In this paper,we study the construction of the symmetry tight wavelet frame when the scaling factor is 5.When the scaling factor is 5,nine framework generators are obtained. For the construction of the generator,we introduce a spline polynomial filter and intermediate variables. When the scale factor is 5,the length of low-pass filter may be 5L and 5L + 2. Using the perfect reconstruction condition,a low pass filter is constructed under the low-pass filter structure form. Under the different lengths of the low-pass filter,high-pass filters are constructed,respectively.


Cindy E. Foor is the Associate Director/Research Associate for the Research Institute for STEM Education (RISE) at the University of Oklahoma. Her contribution to the multi-disciplinary team lies in qualitative methodologies, cultural theory and the belief that outliers offer great insight into the workings of power. Her research interests include cultural theory, the cultural/historical construction of women's identities and roles in past and present societies, and most recently, equity issues surrounding gender and underrepresented populations in engineering education. She can be contacted at email@example.com.


The mixtures of higher alcohols are the stable solid-liquid phase change material for thermal storage.The experimental results here showed that the temperatures of phase-transition of those materials are in the range of 35-50℃ depending on their compositions.For the mixture with the melting point of about 47℃,the characters of melting and solidifying stages as well as the changes of the enthalpies and volumes in phase shange were studied.The effect of the graphite on the thermal conductivity of this mixture was also discussed.


A numerical procedure is proposed for predicting the relaxation kernels of orthogonally reinforced carbon fibre/epoxy composite on the basis of known elastic properties of the fibres and viscoelastic characteristics of matrix. The physical relations of the viscoelasticity of composites are formulated on the basis of Boltzmann's linear theory of heredity. Integral dependencies are recorded relative to average stresses and strains in the volume of the representative element. A series of numerical experiments was performed to simulate basic physical stress relaxation tests for the composite. The micromechanical transient analysis of the viscoelastic deformation of the representative element is carried out by the finite element method. A special procedure for the formation of the initial and boundary conditions was developed for the correct reproduction of relaxation processes within the representative element under conditions of a homogeneous (on average) state of the composite. The results of micromechanical analysis made it possible to determine all the parameters of the relaxation kernels of an equivalent homogeneous material. The calculations were carried out for epoxy composite reinforced orthogonally with rectilinear carbon fibres.


The article presents the data of the national-state identity of Moscow schoolchildren research. The results of the research reflect verbal nature of the education process in the school system, the result of which are abstract, cognitively, emotionally and symbolically poor, stereotyped responses and pictures which should express system of beliefs and values related to national identity of the respondents. The grounds for self-identification is formed by unsystematic, poorly interconnected political views and symbols that are not structured in a stable political "image of the world" and are often based on conflicting political and psychological grounds.


Singaporeans are living longer and not having enough babies to replace themselves, with projected 20% of the population aged 65 years and above by 2030. These worrying trends can exert significant pressure on Singapore's economy and society. Health-resource utilisations are increasing as our population ages, with increase in hospitalisations, emergency room visits and consumption of pharmaceutical drugs. Interventions such as vaccinations in older people are well-studied approaches to prevent infections and the related complications. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP) by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends routine immunisation against influenza, tetanus, pneumococcal pneumonia as well as herpes zoster infections in all people aged 65 years and above. The administrations of other vaccines (meningococcal, hepatitis A and B, varicella and Haemophilus influenzae type b) are recommended only in older people with certain risk factors. Despite the benefits of vaccination in older people, the data in the West shows that the rate of vaccination in this age group remains lower than targets recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The main barriers to vaccinations exist in the healthcare system, health care providers, patients and caregivers. Interventions are warranted to increase awareness among physicians, to engage the involvement of the pharmacist/nurse to provide standing orders and reduction in cost of vaccination; this potentially improves vaccination uptake to protect our increasing elderly population.


We consider the estimation of quadratic functionals in a Gaussian sequence model where the eigenvalues are supposed to be unknown and accessible through noisy observations only. Imposing smoothness assumptions both on the signal and the sequence of eigenvalues, we develop a minimax theory for this problem. We propose a truncated series estimator and show that it attains the optimal rate of convergence if the truncation parameter is chosen appropriately. Consequences for testing problems in inverse problems are equally discussed: in particular, the minimax rates of testing for signal detection and goodness-of-fit testing are derived.


Few will deny the importance of the relationships between the Living and Still Anatomy. We have before us Still Anatomy, X-ray Anatomy (Living and Still), Surgical Anatomy, the Anatomy of Operative Findings and Medical Anatomy. I might also include the Anatomy of X-ray Findings at Operation and possibly some other varieties such as the Anatomy of Endoscopic Findings. The future complete Anatomy will surely include all and more than I have mentioned, so I trust that the method about to be described will have a special appeal now that more Anatomy departments are using the X-ray method. The X-ray screen examination of the living heart conveys much information to the experienced observer. I have often felt that heretofore he has had no adequate means of conveying this information to the interested clinician who has not been present at the screen examination. Flat films, stereoscopic photos and even distance photos, all have disadvantages, not the least of which is the question of expense. I imagine what the ...


Turk Psikiyatri Dergisi 2009; Turkish Journal of Psychiatry Objective: Many structural and functional neuroimaging studies have investigated the neuroanatomical changes and possible pathophysiological pathways in autism. In this review the objective was to assess, with an integrative perspective, recent neuroimaging studies that have contributed to the explanation of the possible pathophysiological pathways in autism. Method: Relevant attainable studies published between 1997 and 2007 were included in this retrospective literature review. The PubMed search engine and the keywords, autism, autistic spectrum disorders, neuroimaging, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, positron emission tomography, single photon emission computed tomography, and diffusion tensor imaging were used. Results: Structural neuroimaging studies reported an increase in total cerebral volume, both in grey and white matter, mostly in the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes. These global volumetric changes are suggested to indicate a diffuse disturbance in neural networks during early development. In functional neuroimaging studies, activation abnormalities were observed in the temporal lobes and amygdala, which are involved in language and social cognition. An increase in visual activity cortex was also reported.


Collected lectures and addresses on the history of science and technology, including general subjects, east-west contacts, confrontations and transmissions, astronomy and meteorology, metallurgy, mechanical and horological engineering, the sea and ships, alchemy, chemistry and pharmacy, and medicine. -- ICCROM


Objective:To evaluate the anesthesia effect and safety of the painless oral local anesthesia apparatus in the treatment of senile oral diseases. Methods:The patients were divided into two groups randomly. One group was used the painless oral local anesthesia apparatus, the other was used traditional manual local anesthesia. Injection pain , anesthesia effect and the change of blood pressure and heart beats were compared. Results:The difference of the injection pain were high statistical significant between two groups (P0.01);the difference of anesthesia effect were statistical significant (P0.05), the difference of blood pressure's change was statistical significant (P0.05), the difference of heart beats' change was not statistical significant(P0.05). Conclusion:The painless oral local anesthesia apparatus can reduce the injection pain, prevent the blood pressure from rising in the operation and has high anesthesia effect , it is ideal anesthesia method in the treatment of senile oral diseases.


This article examines the determinants of the mix of private and public debt using detailed information on the debt structure of 250 publicly traded corporations from 1980 through 1990. The authors find that the relationship between bank borrowing and the importance of growth opportunities depends on the number of banks the firm uses and whether the firm has public debt outstanding. For firms with a single bank relationship, the reliance on bank debt is negatively related to the importance of growth opportunities. In contrast, among firms borrowing from multiple banks, the relationship is positive. Copyright 1996 by American Finance Association.


The purpose of this study was to examine how leaders foster school renewal by facilitating and participating in the types of teacher professional learning and development that improve student academic and non-academic outcomes. The methodology involved a backward mapping strategy that takes as its starting point, not theories of leadership, but professional development initiatives that have made a demonstrable impact on the students of the teachers involved. Seventeen studies with evidence of such impact were analysed for descriptions of the leadership practices involved in each initiative. Through an iterative process of review and critique, these descriptions were categorised into the leadership dimensions associated with teacher professional learning that resulted in improved student outcomes. The analysis revealed five leadership dimensions that were critical in fostering teacher and student learning: providing educational direction; ensuring strategic alignment; creating a community that learns how to improve student success; engaging in constructive problem talk; and selecting and developing smart tools. The analysis showed that leadership of the improvement of learning and teaching is highly distributed in terms of both who leads and how it is enacted. Such leadership is embedded in school routines that are aligned to improvement goals, and involves the use of smart tools that are designed to assist teachers' learning of more effective pedagogical practices.


Technology for people with disabilities, regardless of age, extends far beyond wheelchairs and walkers. William C. Mann, OTR, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Florida, has assembled a formidable group of colleagues who present a wide range of commercial and experimental devices. The book, developed from an International Conference on Aging, Disability, and Independence, is composed of an introduction to terminology, demographics, and models of research, followed by a major section on smart technology and related aspects of aging, disability, and independence. Assistive device, assistive technology, and assistive technology device are synonyms, contrasting with environmental interventions, as home modifications are known. Independence is defined as the ability to complete basic daily tasks without personal assistance. Although fewer than 10% of people younger than 70 years of age require help with daily activities, nearly half of those over 85 years old need assistance. Mobility is affected by visual, auditory, and cognitive impairment, as well as pain and fatigue, yet older adults complain that hearing aids, magnifiers, wheelchairs, and canes are the most unsatisfactory of the devices they own. The device may not be sufficient help in the intended task, or does not work in all environments. It may call unwanted attention, or be unaffordable, dangerous, or cause physical discomfort, or be poorly maintained, as well as having other negative attributes.


High-resolution measurements of molecular structure very near a dissociation limit can be used both to probe long-range atomic interactions and to make accurate determinations of dissociation energies. Our research group has investigated the H(1s) + H(2s or 2p) dissociation limit in molecular hydrogen using optical double resonance with single-mode lasers. Fig. 1 shows the general scheme of the experiment. Our measurements of bound states in H2, reported in Ref. 1, have now been extended to include the adjoining continuum and the other stable isotopomers, HD and D2. The most weakly bound levels to which transitions are seen are bound by only about 0.03 cm−1, equivalent to about 40 mK. Very sharp continuum resonances are also observed in the region just above threshold.


The current situation of energy supply and demand is severe. To solve a series of problems, the target energy system, with the typical characteristics of supply effectivity and synergistic transformation between supply and demand, needs to be constructed. The target energy system, that is, integrated energy system makes full use of supply and demand resources on both sides, and organically combines integrated services and integrated energy to form a coordinated supply subsystem, so as to meet the new energy demand and realize the effective supply of energy. Finally, the paper puts forward three concrete measures to improve integrated energy system construction.


Renal tubular acidosis(RTA) is a hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis characterized by a normal anion gap due to reduced urinary acidification.Multiple mechanisms act in the renal tubule to maintain balance in hydrogen ion secretions and bicarbonate absorption.In recent years, more and more proteins have been found to be associated with RTA, so hereditary RTA has attracted people′s attention.Mutations in the gene SLC4A1, encoding Cl-/HCO3- exchanger (kAE1); in the gene ATP6V1B1, encoding B1 subunit of H+ -ATP ase; in the gene ATP6V0A4, encoding a4 subunit of H+ -ATP ase; in the gene SLC4A4, encoding Na+ /HCO3-cotransporter(kNBCe1); in the gene CA2, encoding carbonic anhydrase Ⅱ are identified in the pathogenesis of hereditary RTA.The search for pathogenetic genes for clinically suspected hereditary RTA patients can help us to make accurate genetic diagnosis and provide targeted treatment interventions.

Key words:
Renal tubular acidosis; Hereditary; Pathogenetic gene


The cryogen is used in various industrial and commercial applications and the demand of the cryogens are increasing in recent years. It is necessary to measure the level of cryogen which is stored in the storage tank or dewar. It is necessary to maintain minimum cryogen level in the storage tank before filling it with a new batch of cryogen and preventing the thermal quench of superconducting equipment like superconducting magnets. Various methods are used for the measurement of cryogen. In recent years, superconducting liquid level sensor is used, however there is a drawback with this measurement unit as the sensor wire above the liquid level will be experiencing low temperature as compared to the sensor wire which is having contact with the gaseous form of cryogen. Hence, in this work, we have developed an indirect type super conducting liquid helium level sensor. The active length of the sensor developed is 40 inch and it was tested successfully. From this work, we conclude that developed sensor works effectively and will overcome the problem with super conducting level sensor.


Classification of uranium ore deposits is proposed on the basis of regional metallogeny. Deposits are divided as to 1) endogenic, 2) exogenic and 3) metamorphogenic. Under this system, deposits are distinguished according to development in mobile zones (divided by stages), ancient shields and the upper stage of platform formation. Five chief locations for U ores are: 1) platform margins adjoining folded zones; 2) pregeosynclinal rigid massifs surrounded by younger folded structures; 3) later peripheral basins of mobile zones; 4) later interior basins on geanticlinal uplifts and 5) intersections of faults. One of the peculiarities of U emplacement is its location both above and below the boundary between the two stages of fracture zones. U-bearing ores occur in brecciated rocks of various types, especially tuffaceous, and in granitoids subject to metamorphism and hydrothermal solutions. Uranium is more likely associated with hydrothermal solutions of magma-chamber origin than with igneous rocks themselves....


The current tendencies concerning optimisation of maintenance parameters with regard to thermal comfort and indoor air quality in office and commercial buildings have been presented. The heating, ventilating and cooling systems for the indoor environment design have been characterized. Results of investigations regarding the indoor environment parameters for selected, representative buildings - a traditional, modernized building and an energy-efficient building - have been compared. In the energy-efficient building, a high diversity of indoor air quality (IAQ) has been demonstrated. Effective ways of indoor environment parameter optimisation in the aspect of outdoor air stream minimisation with reduction in carbon dioxide levels regarding human-occupied areas have been proposed.


This chapter describes grammaticalization patterns in a broad selection of languages of South Asia, a multilingual region of the world known to constitute a linguistic area in which unrelated languages demonstrate evidence of linguistic convergence. In addition to presenting representative examples of grammaticalization, the chapter specifically considers whether widely recurring patterns in unrelated languages could be induced by language contact. The investigation finds robust evidence for the transfer of seemingly identical cognitive schemas across the genetic boundaries of languages in contact. These target morphemes or constructions with identical meanings in unrelated languages, and they produce grammaticalization outcomes that are not attested in related languages located outside South Asia. Such replicated patterns must cater to a multilingual community's communicative needs, while at the same time reducing the cognitive burden imposed by multilingualism in a linguistic area.


The direct effects of transport on human well-being include injuries and deaths due to accidents, and less obviously the undesirable consequences of air pollution due to the vast numbers of internal combustion engine vehicles operating in our urban centers. The indirect effects of traffic noise in metropolitan areas amount mostly to public annoyance, though temporary and permanent hearing losses in individuals are also possible though still generally unknown.


The present invention provides a process for the purification of methionine, macroporous adsorption resin and a byproduct of salts of methionine, after adsorption, desorption, to a purity of ≥99% product methionine, methionine-product salt products content of ≤0.03%. Resin extract methionine yield ≥98%. The method of the present invention can be used to simplify the existing production process, methionine improve product quality, reduce production costs methionine.


Abstract Education has the potential to help address some of the most critical social and environmental issues of the Caribbean. However, I argue that this can only occur if there is a radical critique of the now dominant education for sustainable development (ESD) discourse, which is seemingly constructed primarily from the positionality and interests of the global powerful. I draw on repositioning theory to reframe the perspective from which the sustainability discourse is constructed to advocate for an educational approach that is more relevant to the context of the Caribbean. The resulting education envisioned in this paper, Education for Social Transformation (EST), challenges some of the assumptions and conceptions of ESD by exposing broader issues of inequity that the latter concept implicitly endorses. I argue that EST may help build sustainable Caribbean societies by linking environmental preservation to broader social transformations. Thus, transformation takes center stage in place of the limited notion of sustainability that has become synonymous with capitalist development violence.


The law of homologous series in variation has important significance for disclosing the potential hereditary variability in plants. The use of the law in studies of cucurbit cropcollections, hybrid populations, mutants, and breeding lines made it possible to discover valuable and previously unknown forms of watermelon, muskmelon and different squash species for their use in practical breeding. For example, these are bushy and short vine forms for breeding cultivars suitable for mechanized cultivation. This work resulted in creating cultivars of bushy watermelon 'Svaytoslav', short vine watermelon 'Podarok Solntsa', bushy Cucurbita pepo L. 'Kustovaya oranzhevaya' and Cucurbita maxima Duch. 'Kustovaya Zolotaya', 'Malyshka', and 'Matrieschka', short vine Cucurbita maxima Duch. 'Lechebnaya' and Cucurbita moschata Duch. ex Poir 'Mariya', and also of a short vine muskmelon 'Stanislava'. The mentioned cultivars have been included in the State Register of Selection Achievements. Watermelon genetic marker lines with the nonlobed (entire) leaf (TsL), namely TsL 656, TsL 662, TsL 784, TsL 752, have been identified and used for crerating entire leaf cultivars 'Blagodatnyi', 'Lubimchik', and 'Krasavchik'. A watermelon cultivar 'Surpriz' with high quality, delicately colored bright yellow flesh, and cultivar 'Solyaris' with fruits combining yellow color of rind with yellow flesh, have been created for cultivation by amateur gardeners. Of interest is an ornamental form of watermelon with yellow-green mosaic leaf and bright yellow fruits (the yellowgreen bushy line) ZhZKL 870, as well as the yellow-green muskmelon line ZhZL 487 and yellow-green pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) line ZhZL 692. Bushy lines KL 648, KL 652 and short vine KPL 648, KPL 652 of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) have been created. Improved female lines (ZhL) of muskmelon (ZhL 415, ZhL 421, ZhL 423, and ZhL 427) have been identified for heterosis breeding. It follows from the above that the law in question found practical application in breeding cucurbit crops.


Development of the tectum and the cerebellum is induced by a reciprocal inductive signaling between their respective primordia, the midbrain and the midbrain/hindbrain boundary (MHB). We set out to identify molecules that function in and downstream of this reciprocal signaling. Overexpression of LIM domain of the transcription factor Islet-3 (LIM) leads to inhibition of this reciprocal signaling and to resultant defects in tectal and cerebellar development. We therefore searched for genes that may be either upor down-regulated by overexpression of LIM by comparing the gene expression pro®les in the midbrain and the MHB of normal embryos and embryos in which Islet-3 function was repressed, using a combination of ordered differential display and whole-mount in situ hybridization. Among genes identi®ed in this search, two cDNA fragments encoded Wnt1 and FGF8, which are already known to be essential for the reciprocal signaling between the midbrain and the MHB, con®rming the effectiveness of our strategy. We identi®ed four other partial cDNA clones that were speci®cally expressed around the MHB, ten cDNAs speci®cally expressed in the tectum, and three cDNAs expressed in neural crest cells including those derived from the midbrain level. The ephrin-A3 gene was speci®cally expressed in posterior tectum in a gradient that decreased anteriorly. Although ephrin-A2 and ephrin-A5 have been reported to be expressed in the corresponding region in mouse embryos, the superior/inferior colliculi, mouse ephrin-A3 is not expressed prominently in this region, suggesting that the role of ephrin-A3 in brain development may have been altered in the process of brain evolution. q 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.


In the giant mixed-metal silver(I)-ethynide cluster compound [Bz(Et)(3)N(+)](8)[(Et)(4)N(+)](2)[(V(2)O(7))(2)@Ag(44)(C≡C(t)Bu)(14)@(V(32)O(96))], the cyclic polyoxovanadate {V(32)O(96)} located at a 4 site takes a contorted configuration to wrap around an inner Ag(44) cluster that in turn encapsulates a pair of pyrovanadate templates.


Nature and occurrence of total organic halogen (TOX) in urban river waters were surveyed. The features of TOX pollution were characterized by its relation with chemical oxygen demand and total nitrogen. TOX was mainly comprised of unpurgable, soluble and stable compounds, but most of the TOX components were still unidentified. Considering the results, TOX could be a suitable indicator of water quality assessment in terms of chemical contamination.


The synthesis and the oxidative polymerization of 1,5-bis(phenoxy)pentane, 1,5-bis(phenoxy)pentane substituted with various electron-donating groups, and 1,5-bis(phenylthio)pentane is described. The polymers derived from methyl substituted 1,5-bis(phenoxy)pentane monomers contain diphenyl methane, 1,2-diphenylethane, and benzyl chloride structural units. The mechanism for the generation of these structural units is presented. It consists of the proton transfer reactions from the cation-radical propagating species and subsequent reactions of the resulting benzyl radicals. The polymerizability of monomers with 1,5-pentanedioxy group is lower than that of the monomers with diphenyl sulfone group. This dissimilarity was attributed to the difference between both the reactivity and the concentration of the cation-radical propagating species resulted from these two classes of monomers.


The face recognition process is widely studied, and the researchers made great achievements, but there are still many challenges facing the applications of face detection and recognition systems. This research contributes to overcoming some of those challenges and reducing the gap in the previous systems for identifying and recognizing faces of individuals in images. The research deals with increasing the precision of recognition using a hybrid method of moments and local binary patterns (LBP). The moment technique computed several critical parameters. Those parameters were used as descriptors and classifiers to recognize faces in images. The LBP technique has three phases: representation of a face, feature extraction, and classification. The face in the image was subdivided into variable-size blocks to compute their histograms and discover their features. Fidelity criteria were used to estimate and evaluate the findings. The proposed technique used the standard Olivetti Research Laboratory dataset in the proposed system training and recognition phases. The research experiments showed that adopting a hybrid technique (moments and LBP) recognized the faces in images and provide a suitable representation for identifying those faces. The proposed technique increases accuracy, robustness, and efficiency. The results show enhancement in recognition precision by 3% to reach 98.78%.


The purpose of this paper is to address the feasibility of arms control and cooperative security at a regional level. In order to address these topics, I chose two specific regions to focus on including individual powers within those regions along with regional organisations. The paper begins with definitions for clarification and general conditions, leading into regional sections with subcategories within the sections. The regional subcategories include case studies of Southeast/East Asia and the Middle East with discussion on how the conditions I set out apply to the region through analyses on structures and institutions that already exist, along with what needs to be done.


This article presents a new approach to indirect vector control of permanent magnet synchronous machine. In this order the scrambled controller is added to the controller of sliding mode with integral action in order to guarantee the stability of the system. The new hybrid controller obtained is applied to the permanent magnet synchronous machine PMSM. In a first stage, we present the design of the order by fuzzy logic. This new order is applied to the PMSM. The second stage is devoted to the development of an order with variable structure. The latter is the order by sliding mode with integral action. In the third stage, we suggest a new scrambled controller of mode slipping for the ordering of position. In this case, the scrambled controller is added to the controller of sliding mode with integral action. We present the simulation results of the evolution of the real PMSM sizes, as well as the dynamic characteristics of the total system, during the starting of the PMSM. To justify our work, an evaluation of the two approaches is presented. Finally, the results of simulation prove that the system to be regulated is powerful and stable vis- a-vis the external disturbances.


List of figures List of tables Preface Abbreviations and acronyms Symbols Introduction and summary Kym Anderson Part I. Fibres, Textiles and Economic Development: 1. The changing role of fibres, textiles and clothing as economies grow Kym Anderson 2. The experience of Japan in historical and international perspective Young-Il Park and Kym Anderson 3. Effects of China's dramatic reforms on its neighbours and on world markets Kym Anderson and Young-Il Park 4. Thailand's growth in textile and clothing exports Suphat Suphachalasai Part II. Demand For Textile Exports From Newly Industrializing Asia: 5. The Multi-Fibre Arrangement and China's growth prospects John Whalley 6. International competition and Japan's domestic adjustments Hideki Yamawaki 7. The new silk road to Europe Carl B. Hamilton 8. The redirection of United States imports Joseph Pelzman 9. Structural adjustments in Australia and New Zealand Peter J. Lloyd Part III. Conclusions: 10. Future prospects and policy implications Kym Anderson Appendix Bibliography Index.


: A simple and accurate method was developed for the detection and determination of paracetamol by spectro photometry in pharmaceutical formulations in the form of tablets. Paracetamol, was dissolved in 4 M sulphuric acid and treated witb 1 'Ill aqueous sodium vanadate solution in the presence of 1 M hydrochloric acid. It exhibited a stable bluish-violet colour. The coloured compound showed Amax at 560 nm. This method is also recommended as a spot test for parac:etamol. It is also precise and found to be accurate for qualitative and quantitative determinations of paracetamol.


Hashing is a widely adopted method based on an approximate nearest neighbor search and is used in large-scale image retrieval tasks. Conventional learning-based hashing algorithms employ end-to-end representation learning, which is a one-off technique. Because of the tradeoff between efficiency and performance, conventional learning-based hashing methods must sacrifice code length to improve performance, which increases their computational complexity. To improve the efficiency of binary codes, motivated by the "nonsalient-to-salient" attention scheme of humans, we propose a recursive hashing mechanism that maps progressively expanded salient regions to a series of binary codes. These salient regions are generated by a conventional saliency model based on bottom-up saliency-driven attention and a semantic-guided saliency model based on top-down task-driven attention. After obtaining a series of salient regions, we perform long-range temporal modeling of salient regions using a graph-based recurrent deep network to obtain more refined representative features. The later output nodes inherit aggregated information from all previous nodes and extract discriminative features from more salient regions. Therefore, this network possesses more significant information and satisfactory scalability. The proposed recursive hashing neural network, optimized by a triplet ranking loss, is end-to-end trainable. Extensive experimental results from several image retrieval benchmarks show the scalability of our method and demonstrate its strong performance compared with state-of-the-art methods.


(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)1. IntroductionNeoclassical growth theory which was developed under the leadership of Solow (1956) resulted in balanced growth. In the case of balanced growth, output per worker increases as much as technological development. Technological development which is accepted as exogenous in theory is a factor which determines increase in output per worker. However, in the endogenous growth theories which are developed under the leadership of Romer (1986), technological development is determined by intrasystem elements. The theory concluded that a growth rate could be achieved which is above balanced growth rate that was achieved by neoclassical theory. Technological development which is based on research and development (RD the number of studies which investigate the relationship between FDI and RD some studies assert that there is a negative, substitution relationship between these mentioned variables.According to the studies which assert that there is a positive relationship between FDI and RD foreign firms which enter in a country with FDI may have direct or indirect contribution to RD domestic firms may decrease their R&D activities by procuring technology from abroad instead of competing with foreign firms. …


Abstract An association between the lysianassid amphipod, Aristias neglectus Hansen, and two species of Brachiopoda is recorded from Swedish and Norwegian waters.


Along with the huge changes of competition environment and enterprise organization, enterprise cooperative competitive intelligence becomes possible. This paper establishes partners selection evaluation indexes, and constructs multi-attribute group decision-making model based on the interval number sorting method to select partners of cooperative competitive intelligence. It summarizes and analyzes the solution concepts of cooperative game theory, constructs the minimum strong ε- core model, Nash negotiation model and Shapely value model, and applies nonlinear optimization model to combine their results and output the final investment distribution result. The example shows that the partners selection model and investment allocation models of enterprise cooperative competitive intelligence are feasible, which provide idea and methods for the actual operation of enterprise cooperative competitive intelligence.


A system designed for use as an integrated starter- alternator unit in an automobile is presented in this paper. The new system utilizes a basic squirrel-cage rotor induction machine with the ability to externally switch the winding configuration for optimal performance. A conventional V/f motor controlling inverter drives the machine in starting mode and rectifies the output of the generator in alternating mode. A system controller manages the inverter and user interface to the system. This system is designed to minimize cost and exhibit good reliability.


PURPOSE: To obtain a local area communication device capable of maintaining the completeness of communication even if cutoff occurs in a data path. CONSTITUTION: A local area network(LAN) uses an ANSI-standard fiber distributed data interface(FDDI) LAN concentrated stations 501, 502, 503 and 504, and data buses in the mutually opposite direction of a 1st group or loops 511 to 516, together with data paths 521 to 526 in the mutually opposite direction of another pair. A standard FDDI protocol when it is used to a specific connection of the concentrated station, mutually connects the bus in the form that if a cutoff occurs in a data path terminating at an input (i) or an output (o) port, the station is reconfigured, and even if the multiple cutoff of the bus occurs, data is transmitted by rounding it. Thus, the completeness of communication is maintained.


Data search server (300) according to categories of data including the ciphertext data and key ciphertext ciphertext system (230) is stored in the DB portion by category (391) in the DB section by category (391) in association with storage class is determined by the secret key (153). Retrieval request receiving unit (331) receives a trapdoor and the search for index search request from the tag data retrieval terminal. Data search unit (332) to explore the index with the label decryption key determination value (191) determines the value of the same category using the secret key (153), using the search trapdoor, it can be retrieved by the public key cryptosystem, retrieving the category determination by category DB system ciphertext portion (230) of the (391) (153) in association with the secret key. A search result transmission unit (333) will retrieve the selected cipher system (230) included in the ciphertext data transmitted to the data retrieval terminal (100).


Xin,an medicine is originated from the native place of ZHU Xi,who is a theoretician in South Song Dynasty.A large group of high-quality Xin,an apprentices began to learn medicine in stead of confucianism,accordingly changing the cultural quality and knowledge structure of medical circles.Since then the families of medicine passed down from generation to generation,forming an inheritance chain of Xin,an medical physicians for generations.Over 800 physicians and more than 800 pieces of work allow Xin,an school to rank the top among all schools of traditional Chinese medicine in the name of region and created many records in traditional Chinese medicine.Xin,an medicine is prosperous academically,presenting a serious of theories which are of great scientific values and displaying diversified features.It exerts deep and profound influence on the development of traditional Chinese medicine.Xin,an medical physicians resided all over the country following the merchants in Anhui.In Ming Dynasty,XU Chun-pu organized the first academic institute in our country and a scientific group named'Medical Association of Benevolence and Honesty'.Xin,an medical books are spreading to the east and receive wide attention both at home and abroad.Confucian physicians coming forth in large numbers,hereditary-physicians without cease,endless literatures being composed,most of which being very famous,variety of views being in existence,profound influence by communication and spreading,all the above are the main achievements and contributions of Xin,an medicine.


The article reveals two methodological approaches to the study of globalization processes - natural and natural-artificial. The essence of the ideology of the Western liberal understanding of globalization in the works of A. A. Zinoviev, which is often overlooked by Russian researchers, is described. The main global problems and risks are listed, contradictions and conflicts between the local and global levels of management and relations are described. Using the example of the collapse of the USSR, it is shown what globalization is on the Western liberal model and what an existential threat it poses to the national security of Russia and to all mankind. It is shown that globalization is a natural-artificial process, and not a natural one, which Western researchers convince, in the interests of the collective West, reducing the will to resist destructive tendencies. The essence of the conflict between the global and local levels is revealed, as well as the immoral and immoral aspect of globalization. The statistical data specifically shows WHAT the Russian people lost after the collapse of the USSR, in connection with the processes of globalization at the macro and micro levels. The strategic path of Russia's development in the context of global and national security is shown, new tasks for the humanities in a long evolutionary war are formulated.


Many cities using gunshot detection technology depend on expensive systems that ultimately rely on humans differentiating between gunshots and non-gunshots, such as ShotSpotter. Thus, a scalable gunshot detection system that is low in cost and high in accuracy would be advantageous for a variety of cities across the globe, in that it would favorably promote the delegation of tasks typically worked by humans to machines. A repository of audio data was created from sound clips collected from online audio databases as well as from clips recorded using a USB microphone in residential areas and at a gun range. One-dimensional as well as two-dimensional convolutional neural networks were then trained on this sound data, and spectrograms created from this sound data, to recognize gunshots. These models were deployed to a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ with a short message service modem and a USB microphone attached, using a software pipeline to continuously analyze discrete two-second chunks of audio and alert a set of phone numbers if a gunshot is detected in that chunk. Testing found that a majority-rules ensemble of our one-dimensional and two-dimensional models fared best, with an accuracy above 99% on validation data as well as when distinguishing gunshots from fireworks. Besides increasing the safety standards for a city's residents, the findings generated by this research project expand the current state of knowledge regarding sound-based applications of convolutional neural networks.


The core porting of real time operating system is just a bottleneck of embedded system development. So far, the speed of core porting is a bit slow and can not meet the real needs. Now it is possible to port an embedded operating system , for example, the Delta OS. What is important is that the laws of core porting be mastered.


Water is especially precious in Australia, the world's driest inhabited continent. When negotiating the Australian Constitution, the states chose to secure the sovereign right 'for reasonable use of the waters of rivers for conservation or irrigation'. Each state developed its own arrangements for sharing of the waters within its jurisdiction, and then became aware of the interdependencies for shared river systems like the Murray-Darling, which spans six jurisdictions. The Murray-Darling Basin Commission exists to facilitate and promote effective planning and management for the equitable, efficient, and sustainable use of the water, land, and other environmental resources. In the past, the sovereign governments have chosen to progress through the commission the sharing of waters (including the implementation of the cap on diversions), salinity management, and the introduction of interstate water trade. Current priorities (in the context of the National Water Initiative and policies within jurisdictions) include active management of water and works to achieve environmental outcomes at internationally significant sites along the River Murray, and development of policy to address emerging issues such as climate change and groundwater diversion. In the future, the commission will continue to support the jurisdictions as they contemplate evolution of water sharing arrangements, and the development of more sophisticated integrated environmental management approaches, towards a more sustainable basin.


Thrs paper discusses an expert system to assist operation and running of the CERN PS accelerators, The expert system aimed for in future will be an essential tool to ease maintenance, fault finding and eventually operation. It Will reduce downtimes of the accelerators and should facilitate setting up beams. Two prototypes are discussed, One written with an EMYCIN-based shell, the other with a powerful hybrid frame, logic and production rule based development tool. The prototypes are based on deep-knowledge modelling of the structure and functionality of the accelerator and the computer control system. It will create its knowledge base directly from data bases describing the system. In addition it includes heuristics of experts' knowledge about the running of the accelerator and dealing with breakdowns.


During the last two decades, the United States witnessed a major expansion of higher education. The expansion was due, in part, to the large number of children from the "baby boom" reaching traditional college-going age. It was also due to an increasing proportion of adults and college-age youth acquiring higher education. These two trends greatly raised the average educational level of the American population, and they greatly increased the proportion of college graduates in the U.S. labor force. But did the growth in labor market opportunities keep pace with the growth in educational attainments over this period? Most recent attempts to answer this question have focused on fairly short periods of time, usually comparing the situation in the 1960s with the situation in the 1970s. This paper examines a longer interval, looking backward over the period from 1960 to 1980 as well as looking forward to the period from 1980 to 1990.


AWAKE, an Advanced Wakefield Experiment is launched at CERN to verify the proton driven plasma wakefield acceleration concept. Proton bunches at 400 GeV/c will be extracted from the CERN SPS and sent along a 750 m long proton line to a plasma cell, a Rubidium vapour source, where the proton beam drives wakefields reaching accelerating gradients of several gigavolts per meter. A high power laser pulse will copropagate within the proton bunch creating the plasma by ionizing the (initially) neutral gas. An electron beam will be injected into the plasma cell to probe the accelerating wakefield. The AWAKE experiment will be installed in the CNGS facility. First proton beam to the plasma cell is expected by end 2016. The installation planning and the baseline parameters of the experiment are shown. The design of the experimental area and the integration of the new beam-lines as well as the experimental equipment are presented. The needed modifications of the infrastructure in the facility and a few challenges are highlighted.


For the rapid calculation of what the parameters of AEO having effect on the control system,based on the actual application of the algebra equivalent observer of higher-order inertial element,and according to the matrix of standard type of the Jordan's,a matrix block JBS of Jordan standard type in board sense is defined.A simple calculation method of the transform matrix P is given by mathematical analysis.So an effective method for open out the inherent relation of algebra equivalent observer is presented.This method not only helps to designing of the regulative system,but also can achieve a more beneficial effect by using appropriately.The practicality and validity of the method proposed is testified by an application case of 600 MW unit's boiler super-heater steam temperature control system in a power plant.


The key to successful integration and interoperability between applications and software products depends on the intelligent use and management of metadata. This can be accomplished by the use of the CWM standard which provides a mechanism for exchanging metadata in the data warehousing and business intelligence domain. As for, it is known that the development and maintenance of information systems based on the user's requirements play a strategic role in the making decision process. In this paper we envisage to integrate the notion of user's viewpoint into the CWM standard to allow it reuse.


CONTEXT
The annual risk of ischemic stroke in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis is about 2% during the short-term (2-3 years), but the long-term risks of stroke and other vascular events are unknown, although they may affect surgical decision making.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the long-term risk of stroke and other vascular events in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis.

DESIGN
Cohort study with a median follow-up of 10 years (range, 5-18 years).

SETTING
The teaching hospital of the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.

PATIENTS
From the initial cohort of 500 patients, 106 patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis were selected because they had completed at least 5 years of follow-up.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Ipsilateral stroke, myocardial infarction, and nonstroke vascular death.

RESULTS
The 10- and 15-year actuarial risks of ipsilateral stroke were 5.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0%-12%) and 8.7% (95% CI, 1%-17%), respectively, in patients with 0% to 49% internal carotid artery stenosis, and 9.3% (95% CI, 1%-18%) and 16.6% (95% CI, 1%-32%) in patients with 50% to 99% internal carotid artery stenosis. The 10- and 15-year risks of myocardial infarction and nonstroke vascular death were 10.1% (95% CI, 4%-16%) and 24.0% (95% CI, 14%-34%). Age (P =.02), diabetes mellitus (P =.02), and internal carotid artery stenosis of 50% or more (P =.04) were predictive of increased risks of myocardial infarction and nonstroke vascular death. Internal carotid artery stenosis of 50% or more did predict the risk of ipsilateral stroke (P =.003) when all 181 asymptomatic carotid arteries were included.

CONCLUSIONS
The annual stroke risk in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis was low and remained stable during long-term follow-up. Any benefit from carotid surgery is therefore unlikely to increase significantly with long-term follow-up. The high long-term risks of myocardial infarction and nonstroke vascular death suggest that prevention strategies should concentrate on coronary risk more than stroke risk.


The invention discloses an assembling jib for a permanent magnet motor assembly, which is characterized in that a bottom board is respectively provided with a rotor bracket and a stator bracket, wherein the rotor bracket comprises a left thimble arranged on the left side bracket capable of moving along an axial direction and a right thimble fixedly arranged on the right side bracket, the left thimble and the right thimble used for supporting a rotor assembly are located in co-axial positions; the stator bracket consists of a fixing panel used for fixedly installing a stator assembly and support boards located at two sides of the fixing panel, and the support boards are supported on a straight line guide rail between the left side bracket and the right side bracket. The assembling jib is simple in structure, simple in operation and convenient in maintenance, and can effectively reduce assembling loss and increase assembling efficiency.


Experimental and theoretical investigations on the left-handed properties dependence versus the interwire distance of three new proposed Fe77.5Si7.5B15 glass coated microwires-based metastructures are presented. The left-handed characteristics of the metastructures were determined in the frequency range 8.2 ÷ 12 GHz and external d.c. magnetic fields ranging from 0 to 32 kA/m. The experimental results show that the electromagnetic losses of the metastructures increase with the decreasing of the interwire distance due to the increasing of the long-range dynamic dipole-dipole interaction within inter-wires in the presence of the microwave field. The numerical calculations using Nicolson–Weiss–Ross algorithm are in agreement with the experimental results. The variation of the interwire distance proves to be a useful tool to obtain metastructures with controlled left-handed characteristics.


By-product gypsum derived from the tapioca starch process was calcined in the laboratory and evaluated for use in the manufacture of plaster of Paris and plaster products. The gypsum had a purity of about 98%, was fine (1%, +150 μm) and had a low bulk density (600 kg/m 3 ). The laboratory calcined material had a higher than normal water requirement of 120-130 ml/100 g, and a long setting time of 65 min. Specimens cast at a water/solids ratio of 1-0 had a low compressive strength of 2.4-3.4 MPa. However, the mechanical strength could be improved by the addition of water-reducing admixtures, and a strength of 7.6 MPa was obtained at a water/solids ratio of 0.6 and a resulting density of 1190 kg/m 3 . The waste gypsum derived from the manufacture of tapioca starch appears to be suitable for the manufacture of plaster of Paris and plaster products after the incorporation of water-reducing admixtures into the plaster slurry


PURPOSE Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) improves exercise capacity and ventilatory responses to exercise in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) with inspiratory muscle weakness (IMW). We analyzed the effects of IMT on the oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) in this patient population. METHODS Thirty-two CHF patients with IMW (maximal inspiratory pressure [PImax] < 70% of predicted) were randomly assigned to either a 12-week program of IMT (IMT, n = 16) or placebo-IMT (P-IMT, n = 16). PImax and OUES were obtained before and after the intervention. RESULTS Inspiratory muscle training resulted in 115% increment in PImax (5.9 ± 0.9 vs 12.7 ± 0.9 kPa; P < .001) and in significant improvement in OUES (1,554 ± 617 to 2,037 ± 747 mL−1 min−1 O2/L min−1 of minute ventilation; P = .001). There were no significant changes in the P-IMT group. There was a significant association between the changes in PImax and OUES (r = 0.82, P < .01). CONCLUSION In CHF patients with IMW, IMT results in a significant increase in OUES.


With the continuous deepening of reform and institutions have been gradually "market", and institutions of the "iron rice bowl" has gradually been broken, with professional and specialized human resources and institutions has become the healthy development of decision one of the important factors, and to cultivate a high-quality personnel, the establishment of an effective system of staff training is the key. I am on staff training in accordance with the relevant theory, combined with their own institutions engaged in training of personnel in the years of work experience, from the analysis of the importance of staff training institutions, training institutions of the status quo, existing problems and countermeasures, such as start, Training of personnel and institutions are systematically analyzed and summarized.


This study aims to determine the extent of the influence of work discipline, work facilities and workload on employee performance at PT. Hilon Sumatera. Data was collected through questionnaires and documentation techniques. The research method used is quantitative, with 66 respondents taken using saturated sampling or census. Data analysis in this study using SPSS version 22.00. The results of the t-test indicate that the work discipline variable has a positive and significant effect on employee performance where the value of tcount (3.753 ) > t table (1.670) and a significant value of 0.000 < (0.05). Work facilities have a positive and significant effect on employee performance, it can be seen from the value of tcount (4.499) > ttable (1.670) and a significant value of 0.000 < (0.05). Workload has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, it can be seen from the value of tcount (2.426)> ttable (1.670) and a significant value of 0.018 < (0.05). The results of the F test indicate that work discipline, work failure and workload have a positive and significant effect on employee performance (Fcount of 72.834 > Ftable of 2.75). R square of 0.883 or 88.3% means that the variation in employee performance can be explained by the variables of work discipline, work facilities and workload of 88.3%, while another 11.7% is explained by other variables not included in this study. Preferably PT. Hilon Sumatera is increasingly improving the performance of its employees by providing adequate work facilities, such as machinery, infrastructure, inventory equipment, buildings, transportation equipment and work spaces. Employee work discipline needs to be improved by giving sanctions to employees who arrive late and do not comply with company regulations and the workload given is in accordance with the available working time so that production targets can be realized.


CLINICAL CHEMISTRY, Vol. 26, No. 2, 1980 353 F.R.G.) of r = 0.95, as well as between the former method and a radioimmunoassay method (CIS-SORIN, Biomedica, 13040 Saluggia, Italy) of r = 0.92. The lackof correlation between serum ferritin and serum iron on one hand and the inverse relationship between serum ferritin and iron-binding capacity on the other, reported by Fortier et al. (1) and by Lipschitz et al. (2), has also been reported by us in patients on chronic hemodialysis and after kidney transplantation (3, 4). Figure 1 shows the inverse correlation between serum ferritin (IRMA method, Hoechst-Behringwerke) and transferrin measured immunoturbidimetrically with a centrifugal analyzer (ENI-GEMSAEC; Electro-Nucleonics, Fairfield, NJ 07006) in 192 patients on chronic dialysis and after kidney transplantation when the data are plotted semilogarithmically as presented by Lipschitz et al. (2) and Fortier et al. (1). We found that the equation y = (b/x) + a, a hyperbolic function, gave the best coefficient of correlation (Figure 2). The same hyperbolic relationship was found between serum ferritin and intestinal iron absorption and is also well known for creatinine and inulin clearance (5). Figure 2 seems to indicate that ferritin is the better discriminator in iron deficiency and iron overload, which seems logical because transferrin is a transport protein and therefore cannot reach a zero value, whereas ferritin is a storage protein and therefore closely related to the actual iron content.


Biometric authentication using ngerprints or face recognition is making its way intothe mainstream, and there is an urgent need to make these authentication methods assecure and reliable as possible. One way to achieve better performance with a biometricauthentication method, is to introduce a quality estimation step early in the pipeline, sothat unsuitable, or low-quality samples can be rejected.While existing work predominantly focuses on algorithms for detecting specic propertiesof the face images, we investigate whether machine learning techniques can provide ageneral way to estimate overall face image quality.We train a selection of neural network types, and discover that a type of RecurrentNeural Network (RNN) called Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) can reliably estimateface image quality, with better performance than the bespoke algorithms.


The high cost of energy in Puerto Rico (e.g., $0.27/kWh in September 2014) due to its dependence on fossil fuels (i.e., 61% of electricity production) has become a direct burden on individuals and a critical barrier on economic development in the Island. To alleviate the cost of energy and reduce environmental pollution and greenhouse effects, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) is seeking to establish over 380 MW of electrical power from wind sources as part of its renewable energy portfolio. However, contrary to a wind energy study that indicates that the greatest potential for wind power extraction in Puerto Rico resides offshore, all PREPA's wind energy projects are onshore. This investigation considers a preliminary assessment for the use of offshore wind energy in the eastern region of Puerto Rico. A theoretical model was used to calculate the wind power and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for three typical offshore wind turbines with nominal output power of 2,300 kW, 3,000 kW, and a 3,600 kW. The results suggest that a smaller wind turbine will be more cost effective in the offshore region of Puerto Rico. As shown in the results, the LCOE could be as low as $0.20/kWh for the 2,300 kW turbine and as high as $0.36/kWh for the 3,600 kW turbine. Keywords— Image Compression, ANN, HIS energy, wind, offshore, cost, Puerto Rico. Digital Object Identifier (DOI): http://dx.doi.org/10.18687/LACCEI2015.1.1.186 ISBN: 13 978-0-9822896-8-6 ISSN: 2414-6668


Less contiguous nature of military applications demands for surveillance of widespread areas that are indeed harder to monitor. Unlike traditional Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), a military based large size sensor network possesses unique requirements/challenges in terms of self-configuration, coverage, connectivity and energy dissipation. Taking this aspect into consideration, this paper proposes a novel, efficient and secure clustering method for military based applications. In any clustering based approach, one of the prime concerns is appropriate selection of Cluster Heads and formation of balanced clusters. This paper proposes and analyzes two schemes, Average Energy based Clustering (AEC) and Threshold Energy based Clustering (TEC). In AEC, a node is elected as Cluster Head (CH) if its residual energy is above the average energy of its cluster whereas in case of TEC, a node is elected as Cluster Head if its residual energy is above the threshold energy. Further, both AEC and TEC choose nodes as CHs if their distance lies within safety zone of the Base Station. In this paper, aim is to come up with a solution that not only conserves energy but balance load while electing safe nodes as CHs. The performance of proposed protocols was critically evaluated in terms of network lifetime, average residual energy of nodes and uniformity in energy dissipation of nodes. Results clearly demonstrated that AEC is successful in incorporating security whilst increasing overall lifetime of network, load balance and uniform energy dissipation.


I read with great interest the article by VakninDembinsky and colleagues who found a preferential increase of B-cell activating factor (BAFF) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) in a White population. Although the study is limited by the small sample size, the findings merit further investigation. The main finding of the study is that levels of BAFF in the CSF of NMO patients were significantly higher than in that of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Interestingly, there have been several reports regarding exacerbations of NMO after treatment with interferon (IFN)-b. Similarly, an increased incidence of other antibody-mediated autoimmune disorders, including thyroiditis, and increased autoantibody production, has been found in patients with MS following treatment with IFN-b. Thus, on the one hand, elevated levels of BAFF in patients with NMO may explain the exacerbation with IFN-b treatment. On the other hand, since the abnormal expression of BAFF may lead to inappropriate survival of self-reactive B cells and the development of autoimmune disorders, the findings support the crucial role of B cells and antibodies in the pathogenesis of NMO. The authors also found that BAFF serum levels in MS patients did not correlate with disease activity and severity as measured by Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) or with disease duration. This may be explained by the fact that the blood samples were obtained from patients with MS during remission phases. As acknowledged by the authors this study is not a longitudinal follow-up study and there is no definite proof for a causal association between the increased BAFF levels and immunomodulatory treatment. Nevertheless, this negative finding, along with an increase in BAFF levels in MS patients treated with IFN-b or glatiramer acetate (GA) suggests the possibility that BAFF serum levels in MS patients may in fact correlate with disease activity and severity simply because more severe disease has required immunomodulatory therapy. Finally, the observation that there was no difference in serum BAFF levels between NMO and MS may be unreliable because the clinical severity of NMO and MS was not comparable in this study. Astrocytes are able to secrete B-cell activation factors such as BAFF within the central nervous system. As shown in the paper, the levels of BAFF are higher in serum compared with those in CSF. In this context, the permeability of BAFF through the blood–CSF barrier (B-CSF-B) and the integrity of B-CSF-B might confound the interpretation of the results. Since the blood and CSF samples are not paired (from the same patients at the same time points), further studies are needed to minimize confounding factors and thereby clarifying the diagnostic and/or prognostic roles of BAFF in NMO and MS.


The presence of primary zidovudine (AZT)‐resistance (mutation T215Y/F) or lamivudine (3TC)‐resistance (mutation M184V) was evaluated in 90 drug‐naive patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type‐1 (HIV‐1) between 1987 and 1997. The proportion of mutant strains in proviral samples or plasma viral samples was determined using a differential hybridization assay. Mutation T215Y/F was found in five (5.6%) patients infected between 1994 and 1997, whereas none of these patients harbored the mutation M184V. The T215Y/F mutation was present in the virus and/or provirus and persisted for at least two years. In one patient, the mutant provirus was associated with only wild‐type free virus. Four of these patients were followed, and two were treated subsequently to a regimen containing AZT but with low response. The persistence of primary resistance mutations might depend on the proportion of these mutations at the time of infection, although mutant provirus might not give rise to replicating variants. J. Med. Virol. 61:352–359, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Stepped spillways are important water-management structures that are used for energy dissipation. Use of these spillways has increased in recent decades, they can reduce construction time and they are effective for reducing the flow's downstream kinetic energy. In this study, the width and height of the steps as well as the slope and height of the overflow spillway were considered as variables. Due to the large number of variables, non-linearity of the objective function and constraints, and the lack of an explicit relationship between decision variables, a genetic algorithm (GA) was used. A stepped spillway with optimal dimensions was proposed as a replacement of the smooth spillway of Sarogh Dam located in West Azerbaijan province, Iran. The proposed steps increase energy dissipation; for constant discharge and varying slopes, the changes in the optimal height of the steps were insignificant. Sensitivity analysis using the objective function showed that the relative energy dissipation for a constant discharge is independent of the optimal height of the steps and decreases with increasing spillway slope. In addition, for fixed slopes, increasing the flow rate leads to a decrease in relative energy dissipation and an increase in the optimal height of the steps.


The processing of data in Big data computing necessitates a significant number of CPU cycles and network bandwidth. Dataflow is a huge data processing programming model that comprises of jobs structured in a graph structure. Scheduling these jobs is one of the most active study fields, with the primary goal of allocating tasks based on available resources. It is critical to efficiently schedule jobs in a way that minimizes task completion time and maximizes resource utilization. In recent years, many research works on task scheduling problems in cloud computing and various heuristic approaches have been evolved which the thesis focuses upon. Most of these efforts are focused on improving the performance such as minimizing the makespan and efficient utilization of cloud resources that benefits the cloud users and the providers. In this paper, Big Data analysis processing in cloud environment for efficient dynamic task scheduling by using different techniques as machine learning classifier and optimization approach. In machine learning classifier as Support Vector Machine (SVM) for classification of virtual machine task classification. In this classifier can classify the incoming request efficiently and reduce the makespan and execution time. Further, we used moth flame optimization technique for allocating the classified task from SVM classifier. In this proposed system have classification of virtual machine (VM) task and evaluate the resource allocation decision making procedures. In this experiment, we carried out by using cloud simulation environment to evaluate and analysis the proposed method. In this proposed scheme can efficiently reduce the makespan time and load balancing to improve the better VM Classification. And aslo we compare the proposed moth flame optimization (MFO) with min-max algorithm and particle swarm optimization to compare the performance respectively.


Previous research show that throughout history there has been differences in sports journalism regarding male and female sports. Most often the research show that male sports is dominating the spor ...


The paper describes the use of integer arithmetic on a method of transforming a matrix to a Smith Normal Form and hence computing a generalized inverse that gives all the integral solutions to linen equations.


Abstract International migration or displacement is usually represented as a 'brain drain' for emigrants' countries of origin, particularly in Eastern Africa. There are, however, other potential strands in the relationship between people's migration and education that have received less attention, but merit consideration, including transnational connections such as migrants' remittances to their families. This paper focuses on the Somali context, where conflict both severely damaged the educational system and provoked mass emigration. The paper argues that migration and transnational connections shape access to, choices about, and provision of formal education in contemporary Somali society. It identifies and explores three key channels of influence: emigration and return to the country of origin; migrants' cash remittances to family members; and diaspora philanthropy. Related policy issues are also considered.


The objective of the present study was to compare aortic and arterial pulse wave velocity (PWV) in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients and healthy young volunteers. Signals were obtained from 28 subjects. Severe coronary heart disease was confirmed by coronary angiography. Aortic PWV was measured using the TENSIOMed Arteriograph. Four arterial PWVs were gathered using a PowerLab 4/20T. The major finding of this study was that patients with CHD had increased aortic PWV compared with healthy subjects (P < 0.01). It was also found that in the CHD group, aortic PWV had a positive correlation with arterial PWV 2, PWV3 and PWV4 (P < 0.01). Our study showed that difference in aortic and arterial PWV between CHD patients with different atherosclerosis grade was not significant. Further PWV studies should be focused on patients with pronounced risk factors but without established cardiovascular disease that allow to select patients with early phase of atherosclerosis.


LU Xun's The Diary of A Madman is a cultural fable about time.Interactive structure of time and space builds up a time form significance of horizontal and vertical extension.Concentrating on 'present time' and taking 'past time' and 'future time' as reference,time field participates and involves together with text significance structure into the cognition of individual time.The modernity and belief of such subjective time demonstrated in the ecstasis should not be overlooked.


Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among females. Mastectomy is the treatment of choice in most African countries due to late reporting. The majority of women diagnosed with BC experience socio-economic challenges. This study explored the factors that affect the socio-economic well-being of women post-mastectomy in Ghana. Methods: The study was conducted at the teaching hospital in the northern region of Ghana using descriptive exploratory qualitative design. A purposive sampling method was employed to recruit participants. Data was saturated with 15 participants aged between 28 and 78 years. The in-depth interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis procedures. Results: Participants isolated themselves as society frown on them after mastectomy. Some of the women loss their jobs/businesses and some did not get the needed support. The high cost of treatment placed a huge financial burden on them. Some of the participants felt rejected and loss their femininity, as their partners were not having sex with them after the operation. Conclusion: Women post mastectomy faces several challenges and family support is vital to improve their wellbeing. There is a need to educate the public against the stigmatization of women post mastectomy.


This paper stresses the need for a behavioral-theoretic explanation of budget deficits. From that perspective, the existing literature is evaluated. Using Frans A. A. M. Van Winden's interest function approach, a formal model is developed in which government expenditure, the tax rate, and the budget deficit are simultaneously determined. Using this model, the paper analyzes the impact on budget deficits of the preferences of different social groups; the social power configuration; the time horizon of the state; the interest rate; and the time pattern of national income.


ABSTRACT Eco-friendly and sustainable synthesis of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) using the aqueous leaf extract of Manilkara zapota L. and its application as a colorimetric sensor for detection of Fe(II) and Fe(III) ions is reported in this work. At first, the influence of key parameters on the formation of nanoparticles has been investigated. The optimal conditions were determined to be: pH = 11.0, the quantity of the leaf extract = 10.0 mL, copper precursor concentration = 0.5 mM, Temprature = 60 ℃, and incubation time = 30 min. The as-prepared CuNPs were characterised by various analytical techniques such as UV-Vis, TEM, XRD, XPS, and FTIR. The synthesised nanoparticles are amorphous in nature, spherical in shape with a size between 22 to 45 nm. Furthermore, the antioxidant potential of synthesised CuNPs was evaluated using Ferric-Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay. Finally, a colorimetric method was described for the determination of Fe(II) and Fe(III) with high sensitivity and selectivity based on the CuNPs which leads to the red-shift of the absorption. Under the optimised conditions, the presented sensor showed a linear relationship over a concentration range of 10.0 μM to 270.0 μM with a LOD of 3.3 μM for both iron ions. Hence, this study has shown a great potential for the development of a cost-effective and selective colorimetric sensor utilising phytogenic CuNPs in the determination of iron ions using UV-Vis spectroscopy.


A number of different forecasting methods have been proposed for cooling load forecasting including historic method, real-time method, time series analysis, and artificial neural networks (ANN), but accuracy and time efficiency in prediction are a couple of contradictions to be hard to resolve for real-time traffic information prediction. In order to improve time efficiency of prediction, a new hourly cooling load prediction model and method based on Least Square Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) is proposed in this paper. A comparison of the performance of LSSVM with back propagation neural network (BPNN) is carried out. Experiments results demonstrate that LSSVM can achieve better accuracy and generalization than the BPNN, the LSSVM predictor can reduce significantly both relative mean errors and root mean squared errors of cooling load.


Scientists generally have assumed that species of plants and animals will thrive in remote areas that are isolated from human impacts. Protecting these isolated habitats from such impacts has been the main tactic governments use to conserve species. But beginning in about 1991, that concept was turned on its head. At that time, biologists noted that amphibian populations were declining dramatically with no apparent cause in remote, high-altitude areas of the western U.S., Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Australia. These declines represented a sharp departure from previous years when amphibian populations had crashed only from habitat destruction or the introduction of exotic (normative) predator species. Scientists began to fear that many species of amphibians that have been on Earth for 350 million years will not survive long in the 21st century. They view these population losses as an indication that there may be something seriously wrong with the environment. In response, the Declining ...


Stephen R. Haynes's scholarly book is a serious reflection of the Jew in the imagination of the Christian. Haynes uses the term "witness-people myth" to capture the Christian vision of the Jews through the ages. What is central to this vision is that Christians through the ages have not thought of Jews as normal, typical human beings. The Jews, according to Christian myth, are characterized by a polarity of negative and positive characteristics. The negative view stems from the fact that the Jews killed Christ. The positive aspect is that in spite of being the killers of God, the Jews nevertheless remain the people of God, chosen by God. The thesis of Haynes's book is summarized in the statement by Karl Barth which serves as the book's epigraph and provides its title:


In this working paper, a compilation of the effects that millennials have on the concept of happiness is made, with emotional factors (time and experiences) being of great importance for their conviction of life, and leaving aside the Materialism of the 21st century; This research takes up studies that have been carried out for years at the Universities of Silver, California and Cornell.


This paper offers a sociological reading of the shifts in state intervention in the field of education and training. Two policies typical of these changes are examined from different perspectives, the parcours d'insertion (pathways to integration) and the decret-mission (mission statement). Both were presented as a new way of tackling persistent inequalities in education and on the labor market. However they both tend to dissipate the issue of equal opportunities into the topic of social inclusion. Individualization, conditionalization, and territorialization are the three main themes of this contradictory movement, which seems to transform the balance between the "we" and the "I" identities and restructure the relationships of interdependence between the state, individuals, and the markets. This paper, based on Elias's theoretical contributions, attempts to relate the sociogenetic phenomenon of extending beyond national monopolies to the psychogenetic phenomenon whereby the constraint of the exteriority of mechanisms is transferred to the interiority of individuals.


Simplified horizontal slice method is adopted to deduce the formula for the required tensile force of reinforcement and the equation for the critical failure angle when the reinforcements are ductile materials.At the same time,the equations have also considered both horizontal and vertical seismic force,both cohesion and internal friction of fill for reinforced retaining wall,and groundwater et al.,and furthermore,the effect of these factors upon the critical failure angles,required tensile force of reinforcement and coefficients for required tensile force of reinforcement is also considered.It is found that the critical failure angle increases with the increase of cohesion or internal friction of fill for reinforced retaining wall and reduces with the increase of horizontal seismic force,the influence of vertical seismic force versus critical failure angle and required tensile force of reinforcement is agreement with the results of Ling Leshchinsky,the coefficients for required tensile force of reinforcement increase with the increase of groundwater table or pore water pressure ratio and reduce with the increase of internal friction of fill for reinforced retaining wall.


Abstract: Epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG) is an antitumor molecule and shows this activity by binding to the active center of a methyltransferase enzyme (DNMT1). The methylation of DNA sequences of tumor suppressor and DNA repair genes is observed in different stages of carcinogenesis. In this study, we analyzed the effect of EGCG on the methylation status of 25 tumor suppressor genes in cancer cell lines HT-29 and MCF-7. HT-29 and MCF-7 cells were incubated with 10 mM, 20 mM, and 50 mM and 1 mM, 5 mM, and 10 mM EGCG for 48 h, respectively. We found promoter hypermethylation of (1) CDH13, GATA5, and RARb genes in MCF-7 cell line and (2) RARb, ESR1, PAX6, WT1, CADM1, CHFR, CDH13, and GATA5 genes in HT-29 cell line. However, (3) after EGCG application, no changes in methylation status were detected in our samples. Our results suggest that methylation status of tumor suppressor genes did not change with different EGCG doses.


The aim of the research was to study the dependence of the severity on the degree of endogenous intoxication and the effectiveness of complex treatment of calves using sodium thiosulfate-based drugs for gastrointestinal diseases. Studies were carried out under production conditions in cattle farms of the Vitebsk, Liozno and Gorodok districts. As preparations based on sodium thiosulfate, the veterinary drug "Averon" produced by LLC Belekotekhnika RB and the veterinary preparation Antitox manufactured by ImmCont GmbH, Germany, were used. These drugs as an antitoxic agent, were administered once a day, intravenously, slowly at a dose of 25 ml, until the clinical signs of the disease disappeared in addition to the basic treatment taken in the farms with gastrointestinal diseases.
The data obtained as a result of the analysis of the literature and the conduct of our own research showed that in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal diseases of the calves, the link to the pathogenesis, which significantly determines the severity of their course and prognosis, is endogenous intoxication. It was found that in patients with calves, the MW content was higher at the height of the disease – 1.75–2 times with moderate severity and 1.94 and 2.47 times with severe. Laboratory criteria were established for predicting the severity of dyspepsia and abomasoenteritis in calves of 14 to 30 days of age. So, at a level higher than 0,120 conv. units in 100% of such calves, dyspepsia or gastroenteritis proceeded in a severe (toxic) form. The significant direct correlations between the concentration of MWS and LPO products (r ≥ 0.650) revealed at the height of the disease indicate the significance of LPO as a source in the development of endotoxication in gastrointestinal diseases in calves. It has been established that the use of drugs with antitoxic action based on sodium thiosulphate in the complex therapy of calves of patients with dyspepsia and abomasoenteritis can reduce the severity and lethality of calves with dyspepsia by 5% to 10%.
Key words: calves, blood, endogenous intoxication, abomazoenteritis, dyspepsia, therapeutic efficacy, treatment.


Each year HarperCollins 'Publishers' hosts a Publishing and Creative Writing Day. Secondary students get the opportunity to hear from a publisher, editor, marketer, publicist and art designer, as well as a published young adult author.


Purpose: Operational risks appear as the main threats of the modern world. Mistakes made by employees, an imperfect information systems or changes in the law can cause losses that businesses today are not even able to estimate. Therefore, in the face of widespread the asymmetry of information, it becomes crucial to find such forms of financing losses, where the transmission of this information will not cause any concern. Such a form of insurance is based on the principle of mutuality. Design/methodology/approach: The research was based on a review of the literature in the area of asymmetric information and verification of research in the identification of key risk categories. Findings: Many researchers, including Nobel Prize winners, have identified the problem associated with a lack or asymmetry of information. But today, this issue leads to critical risks for businesses. This phenomenon is a subject of disclosure in the form of various categories of operational risk. Research limitations/implications: Mutuality-based insurance is therefore a path based on solutions of the past (primary forms of insurance), but at the same time is seen as a response to the lack of adaptation of insurance products to the actual needs of clients. Consequently, the agency theory (principal-agent dependency) commonly used in modern times is being replaced by the idea of a sharing economy. Originality/value: The study addresses a complex area of the modern economy. Companies run their business and they want to have adequate insurance products to cover possible losses, including operational risks. Today, the insurance market is not ready to build appropriate products. Only insurance based on mutuality and the realization of the sharing economy can allow the preparation of adequate insurance products.


The introduction of knowledge graph technology in the field of network security can enable network security personnel to better grasp the network security situation, detect network attacks, analyze and determine the network attack chain, and then take targeted preventive measures to continuously improve the security of network space. This paper proposes a method of constructing knowledge graph based on network security domain ontology. Aiming at the multi-source heterogeneous network security data, extracting the association relation and designing the network security domain ontology model. Through knowledge extraction of massive structured, semi-structured and unstructured data, the network security domain knowledge graph is constructed according to the top-down construction method, and the knowledge is stored, displayed and queried through the Neo4j graph database. The constructed domain knowledge graph implements association analysis of multi-source heterogeneous data from six dimensions of network security-related, including asset dimension, attack dimension, vulnerability dimension, weakness dimension and alarm dimension, laying a foundation for network attack analysis and detection.


The response of normal tissues/organs to SHRS is more complex than to conventional radiotherapy. Tolerance doses TD5/5 and TD50/5, proposed by Rubin and Casarett, cannot be simply used for SHRS. Instead of LQED2, the BED is advised. The term risk dose (RD) corresponds better than TD to the risk of late morphological and functional disorders (OAR). BED doses show a rapid gradient with increasing distance of the OAR from the tumour GTV. Other risk factors include the dose-volume relationship, OAR organization (serial or parallel) and the ratio of the FSU to the target call. Vasculoendothelial cell damage initiates series of processes resulting in clinical and functional late effect. Using available data and studies, RDmin and RDmax for doses are listed as physical and BED doses for various OAR and dose-volume constraints. The RD values and constraints are rough estimates, since the available SHRS data are sparse and fragmentary, which should be interpreted cautiously and need further clinical validation.


The air contamination from the dialysis circuit into the patient's body is an unsolved serious problem. Recently, Automatic priming function of dialysis machines is widely used. There are rarely any air bubbles left in the extracorporeal circuit after automatic priming of the dialysis machines. To use this method, the arterial and venous sides of the extracorporeal circuit are connected to create a closed circuit so that dialysate can circulate and overflowed through a line from this closed circuit. However, air bubbles may enter when disconnecting the closed extracorporeal circuit and attaching the needles. We tried to solve this problem by simply connecting the arterial and venous needles to the extracorporeal closed circuit before the process of automatic priming process. To prime the whole extracorporeal circuit with needles, we had made a brand-new suitable cap of the needle, which is tightly connected with a needle and has an open end. (Fig) This special cap allows the needle to be incorporated into the closed circuit prior to the automatic priming process, allowing the dialysis machine to completely remove the air during priming process. The purpose of this study is to present the details of this new method and compare its effectiveness in preventing air bubble contamination between the traditional method and this new method.

 A prospective, non-randomized, comparative study was conducted to verify whether air remained grossly visible after the needle was connected to the extracorporeal circuit.
 The traditional method: DCS-100NX (Nikkiso Co Ltd, Tokyo Japan) was used for extracorporeal circuit priming. After the automatic priming was finished. Nurses disconnect the arterial and venous side of the extracorporeal circuit and connect both ends to the needles by hands. The nurse operates the dialysis machine to blow the small amount of dialysate out of the needle and tried to remove the air. It takes nearly 2minutes in each case. We examined the extracorporeal circuits consecutively.
 New cap-based method: The needles were connected to the closed circuit with the new cap and auto-primed by the dialysis machine N100. Automatic priming, including the needle were performed consecutively.
 In each method, we thoroughly checked for any remaining macro bubbles with the naked eye. Since bubbles in the extracorporeal circuit on the arterial side are likely to be supplemented by the air trap chamber, only bubbles on the venous side were compared.

 The study was conducted in October 15th to 24th 2020 at the Yokohama Minami Clinic.
 The traditional method: We checked 50 extracorporeal circuits consecutively. There were bubbles in the venous side of the extracorporeal circuits 29 times out of 50 times.
 New cap-based method: 10 consecutive automatic priming, including the needle was performed. DCS-100NX was used as the dialysis machine. There were no bubbles visible to the naked eye in the arterial and venous side of the circuit.

 There was a statistically significant difference of the bubble count between the traditional method and new cap-based method. (p=0.0001, Pearson's chi-square test)

 All visible bubbles were removed automatically by simply connecting the needles using this brand-new cap before a process of automatic priming. This easy-to-use and highly effective cap could be considered an essential device for hemodialysis treatment like seat belts in automobiles.


We study the autoresonant dynamics of a discrete level coupled to a continuum, and show that passing adiabatically through a linear resonance, above a well-defined threshold, yields a transition to nonlinear phase locking and linear non-Markovian decay to the continuum. This process results in broadening of the population of the continuum modes beyond its natural linewidth. This concept can be employed to alter spontaneous emission, where driving an atom into phase locking with continuum modes will yield the emission of short pulses.


Specific object recognition methods based on exact matching of feature vectors are known as one of methods which can achieve high recognition performance for large-scale 3D specific object recognition. Since there are few common 3D object datasets whose size is sufficient to explore the effect of difference of object dataset composition and the effect of increasing number of objects for recognition, these effects for specific object recognition methods based on exact matching of feature vectors are discussed insufficiently. The number of objects in famous datasets (e.g., COIL-100) is around 100. Therefore, in this research, we prepare the dataset of 1002 3D objects by ourselves. In this paper, we will discuss the effect of dataset differences, which are based on object structure, texture and the number of objects, for those methods such as the method based on the Bloomier filter and the method based on a hash table with this dataset in addition to COIL-100.


Because it is very bursty, the microsecond-scale temporal behaviour of network traffic in data-centres is challenging to measure and understand. To bring observability into data-centre networks, this paper introduces the Open Platform for Programmable Precise Packet Timestamping (OP4T), a hardware architecture, targeting Field-Programmable Gateway Arrays (FPGAs), integrated into data-centre servers as a Smart Network Interface Card (SmartNIC), and flexible enough to enable advanced latency diagnosis.In this paper, OP4T is specified, and an open-source implementation of that architecture is proposed, targeting the NetFPGA SUME prototyping board. By leveraging the P4 programming language, and partial reconfiguration, that opensource implementation is experimentally shown to enable in-band, precise packet timestamping, without sacrificing the achievable throughput. As an illustration, OP4T is shown to be usable to measure fine-grained properties of a software packet forwarder, e.g., packet batching.


ABSTRACT Small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) have been identified as important regulators of gene expression in various cellular processes. cia-dependent small RNAs (csRNAs), a group of sRNAs that are controlled by the two-component regulatory system CiaRH, are widely conserved in streptococci, but their targets have been identified only in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Streptococcus sanguinis, a pioneer colonizer of teeth and one of the most predominant bacteria in the early oral biofilm, has been shown to have six csRNAs. Using computational target prediction and the luciferase reporter assay, we identified pilT, a constituent of the type IV pilus operon, as a negative regulatory target for one of the csRNAs, namely, csRNA1-1, in S. sanguinis. RNA-RNA electrophoretic mobility shift assay using a nucleotide exchange mutant of csRNA1-1 revealed that csRNA1-1 binds directly to pilT mRNA. In addition, csRNA1-1 and csRNA1-2, a putative gene duplication product of csRNA1-1 that is tandemly located in the S. sanguinis genome, negatively regulated S. sanguinis biofilm formation. These results suggest the involvement of csRNAs in the colonization step of S. sanguinis.


A major generalization of studies on personality and political behavior has been that personality traits of political leaders are invariant over political circumstances. This generalization is questioned on the grounds that most indirect measures of personality traits were heavily based on the content of verbal or written expressions. We hypothesize that cognitive complexitydefined in terms of the structural organization of, and interdependence among, expressed beliefs varies significantly over political circumstances. Specifically, political leaders will exhibit higher levels of cognitive complexity in persuasion tasks that are perceived more difficult and demanding, such as peace-advocacy, than in tasks that call for straightforward argumentation and emotional participation of constituencies, such as war-advocacy. Four structural measures of cognitive complexity are derived from the cognitive mapping approach. We test this hypothesis using 21 speeches made by four Israeli Premiers over a period of 16 years. The findings indicate that these measures constitute valid indicators of cognitive complexity as a personality trait, and support the main hypothesis. This suggests that generalizations concerning invariance of personality traits over circumstances should be viewed with some skepticism. The implications of our findings are briefly discussed.


Mangroves are salt tolerant woody plants that form highly productive intertidal ecosystems in tropical and subtropical regions. Despite the established importance of mangroves to the coastal environment, including fisheries, deforestation continues to be a major threat due to pressures for wood and forest products, land conversion to aquaculture, and coastal urban development. The importance of immediate protection measures and conservation activities to prevent the further loss of mangroves are essential. However, carbon emissions resulting from mangrove loss especially biomass are uncertain. The information on mangrove's biomass toward carbon stock is needed because when the changes occurs much of carbon stock in the ecosystem released to the atmosphere. In this context, remote sensing is a tool of choice to provide spatio-temporal information on mangrove ecosystem biomass and carbon studies through digital image processing and modeling. Remote sensing techniques have demonstrated a high potential to detect, identify, map and monitor mangrove conditions and changes. This paper provides reviews and highlighting remotely sensed data applied for measuring biomass and carbon in mangrove forest from remote sensing perspective. The use of remotely sensed data and analysis in this context is growing steadily in geospatial technology for natural resource management.


This letter emphasizes the need to improve neonatal care in rural communities to reduce neonatal mortality rates and perinatal mortality rates. The author notes that new approaches should be explored particularly teaching locals to diagnose and possibly treat sick newborns using a community-based approach and implementing functional referral system with good curative support services.