Abstract Ammonium hydroxide, urea, calcium carbonate, and microbial inoculant were added to chopped whole corn plant containing different amounts of added nitrate. Chopped corn was ensiled in .002-mm plastic bags and fermented for 0, 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 d. In Experiment 1, chopped whole corn plant was treated with ammonium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, microbial inoculant, or no additive. Potassium nitrate was added to each treatment to obtain 0, .200, .400, or .600% nitrate N in DM. In Experiment 2, chopped corn plant was treated with urea, calcium carbonate, or no additive. Nitrate N was added to each treatment at 0, .238, .477, and .953% of DM. Control and microbial-inoculated silages had similar concentrations of lactic acid, acetic acid, and ammonia and similar pH. Addition of urea and ammonia increased initial pH and slowed the decrease in pH compared with the control and with silage treated with microbial inoculant. Calcium carbonate increased concentrations of lactic and acetic acids compared with the control during Experiment 1 but had no effect on concentrations of these acids in Experiment 2. Treatments were ineffective in reducing nitrates. Addition of nitrates tended to increase silage pH but had only minor effects on concentration of lactic acid, acetic acid, and ammonia.


Efficient, effective and un-hindered, symmetric access to Governmental information is a fundamental goal of India's National E-governance Project (NeGP). The plans for this project recognize that citizens' Information needs are for both generic and specific purposes. Post-deployment research on earlier experiments with rural telecentres has shown that successful deployment of ICT platforms for development needs both dynamic updates to local data and knowledge that can aid decision-making process for personal and economic well-being of rural citizens. While access to relevant information may be key to rural development, mere availability of information is not enough. Information is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for citizen-empowerment. This paper studies the over-arching needs of architecting the front end delivery system of Government to Citizen (G2C) services through an one-stop 'Common Service Centers' (CSC) in Indian villages through a case study in the action research mode. An analysis utilizing AHP (Saaty, 1998) rank orders and prioritises the critical to quality and critical success factors for this integrated approach.


The effect of forward substrate (body) bias on threshold voltage (Vth) fluctuation in metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET) and its device parameter [e.g., gate length, substrate impurity concentration, gate oxide thickness (effective oxide thickness), etc.] dependence are investigated using a charge-sharing model. It is predicted that, through the application of a forward substrate bias of 0.5 V, Vth fluctuation is suppressed by up to 20% and the device parameter sensitivity of Vth is reduced in sub-100-nm devices. An experimental result demonstrating the effect of forward substrate bias on Vth fluctuation suppression is also presented.


The mixing circuit,sampling circuit and the data progressing unit of stepped frequency radar are designed to achieve the data progressing on I/Q channel.Because the error existed in the circuit,the amplitude phase unbalance of I/Q channel destroyed the range profile.By analyzing and correcting the error,the image is checked and the performance is improved.


Imagism,greatly influenced by ancient Chinese poetry,dramatically came back to China several times and exerted great influence upon both modern and contemporary Chinese poetry.We can find the shadow of imagism in poems of either HU Shi the pioneer of new poetry,Li Jin fa the symbolist poet,modern poet DAI Wang shu and BIAN Zhi lin,or "Nine Leaf Poets"in the 1940's and poets of obscurity in the 1980's.Ever since the beginning of the 20 th century,many Chinese poets began to translate,introduce imagism and make a survey of the mutual influence,similarity and difference between imagism and Chinese imagist poetry.


But to understand what might result in terms of the long run reshaping of Britain's welfare state, it should be recognized that the first Act of the drama had started a year before. The former Labour Government had adopted a system of setting public spending plans in cash terms for three years at a time. In the Autumn of 2007, it set its plans for the following three years on the assumption that there would continue to be both modest real economic growth, and low but positive inflation. Spending was then set to grow in line with the growth of nominal national income – for instance, by about 10 per cent in cash terms over the first two years.


In recent years, academic journals have evolved to become a vehicle for scientific communication that is acknowledged by the official organizations that certify their quality. This enables assessments to be performed, determining how a discipline has evolved through the analysis of bibliometric indicators and the keywords used to index the articles. In the field of library and information science, it is particularly interesting to study the articles published in the journals specializing in this area but few studies have performed an in-depth analysis of the discipline. In order to gain a detailed view of the evolution of library and information science, we have carried out a bibliometric and thematic study of the journals Anales de Documentación (AD) and BiD textos universitaris en biblioteconomia i documentació (BiD) between 2000 and 2013. The analysis focuses on the number of articles and authors, the evolution of the sections and the contents. In addition, a thematic study determines the level of similarity between the two journals' contents, the subject areas they belong to and whether there is any subject continuity during the period analysed. The results confirm that in BID, practitioner-focused subject matter is double that of the academic content, unlike AD, which shows a preference for academic content. The thematic study confirms that there is little similarity between the content of the two publications; that the subjects where there is overlap are basically concerned with information units, information technologies, auxiliary sciences and techniques, and library science; and that there is little continuity in the subjects covered during the period analysed.


Elastomer compositions comprising an elastomer gum curable to the solid, elastomeric state in the presence of an organic peroxide free radical initiator, a solid partic ulate filler, a hydrocarbon resin having a plurality of pendant vinyl groups per molecule, and an organic peroxide curative are described. Vulcanizates of such compositions are also described. Preferred are elasto mer compositions comprising a fluoroelastomer gum curable to the solid, elastomeric state in the presence of an organic peroxide cure initiator and a carbonaceous filler coated with a 1,2-polybutadiene resin. Solid par ticulate fillers coated with a hydrocarbon resin having a plurality of pendant vinyl groups per molecule, such as 1,2-polybutadiene, are also described.


Abstract. The phase-integral approximation devised by Fröman and Fröman, is used for computing cosmological perturbations in the quartic chaotic inflationary model. The phaseintegral formulas for the scalar power spectrum are explicitly obtained up to fifth order of the phase-integral approximation. As in previous reports [1–3], we point out that the accuracy of the phase-integral approximation compares favorably with the numerical results and those obtained using the slow-roll and uniform approximation methods.


Now-a-days the concept and the use of Internet Of Things is gaining huge popularity with increase of smart cities. To increase the productivity and reliability of urban infrastructure consistent development is being made in the field of IoT. The population in the smart cities is huge and most of the people living in these smart cities own their vehicle. Due to the limited parking facilities problems such as traffic congestion is being continued in these smart cities. Due to this people waste their time in finding the parking slots. Also while parking the vehicle in multi complex areas people will be charged to park their vehicle. During their exit they should pay the amount charged for parking their vehicle and here with the use of physical money the payment process gets delayed and hence it leads to the traffic congestion. In this paper, an IoT based smart parking system with E-ticketing was proposed. Here, In this parking system we are using Arduino UNO as the processing unit and RFID cards to identify each vehicle individually and deduct the charge for the parking before they enter into parking area. Only if there is sufficient amount in the account of that particular vehicle owner, it will be deducted and a message will be sent to their mobile phone and the gate will open to park their vehicle. Also the slots that are available for parking will be shown on the display so that the user can directly head towards that slot without wasting much time. By this we can minimize the time that is being wasted by the user in finding a vacant parking slot to park the vehicle.


Transition metal dissolution is one of the major causes of capacity and power fade in lithium-ion batteries employing transition metal oxides in the positive electrode. Accelerated testing was accomplished by introducing transition-metal salts in the electrolyte in order to study the effects of dissolution on performance. It is shown that metal dissolution causes a reduction in capacity and cycle stability in full cells. The SEI layer resistance in the negative electrode of full cells increases with increasing concentration of transition metal salts. The growth of the SEI layer is non-uniform and is believed to be caused by the reduction of transition metal species in the negative electrode leading to an increase in inorganic component of the SEI layer. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse of the work in any


Objective To establish a method for simultaneous determination of the content of matrine in Zhilining Tablets.Methods HPLC method was carried out through C18 column,using acetontrile-water(2ml triethylarmine,add water to 1000 ml,adjusted to pH 3.0 with phosphate acid)(4∶96) as mobile phase.The flow rate was 1.0 ml/min with detective wavelength of 220 nm.Column temperature was at 40℃.Results The calibration curve of matrine content was linear within the range of 18.712~299.392μg /ml(r =0.999 9),the average recovery of matrine was 101.60%,RSD was 0.8%.Conclusion The method is simple,fast and accurate,it can increase the quality control index of Zhilining Tablets.


Clustering methods and the number of cluster heads directly affect the overall network performance and service life in wireless sensor networks. In view of its application, the routing protocol is proposed based on clustering optimization and the calculation is given of optimizing the number of clustering. As for the selection of cluster head, the number of the neighbor nodes and the remaining energy values are comprehensively considered. Every node can dynamically act as a cluster head, so that the whole network can equalize the energy consumption, thus extending the life cycle of the entire network.


FDA has approved an updated labeling of morphine sulfate/naltrexone hydrochloride (Embeda, Pfizer) extended release capsules, CII, to include abuse-deterrent properties


The nitride spacer process is a complex process involving interactions of the isolation process, the spacer etch, and the oxide stopping layer. A high selectivity spacer etch with a small isotropic component and no plasma damage is a necessity. A composite oxide etch stop layer has shown performance benefits and yield improvement.


This paper briefly describes main factors affecting the power engineering cost,analyzes some of key issues existing in the tender documents and contract management and puts forward relevant suggestions.Respectively,it describes some methods of the visa management,budget management,progress payments and settlement management to guide cost management work of the power project.


The main difference in aerodynamic forces between a small and a large scale is due to the lack of dynamic similarity of viscous fluid motion, which is a ratio of inertia forces to viscous forces on a body in a moving fluid. In recent years there has been considerable interest in this area, particularly to aerodynamicists. There have been methodologies developed for simulation of flow over large scale bodies with small scale tests. An objective of this paper is to highlight these methodologies for Wells turbine researchers. A comparison of tests on the Wells turbine at several scales and using some of the simulation methodologies are also discussed. The paper shows the need for considerable research effort in this area considering the prediction of the performance of large scale Wells turbines for wave energy conversion is a key issue at present.


Thalassemia is a disease of erythrocytes that varies largely on its genetic composition and associated clinical presentation. Though some patients may remain asymptomatic, those with a complicated course may experience severe anemia early in childhood, carrying into adulthood and requiring recurrent blood transfusions as a pillar of symptom management. Due to the consequences of ineffective erythropoiesis and frequent transfusions, patients with severe beta thalassemia may be subsequently susceptible to hemochromatosis. In light of the established role of hepcidin and erythroferrone in the pathogenesis of beta thalassemia, this review aims to discuss current clinical trials and studies in the field while presenting clinical implications of the HAMP gene polymorphisms and novel treatments. Research suggested incorporating erythroferrone and serum hepcidin testing as a part of routine workups for beta thalassemia, as they could be a predictive tool for early iron accumulation. Furthermore, ameliorating low hepcidin and high erythroferrone appeared to be crucial in treating beta thalassemia and its complications due to iron overload. Currently, hepcidin-like compounds, such as minihepcidins, LJPC-401, PTG-300, VIT-2763, and agents that promote hepcidin production by inhibiting TMPRSS6 expression or erythroferrone, were shown to be effective in restoring iron homeostasis in preliminary studies. Moreover, the natural bioactives astragalus polysaccharide and icariin have been recently recognized as hepcidin expression inductors.


Industrialization combined with Urbanization makes city an industrial center as well as a core pollution source, which becomes the key for present pollution treatment. In this paper, the relationship between was cost of waste gas treatment and industrial scale for a city is investigated. By regression analysis, its found that pollution treatment technology is no obviously different in main cities of China so far, rough pollution treatment is still the main treatment way which will be more efficient when the pollution treatment volume reaches some scale.


Almost all methods used in geophysical data inversion and history matching are based on the leastsquares
method. This method is essentially an aplication of Gaussian statistics, and when it is used in
classical voxel-based models to defeat underdetermination (through a quadratic penalty function) it
adds unphysical information to our inverse problem. The result is geologically unrealistic solutions.


Coronary artery anomalies are congenital defects which are found incidentally or after cardiac events. While these are rare abnormalities with the majority of patients remain asymptomatic and largely undiagnosed, it remains to be a major cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Anomalous origin of left coronary artery (ALCA) from the opposite right aortic sinus is extremely rare with less than 100 cases reported to-date. These patients are at increased risk for significant cardiac events, including SCD. In this report, we present a 48-year-old man with hypertension and marijuana use who was admitted initially with multi-lobar pneumonia and acute kidney injury, developed respiratory failure and sustained ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Coronary angiography demonstrated anomalous origin of all three main coronary arteries arising from right aortic sinus. In this report we also discuss the genesis of this rare and potentially fatal congenital abnormality and we highlight the diagnostic and management strategies available to-date.


Introduction: Management of surgical failures of 1st MTP joint is complex. We present a series of 9 patients treated with bone block arthrodesis of the 1st MTP joint. Materials and Methods: 9 patients who underwent bone block arthrodesis of the hallux MTP joint over a three year period were retrospectively identified. Most of the patients had failed fusions and kellers arthroplasty. All 9 patients had pain and deformity of the hallux, 8 patients had limitation of mobility and 6 patients had gait and shoe wear problems. All patients underwent 1st MTP arthrodesis with interpositional tricortical bone blocks, to restore 1st ray length, with additional cancellous bone graft used in three patients. The construct was held with K-wires which were buried under the skin. 3 patients were put in plaster postoperatively. Results: The average age of the patients was 59 years with average follow up of 15 months. The hallux MTP score postoperatively was 78 out of the possible 90. The 1st MTP joint angle improved from 29.17 to 15.33. All the nine patients were satisfied (four rated it excellent and five rated it good) with their outcome, of which six would readily undergo similar operation and three would undergo the operation if there was no other option. Postoperative complications were mostly metalware related with 8 patients having shoe wear problems for which they underwent K-wire removal (usually under a local anaesthetic in the clinic). 4 patients had minor paraesthesia, 3 patients had superficial infection treated with antibiotics and 1 patient had persistent non-union (but was pain free). Conclusion: The results with bone block arthrodesis are satisfactory and have added advantage of restoring the length of the 1st ray.


1H NMR spectroscopy was used to analyze the interactions between poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) Starburst dendrimers (SBDs) 1–4 and several biologically important guests (pyridine, quinoline, quinazoline, nicotine and trimethadione). Association constants obtained from changes in the chemical shifts of the amide protons in the host indicate two different interaction sites inside and on the periphery of the dendrimer. Binding at the inner site is inhibited in the ester-terminated dendrimers. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


It is shown that the Q/sup 2/ dependence of the nonsinglet (NS) parton distributions in quantum chromodynamics with leading- and next-to-leading-order corrections included can be adequately represented by simple analytic expressions, similar to those proposed by Gaemers and one of the authors. The pattern of higher-order corrections to the Q/sup 2/ dependence of F/sup NS//sub 2/(x,Q/sup 2/) and of F/sub 3/(x,Q/sup 2/) is discussed.


stabilization schemes will alter the relative position of developing countries in the international economic order. Moreover, the fact that there now exist almost 100 international joint commissions to manage waterways as opposed to one in 1815 proves nothing in itself except that we live in a world of exponential growth rates. As for changes in the distribution of technological capacity, they are few and largely •reflect changes in the indigenous strength of some developing countries, owing little to international decisions. Lastly, the area of world food security may reflect greater equity, but it is difficult to argue, as Schachter's position would require one to argue, that what was once charity in this domain has now become a right or an entitlement. In short, claims for greater equity are abundant. The use of this universal principle to legitimate the pursuit of particularistic interests is even more so. Furthermore, egalitarianism in international decision making may be increasing in certain issue areas. But equity as a standard, let alone as an outcome, is a more dubious proposition. The second shortcoming concerns the policy recommendations Schachter offers. He suggests a number of formulae, institutional mechanisms and procedures which would give more "determinate content," as he puts it, to the ideal of equity. The list contains many useful suggestions. But if standards of equity are not necessarily contributions to decision making but its possible product, then what we need are instrumentalities which would harmonize the diverse self-interests of governments in such a way that greater equity results from collective decisions. In other words, to be helpful, the policy recommendations ought to focus on the self-interest which goes into decision making and not presuppose and then elaborate on the very equity which may only be its unanticipated consequence. Third, and notwithstanding Schachter's protestations to the contrary, there is a fundamental incompatibility between the two principles of entitlement which he advances: "needs" and "historic entitlements." He undoubtedly knows, though he does not acknowledge it, that he is right in the midst of a lively debate among moral and political philosophers on this very issue. The debate pits radical libertarians like Robert Nozick {Anarchy, State and Utopia [New York: Basic Books, 1974]) against neoclassical liberals like John Rawls {A Theory of Justice [Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1971]). The protagonists in this debate certainly believe that a contradiction exists between entitlements based on needs and fairness, on the one hand, and historical entitlements like the right to own, produce and exchange, on the other. Schachter "resolves" the contradiction by saying that governments link the two: "This is not merely a matter of "dialectics" or rhetoric. It reflects a political judgment that as an international criterion the maxim 'to each according to his need' is too impractical and far-reaching in its implications to win acceptance as a general principle; but when this maxim is conjoined with and limited by a principle of legitimacy, it becomes more acceptable because less threatening to the international order" (p. 20). Quite so. But building his case purely on the "empirics" of what governments say and claim leads Schachter to misread the evidence. First, to the extent that equity enters into these international decisions at all, it expresses the tension and contribution between the two types of entitlements, not some single standard. Schachter's own illustrations suggest contradictory tendencies, and he should have taken these more seriously than the deliberately obscurationist pronouncements of governments. Second, and again on Schachter's own description, there already exists a principle of allocation internationally; it may be a standard of equity but it has little to do with equity as he wants us to understand the term. To paraphrase the quotation above, those claims for changes in distributional patterns are successful which express the collective needs of governments without threatening the legitimacy of the existing international order. But this is not change. This is, as Richard Poirier once said about Norman Mailer, applying to new issues and circumstances methods which already have been worked to exhaustion.


Soybean is an essential protein and oilseed crop, but environmental factors, such as photoperiod and altitude, highly influence its growth. Poor adaptability of soybean cultivars may result in a significant decrease in seed yield due to disruption of flowering or maturity. It is, therefore, vital to select cultivars adapted to specific regions of the world. Global climate change, causing increasing temperature and associated water deficit stress, may further challenge sustainable soybean production worldwide. Therefore, it is necessary to understand genetic responses in soybeans induced by environmental variables. This review highlights previous research showing how several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) activated by photo-thermal responses affected soybean flowering. We discuss cytogenetic stocks, including chromosome segment substitution lines, and their role in introgressing novel genes from wild soybeans. A review of genes showing responses to various environmental variables that affect soybean adaptability is also ensued, with putative functions suggested. These include gene response regulation to temperature and heat stress, identified via genetic mapping, and emerged as tools for developing adapted soybean cultivars.


Chemotherapeutic effect of rifampicin (RFP) and kanamycin (KM) to bacillary dysentery was evaluated using cynomolgus monkeys experimentally infected with Shigella flexneri 2a. Monkeys manifested typical symptoms of the disease after rectal administration of the bacilli. They were orally treated one or two days after challenge with a daily dose of 200 mg of RFP or KM per animal for five consecutive days. These monkeys were investigated clinically, bacteriologically and histopathologically. A more rapid improvement of the stools from a bloody mucous to a normal with disappearance of the bacilli in stools was observed in RFP treatment as compared with KM treatment. Reappearance of bacilli in the stools was observed from six to eight days after the last administration with KM. A more significant inhibitory effect with RFP was observed in penetration and multiplication of the bacilli within host epithelial cells than with KM. A greater part of the animals treated with KM revealed, as seen in non-treated controls, catarrhalic colitis associated with penetration and multiplication of the bacilli in epithelial cells or in the lamina propria. However, no histological changes were observed in cases treated with RFP with the exception of one case with microfoci in the ileocecal valve.


In this paper, the issues surrounding the implementation of access control solutions are discussed, alternative technologies analysed and a complete access control solution proposed. Through the analysis of common access control issues (for example violations, vandalism, environmental control, pedestrianisation, fault monitoring, contravention of traffic regulations, emergency vehicle and local resident access) a building-block approach is proposed. The approach addresses a wide variety of market needs (for example basic system, fault monitoring, centralised control, CCTV monitoring, audio links, secret signs) while ensuring investment protection through an integrated technological approach. The paper concludes with an integrated solution for a complete access control system based on a modular and incremental design to suit specific requirement and needs. For the covering abstract see ITRD E107957.


Objective To the mechanism of intimal hyperplasia(IH)after bypass procedures and elucidate the relationship between IH and eNOS.Methods Rat model of autogenous vascular graft replacement was established.The rats were divided into 3 groups:V(vein group);A group(artery isolated group);nA group(no-artery-isolated group).The vascular grafts were harvested at different time from 1 week to 10 weeks,and were detected by immunohistochemical technique and in situ hybridization(ISH) technique to measure the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase(eNOS) mRNA and protein in the neointimal.Results IH in the V group was most obvious among the 3 groups,no neointimal was found in the nA group.The expression of eNOS mRNA and protein in the V group was lower than in the A group at the same time point during the first 6weeks(P0.01),which was constant in the nA group.Conclusion The neointimal formation has significant correlation with the abnormal expression of eNOS mRNA and protein after autogenous vascular replacement.The lower expression of eNOS mRNA and protein in the V group than that in the artery groups may help to explain the reason that artery bypass is better than vein bypass.


Objective To evaluate the effects of curcumin on spinal cord purine oxidase( XOD) in streptozotocin( STZ)- induced diabetic rats with painful diabetic neuropathy. Methods Painful diabetic neuropathy was induced by intraperitoneal injection with 1% STZ( 60 mg / kg) in Sprague- Dawley rats. After the onset of hypoalgesia,these diabetic rats were randomly allocated to diabetic group( DPN group,n = 10) and curcumin group( CUR group,n = 10). Another 10 age- matched normal rats were served as control group( NSC group,n = 10). The rats in CUR group and DPN group received daily lavage of curcumin( 200 mg / kg) and normal saline,respectively,for 14 consecutive days 28 days after STZ injection. Blood samples were collected from vena caudalis to assess the blood glucose level before STZ injection( T1) and 2,7,14,21,28,35,and 42 days after STZ injection( T2 to T8,respectively). Responses to the mechanical stimulus were measured with von Frey filament,while paw withdraw thresholds( PWTs) were recorded. The rats were sacrificed for collection of and lumbar segment of spinal cord and assessment of the activity of XOD. Results Compared to NSC group,rats in both CUR and DPN groups showed significant hyperglycemia since T2( P 0. 01),and reduction of body weight( P 0. 05) and lower PWT since T4( P 0. 05). There was no significant difference between CUR and DPN group in blood sugar or body weight at T1 ~ T8( P 0. 05),or in PWT at T1 ~ T6( P 0. 01). Compared to DPN group, significantly higher PWT at T7 and T8 in CUR group( P 0. 05). Compared to NSC group,the spinal cord XOD activity was significantly increased in both DPN and CUR groups( P 0. 01),while it was significantly more prominent in DPN group( P 0. 01). Conclusion Curcumin attenuated diabetic neuropathic pain in rats by inhibition of XOD activity in spinal cord.


General comments: In this study, Jiang et al. upgraded the Global Carbon Assimilation System (GCAS) with new assimilation algorithms, a localization scheme, and a higher assimilation parameter resolution, namely GCASv2. The global terrestrial ecosystem (BIO) and ocean (OCN) carbon fluxes from 2009 to 2015 were constrained by the GOSAT ACOS XCO2 retrievals. Following this, the posterior carbon fluxes from 2010 to 2015 were evaluated using 52 surface flask observations. The errors in the posterior carbon fluxes in the new inversion system were compared to those in a previous version. The authors indicated that the pattern of regional carbon sinks was significantly different from previous studies (CT2017). The inter-annual variations of carbon fluxes in most land regions, and the relationship with the changes of severe drought area the


. We present an overview of recent observations of stellar X-ray flares obtained with the EXOSAT Observatory. We discuss a few examples of flares from M dwarf flare stars, from RS CVn and Algol-type binaries, from single late-type stars (including a GO dwarf and an A-type visual binary), and from pre-main-sequence objects. We also draw some general conclusions from the preliminary analysis of the EXOSAT data sample. of and two-ribbon in the in The ME spectral data show that the plasma is first heating and then cooling during the evolution of the flare. The temperatures observed are in the range from = 2 x 107 K to « 4 x 107 K, similar to the typical temperatures found for X-ray flares from the Sun. One of the best cases for timo-resolved spectral studies is the long decay flare from EQ Peg observed on 6 Aug 1985.


Rechargeable batteries consist of electrode, separator, and electrolyte. Separator used as medium transfer ions and to prevent electrical short circuits in battery cells. Commonly used a solid separator (polyethylene, celgard) and a liquid electrolytes. Recently poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF) were developed into a based gel polymer electrolytes and as separator at once. The advantage of PVdF has a high porosity and more stable against hard chemical also high temperature. The aim of this research to investigate the effect of non-solvent to characteristic membranes. In order to produce better outcome add 7% polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a pore forming agent and 10% nonoclay as filler. Phase-inversion is a common methode to form a microporous membranes. This methode was prepared by dissolving Nanoclay and PVP in solvent for 2 hours, and then add the PVdF/PVdF-HFP with stirring at 60°C. After 4 hours, casting in a glass and immersed in non-solvent. N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) is used as solvent, while for non-solvent are variated: aquadest, N-Methyl Pyrollidone (NMP) 10%, Natrium Clorida (NaCl) 10%. The membranes were characterized by porosity test, electrolytes uptake test, and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). The best result using aquadest as non-solvent provide 60% electrolyte uptake, and with non-solvent NaCl give porosity 80%


An extract mainly containing chromatin nonhistone proteins was obtained by means of 0.35 M NaCl from nuclei isolated from loach (Misgurnus fossilis L.) embryos at the 18 hour developmental stage (late gastrula). Injection of a concentrated nuclear extract into the loach eggs was followed by intensified (1.5--2.0 fold) incorporation of radioactive precursors [3H]uridine or 14CO2 into RNA. The stage at which natural activation of the RNA synthesis occurs (6 hours, mid blastula) remains unchanged, but the rate of incorporation after the onset of synthesis activation (8 hours, late blastula) becomes greater.


A wireless communication network is considered where any two nodes are connected if the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) between them is greater than a threshold. We consider the the path-loss plus fading model of wireless signal propagation. Assuming that the nodes of the wireless network are distributed as a Poisson point process (PPP), percolation (formation of an unbounded connected cluster) on the resulting SIR graph is studied as a function of the density of the PPP. We study the super critical regime of percolation and show that for a small enough threshold, there exists a closed interval of densities for which percolation happens with non-zero probability.


Landscape portrayal in film and in comics influences our understanding and perception of the world. The cityscape of the movie Dick Tracy (1990) is Warren Beatty's interpretation of the cityscape portrayed in Chester Gould's (1930) comic strip of the same name. Each rendition offers clues to the social milieu in which they were created. Both cityscapes are generic, reflect anti-urban sentiment, and offer a simplistic, moralistic view of reality.


Objective
To study the effects of salvia miltiorrhiza and ligustrazine injection, low molecular weight heparin and their combination on pulmonary embolism rats by observing the changes of P-selectin (CD62P) and tissue factor (TF) in the blood of rats of pulmonary embolism.

Methods
80 healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 7 h and 7 d groups.Each group was divided into control group, embolism group, salviae miltiorrhiza and ligustrazine group, low molecular weight heparin group, and combined drug group, each group with eight rats.The rats were separated from the right jugular vein, the control group was injected with saline, and the remaining groups were injected with homemade emboli (n=25±3, d=0.5 mm). Each group collected blood at the 7th hour and the 7th day, TF and CD62P concentrations were detected, and lung tissue was observed.

Results
After embolization, rats had panting, cyanosis, accelerated heart rate, etc.The surface of lung tissue was rugged, uneven expansion, scattered in gray-white infarction areas.Compared with the control group, the concentrations of TF and CD62P in plasma of the embolism group increased significantly (all P<0.05). Compared with the embolism group, the concentrations of TF and CD62P of the therapy groups decreased to different degrees, and the combined group after therapy for one week was most significant.

Conclusions
The ideal model of pulmonary embolism can be prepared by jugular vein injection allothrombosis.The levels of TF and CD62P in pulmonary embolism rats could be significantly reduced by the combination of salvia miltiorrhiza and ligustrazine and low molecular weight heparin.

Key words:
Pulmonary embolism; Salvia miltiorrhiza and ligustrazine; Thromboplastin; P-selectin


The teacher is a social actor of fundamental importance in the formation of multipliers citizens of environmental knowledge. This work aimed to analyze the knowledge of teachers in Sao Bento, Paraiba, on the Environmental Education. We interviewed 21 teachers from three schools of public elementary school. Data were collected through a questionnaire containing 12 questions about environmental education, sustainable development and 10 environmental issues. In addition, other variables (gender, age, degree, teaching time). Knowledge of teachers ranged from little to know in part on environmental issues. There were differences in the level of knowledge between genders, being greater in males. There was a positive correlation between teaching time and the greater knowledge of the teacher. Most of them had difficulties in conceptualizing what is environmental education and sustainable development. This scenario shows the great need for teacher training in Environmental Education.


This article discusses current trends in development planning in South Africa. It is argued that it is important to review the institutional framework in particular legal and constitutional factors to understand the problems being faced and the progress made. Public health is analysed as a case study but there is also a focus on local government. The other feature of the argument is that poverty is widespread especially in rural communities and planning has to develop the capacity to respond to this challenge. Despite all sorts of initiatives and some rhetoric there remains a great deal to do. An alternative approach is offered in which there is a more radical shift away from past paradigms which are not appropriate to a development planning geared to poverty alleviation. There are a number of dimensions to consider including technical effectiveness participation (including private sector involvement and community action) and institutional capacity building. Some implications for training and research are also identified. (authors)


The present invention relates to novel polyorganosiloxane capable of producing copolycarbonates with improved hardness and copolycarbonate prepared using the same. The novel polyorganosiloxane according to the present invention may be used as a monomer of copolycarbonate and can improve the hardness while maintaining inherent physical properties of the copolycarbonate due to a structure derived from an alkylene or isosorbide structure included in the structure thereof.


The Touzi decomposition was recently introduced for a roll and unique incoherent decomposition of target scattering. Unlike the Cloude–Pottier incoherent target scattering decomposition, no scattering parameter averaging is performed and target scattering is fully characterized by an in-depth analysis of five parameters for each of the three (dominant, medium, and low scattering) single scattererings. For practical reasons, there is an immediate need for a procedure that permits the ranking and selection of the smallest Touzi decomposition parameter subset that permits an accurate image classification. In this study, a filter method based on mutual information criteria was introduced to select and rank the most suitable decomposition parameter subset for the classification of an urban site in Ottawa, Ontario. Two approaches are considered for the selection of the suitable parameter subset: the maximum mutual information and the maximum relevancy and minimum redundancy. The two approaches were compared in terms of feature selection and class discrimination, and the optimum subsets selected were used to perform an urban site classification based on a support vector machine. Polarimetric Convair 580 synthetic aperature radar data collected over an urban site in Ottawa were used to assess and validate the selection and classification results.


Patients who suffer from stroke have motion function disorders. They need rehabilitation training guided by doctors and trainers. Nowadays, robots have been introduced to help the patients regain their motion function in rehabilitation training. In this paper, a novel multi degree of freedom (DOF) exoskeleton robot, with light weight, including (6+1) DOFs, named as Rehab-Arm, is proposed and developed for upper limb rehabilitation. The joints of the robot are equipped with micro motors which are capable of actuating each DOF respectively and simultaneously. The medial/lateral rotation of shoulder is realized by a semi-circle guide mechanism for convenience consideration and safety. The robot is used in sitting posture which is attached to a custom made chair. Hence, the robot can be used to assist patients in passive movement with 7 DOFs of the upper limb for rehabilitation. Five adult healthy male subjects participated in the experiment to test the joint movement accuracy of the robot. Finally, subjects can wear Rehab-Arm and move their upper limb, led by micro motors of the robot, to perform task assigned with specific trajectory.


Background. Although tinea capitis is endemic in many countries, its prevalence in Northwestern Europe (Belgium and the Netherlands) has not been established.


Exploration UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are required to fly autonomously, because GPS cannot be used on Mars. Hence, localization is one of the major topics to be developed. In general, visual odometry is available for relative position estimation. However, it is difficult to estimate absolute position. This paper deals with a path planning in consideration of the absolute localization. This paper introduces Mutual Information for image matching, which is robust to scene changes. MCL (Monte Carlo Localization) is applied for the absolute localization. Then, this paper proposes a new RRT (Rapidly-exploring Random Tree) extension method to generate a path with a large effect of the absolute localization. The simulation results show that the proposed method reduces the uncertainty of the position and generates a path that can increase the probability of reaching the goal.


Western"Freedom of Press"was developed in 19th century,originated from"Freedom of Publication"in 17th century,which experienced the historical context construction of the independence of press business,the pursuit of profession and the change of media. This practice of media experienced the change from"the circle of civil communication"to"the circle of communication based on capital and enterprise",of what comes down in its continuous line is the political context construction of"watchdog"for watching the abuse of political power.The practical space of freedom of press was constructed in the opposed relationship between media power and political power.The idea and the practical space of freedom of press are very precious but with a high cost to modern democracy.


Intangible cultural heritage are of utter importance in terms of tourism. Preserving the intangible resources and ensuring their sustainability will considerably contribute to tourism. Intangible cultural heritage resources can be studied in many different aspects as to tourism. In this context, one of the intangible cultural heritage resource is Karagöz Art. Karagöz Art is a traditional shadow art that has been performed in a master-apprentice manner since historical times. This study aims to reveal the current status of Karagöz Art held in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Accordingly, the study will determine the potential paths to take to improve Karagöz Art and to evaluate it in the tourism context. In the study for which qualitative methods are employed, the data have been collected through a semi-structured form as a result of interviews with 13 Karagöz artists who are members of UNIMA. Subsequently, the study assesses the results obtained from the interviews in the scope of preserving the traditionality of Karagöz art, extending national and international activities


Organizations collect data during different periods so that they can use them for management and business purposes. However, the data do not always come in the most suitable form for analysis, and often needs to be prepared, for which there are a variety of methods, including simulation. This paper presents a case where simulation is used as a tool to get insights into demand, based on historical data. Through simulation, we extract the most frequent demand events for two types of jobs together with the worst events. The simulation model is based on the historical data from a private oil company that operates in Mexico. In addition, we show how simulation results improve the information about Scorecard data recorded during a year of work.


In 18th century Lombardy a well-developed offer of grammar schools granted rural bourgeoisie and some artisans and shopkeepers easy access to Latin education. The Habsburg school reforms (1774, 1786) aim to reduce the offer of Latin education and transform the grammar schools into normal schools for "common education". The opposition of rural municipalities produced a body of proof concerning the perception of the meanings of Latin education in the countryside of Lombardy.


Taking the cylinder liner as the carrier, a small intelligent production line integrating production and teaching has been developed. Intelligent and unmanned processing was realized through modules such as turning-milling compound machining center, stereoscopic warehouse, material conveying system, automatic loading and unloading system, and automatic detection and monitoring system. This paper introduced the mechanical structure of the stereoscopic warehouse and the automatic loading and unloading system of the production line and the software and hardware structure of the PLC control system in detail. Through on-site debugging and small batch production, the production line has reached the design expectations and better serves teaching and production.


This work addresses the problem of aggregation of trajectories data. Specifically, we propose a tree-based data structure for counting vehicle trajectories by mapping them into a set of spatial histograms with different granularities. We also present an approach for processing spatio-temporal range queries by aggregating the histograms in the query rectangles. The proposed methodology can be used for preserving the privacy of vehicle drivers by maintaining aggregated trajectory data. In addition, as we show, it can be used to handle the well-known distinct counting problem. Experimental results show that the new data structure achieves a high level of accuracy in query results and consistently outperforms the leading histogram-based approach.


A QCW fiber laser is presented that can produce arbitrary pulses using only the pump modulation with bandwidth of over 1 MHz. The influence of the pump rise-time and biased pumping is investigated.


Phosphorus is a crucial element in biochemistry, in particular the P−O bond, which is key in the formation of the backbone of deoxyribonucleic acid. So far, PO has only been detected toward the envelope of evolved stars, but never toward star-forming regions. We report the first detection of PO toward two massive star-forming regions, W51 e1/e2 and W3(OH), using data from the IRAM 30 m telescope. PN has also been detected toward the two regions. The abundance ratio PO/PN is 1.8 and 3 for W51 and W3(OH), respectively. Our chemical model indicates that the two molecules are chemically related and are formed via gas-phase ion–molecule and neutral–neutral reactions during cold collapse. The molecules freeze out onto grains at the end of the collapse and desorb during the warm-up phase once the temperature reaches ∼35 K. Similar abundances of the two species are expected during a period of ∼5 × 104 yr at the early stages of the warm-up phase, when the temperature is in the range 35–90 K. The observed molecular abundances of 10−10 are predicted by the model if a relatively high initial abundance of 5 × 10−9 of depleted phosphorus is assumed.


Environmental context. The ability of humic substances (decaying plant and animal matter) to partake in redox reactions in the environment depends on the extent to which the various humic polymers aggregate in solution to form larger particles. This aggregation, in turn, is predicated on the solution conditions, especially ionic strength, the pH, and the types of cations present. Abstract. Aggregation and conformation play an important role in the aqueous redox chemistry of humic substances (HS). The reduction potentials of dissolved humic and fulvic acids vary with pH, ionic strength, and type of humate used, and depending on the solution conditions, they can abiotically reduce various species. Changes in HS reduction potential ranged from 60 to 140 mV on addition of divalent cations, whereas no significant changes were observed with equivalent additions of monovalent cations. Dynamic light scattering measurements showed that this behaviour paralleled the size changes obtained with humic aggregates under the same conditions. The effect was more pronounced at higher pH, where divalent cations caused a significant decrease in the average hydrodynamic radius, whereas monovalent cations did not. At pH 4, neither mono- nor divalent cations substantially affected aggregate sizes. Quinoid moieties, which are known to play an important role in the redox chemistry of HS, displayed fluorescence excitation–emission matrices with features related to changes in the reduction potential of HS. An increase in the reduction potential (Eh) induced by the addition of Ca2+, for instance, caused a red shift in the excitation–emission matrix maximum.


Exposing a stiff primary or revision total knee arthroplasty can be a difficult problem. The V-Y quadricepsplasty is 1 technique that permits adequate exposure of the knee without injury to the patellar tendon and tibial tubercle and lengthens the quadriceps tendon when needed. The potential disadvantage is that, postoperatively, the rehabilitation program needs to be modified, and there is the possibility of quadriceps weakness and extensor lag.


Background: Sickness absence is a phenomenon on a rise in todays Sweden. This is costinglarge sums of money every year, but despite this, there is relatively little research in the field.The current research has its focus, for the most part, on long-term sickness absence. Theauthors behind this study have therefore identified a clear gap of research regarding the shorttermsickness absence.Aim: With this study, the aim is therefore to examine the size of the workplace along with themanagers communication and interactions effect on the short-term sickness absence.Results: The results of the study are produced through a survey to the employees of threedepartments within a international production company and through three interviewsperformed with a HR-manager and two managers over the departments. The study resulted inthe identification of five category codes; The size of the department, The managerscommunication and interaction, Absence culture, Assignments and Health.Conclusion: The primary conclusion that this study result in is that the size of the workplaceaffect the employees possibilities rather than affecting their tendency to have short-termsickness absence. The factor which instead is considered to affect the short-term sicknessabsence is how the manager communicates and integrates with the employees. Therefore, thefocus should be aimed at this factor in attempts to either decrease or control the short-termsickness absence at the workplace.


A reagent kit EIA-DEOXYNIVALENOL for the determination of mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) in feeds and foods by a direct competitive enzyme immunoassay using microtitration plate has been developed and tested. The basic components of the kit are polyclonal antibodies to DON, obtained as a result of immunization of rabbits with a conjugate of DON with bovine serum albumin and a conjugate of horseradish peroxidase with DON. The evaluated parameters of the kit and metrological characteristics of the technique of measurements correspond to the modern level of immunoassay development and provide the determination of DON content of agricultural products in a range of 0.2 to 6.0 mg/kg with proper accuracy and precision. The limit of quantitative determination of DON in grain and cereal foods does not exceed 0.2 mg/kg.


Stream water chemistry was investigated for 25 forested watersheds located about 100 km northwest of Tokyo, Japan. Stream Ca2+ and NO3− concentrations increased and Na+, HCO3−, and SiO2 concentrations decreased with increases in stream discharge rates due to the increased importance of soil water to stream water and decreased importance of groundwater during periods of high precipitation inputs. Stream chemistry was significantly different from soil water chemistry, especially during low flow, suggesting a large contribution of groundwater to the streams during these periods. There were large differences of stream chemistry among watersheds in NO3− and HCO3− concentrations (44 ± 30 and 114 ± 82 µeq L−1, respectively; average ± standard deviation), and smaller differences in Cl− concentrations (46 ± 8 µeq L−1). Patterns of stream NO3− concentrations were affected by the stand age, which affected the ability of the forest to retain N, and the nitrification potential, which regulated N mobility. Patterns of stream HCO3− concentrations varied concomitantly with Ca2+, Na+, and SiO2 concentrations and pH (6.6 ± 0.5) were important attributes of the stream waters of these watersheds, due to the warm humid climate that enhanced N mineralization, nitrification, and mineral weathering.


Based on Biot-Savart's law,magnetic field of a circalar current and Helmholtz coil is calculated by using MATLAB.The spatial distribution diagram for field magnitude and lines of magnetic field is plotted.


This research is a quasi experimental research and design used is ARandomized Pretes-Postest Control Group Design. The subject of the researchdetermined by random toward experimental and control groups. The results of this studyshowed that there was differences class between implements the inquiry learning andconventional learning. Mean score N-Gain science of process skills students washighest in primary schools reached 0.29 A, while for the N-Gain lowest in primaryschools C of 0.15 As for the indicators of science-process skills, process skills of thehighest indicators in the experimental class there is the aspect of the hypothesis, whilethe lowest indicator contained in the aspect of the question. In the control class there areindicators that contained by aspects of the hypothesis while the lowest was on aspects ofobservation. The results visible experimental class science process skills results showedhigher levels of N-gain control of the class. The results in the experimental classsignificantly more improve students' science process skills than conventional class. Keywords: Science Process Skills, Learning Science


The article presents a reflection resulting from the PhD project "Construction intersubjective social management in the city of Medellin", on the main aspects that turn the organizational studies into a complement in order to advance in the field of social management, addressed by tradition from the public. The article suggest how these aspects, which have an interdisciplinary perspective and look beyond the organization towards the study of phenomena different cultural, political, economic, social, among others, and whose nature is apparently non organizational, contribute to the conceptualization of social services management public which is not centered on the action of a single organization, but on the whole of the associations belonging to the civil society. In order to account for this, the article explains what is the social management, then discusses some of the main contributions made by the organizational theories, emphasizing aspects that give rise to organizational studies; after that, the article presents the contributions made by the organizational studies to the research in social management; finally, the conclusions are presented.


This investigation aimed to assess the microbial quality of drinking water produced by drinking water filtration dispenser toll machines (DFTMs) to assess the health risk of DFTM water. A total of 210 samples were randomly collected of 70 DFTMs within a radial distance of 500 metres around Mahasarakham University. The prevalence of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in the DFTM water was 54.17% and 16.67% with an average concentration of 1.04 log cfu/ml and 0.26 log cfu/ml, respectively. The risk calculation (using the @Risk program based on drinking water consumption of 2 L/day) indicated that the probability of exposure was 1.67 E-01, while the probability of illness due to E. coli and S. aureus was 2.08 E-03 and 1.58 E-05 and the risk of illness was 1.13 E-03 and 2.64 E-06, respectively. The sanitation status and drinking water quality related to health would be influenced by other pathogens due to the poor hygienic conditions of DFTMs and improper environments.


Accurate recognition of human actions is essential to many health-care, entertainment, and human-computer interface applications. However, the achievable accuracy depends on a variety of parameters for the various stages of recognition, including sensing, feature extraction, and classification. In this paper, we quantitatively evaluate the classification accuracy for varying sensing rates, sensor data filtering techniques, segmentation approaches, and classification algorithms for several different types of action. The results of these evaluations provide guidelines and strategies for the design of future action recognition systems.


This book deals with global issues concerning ecology and world government. It moves from the very general to the very specific.


About 5 to 10% of avocado trees planted in the late 1970's in the Temecula/Rancho California area of California are suffering a decline of unknown origin. The apparent random distribution of the trees within groves and their strong rootstock-scion discontinuities suggest that the rootstock genotype plays a role in the decline. This hypothesis is reinforced by the fact that rootstock material of the late 1970's was obtained from a variety of sources. Therefore, we used allozyme analysis to ask whether avocado performance varied with rootstock racial origin. We sampled and analyzed rootstock bark from adjacent pairs of healthy and declining trees in a Rancho California 'Hass' grove. We obtained the racial identity of 90% of the rootstocks: 50% were seedlings of the Mexican race; 25%, Mexican x West Indian hybrids; the rest, West Indian seedlings. We did not find any systematic genetic differences between healthy and declining trees. If genotype plays a role in the performance of these rootstocks, it depends on genetic variation within, rather than among, races.


This paper reports on a method for the investigation of mechanical stress on MEMS sensor and actuator structures due to packaging processes. A silicon test chip is developed and manufactured to validate the simulation results. Finite element analysis (FEA) is used to optimize the geometric parameters and to find a stress sensitive sensor geometry. A diaphragm structure is used as mechanical amplifier for bulk induced stresses during the packaging process. Piezo resistive solid state resistors are doped into the surface of the chip to measure the stress in the diaphragms and at the contact pads being most significant locations for analysis. A high precision ohmmeter was used to measure the resistance prior and past the packaging process. The captured data allows for computation of the resulting stress loads in magnitude. Therefore, a stress evaluation of different packaging technologies is conducted and the impact of the packaging process on reliability can be estimated immediately.


The shallow water Canada Basin Acoustic Propagation Experiment (SW CANAPE) was conducted to study the effects of oceanographic variability on broadband acoustic fields in the Arctic. The physics of the acoustic waveguide on the northeastern edge of the Chukchi Shelf are influenced by dynamic boundary conditions and spatio-temporal fluctuations in the water column temperature and salinity profiles. Several oceanographic and acoustic receiving arrays were deployed across the Chukchi Shelf out to the shelf break region. Linear frequency modulated (LFM) signals were transmitted by two sources on the shelf for a long period of time. The influence of small scale, short-term water column variability, and dynamic upper boundary conditions including open water, marginal, and solid ice zones on shallow water propagation is shown for a 10 km source-receiver separation with well-defined water column properties measured at the source, receiver, and a mid-point along the cross-shelf acoustic path. [Work supported by ON...


Daniel Pabst's architectural photography often highlights the tension between site-specificity and the legacy of early twentieth-century international style. In photographs of diverse sites across the globe, such as Dallas, Texas, St. Petersburg, Russia, and Vienna, Austria, Pabst draws attention to the formal qualities of such architecture hailed for its ability to communicate internationally but inherently tied to particular locations—as reflected in Pabst's titular conventions. As such, his photographs of buildings, whose functions range from public offices to private residences, and everything between, reveal moments where placeless meets place.


A simplified method was developed to determine the fatigue life of a ceramic column grid array (CCGA) solder joint when exposed to thermal environments. The CCGA package with 90Pb/10Sn solder columns is soldered onto the printed circuit board with a tin-lead solder paste. Failure of the solder joint occurs at the CCGA solder column. A closed-form solution with the equilibrium of displacements of electronic package assembly was first derived to calculate the solder joint strains during the temperature cycling. In the calculation, an iteration technique was used to obtain a convergent solution in the solder strains, and the elastic material properties were used for all the electronic package assembly components except for the solder materials, which used elastic-plastic properties. A fatigue life prediction model, evolved from an empirically derived formula based upon a modified Coffin-Manson fatigue theory, was then established. CCGA test results, obtained from various sources, combined with the derived solder strains were used to calibrate the proposed life prediction model. In the model calibration process, the 625- and 1657-pin CCGA test results, which were cycled between 20°C/90°C, 0°C/100°C, −55°C/110°C, or −55°C/125°C, were reasonably well correlated to the calculated values of solder strains. In addition, this calibrated model is remarkably simple compared to the model used in an evaluation by a finite element analysis. Therefore, this model could be used and is recommended to serve as an effective tool to make a preliminarily estimate at the CCGA solder joint thermal fatigue life. It is also recommended to 1) select more study cases with various solder joint configurations, package sizes, environmental profiles, etc. to further calibrate this life prediction model, 2) use this model to conduct parametric studies to identify critical factors impacting solder joint fatigue life and then seeking an optimum design, and 3) develop a similar life prediction model for lead-free solder materials.Copyright © 2007 by ASME


One of the indications of chocolate product degradation is blooming. It is distinguished by the loss of surface shine, which is replaced by a white coating. These effects are caused by insufficient processing, inappropriate chocolate content, and incompatible storage conditions. It can alter these characteristics to enhance chocolate's resistance to blooming and its texture, flavor, and appearance. Several factors must be considered when creating blooming-resistant chocolate, such as chocolate particle size, fat content, processing techniques, and storage conditions. This concise review will discuss fat blooming in chocolate, from its formation to its contributing factors and methods for resolving it.


75% female and of a similar age range to the patients. Patients randomized to Reiki or mimic Reiki underwent two treatments in the first week, followed by weekly treatments. Patients in the usual-care group were only assessed at the start and end of the 12-week period. Due to poor participant retention, this arm was discontinued after randomization of 26 subjects. Therapy sessions of 25-min duration were conducted throughout the day with patients supine in a clinic room decorated to facilitate relaxation. The primary efficacy outcome was the McGill Pain Questionnaire (7). Secondary end points were the 6-min walk test (8), the Epidemiology of Diabetes Intervention and Complications quality-of-life questionnaire, the Well-Being Questionnaire, and the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (9 –11). Treatment group comparisons followed the intent-to-treat principle. Treatment groups were first compared using an overall (2 d.f.) test of difference. Pairwise comparisons were made using Tukey's test for multiple comparisons. Analyses were repeated after stratification in general linear regression models. Paired (pre/ post) data were analyzed using Student'st test for the continuous variables. Participants without a final evaluation were dropped from the analysis. A significance level of 0.05 was used throughout the analyses.


Carbon nanocoils (CNCs) with diameter from 100 to 150 nm have been synthesized by catalytic decomposition of acetylene at 700 °C using Fe–Sn–O catalyst film prepared by a spin-coating method. The CNCs are much smaller in diameter than those synthesized using the catalysts prepared by a sol-gel method and a solution-dipping method. It is found that catalyst films with different morphologies are obtained by changing the spin-coating times, which lead to the formation of different multilayer carbon nanostructures, including CNCs/carbon layer/vertically aligned carbon nanotubes sandwich-like structures, and CNCs/carbon double-layer structures. Based on the experimental results, the growth mechanism of the multilayer carbon nanostructures has been proposed.


An energy balance algorithm is desirable for the DC-link voltage control of Grid tied Battery connected bidirectional Photovoltaic (PV) inverter system. The system must satisfy the requirements of Battery and the DC-bus voltage requirements. This paper proposes an energy balance based algorithm to stabilize the voltage across the DC-link capacitor which will automatically stabilizes the DC-bus voltage. The proposed energy balance algorithm generates the reference Grid current for current control algorithm which controls the inverter to inject sine wave current into the Grid. Thus, the proposed algorithms accordingly balance the voltage across the DC-link capacitor and controls the inverter to inject sine wave current into the Grid. The system shows an excellent performance based on the proposed algorithms which includes tracking accuracy, tracking speed, settling time and overshoot, which can be seen in the simulation results.


Abstract Beach erosion problems have become prevalent in Korea as a result of its economic growth and coastal development. This paper summarizes a comprehensive approach used to mitigate beach erosion that occurred after the construction of a coastal road with a seawall along Namae Beach in Korea. Field measurements of waves and currents were performed to identify the wave-induced current pattern associated with the observed shoreline erosion in front of the seawall. The construction of a short jetty and two submerged reef mounds was proposed to reduce the wave-induced current and resulting beach erosion. After the jetty construction from May to August, 2008, the shoreline advanced offshore continuously in the zone affected by the jetty. Field monitoring will be continued during the reef mound construction and for beach nourishment proposed to maintain a wide beach in front of the seawall. This mitigation project indicates that the effect of a coastal road on an adjacent beach should be taken into account before its siting because of the long-term evolution of the beach morphology.


From Introduction and Summary: "This report gives results of an investigation of the carbonizing properties of two Tennessee coals, one from Jellico bed Campbell County and the other from the Sewanee bed in Marion County."


The theoretical QM/MM study of the reaction catalysed by phosphonoacetaldehyde hydrolase indicates a possible alternative mechanism of the P-C bond cleavage: as opposed to the mechanism proposed earlier and that involved formation of a covalently bound intermediate (Schiff-base), in the new mechanism, the bond breaking process is facilitated by proton transfer from catalytic lysine residue to the substrate.


The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created an acute worldwide demand for sustained broadband pathogen suppression in households, hospitals, and public spaces. Infections have surged past 160,000 daily new cases in the US, the highest rates yet seen during the pandemic. In response, we have created a rapid-acting, self-sterilizing PPE configurations capable of killing SARS-CoV-2 and other microbes in seconds. The highly active material destroys pathogens faster than any conventional copper configuration. The material maintains its antimicrobial efficacy over sustained use and is shelf stable. We have performed rigorous testing in accordance with guidelines from U.S. governing authorities and believe that the material could offer broad spectrum, non-selective defense against most microbes via integration into masks and other protective equipment. Summary A novel configuration of copper offers continued fast-acting protection against viruses and bacteria, including SARS-CoV-2.


Obstructions of air flow in the outdoor unit could block the condenser air flow and reduce its heat rejection As a result, it could decrease the performance of a room air conditioning system. The paper presents the effects of the air flow obstruction of a condensing unit on the performance of a split-type air conditioner with refrigerant R410A. The study was conducted experimentally by employing front and side obstructions with varied distance from the condensing unit. The front obstruction of 100 cm height was applied at varied distance from 10 cm to 100 cm, while the side obstruction of the same height was applied at distance of 5, 10, and 15 cm. The presence of air flow obstructions results in the decrease of cooling capacity and coefficient of performance (COP). On the other hand, it increases the input power of the AC unit. From the experiment, it is obvious that the distance of front obstruction of 10 cm results in the reduction of cooling capacity by 46% and COP by 56%. It is also revealed that the distance of the front obstruction of 50 cm or more has no significant effect for the performance of the air conditioning unit. In addition, the side obstructions have the less significant effect than that of the front obstruction.


Since the discovery of high-gravity oil in the Cuyama Valley on June 13, 1948, development and exploration have proceeded at a rapid pace. As of October 15, 1949, these operations had resulted in the discovery of two oil fields, and completion of 151 producers, with a restricted daily production of 29,200 barrels. Thirteen development wells and six wildcats were currently drilling. The two oil fields lie in the western part of the valley. Development to date in the Russell Ranch field covers an area approximately 4½ miles long and ½ mile wide. Trending southeasterly from the top of White Rock Bluff, it straddles the Cuyama River, lying partly in San Luis Obispo County and partly in Santa Barbara County. Production here is from two sand zones, Dibblee, the upper, and Colgrove, the lower. Both are of lower Miocene age. The oil field occurs on a northeast-dipping monocline End_Page 2058------------------------------ against a large, normal fault, known as the Russell fault. This fault trends approximately N. 30° W., and dips steeply to the southwest. The Dibblee sand lies at depths ranging generally from 2,800 to 3,200 feet. The Colgrove zone lies approximately 1,000 feet below the top of the Dibblee. The South Cuyama field, discovered in May of this year, lies in the foothills at the south margin of the valley, about 4 miles southeast of the Russell Ranch field in Santa Barbara County. Its productive limits have not yet been determined, but present development and productive outposts extend over an area 3 miles long and more than 1½ miles wide. This oil field occurs on an elongated faulted dome, its long axis trending northwest and southeast. Production is from the Dibblee zone, encountered at depths ranging from 4,000 to 4,400 feet. Exploration has not yet been carried below this zone. Unlike the Russell Ranch field, South Cuyama has a gas cap area at the crest of the dome. The Dibblee sand is a friable, well sorted arkose, ranging from fine- to coarse-grained. It is characterized by high porosity, high permeability, and high productive indices. Potentials in both fields range upward to several thousand barrels per day. The Colgrove sand is similar in character to the Dibblee and well potentials are comparable, though generally somewhat smaller due to the lesser thickness of sand. Both fields are being developed on a ten-acre spacing pattern, with duplicate wells where the Colgrove zone is productive. End_of_Article - Last_Page 2059------------


In this study, EEG data recorded during mental arithmetic operations and silent reading were analyzed by discrete wavelet transform and feature vectors were obtained. The obtained feature vectors are classified by Support Vector Machines (SVM). Results are given for 26 channels, all recorded channels, and for 10 most effective channels. Correlation based feature selection based algorithm is used for choosing the most effective channels. Decreasing the number of channels without compromising the accuracy, is an important issue for real time applications for which a short analysis time is crucial. In this study, mental arithmetic and silent reading tasks are classified with an accuracy of 90.71%, a precision rate of 91.03% and F-measure rate of 90.63% on the average using 26 channels, whereas the accuracy, precision and F-measure were 90.44%, 90.61% and 90.08, respectively which were comparable to that of obtained using all channels, for reduced number of channels.


In the 1980s, the EC engaged in trying actively to construct a European identity, primarily through a 'manufacturing of symbols', such as a common flag, hymn and day of celebration. A lesser-known element of this symbolic construction was the elevation of the recently deceased Jean Monnet to a position as the undisputed 'founding father' of Europe. The 'sanctification' of Monnet culminated in the conversion of his house – purchased by the European Parliament – into a museum of his deeds and of the European project that they served. This article seeks to analyse the construction of Monnet as a founding father for EUrope, first by investigating the context of the acquisition of his house and the establishment of the museum in the 1980s, and subsequently by analysing the present exhibition in it.


Karaoke lets people sing along to recorded accompaniments. Many karaoke systems provide the accompaniment, on-screen vocal texts for the singer to follow, and a video that is appropriate to the selected song. There are currently three types of karaoke systems: those for karaoke houses, cable TV companies, and home use. These are all standalone systems that require considerable human interaction. None of them can provide Karaoke on demand. To provide KOD, Y.-J. Lee, D.H.C. Du, and W.-H. Ma (1996) have proposed Sesame (a scalable and extensible architecture for multimedia entertainment). They claim that Sesame is modular (system elements can be easily replaced), scalable, extensible, and cost effective. Although other researchers have devised KOD schemes, these schemes are also standalone systems, are limited by throughput, or only provide audio. Sesame system would have three basic components: the server system, the network, and the user workstations. The server system uses off the shelf products such as a Fast-Wide SCSI II channel to connect storage devices to servers. Servers, also using commodity products such as Intel Pentium or Motorola PowerPC chips, administer the data. A switch based network connects the server to the workstations. A switch based network can provide each user with a dedicated link and bandwidth at low latency, unlike a shared medium network such as a LAN. The workstation forwards user requests, decompresses the data, mixes the user's voice with the soundtrack, and controls the audio-video display. The system uses MPEG compression.


Abstract During the sampling period, 243 syrphid larvae belonging to seven species were collected from M. cerasi colonies on P. avium. Episyrphus balteatus Deg. and Epistrophe eligans (Harr.) were the most numerous species amongst the materials gathered, followed by Syrphus ribesii (L.) and S. vitripennis Meig. All of these species play an essential role in reducing M. cerasi populations. Amongst the Coccinellidae occurring in black cherry aphid colonies, Adalia bipunctata L. was the dominant species, while the subdominant was Coccinella septempunctata L. and Propylaea quatuordecimpunctata (L.).


The quadratic distance function on a Riemannian manifold can be expressed in terms of the position vector, which in turn can be constructed using geodesic normal coordinates through consideration of the exponential map. The formulas for the derivative of the distance are useful to study Lyapunov stability of dynamical systems, and to build cost functions for optimal control and estimation.


R eading Mitchell Wilson's thoughtful and challenging paper, "Putting Practice into Theory," puts me in mind of an incident from early in my career. I had just moved back to Saint Louis, my home, from New York City, where I had trained in psychiatry. I had accepted a full-time appointment at a local medical school. I was at a reception for new faculty members and was introduced to the dean. He asked me about my academic and research interests, and I told him of my intention to pursue psychoanalytic training. He commented on the requirement for a personal training analysis, and offered this observation: "Isn't the requirement just a way for the senior guys to keep their practices full?" Before I could say, "Actually, there are good reasons for the requirement, like ...," he had moved on. I wanted to tell him about all that I had yet to learn. Twelve years after the incident with the dean, I was in Chicago meeting with a kind, elderly training analyst from the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis who was evaluating my work as part of the training and supervising analyst appointment process for the Saint Louis Psychoanalytic Institute. He asked, "Why do you want to be a training analyst?" I could have said, "Because I am interested in psychoanalytic education and in being generative," but I did not. I said, without hesitating, "Because I want to practice analysis." I wondered whether I had just confirmed my former dean's cynical view of the entire training analyst enterprise. Or was I simply being realistic? The reality of my career as a training analyst for the past seventeen years has actually been more complex. I work and have worked with candidates, to be sure, but I have also worked with many in professions and fields far removed from mental health or even health care more generally. I have also worked with a number of mental health professionals who have not wanted to pursue psychoanalytic training, yet wanted a psychoanalytic experience


Impact of the internet marketing through online social networks toward customers' and companies' perspective (A case study of Nokia on Facebook)


Introduction: Home-based care is an important part of the health care sector globally. But there is a lack of studies of the working conditions for health care workers within home-based care.Aim: T ...


The formation of dynamic and interactive events in distributed Exascale systems makes it impossible to use pre-defined response structures to manage the requirements of scientific applications. The nature of the dynamic and interactive events is such that there is a need for scalability and creating new structures to meet the processes' requirements. In unstructured P2P systems, resource discovery activity and responding the process requests are normally based on the absence of a specific and pre-defined structure. Emphasizing the concept of the lack of a response structure in distributed Exascale and unstructured P2P systems, this paper tends to address the challenges of employing the manager of these types of systems in distributed Exascale systems.


 Structural Weakening and Destabilization: types of materials used are not appropriate to the dam surroundings.  Corrosion: steel reinforcement corrosion and concrete cracking occur because of high humidity.  Environmental Deterioration: rapid changes in water level and pressure can cause habitat frag mentation and reservoir-induced seismicity respectively. Landslides are a result of both water level and pressure. With reference to Figure 1: Structural Weakening and Destabilization: shown in concrete failure cracking and at the base of a dam where stability failure occurs. Corrosion: seen at the end of the piping where erosion has resulted in a scour hole. Environmental Deterioration: can be caused by a mini landslide that can cause a slump. Rodent activity is a sign of habitat fragmentation.


Local damage models usually have the disadvantage that results are strongly mesh dependent. The reason is that the type of the underlying partial differential equations changes under quasi-static conditions from elliptic to hyperbolic. Non-local damage models do not exhibit such behaviour under certain conditions. The usage of such nonlocal damage models in finite element analyses opens the possibility for preserving the ellipticity of the partial differential equations and thus avoiding mesh dependence of numerically obtained results. The loss of ellipticity for local models and its preservation for non-local models are demonstrated for a wide variety of examples enclosing ductile damage. In the present investigation, the non-local damage model is applied to the simulation of ductile crack extension in fracture mechanics specimens. The type of the underlying differential equations is permanently analysed and controlled. Non-local extension of Gurson s model The basic equations of the local Gurson model in the formulation of Tvergaard and Needleman include the yield condition ( ) ( ) ( ) 0 1 2 tr cosh 2 , , 2 1 2 1 2 = − − ⎟⎠ ⎞ ⎜⎜ ⎝ ⎛ + = Φ ∗ ∗ f q q f q f M M v M σ σ σ σ σ σ , (1) the evolution equation for the modified void volume fraction


(57) Abstract: a corner cube article, a method of fabricating the article from the set of direct work can be integrated substrate (140). The fabrication method includes the step of providing an initial directly integrated tools available substrate material suitable for forming retroreflective surfaces. Next, a first corner cube element region (142) is formed as a region having a plurality of geometric structures including cube corner elements. This region is made by tool directly to the substrate at least two groove set of parallel grooves. Replica cube corner element array body region is formed as an additional integral substrate suitable for forming retroreflective surfaces. Replica substrate material is partially removed. These partial removal forms at least two intersecting cavities bounded by side walls to a depth of the corner cube element formed by at least a groove set in the replica. Each cavity comprises at least one side wall is extends into the replica to a substantially equal depth in the uppermost depth of the other cross cavity.


The case asks the student to analyse the design of the brick manufacturing process. By the end of the case study, students should be completely comfortable with the analysis of the deterministic system controlled by the automated management system, including the effects of the kiln tunnel and its setup restrictions. The case is intended to be a review of the rudiments of process analysis, including the capacity of the factory, which is the core of the operations management course. The manufacturing process is relatively simple, but it is still tricky to analyse it. The brick manufacturing technologies are also included to help students understand the brick industry. The student is put in the position of the CEO, facing the dilemma of building and operating a new factory that produces eco-friendly bricks.


Physically the conventional beamforming method (CBF) is based on a decomposition of the incident-wave field into plane or spherical elementary waves whose relative phases are interpreted to mean that the directions of incidence and source locations can be identified and classified. A central assumption of the CBF is its application in the acoustic free field. This assumption is particularly affected in cavities such as a vehicle interior, in which to a certain frequency range (below the Schroeder frequency) modal influences dominate the sound field. Over the past years the beamforming in modal sound fields, however, has reached a new level. Studies have shown that modern beamforming methods allow reliable sound source localization inside rooms, in particular in a vehicle interior, in a range above the Schroeder frequency. Furthermore, developments such as the use of generalized cross correlation and automated mode detection to take into account modal sound field effects of a vehicle interior have raised the localization quality of the beamforming below the Schroeder frequency to a new level. A detailed presentation of results will show the potential of these methods individually, and also in combination using the example of a real vehicle.


This paper originates from a reflection on the term competence (and skill), concepts widely discussed in Brazilian education policies until the homologation and publication process, on December 14th, 2018, of the National Common Curricular Base (Base Nacional Comum Curricular BNCC). The objective was to understand that, in the process of elaborating and implementing the BNCC, the concepts of competence and skill revealed a principle of awareness. Therefore, the research problem aimed to ponder about the * Professor do Colégio La Salle de Xanxerê e da Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó (Unochapecó). Doutor em Filosofia pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR). E-mail: <firstname.lastname@example.com>. ** Professor da Rede Pública Estadual de Santa Catarina. Doutorando em Educação pela Universidade de Passo Fundo (UPF). Mestre em Educação pela UNOCHAPECO. Especialista em Gestão Escolar (UNISSELVI). Especialista em metodologia de ensino de Filosofia e Sociologia (EADUCON). Licenciado em Filosofia pela Faculdade de Filosofia Imaculada Conceição (FAFIMC). E-mail: <email@example.com>. De Husserl a Freire: reflexões sobre o conceito de competência na Base Nacional Comum Curricular Revista de Estudios Teóricos y Epistemológicos en Política Educativa, v. 5, e2015157, p. 1-12, 2020 Disponible en: <https://www.revistas2.uepg.br/index.php/retepe> 2 definition of awareness that gave theoretical support to the elaboration of the BNCC. When assuming a qualitative approach, it was a study whose methodological procedures were based on bibliographic research. Based on the results, subsidies of different proposals of awareness in thinking were identified from Edmund Husserl to Paulo Freire, which could contribute to the epistemological bases of the BNCC. It is concluded that, when there is no deep and democratic discussion on education policies, the worst of humanity is preserved: conservatism and obscurantism expressed in the concept of awareness as competence in the BNCC.


ABSTRACTSocial media has become increasingly popular over the past few years and is continuing to flourish throughout the world. Its rise in popularity and use is propelling user-generated content on commercial websites facilitating the online buying of goods and services referred to as social commerce (s-commerce).This study examines the effects of collectivism and price consciousness on consumers' intention to use s-commerce using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as the theoretical framework. We test and analyze the research model and related hypotheses using structural equation modeling. The results from a survey of 375 s-commerce users indicate that preference, reliance, norm acceptance, and goal priority (dimensions of collectivism) had significant effects on the perceived usefulness of s-commerce and that price consciousness had significant moderating effects on the relationships between perceived usefulness/perceived ease of use and individuals' intention to use s-commerce. A discussion of the research findings and implications for practitioners and researchers is included.Keywords: Social commerce; Actual use; Collectivism; Price consciousness1. IntroductionThe rise of social media, particularly social networking sites (SNSs), and the popularity of users generating content are creating new opportunities for research within the academic community and new avenues for promoting and selling goods and services in the business community. At the intersection, social commerce (s-commerce) has started to flourish. S-commerce, a subset of e-commerce, combines social media with e-commerce to facilitate the buying and selling of goods and services through the use of internet technologies [Marsden 2011]. Users engage in s-commerce activity by making use of social networks formed through e-commerce transactions. These social networks are formed when s-commerce users collaborate by sharing their online shopping experiences and product- and service-related information and are strengthened by their exchange of "trustworthy" opinions for making informed purchases and obtaining the best prices.S-commerce is starting to receive considerable attention from the business community, as individuals are making greater use of user-generated content to make informed buying decisions. In particular, s-commerce has witnessed explosive growth in South Korea (hereafter "Korea"), because consumers place great emphasis on acquiring and using coupons and sharing information on goods and services, with the later representing a manifestation of collectivism. Collectivism represents a sense of interdependence among members of a group and their prioritization of group goals [Pookulangara & Koesler 2011]. In general, collectivism embodies the manner in which individuals view themselves as members of a group and consider the needs of the group to be more important than their own individual needs. By contrast, individualism represents the prioritization of oneself at the expense of the group as a whole. Business environments have different cultural emphasis. For example, traditional e-commerce models (e.g. B2C, C2C) are characterized as individualistic in nature whereas s-commerce is collectivistic in nature [Bin et al. 2003]. Brandtzae g [2010] noted the importance of cultural differences in the context of s-commerce, claiming that such differences can influence the interaction between new social media technologies (e.g. s-commerce) and users.Dell is one of the first companies to capitalize on s-commerce. With the launch of "Dell Swarm," Dell has been able to sell more computers and provide lower prices to consumers by inviting them to join an online "Swarm." Computers are bought and sold in bulk, facilitating a win-win exchange for both Dell and its customers. S-commerce sites such as "Dell Swarm" typically offer consumers discount deals to entice them to share product- and service-related information on their sites. …


Classification of imbalanced datasets is one of the widely explored challenges of the decade. The imbalance occurs in many real world datasets due to uneven distribution of data into classes, i.e. one class has more instances while others have a few that results in the biased performances of traditional classifiers towards the majority class with large number of instances and ignorance of other classes with less data. Many solutions have been proposed to deal with this issue in various crisp and fuzzy methods. This paper proposes a new hybrid fuzzy weighted nearest neighbor approach to find better overall classification performance for both minority and majority classes of imbalanced data. Benefits of neighbor weighted K nearest neighbor approach i.e. assignment of large weights to small classes and small weights to large classes are merged with fuzzy logic. Fuzzy classification helps in classifying objects more adequately as it determines that how much an object belongs to a class. Experimental results exhibit the improvements in classification of imbalanced data of different imbalance ratios in comparison with other methods.


Difference limen for the frequencies (DLF) and the formant frequencies (DLFF) were examined in 5 children of normal, hard of hearing and deaf as the test of auditory discriminability.DLF of the normal and the deaf children were 0.6-1.2% and 5.6-11.4% respectivelyDLFF of the normal and the hard of hearing children 5.5-6.9% and 12.5-27.2% respectively.Vocal pitch matching (VPM) and variability of formant frequencies (VFF) were examined on the same subjects as the tests of motor function.VPM of the normal and the deaf were 1.6-2.2% and 17.8-30.2%, respectively.VFF of the normal, the hard of hearing and the deaf were 5.0-7.6%, 9.9-25.3% and 28.3-46.6% respectively.The results described above showed the almost same values between auditory discriminability and motor normality in speech behavior.From these results, the author hypothized that measurement of the motor variability in speech behavior will be useful in the judgement of grade on the speech disordres, prognosis and training effects.


The paper describes the development of a flexible wearable antenna used in military and police work. The design is based on numerical simulations using commercial software. Simulations taking into account the curved-surface profile of the antenna and differently sized human bodies are presented. Experimentally obtained return loss and radiation patterns are shown in comparison with the computed results. Measured return loss better than 7 dB has been achieved across the frequency band of 360-460 MHz. The superiority of the antenna with respect to conventionally used antennas in the abovementioned applications is demonstrated.


The relationship between technical efficiency and size might be affected by farm heterogeneity. We analyse this relationship conditional on a set of control variables. These control variables are chosen using a production model where technical efficiency is introduced as a parameter. As a result, technical efficiency affects both the input demand and the output supply of a profit maximising producer. The empirical application explores these issues using panel data of dairy farms in Spain.


Among free-living microorganisms, which can be practically used in agriculture, bacteria from the Azospirillum genus as well as other endophytes are nowadays thought of as the most active component of associative dinitrogen fixation. The investigation was carried out to study the characterization of Azospirillum lipoferu found in the soils of the ten agro-climatic zones which Karnataka, is classified. By using RAPD markers, 75 bands were scored out of which 78.6 % were found to be polymorphic. Statistical analysis of RAPD data enabled the classification of 10 Azospirillum isolates into two major groups. . In this, the cluster analysis based on 75 RAPD bands revealed that the ten A. lipoferu isolates examined clustered at a linkage distance of about 40 units on the dendrogram. There was no correlation between RAPD and geographical origin of isolates.


In this paper, mesoscopic lattice–Boltzmann method (LBM) and microscopic molecular dynamics simulation method were used to simulate droplet dynamic wetting under microgravity. In terms of LBM, the wetting process of a droplet on a solid wall surface was simulated by introducing the fluid–fluid and solid–fluid interactions. In terms of molecular dynamics simulation, the spreading process of water on gold surface was simulated. Calculation results showed that two kinds of calculation methods were based on the microscopic molecular theory or mesoscopic kinetics theory, and such models could effectively overcome the contact line paradox issue, which results from the macro-continuum assumption and non-slip boundary condition assumption. The spreading exhibits two-stage behavior: fast spreading and slow spreading stages. For the two simulation methods, the ratio of fast spreading stage duration to slow spreading duration, spreading capacity (equilibrium contact radius/initial radius), and the spreading exponent of the rapid stage were very close. However, the predictive spreading index of the slow spreading stage was different, owing to the different spreading mechanisms between meso- and nanoscales.