The control protocols that underlie public expenditure management have direct implications for a government's ability to pursue fiscal discipline and service delivery objectives. The literature recognizes the inherent challenge in balancing control with flexibility and that these two objectives are often in conflict with one another. This paper argues that applying a universal set of expenditure controls across all transactions naturally cannot meet both of these objectives. One the one hand, a regime with universal, tight ex ante commitment controls lends itself to prudent fiscal management but constrains the ability of service providers to react adequately to rapidly changing needs. On the other hand, loosening controls equally for all transactions would introduce fiscal risks. To overcome this conundrum, the paper argues for a paradigm shift: a purposeful policy shift that subjects high-value transactions to the full set of rigorous controls, while relaxing controls for low-value transactions that apply to important aspects of the service delivery sectors. Such controls could be built into the financial management information systems that facilitate transactions and institute these controls. However, the evidence suggests that these systems are frequently not deployed to their full potential. Flexibility is inadvertently inhibited where it is necessary without providing the controls for transactions that constitute a fiscal risk. Recognizing this problem, the paper develops a two-pronged, risk-based deployment strategy for financial management information systems: (1) deploy such systems to high-value transactions, and (2) use banking sector innovations for advance payments, such as smart cards or mobile money, to facilitate flexibility for low-value transactions without compromising the integrity of transactions or accountability.


There is a new emphasis on professionalism within legal education and the organized bar. Lawyers are being called on to go beyond the incentives of the market and beyond the requirements of the professional rules - to seek justice, to be more honest and tolerant, to be less adversarial and selfish, and to give more of their time and resources to the poor. The moral basis for this call to services is lawyers' status as professionals. This focus on professionalism comes at a time when the reputation of the legal profession has fallen to new depths. This article examines whether in this postmodern world the traditional concepts of professionalism can be resuscitated or whether a new moral ground is needed. The traditional professional ideals were built on a deeply rooted moral foundation that was widely shared among the bar. In the 1960s and 70s, however, the elitist foundations of professionalism began to crumble. Increased diversity in the profession and postmodern thoughts that there was no moral truth undercut the possibility of a pervasive professional ethic. The result of these postmodern teachings have left each lawyer to create his or her own meaning of "professionalism." The modern concept of professionalism is both too weak and too dangerous to yield the responsible exercise of professional power. Instead, the key to renewed virtue in lawyers is to look within the diversity of the profession for moral insight. As the traditional idea of professionalism has failed, lawyers now need to look to their own personal traditions to define virtue. Morality is likely to take hold and to affect one's life when it is drawn not from the ethical considerations of the profession, but from the deepest source of values of that person.


The basic human trait is to be averse to the idea of taking risks. There is always an urge to minimize the risks and take protection against possible failure. The risk includes fire, the perils of sea, death, accidents and burglary. Any risk may be insured against at a premium commensurate with the risk involved. Thus, collective bearing of risk is insurance. Insurance, whether life or non-life, provides people with a reasonable degree of security and assurance that they will be protected in the event of a calamity or failure of any sort. There are number of forces driving the services sector today. Five environmental variables that affect all industries-customers, competitors, government, technology and globalization-are forcing rapid changes in the service sector. In addition, there are four factors of particular importance to service providers-change in how quality is perceived, cost control, customer services and the new definitions of the customer.


Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy is demonstrated using a light source consisting of the output from a photonic crystal fiber pumped by a standard Ti:sapphire oscillator and the fundamental oscillator beam.


The human remains discovered by Mr. Hogarth in the caves of the Zakro Gorge, and sent to me for identification, consist of three skulls of adults and a fragment of an upper maxillary of a child. The skulls present the following characters. All are well developed, with highly complicated sutures, and wormean bones in the parieto-occipital suture, with thin cranial walls, and without the strong muscular impressions and ridges, usually met with in prehistoric skulls, and present in all living uncivilised peoples.


: The effect of hypothermia on the ischemia‐induced changes in the subcellular distribution of protein kinase C (PKC)(γ), ‐(βII), and ‐(α) and the activity of PKC was studied in striatal homogenates of rats subjected to 20 min of cerebral ischemia. The effect of post‐ischemic cooling was also studied. During normothermic ischemia, PKC(γ) and ‐(βII) increased 3.9‐and 2.9‐fold, respectively, in the particulate fraction, signifying a translocation of PKC to cell membranes. The levels of PKC(α) did not change significantly. PKC activity decreased during ischemia by 52% and 47% (p < 0.05) in the paniculate and cytosolic fractions, respectively, and remained inhibited for the 1 h recovery period. In hypothermic animals, there was no evidence of translocation, and the inhibition of PKC activity was completely abolished. Hypothermia induced in the recovery phase, however, did not affect PKC distribution or activity. The protective effect of intraischemic hypothermia may in part be due to the prevention of the ischemia‐induced translocation and subsequent downregulation of PKC, possibly through a temperature‐dependent modification of the cell membranes.


The electrolytic recovery of copper and regeneration of copper chloride etchant has been studied. The effects of current density, as it concentration, cuprous and cupric ion concentration on current efficiency has been assessed


With the growing application of personal-growth-group techniques to the enhance ment of intra- and inter-personal actualizing, a great deal of speculative literature has been generated concerning the possible benefits or damage to the participants. Only recently have the results of a number of studies provided objective evidence concerning the effects of group-therapy techniques. Such studies are, in part, the result of the comparatively recent availability of relevant personality measures sensitive to the measurement of change, including the Personal Orientation In ventory (POI). The article summarizes and integrates the major findings from these studies. The evidence is that positive change from pre- to post-test administrations of the POI are significant for participants in growth-group experiences.


Nowadays, there is still no consensus about the benefits of adding neck lymphadenectomy to the traditional two-fields esophagectomy. An extended lymphadenectomy could potentially increase operation time and the risks for postoperative complications. However, extended lymphadenectomy allows resection of cervical nodes at risk for metastases, potentially increasing long-term survival rates. This study aims to estimate whether cervical prophylactic lymphadenectomy for esophageal cancer influences short- and long-term outcomes through a systematic review of literature and meta-analysis.

 A systematic review was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library Central, and Lilacs (BVS). The inclusion criteria were: (1) studies that compare two-field vs. three-field esophagectomy; (2) adults (>18 years); (3) articles that analyze short- or long-term outcomes; and (4) clinical trials or cohort studies. The results were summarized by forest plots, with effect size (ES) or risk difference (RD) and 95% CI.

 Twenty-five articles were selected, comprising 8,954 patients. Three-field lymphadenectomy was associated to higher operation time (ES: -1.51; 95%CI -1.84, −1.18) and higher blood loss (ES: -0.24; 95%CI: −0.37, −0.11). Also, neck lymphadenectomy inputs additional risk for pulmonary complications (RD: 0.03; 95%CI: 0.01, 0.05). No difference was noted for morbidity (RD: 0.01; 95%CI: −0.01, 0.03); leak (−0.02; 95%CI: −0.07, 0.03); postoperative mortality (RD: 0.00; 95%CI: −0.00, 0.01), and hospital stay (ES: -0.05; 95%CI -0.20, 0.10). Three-field lymphadenectomy allowed higher number of retrieved lymph nodes (MD: -1.51; 95%CI -1.84, −1.18), but did not increase the overall survival (HR: 1.11; 95%CI: 0.96, 1.26).

 Prophylactic neck lymphadenectomy for esophageal cancer should be performed with caution once it is associated with poorer short-term outcomes compared to traditional two-field lymphadenectomy and does not improve long-term survival. Future esophageal cancer studies should determine the subgroup of patients who could benefit from prophylactic neck lymphadenectomy in long-term outcomes.


Context. The corona of the Sun is the part of the solar atmosphere with temperatures of over one million Kelvin, which needs to be heated internally in order to exist. This heating mechanism remains a mystery; we see large magnetically active regions in the photosphere lead to strong extreme UV (EUV) emission in the corona. On much smaller scales (on the order of tens of Mm), there are bipolar and multipolar regions that can be associated with evenly sized coronal bright points (CBPs).
Aims. Our aim was to study the properties of CBPs in a statistical sense and to use continuous data from the SDO spacecraft, which makes it possible to track CBPs over their whole lifetime. Furthermore, we tested various rotation-speed profiles for CBPs in order to find out if the lower corona is co-rotating with the photosphere. Then we compiled a database with about 346 CBPs together with information of their sizes, shapes, appearance and disappearance, and their visibility in the EUV channels of the AIA instrument. We want to verify our methods with similar previous studies.
Methods. We used the high-cadence data of the largest continuous SDO observation interval in 2015 to employ an automated tracking algorithm for CBPs. Some of the information (e.g., the total lifetime, the characteristic shape, and the magnetic polarities below the CBPs) still requires human interaction.
Results. In this work we present statistics on fundamental properties of CBPs along with some comparison tables that relate, for example, the CBP lifetime with their shape. CBPs that are visible in all AIA channels simultaneously seem to be brighter in total and also have a stronger heating, and hence a higher total radiation flux. We compared the EUV emission visibility in different AIA channels with the CBP's shape and lifetime. From the tracking algorithm we confirm a strict co-rotation of the CBPs with the photospheric differential rotation.
Conclusions. The tracked CBPs have a typical lifetime of about 1–6 h, while the hottest and brightest ones seem to exist for significantly longer time, up to 24 h. Furthermore, the merging of two CBPs seems not to have an influence on the overall size of the persisting CBP. Finally, fainter and cooler CBPs tend to have only weaker magnetic polarities, which clearly supports a coronal bright point heating mechanism based on magnetic energy dissipation.


A rapidly changing environment threatens the survival of many organizations. The global economypropelled by booming regional economies, new media and information technology, universal consumercultures, emerging global standards, and opportunities for corporate cost-sharing, has dramaticallychanged the environment in which organizations exist today (Ohema,1998,p.17). The survival of manyorganizations is threatened, in part, by reluctance to adapt to the changing environment. "Ecology evolutionarytheory suggests that uncertain, volatile environments will support diverse organizationalforms and that the apparent winners will fluctuate from time to time as conditions change" ( Hannan andFreeman, 1989, p.27).


We investigate transmission penalties in a high capacity self-homodyne coherent detection system using a 19-core fiber. We show small implementation penalties of under 0.5dB and linewidth independence that may enable transmission of high-order modulation formats.


Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can differentiate into neuronal‐like cell types under specific conditions. The classical antioxidant inducers such as β‐mercaptoethanol (BME), butylated hydroxyanisol (BHA), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) are limited in clinical because of toxicity. Resveratrol, a safer, natural antioxidant, can stimulate osteoblastic differentiation of MSCs. However, its effect of inducing MSCs to differentiate into neuronal‐like cells is less well studied, and its differentiated mechanisms are not well understood. Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling, mediated by the primary cilia, is crucial for embryonic development and tissue differentiation, but relatively little is known about the role of Shh signaling and primary cilia in neuronal‐like differentiation of MSCs. Here we show that primary cilia, harboring patched 1 (Ptc1), are present in growth‐arrested MSCs and that smoothened (Smo) and Gli1 are present in cytoplasm of MSCs, which are important components of the Shh signaling pathway. After resveratrol induction, MSCs acquire neuronal‐like cell morphologies and phenotypes, Smo translocates to the primary cilia, Gli1 enters the nucleus, and expressions of Smo and Gli1 proteins increase, which can be inhibited by cyclopamine, a Smo antagonist. Meanwhile, Smo agonist (SAG) attains similar effects compared with the resveratrol group. These data indicate that resveratrol can induce MSCs to differentiate into neuronal‐like cells and activate Shh signaling pathway in the primary cilia. Moreover, the primary cilia and Shh signaling are essential for resveratrol inducing neuronal‐like differentiation of MSCs. Our finding is important for understanding the neuronal‐like differentiation mechanism of MSCs for resveratrol and promoting its clinical therapeutic utility. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Using one of the greatest hedge fund database ever used (2796 hedge funds including 801 dissolved), we investigate hedge funds performance using various asset-pricing models, including an extension form of Carhart's (1997) model combined with Fama and French (1998), Agarwal and Naik (2000) models and a new factor that take into account the fact that some hedge funds invest in emerging market bond. We find out that our combined model is able to explain a significant proportion of the variation in hedge fund returns over time. This latter particularly suits for Event-Driven, Global Macro, US Opportunistics, Equity non-Hedge and Sector funds. We analyse the performance of hedge funds and the persistence in performance for different subperiods including the Asian Crisis period. Then, after having studied dissolution frequencies, we made the same calculations for several individual hedge fund strategies. We showed there is a proof of persistence in performance in some cases but that persistence is not always constant over time.


The purpose of this paper is to investigate management skills of the respondents from Russia, to see if age and gender can be significant factors in their technical, human and conceptual competencies. Using t-test and ANOVA analyses and adopting the skills inventory survey, this research analysed 527 Russian working adults. Paired t-test and ANOVA methodology were used for hypotheses testing. The findings indicate that there are significant differences in Russian adults' management skills based on age and gender. First of all, Russian working adults appeared to value human skills more than the technical and conceptual skills. Second, Russian working males seemed to value all three management skills more than Russian working females. Finally, respondents from the age group of 31-40 years old valued both technical and conceptual skills more than those who came from the age group of 17-25 years old.


The adsorption of methanethiol on a Ag(100) surface has been studied with Extended Huckel calculation in the cluster approximation of the substrate. Since it has been known that methanethiol is chemisorbed dissociatively on silver surface by rupture of S-H bond, the methanethiolate radical is taken as adsorbate. Of the various adsorption sites, the 4-fold hollow site is preferred. The methanethiolate radical is mainly adsorbed via its 2e orbital. The charge transfer from metal to this level leads to the C-S bond weakening, which is consistent with the red shift of C-S stretching mode in surface enhanced Raman (SER) spectrum.


A fast method to select landing area based on single image was proposed.Firstly,the lighting condition on lunar surface was analyzed,a new lighting model and a novel constraint was proposed.The 3-D information of lunar surface can be obtained by adopting shape-from-shading method based on the improved lighting model.Then,according to the image and 3-D information,roughness of the lunar surface can be calculated,and landing area is selected by two steps select.The experiment result proved that the method was able to select the landing area correctly.


In Omsk, the number of rodents in schools was 0.5%, and in homes and around 2.6% per 100 trap-nights. The share of house mice in the schools was 92.7% and 65.8% of homes., Gray rats, respectively, 6.5 and 25.2%. Were caught as field mice and voles narrow-skulled, common and red. House mouse in the city of Omsk to move out of buildings man in late April, and returned to them in early November, and in particular warmer winters in early January. Mice and rats in the educational institutions of Omsk was observed 82.6% of teachers and 66.5% of the students. They were afraid of rodents, 51.7%, 33.0% of teachers and children. Girls are more afraid of mice (50.3%) than boys (14.2%). All adults insisted on the destruction of animals, and 3.8% among children is not like that. In rodents, schools and homes antibodies to tularemia, pseudotuberculosis, iersineozu, listeriosis, yersiniosis culture stood out. At school, house mouse and the rat infected toksoplazom gray, respectively, 37.6 and 45.9%. Toxoplasmosis is found in narrow-skulled vole and common caught near these buildings. With cats the definitive hosts of toxoplasmosis in areas of schools and universities contacted 11.6% of pupils and students and teachers of 7.3%. It is fraught with the possibility of contamination of the children of this invasion. Keywords: city of Omsk, house mouse, rat, infection, infestation.


The bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) vaccine could reduce the incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) through immunomodulation. Previous studies, presenting some limitations, reported no association. We re‐examined this association in a large cohort focusing on relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS).


: Recently, Nedjar and Zeghdoudi [6] proposed a new lifetime model called gamma Lindley distribution. Roozegar and Nadarajah [8] introduced some notes around gamma Lindley distribution including only some statistical properties and estimations depending on the same probability density function which proposed by Nedjar and Zeghdoudi [6]. In fact, the model proposed by Nedjar and Zeghdoudi [6] is not a probabilistic model. Further, some of its fundamental properties as well as parameter estimations are incorrect. Hence, all corrections which proposed by Roozegar and Nadarajah [8] are also incorrect. On the other hand, Messaadia and Zeghdoudi [5] proposed only one remark around the parameter space of gamma Lindley distribution which proposed by Nedjar and Zeghdoudi [6], but the mathematical properties and estimations are still wrong for both Nedjar and Zeghdoudi [6] and Roozegar and Nadarajah [8]. Because, Messaadia and Zeghdoudi [5] did not discuss any corrections around quantile function, entropies, estimation methods, simulation and data analysis. In this paper, several corrections including probability density function, quantile function, entropies, estimation the model parameters using the maximum likelihood estimation and moment estimation methods and simulation are discussed in-detail because the previous three papers not make a benefit to the readers, especially in practical field.


A regulator was built and evaluated to actively control the power sharing between a battery bank and a ultracapacitor bank. The ultracapacitor output is controlled using a boost converter to supply additional current demanded by the load beyond the desired battery current limit. The output port of the boost converter is connected to a 36V battery bank and a regulated buck converter to maintain output voltage. The current out of battery is sensed and is used to control the current of the boost converter. The system designed was able to maintain the battery current to a reference level while supplying the current needed by the load using ultracapacitor and has output power capacity of 350W.


The Euler method of automating depth to source from potential field data has undergone resurgence in popularity, with several new extensions to the method developed. Perhaps the most revolutionary of these provides a solution of the structural index as part of the inversion process. Previously, structural index was a required input parameter. Many solutions are generated with the Euler method, and care is used to select the most appropriate. In some cases, accuracies of depth estimates within ±15% of depth of actual source below acquisition height are achieved. Examples of Euler depth results from across three representative areas of Australia are used to demonstrate the utility of the method. Data are presented by several methods, including full 3D visualisation, which allows the solutions to be integrated with other data and inversion results. A depth-to-basement map of the Springvale 1:250 000 map sheet area in Queensland has previously been generated using the Naudy technique, and those results provide a useful comparison with depths derived using the Euler method. A small area in the eastern Yilgarn, Western Australia, contains an elongated sedimentary basin overlying shallow basement cross-cut by numerous dykes and faults. The magnetic expression of basement can be traced from near-surface to a few hundred metres depth under basin cover. This is a good test of the method for providing estimates along the incline from outcrop to increasing thickness of cover. Basement to the eastern Gawler Craton (Olympic sub-domain) lies under several hundred metres of cover, and Euler depth estimates for this area are also examined.


Babel is a loop-avoiding distance-vector routing protocol that is
robust and efficient both in ordinary wired networks and in wireless
mesh networks. This document defines an Experimental Protocol for the
Internet community.


Objective To evaluate the validity and reliability of ultrasonic diagnosis of earlier period hepatic cirrhosis model on artificial neural network(ANN).Methods The ultrasonic features of all the patients with chronic liver diseases were collected for the training database,pathologic biopsy of liver tissue was used as gold standard.The ANN for ultrasonic diagnosis of earlier period he- patic cirrhosis was constructed with a back-propagation training algorithm.Based on the emulational operation by ANN,a network diag- nosis was made.The validity and reliability of ANN for earlier period hepatic cirrhosis ultrasonic diagnosis was calculated.Results Three-layer back-propagation network was based on the input variables selected by using statistics analysis,the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy for ultrasonic diagnosis of earlier period hepatic cirrhosis were 84.1%,84.6% and 87.9%,Youden index was 0.687. Conclusion It has high accuracy in diagnosis of earlier period hepatic cirrhosis,and it is an efficient means for earlier diagnosis of he- patic cirrhosis.


Artificial nighttime lights, emitted from residential, industrial, commercial and enter-tainment areas, and captured by satellites, have proven to be a reliable proxy for on-ground human activities. Since the end of the 1990s, nighttime light data have been used to moni-tor population concentrations and to assess the economic performance of countries and regions (see, for instance, [1,2]). Since then, studies of this kind have been increasing in an avalanche-like manner, and with nighttime lights being used as a proxy for even more sophisticated things. The reason is that nighttime light data are indeed a


A excellent work of architecture usually and exactly reflect on some characters of regions and times.Regional architecture is unity of adaptability of nature,humanity and society.From the perspective of space,the internal environment represents adaptability of humanity and society and the external environment expresses adaptability of nature.This paper takes example of architecture design of stadium in Nujiang,Yunnan province,to explore local national traditional culture.It use of metaphor and symbols in order to let stadium melt into architectural function and keep up it space usage and application of modern architectural technology.


This paper analysis agriculture input related taxes and tariffs policies and their impact on input prices, production costs and profitability, focusing on the greenhouse sector in Albania. The study combines desk research and expert interviews to collect data and to analyse the main policy reforms and the tariff regime. A financial cost benefit analysis is implemented in order to observe the effect of the change of taxes in both sides: at farm gate profitability of Albanian farmers as well as in terms of revenues forgone in the state budget based on revenues collected.According to our research findings, tax exemption on inputs such as agrochemicals and fuel would significantly affect positively the profitability at the farm level and the overall agriculture sector competitiveness. Several political implications of the various scenarios of tax reduction are discussed and provided to policy-makers.


We propose a simple scheme for accurate state of polarization (SOP) mapping with an interferometric polarimeter using Fourier transform method of fringe analysis. In single shot polarimeters that use Fourier transform method of fringe analysis, a spatial carrier frequency is introduced in the fringes of recorded interferogram either by introducing the relative tilt between the sample beam under test and a reference beam, as demonstrated by Ohtsuka and Oka or by passing the sample beam through birefringent optical components such as Wollaston prisms as demonstrated by Oka and Kaneko. In this technique, the amount of spatial carrier frequency that enabled to filter different terms in the Fourier spectrum of the recorded interferogram had to be calibrated with the use of light with a known SOP. Even in this case, the spatial carrier frequency introduced in the recorded interferogram is influenced by the relative tilt of the beam used for calibration. To eliminate the linear phase introduced by spatial carrier frequency, usually the spectrum around the carrier frequency location in the Fourier transform is shifted and brought to the centre. During this process an error of a fraction of a pixel in the shifting of the spectrum after filtering to remove the linear phase introduced by spatial carrier frequency will drastically change the measured SOP of light. For accurate SOP mapping, it is important that we eliminate the artifacts and errors due to the spatial carrier frequency in the single shot polarimeter that are otherwise very promising. In the present work, we propose a Mach-Zehnder interferometric polarimeter that uses a common path Sagnac interferometer to generate reference beams with orthogonal state of polarization. By taking advantage of the inherent stability of the proposed common path Sagnac interferometer against surrounding vibrations and air turbulences, a simple calibration scheme using a light of known state of polarization is used to map the state of polarization with better accuracy.


A series of regular structures called \pasta" is expected at the rst order phase transition of systems with charged multi chemical compo- nents. As an example, we study low-density nuclear matter in the crust region of neutron stars. We employ a relativistic mean-eld model with Thomas- Fermi approximation. The calculation is done in a fully three-dimensional (3D) geometry (1) and we avoid a usage of Wigner-Seitz approximation which is very often used to reduce the computational cost. We show that nuclear droplets form a body-centered-cubic (bcc) lattice at lower densities. With increasing density, it changes to a face-centered-cubic (fcc) lattice (2) before nuclear shapes change from spherical droplets to cylin- drical rods. This is against the prediction of the conventional studies only with the bcc lattice which minimizes the Coulomb energy. Then we discuss the mechanical strength of such matter, by calculating the shear modulus di- rectly obtained from the curvature of the energy versus shear deformation(3). We also discuss the applicability of our 3D framework to two cases of high- density matter, i.e., kaon condensation and hadron-quark phase transition.


Heterogeneous nanofluid flow in pipes is simulated. Assuming incompressible, axisymmetric, and laminar flow, effect of nanoparticle distribution and Prandtl number on flow and heat transfer characteristics is investigated. With nanoparticle overall volume concentration of 0.05, up to 20% heat transfer enhancement was predicted for fully developed heterogeneous flow compared to homogeneous nanofluid. At the entrance region, the enhancement is shown to increase with increasing Prandtl number.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


To date, the utilization of glass waste as an alternative aggregate in concrete has gained significantly increasing attention, owing to its remarkable properties. However, its high replacement content and glass particle size, of greater than 5 mm, causes an increase in the alkali-silica reaction expansion and a reduction in the concrete strength in most of the present literature. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of a lower sand replacement content (5–25%) in glass waste (smaller than 5 mm) on both the mechanical and durability properties of concrete. In particular, the effect of varying the replacement of fine aggregate by glass waste (5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%) on compressive strength and water permeability of concrete (30 MPa grade) was evaluated at 7 and 28 days. Moreover, scanning electron microscope (SEM) tests were taken into account to assess the morphology characteristics of the concrete. Based on the results, the highest concrete strength (37.5 MPa) was recorded when the replacement percentage was 15%, while the control strength was 33.5 Mpa. The outcomes also exposed that the water permeability coefficient of the samples was decreased (0.883 × 10−9 m/s), at 5% compared to that of the control mix (1.097 × 10−9 m/s). In conclusion, a lower replacement percentage of glass waste leads to enhanced concrete properties and would act as a sustainable and alternative material in the near future.


Cerebral palsy (CP) is a disorder which is caused by brain damage. Most of the cerebral palsy children cannot walk on their own. They need an assistive or rehabilitative walking device to help them to walk, however most of these devices are either single- functional and/or expensive.This paper describes the design of a multifunctional and relatively affordable assistive-rehabilitative walker. The design requirements were developed from discussion and interview with CP children and their caregivers. The designed walker has four configuration modes which are standing and walking mode, ground-sitting  mode, wheelchair mode and exercise mode. Analysis was conducted to ensure the design is safe to be used, and the the design was fabricated. The fabricated prototype was tested with a cerebral palsy child. Four different tests were conducted with the prototype where the child managed to use the walker for the intended purposes.


Medicinal plants have played a vital role in the world health since time immemorial. Many essential drugs used in modern days are derived from plants. Plants are capable of synthesizing an overwhelming variety of low molecular weight organic compounds called secondary metabolites usually with very unique and complex structures. Traditionally, they have been directly used as food and herbs. Rauvolfia tetraphylla L. plant is medicinally important in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and various psychiatric diseases. The roots are useful in the treatment of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and as a tranquilizing agent. The extract of the root is valuable for intestinal problems. Roots are believed to stimulate uterine contraction in case of difficult delivery. Solanum trilobatum L., is an important medicinal plant. It has been widely used to treat respiratory disorders, especially bronchial asthma. Roots, berries and flowers are used to treat cough. It is used to cure asthma, to arrest blood vomiting, to reduce blood glucose level and bilious matter phlegmatic rheumatism and several kinds of leprosy.


Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the quality of reported earnings in the corporate reports of Shariah-compliant companies listed on Bursa Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – This study hypothesises that companies with Shariah compliance status have higher quality of earnings because of greater demand for and supply of high-quality financial reports. The quality of reported earnings is measured using the cross-sectional Dechow and Dichev (2002) accrual quality model. The study uses a balanced panel data of 3,048 observations from 508 companies during a six-year period of 2003-2008. Findings – This paper finds robust evidence that Shariah-compliant companies have significantly higher earnings quality compared to other firms. The results provide support for the arguments that Shariah-compliant companies supply a higher quality of reported earnings to attract foreign investment, have greater demand for high-quality financial reporting because of their Shariah status and are subject to gre...


The present invention relates to a sustained-release pharmaceutical composition comprising mosapride or a salt thereof, the compositions of the present invention by satisfying the unique two-phase elution profiles (immediate release phase and delayed release phase), the initial mosapride effective blood You can reach early medium concentration, late continuously to maintain the effective blood concentration, not only increased once mosapride efficacy alone taking a day as a single dosage form, dosing adaptability it can also be improved.


This study includes a research on organizational culture, job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the marketing staff, made in an enterprise. The study ascertained the fact that there are meaningful relations among the marketing staff between organizational culture, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It is precipitated that the findings pertaining to the job satisfaction and organizational commitment are in a characteristic supporting the common opinions in the literature in general. Article visualizations:


Purpose – This paper aims to reflect on the generalisability of the predictive validity test of the Persuasion Principles Index (PPI) conducted by Armstrong et al. (2016). Design/methodology/approach – Different aspects of the test are considered, such as the sample of ads, the dependent variable and the comparability of the methods used to predict effectiveness, in terms of how relevant these are to real-world advertising testing. Findings – The sample of ads and the testing procedure may have contributed to the success of the PPI predictions over the other copy-testing methods. The sample of print ads does not bear a close resemblance to current advertising. The competing copy tests do not represent modern advertising copy testing. Research/limitations/implications – More research is needed to test the validity of the principles and the predictive accuracy of the PPI across a range of conditions (e.g. different ads, media, products and cultures). Testing against advertising sales effectiveness would be ...


Simulation tools are indispensable to computer architects. Detailed execution-driven CPU models offer high accuracy, but at the cost of simulation speed. Trace-driven simulation is widely adopted to alleviate this problem, especially for studies focusing on memory-system exploration. Ideally, trace-driven core models will mimic out-of-order processors executing full-system workloads to enable computer architects to evaluate modern systems. Additionally, to be useful to the broader community the tracing and replay models should be publicly available. However, existing trace-driven approaches are limited in their applicability and availability. We propose elastic traces in which we accurately capture data and load/store order dependencies by instrumenting a detailed out-of-order processor model. In contrast to existing work, we do not rely on offline analysis of timestamps, and instead use accurate dependency information tracked inside the processor pipeline. We thereby account for the effects of speculation and branch misprediction resulting in a more accurate trace playback. We provide a trace player that honours the dependencies and thus adapts its execution time to memory-system changes, as would the actual CPU. Compared to the detailed CPU, our trace player achieves a speed-up of 6–8 times. When modifying the memory-system parameters, the average error in absolute execution time is 7% for SPEC 2006 benchmarks on a bare metal system and 17% for HPC benchmarks on Linux. Relative performance is predicted with less than 3% error, achieving fast and accurate system performance exploration. We make this functionality available to the broader community via a widely-used open source full-system simulator.


BACKGROUND
The clinical application of most materials used to fill severe bone defects is limited owing to the insufficient ability of such materials to induce bone regeneration or the long repair period. The purpose of this study was to establish a model for the alveolar process cleft in rabbits to evaluate the effect of active bone material in bone defect repair. The active bone material used in this study is a new bone repair material composed of a heterogeneous collagen membrane implanted with modified recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2). This proposed active bone material can specifically bind to collagen.

METHODS
Twenty-four young Japanese white rabbits (JWRs) were selected and randomly divided into four groups (normal, control, material and BMP groups). The alveolar process cleft model was established by removing an equal-volume bone at the left maxillary position. Blood samples were collected from the JWRs 3 and 6 months after the surgery to evaluate the biocompatibility of the active bone materials. Subsequently, the skull model was established, and the appearance was observed. Imaging methods (including X-ray examination and Micro-computerized tomography (CT) scanning), tissue engineering staining and immunohistochemistry were employed for the evaluation.

RESULTS
The bone collagen material and active bone material exhibited high biocompatibility. In addition, the ability of the active bone material to induce bone repair and regeneration was higher than that of the bone collagen material.

CONCLUSIONS
The active bone material exhibited satisfactory bone regeneration performance in rabbits, indicating its potential as an active material for repairing congenital alveolar process clefts in humans.


This paper investigates the controllability of Boolean control networks (BCNs) with impulsive effects while avoiding certain forbidden states. Using semi‐tensor product of matrices, the BCNs with impulsive effects can be converted into impulsive discrete‐time systems. Then, some necessary and sufficient conditions for the controllability are obtained. It is interesting to find that impulsive effects play an important role in the controllability of BCNs. Finally, an example is given to show the efficiency of the obtained results. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Contrary to the prevailing Turkish academic and intellectual view I argue that the Welfare Party a product of the Turkish parliamentary system neither posed a threat to the Turkish state nor intended to alter the fundamental precepts of the regime in order to establish an Islamic republic. Rather Refahs 12-month rule illustrated a process of political negotiation between Turkeys Islamists and the Kemalist establishment; an Islamist party accommodated a strictly secularist political system thereby transforming its self-definition and foreign and economic policies. (excerpt)


The present thesis is dedicated to the advancement of the current state-of-the-art of process/product control of polymer micro components manufactured by micro injection moulding (μIM). The main focus was the achievement of in-line quality assurance and optimization in μIM by means of a combination of product micro/nano metrology and real-time process monitoring. To achieve this, the newest technologies available in the moulding scenario were employed. Multiple important aspects of μIM, as the use of unconventional materials, process simulations and indirect metrology for mould assessment were also investigated. A thorough experimental investigation was carried out to study the behaviour of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) when moulding a commercial micro ring component having a mass of 2.2 mg. The quantification of part defects such as weld lines and air traps allowed drawing clear recommendations on how to set up the process window. The geometrical precision and accuracy of the produced parts were investigated using optical measurements over a broad range of process variables in order to characterize the impact of process variations on the final output. A novel shrinkage behaviour, most probably induced by residual stresses, was observed and studied. Finally, the produced parts were also functionally tested, allowing to define a clear relationship between process settings and functionality. A novel method based on the definition of product and process fingerprints was applied to both a 3D micro component and a nano-structured one to define an in-line quality assurance strategy based on process monitoring. As for the 3D component, which was designed for medical applications and had a mass of 0.1 mg, geometrical focus variation measurements and in-line monitored pressure and velocity data were combined to determine the most suitable control strategy. It was found that the integral of the injection pressure during filling was the process indicator that was most correlated to the quality of the moulded part and to the size of its defects. Therefore, clear indications could be given on how to monitor the process in-line to obtain the most valuable information with respect to conformity to design specifications. The nano-structured component was moulded by replicating a laser-structured surface having a texture composed by ripples with an average height of 50 nm and pitch of 900 nm. The replication behaviour was investigated over a wide range of process variables and the simultaneous use of two areal surface roughness parameters was identified as the best way to characterize the produced surfaces. High-speed infrared temperature data were obtained and considered as a tool for in-line quality monitoring.


India-US relations have always been complex and will continue to be so in the future. Unlike our bilateral relations with most other countries, India's equation with America operates in the context of mutual expectations, which are invariably high and unlikely to be fulfilled. On the other hand, our equations with Russia and China are largely driven by government to government relations. Historically, the Chinese factor in India-US relations has transited from the negative to the positive. The war of 1962 in the Himalayas was the turning point. However, a number of ambiguities and countervailing factors play their part on both sides. It seems that the Indian and American governments are not anxious to press forward and clarify the subterranean realities at this time. The US and China are economically so intertwined and interdependent that they have to hang together, notwithstanding the many 'other' factors (human rights, Taiwan, and above all the 'not so peaceful rise of China') that pull them apart. The growing proximity in India-US relationship is seen with suspicion by China. The China factor will necessarily prolong the wariness on both sides.


Multicellular organisms depend on cell‐cell interactions to coordinate their development. In C. elegans, germline stem cell fate depends on the activity of the Notch receptor homolog, glp‐1. The loss of glp‐1 function prevents germ cell proliferation and produces sterile hermaphrodites. To identify new genes that regulate germline proliferation, suppressors of the temperature sensitive allele glp‐1(q231) have been isolated. These mutants, sog (suppressor of glp‐1), rescue sterility of q231 at 20°C. The sog‐1 gene was previously mapped to a 2 Mbp region on chrI. To [LL1]identify the gene responsible for the sog‐1 phenotype, we used Solexa sequencing to re‐sequence the entire genome of two independently isolated sog‐1 mutants. In the critical region, we identified 62 SNPs between the two strains and the reference genome. We performed RNAi screens of candidate genes to test whether they phenocopy sog‐1 suppression of glp‐1. RNAi screens of pbrm‐1 displayed an embryonic lethal phenotype for all strains, while unc‐14 and F57B10.3 potentially phenocopy the germline suppression of q231 by sog‐1. [LL2]Screens of other potential candidates were negative. These results may help identify new genes in germline proliferation and determine if Solexa sequencing will be useful in identifying genes defined by mutation.


Lajamanu is a remote, traditionally oriented Aboriginal community on the Northern edge of the Tanami Desert. The population comprises about 700 Warlpiri people, and 40 white people most of whom are involved in the delivery of public services.


In this paper,the relations between the durability and the compaction degree of HPC are discussed,the positive interaction,that is ,the more tiny capillary quantity and the less thick capillary quantity there is in the concrete,the larger moisture content in pores and autogenous shrinkage there are,is presented,and the conclusion is made that the key causes which reduce the durability of HPC are excessively pursuing the large compaction degree and the small capillary radius and then resulting in the excessive increase of the moisture content in pore volume and autogenous shrinkage of the concrete..


ABSTRACT Excessive input of nitrogen fertilizer causes nitrogen pollution in aquatic environments. Utilizing microbial inoculants seems to be effective in decreasing the extent of nitrogen fertilizer application. Genome sequencing analysis of Azoarcus sp. strain KH32C, which was isolated from a paddy-upland rotation paddy field in Japan, showed that the strain may interact with plants. In this study, we examined the effect of inoculation of rice seeds with strain KH32C as a bacterial inoculant in paddy fields without nitrogen fertilization. Rice of three cultivars inoculated with strain KH32C were cultivated in paddy fields with different soil carbon and nitrogen levels. We investigated the growth rate of rice plants and the elemental composition of brown rice. In addition, the bacterial community structures in the rice root-associated soil were examined using molecular genetic analysis. KH32C inoculation resulted in an increase in the rice plant growth rate in the early growth phase with cultivar Nipponbare. Elemental composition analysis showed that the zinc concentration in brown rice of Nipponbare was increased by KH32C inoculation. KH32C inoculation affected the bacterial community in Nipponbare root-associated soil. The community of potential plant growth-promoting bacteria, the majority of which were in the class Alphaproteobacteria, had relatively high abundance in the early growth stage after KH32C inoculation. Our results indicated that strain KH32C can be utilized as a bacterial inoculant with the effect of promoting rice growth and enhancing the zinc content of rice grains in low nitrogen input paddy fields.


The invention discloses a rapidly-formed environmental-friendly packaging box for a wine bottle. The rapidly-formed environmental-friendly packaging box comprises a corrugated board wine box body, a shaft sleeve and a second supporting plate. The rapidly-formed environmental-friendly packaging box for the wine bottle has the beneficial effects that the packaging box is delivered in a plane manner and rapidly assembled and formed, and therefore transportation space and cost are saved; and only corrugated boards are adopted for fast forming, and therefore environmental friendliness is achieved. By means of the new design, the wine bottle can be well protected on the six faces; information on a wine mark can be seen through a window; and if the additional value of the community needs to be better increased, an oversleeve is additionally arranged on the outer layer, and an anti-fake dotted line knife is increased to achieve the packaging anti-fake effect.


degradable medical implant in vivo from the group comprising the following: stents (coronary stents, peripheral stents, tracheal stents, stents for the bile duct, esophageal stents), surgical clips, osteosynthesis material, biological matrix (foam), metal mesh, wires and metal deposits active ingredient, of a metallic material, wherein the material contains as a main component alloy 95% to 99, 5% tungsten or 95% to 99, 5% molybdenum.


Lithium is regarded as a first‐line treatment for bipolar disorder (BD), but partial response and non‐response commonly occurs. There exists a need to identify lithium non‐responders prior to initiating treatment. The Pharmacogenomics of Bipolar Disorder (PGBD) Study was designed to identify predictors of lithium response.


Recently, User Experience and User Interface (UX-UI) have become important aspects in designing an effective mobile banking application. Traditionally, developers and designers have relied on explicit feedback derived from questionnaires to gain more insights into UX-UI. With the advancement of new technology, eye-tracking device has been introduced, and the approach has been used to provide a digital footprint indicating exact gazing positions of the users when using an application. So far, many studies have acknowledged the benefits of eye movement tracking and exploited such implicit feedback, alongside the result yielded from a survey. Successful uses of this eye-tracking device would further the development of mobile banking application. In this study, we aimed to build a device-free eye tracking software module that would work efficiently on mobile phones. To achieve this goal, we employed an existing Convolutional Neural Network model in our framework and evaluated the model when it was applied to the specific domain, i.e., UX-UI research design for mobile banking apps. We investigated a GazeCapture dataset, the first large-scale dataset for eye tracking, and conducted a data wrangling technique. The results show that fine-tuning the model with our wrangled data can improve the overall eye-tracking performance. Moreover, enabling user calibration can clearly enhance the predicting performance of the model.


The Massachusetts law which was a model for PL 94-142 has not served as intended. About half the decisions under the law result in a child being placed in a more restrictive situation.


Polymeric gel electrolyte membranes based on the polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VdF- HFP)) with different weight percentages of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate plus 0.3M lithium tet- rafluoroborate (LiBF4) salt were prepared and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, complex impedance spectroscopy, pulse echo techniques, and Vickers hardness (H) testing. After the incorporation of the IL plus the salt solution in the P(VdF-HFP) poly- mer, the melting temperature, glass-transition temperature (Tg), degree of crystallinity, thermal stability, elastic modulus (E), and hardness (H) gradually decreased with increasing content of the IL-salt solution as a result of complexation between the P(VdF- HFP) and IL. This was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. A part of the IL and LiBF4 were found to remain uncomplexed as well. The ionic conductivity (r) of the polymeric gel membranes was found to increase with increasing concentration of the IL-salt solution. The temperature-dependent rs of these polymeric gel membranes followed an Arrhenius-type thermally activated behavior. V C 2014


The Colleges of Family Sciences at Zayed University prepares Family Science Professionals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The unique aspect of the University and its programs is the commitment to nurturing a learning community that integrates learning outcomes throughout the general education and the professional education components. Prior to student's placement into a 10-week internship, students participate in an intensive case-based assessment project. The assessment project was designed to complement the learning outcomes academic model that is at the heart of the learning philosophy of the University and the College. The students were evaluated on their knowledge of the case-based approach to solving problems, competency levels in written and oral English and Arabic, and competency in technology integration. In this paper, we discuss the development of the process, the case studies and the scoring rubrics, implementation of the process, development of the assessment teams, and results of the assessment project. We discuss lessons learned from the case-based assessment project and its impact upon our program and the professional practice of our graduates.


The structure, vibrational spectrum, the polymerization and [3+2] cycoaddition reactions of fulminic acid are discussed. In the mass spectra of the solid deposit from gaseous fulminic acid (prepared from sodium fulminate and sulfuric acid) the mass of the adduct of HCNO with hydrogen cyanide was detected, which may be formed by Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. As examples for Heinrich Wieland's experimental mastership the polymerization and his syntheses of fulminic acid and of explosive dinitrosomethanide [HC(NO)(2)](-) are emphasized;the structure of the latter has recently been disclosed by X-ray structure determination.


The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) remains the most relevant under-sampled part of the atmosphere. Surface sensor networks, radiosonde soundings as well as satellite observations do not provide sufficient information on the high temporal variability and strong vertical gradients occurring in the ABL. This observational gap currently hampers our ability to improve weather forecasts, air quality prediction, and climate model parameterizations. Measurement systems which have the potential to close this gap are enhanced commercial aircraft observations, operational UAS (Uncrewed Aircraft Systems) as well as ground-based remote sensing. On the one hand, already existing state-of-the-art ground-based remote sensing instruments with the ability to provide ABL profiles (such as those of temperature, humidity, wind, aerosol, cloud) are currently deployed at numerous sites in Europe, but the harmonization of data and procedures is still under development, limiting their effective use and societal benefits. On the other hand, the use of automated UAS for profiling the ABL is currently experiencing significant advancements. This presentation describes PROBE (2019-2023), a European cooperation initiative funded by COST (www.cost.eu) aiming at filling the ABL observational gap, discussing the challenges, objectives, and the implementation plan. Preliminary results are presented including Speaker Corresponding author: firstname.lastname@example.com sciencesconf.org:symp-bonn2021:357021 new technology, quality control and assurance measures, studies on NWP data assimilation, regional impact, and the role of the network configuration.


Barriers to effective technology integration come in several different categories, including access to technology tools and resources, technology training and support, administrative support, time to plan and prepare for technology integration, and beliefs about the importance and usefulness of technology tools and resources. This study used survey research to compare reported barriers to technology use in smaller school districts and communities to those in larger school districts and communities. This study also sought to determine other district and classroom factors that could influence barriers to technology integration. The population for this study was current public K12 teachers in a rural North Midwestern state. Findings indicated that teachers in smaller districts and communities reported more access to technology tools and resources and higher administrative support for the use of technology than did teachers in larger districts and communities. By contrast, teachers in larger districts and communities reported higher time to plan and prepare for technology integration.


Radio is an audio medium used to fulfil the needs the audience's need, both for information and entertainment. Radio provides a variety of information content and a choice of music. Amid technological developments, the presence of many choices of media to access news, entertainment, music, and other information has become a challenge for radio broadcasting. Now people have various choices of media to get information and listen to music. This research aimed to look at the choice of media, especially radio, from the audience and find out what makes radio remains the audience's choice for information, entertainment and listening to music compared to other new media, including the reasons and motivations of audiences to listen to the radio. The results showed that audiences tended to prefer radio over other media because radio offered unique things, for example, the element of 'surprise' in selecting songs that give different sensations. In addition, the presence of radio broadcasters is also considered entertaining and can be a companion to the audience, especially when travelling. These results indicate that radio offers a uniqueness that cannot be found in other media, and the audience is free to choose the media based on their motivations, the greatest of which is listening to the radio for music, entertainment, and information.


In this paper the X-band Gunn diode hybrid-integrated power amplifier-transmitter is proposed for the measurement-while-drilling (MWD) or logging-while-drilling (LWD) telemetry systems. This systems is a modern equipment for geophysics due transition from vertical to horizontal drilling. A review is presented of work on MWD, explaining the current high degree of interest in these subjects. The amplifier-transmitter operates in a new communication channel between drilling point to surface. This channel is characterized by high attenuation of signal. So main attention is paid to efficiently and low bias current. The transmitter design, simulated performances, and realized current-efficiently results are presented. The pulse output power is about 15-25 Watt in short-pulse mode, at 9 GHz central lobe. Measurement results are provided. Relation between measured output power and frequency of the center lobe as function of voltage and current of transmitter is determined. The aim of experiments is to test the effectiveness of the known voltage and current in order to increase output power. This work is carried out within a Microwave borehole project #13-02-98002 funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Researches.


Active manganese dioxide and commercially available barium manganate are used for the efficient oxidation of benzylic and aromatic allylic alcohols and biaryl acyloins under solvent-free conditions.


This paper give the definition of N-coherent rings, and study the rings by nil-injective modules and nil-flat modules. For an N-coherent ring R, we show that every nil-flat right R module is flat ? every nil-injective left R module is FP-injective ? every nil-injective pure nil-injective left R module is injective. Nil-injective dimension and nil-flat dimension are also studied. We show l.nil-id(R) ? n ? Ext i (R/Ra, M) = 0 for every i ? n and every a ? N (R), and every left R module ? Ext n+1(R/Ra, M) = 0 for every a ? N (R) and every R module M ? pd (R/Ra) ? n for any a ? N (R).


Background: Spirituality is a complex multidimensional concept, a global phenomenon, and a main aspect of human existence. It promotes coping with problems and facilitates recovery from illnesses. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the concept of spirituality among patients with chronic illnesses. Method: This qualitative study was done using conventional content analysis. Participants (16 patients) were selected by purposive sampling in Medical hospitals in Iran. Data collection was performed through face-to-face semi-structured interviews and was continued until data saturation. The data were analyzed through conventional content analysis. Results: Participants' experiences of spirituality were grouped into the following four main categories: spiritual relationships; reliance on God; belief in divine foreordination and patience and thankfulness. Conclusion: Spirituality among patients with chronic illnesses is to establish relationships with God, others, and self, rely on God, believe in His foreordination, tolerate difficulties with patience, and be thankful to God. Nurses can use spirituality to improve patient outcomes.


Genetic diversity of T4-like bacteriophages was shown to be high in contiguous freshwater, marine and hypersaline biomes by the major capsid gene g23 sequencing. The biomes differed significantly in terms of g23 sequence diversity. The hypothesis of inter-biome invasions of T4-like bacteriophages is discussed.


A low-cost FM/FM radio telemetry system is detailed, designed for motion analysis of the knee joint during walking in total knee replacement patients.


In its origins, the Indian renewable-energy program was a response to the rural energy crisis prevalent in the 1970s. In this sense, the renewable energy program has resulted in unrealistic targets and allocation of budgets, which have led to failure [1]. Implementation of energy-conservation initiatives in India has suffered from loopholes, such as numerous independent Ministries, namely, the Ministry of Power, Ministry of Petroleum and Gas, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Nonconventional Energy Sources (MNES), and Department of Atomic Energy, which deal with energy resources in India; this multiple control has, consequently, resulted in weak coordination links [2]. Currently, fossil fuels account for about 64% of the total primary energy supply in India, whereas traditional biomass accounts for about 33% of the total [3]. As expected, the energy consumption of India will continue to grow at a significant rate in the future [4] and hence highlights the need to reduce India's dependence on both coal and oil. To achieve this objective, India has independent ministries for New and Renewable Energy and for Renewable Energy technologies (RETs), which are now well established in India and handle energy aspects that include solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, wind, biogas, and biomass for both power and heat generation, in addition to cogeneration and small hydro projects. India is one of the very few countries in the world to have such portfolios. Promoting renewable energy in India has assumed great importance in recent years, and the technology that has achieved the most dramatic growth rate and success is wind energy [4]. For example, in 2002, India had a wind-power capacity of 1267 MW, generating about 6.5 billion units of electricity; it currently occupies the fifth position in windpower installation in the world, placed after Germany, United States, Denmark, and Spain [1]. Although large turbines are also manufactured in India, relatively small turbines have a significant share in the total installed capacity [4]. Furthermore, in spite of the relatively low wind regimes at 50-m hub height, comparing by international standards, India has made significant progress in wind-based power generation, and the installed capacity of wind increased from 41 MW in 1992 to 6053 MW in September 2006 [3]. Finally, although the emphasis on renewable energy in India has been growing, aggressive policies, targets, and work programs for promoting RETs are still lacking. The rural areas provide a significant opportunity to apply photovoltaic, microhydro, and biopower technologies in future years [4]. Furthermore, there is a need for targeted technology development and research and development (R&D) for cost reduction–low wind–speed machines, inverters, and controllers of a few kW—for reduction of the manufacturing cost of photovoltaic modules [3]. In the present article, the actual conversion of wind energy in India will be reviewed, and future corrections are proposed, with special emphasis on rural areas and low wind–speed energy converters.


A knee joint cutting system using a robot is provided to cut a bone by using a tunnel type cutting method using a cantilever type cutter. A joint cutting system using a robot includes an arm of a variable position type. A motor is equipped in a leading end of the arm. A sleeve(14) is coupled to a housing of the motor. A cutter(10) connected to the axis of the motor is pivotally combined inside the sleeve. The cutter has a round bar. The cutter has a shaft(11) and a head(12). The shaft is coupled to rotate in the sleeve by the motor. A shaft is a cantilever type extended to the outside of the sleeve. The head is formed in the end of the shaft extended to the outside of the sleeve. The length of a cantilever of the shaft and the diameter of the head are 20-30 mm and 1.5-4.0 mm or 70-80mm and 4,0-6.0mm respectively.


In this paper, we propose a construction method for two-level quantum error-correcting codes via non-binary LDPC codes over an extended field of order 2p, p an integer p > 1. The proposed quantum error-correcting codes are based on binary quasi-cyclic LDPC codes which have almost achieved a "Bounded Distance Decoding (BDD)" limit but have not surpassed the limit yet. Quantum codes constructed from the proposed method surpass the BDD limit. Furthermore the codes outperform the efficiently-decodable state-of-the-art quantum codes.


where the Li(x) are homogeneous polynomials of degree 1 with coefficients which are algebraic numbers. One of the most interesting cases arises when the following two conditions are satisfied. (1) The Li(x) never vanish simultaneously at any point of V. (2) Under the mapping a point of V again becomes a point of V. Generally speaking the only points which interest us are those which can be expressed with coordinates which are algebraic numbers. If P = (to, I, * * * n is such a point, the number field generated by the ratios ti/tj will be the smallest field in which P is rational. The degree of this field over the rational numbers, we shall call the degree of rationality of P. Suppose now that conditions (1) and (2) are satisfied, then by iterating the mapping, a given point P of V will generate an infinite sequence P = Po, P1, P2, *** of points on the variety. This sequence will consist either of distinct points or else there will be repetitions. In the latter case the sequence ultimately becomes periodic, and we shall describe this situation by saying "P is an exceptional point". One of the results established can now be stated, namely, "If we exclude the case in which the mapping is linear, then there will be at most a finite number of exceptional points with a given degree of rationality". We can illustrate this result by means of the well known Weierstrass function P(Z1 g2, g3), where g2 and g3 are algebraic numbers. A complex number 'a' is called a "division point" if for some integer n, which is not zero, na is a period. The values of p(z) at the division points are called "division values", and it is easy to see that these are algebraic numbers. By comparing the elliptic function with the exponential function, we see that these division values are in some respects analogous to roots of unity, and it is therefore natural to inquire how they are distributed among the number fields. A special case of the general theorem stated above, shows that if we limit ourselves to number fields whose absolute degrees are bounded by some given integer, then amongst all these fields there will be only a finite number of division values. These facts are consequences of Theorem 2 which is an inequality proved under very general conditions. This inequality has another application (not discussed here), namely 167


The first section, Problems and Issues, emphasises the need for the teacher to widen his or her horizons to go beyond the ethnocentric values of the middle class white culture that forms the basis of the curriculum offered and provides the field of reference within which the teacher assesses the child and his progress. This is \/ery necessary in the light of the fact that Australian teachers are drawn from a relatively narrow socio-economic range, whereas the school population ranges over the whole spectrum.


This research is meant to find out the effects of current ratio (cr), net profit margin (npm) and dividend policy on stock price in consumer goods companies which are listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX)in 2013-2017 periods. Sample determination using purposive sampling method and sample studied are 19 companies. Method of data analysis using multiple linear regression. The results of this research shows that simultaneously and partial CR, NPM and Dividend Policy have positive and significant effects to the stock price in consumer goods companies which are listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2013-2017 periods.


This paper examines the problem of mass transfer on MHD unsteady free convective flow of a polar fluid through a porous medium of variable permeability bounded by an infinite horizontal porous plate in slip flow regime. The permeability of the porous medium decreases exponentially with time about a constant mean. Using perturbation technique the expressions for the velocity distribution, mean angular velocity of rotation of particles, concentration distribution and skin friction are obtained. The effects of permeability parameter K0, Magnetic parameter M, Prandtl number Pr , Schimdt number Sc ,and Grashof number Gr ,Modified Grashof number Gm entering into the problem on velocity, temperature distribution and concentration distribution are shown graphically and discussed numerically. It can be observed that this velocity decreases with the increase in M, Pr, Sc and increases with the increase in K0, Gr, Gm. Temperature and Concentration decreases with the increase in the value of Pr and Sc respectively. INTRODUCTION The convection problem in a porous medium has important application in geothermal reservoirs and geothermal energy extractions. It is obvious that in order to utilize the geothermal energy to maximum, one should have a complete and precise knowledge about the amount of perturbations needed to generate convection current in geothermal fluids. Also the knowledge of the quantity of perturbation is essential to entreat convection current in mineral fluids that is found in the earth's crust helps one to utilize minimal energy to extract the minerals. Cheng and Lau[1] and Cheng and Teckchandani [2] obtained numerical solutions for the convective flow in a porous medium bounded by two isothermal parallel plates in the presence of withdrawl of the fluid. All the above mentioned studies treat the permeability and the conductivity or thermal resistance of the medium as constant or neglect the effect of porosity. Lai and Kulacki [6] studied Coupled heat and mass transfer by natural convection from vertical surfaces in porous media. Lin and Wu[7] discussed Coupled heat and mass transfer by laminar natural convection from vertical plate. Malasetty and Gaikwad[8] investigated effect of cross diffusion on double diffusion convection in the presence of horizontal gradients. Yan et. al [11] have discussed Simultaneous heat and mass transfer in laminar mixed convection flows between vertical parallel plate with asymmetric heating. Yan[12] studied Turbulent mixed convection heat and mass transfer past a vertical porous plate. Mazumdar and Deka[9] investigated MHD flow past an impulsively started infinite vertical plate in presence of thermal radiation. In geothermal region situation may arise when the flow becomes unsteady and sliping at the boundary may take place as well. In such situation of slip flow, ordinary continuum approach fails to yield satisfactory results. Many authors have solved problems taking slip conditions at the boundary. Jain and Teneja [3] solved the problem of magnetopolar flow through a porous medium in slip flow regime. Khandelwal et al [5] have studied effect of couple stresses on the flow through a porous medium with variable permeability in slip flow regime. Varshney et. al.[10] have discussed effect of heat transfer on the flow through a porous medium with variable permeability in slip flow regime with couple stress. Our problem under study is an extension of the problem of Varshney et. al.[10] with mass transfer. The effects of different parameter entering into the problem viz. Permeability parameter Ko, Magnetic Am. J. Sci. Ind. Res., 2011, 2(3): 469-477 470 parameter M, Prandtl number Pr , Schimdt number Sc ,and Grashof number Gr ,Modified Grashof number Gm entering into the problem on velocity, temperature distribution and concentration distribution are shown graphically and discussed numerically FORMULATION AND SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM Let us consider the unsteady flow of a polar fluid through a porous medium of variable permeability in slip flow regime past an infinite horizontal porous plate in presence of a transverse magnetic field. The external velocity of the fluid is assumed as nt 0 U [1 e ] − + e . The flow is chosen to be at small magnetic Reynolds number which enables us to neglect the induced magnetic field. The x-axis is taken along the plate and y-axis normal to it. Under these conditions the equations which govern the flow are: v 0 y ∂ = ∂ (1)


This study examines the relationship between external software characteristics and vulnerabilities. Based on the analysis of 227 vulnerable software products, our results showed that the number of compatible operating systems has a positive effect on vulnerability severity and vulnerability frequency.


All of the three existing ways of solving medical dispute,namely,the civil mediation,the health administration mediation and the legal proceeding,will probably trigger escalation of the conflicts between the patient and the hospital.The article emphatically analyzes the main form of the ADR system based on its theory,and puts forward assumptions on perfecting the system in accordance with our national conditions.


The research on how to make a photo-based personalized facial sketch has important scientific significance and practical values. This paper proposes a method on how to generate a personalized sketch from digital color photo. First, the feature points are automatically extracted through Active Shape Model and the positions of these points are recorded; then, the style factor can be got from stylized samples. Finally, the personalized sketches will be generated through image warping. This method can be used in many applications such as caricature.


Summary A-methopterin, a folic acid analog, and 2,4-diamino-5-(3′,4′-dichlorophenyl)-6-methylpyrimidine (W-50-197), an antimalarial drug, were given alone and in combination to test the effect on tumor size and survival of mice with the transmissible leukemia L 1210. Survival data on 751 mice were based on a drug regimen which began 72 hours after subcutaneous transplantation of the tumor with treatment every other day. W-50-197 at 10 mg/kg increased survival time and retarded the local tumor growth, but was toxic. At doses of 5 mg/kg or less there was no increase in survival time, and the local tumor growth was retarded by doses as low as 2.5 mg/kg. A-methopterin at 3 mg/kg increased the survival time and retarded local tumor growth. At 1.5 mg/kg A-methopterin neither increased the survival nor retarded local tumor growth. Combined therapy was more effective than either drug given singly. At high doses the combined effect of A-methopterin and W-50-197 was less than additive, while at low doses the two drugs, given in combination, were synergistic and potentiated each other9s antileukemic action more than additively. Thus, combined therapy with A-methopterin at 1.5 mg/kg and W-50-197 at 2.5 mg/kg, doses which were ineffective when given alone, was associated with a significant retardation in local tumor growth and an increase in survival time of 92 per cent.


This paper uses microtremor‐array measurements to obtain an overall view of S ‐wave velocity structure in the Chiayi area, Taiwan. The Rayleigh‐wave dispersion curves are calculated using the frequency‐wavenumber (![Graphic][1] ) spectrum method and then the S ‐wave velocity structure of the area is estimated by surface‐wave inversion. According to the inversion results, the S ‐wave velocities decrease from east to west. If the S ‐wave velocity of the bedrock is assumed to be 1500  m/s, the depths of the alluvium are between 560 and 1400 m gradually increasing from east to west. In order to understand the variations of the shallow S ‐wave velocity in the area, we sketch 2D and 3D maps using the imaging techniques based on interpolation algorithms. From the 3D results, the thickness of the sediments having an S ‐wave velocity in the range 270–1500  m/s increases from east to west; whereas the thickness of the layers having an S ‐wave velocity in the range 1500–2370  m/s decreases from east to west. The results are also in good agreement with the geological and geophysical information of the Chiayi area. Therefore, microtremor‐array measurement provides a good alternate to estimate shallow S ‐wave velocity structure.

Online Material: Figures showing observed and calculated phase velocities, f ‐ k spectra, dispersion curves, inverted velocity models, sensitivity kernels, and V S contour maps and electric resistivity maps.

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The relevance of the Internet has dramatically grown in recent decades. However, the enormous financial impact attracts many types of criminals. Setting up proper security mechanisms (e.g., Intrusion Detection Systems) has therefore never been more important than today. To keep up with today's data transfer rates (10 to 100 Gbit/s), dedicated hardware accelerators have been proposed to offload compute intensive tasks from general purpose processors. A key technology of particular interest for this scenario is the use of reconfigurable hardware, e.g., the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). This work addresses their implementation in the domain of interactive communication applications, going beyond the regular packet-level operations often seen in this context. A newly developed FPGA platform (NetStage) provides the foundation for rapidly prototyping such applications. A sample application built on top of NetStage is the hardware honeypot MalCoBox. It not only serves as a proof-of-concept, but was also successfully evaluated in a live data center setting. To counter the difficulty of programming reconfigurable architectures for non-hardware designers, the domain-specific language Malacoda has been developed. Malacoda allows the high-level coding of honeypot communication dialogs, which is then automatically compiled into hardware blocks for insertion into NetStage. Together, NetStage and Malacoda address some of the key hindrances for the more widespread use of reconfigurable computing in communications applications.


Residual plasma viremia (<50 copies/mL) persists in certain human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART); however, the relationship between the degree of residual plasma viremia, the size of HIV reservoirs, and the level of immune activation has not been delineated. Here, we demonstrate that residual plasma viremia correlates with the size of the CD4(+) T cell viral reservoir, but not with markers of immune activation, suggesting that reactivation of the latent viral reservoir may not be the sole source of residual plasma viremia. Novel therapeutic strategies aimed at targeting the source of residual viremia may be necessary to achieve viral eradication.


This paper contains a prediction model made to predict magnitude and depth of an earthquake based on historical data. This study is performed on par with the motivation of studying damage-causing natural disasters by predicting certain parameters of an earthquake. Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) have been used to train our model on a dataset containing many earthquake parameter fields. to predict the magnitude and depth of an earthquake at a particular latitude and longitude taking them as input. Hyperparameter tuning was performed on Random Forest Regressor (RFR). Our model predicts the magnitude and depth of earthquakes at a given location with 95% accuracy. This advancement in seismology will help reduce huge damage and affect human lives. The accurate prediction leads to having more time to take precautionary measures before an earthquake hits. The paper shows the ability of models to predict the parameters of earthquakes accurately. The earthquake prediction model using ANN is valuable in earthquake forecasting and disaster management. Further research can be conducted to improve the accuracy and robustness of the model and to explore its potential applications in others. To summarize the study expands the field of seismology and disaster science helping save infrastructure and take measures to save cost and lives.


Containers and pallets are often lost from ships. A system based on a micro satellite weighting less than 100 kg, embracing a small SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) sensor; a transponder installed in the container and one or more ground stations is described. When a container drops in the water a floating housing is unhooked and the internal transponder is switched-on. Initially it works in a low power consumption status and then, when activated by the small satellite beacon, starts full power operations. The azimuth localization is performed by a synthetic aperture or Doppler analysis processing. In the range direction a short pulse is used. The radar transmitted frequency is shifted inside the transponder, maintaining the coherence. This avoids any problem of time ambiguities in the radar because the receiver chain operates at a different frequency from the transmitter. The micro satellite should be equipped with GPS system for determining its position along the orbit. The received signals are preprocessed on board and then transmitted to the satellite control station. A requirement of four/five days can be met by a single satellite while up to four's are needed for one day revisit time. This paper deals with the description of such innovative system, its dimensioning and possible implementation solutions for the micro satellite radar and the electronics contained into the transponder.


Thermal behaviour of pine needles (Pinus Roxburghii) is examined through a thermogravimetry technique. The dried samples of pine needles undergo the non isothermal decomposition at temperature range of 308 - 1173 K. The heating rates used for experimental purposes are: 5 °C min-1, 10 °C min-1 and 15 °C min-1. Kinetic parameters of thermal decomposition reactions of pine needles are obtained through the model-free schemes. The estimated values of activation energy and frequency factor derived from Kissinger method are 132.77 kJ mol-1 and 13.15 x107 min-1, respectively. Furthermore, the averaged values of the same kinetics parameters retrieved from the isoconversional methods are 82.38 kJ mol-1 and 74.833 kJ mol-1, 25.42 x1013 min-1 and 13.449 x1010 min-1, respectively. Instead of the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and Kissinger-Akahira Sunrose (KAS) schemes, the kinetic parameters derived from the Kissinger method are relatively promising for the thermal decomposition process, since the kinetic parameters are highly affected by intermediate stages and overlapping of the concurrent reaction occurred during pyrolysis.


The method of this invention for preparing a soybean food using unlike the manufacturing process of the introduced soybean food products for scalp (sheath) and the separation of fiber and for discharging containing the entire nutrients of soybeans, without the step of curd soy Ingredients fluid and this It relates. Do not break through immersing soybeans; The method comprising the immersion bath is mechanically crushed soybeans; The crude pulverized enzymatic means, mechanical means, or a step of refining by a combination thereof; And methods of Ingredients Latex soybean of the present invention comprises fine homogenization the resulting soybean milk mixture and method of manufacturing soybean food using the prepared latex, all unlike the conventional soybean food to busy, as well as soy blood nutrients due to be fully prepared foods contain the nutrients of soybeans, and soybean byproducts of blood were discarded from the method introduced not occur, including the advantage of eco-friendly manufacturing process.


This review presents a personal view of the development of plant physiological ecology, the science of studying biological diversity, and the functioning of the Earth as a system. The need for interaction among these disciplines is becoming increasingly urgent as we are faced with the challenge of "managing" the Earth system that is increasingly impacted by the activities of humans.


Often cognitive function is affected adversely during prolonged, high intensity exercise. We assessed whether hydrothermally modified corn starch (HMS) ingestion minimizes cognitive decline with soccer play. 11 men (177.7 ± 6.8 cm, 77.3 ± 7.9 kg, 22 ± 3 y, 12.8 ± 4.9% body fat, V ˙ O2max = 57.1 ± 3.9 ml•kg BM−1•min−1; mean ± SD) completed 60 min simulated soccer matches with HMS (8% CHO; 0.7 g•kg BM−1•h−1; 2.8 kcal·kg BM−1•h−1) vs isoenergetic dextrose (DEX) consumed 30 min prior to the match and at half time. Compared to DEX, blood glucose was lower (p < 0.001) with HMS at 15 (5.3 ± 0.6 vs 7.7 ± 1.4 mmol•L−1) and 30 min post ingestion (5.6 ± 0.6 vs 8.3 ± 1.0 mmol•L−1), and greater (p = 0.004) after 15 min of play (5.8 ± 0.5 vs 5.1 ± 0.6 mmol•L−1). With HMS, perceived exertion ratings were reduced throughout the match (p = 0.025 at 15 min). Flanker test incongruent trial reaction time (p = 0.040) and conflict cost (p = 0.019) were both better with HMS. These data suggest that HMS ingestion minimizes cognitive decline during soccer play. More study is warranted to elucidate fully the cognition benefits of HMS ingestion for sport performance.


Wetland is viewed as the "Kidney of the Nature",while wetland ecosystem is being destroyed seriously.In the disturbance of wetland ecosystem,plant invasion has become the main factor,and wetland plants have higher invasiveness.Therefore,wetland and plant invasion are the hotpots in modern ecological study.We summarized the main reasons why wetlands are more easily invaded,e.g.,diversity and wide distribution of wetland habitats,relativity of wetland's location with plant seed's diffusion routes,disturbance,eutrophication,frangibility of wetland,and lack of natural enemies;introduced 21 worldwide plant species with higher invasiveness in wetland and their ecological behaviors;and analyzed five hypotheses about the plant invasion in wetland,i.e.,natural enemy's evasion,broader tolerance,efficient use,heterosis,and allelopathy.


A 28-year-old female patient receive an IV infusion of methylprednisolone 40 mg once daily for systemic lupus erythematosus.On day 5,an IV infusion of cyclophosphamide 0.8g was added to the regimen,at the same time she was given hydration therapy and urinary alkalinization.The next day,she developed gross hematuria.Her urinary sediment counting for 3 hours revealed 1.63×106 RBCs/hour with 90% isomorphic RBCs.Cystoscopy revealed hemorrhage of bladder mucosal.Hemorrhagic cystitis induced by cyclophosphamide was considered.Methylprednisolone was continued,and she received etamsylate,adequate hydration therapy and urinary alkalinization.Gross hematuria disappeared after 3 days.Two weeks later,a repeat urine sediment examination was normal.Fifteen days later,the patient was retreated with cyclophosphamide pulse therapy and,at the same time,she was given an IV infusion of mesna,hydration therapy and urinary alkalinization.Hematuria did not reappear.


Abstract This paper presents the initial results of a significant research project conducted under the IOC PhD Student Research Grant Program with the support of the Hungarian Olympic Committee. Macro- and meso-level analyses were conducted within the framework of this research to analyze the competitive position of the Hungarian elite sport policy system. In the following, an essential part of the research will be presented with the aim of modeling the efficiency of the Hungarian sport funding system as the increasingly international sporting competition forces governments to invest more money in elite sport development just so they can maintain their elite sport success as the supply of medals remains basically constant. Due to these diminishing returns to the scale of investment, an elite sporting system with an efficient structure will be key in future sporting success. Data collection was based on information gained through a general questionnaire and interviews with the main stakeholders of national sport federations and the Hungarian Olympic Committee, which is the main governing body of Hungarian high-performance sport. Data collection focused on the sixteen prioritized sport federations and the five team sports that benefited from a tax relief system. Secondary data were collected regarding the national public funding for sport, elite sport, and sport by sport since 2006, and Gracenote's database was used to analyze historical performance in the different disciplines and compare Hungarian performance with that of other countries. This research will provide information to policy makers about the competitive position of Hungary in elite sport and, in this respect, explore the critical success factors that will allow Hungary to assess how best to manage its future success in an increasingly competitive international environment.


Figure 2 shows the SeisFinder web interface for extraction at a single location of interest. Figure 3 shows the web interface for multiple locations of interest. Multiple location inputs can be uploaded in a CSV file. Figure 4 shows the output screen for multiple locations for a future Alpine Fault event (south to north scenario). The downloadable zip file contains the acceleration times series, intensity measures and the location metadata as shown in Figure 5. Figure 3: SeisFinder web interface for multiple locations of interest. Contains location metadata


The development of sustainable energy systems based on renewable biomass feedstock is now a global effort. Fuels produced from biomass have the potential to reduce reliance on petroleum resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Biofuels obtained from coproduced residues remains one of the major challenges in full-scale operations. This study investigated the potential of an anaerobic digestion system to convert the stillage obtained from pearl millet-based lignocellulosic biofuel production. Biomethanation experiment study was conducted in CSTR using acid pretreated pearl millet-based biofuel stillage up to 30 days. Using SAS software, the multi-collinearity was identified among different parameters of pH, TS, VS, and VFA profile were analyzed for identifying the major factor impacting biogas production. The initial parameters of stillage were pH 6.8, VS 978 mg.l-1, TS 988 mg.l-1 and VFA 802.44 mg.l-1. The maximum biogas production 0.17 L was obtained at neutral pH of 7.4 on 16th day with respect to reducing the VFA 9.45 mmol.l-1 acetate, VS 954 mg.l-1 and TS 973 mg.l-1, after which there was a reduction in the gas production due to alkaline pH even though TS, VS, and VFA were reduced.


The Merit Society provides a potentially plausible explanation of modern society, indicating that in the excessive pursuit of wealth and performance, collective values and labour relations have been profoundly transformed and thus the ways of operating in traditional regimented societies are less relevant. In the emerging Merit Society, where wealth is an absolute pursuit, there has been an alienation of shared values, labour relations and individual choices. To investigate the concept of self in a merit-based society and to rationalise from a communication perspective, this thesis concentrates on the phenomenon of self-gazing and attempts to examine the process and causes of self-gazing in the Merit Society, through reviewing communication theories and analysing key case studies of RED and its Generation Z users. It is ultimately found that modern internet platforms such as RED have condoned the alienation of values and self at both collective and individual levels, which could stem from the profound impact of the Merit Society and the neoliberal wave.


Deep neural networks are the dominant models for perception tasks in the automotive domain, but their high computational complexity makes it difficult to execute them in real time with an acceptable power consumption on general-purpose devices. For this reason, the design of custom ASIC devices for real-time energy-efficient neural network deployment is a hot topic in academia and industry. Low-precision integer arithmetic and approximate computing are two popular optimizations often contemplated for saving hardware resources and power consumption. In this work, we evaluate two approximate computing circuits using different integer precisions in order to study the trade-offs that these techniques offer in terms of energy efficiency and degradation of the neural network outputs. In particular, we apply the approximations to the YOLOv3 object detection network, a popular model for critical applications in the automotive domain. By combining approximate arithmetic circuits with low precision we are able to reduce the power consumption of a MAD unit by over 50% compared to using only quantization.


i Acknowledgments iii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Distant, Motionless, and Submarine: Time and Movement in "Echoes" 11 Chapter 3: The Shadow of Yesterday's Triumph: "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and the Stage Theory of Grief 32 Chapter 4: "Dogs": A Different Animal 56 Conclusions 83 Appendix 1: List of tracks of over 15 minutes by leading British rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s 86 Appendix 2: Occurrences of the F-E melodic motif in "Dogs" 88 Bibliography 90 Ten Variations – composition for oboe, piano and strings 96 1 Chapter