The modelling and the failure mechanisms of RC structures is a complex phenomenon because the constituent materials' strengths are combined to overcome their weaknesses. Therefore, the failure mechanisms have not been understood completely. Modelling concrete beams using plasticity approaches has gained a lot of attention because of its versatility. This research incorporates the plasticity model with continuum damage model to evaluate the modal frequency deterioration of the reinforced beams. These beams were incrementally damaged in flexure using finite element modelling. It was observed that the model represents the damage mechanism of RC beams quite reasonably. The dynamic response of the beams is also in line with the experimental results. Based on the dynamic response, it was observed that the modal frequencies are sensitive to damage at initial stages and there is not significant reduction in the natural frequencies at complete damage.


In the paper "Assessing Dangerous Climate Change: Required Reduction of Carbon Emissions to Protect Young People, Future Generations and Nature" published in PLOS One, 3 December 2013, James Hansen and thirteen co-authors warn about the possibility of irreversible climate change and its catastrophic effect on the world population. The question, therefore, needs to be answered as to whether the global warming phenomenon is becoming irreversible due to the complex global systems dynamics involved in satisfying the global energy demand. In this paper, the arguments that tend to support the irreversibility hypothesis are analyzed first. It is then shown that there may still be time to reverse the warming trend by tapping into a hitherto unexplored energy resource, namely the wind over vast ocean areas. The key to a complete conversion to emission-free power production, therefore, may be a fleet of large sailing ships equipped with hydro-turbines and electrolysers to split the seawater into hydrogen, which is then compressed and shipped back to shore. This "energy ship concept" therefore requires no new technology development effort, thus strengthening the argument that a transition to a sustainable hydrogen economy is possible.


Every transaction has the potential to go wrong and international commercial contracts are not spared this plight. It is when an international commercial contract fails – irrespective of the reasons, that the impact of different legal and cultural backgrounds of the parties come to light. The obvious venue for commercial disputes to be decided is generally understood to be in court (litigation) or before an arbitral tribunal (arbitration). However, there are numerous other alternative dispute mechanisms4 available to parties that are less well known and also deserve consideration; not least because they offer parties methods of resolving the dispute between them in a more time and cost-efficient manner, and with a stronger focus on the commercial interest of the parties. Mediation is one of these mechanisms.

This chapter provides an overview of the basic concepts of mediation; how it distinguishes itself from but can also be employed together with other dispute resolution mechanisms such as, in particular, arbitration; the legal framework; and practical guidelines when drafting a mediation agreement in the context of international commercial contracts.


Cryo-resistors with a low-temperature coefficient are of increasing importance in precision metrology. Recent theoretical calculations which take quantum corrections into account explain the limitations in the temperature coefficients observed in highly resistive materials.


The purpose of this paper, we prove some common fixed point theorems for Expanding onto self mappings in complete cone metric spaces. We are generalizing the wellknown recent results [10]. KEY WORD: Complete cone metric space, common fixed point, expanding mapping


This study develops site selection criteria for coastal tourism facilities in Taiwan. It discusses Taiwan's need for coastal tourism facilities as a participant in an interrelated world community, and how its expanded utilization of leisure time will encourage tourism while innovatively contributing to the country's well-being. Site selection criteria for coastal tourism facilities focus on ecological and cultural issues, diverse as site selection and conservation of Taiwan's natural and cultural heritage. A cumulative list of success factors serving seaside tourism, developed for site selection. The study also uses a decision tree presents evaluative findings. The process of selection criteria for coastal tourism facilities will contribute to coastal area tourism while enhancing Taiwan's quality of life and serving as a resource in the field of Tourism.


Drilling operation expanded through deep water environments starting from mid-1980s. As drilling operations are expanded through deep water environments, hydrate forming problem is occurred as a result of low temperature and high pressure profile. This case is generally faced during production from the deep water gas wells, since during the production phase, pressure and temperature distribution through the wellbore falls on hydrate stability interval. On the other hand in the drilling & completion phase, gas generated from the shallow sediments may form hydrates in downhole equipment like; subsea well heads, hanger profiles, subsea wellhead hanger pack-offs, subsea BOP stack & BOP funnel. Moreover in case of drilling through sediments including in-situ hydrates, as drilling goes deeper, heat transfer from well target-depth through the upper well sections, with drilling fluid circulation, will occur and temperature profile through the wellbore will change. As a result of heat transfer, overheating of the shallow well bore sections become possible. In such cases wellbore stability will decrease with the dissociation of the hydrate bearing sediments for the conductor or surface casings. Also, mentioned hydrate dissociation and gas migration through the surface may cause buoyancy problems in the location and lead to the failure of the floating drilling unit, since volumetrically 1ft3 of in-situ hydrate contains as much as 170scf of gas. When considering drilling operations, hydrate forming risk can be eliminated via using kinetic or thermodynamic inhibitors in the drilling fluid system. However, at the wellbore and behind cemented casings, changes on pressure and temperature will also lead to dissociation of shallow hydrate bearing sediments. When considering regular drilling operation, severe changes on pressure profiles are not expected but heat flux from deeper sections of the well through shallower section is the major parameter which will affect hydrate stability condition on downhole. In order to mitigate the risk mentioned above, in this study, Black Sea is taken as a reference drilling environment and wellbore temperature simulations are conducted. Hydrate stability curve is determined by using the data gathered from wells drilled in the region and experimental studies conducted on hydrate existence of the Black Sea. Effect of regional parameters such as geothermal gradient of the region, target depths and operation parameters and well bore geometry changes including; hole sizes, casing shoe depths, casing specifications, circulation rates, mud weights, mud type, mud inlet and outlet temperatures are interpreted. As a result, hydrate dissociation risk for deep water well is mitigated by optimizing well geometry and operation parameters.


1 2 Purchasing popular purebreds: Investigating the influence of breed-type on the pre3 purchase motivations and behaviour of dog owners 4 5 RMA Packer *, D Murphy ‡ and MJ Farnworth 6 7 Clinical Science and Services, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, 8 Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK 9 ‡ Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush 10 Veterinary Centre, Roslin, EH25 9RG, UK 11 § School of Biological Sciences, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 12 8AA, UK 13 14 *Contact for correspondence: firstname.lastname@example.com 15 16 Abstract 17 18


The USA could use its power to promote ?democracy? across the globe, they said. But they had a funny idea of democracy: it meant locking every country into a global economy with clear rules that would, over time, bypass governments and establish clear bonds between citizens and corporations. Fukuyama?s famous theory that we?d reached the ?end of history? was the highpoint of this line of thinking.


The immune receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (IREM‐1/CD300F) has been shown to inhibit various inflammatory processes in myeloid cells, such as macrophages and mast cells. IREM‐1 exerts its inhibitory effect through its intracellular immunoreceptor tyrosine‐based inhibition motifs (ITIMs). In order to generate immunomodulatory molecules that can regulate the inflammatory activation of macrophages, decapeptides representing each of the five ITIM‐like sequences in the cytoplasmic tail of IREM‐1 were synthesized in conjugation with human immunodeficiency virus‐transactivator of transcription (HIV‐TAT48–57), which was added to promote internalization of the peptides. Interestingly, all these TAT–ITIM fusion peptides inhibited Toll‐like receptor (TLR)‐mediated production of proinflammatory molecules, including matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐9, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, monocyte chemotactic protein‐1 (MCP‐1) and interleukin (IL)‐8. When various TLR ligands were used to stimulate the human macrophage‐like cell line human acute monocytic leukaemia cell line (THP)‐1, the TAT–ITIM peptides blocked both myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) and Toll‐interleukin 1 receptor (TIR)‐domain‐containing adapter‐inducing interferon‐β (TRIF)‐mediated TLR signalling pathways. Utilization of specific inhibitors and detection of the active form of signalling adaptors by Western blot analysis further demonstrated that the inhibitory effects of these TAT–ITIM peptides require activation of Src homology 2 (SH2)‐containing tyrosine phosphatase (SHP) and/or phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K). These data indicate that these synthetic peptides may be used to regulate immune responses that involve TLR‐mediated inflammatory activation of macrophages.


The recent years have seen extensive work on statistics-based network traffic classification using machine learning (ML) techniques. In the particular scenario of learning from unlabeled traffic data, some classic unsupervised clustering algorithms (e.g. K-Means and EM) have been applied but the reported results are unsatisfactory in terms of low accuracy. This paper presents a novel approach for the task, which performs clustering based on Random Forest (RF) proximities instead of Euclidean distances. The approach consists of two steps. In the first step, we derive a proximity measure for each pair of data points by performing a RF classification on the original data and a set of synthetic data. In the next step, we perform a K-Medoids clustering to partition the data points into K groups based on the proximity matrix. Evaluations have been conducted on real-world Internet traffic traces and the experimental results indicate that the proposed approach is more accurate than the previous methods.


1. Suy A, Sulleiro E, Rodó C, et al. Prolonged Zika virus viremia during pregnancy. N Engl J Med 2016; 375: 2611-3. 2. Meaney-Delman D, Oduyebo T, Polen KND, et al. Prolonged detection of Zika virus RNA in pregnant women. Obstet Gynecol 2016; 128: 724-30. 3. Driggers RW, Ho C-Y, Korhonen EM, et al. Zika virus infection with prolonged maternal viremia and fetal brain abnormalities. N Engl J Med 2016; 374: 2142-51. 4. Krauer F, Riesen M, Reveiz L, et al. Zika virus infection as a cause of congenital brain abnormalities and GuillainBarré syndrome: systematic review. PLoS Med 2017; 14(1): e1002203. 5. Lustig Y, Zelena H, Venturi G, et al. Sensitivity and kinetics of an NS1-based Zika virus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in Zika virus-infected travelers from Israel, the Czech Republic, Italy, Belgium, Germany, and Chile. J Clin Microbiol 2017; 55: 1894-901.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel-saving driving system constructing a road gradient information database concerning an upslope during traveling of the upslope and making advice and vehicle control for allowing fuel-saving traveling when traveling the upslope.SOLUTION: A fuel-saving driving system: acquires position information of an own vehicle by using a GPS sensor (S22); determines whether or not an estimated time to arrive at an upslope from a present position is within a predetermined time Tb (S23); when the determination result allows the own vehicle to arrive at the upslope within the predetermined time Tb, determines whether or not a shift position of a storage device is identical with a present shift position (S24); when the shift positions are identical, advises to travel with the present shift position (S25); when the present position is different, determines whether or not the present shift position is a high speed stage (S26); and when the present shift position is the higher speed stage than the shift position of the storage device, warns a driver in such a way that the vehicle speed should be reduced at the upslope (S27).


This article examines the role of assisted loans in accessing homeownership and in the residential segregation of low-income households in France. During the 1996-2006 period, no-interest loans (NILs) affected 1.4 million households and were the main policy tool that favored homeownership. We rely on French housing surveys and the administrative records on NILs to compare the position of social groups in the housing market before and after implementing NILs. We show that in a context of increasing housing prices, NILs have limited the exclusion of lowerand middle-class households from the new-build housing market outside the Paris region. Nevertheless, households with NILs tend to relocate to peripheral areas that are characterized not only by a lower proportion of professionals and managers than central areas, but also by lower access to public services and collective amenities. Moreover, in-depth interviews suggest that low-income households had no clear perception of the social and physical disconnections they would experience when they purchased their new homes.


With the 'cultural turn' in geography children have been positioned on the geographical agenda. There is an evident and growing interest amongst undergraduates in the geography of children as a topic for project work and dissertation study. This seems an appropriate time to consider a series of related ethical and methodological issues which are important when working with children. The paper is organised into four parts. First, discussion focuses on the background which has given rise to a growing expectation that social (geographical) investigation should be with children rather than on or for children. These ideas are presented in order to encourage students and their supervisors to think about their work from the perspective of children. Second, a set of ethical issues to do with working with children are discussed. Third, examples of good methodological practice when working with children are presented. Lastly, a range of provocative issues to do with geographers studying children are examined. Throu...


The article reveals the ideological link between Reformation, Chiliasm and the epoch of Modernity. The approaching "doomsday" or "millennial reign of the faithful" – such were the perspectives forecasted by numerous mystical thinkers and actors of Chiliastic views during the Age of Reformation. The Chiliastic notion of justice worked as the fermentation enzyme for many social and cultural transformations, which occurred in Europe in the 16th – first half of the 17th centuries.


Objective: To study prospectively pulmonary tuberculosis patients seen over 2 years. Design: All pulmonary tuberculosis patients admitted to Lassan Fever and Chest Hospital between June 1989 and May 1991 were studied. All demographic data, symptomatology, co-morbidities and chest X-ray findings were entered on a prepared form. Setting: Lassan Fever and Chest Hospital in Abha, Saudi Arabia. Subjects: All adult patients admitted to Lassan Fever and Chest Hospital with either bacteriologically proven pulmonary tuberculosis or those with symptom-complex and chest X-ray compatible with the tuberculosis responsive to chemotherapy were included in the study. Results: There were 113 males and 77 females. Fifty-one (26.8%) were over 60 years of age and 145 (76.3%) were Saudis. Dyspnoea and cough were more common while haemoptysis, chest pain, loss of weight and weakness were less frequent in females. Fifty-four (37.5%) had cavitary disease and five (3.2%) had only lower lobe involvement. Conclusions: Our patient population differed from those in other regions of Saudi Arabia by having the highest percentage of elderly Saudis and also diabetes; symptoms and cavitary diseases were also less frequently encountered.


Objectives Pregnant women are especially at risk of developing complications when infected with reproductive tract infections (RTIs). The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and genital mycoplasmas in pregnant women and investigate the associations between BV, genital mycoplasmas, HIV infection, age and gestational age. Design Cross-sectional study with descriptive and analytical components. Setting Antenatal clinic of a tertiary academic hospital in South Africa. Participants 220 pregnant women older than 18 were included in the study and provided self-collected vaginal swabs. Primary and secondary outcomes BV and genital mycoplasma colonisation and/or infection in women of differing age, gestational period and HIV status. Results The prevalence of BV was 17.7% (39/220) (95% CI 12.9 to 23.4), intermediate vaginal flora (IVF) 15% (33/220) (95% CI 10.56 to 20.42), and the overall prevalence of genital mycoplasmas was 84% (185/220) (95% CI 78.47 to 88.58). BV was significantly associated with HIV infection with an OR of 2.84 (95% CI 1.08 to 7.46 and p value=0.034). However, BV was inversely associated with gestational age with an OR of 0.08 (95% CI 0.01 to 0.42 and p value=0.003) for second trimester pregnancies and an OR of 0.03 (95% CI 0.01 to 0.17 and p value<0.001) for third trimester pregnancies using the first trimester as reference. IVF was significantly associated with HIV infection with an OR of 2.7 (95% CI 1.07 to 6.79 and p value=0.035) but not with age or gestational age. Genital mycoplasmas were not significantly associated with age, gestational age, HIV status, BV flora or IVF. Conclusions The high infection rate of genital mycoplasmas and the association of BV with HIV found in this study reiterate the importance of screening for these RTIs in high-risk groups such as pregnant women.


The German youth is relatively well informed about healthy eating, but does not act in accordance with this knowledge. It is also known from empirical studies that there is an association between lifestyles, food knowledge and the eating patterns of older teenagers. However, is there a similar correlation in regard to younger children? This article shows results of a study addressing this issue by empirically investigating leisure time activities, food intake and food knowledge.

The study conducted with 907 children, on average 12 years old, out of an urban region in northwest Germany using a written questionnaire, implies that food patterns and food knowledge have to be improved because they are – on average – only marginally acceptable. On this level, they are not in line with a healthy future.

For the first time in Germany, food patterns and food knowledge of seventh grade pupils were analysed in relation to their lifestyles. The study revealed four lifestyles. One family-oriented lifestyle and three non-family oriented lifestyles: outdoor and sociable youth, culture-oriented youth, and multimedia kids. The family-oriented lifestyle influences the children's food patterns in a positive way; the three found non-family-oriented lifestyles lead to less preferable food patterns.

The results imply that there is a phase of unhealthy food patterns at the beginning of the second life decade, which seems to be linked to the detachment from the parents and the gained independency, expressed by the first self-chosen lifestyles.

As lifestyles have such a vital influence on healthy eating, and family is no longer the place where children get their everyday competencies, school has to enable pupils to make healthier food and lifestyle choices.


The Internal Control Policy of Gazprom Neft PJSC, approved by the Board of Directors in 2017, is the principal document specifying goals, objectives, components, and principles of organisation and functioning of the company internal-control system. Efficient operation of the internal control system is based on the involvement of top managers, heads of structural units, and all employees of the company.


Patient. —B. A., colored, female, 25 years old, married, physical condition exceptionally good. Previous History. —The patient has had three children and two or three miscarriages. The youngest child was two and a half years old and still nursing. Until the month before her attack the patient had not menstruated since the birth of her last child. The duration of flow and loss of blood at this menstruation were much less than usual. The patient was never seriously ill in her life. There is no family history of tuberculosis or syphilis. Present Illness. —Sept. 23, 1906. The patient was apparently well and was away from home on a visit all day. During that night her husband was awakened by her restlessness and groans. After getting up he found her in a semiconscious condition and complaining of terrible pain in the back of her head. She vomited several times during the


Complex media objects are often described by multi-view feature groups collected from diverse domains or information channels. Multi-view learning, which attempts to exploit the relationship among multiple views to improve learning performance, has drawn extensive attention. It is noteworthy that in some real-world applications, features of different views may come from different private data repositories, and thus, it is desired to exploit view relationship with data privacy preserved simultaneously, i.e. not to share data features with other data repositories when training and testing the model. Existing multi-view learning approaches such as subspace methods and pre-fusion methods are not applicable in this scenario because they need to access the whole features, whereas late-fusion approaches could not exploit information from other views to improve the individual view-specific learners. Co-training methods can hardly deal with multiple views. Under the framework of co-training, by using view consistency defined on all the other view-specific classifiers' predictions on new unlabeled examples to enlarge training set of one view, this paper proposed a novel privacy-preserving multi-view learning approach. Empirical investigations on real datasets verify the validity of the proposed method on various tasks.


The noun suffixes of t~ha~(21), la~(55), pu~(55), pi~(21), ts~hl~(21),~hie~(35) in the northern Tujia language are used jointly with certain morphemes to compose nouns. They usually refer to the outward features of the nouns signified.


WebQuests are a powerful teaching and learning device that have developed rapidly in recent years, especially in the Humanities. In Australia, the use of WebQuests in Science has become popular. The multimedia product of students' investigations can be shared with a variety of audiences. In this article, I will explain what I understand to be a WebQuest, how I have used it to engage students in their own learning, and the important lesson that introducing WebQuests has retaught me.


The porcine-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed to detect the presence of pork in raw meat either in pure or in a mixture with different meat species. A porcine-specific DNA fragment could be amplified using porcine-specific primer designed based on a porcine specific sequence of mitochondrial D-loop gene. Amplification of porcine DNA produced 174 bp porcine-specific DNA fragment and no PCR products detected when assay applied to DNA of other meat species confirming the specificity of the primers. The assay has a high potential to be employed in detection of pork in raw meat products.


Fatigue damage in a mica-containing glass-ceramic is examined using Hertzian contact tests. For the material in its base glass state, such tests indicate that fatigue occurs solely by chemically enhanced cone crack extension. In the glass-ceramic, fatigue is evident as an expansion of a macroscopic subsurface microfracture zone. Comparative observations of the subsurface damage in static and cyclic loading, and tests in different environments, indicate that the fatigue in the glass-ceramic is mechanical in origin, although it is enhanced by moisture. This result is reinforced by load-point-displacement data, which reveal significant hysteresis in the glass-ceramic but not in the base glass. Flexure tests on Hertz-indented glass-ceramic specimens show only a slight loss of strength, <5%, over 10^5 cycles. This contrasts with the base glass which, although of higher laboratory strength, is subject to abrupt and severe strength degradation from cone crack pop-in. High magnification examination of the subsurface damage in the glass-ceramic suggests the underlying cause of the mechanical fatigue mechanism to be attrition of frictional tractions at closed microcrack interfaces.


What makes you so sure you want to be the owner of a new car? Some of us crave the feeling of driving and stand in awe before the curves of the latest convertible, but for an increasing number of people a car is just a means to get from A to B. With rent-a-bikes, public transportation and taxi app enabled ride sharing and, very soon, arrays of selfdriving autonomous vehicles, getting from A to B no longer means owning a car. As author Joe Barkai asserts in his book "The Outcome Economy"*, today's consumers are not after products anymore, they want solutions to their needs. In fact, customers of all types are after an "outcome" and we see this transformation happening across all industry sectors. For example, GE (General Electric) has ceased to sell aircraft engines and offers instead hours in flight (what they refer to as "Power by the Hour"). The product or tool has become irrelevant. The experience of the product and its outcome are what the customer pays for.


Aluminium phosphide is a solid fumigant pesticide, commonly used for grain preservation in almost every household of North India. Due to its efficacy, it was declared an ideal pesticide(l). However, in recent years, due to its low cost, free availability and highly toxic nature, it has emerged as the most commonly used, self-poisoning agent(24). It is reported that the total number of deaths due to aluminium phosphide poisoning has exceeded the number of fatalities in the Bhopal gas tragedy(5). Almost all the reported series have shown a higher incidence of poisoning in the adolescent age. Children can ingest the drug accidentally, but usually they are the innocent victims when it is given to them by parents who take it for suicidal reasons(2-4,6). Despite the alarming increase in the incidence of this poisoning, there is hardly any mention about it in the literature and text books.


This paper firstly presents the characteristics of the bus 1553B and its protocol implementation in the electronic equipment test system, and then introduces the implementation process for the bus controller and remote terminal in the system in detail. LabVIEW was adopted to realize the function in main controller and test terminal in the electronic equipment test system. The operation command, test data and state of data communication can be recorded in real time, so the test system of electronic equipment is convenient to monitor the data. The test results showed that the test system worked efficiently with low bit error rate.


Attitude changes and trend shifts, benchmarking importance characteristics changes, service delivery criteria changes and NPS changes from the results of a longitudinal study spanning 2 decades. The impact of the changes and shifts on a sales force. Presentation to a crop protection manufacturer's sales conference, Auckland


Contemporary reflection upon the category of entertainment supersystem proposed by Marsha Kinder can be combined with the concept of transmedia storytelling (Henry Jenkins) applied in numerous academic publications in various contexts and understandings. The subject of the author's reflection is the functioning of the BBC TV series, Doctor Who, and its media extensions. This BBC TV series is considered to be the most complex model example of transmedia storytelling. Both the classic series (1963–1989) and the 2005 Doctor Who reboot make researchers conduct a textual an-alysis which is inextricably linked to the research on television production practices. The new series of Doctor Who's adventures can be best described by the culture of convergence and its practices. While tracing the development of the brand, its historic and contemporary contexts inscribed in British cultural studies, as well as relations of the anchor product with the categories of transmed-iality and remediation — the author concludes that nowadays studying supersystems requires the application of much more complex research tools.


The invention discloses a post-processing method used for W-CMP and an apparatus thereof. The post-processing method comprises injecting steam mixing hot ammonia water with high-pressure nitrogen on the surface of a wafer in order to remove hydrogen peroxide. The method injects the mixed gas composed of the hot ammonia water and the high-pressure nitrogen on the surface of the wafer after polished by tungsten in order to clean the surface of the wafer with atomized ammonia water for removing residual hydrogen peroxide. Therefore, an effect of reducing tungsten corrosion is achieved and the reliability of a device is enhanced.


Introduction: Patient satisfaction is an essential indicator for assessment of the quality of care and there is evidence of its correlation with health outcomes. Satisfaction with health care is a multidimensional concept which considers aspects such as access, organization and patient-professional interactions. We believe that the nursing care, in particular, are critical in the health/disease process. Objectives: Validate a scale to assess the satisfaction of users with regard to nursing care, adapted from EUROPEP instrument and assess the satisfaction of users of the primary health care of the central region of Portugal. Methods: Cross-sectional study with a sample of 827 adult users (female 64.4%) with a mean age of 50,08±18,58 years. Data were collected through a questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic variables, the instrument EUROPEP (Ferreira, 1995) to assess satisfaction with primary health care and to assess satisfaction specifically with the nursing team we have created issues grouped in the help relationship, interpersonal and instrumental dimension. Internal consistency, reproducibility and content analysis were evaluated using the SPSS 23.0; considering the consistency acceptable to an α of Cronbach's alpha > 0.70. The coefficient for each item is presented with a confidence interval of 95%. Results: In all dimensions of EUROPEP questionnaire, the highest percentage of satisfaction with the care was between "good" and "very good". The dimensions created to evaluate specifically the nursing care showed a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of α total of 0.972. Conclusions: These results suggest that the dimensions created to evaluate nursing care will be useful for research on the Portuguese population. User satisfaction is crucial to the quality and efficiency of care, requiring the commitment of all service providers on implementation of systematic management practices leading to satisfaction, giving particular attention to the continuous improvement of organizational processes.


In this article, detection of damage using some of the commercially available smart sensors/actuators is addressed. This study considers two important smart materials, namely, the lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which is a piezoceramic material and Terfenol-D, which is a magnetostrictive material. Both of these smart material types have two constitutive laws, namely, the sensing and actuation laws. Here, we use sensing law, wherein the electric displacements are coupled to the mechanical strain and the electrical field in the case of PZT material, while in Terfenol-D, the sensing law couples the magnetic flux density to the mechanical strain and the magnetic field. Finite elements are used as mathematical models for the prediction of damage. Different types of structures under both static and dynamic loadings are considered to demonstrate the effectiveness of the smart sensors in predicting the presence of damage. Some experimental results are provided to correlate the results obtained from the finite elements.

Keywords:

sensors;
actuators;
constitutive model;
PZT;
Terfenol-D;
delamination;
finite elements


This document focuses on making off-the-shelf controllers applicable for high available electronic ship systems. The goal of such systems is to reduce a ship's downtime and the resulting damage that occur within conventional electronic ship systems. In detail a standardized communication middleware, called Data Distribution Service (DDS), is used to build a fault tolerant system. After a short description of the standard, this article evolves an analysis showing that DDS can be used to build electronic ship systems out of general purpose controllers. On the one hand this is done by investigating the fault tolerant capabilities of DDS. On the other hand special attention is paid to proof that DDS can be used without constraint for any fault tolerant ship application. The analysis is completed by a maritime test set-up. At the end the advantages of using DDS are explained.


This master thesis aims to highlight the possibilities for language learning with the help of "smart" mobile devices. We will refer to m-learning and will see what exactly it is and if it has any effect in the learning process. Then we will develop an application will help the users to learn English either individually or as a part of a class, with the help of android devices. In this application, there will be chapters with language learning exercises where the students will discover the new knowledge through trial and error. This application will also provide the opportunity of practicing the new language through simulated dialogues as the application will include a robot (chatterbot) with which the learner can interact. Finally we will create a program for teachers which will give them the ability to manage data of the android application and will provide them with a system for creating classes and manage students and courses.


1. Britain and and the birth of Franco's Spain, 1936-39 2. Defining a policy 3. Opposition 4. The Spanish scene 5. Strategic diplomacy: September-October, 1940 6. Economic diplomacy: September-December, 1940 7. The Tangier crisis 8. The limits of attraction 9. The exhaustion of diplomacy.


connective tissue in the liver after ligature of the portal vein, as I have found after ligature of the bile-ducts. This overgrowth of the conniective tissue was not altogether unknown to the older pathologists. Albers (I3cobach/tuuzngen oalf (leitt Gebiete ot'er Patholooie, 13oiBon, i% 6, 1). I9), in speaking of cases of obstruction anti (lilatationi of the bile-(lucts, says the parenchyma of the liver is granular, rough, coloure(I yello)W ish blrown; and that in onie case the liver was really ciirhotic. It appears, lie continues to say, that the cellular tissue of the liver is partly atrophied, partly indurated. Andral (Clinique 1Af'ticale, vol. ii, p 534, 4th edition, Paris, 1839) noticed, in a man whose bile-ducts wcie much dilated, that the liver was small, deep green, very (leuse, andcl granular oni the surface and section. These changes Andral seems to attribute to a fall on the right hypochondrium two years before death; but it should be noticed that the man had also been a drunkard. The changes whiclh the liver-cells undergo are less striking. Leyden (loe. cit.), from his exl)erimeints, drew too hasty a generalisation that a fatty infiltration of the cells followed all obstruictions to the bile-ducts. This is not universally the case either in man or in animals. In man, I have yet to meet wvith the case in wlhich fatty infiltration was the most promiisenit appearance. In some cats who died within a short time of the bile-ducts being tied, I have, indeed, seeni this appearance; but I am inclined to attribute it to the liver having been fatty before the duct wa^as tied-a state not at all utmcommon in domestic animals. The chief change in the liver-cells is atroplhy. The size of the cells varies from a little smaller than natural, to twice that of a leucocyte when the growth of the connective tissue has been great. When the conniective tisstse shovs less appearance of growth, the cells are less altered; they then preserxe very niearly their natuiral shape anid size. In other cases, the shape varies xvith the size; they tend to become oval or rounded ; their outline indistinct. The nucleus is well preserved, shrivelled, or invisible. The contents of the cells seem to be chiefly fat and a few pigment-graniules: the fat is rarely in large drops; and the pigment, in the cases which I have observed, not so abundant as the writings of others ledime to expect. The arrangement of the cells in rays around the hepatic vein is altogether lost, when the obstruction has existed for any leng-th of time. One of the mliost important functions of the lix-er knowni to us is the preparation of -lyco-en. T have made several observations bearing ul)on the quiestion, wvlietlher the liver continues its glycogenic fuinctions when the gall-ducts are completely obstruicted. I have found that, in cats, the gylycogeni disappears from the liver within a fewcdays after the bile-ducts lhave been tied; and also that, on the fifth or sixth day after ligature of these ducts, irritation of the fourth ventricle is not followed by the appearance of sugar in the urine (A';vchiv ffirex-e. Patholo0g59ie, 1874). It wvotul appear, therefore, that xvithin a fewcl days after completc obstructioln to the gall-ducts, the liver ceases to secrete glycogen. Another fuinction of the liver, that of secreting the bile-acids, is believed by Golowin (A;-h/zir-firi pathol. Ano(7t., 187I, vOl. liii, p. 433) to be abolishe(d in longconitilnuied jaundice. He found that, in dogs in which biliary fistulzv hlad been made ani(I again closed, the bile-acids could not be discovered in the urine; and he concludes therefrom that, in long continued jaunidice, the bile-acids are no longer produced. Furtlher evidence will, lowever, be required before this opinion can be universally assented to. Some physiologists appear to believe that the urea and uric acid excrete(d in the uriine are formed in the liver. The experiments of Gscheidllen ( St/cVulL a deit Ui-sprang dles IIoa;shjfs irm ThickIN;-pedi--, Leipzig, IS7I) seemli to manke this theory more thani doubtfLil. Ihowcver this may be, in complete obstruction to the gall-ducts I have several times founiid tliat, althouglh the urine was much increased in quantity, yet the ailmouit of urea excretedI in the twenty-four hours was uite niatural. In some cases of 1(mlo conitiniued obstruction to the bile-ducts, the liver-cells lhxae been foundi(I completely destroyed; lnothing but a fatty 1ett. itus bein seee uiim(ler the microscope, and not a single liver-cell Oeing found ill aily of the preparations. I have myself seen this appearance only in acuite )cllow atr-opliy of tlle lixer. Yet it is notew!orthy, that the v-eiy irst casil u wich the liver-cells were founcd to be dissolved was onie in wlhiich a peranent obstrtiction to the ducts existed (Tlhomias W\illian11s, (,a1' os/itel lCMJo;-ts, 1843, P. 444). The relation, aIS to caulse aola efft, et whiclh exists betw-een obstruction to the bilepassages anid (lissolution of the cells, is dctiious. I am unable to admit Oskar W\yss e\xl)la-nation, that the soluition of the cells is simply a post mortemt change. I lisve freqluently kept a liver from a jaundiced patient, even in the lieat of slimmer, without any preservative fluid, and yet beenl able to ieconise the cells many days after death. In one ease, wlhere the obstutiction to the ducts was complete, and the jadurdice had lasted a year, the liver-cells were easily recognised on the seventh (lay after death, when the liver gave plain signs of putrefaction. This solution of the cells was attributed by Theodor von Dusch (U,,'ntersuchungen undExperizente als Beitrag zurPathogenese des Ictetus anzd (er acutent ge/ben Atrophije der Leber, Leipzig, 1854, p. 36) to the action of the bile upon the liver; but his statement, that the bile dissolves the liver-cells, has been disproved very satisfactorily by Kiihne (Archivfiirpatho/. Anat., i858, vol. xiv, p. 324). It is true that the bile renders the outline of the cells indistinct, and the cells themselves become difficult to see; but the outline of the cells can always be restored by the addition of some colouring matter to the slide. I have verified these experiments on several occasions; and there is no likeness whatever between the sudden and complete disappearance of the red blood-corpuscle when actedl on by bile, and the slow obliteration of the outline of the liver-cell under the same circumstances. It is still important, however, to keep in view the results of Leyden's experiments (Beitriig-e zutr Patlho/ogie des lcterus, Berlin, i866, p. 6o) upon the slow absorption of the bile-acids. He found that, after injection of the bile-acids under the skin of frogs, the liver-cells showed a marked fatty infiltration; the muscular fibre of the heart a diffused granular appearance. In one case, it is stated that the liver-cells were destroyed. The bile-acids had produced a parenchymatous degeneration of the liver and heart-a common effect of many poisons, such as phosphorus, sulphuric acid, alcohol, etc., and, as I have recently showvn, of raising the natural temperature of the body (Trans. of the PaIthao/ogica/ Society, I873, vol. xxiv, p. 266). It is quite possible that in these cases, where the liver-cells are found destroyed after death, the long continued circulation of the bile-acids in the blood may have produced their physiological effect, as described by Leyden; and the livercells may have thus been dissolved. The appearance of solution of the cells of the liver is, however, not often met with outside acute yellow atrophy; and it would be desirable to have recorded further cases, well authenticated by competent observers.


Preliminary measurements with high energy x-rays from the SRI CAT 1-ID beam line at the Advanced Photon show great promise for the measurement of stress and strain using diffraction. Comparisons are made with neutron measurements. Measurements of strains in a 2 mm thick 304 stainless steel weld show that excellent strain and spatial resolutions are possible. With 200 {micro}m slits, strain resolutions of 1 x 10{sup {minus}5} were achieved.


Purpose of reviewHigh-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a molecule that has gained much attention in the last couple of years as an important player in innate immune responses and modulating factor in several (auto)immune diseases. Furthermore, advancements have been made in identifying the diverse functions that HMGB1 can play in the body by studying its receptors, pathways and effects. This review will focus on the modulation of HMGB1 in animal models of (auto)immune diseases. Recent findingsIn different disease models like sepsis, ischemia–reperfusion and arthritis, HMGB1-blocking therapies have been tested and the disease course was shown to be ameliorated. SummaryThese findings indicate that HMGB1 is an important mediator in innate immunity, inflammation and sterile injury. Furthermore, HMGB1 might be a new therapeutic target in inflammation and autoimmune diseases, which may be translated to the clinic.


Highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) such as Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are essential for the growth and survival of marine animals [1]. Rhodomonas sp. is used in this study because of its high level contents of HUFAs [2]. For this reason, in the case of this species, it is expected to be used for the purpose of strengthening nutrition. Although microalgae are said to have an influence on the composition of algal bodies by culture conditions and harvest time [3], its effect varies from species to species. Even in this species, although it has been confirmed that the nutritional value is high by the component analysis test and feeding test, it is yet to be studied how the culture environment and the harvest time affect the nutritional value. If the content of n-3 HUFAs in microalgae is increased which is important for marine animals in aquaculture it is considered that the value of nutrition can be improved from a nutritional aspect by effectively examining the culture conditions and harvest time. Fatty acid composition in microalgal cells vary by changes in the culture environment. In this study, Rhodomonas sp. was cultured at different growth phases (log-phase of growth, transitional phase, stationary phase), incubation temperatures (16, 20, 24°C) and photon flux densities (PFD: 50, 200, 550 μmol m2 s1).


The rapid growing demand of fast information storage and processing has driven the development of resistive random access memories (RRAMs). Recently, the RRAMs based on organometal halide perovskite materials have reported promising memory properties, which are essential for next-generation memory devices. In this study, a hybrid 2D/3D perovskite heterostructure is created by depositing n-butylammonium iodide on top of the 3D perovskite CH3NH3PbI3-xClx (MAPbI3-xClx) surface. The perovskite film is fabricated via a simple one-step spin-coating method with a room-temperature molten salt methylammonium acetate in the air. The resistive switching memory devices with 2D/3D perovskite heterostructure exhibit significantly improved switching window (ON/OFF ratio over 103) with a relatively lower operation voltage in comparison to their 3D counterparts. The 2D/3D perovskite heterostructure is helpful for forming uniform crystalline grain, high-compact structure and passivation of defect states for MAPbI3-xClx film and interface, which result in the improved memory properties. These results provide a new perspective on developing high performance perovskite-based memory devices.


Chirp characteristics of silicon based Mach-Zehnder-interferometer (MZI) modulators with forward biased P-I-N diode and reverse biased PN diode are analyzed, respectively. Simulation result shows that the chirp parameter is negative and influenced by the carrier absorption effect, the amplitude and frequency of applied sinusoidal modulating signals.


Conventional buildings, which are those constructed with an inefficient use of resources, are an indirect cause of disruption to the natural ecosystem and a way in which humans are inducing climate change (Daily, 1997). Sustainability issues that need to be addressed, which can be addressed in green building design, construction, and occupation, include a reduction in the world's freshwater supply and natural resources, along with degraded energy flows (Yudelson, 2007). In addition, the political processes of many countries have been occupied with the introduction of the so-called 'green equation,' which posits that ''environment plus green building equals sustainable future'' (Thaler and Sustein, 2008). Over the last two decades green buildings have become a dominant political discourse in many countries (Carter and Ockwell, 2007), with policymakers and governments believing that green buildings create incentives for improved consumer knowledge with regard to low carbon living and green lifestyles (Chan, Qian, and Lam, 2009). Although this study explored occupiers of green and non-green residential stock in Malaysia, the findings may be replicated in other countries. Malaysia has a population around 30 million people, and is a federal constitutional monarchy. The gross national product of Malaysia has grown on average 6.5% per annum for the last 50 years. This strong economic growth and a mature property market 2 W i l k i n s o n , V a n D e r K a l l e n , a n d K u a n with green building rating tools made it worthwhile to examine occupier attitudes and behaviors in the Malaysian green residential property market. It is posited that research exploring the relationship between the occupation of green residential buildings and pro-environmental behavior and beliefs is important as it can assist policymakers in more targeted and effective decision making. R e s e a r c h Q u e s t i o n s This paper evaluates the green citizenship characteristics of green homeowners and/or occupants. The variables used to measure these concepts are proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors as represented by environmental beliefs, attitudes, and actions. Although these variables represent a low number of predictors in a complex array of variables, measuring them is of interest because of their importance in predicting pro-environmental cognition and behavior. The research questions the paper seeks to answer are as follows: (1) Are the green citizenship characteristics of occupants of residential properties improved after buying and/or occupying a green building? (2) To what extent do occupants exhibit the characteristics of 'green citizenship' with high levels of proenvironmental beliefs, attitudes and behaviors? The Relationship between Green Buildings and Occupant Behaviors and Attitudes Green building involves the construction of resource-efficient buildings with innovative technologies to reduce energy and water consumption and improve waste management (Chan, Qian, and Lam, 2009). However, for green buildings to deliver sustainability, occupants need to possess pro-environmental awareness to recognize the ability of green buildings to address negative environmental impacts (e.g., the use of high embodied energy materials or the over consumption of energy leading to excessive building-related CO2 emissions). Furthermore, these occupants need to be able to use the resource-efficient technical constructs of green buildings optimally (Hostletler and Noiseux, 2010), and therefore proenvironmental behavior is needed to complement these constructs (Dobson, 2007; Williams and Dair, 2007). For the purposes of this research, occupiers are deemed to include renters or buyers. In order to be perceived as 'green citizens' (Exhibit 1), occupants have to demonstrate a strong relationship between their proenvironmental cognitions and behaviors (Dobson, 2007; Martinsson and Lundqvist, 2010). According to Thaler and Sunstein (2000), when green buildings are occupied by green citizens, a 'green' living framework is realized and a successful 'contractual relationship' between the occupants and the environment is established. At this point, technological fixes can be reconciled with social transformation to realize the so-called 'green equation.' Conversely, if occupiers of green buildings are not green citizens, it is considered that green building will have fallen short of its implied socio-political objectives (Thaler and Sunstein, 2000). To date, there has been little understanding of whether green building occupants were originally green citizens, and/or if green buildings act as a catalyst G r e e n B u i l d i n g s a n d P r o e n v i r o n m e n t a l B e h a v i o r 3 J O S R E V o l . 5 N o . 1 – 2 0 1 3 Exhibit 1 Theoretical Framework of Green Citizenship, Cognition, and Behavior


Present day apparatus and technic have increased the frequency with which the crater of a doudenal ulcer can be demonstrated. Many investigators still feel that duodenal deformity is sufficient for the diagnosis of ulcer and make no attempt to determine the absence or presence of crater. The demonstration of crater not only establishes activity but, as in the case of gastric ulcer, is useful in following the healing during a course of medical treatment. DEFORMITY Deformity of the duodenal bulb is an indirect sign that may occasionally result from extraneous influences, 1 may not be demonstrable even in the presence of a rather large crater, gives no objective clue as to the presence of active or healed ulcer and may decrease, remain stationary or increase, with resulting stenosis, during a course of medical treatment. In rare instances the deformity may be caused by adhesions or invasion of the duodenum by


The present invention relates to a sealing device (1) for sealing at least one first volume of a device (100) for the treatment of at least one medical fluid with respect to at least one second volume, wherein the first volume is designated to accommodate at least one external function device. The sealing device (1) comprises at least one first interconnection device (7) for connecting the sealing device (1) to the device (100). The invention further relates to a device (100) and to a method.


The document is a description of the different phases in design exploration using media experimental methods at the University of Kaiserslautern.


This article enquires into the role of time in 2 Samuel 11 – the story of David, Bathsheba and Uriah. This is done by first demarcating 2 Samuel 11:2-27a as a narrative unit and determining the scenes of the narrative. An analysis of time, on the basis of the narrative theory of Gérard Genette, then follows. It can be clearly seen in this analysis, amongst other things, that the main theme of this narrative is rather the murder of Uriah than the adultery of David and Bathsheba.


The rotation of trainee registrars in obstetrics and gynaecology to peripheral centres in South Australia was introduced for the first time in January 1998. A pilot study of the use of telemedicine to maintain the trainees' involvement in the established weekly training sessions conducted at the Women's and Children's Hospital (WCH) was also commenced at the same time. Sessions were problem based and required the trainees to be actively involved throughout. An electronic voting system(EVS) was used by the WCH audience, with the results of all responses being seen at the peripheral centres. Initial evaluation of the EVS as an educational tool was sufficiently positive to justify further studies of its use in this environment. The availability of voting units at the peripheral sites, used in conjunction with the main centre, will provide an exciting opportunity for further research.


Metal matrix syntactic foams (MMSFs, often referred as composite metal foams (CMFs)) are lightweight materials with high specific strength. MMSFs are on the borderline between metal matrix composites and metal foams. On one hand MMSFs are composites, because they are filled by hollow particles and the particles may add strength to the material. On the other hand, they are foams, because the hollow particles ensure porosity to the material. Among metallic foams, MMSFs exhibit outstanding specific mechanical properties due to the hollow inclusions that are typically made from ceramics or high strength alloys, therefore they can be applied as structural materials. The goal of this paper is to summarize the available data on the mechanical properties of MMSFs with aluminum matrix in order to give a strong support to the design engineers. Since the foams are most frequently loaded in compression, the main part of this paper is organized around the available standard related to the compressive properties of porous materials and metallic foams. The quasi‐static results are complemented by properties measured at higher strain rates. Besides this, some insight into the basic fatigue properties as well as into the toughness of MMSFs is also provided.


We experimentally demonstrated 11.1 Gb/s QAM-16 direct-detection OFDM transmission over 1600 km of uncompensated standard fiber using 0-5.55 GHz band. We also investigated the effect of self-phase modulation and observed penalties comparable to systems using QPSK-OFDM.


UNLABELLED
The aim of this study was to examine the enhancement of antitumor immunity of irradiated granulocyte macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene-transduced mouse breast cancer cells.

METHODS
BALBMC mouse were vaccinated subcutaneously with saline or irradiated mouse breast cancer cells, BALBMC (1 x 10(6)/mouse), infected or not infected with recombinant adenovirus harboring GM-CSF gene on day-7. Mice were injected with parental cells (1 x 10(5)/mouse) on day 0.

RESULTS
No mice vaccinated with irradiated GM-CSF producing BALBMC cells developed a tumor during the observation period of up to 16 weeks, whereas 100% of mice injected with saline developed a tumor.

CONCLUSION
Our study demonstrates the feasibility of this immunotherapeutic approach as a novel adjuvant cancer therapy after surgery for breast cancer.


There is an increasing trend to use products manufactured from the Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics or Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites in the industry like aerospace, automotive, sports, medical, renewable energy etc. It is because of the lighter weight, higher strength, hence, higher strength-to-weight ratio of these materials, their higher corrosion resistance, higher fatigue resistance etc. Manufacturing of products from CFRP composites need precise machining, including cutting. Cutting of these materials is very difficult and inefficient with non-laser traditional techniques. Using continuous wave (cw) or pulsed fiber lasers solves many of these limitations of cutting CFRP composites. These processes have been optimized by many researchers for reducing the heat affected zones (HAZ) by optimizing the laser parameters like its power, pulse duration, feeding speed etc. Finally the environmental hazards of laser-based cutting of CFRP composites and the safety measures are also discussed in this paper.


changing meanings of certain roles and titles. Also, an illustration of the much discussed clepsydras or water clocks would equally have aided further comprehension. Blake extrapolates well how and why the caustic decline of the centrifugal Caliphal regime in Baghdad altered, eroded and/or consolidated the elementary hegemonies of regional politics and their social strictures, but I would like to have read a little more about the impact of the calendrical developments in other more peripheral Muslim societies (South East Asia, for example, or the east African coastline). On the other hand, there are three excellent maps to help flesh out some of the more obscure geographical imagery and the extensive footnotes are exemplary – these thorough and sensitive pointers alone will serve students with an interest in the unfolding and complicated inner dynamics of the three historical empires very well indeed. A compelling read, this work could quite easily serve as a primer for readers new to the field of modern Islamic history. Blake has a natural and beguiling gift for transforming otherwise deadly dull data, numerological obscurantism, opaque eschatological debates, natal astrology (or Genethlialogy), and dry-as-dust documents about the "arts of prognostication – the cabalistic interpretation of letters and names" (167) into fairly riveting and exuberant stories articulating extraordinary depths of perception. Thankfully, this book focuses on social and cultural perspectives and issues rather than on the exact details of the mathematical quandaries, and is sustained by a profound knowledge of both the subject matter and the theory behind historical literature – then and now. Representations of past collective religious identities and historiographies often involve assessments and processes that can be contentious. Blake clearly has a rare talent for wise observation and deft construction. This work of his is marked by its assiduous scholarship, entertaining interpolations and interpretations, and an adroit conceptualization of an important subject.


The paper simply introduces a single-chip test instrument for reproduction period ,which based on the action law of basic temperature for woman. It provides the logical diagram and flow diagram of the program.


Submitted for the MAR12 Meeting of The American Physical Society Improving Event Identification in the HF Calorimeter of CMS CHRISTOPHER FRYE, University of Central Florida, JEREMIAH MANS, University of Minnesota, COMPACT MUON SOLENOID COLLABORATION — The Forward Hadron Calorimeter (HF) of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) lies in a region not covered by an inner tracking system, and we can rely only on the shapes of showers that hit the HF to determine whether or not they are due to electromagnetic particles. We review the current method of distinguishing shower types in the HF, and we bring attention to a drawback that will become present as the luminosity of the LHC increases and creates a need for tighter shower-shape cuts. We provide a method to correct this drawback, and we analyze the effectiveness of various tight cuts at isolating signal from background. Christopher Frye University of Central Florida Date submitted: 08 Nov 2011 Electronic form version 1.4


Bilateral hilar 18F-FDG–avid foci are often noted on PET studies of patients without lung cancer. This finding may lead to diagnostic uncertainty about the presence of metastatic disease. Our objective was to evaluate features of these foci associated with benign or malignant etiology. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of patients with cancer with bilateral hilar foci on 1 or 2 sequential 18F-FDG PET studies between 2002 and 2006. Patients with lung cancer, sarcoidosis, or anthracosis/silicosis were excluded. Variables evaluated were maximum standard uptake values (SUV max), purity (absence of 18F-FDG–avid foci in nonhilar mediastinal nodes), symmetry (difference between left and right side SUV max), the primary tumor, node size determined by CT, and, in those who participated in 2 studies, stability of uptake over time. The gold standard was histologic diagnosis or long-term clinical follow-up (range, 19–41 mo; mean, 25 mo). Results: Fifty-one patients with the finding of bilateral hilar 18F-FDG–avid foci underwent a staging-only PET study; 52 scans from an additional set of patients demonstrated this abnormality on at least 1 of 2 sequential studies, the first of which was performed for staging. On univariate analysis, variables associated with malignancy were SUV max (6.6 ± 4.1 vs. 3.5 ± 1.0 for benign, P < 0.001; t test); impurity (P < 0.001; χ2 test), with 79% of impure scans versus 18% of pure scans being malignant; node size determined by CT (P = 0.027); and change in uptake between scans 1 and 2 (change in SUV = 2.7 ± 2.1 vs. 0.73 ± 1.1 for benign, P < 0.01; t test). Variables associated with benign etiology were: symmetry (difference between left and right sides = 0.57 ± 0.54 for benign vs. 1.8 ± 1.7 for malignant, P < 0.01), purity, and colorectal primary (75% of colorectal were benign vs. 34% of breast, 49% of lymphoma, and 37% of other, P = 0.030; χ2 test). After multivariate analysis, SUV max and purity were found to be independent predictors, with the odds of malignancy increasing by 1.54 (95% confidence interval, 1.16–2.05) for each unit increase in SUV and decreasing by 0.08 (95% confidence interval, 0.03–0.22) if pure. Conclusion: In patients with nonlung cancer, in particular colorectal, foci of symmetric and mild uptake limited to the hilar regions that are stable on 2 sequential PET studies despite intervening anticancer therapy are likely related to a benign etiology.


The University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning used an Appreciative Inquiry process to develop organizational values rooted in social justice, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The college compact 'describes the environment the college wishes to create and the behaviors it hopes its community members will exhibit. These shared values articulate their commitments for their interactions and relationships with one another'.


The mass m{sub {eta}{sub c}} and total width {Lambda}{sub tot}{sup {eta}{sub c}} of the {eta}{sub c} meson have been measured in two-photon interactions at the SLAC e{sup +}e{sup -} asymmetric B-Factory with the BABAR detector. With a sample of approximately 2500 reconstructed {eta}{sub c} {yields} K{sub S}{sup 0}K{sup {+-}} {pi}{sup {-+}} decays in 88 fb{sup -1} of data, the results are m{sup {eta}{sub c}} = 2982.5 {+-} 1.1 (stat) {+-} 0.9 (syst) MeV/c{sup 2} and {Lambda}{sub tot}{sup {eta}{sub c}} = 34.3 {+-} 2.3 (stat) {+-} 0.9 (syst) MeV/c{sup 2}. Using the same decay mode, a second resonance with 112 {+-} 24 events is observed with a mass of 3630.8 {+-} 3.4 (stat) {+-} 1.0 (syst) MeV/c{sup 2} and width of 17.0 {+-} 8.3 (stat) {+-} 2.5 (syst) MeV/c{sup 2}. This observation is consistent with expectations for the {eta}{sub c}(2S) state.


This paper highlights the ways in which households experience a disaster and subsequent recovery, particularly the experiences of Latinos with limited English language proficiency that were impacted by severe flooding in the towns of Lyons, Milliken and Evans, Colorado from September 11-13, 2013. Survey interviews were conducted with nearly 75 impacted households, of which 24 were Spanish-speaking, to gather data about household recovery. Preliminary findings indicate that Spanish-speaking Latino households in these Colorado communities experienced barriers to receiving information and instances of discrimination; were able to access federal funding sources; were long-time residents who depended on their communities and faced housing challenges because of their undocumented status.


To prevent credential stuffing attacks, industry best practice now proactively checks if user credentials are present in known data breaches. Recently, some web services, such as HaveIBeenPwned (HIBP) and Google Password Checkup (GPC), have started providing APIs to check for breached passwords. We refer to such services as compromised credential checking (C3) services. We give the first formal description of C3 services, detailing different settings and operational requirements, and we give relevant threat models. One key security requirement is the secrecy of a user's passwords that are being checked. Current widely deployed C3 services have the user share a small prefix of a hash computed over the user's password. We provide a framework for empirically analyzing the leakage of such protocols, showing that in some contexts knowing the hash prefixes leads to a 12x increase in the efficacy of remote guessing attacks. We propose two new protocols that provide stronger protection for users' passwords, implement them, and show experimentally that they remain practical to deploy.


The current queueing model in TRANSYT does not consider the dynamics of queue build-up and discharge, neither does it use queue-length as an optimising parameter. Manual adjustments have to be made to signals affected by "queue-back" after TRANSYT timings have been set up. The article describes the development of a model, which is sensitive to storage capacity, and is based on the probability that a given queue can be accommodated on a link in a network. The probability function has been derived and calibrated from comprehensive field and simulation studies of queues. The queueing performance measure has been translated into an indicator of road-space and incorporated in the TRANSYT 7 as a traffic performance index. Examples are given to show that the maximum queue length may be predicted more accurately, indicating where over-queueing occurs and whether it occurs during red or green phases. (TRRL)


A radiochemical procedure to separate mCi quantities of carrierfree " M o from irradiated uranium targets is described. "Mo(VI ) was quantitatively adsorbed onto small columns of charcoal impregnated with tin(IV) chloride from fission products solution in 0.25 Μ HCl. From a single adsorption-desorption cycle, > 8 6 % " M o was recovered in 10 cm 0.75 Μ NaOH eluent with > 99.6% radionuclidic purity. A product purity of >99.98% " M o was obtained by recycling on a new column. The suitability of the produced " M o for preparation of " M o / " m T c generators was verified by adsorption on alumina columns and " m T c elution with saline solution.


Forest fires in Mediterranean ecosystems have complex effects on geomorphological and ecological processes. The increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires make historical mapping of forest fires very important. Maps of fire frequency, severity, size, and pattern are useful for strategically planning of fire and forest management, and the assessment of current ecological conditions and future fire risk. The Mount Carmel ridge and Jerusalem hills represent two different Mediterranean landscapes: natural and planted forest. Over the past few decades both areas have suffered a large number of forest fires, of which only a few have been documented. The aims of this study were (a) to create a GIS database, and analyze the forest fire patterns in the regions; and (b) to compare the areas, and determine the fire return interval. A GISbased archive was compiled using data from the Jewish National Fund (JNF) for the period 1987–2007, and other sources, extending the record to 1939–2009 for Mount Carmel, and to 1964–2009 for the Jerusalem hill region. Research analyses included the characterization of the changes in the number of fires during the study period, estimating return intervals, and identifying the factors affecting the spatio-temporal properties of the forest fires. In the Jerusalem hills a significant decrease in the number of forest fires and their average size was observed, while these patterns were not observed on Mount Carmel over the same period. In addition, the analysis indicated that most fires occurring during this period were small in area.


This study is to illustrate Hamlet's monologues in terms of audience. The first monologue is about the meanillgless of world affairs, the confusion of the world, the love of Hamlet's dead king and his mother. the despair and the disillusion of the mother's hasty remarriage. Thus the first monologue is mainly related to his mother and outward situation. Therefore it informs audience the background of the action which will take place in the following. And it is concerned with his confusion of his identity.
The second monologue is about the action of the players which is compared with his action. So he falls into the guilty conscience. The players's action is positive and passionate but his action is negative and reluctant. Therefore he reproaches himself about his action and attitude. He admits vaguely that there is more responsibility than any other people. And he wants to prove whether what ghost's said is true or false.
In the third monologue he thinks deeply about his life in the corrupted situation and seeks the alternatives of this life. The alternative is death. Death only is one of the method which avoids the distasteful reality. But he can't die. So he falls into the depth of agony. Therefore he expresses his despair in failing to be in harmony with nature and cosmos.
The fourth monologue is not interrelated the following actions. But it is about his action with his mother. He doesn't harm his mother by violence but his tongue. The fifth monologue is about his attitude which he doesn't have any action. He has evidence enough to revenge, but he don't take any action. Because he isn't the person concerned who gets responsibility to cause the tragic accident in this play.
The flow of the first monologue through the fifth one is from resentment, blame and reprimand about his external situation to the universal problems about life and death. So it moves from the individual level to usual level. In short the five monologues in Hamlet gives audience the plot development and the cause of Hamlet's inner conflicts. But he has many problems which he doesn't solve them. He is in the center of the problems. So he can't help it. It means that he doesn't take any action in his existential situation. In consequence Hamlet has dialogue with audience through his monologues. So the audience watch him and understand him in a distance.


With the advent of nanoparticles in biotechnological and pharmaceutical research, many production methods for synthesizing nanoparticulates have been reported. Here, we focus on Flash NanoPrecipitation, which is a rapid precipitation, or bottom-up, approach that is typically used for the production of nanoparticles loaded with water-insoluble solutes and/or colloids. Polymer stabilizers are used to stabilize the particles and arrest growth during precipitation. The method boasts scalable production of tight particle size distributions with easily tunable average particle sizes from 50 500 nm and generally high loading efficiency of solutes. In this review, we cover the current fundamental understanding of polymer-stabilized rapid precipitation process (and specifically FNP), beginning with solute nucleation and growth, followed by the importance of homogeneous mixing, and finally polymer assembly and effects on particle formation. Other topics covered include current applications for FNP, existing FNP formulation techniques for producing nanoparticle dispersions, as well as how to improve stability of these dispersion. This treatment is meant as a compilation of the existing literature on FNP and related research on nucleation, assembly and polymer adsorption to provide a unified understanding of this class of nanoparticle formation process.


The term MOOC, an acronym for massive open online course, has been nearly ubiquitous in recent discussions about online education and distance learning. Some articles have questioned the MOOC's tentative role as "the future of education," while others have framed it as a disrupter of traditional higher education. Research in earlier years trended toward the ways in which MOOCs may be changing the landscape of higher education. However, in the past two years, greater consideration has been focused on how MOOCs may play a role in the corporate world. The year 2012 may have been deemed "The Year of the MOOC," but many saw 2014 as "The Year of the Corporate MOOC." Despite MOOCs reaching their prominence as disrupters of traditional higher education, MOOC providers are now aggressively pursuing opportunities in the corporate sector. This presents a great opportunity for corporations to drive this relatively new learning platform and to tailor it to meet their organizational needs. The potential uses for MOOCs in the corporate world are vast. MOOCs can expand corporate training options, offer new recruiting techniques, and provide innovative marketing and branding channels. This article identifies the features of MOOCs, briefly reviews the history of the MOOC movement from academic MOOCs to corporate MOOCs, and discusses the possibilities for extending the MOOC format to a corporate training and employee development environment.


Major improvements in the clinical handover process have been introduced to the Women's and Children's Hospital (WCH) in line with recently published Australian recommendations. The enhancement of this process by using the newly developed OACIS Clinical Handover module in a paediatric medicine setting is reported. The assessment included a pre-pilot survey questionnaire conducted to assess the medical staff opinions regarding the existing handover process with a follow up questionnaire after one week of using the OACIS computer augmented process. A further questionnaire will be conducted with the next rotation of medical staff.


Sufficient conditions are obtained for every solution of first order nonlinear neutral delay forced impulsive differential equations with positive and negative coefficients tends to a constant as t ∞. Mathematics Subject Classification (MSC 2010):34A37


Several composite indexes grouping several variables into a single figure have been proposed for measuring the digital divide. In this article, the authors analyze shortcomings of extant indexes. Using multivariate analysis tools, they show that in the definition of composite indexes it is possible to individuate a limited set of more influencing and significant variables. This finding suggests the possibility of replacing some redundant variables with other dimensions that include other aspects of the digital divide that are not considered in extant measures.


Numerous studies have shown that women with better social support have fewer problems adjusting to breast cancer. However, these studies have a tendency to focus only on emotional support and to assess social support at only one point in time. Additionally, the effect of type of treatment on the use of social support has been overlooked. The present study assessed social support as a multidimensional construct. Changes in social support over time and its relationship to life quality at each point in time were examined, as well as any differences due to treatment type. Tangible assistance, satisfaction with support, and negative interaction decreased over time. Tangible assistance and need for support were found to be greater for women receiving chemotherapy, and their life quality decreased. Tangible assistance, advice, and negative interaction were negatively related to life quality, while satisfaction with support was positively related.


It was found that an equimolar complex is formed from acrylonitrile with triethylaluminum. The complex formation was verified by infrared spectroscopy. The original bands of acrylonitrile at 2235 cm−1 shifted and the new bands appeared at 2225 and 2275 cm−1. Copolymerization of acrylonitrile with propylene was proved to be possible with a TiCl3–AlEt3 catalyst system.

Kinetic studies on copolymerization of propylene with acrylonitrile showed that composition of the starting monomer mixture markedly influenced the course of the reaction and the acrylonitrile content of the copolymer.

Optimum conditions of the copolymerization reaction were as follows: temperature, 70°C; reaction time, 30 min; molar ratios of acrylonitrile to the metal alkyl and Al to Ti, 1:1 and 2;1, respectively, concentration of the total amount of monomers. Conversion is influenced by the aging time of the acrylonitrile-metal alkyl complex; the yield is a linear function of the aging time. Composition of copolymers was determined by chemical analysis.


DBMS functionalities have been identified as a requirement for GIS (Geographical Information Systems). With the rise of G1S, several system architectures have been proposed for both commercial products and research prototypes, bringing G[S technology closer to database tecttnology. The approach described in this paper consists in adding spatial data capabilities to a data server while regrouping all graphical display functions into a user interface layer built as a client on the server. An SQLlike language. GQL, is proposed for the client-server interface, while a graphical language including drawings, display attributes and GQL queries is offered at the end-user interface level. An application exampte shows how this architecture can be used for fast protoo,ping with a high level of user friendliness and without writing any application code.


• Sugars called oligosaccharides have been detected in the blood plasma of infants who have consumed them as a naturally occurring component of breast milk. • Although present at very low concentrations, oligosaccarides may be able to affect the development of the brain and the immune system. • Evidence is being gathered as to whether some of these sugars are absorbed from the gut into the blood at higher levels than others.


Summary Various methods were examined in an effort to adapt a non-neurotropic line of the IHD strain of vaccinia virus to the central nervous system of the adult mouse. This was accomplished only by passing the virus serially in mouse brain, beginning with the 1-day-old mouse, and gradually increasing the age. The adaptation process was unique in that the age of the mouse could be increased only by small increments, with prolonged passage at each step,


The tenacity of cypris larvae of the barnacles (Crustacea: Cirripedia) Balanus perforatus (Bruguiere) and Elminius modestus Darwin was measured on multispecies biofilms developed under contrasting shear regimes. For both species, relatively thin, dense biofilms associated with high shear (83 s-1) afforded increased tenacity over relatively thick, less dense films associated with low shear (15 s-1). Although both species showed reduced tenacity on low-shear films compared to high-shear films, E. modestus cyprids attached as strongly to low-shear films as they did to unfilmed surfaces. Balanus perforatus cyprids, however, attached less strongly to low-shear films than to unfilmed surfaces. The results show that B. perforatus and E. modestus may appreciate differences in bacterial communi-ties grown under different shear conditions and highlight the potential for biofilms as one of the many cues to barnacle settlement.


The first Italian unfinished public works census was conducted in 2013, counting more than 500 stopped contracts. National regulations have implemented an annual census to update the first one. What's the aim behind this? Statistic or preliminary studies to define how to complete them? The 2013 survey found that the total needed to complete unfinished public works amount to an estimated €€ 3.5 billion with an additional estimated €€ 1.7 billion required to complete works as yet unbegun. It's impossible to complete all of them and, without a doubt, they're not necessary at all. The paper describes the national experience and offers some analysis on the effec- tiveness of public investment planning.  DOI:  http://dx.medra.org/10.19254/LaborEst.11.09


There is a general agreement to say that, in some multiple-case families, Alzheimer disease (AD) is very likely to be of genetic origin. In those families the disease onset is usually early, and the transmission pattern suggests an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. Furthermore, there is some evidence that a disease-causing gene is on chromosome 21, although one recent linkage study has failed to locate it precisely (St George Hyslop et al. 1990). However, the origin of the great majority of AD cases -in particular those with a late onset-remains very controversial, and, although the single-gene hypothesis with no sporadic cases is attractive because of its simplicity, it is by no means certain. Under this hypothesis, the absence of familial clustering in most AD cases would be explained by the censoring bias due to the late onset of the disease: most of the unaffected gene carriers in a family would have died of a competing risk prior to the age at onset. Other hypotheses have been proposed -e.g., a second locus, on chromosome 21, for susceptibility to AD; a locus on chromosome 19; nongenetic factors; or the interaction of multiple genetic and environmental factorsbut none is yet conclusive. In this context, segregation analysis is of major interest, as it can help to gauge the likelihood of these hypotheses (Morton and MacLean 1974). It is surprising that very few segregation analyses ofAD had been published, until the paper by Farrer et al. (1991) in a recent issue of the Journal. The authors performed a segregation analysis, with a correction of censoring bias due to age, on 232 nuclear families ascertained through a memory disorder unit. Their conclusion is that in AD there is some evidence for a major gene associated with a multifactorial component. However, although the authors referred to the original paper of Morton and MacLean (1974), they incorrectly used the mixed model in their model comparisons. Indeed, to assess the likelihood of the transmission of a major gene, the authors compared the multifactorial model (Farrer et al. 1991, model 2 in table 3) with the mixed model with unrestricted d and r's (Farrer et al. 1991, model 13 in table 3), which is in fact the unified model proposed by Lalouel et al. (1983). The likelihood-ratio (x2) test between these models was highly significant (X6 = 13.27, P< .001), and the hypothesis of the absence of a major-locuscomponent transmission of AD was rejected by the authors. As a matter of fact, the mixed model, as defined by Morton and MacLean, is model 12 (Farrer et al. 1991, table 3) with transmission probabilities constrained to their Mendelian values. The likelihood-ratio (X2) test between this model and the multifactorial model is not significant (X3 = 5.56, P = .135). This means that the hypothesis of the absence of a major-locus-component transmission of AD is not rejected. Conversely, the multifactorial component is highly significant (model 7 vs. model 12; X2 = 15.68, P< .001). In the absence of any evidence for a major gene in AD, there is no indication to test other hypotheses -in particular the Mendelian T'sand the model that best explains these data is the multifactorial model. This conclusion was already reached by MacGuffin et al. (1991) in a previous segregation analysis, but it does not prove that a major gene could not be involved in AD etiology: the impossibility of detecting its presence could be due to a lack ofpower in the analyses. However, the impossibility of finding a major-gene effect in a large-scale, censoring-corrected, segregation-analysis study suggests that this effect would be responsible only for a very few cases and that most AD cases are of a multifactorial origin.


The goals are to compare lidar volume averaged wind measurement with point measurement reference sensors and to demonstrate the feasibility of performing 3D turbulence measurements with lidars. For that purpose three pulsed lidars were used in staring mode, placed so that their beams crossed close to a 3D sonic anemometer mounted at 78 m above the ground. The results show generally very good correlation between the lidar and the sonic times series, except that the variance of the velocity measured by the lidar is attenuated due to spatial filtering. The amount of attenuation can however be predicted theoretically by use of a spectral tensor model of the atmospheric surface-layer turbulence. sehr gute Korrelationen zwischen den Zeitreihen der LiDAR- und Ultraschall-Anemometer, allerdings wird die Streuung der vom LiDAR gemessenen Geschwindigkeit durch r¨aumliches Filtern abgeschw¨acht. Der Grad der Abschw¨achung kann jedoch mittels eines spektralen Tensormodells, das die Turbulenz in der atmosph¨arischen Bodenschicht beschreibt, theo-retisch vorausberechnet werden.


In recent years, our country has put an unprecedented premium on studies pertaining to internal control, and published a succession of regulations and guidelines, promoting the construction and improvement of internal control within enterprises and institutions. Nevertheless, it is an undeniable and objective fact that the overall internal control of the accounting information system in our domestic enterprises is still weak. Accounting information quality can only be guaranteed under effective internal control, not least under the ERP environment. To this end, this paper aims to: research on the theories regarding the internal control of accounting information system befitting the ERP environment on the basis of both domestic and international theories of the internal control of accounting information system; integrate ERP and internal control, namely urge ERP to constantly draw lessons from the ideas of internal control and in turn prompt internal control to continually adopt ERP's accurate control methods, so as to provide constructive suggestions for the perfection of corporate internal control.


The objective of the Experts Meeting was to develop environmentally-sound energy options for Africa that are in line with the broad tenets of ecologically-sustainable development as outlined in the United Nations Agenda 21 environment initiative and the recommendations of an earlier AFREPREN strategy document entitled: NA New Environmentally-Sound Energy Strategy for the Development of Sub-Saharan At rica'4, by Ogunlade Davidson and Stephen Karekezi.


Children who access holistic, quality Early Childhood Development Education services have a better start in learning, and are better prepared for entering and staying in primary school. However, many children are missing out on the stated benefits of early childhood education since a large percentage of the pre-primary children are not attending the early childhood education programmes. The aim of this study was to examine how the economic status of parents influences children's participation in pre-primary in Mlolongo Slum. This study adopted the culture of poverty view by Osca Lewis. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and employed both qualitative and quantitative methods in data collection and analysis. The study employed simple random and purposive sampling to obtain the study sample. The target population in this study was 30 head teachers, 68 pre-primary teachers and 1466 parents in the thirty schools in Mlolongo slum in Athi River Sub-county. Simple random sampling was employed to select 9 schools. The head teachers in the sampled schooled were purposively selected for the study. Simple random sampling was used to select 68 pre-primary teachers and 440 of parents who had children in the 9 pre-primary schools. The study used semistructured questionnaires to obtain data from teachers and headteachers, and interview schedules for parents. Piloting was carried out in two pre-primary schools within Mlolongo slum. The findings of the study revealed that majority of parents ran small businesses while others worked as casual laborers which did not provide enough income. The study concluded that the kind of economic activity parents were involved in compelled majority of parents to either leave home very early or arrive very late, thus denying them time for their children. The study recommended that the Boards of Management through County Government should introduce Free Preschool Education. The study further recommended that parents and donors to provide school meals to children so as to attract and retain them in school.


The 13C homonuclear two-dimensional n.m.r. shift correlation experiment COSY on the 13C-enriched complex [Os3H2(CO)10] established the presence of two-and three-bond scalar couplings which partially invalidates previous assignement of the 13C spectrum. A related two-dimensional experiment (NOESY) was used to detect slow localised carbonyl group exchange. The intensities of the slowly exchanging peak and the associated correlation peak in the NO ESY experiment were analysed quantitatively to yield 13C spin-lattice relaxation rates and a value for the exchange rate constant (1.21 s1–).


DOCUMENT RESUME SP 033 14i Prawat, Richard S. Conversations with Self and Conversations with Setting: A Framework for Thinking about Teacher Empowerment. Elementary Subjects Center Series No. 36. Center for the Learning and Teaching of Elementary Subjects, East Lansing, MI. Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. Apr 91 CA-G0098CO226 34p. Institute for Research on Teaching, College of Education, Michigan State University, 252 Erickson Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824-1034 ($3.25). Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120) -Information Analyses (070) MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. *Context Effect; *Educational Environment; *Educational Theories; Elementary Education; *Epistemology; Politics of Education; Professional Autonomy; Teachers *Teacher Empowerment A framework for thinking about teacher empowerment is presented. Two important dimensions are used as a basis for highlighting some important similarities and differences emerging in the literature on empowerment. The first dimension relates to the context in which the process occurs. Some educators highlight the importance of the personal context (i.e., conversations with self), while others assume more of an outward perspective in their thinking about empowerment (i.e., conversations with settings). The second important dimension relates to the focus or agenda of the conversations. Here, a distinction is made between agendas that are more epistemological in nature and those that are more political. An illustration is provided of how this framework can be used to understand better the dynamics involved in collaborative work with teachers. Fifty-seven references are listed. (Author/IAH) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ************************************************************* ********* Elementary Subjects Center Series No. 36 CONVERSATIONS WITH SELF AND CONVERSATIONS WITH SETTING: A FRAMEWORK FOR THINKING ABOUT TEACHER EMPOWERMENT


This article introduces a 10kV/10kA module for DC Circuit Breaker(DCCB) based on 4-inch IGCT(Integrated gate commutated thyristor). The turn-off capability of 4-inch IGCT under reliable snubber conditions is researched at first. Then, the current-balancing experiment of the module is introduced. It is found that two IGCTs in parallel have a special current distribution problem at the moment of turn-off. The main influencing factors of current-balancing is analyzed during the module experiment. That is, the pressure distribution problem of IGCT is the major factor against current-balancing. Combining simulation and pressure experiments, the current-balancing problem of IGCT in parallel is solved by optimizing the module structure. The current-balancing coefficient of module is improved to above 0.93. Finally, the module passed the turn-off test verification of 10kA successfully, promoting the development of IGCT in the field of DCCB.


This thesis is focusing on the protection of fundamental human rights at work for third country migrant workers in the European Union, a region which attracts more and more migrant workers in recent years. The first Chapter introduces the background briefly, the methodology and the sources on which the research is conducted on and provides the scope and definition of the issues which are under discussion. Following this part, further detailed information relating with migration into EU and the situation concerning the four fundamental principles and rights at work for migrant workers are presented by analysing the collected data, news from media, reports and surveys targeting at this issue by international organizations. This part also explains the reasons for doing this research. The third Chapter explains what the fundamental rights at work are and their legal basis as well as the importance of protection of these rights for the vulnerable migrant workers. The fourth and Fifth Chapter are composed of the legal analysis. The fourth part introduces the relevant international instruments from the UN and ILO which are most relevant and supportive with migrant workers' fundamental rights at work. The comments made by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations of ILO which supervises the implementation of those conventions in the ratified countries: whether the national legislation is in compliance with the international standards; how the conventions are applied in practice; the difficulties arising from the practice. The fifth Chapter emphasises on the European legal instruments, by analysing the relevant articles in the European and EU Conventions, Resolutions and Directives and case laws. This research aims to examine the extent the migrant workers' fundamental rights could be protected by the regional legal mechanisms. In the final Chapter, the thesis concludes the importance of ratification of those international conventions, and looks for methods to improve the protection of fundamental human rights at work for migrant workers.


The effect of O3 on flame propagation of C2H4-air Hencken flames at sub-atmospheric pressure was investigated through detailed experiments and simulations. The Hencken burner provided an ideal platform to interrogate flame speed enhancement because of the steady, laminar, nearly one-dimensional, minimally curved, weakly stretched, and nearly adiabatic properties of the flame, as well as good comparison to simulations. The results showed significant enhancement from O3 with more than an 8% increase in flame speed for 12,500 ppm of O3 at stoichiometric conditions and even more off-stoichiometric. Flame speed enhancement by O3 was also found to increase with increased axial stretch rate, suggesting significant enhancement is possible under highly stretched conditions, such as in turbulent flows. Two-dimensional simulations agreed well with the experiments in terms of flame speed, as well as the trends of enhancement. Rate of production analysis showed that the primary pathways for O3 enhancement were through increased production of OH and O in the pre-heat zone.


Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act record for Lutheran Church-Canada, the Alberta-British Columbia District, Lutheran Church-Canada, the Alberta-British Columbia District Investments Ltd., Encharis Community and Housing Services and Encharis Management and Support Services