of treatment group was shorter.

Key words:
Stomatitis, herpetic; Child, preschool; Ribavirin; Integrated Chinese traditional and western medicine therapy; Treatment outcome; Kangfuxin Liquid


3.1. Chapter 2 examines the disparities in key assets between the poor and non-poor and by geographic area. This chapter analyzes the relative importance of these and other determinants of poverty, malnutrition, and inequality in a multi-variate setting. It summarizes the key results for each problem, highlighting key priorities for policy interventions. Two key conclusions emerge from the multi-variate analysis of all three problems (Box 3.1):


This work presents innovative method of dynamic modication of program and language for purpose of achievement of new functionality during program run-time. The work further presents adaptive execution environment, which allows reaching of modication of language and program during program execution and presents experimental verication of presented environment. Extensible programming language allows user to dene new language constructs. This constructs can include new notations and operations, new or modied control structures or even new elements from dierent programming paradigms. If


Following Kramers, we describe the dynamics of an isomerization reaction A ⇆ B as a diffusion process in a bistable intramolecular potential. In order to calculate the chemical relaxation time t r, we rely on a purely equilibrium approach, introduced by Chandler, and we focus on the properties of the time correlation function C(t) = ⟨δNA (0) δNA (t)⟩, and of its derivatives. A plateau formalism permits the extraction of the long relaxation time t r from the short time dynamics of a molecule which starts at t = 0 from the activated region between A and B. The calculation makes it possible to encompass in a unified way the low and high friction limits, which are usually treated differently. It involves the definition of a species specification function σ A , which indicates microscopically if a molecule is A or B. Most of the time, σ A is taken as a Heaviside function, although its definition should be experiment-dependent. We examine the possibility of taking a wide species specification, presenting a smoo...


The object of the work that we present here, is to approach the new possibilities given by the coupling of parametric analysis and photothermal radiometry under random excitation. We show first, that this coupling allows to obtain an analysis mode more complete than the correlation mode of analysis. We show then, with the help of the studying of a particular sample, that this coupling allows to obtain rapidly, a good approximation of the multifrequencies harmonic response of materials. We show finally, that this coupling gives access to a multifrequencies photothermal imagery.


I936 fall is therefore probably not significant, that of I938 may be. An attempt has been made to relate this fall to other factors. The numbers of nests have been compared with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries' returns for 4 June of the previous year, proportionate adjustments being made to allow -for the fact that the area under survey does not exactly follow the parish boundaries. One anomaly was immediately apparent; between 4 June I932 and 4 June I933 the total area of agricultural land (crops and grass) fell by about I7%; it remained sensibly constant until I936, and then in I937 rose to about its I932 value, where it remained. This cannot mean that there was any real change of land use, but must indicate some changing method of filling up the Ministry's forms. No figures are therefore given for this factor. Acreage of cereals, of cereals; roots and potatoes; and of total arable land varied irregularly from year to year, though the three factors generally moved in the same direction. There is, in general, no connexion between the movements in the acreage of arable and the rook population, but the years I936 and I937 are I35 % and 8-8% respectively below the average in acreage of cereals. It is possible that this was a partial cause of the fall in population in I938. The cereal acreage in I938 was a little above average. Further reference to this point is made below. During the war of I939-45 there was much ploughing of grassland, and in I943 the acreage of cereals was about seven times, and that of total arable about five times, those of the years I933-8. The significant, but not large, increase in the number


EDUCATIONAL PATHWAYS OF TEACHERS AND THE EFFECTS ON STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE ON HIGH-STAKES TESTING Patrizia Antoinette Grigsby Old Dominion University, 2015 Director: Dr. William Owings Meeting the needs o f placing "highly-qualified teachers" in the classroom is becoming more challenging every year. One option that many states are using involves certifying potential teaching candidates through alternative pathways, which differs from traditional certification programs. In this study, teacher certification routes were examined to determine if there is a difference in student performance on state standardized tests based on the teacher certification routes. This study compared student test scores o f traditionally-certified teachers with test scores from students of alternatively-certified teachers on the State o f Texas Assessments o f Academic Readiness (STAAR) during the 2011-2012 administration of the test. The study findings revealed that alternatively-certified teachers' student scores were comparable to traditionallycertified teachers' student scores on the STAAR tests after three to five years of teaching experience and professional development. These findings can be a precursor to the efforts o f other states evaluating whether traditionally-certified teachers and alternatively certified teachers' student scores on state standardized tests are comparable when including other quantitative variables such as teacher performance on basic skill tests and teacher quality data. This will ensure prospective teachers have the ability to provide the teaching quality needed to increase the probability o f successful student achievement. Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my family and friends. I thank them for their advice, support, and love throughout this process. I thank my mother for her prayers and constant reminders that anything worth achieving takes endurance, perseverance, and a positive attitude. I thank my husband and son for understanding my desire to pursue my Ph.D., being considerate, and showing me unconditional love.


According to new European guidelines, first-line anti-hypertensive therapies include either an ACE inhibitor (ACEi) or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) in a single pill combination with a calcium channel blocker (CCB) or a diuretic. Insufficient therapeutic effects could be caused by various factors ranging from compliance issues, patient specific PK/PD profiles, or secondary forms of hypertension resulting in blood pressure control rates in the range of 50% of patients on therapy. RAAS Triple-A testing is based on a high-throughput mass-spectrometry assay for quantification of Angiotensin I (Ang I), Angiotenisn II (Ang II) and Aldosterone in standard serum or plasma samples by RAAS equilibrium analysis. Obtained hormone levels are used to calculate markers for plasma-renin-activity (PRA-S), plasma angiotensin-converting-enzyme activity (ACE-S) and adrenal function (AA2-Ratio). The diagnostic performance of the AA2-Ratio in screening for primary aldosteronism (PA) has been compared to the aldosterone-to-renin ratio (ARR) as putative gold standard in resistant hypertensive patients, revealing major advantages of the AA2-Ratio especially in terms of usability and drug interference. A diagnostic scheme for the stratification of first-line non-responding hypertensive patients has been developed to improve the control rates for hypertension and to provide an easy-to-handle diagnostic tool for physicians involved in first-line treatment of hypertension. RAAS Triple-A analysis for the first time provides insights into a patient's RAAS at the level of effector hormones, molecular regulation and patient specific pharmacologic responses to anti-hypertensive therapies and has the potential to result in significant changes in hypertension care in clinical practice by introducing personalized treatments based on an easy and effective diagnostic tool.


[Process for producing the pigment preparation of the C, I, Pigment Violet 23 as the default; In the CI Pigment Violet 23 in a conventional dry milling process, the milling process is essential during severe environmental pollution due to the noise and violent vibrations of dust, caused to be formed in. Today, in accordance with the present invention, the base pigment of the aqueous in the presence of the chosen pigment dispersing agents derived from a dioxazine compound containing beads and a basic group-be crushed by the alcohol milled to overcome the following, the above-described drawbacks by treating the solvent It has been found that. By combining the two above-mentioned processing it is possible to improve the capacity, without having to another expensive investment in accordance with the change in device structure. A pigment preparation prepared by such a method is sikimyeo at the same time improve the color strength when a nitro cellulose Yes viewer printing when the paint and in particular to practical application, especially for improved gloss in comparison to the commercial grade known in this field to reduce the abrasive give.


Abstract Exact solutions are found for Kawase's linear, two-layer model of mass-driven deep-ocean circulation. It is demonstrated that for strong damping, even though the deep western boundary current (DWBC) bifurcates at the equator as found in Kawase's perturbation solution, the equatorial flow is much weaker and has a much broader scale than the imposed DWBC. It is found that the presence of an eastern boundary is not necessary for the DWBC to cross the equator in the weak damping case.


We investigated the self-starting condition for additive-pulse mode locking in an arc-lamp-pumped cw Nd:YLF laser. We measured the first beat note of the free-running laser to estimate the cavity correlation time. We supplement the theoretical model for the self-starting condition, which was previously given in terms of the cavity correlation time and the critical buildup time, by including the effect of dynamic gain saturation. This modified model is compared with the experimental results.


AbstractThe determination of the exchangeable ammonium ion content of marine sediments has been re-evaluated and a modified procedure proposed. Optimum recovery in a single extraction step was achieved by gentle mixing of small weight of sample with 0.2 M KCI (pH 2.5) for half an hour, followed by analysis of the filtered extract using an ammonia ion selective electrode. Errors attributable to re-sorption of released ammonium ion by the particulate matter tended to be large, except when extraction time was kept short and the concentration of released NH4+ was kept below 1 mg L−1 through use of solid to extractant ratios of 1:30 or 1:60. With contaminated sediments (>50 μg NH4+ g−1, a second extraction may be required to retrieve a residual 5 to 10% of the exchangeable ammonium ion content. Recovery levels when standard additions of NH4Cl were made to fine particle sediment suspensions were <100%, another response attributable to the sorption capacity of the sediments. Sediments of different nature were ex...


A New Regression Model: Modal Linear Regression Weixin Yao and Longhai Li Abstract The mode of a distribution provides an important summary of data and is often es- timated based on some non-parametric kernel density estimator. This article devel- ops a new data analysis tool called modal linear regression in order to explore high- dimensional data. Modal linear regression models the conditional mode of a response Y given a set of predictors x as a linear function of x. Modal linear regression differs from standard linear regression in that standard linear regression models the condi- tional mean (as opposed to mode) of Y as a linear function of x. We propose an Expectation-Maximization algorithm in order to estimate the regression coefficients of modal linear regression. We also provide asymptotic properties for the proposed esti- mator without the symmetric assumption of the error density. Our empirical studies with simulated data and real data demonstrate that the proposed modal regression gives shorter predictive intervals than mean linear regression, median linear regression, and MM-estimators. Key Words: Forest fire data; Linear regression; Modal regression; Mode. Weixin Yao is Associate Professor, Department of Statistics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, U.S.A. Email: email@example.com. Longhai Li is Associate Professor, Department of Math- ematics and Statistics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5E6, Canada. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com. The research of Longhai Li is supported by fundings from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and Canadian Foundation of Innovations.


A large amount of wastewater has been produced nowadays. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are designed to eliminate pollutants and alleviate environmental pollution resulting from human activities. However, the construction and operation of WWTPs still have negative impacts. WWTPs are complex to control and optimize because of high nonlinearity and variation. This study used a novel technique, multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (DRL), to optimize dissolved oxygen (DO) and dosage in a hypothetical WWTP. The reward function is specially designed as LCA-based form to achieve sustainability optimization. Four scenarios: baseline, LCA-oriented, cost-oriented and effluent-oriented are considered. The result shows that optimization based on LCA has lowest environmental impacts. The comparison of different SRT indicates that a proper SRT can reduce negative impacts greatly. It is worth mentioning that the retrofitting of WWTPs should be implemented with the consideration of other environmental impacts except cost. Moreover, the comparison between DRL and genetic algorithm (GA) indicates that DRL can solve optimization problems effectively and has great extendibility. In a nutshell, there are still limits and shortcomings of this work, future studies are required.


Previous work by our group uncovered a panel of novel host defence peptides, consisting of both β-defensin and cathelicidicin families which show evidence of expansion in the bovine genome compared to humans and mice. We hypothesised that the peptides these genes encode for would play important antimicrobial and immunomodulatory roles. Expression patterns suggested a role for the β-defensin genes in the male reproductive tract with higher levels of expression in the caudal epididymis. Analysis of evolutionary orthologues showed that one of these proteins, β-defensin 126, creates an 'invisibility cloak' on human sperm to prevent their recognition by the female immune system as they pass through the cervix and uterus. More recent analyses have also suggested that restoration of β-defensin levels on human sperm can improve antimicrobial function. Taking a lead from these human studies we assessed the antimicrobial and reproductive roles of the bovine peptides using genetic association studies, antibacterial assays and a range of in vitro functional assays. In an analysis of bulls used in artificial insemination with divergent field fertility, we uncovered a β-defensin haplotype representing a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panel significantly associated with reduced fertility. Within the haplotype was the bovine β-defensin 126 gene and functional assays confirmed a role for this protein in sperm agglutination, motility and binding to oviductal epithelium. Three-dimensional analysis of the protein structure using the recently released artificial intelligence program AlphaFold , shows a very distinctive extended C-terminal tail on some β-defensins which may yield important insights into their precise biological roles. In contrast, a highly coiled α-helical structure is apparent in the cathelicidin peptides. The reproductive tract of the male represents a very dynamic environment with sequential expression of specific peptides to equip sperm for transit and survival after ejaculation. Our research shows that these peptides play important reproductive and immunological roles, critical to protection of gametes within a highly regulated immune environment. Although more detailed functional investigation is required, these multifunctional peptides exhibit relevant species-specific adaptations and thereby offer exciting potential for targeting pathogenic bacteria and improving fertility via modulation of the semen microbiome.


The utility model relates to an uplink gas-liquid distributor which comprises a distribution pipe (1) and a distribution plate (2), wherein the upper end of the distribution pipe (1) is communicated with the distribution plate (2) through liquid; and a bevel opening (5) is arranged at the lower end of the distribution pipe (1). The gas-liquid distributor also comprises a baffle (3); the bevel opening (5) is connected with the baffle (3); the baffle (3) covers the bevel opening (5); and a gas channel (4) is arranged on the pipe wall of the distribution pipe (1). Compared with the prior art, the uplink gas-liquid distributor provided by the utility model has the advantages of high gas-liquid distribution uniformity, strong operation flexibility, simple structure and the like, is convenient to process and manufacture, and saves investment.


Objective: The main aim of this study was to validate organizational solidarity scale in public schools of Iran.
Method: The scale consists of social-emotional and Structural -instrumental as two sub scales and 18 items with a Likert spectrum. Statistical population included all primary (3958 individuals) and secondary (5350 individuals) school teachers in Shiraz of whom 369 people were selected by random-stratified sampling method (based on the educational course) and Cochran's formula. To measure the validity of the questionnaire, two methods of cluster analysis and first order and second order confirmatory factor analysis were used and also Cronbach's alpha method was used to measure its reliability.
Results: Results of the item analysis indicated that each items have a significant correlation with the sub-scale of corresponding dimension.   Result of the first and second order confirmatory factor analysis showed that each Items had a high degree of validity for explaining the corresponding dimension and organizational Solidarity.  Also, based on the Cronbach's alpha values, the reliability of the scale and the corresponding sub-scales is desirable.
Conclusion: Overall, the obtained results approved the applicability of the prepared scale for field studies in this subject area.


Interest in medicinal and aromatic plants increases along with day by day with natural demands of people. Medicinal and aromatic plants, that are used for protecting and healing illness, and continving the human health, since the beginning of humanity. These plants are used not only in medicine, food, beverage, cosmetic industry, soap and perfume production, but also organic agriculture and livestock. In addition, they have begun to use in many areas because of their different properties. One of this area is textile industry. Medicinal and aromatic plants are alternative source to synthetic textile finishing agens since they have antibacterial activity in different tissues of plants. The most important properties of antibacterial substances, which will be used in textile industry, are negative lost on of used substances environment and human health and not to change negatively properties of textile product. Therefore, the interest in textile applications and to obtain eco-friendly, natural based increases rapidly in recent years. Accordingly in the study, it has been investigated the determination of antibacterial activity of medicinal and aromatic plants by different methods and their use as antibacterial finishing agent in textile industry.


The results of a spectral compatibility investigation is presented. The mutual interference situations between the different UTRA-modes and between UTRA-FDD and PHS are described in detail for different scenarios. Some values for the ACIR (adjacent channel interference ratio) are obtained as a function of the power control gain. Finally, the results of system-level simulations using the Monte-Carlo technique are given.


During the COVID-19 pandemic, most people experienced a decline in the income of tempe craftsmen. The size of the income of tempe craftsmen is influenced by many factors. However, it is alleged that the factors that are strongly suspected of influencing income during the Covid-19 pandemic are the factors that affect Covid-19 and the price of raw materials. This study aims to determine the direct effect of the variable on Covid-19 and the variable price of raw materials on the income variable of tempe craftsmen and its direct effect on the variable level of marketing difficulty. The location chosen in this study was determined intentionally, namely in Wanasaba Kidul Village, Talun District, Cirebon Regency. This research was conducted for five months in September 2021–January 2022. The design of this study was quantitative with a survey method. The sampling technique used a saturated sample of 31 respondents, while the data analysis used path analysis. The results of this study conclude that the Covid-19 policy variable has a direct effect of 0.205 and the price of raw materials has a direct effect of 0.199 on the income of tempe craftsmen and does not affect the level of marketing difficulty with regression coefficient values of 0.299 and 0.354. The results of this study provide recommendations to tempeh craftsmen to focus more on marketing strategies such as increasing prices or reducing product volume so that income remains stable during the Covid-19 pandemic.


The present study examines the grounds on which deletion of item 4 out of the 10 items of the "academic delay of gratification scale (ADGS)"constructed by Bembenutty & Karabenick (1996) can improve its psychometric properties.The subjects as the sample consisted of 488 students (277 boys and 211 girls)pursuing professional courses at undergraduate level  from law, engineering, education andpharmacy departments. Statistics like mean, standard deviation, inter-item correlation, inter-item covariance, item-total statistics and partial correlation coefficient of item 4 are found to be markedly different from the rest of the items from the scale.


The implementation of new commercial software packages is generally accompanied by multiple, user-specific objectives. The question is which program should be chosen in order to meet the goals as best as possible. On behalf of project management programs, this article shows exemplary how the choice of commercial software can be supported by means of multi attribute value theory. A hierarchy of objectives, a general value function, and general weights are developed. On this basis, seven commercial software packages for project management are compared and a sensitivity analysis is performed. Furthermore, any potential buyer can derive individual decisions by defining specific weights and value functions.


A set of procedures for the design of sediment basins is outlined; it is based on two-dimensional hydrodynamic analyses, in contrast to conversional practice which has used only one-dimensional analyses. Two case studies using this approach are described.


The silicon carbide semiconductor forms stable and long-range ordered structures with interest in technology because of their optoelectronic properties, hardness, large thermal conductivity, and chemical stability. The optoelectronic properties can be potentiality improved by the insertion of intermediate states into the energy band gap. We explore this possibility using VIII-group transition metal impurities carrying out first-principles calculations. In some cases, the impurity introduces a deeper band into the host energy band gap for ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin alignments. These intermediate bands could split into two sub-bands through a site deformation around the impurities or a Mott-Hubbard metal–insulator transition. We have extended the study in order to analyze these possibilities. From our results, these effects or a combination of them do not split the bands in the energy band gap. Therefore, these deeper bands open up more photon absorption channels and could therefore increase t...


In this note the almost sure convergence of stationary, '-mixing sequences of random variables with values in real, separable Banach spaces according to summability methods is linked to the fullllment of a certain integrability condition generalizing and extending the results for i.i.d. sequences. Furthermore we give via Baum-Katz type results an estimate for the rate of convergence in these laws.


Multiword expressions (MWEs) were shown to be useful in a number of NLP tasks. However, research on the use of MWEs in lexical complexity assessment and simplification is still an under-explored area. In this paper, we propose a text complexity assessment system for English, which incorporates MWE identification. We show that detecting MWEs using state-of-the-art systems improves predicting complexity on an established lexical complexity dataset.


gathered round the figure and fame of Yesalius that the events of his life and the grandeur of his achievement have become almost lost to the mental vision of the present generation. The near approach of the fourth centenary of his birth and the celebrations with which his fellow-countrymen intend to mark it, will, it is hoped, rescue his name from the undeserved oblivion into which it has fallen, and place in enduring light the extraordinary work he accomplished, and the extent of the debt which anatomy must for ever owe him.


Objective To investigate the changes of expression levels of c-fos,c-myc during pathogenesis and development of skin cell squamous carcinoma. Methods The expression levels of c-fos,c-myc were detected by immunohistochemistry in 79 cases of skin squamous cell carcinoma,and the results were compared with those in normal tissues. Results The c-fos and c-myc were not expressed in normal skin,however,which were expressed in skin squamous cell carcinoma,the positive rates of c-fos and c-myc were 70. 9% and 78. 5%,respectively. The expression levels of c-fos and c-myc were closely correlated to the differentiation degree of tumor tissue( P 0. 05). The higher differentiation degree of tumor tissue,the higher expression levels of c-fos,however,the higher differentiation degree of tumor tissue,the lower expression levels of c-myc. Conclusion The detection of expression levels of c-fos and c-myc can evaluate differentiation degree of skin squamous cell carcinoma and clinical prognosis.


A new technique to compute the coupling, as a function of frequency, between nonidentical resonators is presented in this paper. The structure is separated by introducing electric and magnetic wall boundary conditions on the plane of separation, and coupling coefficient is computed directly from the eigenvalues of the four individual structures. The proposed technique has been used to compute the coupling between coaxial combline resonators. It is found to be computationally much faster than the iterative technique. The computed results are in good agreement with the measured results.


The present invention relates to a method for authenticating an entrance and an exit using a digital door lock and a wireless communication terminal, and an apparatus therefor, the method comprising: a new user identification information storage step of enabling a manager to pre-store new user identification information to be used for specifying a wireless communication terminal of a user in an entrance/exit management server, on-line or off-line; an one time password (OTP) request step of enabling the user wanting to enter and exit to make a request for an OTP to the entrance/exit management server through a digital door lock connected with the entrance/exit management server in a wired or wireless manner by using noncontact short-range wireless communication with the wireless communication terminal; a user identification information transmission step of transmitting the identification information of the user to the entrance/exit management server through a noncontact short-range wireless communication sensor, a fingerprint detection sensor, a camera, and a microphone of the digital door lock; a user identification step of comparing the user identification information transmitted to the entrance/exit management server through the digital door lock with the pre-stored identification information of the user; an OTP transmission step of enabling the entrance/exit management server to transmit the OTP to the digital door lock and the wireless communication terminal of the user, respectively, when the user identification information pre-stored in the user identification step corresponds to the transmitted user identification information; an OTP input step of enabling the user to input the OTP through a keypad of the digital door lock when the OTP transmitted from the entrance/exit management server is displayed on the wireless communication terminal; and a digital door lock opening step of opening the digital door lock when the OTP inputted through the keypad of the digital door lock corresponds to the OTP transmitted from the entrance/exit management server, storing the result in the entrance/exit management server, and storing the surrounding situation through the camera, infrared LEDs, and an LED lamp of the digital door lock, as necessary. The present invention can prevent the use by others other than the user by utilizing the pre-stored identification information of the user and the preregistered wireless communication terminal and implementing multistage authentication processes, can strengthen a security function without leaking of a password by using the OTP transmitted after confirming the data registered in the entrance/exit management server, and can ensure security by enabling a manager to remotely remove the preregistered data when an employee resigns and the like.


The past decade has seen the emergence of ab initio computational methods for calculating phonon-limited carrier mobilities in semiconductors with predictive accuracy. More realistic calculations ought to take into account additional scattering mechanisms such as, for example, impurity and grain-boundary scattering. In this work, we investigate the effect of ionized-impurity scattering on the carrier mobility. We model the impurity potential by a collection of randomly distributed Coulomb scattering centers, and we include this relaxation channel into the ab initio Boltzmann transport equation, as implemented in the EPW code. We demonstrate this methodology by considering silicon, silicon carbide, and gallium phosphide, for which detailed experimental data are available. Our calculations agree reasonably well with experiments over a broad range of temperatures and impurity concentrations. For each compound investigated here, we compare the relative importance of electron-phonon scattering and ionized-impurity scattering, and we critically assess the reliability of Matthiessen's rule. We also show that an accurate description of dielectric screening and carrier effective masses cam improve quantitative agreement with experiments.


A newly improved energy-filtered reflection high-energy electron diffraction apparatus equipped with three grids has been constructed, which is combined with an energy-loss measurement system using a channeltron detector, high frequency modulation of retarding voltage and a lock-in amplifier. The apparatus enables measurement of energy-loss spectra of reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) beams directly with an energy resolution of 6 eV. Efficiency of the apparatus has been demonstrated by energy-loss spectra measured from a Si(111)7×7 surface as an example.


The dynamic competition between structural transformation, Newtonian viscous flow, and anisotropic strain generation during ion irradiation of SiO2, leads to strongly depth-dependent evolution of the mechanical stress, ranging between compressive and tensile. From independent in situ stress measurements during irradiation, generic expressions are derived of the nuclear stopping dependence of both the structural transformation rate and the radiation-induced viscosity. Using these data we introduce and demonstrate the concept of a "stress map" that predicts the depth-resolved saturation stress in SiO2 for any irradiation up to several MeV.


Exchange of letters constituting an agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Uruguay regarding the hosting of the "United Nations Workshop on the International Economic and Social Classifications", to be held in Montevideo, from 14 to 18 March 2005. New York, 18 January 2005 and 10 March 2005


Objectives: There is a high rate of sudden death in epilepsy patients, part of which is sudden cardiac death. By investigating ECG T wave alternans and Q-T dispersion changes of epilepsy patients, we may predict the possibility of the occurrence of sudden death and provide basis for clinical prevention. Methods: Selecting 587 cases of epilepsy patients as the study group, 672 same period cases of healthy persons as the control group; Analyzing the effect of epilepsy on ECG T wave alternans and Q-T dispersion with the standard 12 lead ECG. Results: The study group had a significantly prolonged Q-T dispersion and an increased incidence of T wave alternans than that of the control group; Compared with other seizure types, tonic clonic seizure and absence seizure had a significantly prolonged Q-T dispersion and an increased occurrence rate of T wave alternans. Conclusions: Epilepsy patients ECG T wave alternans and Q-T dispersion has higher abnormal rate, and are prone to sudden cardiac death; Routine ECG(RECG) T wave alternans and Q-T dispersion changes can provide guidance for clinical prevention of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).


We present a buffer management scheme called dynamic resource allocation (DRA) that provides TCP traffic control guarantees to virtual channels (VCs) carrying multiple dynamic discard thresholds (MDT) over a wireless ATM network. A major task related to these systems addresses the call admission control and resource management. It is assumed that we have TCP wireless ATM networks integrating the code division multiple access (CDMA). The MDT scheme classifies the traffic into several classes and maintains a separate dynamic threshold buffer for each class. DRA is used on a FIFO buffer shared by several VCs. The DRA scheme offers an intelligent policy-based approach to traffic prioritizing, load balancing, and accounting that controls the most critical areas of the TCP rate monitoring using the large deviation principle. Through its advanced traffic control algorithms, the DRA guarantees minimal packet loss or retransmission, optimizes TCP throughput, and optimizes the use of the network to its maximum potential.


A high-voltage output flyback converter operating in DCM was designed.Steady-state input-output voltage transfer functions of the converter in the equilibrium were analyzed in detail.And output-voltage characteristics in both CCM and DCM were compared.It is concluded that,under certain load conditions,the flyback converter operating in DCM is more suitable for high-voltage output circuit than that operating in CCM.An experimental circuit was constructed to verify the conclusion.


Up-rating of electrical drives employed in mining installations, like mills and conveyors, is gaining interest for providing additional production capacity, process optimization in an effective way considering time, efficiency and economic factors while keeping reliability. This paper presents a review of the technical issues to be faced, concerning conceptual analysis, decision-making and different technical aspects, as well as the interaction between end users, consultants and manufacturers. After analysis of new operating conditions and trade-offs, decision making has to keep the margin factors for safety and reliability. For illustrating the main issues related with an uprating of an electrical drive, an example for a grinding line with a gearless mill drive is shown.


The relevance of logistics and increasing interest in its study are explained by the possibilities that increase the efficiency of Materials Science Systems, which reveal the use of the logistics method. Logistics reduces the time intervals from the purchase of raw materials and semi-finished products to the delivery of finished products to the consumer, contributes to a sharp reduction in inventory. The use of logistics speeds up the process of obtaining information and improves the level of Service. As foreign experience shows, logistics occupies a strategically important place in modern business. Many professionals who have achieved success in this field move to higher positions in the management of the company. Currently, the traditional functional areas of logistics in leading firms are combined into the basis of a common information and computer platform, creating a system of Strategic Innovation (Innovation). The logistics service is comprehensive. This includes transport, warehouse, inventory management, personnel Management, Information System Organization, commercial activities, etc. Each of these functions has been thoroughly studied and described in the relevant industry order. The novelty of the logistics approach is the basic relationship. The purpose of the logistics method is the continuous management of material flows. The introduction of logistics management methods in entrepreneurial practice allows many firms to reduce all types of stocks of production, equipment and products sold, accelerate the turnover of working capital, reduce production costs, reduce the costs associated with distribution, and ensure full satisfaction of consumers with goods and services. From this point of view, the relevance of the research work can be traced. In this regard, this study is relevant and relevant. Scientific novelty and practical significance - development of proposals for improving logistics at enterprises of the Republic of Kazakhstan.


The fluorination of arc-produced carbon material, which contained multiwall carbon nanotubes, was performed at room temperature by using a gaseous mixture of BrF3 and Br2. The elemental composition of the sample was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to be CF0.3Br0.02, while graphite is fluorinated up to a C2F stoichiometry under the same reaction conditions. The fluorinated carbon material and graphite fluoride were comparatively analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetry. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that only the outer shells of carbon nanotubes and polyhedral particles were fluorinated whereas the inner shells remained intact. We suggest that some of the arc-produced multiwall carbon nanotubes are composed of concentric cylindrical shells surrounded by nestled scrolls.


We study the volatility functional inference by Fourier transforms. This spectral framework is advantageous in that it harnesses the power of harmonic analysis to handle missing data and asynchronous observations without any artificial time alignment nor data imputation. Under conditions, this spectral approach is consistent and we provide limit distributions using irregular and asynchronous observations. When observations are synchronous, the Fourier transform method for volatility functionals attains both the optimal convergence rate and the efficient bound in the sense of Le Cam and Hajek. Another finding is asynchronicity or missing data as a form of noise produces "interference" in the spectrum estimation and impacts on the convergence rate of volatility functional estimators. This new methodology extends previous applications of volatility functionals, including principal component analysis, generalized method of moments, continuous-time linear regression models et cetera, to high-frequency datasets of which asynchronicity is a prevailing feature.


: Metal-ligand complexes of Cr(III), Mn(III), Fe(III), Ti(III), Co(III), Ni(III), and Cu(III) and with 3-(2-hydroxyl-3-Bromo-4-methyl phenyl)-5-phenyl isoxazoline [HBMPPI]. Generally these metal-ligand complexes are insoluble in water. The electrical conductivity of the metal-ligand complexes has been measured in wide range of temperature (315-493 K). At room temperature electrical conductivity (σ) values of the metal -ligand complexes lies in the range of (2.10 x 10 -9 to 2.60 x 10 -11 Ω -1 m 1 ) typical of semiconductors. After the observation plot graph of log σ vs 1/T were showed to be linear, also indicating the semiconducting nature of the metal-ligand complexes in the studied range of temperature. The general behavior of electrical conductivity (σ) obeys the relation σ = σ 0 exp (-Ea/ K T), where σ 0 is a constant, Ea, the activation energy of conduction process, T the absolute temperature and K the Boltzman constant. The energy of activation (Ea) of metal-ligand complexes is obtained from the slopes of plots which is in the 1.070 - 0.440 eV range and decreases in the order Ti > Cu > Cr > Fe > Co > HBMPPI > Mn > Ni.


Recently, semiconducting monolayers, such as MoS2 and WSe2, have been highlighted for their spin-valley coupling, diverse band structures, bendability, and excellent optoelectronic performances. With a subnanometer thickness of atomic layers, the transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDc) atomic layers demonstrate a significant photoresponse, considerable absorption to incident sunlight and favorable transport performances, leading to applications in the electronic circuit requiring low stand-by power, diverse optoelectronic devices, and next-generation nanoelectronics. Therefore, the class of monolayer TMDc offers a burgeoning field in materials science, fundamental physics, and optoelectronics. A feasible synthetic process to realize controlled synthesis of large area and high quality of TMDc monolayers is in demands. In this review, we will introduce the progress on synthesis and applications of the TMDc atomic layers.


International franchising in the hotel industry is still insufficiently researched theme in the literature. However, due to the fact that for the internationalization of the hotel chains it is necessary to ensure a large amount of capital, hotels increasingly decide to expand internationally through franchising. Therefore, it is necessary to devote more attention to franchising as the strategy of internationalization in the hotel industry. The greatest number of hotels which operate as franchisors comes from the U.S. On the other hand, the international franchising in hotel industry is significantly less developed in the rest of the world. Therefore, the paper focuses on the hotel franchise companies from the U.S. that have an international franchise units. The aim of the paper is to determine the impact of internal factors, the size and the age of the franchise system, on the use of franchising as a strategy of internationalization for hotel franchise company.