The difficulties of BJ-1 image fusion are the big resolution gap (up to 1:8) between the multispectral and panchromatic image and the task to seek a balance between high spatial resolution and the least spectral distortion. In this paper, an experiment has been accomplished prior to the determination of fusion models with a conclusion of the close relation between approximation and spectral distortion. Hence, a combination method of IHS and wavelet decomposition is proposed, of which an optimal fusion model based on spectral and spatial statistical indexes is designed for approximation coefficients in an effort to compromise between high spectral preservation (low distortion) and spatial definition. As to the detail coefficients, a set of multi-scale diverse local algorithm inspired by some successful ARSIS models is employed, which includes the adjustment and establishment of relationship between components from multispectral and panchromatic wavelet decomposition. The fusion results are subsequently compared with counterparts of other methods such as IHS, wavelet and PCA. Several evaluating indicators are employed to give quantitative assessment to the fusion performance. Among all the fusion methods, the statistics-based IHS-Wavelet method fusion demonstrates the most satisfactory spatial definition while keeping the least spectral distortion.


A series of experiments were designed to probe the interaction between second generation High Index Liquids (HIL, n=1.65) and the resist stack. Three different second-generation high index liquids were tested in five experiments: measurement of the contact angle of the liquid with the resist surface; leaching of Photo-Acid Generator (PAG) into the liquid; residue analysis of droplets evaporated from the resist surface; impact of liquid soaking on resist profiles; and imaging through high-index liquids at 72nm pitch. The selected liquids were the main candidates from two potential vendors. In parallel, tests have also been done for water. The tests show that one of the main differences between highindex liquids and water is their much smaller contact angles on the organic photoresist films. This contact angle can be influenced by a topcoat, but currently seen contact angles may force a new immersion hood concept. Imaging was not affected strongly by the high-index liquids. For some liquids, low evaporation rates and a tendency to leave residue on resist were observed, which may require a dedicated liquid removal strategy to reduce defectivity.


Flow in the sublithospheric mantle is increasingly invoked as a mechanism to explain both modern and past surface topography, but the importance of this phenomenon and its influence at different localities are debated. Southern Africa is an elevated continental shield proposed to represent dynamically supported topography. However, this region is also characterized by a complex lithospheric architecture variably affected by Cretaceous heating, thinning, and metasomatic alteration. We used apatite (U‐Th)/He thermochronometry on 15 Cretaceous kimberlites from an ∼600 km long transect across the Kaapvaal Craton, combined with information from xenoliths in these pipes, to determine the plateau interior erosion history. The goal was to determine the relationships with lithospheric modification patterns and thereby better isolate the sublithospheric contribution to elevation. The results document a wave of erosion from west to east across the craton from ∼120 to <60 Ma, initially focused along paleorivers and then retreating as a scarp across the landscape. This spatially variable erosion event was associated with limited modification of the Archean cratonic lithospheric mantle as recorded by mantle xenoliths and xenocrysts, implying that dynamic buoyancy sources may be required to explain the elevations. In contrast, off‐craton to the southwest, a more pronounced regional erosion phase at ∼110–90 Ma was coincident with significant modification of the Proterozoic lithospheric mantle. This relationship suggests that lithospheric processes were more important contributors to erosion and topographic change off‐craton than on‐craton. Together, these results suggest that lithospheric architecture can have an important control on the surface expression of mantle dynamics.


From 1998-2005, the successful model-based (systems) architecting and software engineering (MBASE) had been used as a set of guidelines for the keystone two-semester real-client team project graduate software engineering course sequence. However, to fit with small-sized and limited schedule projects, MBASE was trimmed to reduce the huge amount of efforts in documentation. Consequently, LeanMBASE, which is a light-weight software process framework that helps teams identify the high-value activities and helps balance the workload of a development, is being used in the software engineering course. This paper reports the comparison and improvement of the projects that use MBASE and LeanMBASE in terms of content, performance, and customer satisfaction.


The invention relates to a metering valve (1), at least comprising a valve housing (6), a channel (7), a valve body (2), which can be moved in order to open and close the metering valve (1), and a spring (3), which applies a spring force to the valve body (2) and thus keeps the valve body (2) in a rest position, wherein the spring (3) is supported on at least one calibration body (4), the valve body (2), the spring (3), and the at least one calibration body (4) are arranged in the channel (7), and the at least one calibration body (4) is supported by a supporting component (13), which is fastened in the valve housing (6) by means of a material-bonding connection (5), wherein a segment (14) of the supporting component (13) protrudes from the valve housing (6).


Abstract Periodate complexes of Pd(IV) and Pt(IV) have been prepared from [MC16]2- (M = Pd or Pt) and IO4 − in aqueous alkaline solution. They are formulated as M'6[M(OH)2(HIO6)2].nH2O (M' = Na or K) on the basis of analysis, vibrational spectroscopy, and an X-ray structure determination of the platinum complex. The title compound crystallizes in the triclinic space group PI with unit cell parameters a = 7.588(2), b = 8.110(2), c = 9.864(2) A, a = 82.00(2), β = 83.79(2), γ = 81.76(2)° with Z = 1. Based on 2283 observed reflections (F > 3σ(F)), the structure refined to R = 0.034. Two bidentate [HIO6]4- anions coordinate to a central Pt atom which is also coordinated by two trans OH groups. The charge balance is maintained by sodium and potassium cations which are extensively hydrated. 195Pt and 127I NMR data are reported, and the variation in the former with pH interpreted in terms of differing degrees of protonation of the anions. EXAFS data are reported for the platinum complex in solution at pH = 2.


The volatile chemicals compositions and their relative contents from Magnolia amoena were analyzed by GC MS.Twenty seven components were isolated and twenty three were identified.The main components are alpha -Pinene,beta -Pinene,Camphene,beta -Myrcene,D-Limonene,Fenchone and Octadecane.


Absolute cross sections have been determined for collision-induced ion-pair formation of cesium chloride (monomers and dimers) from collisions with Ar, Kr, and Xe atoms. The rare gas atoms were aerodynamically accelerated in H/sub 2/, with maximum energies of 6.8, 12.1, and 18.3 eV (in the laboratory frame), respectively. Time-of-flight mass spectrometry permitted the determination of partial cross sections for each ion channel resulting from the collision. For the monomer, the cross secions for the channel leading to Cs/sup +/+Cl/sup -/ were similar in magnitude for the three rare gas atoms and were approximately 3 x 10/sup -/16 cm/sup 2/ at 3 eV above threshold. The rearrangement ionization channel leading to CsM/sup +/ (M=Ar, Kr, and Xe) exhibited a step behavior at threshold followed by a very rapid fall off at higher collision energies. Collisions with the dimers produced both Cs/sub 2/Cl/sup +/+Cl/sup -/ and Cs/sup +/+CsCl/sup -//sub 2/ but no detectable ions containing the rare gas atoms. The magnitude of the cross sections for the Cs/sub 2/Cl/sup +/ channel varied significantly with the rare gas although the corresponding thresholds were similar. In the case of CsCl/sup -//sub 2/, however, the magnitudes of the cross sections were similar, but the thresholdsmore » varied. A possible explanation for this difference in behavior is given based on simple dynamical models. The cross sections for each product ion from both the monomer and dimer (except for CsM/sup +/) exhibited a power-law rise with increasing energy sigma=const x (E/sub tot/-E/sub 0/)/sup n//E/sub rel/ up to about 1--1.15 eV above threshold, where E/sub tot/ is the total energy, E/sub 0/ the threshold energy, and E/sub rel/ the relative kinetic energy. Values of n and E/sub 0/ were determined for each system. The threshold for each reaction M+CsCl..-->..M+Cs/sup +/+Cl/sup -/ was determined most accurately from the peak in the CsM/sup +/+Cl/sup -/ excitation function, which occurs (after energy deconvolution) at the threshold for collision-induced dissociation.« less


The article deals with the problem of information security of education. Information security is defined as the state of protection of the vital interests of the individual, which is manifested in the ability to detect and compensate the impact of the threat information. The data, collected during the monitoring of complex safety of the secondary education were presented. The authors demonstrated the differences between the evaluations done by the school pupils and by the college students concerning the facts of the Internet dissemination of compromising information. The authors demonstrated that school students more often than students of colleges face a spread of the compromising information in the Internet.


This article starts with the brief historical presentation of the office of defender of the bond and discusses the norms that are presently in force. That examination necessitated an analysis of the task of the promoter of justice as both offices are related. The study of the norms follows the text and structure of the Instruction Dignitas connubii. The Instruction determines the office of defender of the bond more precisely and systematically. The article highlights the points where the Instruction Dignitas connubii of the 25 January 2005 follows the Code of 1983 and underlines those points where there are differences or new norms. These changes respond to the existence of inter-diocesan tribunals according the Code of 1983, but also provide greater consistency. Among these new norms the article mentions the mandate to constitute the defender of the bond in all dioceses as well as determining most precisely the function of the defender of the bond in addition to specify his/her obligations and rights specially regarding the causes of canon 1095. The article ends with the presentation of the powers (authority) that the defender of the bond has in order to exercise his/her function and the sanctions to he/she can be liable to because of negligence.


The crystal structure and electrochemical performance of the composite hydrogen storage alloy in which AB5 type Mm(NiMnCoAl)5 rare earth hydrogen storage material ball-milled(150 r/min) with 10% Ni for 1 h were investigated.The results showed that the composite hydrogen storage alloy consisted of CaCu5 type LaNi5 phase and element Ni phase,its activation performance was improved,the high rate discharge performance was increased.The 0.2 C and 3 C specific discharge capacities were increased from 272.8 mAh/g and 247.2 mAh/g of rare earth hydrogen storage material to 289.8 mAh/g and 273.6 mAh/g, respectivly.The capacity retention rate increased from 90.6% of rare earth hydrogen storage material to 94.4%.


The radiation from a light source could have many desired effect, but, as all forms of energy, it modifies the material it reaches. Limits are defined by standards to protect human skin eye and retina also against radiation intended for general lighting service. A brief description of the approach identified by the standard is here reported. It requires pretty sophisticated instrument to measure the involved quantities. This work shows the possibility of using instruments usually present in a photometric laboratory, like illuminance meter and radiometers, to approach the issue identified in the standards, at least in some simpler situations, as in the case of LED based light sources. The assured uncertainties are worst than the ones obtainable by following the acknowledged track, but they are small enough to allow to associate the light source with a worst case risk group.


The management of contemporary communication networks of supply chain (SC) 4.0 is becoming more complex due to the heterogeneity requirements of new devices concerning the integration of the Internet of Things in the legacy industry networks. Hence, it becomes a challenging task to secure networks of SC 4.0 from cyber-attacks and provide a robust and efficient defence framework that can resist sophisticated attacks. Machine learning-based intelligent detection algorithms are often trained at either a centralized or single server, which makes it difficult to train an effective model and also it violates privacy concerns if gathering data from other servers at the edge. Classical machine learning approaches function on the legacy group of data placed on a central or single server, which brands it the least favored choice for supply chain networks, with data privacy issues. To address these problems, this article proposes a federated learning-based efficient detection model named, DFF-SC4N, to proactively identify intrusions from SC 4.0 networks using distributed local data training. DFF-SC4N uses communication rounds in a federated learning manner having gated recurrent units by only sharing the learned parameters and keeps the data intact on local servers. The accuracy of the global model is optimized by an aggregating model, which updates from multiple servers and multiple SC 4.0 networks. Extensive experiments on real industrial network data demonstrate that the DFF-SC4N outperforms both centralized training models and state-of-the-art peer methods in protecting SC 4.0 networks.


In this article, we discuss interdependency between real estate markets and financial stability. To study this relationship, we analyze Russian banking sector real estate assets structure and observe material concentration of real estate assets on largest banks' books as well as anticipate that this may present a unique challenge for Russian banking regulator. We propose the development of system of indicators for strategic portfolio management for banking real estate and outline broad directions for further research on the subject to meet this challenge and mitigate potential risks for the banking sector.


It is very important issue to reduce energy consumption in various industries. Especially, building energy consumption accounts for a large portion in whole energy consumption. It should be comprehensive analysis considering effect on climate change not only passive/active factors to improve energy performance of building. The aim of this study is to analyze variation of building energy demand according to climate and design factor focused on office building. In order to conduct the progress, this study utilized automatic energy analysis model generator that was developed by previous study. The results shows that energy demand increased due to climate change. Energy efficiency was improved according to enhanced insulation standard. However, Energy reduction rate was getting decreased comparing to previous reduction rate.


The automatic ICD-10 classification of medical documents is actually an unresolved issue, despite its crucial importance. The existence of machine learning approaches de-voted to this task is in contrast with the lack of annotated resources, especially for languages different from English. Recent Transformer-based multilingual neural language models at scale have provided an innovative approach for dealing with cross lingual Natural Language Processing tasks. In this paper, we present a preliminary evaluation of the Cross-lingual Language Model (XLM) architecture, a recent multilingual Transformer-based model presented in literature, tested in the cross lingual ICD-10 multilabel classification of short medical notes. In detail, we analysed the performances obtained by fine tuning the XLM model on English language training data and tested for ICD-10 codes prediction of an Italian test set. The obtained results show that the use of the novel XLM multilingual neural language architecture is very promising and it can be very useful in case of low resource languages.


This volume represents the work of sixteen authors, who all work at different universities and other academic institutions in the Nordic countries. It provides insight into the diversity of research being conducted in the northernmost parts of Europe. Although it would be incorrect to assert that research in this far away part of Europe represents something drastically different than that done in other parts of the world, it would be equally incorrect to maintain that being at the outskirts, on the cusp, or on the periphery _ whichever way one wishes to describe the position of the Nordic countries in relation to the rest of the world – does not in uence the ways in which educational processes, phenomena and their consequences are viewed. These sixteen Nordic Voices discuss with readers different issues regarding teaching and researching Comparative and International Education in the Nordic countries.


1885: On February 25 the Massachusetts Legislature approved the corporation's name change from Waltham Watch Tool Company to "The United States Watch Company" (see Figure A). On May 26 Waltham Weekly Record reported the company voted to accept an act of the Massachusetts Legislature changing the company's name. The October 22, 1886, Waltham Daily Tribune had a long article documenting the company's startup history from 1883 through 1886. On June 10 Emil C. Hammer joined the company as treasurer, and the company increased its capital from $7,000 to $50,000. At the annual meeting Hammer was chosen treasurer and Vander Woerd was chosen general superintendent. On July 20 the company voted to increase its capital to $100,000. The following directors were chosen: E. C. Hammer, C. V. Woerd, T. F. Hammer, T. B. Eaton, and A. E. Hammer. The directors chose the following company officers: Thomas B. Eaton, president; Emil C. Hammer, treasurer; C. E. Edgecomb, clerk; and C. Vander Woerd, superintendent. The company obtained land from the city of Waltham on Charles Street and began construction of the initial wing of the factory—a three-story, single-wing building 25 x 100 foot long. At the rear of the building is a twostory wooden building used as a carpenter's shop and gilding room. Later the company planned to enlarge the factory's frontage to 240 feet. 1886: Charles Vander Woerd received three patents for watch stem winding and setting mechanisms, and speculation was the mechanism would be incorporated into the first grade of the company's new watches. Machinery was set up in the factory. The October 22


The model of geographical space of the Earth is represented as a multilevel discrete grid structure. This provides a scientific basis for the construction of a natural geoinformation system of the globe with invariant organization of data in the form of a universal grid, i.e. a different-level set of elementary cells with discrete topology. A grid structure is a multilevel system of reference points, with respect to which a spatial analysis of the territory is carried out. Reference points have attributes reflecting the territorys hierarchic level and location characteristics. It is found that there is a connection between the topology of the cells and specific structures of the Earth, and between the lineament network and the hydrological network in particular.


I am enthusiastic about interacting with students, and take pleasure in watching them grow in understanding under my mentorship, but my primary goal is to convey the sense of joy and satisfaction that comes from taking intellectual ownership of the learning process by exploring and discovering new ideas. Additionally, I aim to communicate the importance of unifying concepts that bridge various fields, since cross-fertilization of ideas is fundamental to the interdisciplinary approach that permeates modern thought. Mathematics courses are often criticized for being boring and irrelevant, but as any professional mathematician knows from personal experience, mathematics as a subject is beautiful, exciting, and unreasonably effective in applications. How then should we convey this in our courses? Perhaps the first question to address is what is the added value of attending a lecture, as opposed to simply reading the textbook. In teaching an introductory service course, it is unrealistic to expect students to be automatically motivated and enthusiastic. Motivating examples need to be realistic, convincing, and relevant. A half-hearted toy example only sends the message to students that what they are about to learn is of purely theoretical interest. The individual threads of knowledge that we convey in our lectures need to be anchored by prior experiences and learning, and woven into a tapestry of understanding. Therein lies the value added in having a professional mathematician teach introductory mathematics courses, that by illuminating the connections between apparently disparate areas of study, we are able to offer students a glimpse of the bigger picture, and in so doing inspire students to draw upon their full body of mathematical knowledge in approaching problems, as opposed to narrowly compartmentalizing what they learned in individual courses. An essential aspect is the manner in which one structures the material presented in a course. Knowledge has a intrinsically hierarchical and modular structure to it. Mathematical theorems typically have the structure of a tree, where the main theorem depends on a number of subsidiary propositions, which may in turn rely on lemmas. The traditional approach to presenting a theorem in class is via a depth-first tree traversal, where one first establishes the basic lemmas, proceeding to the propositions, before finally arriving at the theorem to be proven. Such a depth-first approach to conveying mathematical content stems from a constructivist and method driven approach to mathematical education, which is fundamentally at odds with the mindset that science and engineering students bring to our service courses. In service courses, a problem or goal driven approach to presenting the mathematical techniques is most likely to be effective. By motivating the mathematical content with a judicious choice of examples and applications that arise in physics and engineering, one is naturally lead to stating the main mathematical results that are relevant to the problem at hand, which in turn entails adopting a breadth-first approach, with an emphasis on the big essential ideas early on, and delving into the more technical details only after the motivation and overarching intellectual framework has been firmly established. At its heart, the most important aspects of mathematical literacy in non-mathematics majors are logical and deductive reasoning, and the ability to abstract, which allows one to see the commonality and unifying structure in apparently disparate problems. As such, the breadth-first approach serves an important pedagogical role, by emphasizing the high-level connections, as opposed to technical proficiency in performing computations which are easily forgotten, and increasingly obsoleted by modern mathematical and scientific software tools. These issues are paramount in lower division calculus and differential equations courses where it is essential to convey to students the fundamental role mathematics plays in other scientific disciplines. Studies suggest that the inability to establish this connection between mathematics and applications with social impact and relevance lie at the heart of our recruitment and retention woes, particularly of women and minorities. My background in engineering and physics makes me particularly effective at making these connections explicit. In teaching numerical analysis to a cohort consisting predominantly of engineering students, one is provided with an excellent opportunity to clarify to students the important connections between the particular needs of an application area, the mathematical analysis of numerical algorithms, and the implementation issues. For example, the application area determines the quantities that need to be estimated from a computational model, and the accuracy requirements, which in turn affect the modeling and numerical approximations that are acceptable to render the computation tractable. In addition, implementation issues play a critical role in deciding the kinds of algorithms we adopt.


The first suggestions that a rotating narrow beam might be used to obtain special radiologic projections were put forward by VALLEBONA (1930) and HECKMANN (1939). A method for exposing panoramic images of the jaws, using a rotating beam, was developed from the works presented by PAATERO (1949, 1954), and is today in wide use in odontologic roentgen examinations. PAATERO'S method, 'pantomography', was presented as a modified form of tomography adapted for application to a curved layer, and the mathematical analyses of the method presented up to now have been based on this premise (HUDSON et colI. 1957, DUHAMEL 1954, 1957, SOILA 1961, TAMMISALO 1964, T AMMISALO & NIEMINEN 1964). DUHAMEL (1957) maintained that the image is composed of a series of tomograms whose widths correspond to the width of the beam. The principle underlying the methods based on a rotating narrow beam differs fundamentally from that of true tomography however. WELANDER & NYSTROM (1971) have demonstrated empirically that the rotating slit methods create an imaginary focus at the rotation centre of the beam; this 'rotation focus' constitutes the source of the rays in a central projection. The blurring and


Twin gestations require different normal values than singleton pregnancies. The aim of this study was to define percentiles of birth weight, length and head circumference for twin pregnancies according to gestational age. 80000 twins born at 21 to 42 weeks' gestation between 1990 and 1995 in Germany of German citizens were analyzed. Percentiles were calculated from cumulative frequencies. The advantage of twin-specific percentiles are discussed.


ABSTRACT Indian military has been traditionally part of government mechanism for dealing with natural disasters. This was due to lack of local administrations' capacity to cope with increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters. To address this dependence on military and for a holistic approach to disaster management, the Disaster Management Act, 2005 was enacted. The Act established a specialized civilian response agency, namely National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and other institutional mechanisms. However, the dependence on military has not shown any decline. On the contrary, the dependence continues to increase in terms of both its extent and its frequency. Quantitative data in terms of quantities of rescue material distributed, number of people evacuated and so on, clearly establishes the continued dependence on military. A comparison of response operations by the military and the NDRF shows NDRF's inadequacies in terms of its total number of personnel and geographical location. Hence, for the foreseeable future, dependence on military for disaster response will continue. The study underscores the critical need for civilian policymakers to re-define the role of military within the Disaster Management framework and for military planners to re-examine their own training and operational doctrines to play an effective role in disaster management.


In recent case-law under the Human Rights Act 1998, the senior judiciary have reiterated the view that their task under section 3(1) of the Act is one of 'interpretation rather than legislation'. This article has two main aims. The first is to provide a general, theoretical analysis of the extent to which it is possible (if at all) to distinguish between interpretation and legislation. The second is to examine the judicial understanding of this distinction, as revealed through judgments in the HRA case-law.


The vanadium species were contaminated on FCC catalysts by using the Mitchell method. After the hydrothermal deactivation of the FCC catalysts, the cracking reaction was performed on these catalyst samples. The test results revealed that the conversion of feedstock and the gasoline yield obtained over the FCC catalysts with vanadium trapping components were obviously higher than those without addition of vanadium trapping components. The results also showed that the dry gas and coke selectivity on the FCC catalysts containing vanadium trapping components was improved. The X-Ray diffrac- tion results proved that the zeolite crystal structure was well protected by the vanadium trapping components during its hy- drothermal deactivation step. The results of SEM-EDX mapping disclosed that the vanadium was enriched on the vanadium trapping components which verified the positive function of vanadium trapping components.


This study owes its inception to the wisdom and experience
of the staff of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center who, after several decades of surveys in the New York Bight, recognized a unique opportunity to capitalize on the decision to stop ocean dumping of sewage sludge and designed an innovative field study to evaluate effects on living marine resources and their habitats. For decades ocean dumping was viewed as a cheap and effective means for disposal of wastes generated by urbanized coastal areas. Even after the 12-mile site was closed, sewage sludge continued to be dumped at Deepwater Dumpsite 106. The 6-mile
site off the NewJersey coast is still used as a dumpsite
for dredged material from New York Harbor areas. Discussions continue on the propriety of using the
deep ocean spaces for disposal of a variety of material
including low level radioactive wastes. Consequently,
managers are still faced with critical decisions in this area. It is to be hoped that the results from the 12-mile study will provide the necessary information on which these managers can evaluate future risks associated with ocean waste disposal. (PDF file contains 270 pages.)


Always ON always sensing small form factor edge systems for internet of things (IOT) are becoming ubiquitous. Many applications require these tiny devices to be self-powered and maintenance-free. Hence, they should be able to harvest energy from available ambient sources and should have low manufacturing cost. Millimeter-scale form factor systems have been developed in academia for the past few years. Small form factor edge systems are becoming commercially available. These systems are essential in today's cyber physical world. We will introduce the available market and the trends driving this growth in IOT system deployments. That will be followed by typical system requirements for a typical self-powered IOT system. Challenges to realize such a dream IOT system will be discussed. We will present two approaches to system design, namely bottom-up and top-down. An X86-based tiny microcontroller unit (MCU) was designed to enable multiple IOT usages. This MCU followed a bottom-up approach – ultra-low power low cost MCU was designed first and then applied to IOT systems such as smart sensor tag for package tracking. The discussion will introduce another IOT system that followed a top-down usage-driven approach. In this case, an agricultural usage was chosen that required energy harvesting, X86-class edge computing, visual recognition on the edge, secure storage, secure wireless communication and ultra-low power maintenance free operation. An IOT system was architected for this usage and later demonstrated. We will conclude the presentation with comparison of these two distinct approaches to IOT system design.


The systematic position of Kant´s Metaphysics of Morals and in particular of its second part, the Doctrine of Virtue , is analogue to the one of Fichte´s System of Ethics according to the Principles of the Doctrine of Scienc e. However, in this book, Fichte criticizes Kant´s ethics as "formalist" and suggests that his own is more real and applicable, because of his theory on the conciliation between natural impulse and moral impulse. This article explains and discusses such thesis, and shows that this evaluation on Kant is unfair, because precisely on the Doctrine of Virtue , in a different methodic way —but soundly and coherently with the ethics of autonomy—, Kant develops his "material ethics".


Circumcision in Indonesian is known as circumcision or chopsticks which is the guidance of Islamic law for men and women. This study was conducted to determine the knowledge of parents about personal hygiene post circumcision in preschool children. The method used in this research is descriptive analytic. The results obtained based on 52 parents who filled out the questionnaire showed that as many as 42 people had good educational outcomes (80.8%) and as many as 10 people (19.2%) had poor educational outcomes. The conclusion in this study is that parents of preschool children who do circumcision really need to get education about personal hygiene that arises after circumcision is an action to prevent infection and other things that are not expected.


The paper defends the following positions: Grammaticality and acceptability must not be regarded as virtually coextensive. Grammaticality is discrete; acceptability is gradient. Acceptability can be measured directly; grammaticality can only be tested indirectly. Acceptability is a refl ex of performance factors interacting with the mentally represented grammatical rule system; grammaticality is a theoretical concept. Acceptability is a theory-independent behavioral property; grammaticality is defi ned by the cognitively encapsulated grammar, which is the empirical research target of grammar theory.


The utilization of color and texture information is an important research direction in image processing and pattern recognition. Quaternion graph wavelet transform can combine the structure and relationship between samples to provide richer information at different scales. Therefore, this paper proposes a color texture classification method based on quaternion graph wavelet transform. Specifically, the quaternion graph wavelet transform is used to decompose the color texture. Then the local quaternion singular value decomposition is performed on the subband coefficients to extract local texture information and the Weibull distributions are used to model effective singular values. Finally, experiments on two datasets using the nearest neighbor classifier measured by KL divergence demonstrate that the proposed method is effective for color texture classification.


hf distance from the urndeformed anvil face to the phase I portion of the plastic wave front at In this paper, a simple theoretical analysis of an the conclusion of the event old problem is presented. The analysis Is more I undeformed section length complete than earlier versions, but retains the *athematical simplicity of the earlier versions. The 7 undeformed section length at the end of Phase I major thrust is to separate the material response into I final undeformedspecimen length two phases. The first phase is dominated by strain f rate effects and has a variable plastic wave speed. L original specimen length The second phase is dominated by strain hardening effects and has a constant plastic wave speed. L final specimen length Estimates for dynamic yield Stress, strain, strain-rate, and plastic wave speed during both phases s displacement of the rear end of the specimen are given. Comparisons with several experiments on OFHC copper are included. s displacement of the rear end of the specimen at the end of Phase I NOTATIO 5 f final displacement of the rear end of the specimen A0 cross-sectional area of the undeformed specimen t time i time at the end of Phase I A cross-sectional ares of the deformed specimen t torminaf time D diameter of the undeformed specimen f u speed of the plastic materTsl at the plastic wave D diameter of the mushroom at the conclusion of front phase I deformation v undeformed section speed D diameter of the interface between Phases I and II SV impact speed D diameter of the interface between Phases I and II after conclusion of the event V volume of the material In the Phase I deformation D diameter of the mushroom at the conclusion of zone event y2 average flow strength durinL secondary deformation C engineering strain eg secondary plastic wave spoto..e Sengineering strain at the end of Phase I o engineering stress h distance from the undeformed anvil face to the P mass density of specimen plastic wave front differentiation with respect to time Sdistance from the undeformed anvil face to the plastic wave front at the end of Phase I


We present a new numerical method to study the linear and nonlinear response of dispersive and nonlinear 2D materials by incorporating a nonlinear generalized source (GS) into the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. This new method is particularly powerful when applied to the analysis of 2D materials, as most such materials cannot be studied directly by traditional FDTD method due to their vanishingly small thickness. A typical graphene grating has been studied to verify the accuracy of the proposed GS-FDTD method, and its predictions agree well with other well-known frequency-domain numerical methods.


Vegetative dysfunction is most often manifested as vertigo. The presence of vestibular dysfunction on the background of vegetovascular dystonia is conditioned by the close functional connection between vestibular and vegetative nervous system. The study of interaction and mutual connection between vertigo and vegetative functioning is necessary to improve the effectiveness of diagnostic and treating-rehabilitative arrangements. Methods . 159 patients with vertigo were examined according to the scheme for revelation of the signs of vegetative disorders. All patients were divided in four groups, taking into account the cause of vertigo. The first group included 47 patients with acute ischemia of brain in vertebrobrasilar basin. The second one included 30 patients with craniovertebral pathology and vascular anomalies of the neck part. The third one – 40 patients with the injury of peripheral vestibular analyze, the fourth group – 42 patients with psychogenic vertigo. Results . The analysis of parameters of VNS functioning in examined patients testified to the intrasystemic dysregulation; decrease of reserve possibilities of VNS adaptation, manifestations of the disorders of cerebral homeostasis and disturbance of the correct functioning of non-specific cerebral systems. Conclusions . The interconnection between vertigo and central mechanisms of vegetative regulation that must be considered as the components of rehabilitative potential was revealed. These regularities can be the base for using integration approach in the choice of rehabilitative interventions at vertigo in patients with neurological pathology


The prediction of transfer of learning between jobs is important within organizational and national human resource management. This paper proposes a methodology for examining the implications of different measures of job similarity. The validity of families of jobs with reciprocal transfer is questioned.


Background: There are reports of the spread of the novel COVID-19 to Africa, Nigeria, and some cases in Rivers State. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitude and effects of the coronavirus disease pandemic on hospital staff in the month of May to June 2020.
Methodology: The convenience sampling method was used to recruit 297 hospital staff in a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out using semi-structured questionnaires in a tertiary healthcare facility. Data obtained was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0.
Results: Two hundred and sixty-two respondents (88.2%) had prior knowledge of coronavirus, and 228 (76.8%) got their information from Television/Radio/Newspapers. Two hundred and fifty-one (84.5%) respondents described COVID-19 pandemic as a disease caused by an imported germ. Regardless of the fear/panic of the COVID-19 pandemic, 230 (77.4%) of the respondents indicated that they would continue to visit their sick relative in the hospital. The COVID-19 pandemic moderately affected the family life of 110 (37.0%) respondents, while 68 (12.5%) were devastated by it. The means of livelihood was moderately affected in 76 (25.6%) respondents, and 43 (14.5%) devastated by it.
Conclusion: The negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic was experienced significantly in varied proportions – moderately, severely, and in devastating manner.


This thesis is concerned with the role played by the Christian scholar 'Ammār al-Baṣrī in theologizing in the Islamic milieu of the 'Abbasids in the 9th century. His Kitāb al-Burhān, one of his only two surviving works, will therefore be thoroughly studied from two perspectives: the Islamic perspective as it is found in contemporary anti-Christian polemical texts; and the Christian perspective, through a comparison of 'Ammār's treatise with the works of Arab Christian theologians of his day. The present study aims at demonstrating the level of translatability of Christian theology into the Islamic intellectual milieu, as 'Ammār al-Baṣrī saw it. It is therefore natural that we should examine Kitāb al-Burhān as an example of "contextualized" theology in Dār al-Islām. 'Ammār's Burhān stands a witness to the numerous attempts made by Arab Christians to reconcile their heritage (the world of Islam) with their inheritance (Christian theology). Such a reconciliation is essential for the future existence of Arab Christians, particularly in the Arab World.


The aim of the study is to examine the impact of international male labor migration on the sexual and reproductive health of women who stay back home in Tajikistan. The data for this study was gathered as a result of ethnographic field works conducted on several occasions from 2011 to 2013. The results of the study suggest that male migration does not have an impact on fertility levels of the left-behind women. Although similarly to previous studies this study shows that wives of migrants are less likely to use contraception, it nevertheless demonstrates changes in contraceptive behaviors of wives of migrants such as seasonal removal and insertion of an intrauterine device (IUD) and shift from long-term to short-term contraception use. However, despite the availability of numerous forms of contraception in the country, the pattern of contraceptive use such as the reliance on IUDs dominant during the Soviet period continues to exist among wives of non-migrants. One of the most important findings of this study is women's ability to use condoms for a short term with husbands after their return and asking spouses to have an HIV test. This finding challenges the dominant discourses in HIV and migration literature focusing on the inability, impossibility and failure on the part of the wives to negotiate HIV prevention due to various factors impeding the promotion of HIV prevention skills and measures among women. Moreover, the study demonstrates that, on the one hand, male migration worsens reproductive health of the left-behind women, but, on the other hand, it improves/increases their access to reproductive health institutions thanks to remittances. Although self-reported symptoms of women show a slight difference in reproductive morbidity, including STIs of wives of migrants and non-migrants, health care providers believe that this difference is


The paper discusses the language worldview of the university teacher and their attitude to the professional work environment though the method of free association. 35 teachers of Siberian Federal University participated in the experiment; their gender and age were not considered. The received data was analyzed and classified into different groups. As a result, some conclusions were made considering language world view of university teachers.


Advances in the field of digital payment methods have fundamentally changed their operation. These technological progressions have helped bring safer, cheaper, more stable and all-inclusive payment systems to the world. This paper provides a brief overview of digital payment systems. It also argues that government identity managements systems have a potential role in supporting more trusted and secure digital payments.The work we are doing today is also sign of the gradual transition to a digital economy


The ocular surface is constantly exposed to pathogenic bacteria. Many Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria have been implicated in ocular infections, in non immunocompromised patients, causing severe vision impairment. These microorganisms have in their quiver a variety of arrows to cause infection. The aim of this study is to list the virulence factors of the main ocular pathogens. Data were extracted from PubMed and Google Scholar. S. aureus and Streptococci, Bacillus cereus and Corynebacterium (non-diphtheriae) are the main culprits as far as Gram positive bacteria are concerned. S. aureus causes infections of the lacrimal apparatus, cornea and eyelids, conjunctivitis, keratitis, and endophthalmitis. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Enterococcus and Streptococcus viridians are isolated from post injection endophthalmitis cases. S. pneumoniae is most involved in keratitis, conjunctivitis, and endophthalmitis. Streptococcus pyogenes is most involved in blepharitis and hospital acquired conjunctivitis in neonates in the intensive care unit. Enterococcus faecalis is implicated in postoperative endophthalmitis cases. Corynebacterium (non-diphtheriae) species are involved mainly in infections complicating cataract surgery, keratoplasty, and vitrectomy. Bacillus species provoke conjunctivitis, keratitis and post-traumatic endophthalmitis. Bacillus cereus can cause rapidly destructive endophthalmitis. Among Gram negative bacteria, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Bartonella species are major ocular pathogens, responsible for severe ocular damage. Gonococcal conjunctivitis (GC) is still a cause of blindness in some developing countries. When it occurs in neonates, it is called gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum. P. aeruginosa is related to contact lens-associated keratitis. Chlamydia trachomatis is the culprit of trachoma and inclusion conjunctivitis. Bartonella henselae causes bartonellosis or cat scratch disease, or cat scratch fever. Eye infection includes optic neuropathy and neuroretinitis. When the eye is the primary site of inoculation, the patients are diagnosed with Parinaud oculo-glandular syndrome (infection of the conjunctiva, eyelid and adjacent skin with regional lymphadenopathy). Chronic Bartonella infection provokes blurred vision, photophobia and eye irritation. Comprehension of the mechanism of infection, caused by these pathogens, is crucial in diagnosis and treatment.


Form error in-process optical measurement is to provide feedback during a machining process for precision control. Based on the method of water beam assisted form error in-process optical measurement, a new air beam approach was proposed to solve the problems of coolant dilution and optical transmittance through multiple media. In order to identify key parameters to reduce the workload of experimental tests, a factorial test was conducted on transparent window size At and stability est. Calibration and assessment of At and est were introduced. Factorial test design was also examined. Results of the study show that vt, va, and da are the key parameters on At. Although all 6 main parameters are not significant, vt is relatively more important on est. When vt increases, At will decrease. When va or da increases, At will increase. The findings agree with our understanding of the physical process of fluid flow. When vt decreases, the transparent window size stability est will be better. Consider both stability est and air velocity va, Run 11 should be the best choice of conditions for At. A larger transparent window size At typically gives better transparent window size stability est. To achieve a balance between est and va, a suitable size of transparent window at At=~30 mm2 should be a good choice. Further studies are necessary to confirm the findings.


Pore size distribution and soil fertility A contribution concerning the physical classifikation of soils at soil maps

Testing the physical classification of soils at soil maps pore size distribution of 17 well drained soils was measured. The results obtained for the 0–100 cm soil depth were correlated to land values as given in the "Reichsbodenschatzung". Statistical evaluation of the data gave the following results: 1) Negative correlation (r = −0,11) between pore space pF 1,8–2, 9 and soil fertility. 2) Moderate correlation (r = 0,54) between pore space pF 1,8–4, 2. 3) Very close correlation (r = 0,95) between pore space pF 2,5–4, 2 and pF 2,9–4,2, respectively, and soil fertility. 4) Fair correlation (r = 0,76) between pore space pF > 4,2 and soil fertility.

Therefore soil fertility is strongly dependent on physical factors related to pore size distribution and concerning water and N-economy of soils. In our humid climate the factor N-economy obviously has a stronger bearing on soil fertility than the factor soil water.

The results make it possible to classify the soils in relation to N-economy and water supply using the same index of pore size distribution. With the pore space pF 2,5–4,2, fertility and filter properties of soils are comprehended in the best manner. The terminus "Kapillare Sorptionskapazitat" is proposed to define both the factors.

Finally some consequences are mentioned concerning plant nutrition and N-fertilizing in regard to the physical factors of soil fertility.


When rice husk is burnt, about 20 wt% of the husk remains as ash. The rice husk ash has more than 95 wt% of silica with high porosity and large surface area, because it still retains the skeleton of cellular structure. These properties of the rice husk ash can be used to synthesize siliceous raw materials such as clay minerals. Syntheses of smectite from the rice husk ash were conducted by using a starting material of a mixture of rice husk ash, magnesium chloride and lithium chloride with a molar ratio of Si: Mg: Li = 8: 5.34: 0.66. The optimal conditions of smectite synthesis is as follows


Low frequency oscillation of electric power system is a problem which electric workers always care about.The influences of prime mover characteristics were ignored in the past research.The paper introduces the models of steam turbine system and each part of electric power system,and calculates the corresponding eigenvalues,then analyzes the influences of steam turbine system on low frequency oscillation.


63 Continuation of Ser. No. 625,409, Jun. 28, 1984, aban doned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 452,981, Dec. 27, 1982, abandoned, which is a continuation-in part of Ser. No. 122,158, Feb. 19, 1980, abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 19,198, Mar. 9, 1979, abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 915,341, Jun. 13, 1978, abandoned, which is a continua tion of Ser. No. 736,054, Oct. 27, 1976, abandoned.


During the first recorded outbreak of the migratory phase of Melanoplus rugglesi Gurney in Nevada (1938–1952), field studies were made of its life and seasonal histories, migration, and food habits. The life and seasonal histories did not vary from those of most other range grasshoppers which normally hatch in the spring. Thus, M. rugglesi can be listed as an early-hatching species. Both nymphs and adults followed much the same feeding patterns and utilized the same plants. They were definitely brush and forb feeders and utilized grass only sparingly. No opportunity arose to observe their reactions to cultivated crops. Migration of both nymphs and adults followed a pattern of assembly into bands followed by movement as a unit. Range damage caused by M. rugglesi could conceivably be severe in many parts of the Great Basin where brush is the main source of forage for livestock. Several instances of severe damage to big sage, bud sage, and silver sage occurred.


Asteroid 4 Vesta hosts two sets of enormous troughs, Divalia Fossae that encircle two‐thirds of the equator and Saturnalia Fossae located in the northern hemisphere. These troughs were interpreted as grabens, thus invoking faulting. The trough sizes, their linear arrangement, and overall morphology leave no doubt that their origin is tectonic, but structures other than faults have not been considered. To test if they are fault‐related or formed by accommodating opening‐mode displacement (i.e., jointing) without subsequent shear, we investigate the map patterns, cross‐sectional geometries, and variations of relief and width along the trough lengths. Relief and width could relate to the vertical displacement of faults and aperture of joints, respectively, and they therefore reveal differences in fracturing behavior. We analyzed six major troughs on Vesta, four belonging to Divalia Fossae, and two to Saturnalia Fossae. No map patterns are diagnostic of faulting or jointing. For each pair of trough‐bounding scarps, the maximum relief does not lie at the trough center, and the two maxima occur at different positions along the trough. In contrast, troughs are widest near the centers of the troughs. These characteristics are inconsistent with graben formation but are consistent with jointing. Furthermore, rock‐mechanical calculations that account for Vesta's low gravitational acceleration and degree of fracturing reveal that faulting is not favored to be initiated at depths above at least ∼3 but as much as 55 km within Vesta's lithosphere. Therefore, jointing or mixed‐mode fracturing, both involving opening‐mode displacements, are more plausible fracturing mechanisms for the Divalia Fossae.


This paper analyses changes and new tendencies related to housing and segregation patterns in Croatian cities following the process of transition from a centrally planned to a market economy. Housing in Croatia has experienced large changes since the beginning of the 1990s, including a massive privatisation process of public housing, rising costs of housing and an increasing diversification of housing types. New developments and changes in housing policy have to a large extent influenced the development of residential differentiation in larger Croatian cities.


Abstract. This work presents propagation dynamics of structured light (complex light) containing optical vortices after it has undergone multiple reflections in a spiral phase plate (SPP) device having a nonzero surface reflection. In the calculations, the thick-plate approximation is assumed as it is expected to give a more accurate representation of the standard geometry of an SPP device from a low-surface reflection to a high-surface reflection. Calculations showing the propagation of counter-rotating optical vortices are presented, and the effect of the statistical nature of photons on the observation of the angular intensity modulation of the beam is discussed.


Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) or hydrotalcite-like materials of the type Mg1 -xAlx(OH) 2 (Xn- ) x/n ·zH2O are most readily prepared when Xn- is the carbonate ion. Although many other LDHs undergo facile ion-exchange reactions, the carbonate ion in LDHs is known to be very difficult to replace by conventional ion-exchange. We have developed a simple synthesis of adipate-pillared LDHs of the type Mg4A12 (OH) 12 [O2C (CH2)4CO2]· 4H2O by direct reaction of free adipic acid with an LDH carbonate precursor. The materials obtained have been characterized by XRD, FT-IR and DTA. It is shown that by appropriate choice of reaction conditions, the carbonate ions in the precursor can be completely replaced by adipate ions. The adipate-pillared LDHs retain a layered structure with an interlayer distance of 1. 40urn. The interlayer adipate ions are lost on heating the material to 39℃.


Our article comments on the enduring impact of COVID‐19 in medical imaging. The emotional impact on COVID‐19 is well reported in articles published at JMRS. This editorial covers the qualitative and quantitative structured templates now used for the reporting of chest x‐rays on COVID‐19.


Abstract : The Operational Requirements Document (ORD) for Shallow Water Mine Countermeasures (SWMCM) identifies the need for a system capable of simultaneously breaching obstacles and clearing mines, in-stride, from over the horizon, during an amphibious assault. Development of an improved capability and a quantification of available options for delivering explosives to the beach and surf zone to clear obstacles and mines are primary needs articulated in the Navy's MCM Campaign Plan. A significant database of Mk 83 bombs tested against obstacles exists and was used as the starting point for this study. This database presently only includes single event detonations, and a clear need has been identified to develop cumulative damage rules for obstacles that are hit by multiple bombs at varying distances and configurations. The goal of this project is to study, identify, and verify through analysis, testing, and simulation the damage mechanisms of obstacles (on land/in water) subjected to multiple bomb detonations. Multiple bomb detonations include sequential bomb detonations and simultaneous detonations of 1-D and 2-D arrays. This project will provide the acquisition community with the knowledge necessary to utilize the proper technology for development of and obstacle clearance system.


Over the last few years, academic institutions have started to explore the potential of using computer game engines for developing virtual laboratory environments. Recent studies have shown that developing a realistic visualization of a physical laboratory space poses a number of challenges. A significant number of modifications are required for adding customized interactions that are not built into the game engine itself. For example, a major challenge in creating a realistic virtual environment using a computer game engine is the process of preparing and converting custom models for integration into the environment, which is too complicated to be performed by untrained users. This paper describes the usage of the Microsoft Kinect for rapidly creating a 3D model of an object for implementation in a virtual environment by retrieving the object's depth and RGB information. A laboratory experiment was selected to demonstrate how real experimental components are reconstructed and embedded into a game-based virtual laboratory by using the Kinect. The users are then able to interact with the experimental components. This paper presents both the technical details of the implementation and some initial results of the system validation.


Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are one of the most underserved populations in today's schools (Kauffman, Mock, & Simpson, 2011). Many of these students also have additional disabilities in conjunction with an EBD identification, such as Learning Disabilities (LD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), among other psychiatric disorders (Henley, Ramsey, & Algozzine, 2009; Kauffman, 2005).

Because the identification of EBD examines behaviors that tend to be more subjective in nature than other disabilities and because these pervasive behaviors are manifested in a variety of forms, EBD is one of the most misidentified disability categories (Skiba, Poloni-Staudinger, Gallini, Simmons, & Feggins-Azziz, 2006). For students with EBD, the behavior(s) they exhibit contribute to learning difficulties in multiple academic and functional areas. This chapter provides in-depth information on the common characteristics and behavioral dimensions of this population. Additionally, the in-school performance and long-term outcomes of students with EBD are discussed.


This paper aims to discuss the relevance of the researcher's previous study and preparation to conduct academic interviews. The reflection proposed here originated from the transcription work performed during twelve months in Management as well as related areas. This paper's contribution lies in the weight given to the effort needed to prepare, choose and perform the interview as a technique of qualitative data collection, insofar as mistakes in such conduction might compromise both the analysis and the results reached in the research.


Amphibia (Table X ) Only nine Amphibia were examined post-mortem during the year, eight of them from the Collection. More representatives of the Class will have died, but post-mortem autolysis is so rapid in a hot and humid exhibit that the remains found are seldom suitable for examination. As usual Aeromoniasis appeared to be the most important cause of death, a Mud puppy, a Yellow-bellied toad, a Carolina tree frog and an African bullfrog succumbing to the disease. An Aerornonas sp., probably A . hydrophila, was also isolated from two other toads but was not considered to have been significant. Rhabdias spp. nematodes were found in the lungs of an American toad and of an Oriental fire-bellied toad. Large numbers of a Strongyloides sp. nematode were also found in the large intestine of the American toad but the cause of death in this animal was a systemic mycosis. The fungus involved was not identified.


The influence of reaction temperature on the generation rules of gaseous phase products of C4 aromatization in the 500 mL static bed filled with ZSM-5 zeolite SHY-DL was studied.The component of C3 and C4 in LPG was evaluated by the pyrolysis equipment of KBR company of USA.The results show that when the reaction temperature increases from 320℃ to 400℃,the yields of dry gas and product LPG increase by 1.05% and 3.11%,respectively.The yields of two type olefin can reach 46.71%,which is the high quality of pyrolysis raw material.


The known distributions of A. sylvaticus and A. flavicollis were examined with respect to four woodland classifications and two soil types. The distribution of A. flavicollis in Britain is associated with drier areas and with the distribution of mature, deciduous woodland. A. sylvaticus is found in both wet and dry areas and is distributed independently of deciduous woodland.


Repetitive strain injury affecting keyboard users may be associated with loss of vibration in nerves supplying the hands, according to researchers from University College London.

Coauthors Jane Greening, a clinical physiotherapist, and Dr Bruce Lynn, a neurophysiologist, say: "Patients with repetitive strain injury have objective signs of minor polyneuropathy, with the median nerve being more severely affected than the ulnar nerve or radial nerve." ( Int Arch Occup Environ Health 1998;71:29:34).

Using a vibrameter—a Swedish device for measuring vibration thresholds in sensory nerves—the researchers …


Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) has turned out to be a useful tool for investigations of the population of dark states of the GFP. Using common FCS techniques, it is however not possible to reveal the nature of the dark state. We developed a simultaneous two-color excitation scheme which allows us to collect information about the dark state absorption spectra. Apart from the identification of dark states, two-color FCS opens up ways for the detailed investigation of the photodynamics of molecules with multiple dark states. It will be shown how the increase in fluorescence signal obtained by double resonance excitation can be exploited for obtaining brighter images in live cell and single molecule microscopy. The experimental setup employed for the two-color excitation can easily be extended to generate non-linear vibrational contrast. First examples of this new Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) correlation spectroscopy will be presented.


(4) and evaluated the sequence under breath-hold scenario. Methods The sequence modification was based on a 2D ECG gated DIR FSE. Reducing FOV without foldover artifacts in FSE imaging can be achieved by applying orthogonal gradients for the 90o excitation and 180o refocusing pulses. The DIR for blood suppression was employed by using a 1ms non-selective hard inversion pulse followed by a 8.6ms selective adiabatic inversion pulse. A 8.6ms adiabatic SPIR chemical saturation pulse was applied 100ms prior to the FSE data acquisition for fat signal saturation. All experiments were performed on a 1.5T clinical MR scanner (EXCITE HD TwinSpeed, GE Healthcare, Milwaukee). Phantom study was conducted to verify the effectiveness of the rFOV excitation using a phased array receiving only head coil. Human studies (7 volunteer and 2 patients suspected with RCA stenosis by CT exam) were performed under breath-hold using an 8-channel phased array cardiac coil. Scan parameters were optimized for balancing resolution and SNR: effective TE = 43.6ms, TR = 2 R-R, ETL = 8, receiver bandwidth = ±20.8kHz, ESP = 5.6ms, TI = 600ms (for heart rate = 60 bpm), slice thickness = 4~6mm. For rFOV scan, the FOV was 12 x 3 cm 2 . The acquisition matrix was 128 x 128, then zero padded to 256 x 256. The actual phase encoding steps were 32, as a result, scan time had been able to be reduced to ¼ of original full FOV scan. For subjects with heart rate = 60 bpm, the breath-hold time was 8 seconds (8RR) for 1 NEX and 16 seconds (16RR) for 2 NEX acquisition. 3D bright blood coronary artery images had been used for localizing the black blood scan. 2D cardiac cine images had been acquired for determining delay time. Results and Discussion The image of a 24cm full FOV scan from a phantom is shown in Fig. 1a and the image of 3cm rFOV scan from the same phantom is shown in Fig. 1b which clearly demonstrated that FOV on phase encoding direction can be effectively reduced without aliasing artifacts. The center line profiles extracted from full FOV (red line) and rFOV (blue line) were plotted in Fig 1c. Because the excitation profile in rFOV scan was not ideally sharp at the edge, the excitation region was designed to be slightly narrower than the FOV in the phase encoding direction. Fig. 2 were the images from a volunteer. The rFOV black blood scan plane was perpendicular to the proximal RCA. The coronary vessel wall was depicted well. Fig. 3 were the images from a patient, (3a-3b) are MR images and (3c-3d) were reconstructed CT images at the corresponding plane. Plaque can be observed in both MR and CT images as indicated by red arrow. rFOV approach in black blood imaging is time efficient which can be potentially used in both breath-hold and navigator gated scan. The saved scan time can be used for increasing NEX to gain SNR or increasing spatial resolution with a higher SNR cardiac coil.


Inadequate information under uncertainty is indispensable to multiattribute analysis,which can be well handled by the Evidential Reasoning Approach.The factors which bring about influence on the belief of the inadequacy in the assessment results were studied,including the belief of the inadequacy in the rules as input,the weights and the consistency of the rules.The domain of the inadequacy in the assessment results was determined and a preliminary result was drawn: the belief of the inadequate information in the assessment result can be less than the bigger one of the belief of inadequate information in the rules as input,but may not be more than the smaller one of the belief of inadequate information in the rules as input.The logical and geometry meaning of consistency of the rules was illustrated.The link between the consistency of the rules and the concept of "degree of conflict" was studied.


The College of Optometrists does not support Clarke's view and we welcome the response from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.1 2

Community optometrists provide a vital service as a first port of call for people with eye problems. They perform more than 12 million NHS eye examinations a year in England alone through which most eye diseases and abnormalities are detected. With …


The utility model relates to a measurement device for the specific heat ratio of gas. The measurement device comprises a micro gas pump, a gas storage cylinder, a flask and a photoelectric door, wherein a gas amount adjustment knob is installed on the micro gas pump; a gas guide tube is used for connecting the micro gas pump to the gas storage cylinder; an adjustment valve and a pressure sensor are installed at an opening of the gas storage cylinder; the flask is connected with the gas storage cylinder via a guide tube; small steel balls are filled in a glass tube of the flask; the photoelectric door is fixed by virtue of an iron stand; the pressure sensor and the photoelectric door are connected to a mainframe box via conductive wires; and a pressure sensor indication lamp, a photoelectric door indication lamp, a liquid crystal display screen and a switch are further arranged on the mainframe box. The measurement device disclosed by the utility model is simple to operate, simplifies measurement steps, reduces artificial reading errors, and improves the measurement accuracy.


In order to overcome the air fuel ratio control deviation caused by the oil film vaporization speed variation during transient conditions, the Fuzzy PID control was used on the ECT, and the fuel injection revision based on the throttle valve degree and its variation during the transient condition was proposed. The simulation was accomplished on model of SQ491 gasoline engine during transient conditions. And the results show that the maximal error of the air fuel ratio with fuel injection revision is less than 5%, whereas that without fuel injection revision is 20%, and the air fuel ratio control accuracy with fuel injection revision was accurately raised during transient condition.


The utility model discloses a simple measuring pull rod for the inner diameter of a drum body of a boiler pressure container, and relates to a measuring device for the inner diameter of the drum body of the boiler pressure container, which is used for solving the problem that the size deviation of all positions is difficultly and accurately mastered since the geometric shape and the size deviation of the inner diameter of the drum body in the manufacture process of the boiler pressure container are measured by adopting a measuring tape disc. The simple measuring pull rod is characterized in that a fixed measuring rod consists of a fixed measuring head, an outer pipe and a plug; a movable measuring rod consists of a movable measuring head and a thread rod; size scales are arranged on the plane of the outer-diameter surface of the thread rod; the movable measuring head is arranged at one end of the thread rod; the movable measuring head and the thread rod are manufactured into a whole; the movable measuring rod is installed in the inner hole of the plug; the end of the thread rod is positioned in the outer pipe; the end of the movable measuring head is exposed outside the plug; an adjusting nut is sheathed on the plug, and is in threaded connection with the thread rod; a fastening screw is in threaded connection in a fastening thread hole; and an adjusting screw is in threaded connection in an adjusting thread hole. The simple measuring pull rod is used for measuring the inner diameter of the drum body of the boiler pressure container.


The characteristics of seepage of roadbed's fissures and the effect of seepage on roadbed engineering are studied. Both the reasons that roadbed produced fissures and the characteristics of roadbed's fissures are analyzed; the seepage characteristics of soil terrence fissures are studied too. For the instantaneous event model (IEM) and the infinite duration event model(FDEM) of rainfall, the formula of seepage of roadbed with the effect of rainfall is derived. The water content distributation in the subgrade leaded by the seepage of fissures of both in the subgrade and cut is modified, The results of numerical simulation show that the water content of roadbed will be changed to a certain extent with the effect of roadbed's seepage; and it should be paid much attention in the engineering accordingly.


Based on five TM remote sensing image data from 1989 to 2008,the dynamic monitor was carried on the enclosure culture in Taihu Lake in recent 20 years.With the comprehensive utilization of the spectrum information of remote sensing image and the texture information of enclosure culture area,the enclosure culture area in Taihu Lake in different times was extracted automatically,the space and time change situations of the enclosure culture area in Taihu Lake in recent 20 years were analyzed.


An electrode assembly including a secondary battery, the outer surface according to the invention; Electrolyte; Is attached to at least a portion of the outer surface of the electrode assembly is wrapped sealing tape; And comprising a can for receiving the electrode assembly and the sealing tape, the sealing tape is formed on the adhesive layer and the adhesive layer in contact with the outer surface of the electrode assembly comprises a base layer formed of a material having directionality, the base material layer is in contact with the electrolyte, at least a portion of the substrate layer to lose the direction, at least in part, contacts the inner surface of the can. Accordingly, it can suppress that the electrode assembly flows from the can.


High activity catalyst for HCN removal were prepared by immobilizing Cu2+on γ-Al2O3. The catalyst showed great activity from 150°C to 250°C. The removal efficiency of HCN were above 98%. Based on the experimental phenomena, it can be assumed that the rate controlling step of the catalytic reaction process was the generation of HNCO by HCN and O2. A prediction model consist of HCN conversion, HCN flow rate, catalyst dosage was derived by combining the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The experimental data fitted with the prediction model very well and the model may be a worthy reference for the catalytic oxidation process of HCN.


We explore explicit exact Lorentzian-type matter wave solutions of nonautonoumous nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) with an external source and a harmonic trap. We explicate the mechanism to control the dynamical behaviour of these waves of Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) for different sets of nonlinearity and trapping modulations. Our results raise the possibility of some experiments and potential applications related to BEC in the presence of an inhomogeneous external source.


Olanzapine is an antipsychotic medication, which is approved for treatment of psychiatric illnesses among various age groups of psychiatric patients. Accidental consumption of olanzapine is uncommon among the paediatric age group. We report a case of accidental consumption of 15 tablets of olanzapine (5 mg each) in a two-year-old boy. It is important that clinicians are made aware of these reports of an overdose of olanzapine.


The utility model relates to a device is used multipurposely to rice husk carbomorphism tail gas, its characterized in that: the retort is connected with the multistage burning furnace of firing through the pipeline, draught fan lug connection to the multistage burning furnace that fires, and the multistage burning furnace lug connection heat exchanger at the back that fires, the heat exchanger passes through pipe connection cyclone, and the cyclone export is connected with gas compression device, and the connecting line intermediate junction has the draught fan, during multistage burning furnace entry and the retort exhaust emissions export lug connection of firing, draught fan went into to fire burning furnace with the air by the tubing pump of connecting with it, the air input was by computer system control, and the multistage burning furnace of firing is inside to have the wall of stopping, there is the automatic ignition device on well upper portion, and there is granule recovery unit the bottom, water vapor -recovery unit has in the waste heat recovery heat exchanger for tail gas normal water vapor recovery. Its process is simple, and convenient operation can realize stabilizing continuous production and automated control.


Chinese Abstract: 本文是第三度檢舉東華大學前主任秘書蔡裕源的升等教授代表作舞弊。筆者已經公開指控東華大學包庇舞弊,舉證蔡裕源著作變造自合著者碩士論文:輕度變造者,研究樣本、方法相同,結果卻不一致;重度變造者,研究樣本、方法、計量結果皆相同,顯著性係數卻被系統性的折半。然而,東華大學結論沒有違反學術倫理,卻拒絕提供說明。因此,本文特別譴責東華大學,同時再提供蔡裕源變造論文的細節。
English Abstract: This is our third article accusing the former Secretariat of NDHU, Yuh-Yuan Tsai, of violating academic ethics in pursuit of his promotion to the position of professor. We publicly exposed NDHU's cover-up and provided evidence to prove that Tsai's primary work was falsified, based on the coauthor's master-degree thesis. The two works use the same samples and methodologies, yet produce different numerical results. In particular, some numerical results render different significance levels. The significance coefficients of Tsai are systematically half of those found in the master thesis. Despite this manifest evidence, NDHU concluded that Tsai is not guilty of academic misconduct, and NDHU refuse to provide any explanation or support for their conclusion. Consequently, we renounce NDHU and set out the details of Tsai's misconduct again.


ABSTRACT Pellets of indigestible material regurgitated by Herring Gulls Larus argentatus breeding on Lady Isle, Firth of Clyde, Scotland, were collected in 2018 and 2019 and examined for earthworm chaetae. Nearly two-thirds (65.6%) of the 314 pellets came from gulls that had consumed one or more earthworms. Significantly fewer pellets (57.6%) contained chaetae in 2018, a relatively dry May to July, than in 2019 (72.0%) when rainfall was close to the long-term average for May to July. There were significant associations between the presence of large quantities of terrestrial vegetation in the pellet and the detection of large numbers of earthworm chaetae and/or fragments of terrestrial arthropods, suggesting that recent consumption of these food items is likely when pellets contain large quantities of vegetation.


Abstract : The high pressure xenon compact arc lamp has proven to be an excellent radiation source for searchlights, solar simulators, and other applications where a precise distribution of high intensity visible or infrared radiation is required. The purpose of the work reported was to test lamps of 20 to 30 KW rating supplied by various manufacturers and determine both their performance and their reliability. Performance was determined through measurements of the radiant output, brightness distribution, efficiency, and other parameters which define how well the lamp will satisfy the requirements of a given searchlight system. Reliability was determined by operation of the lamp over a long period of time and measurement of the rate of change of performance with time, along with a monitoring of other variables such as heat transfer efficiency at the anode which give a measure of lamp deterioration. Catastrophic failure of a lamp can usually be predicted from these indications of deterioration. (Author)


This paper summarizes a framework for describing theoretical perspectives (an FDTP) and uses it to describe the work system perspective (WSP) in a way that integrates ideas that often had been discussed in isolation from each other. It also illustrates how the FDTP can support application of the WSP to the idea of digital transformation (DT). It discusses the general value of the FDTP along with potential applications.


The aim of this study was to determine if some factors, especially salinity, have any impact on the decomposition of mangrove leaves. Three study sites where chosen in the Jiulongjiang Estuary near Caoputou Village, Longhai County, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, China. The salinity level in the different sites is the main difference between the three sites. In the first, second and third site the salinity is 0%, 0.5% respectively 1%. At every site 15 bags where filled with 30g of Kandelia candel leaves. After 1,2,3,5 and 7 weeks three bags from each site were brought to the laboratory. Then the dry mass, calorific value and content of soluble sugar were determined. From analyzes the energy content and mean rate of decomposition could be calculated. No connection between salinity and calorific value could be seen from the results. The calorific value first increases and after three to five weeks the highest calorific values are measured, thereafter there will be a decrease of the calorific value. During the three first weeks there is a difference in loss of mass between the different salinities.


showed anmmia to be three times more common in paracesophageal hernia 30% against 11% for reducible sliding hernia. In this case the expected result is occurring. Again the expected result is produced in the small sliding hernias where the hiatus is small. In the general group of sliding hiatus hernia it would be expected that anemia would be less common than in the paracesophageal type but in those cases which do have anemia it was found, on reviewing the operation notes, that an unduly large size of the hernia was frequently noted.


Hedonic modeling has become a benchmark for pricing real assets with several intrinsic characteristics. This work tests also others dimensions for asset pricing: the quality of life in the housing neighborhood and macroeconomic variables. The data is about the real estate market in Sao Paulo city from January 2001 to March 2008. The main results were: the longer the maturity of mortgage financing, the larger the housing price, but decreasing interest rate spread stimulate the real estate market, and the interactions between the dummy for the boom period and either housing characteristics or bank interest rates spread show that the hedonic model loses its relative importance for pricing, while market risk variables become much more relevant. Thus, these new findings suggests that for modeling a house price index it is not sufficient to consider only average prices or a hedonic approach, but both the market and credit risks as well.


A highly chemo- and enantioselective hydrogenation of β-diketones was achieved by using [Ru(benzene)( S)-SunPhosCl]Cl for consistency in THF. The neighboring heteroatoms played important roles in guaranteeing the reactivity and controlling the chemoselectivity. These results suggested a potential approach for the clean and facile synthesis of functionalized chiral β-hydroxy ketones, which could otherwise be prepared through much less step-economic transformations.


A new type of auxotrophic mutant of Sal- monella typhimurium has been isolated that is defective in the synthesis of the 3-deoxy-D-mannooctulosonate (ketodeoxyoctonate) region of the lipopolysaccharide and requires D-arabinose-5-phosphate for growth. Genetic and biochemical evidence indicated that the mutant defect was due to an altered ketodeoxyoctonate-8-phosphate syn- thetase with an apparent K. for D-arabinose-5-phosphate 35-fold higher than that of the parental enzyme. As a re- sult of this enzymatic lesion, the mutant strain was dependent on exogenous D-arabinose-5-phosphate both for growth and for synthesis of a complete lipopolysaccharide. The The synthesis of KDO from D-ribulose-5-P was assayed in extracts of the parent and mutant strain as follows. Cell extracts were prepared by sonication in 100 mM glycylglycine buffer (pH 8.0)-i mM EDTA. The soluble fraction obtained by centrifuga- tion at 98,000 X g for 90 min was used as enzyme. Reaction mixtures contained the following: 250 mM glycylglycine (pH 8.0), 4.7 mM D-ribulose-5-P (Na+), 6.25 mM phosphoenolpyruvate (tricyclohexylammonium salt), and enzyme to a final volume of 0.4 ml. Reaction mixtures were incubated at 370 for 30 min, and reactions were stopped by addition of 0.1 ml of the reaction mix-ture to 0.15 ml of cold 10% trichloroacetic acid. The resulting precipitate was removed by centrifugation, and 0.1 ml of the supernatant solution was assayed for KDO by the thiobarbituric acid assay (17). Heat-inactivated enzyme was used for a blank.


Abstract Blueberries are widely recognized for their beneficial health effects due to their bioactive compounds content. In addition, balsamic vinegars trade developed quickly because of their wide acceptance in gourmet food. A novel product made with second quality berries, being suitable for human consumption, i.e., blueberry balsamic vinegar, was evaluated. This work aimed to assess changes in Total Anthocyanins (TA), Total Phenolics (TP), and antioxidant activity during production process of blueberry balsamic vinegar, at the following stages: raw material, blueberries juice after enzyme treatment, blueberries alcoholic substrate, blueberries vinegar, concentrated blueberry juice and blueberries balsamic vinegar. Additionally, three alternative evaporation systems, rotary vacuum evaporator, microwave and vacuum microwave, were evaluated in order to determine the concentration method that best retains TA and TP in blueberry juice for its further use in this process. The highest TA and TP retention was achieved by blueberry juice concentration with a rotary vacuum evaporator. On the other hand, both alcoholic fermentation and acetification negatively affected those compounds and antioxidant activity during vinegar production. However, mixing with concentrated juice to obtain blueberry balsamic vinegar allowed balancing nutrient concentration reductions due to processing. The present study showed that production of blueberry balsamic vinegar gives rise to an interesting possibility to reduce losses due to fruit waste while getting added value products with healthy qualities.


In this paper,the experimental study on performances of vortex diode pump, including the lift height,the distribution ratio of liquid flow,the liquid conveying rate and efficiency, was conducted.The lift height was 6.7m.Experimental results were as follows: (1)The liquid height in the tank had little influence on the performance of the pump.(2)The suction pressure had little influence on the distribution ratio of liquid flow and lift height except for the efficiency and liquid conveying rate.(3) The lift height,the distribution ratio of liquid flow,the liquid conveying rate and the efficiency increased with the increase of the discharge pressure.(4) The distribution ratio of liquid flow is mainly determined by the ratio of static pressure drop around T tube.


Since the beginning of 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has altered the landscape of social relationships worldwide. As of November 18, 2020, more than 55 million total cases of COVID-19 infection have been reported.1 In the absence of a vaccine or proven treatments, mandated and encouraged social distancing (and lockdowns) remain the only effective weapons against this pandemic. Accordingly, patterns of social interaction have shifted dramatically, with increases in social interaction within the household, decreases in broader social interaction beyond the household, and shifts in social isolation depending on the quantity of household members and other social distancing partners. Moreover, interactions outside the household may be hindered by reliance on digital platforms, anxiety about sharing physical space with those outside the household, and use of face masks (which can obscure facial expressions that otherwise facilitate connection and closeness2). Social relationships have also been altered by the existential threat of the pandemic, which may facilitate a shift toward valuing relationships over productivity.3 Although some relationships flourish in times of stress, others may degrade or end. The importance of considering the consequences of the current pandemic in health policy response4 and cancer diagnosis and treatment5 have been acknowledged. Similarly, we argue social shifts may be uniquely consequential for health behaviors and decisions integral to effective cancer prevention and control, for which social relationships are an important determinant.6 Indeed, several efforts will track the influence of the pandemic and distancing on cancer outcomes.7 Furthermore, the National Cancer Institute intends to support, through funding awarded later this year, an effort to survey residents surrounding several National Cancer Institute–designated cancer centers to assess the association between social distancing and cancer control– related behaviors. Even beyond studies explicitly examining the influence of distancing on cancer outcomes, however, it is important to consider this social context in all cancer research and practice. As such, if cancer researchers and clinicians do not adjust theoretic frameworks, methodologic approaches, and clinical practice to account for the influence of the pandemic, they will overlook important factors that now play a role in their research and practice. One domain in which social distancing may be effective for cancer outcomes is via its influence on cancerrelated health behavior (eg, smoking, alcohol consumption, eating, activity, sedentariness), which is often concordant within, and inf luenced by, close relationships.6 Behavior that increases cancer and recurrence risk, such as alcohol consumption, obesogenic dietary behavior, and smoking have social determinants. People may drink and consume alcohol more or less depending on the frequency of such behavior among their social distancing companions. Individuals who drink or smoke only when socializing may do so less because of bar and restaurant closures—unless their social distancing companions are heavy drinkers or smokers. Moreover, those social distancing alone may drink or smoke more because of loneliness and stress. A similar dynamic may occur with cancerand obesityrelated dietary behavior. For example, people may eat more or less healthfully depending on the eating habits of their social distancing companions. Reduced access to specific food types and grocery stores may also shift household dietary consumption, which may be exacerbated among underserved populations living in food deserts. Furthermore, responsibility for grocery shopping may shift to less at-risk members of the household, which can alter dietary patterns. As with smoking and alcohol consumption, people who live alone may eat less healthfully as a result of loneliness or stress. Health behavior that reduces cancer and recurrence risk and increases the effectiveness of cancer treatment may also be influenced by social distancing. For example, although some people may have more time to exercise, they may have less (or no) access to exercise equipment or classes, which might exacerbate the role of social relationships for exercise. People who rely on social support or companionship for exercise may exercise less if they are not in physical contact with their exercise companions, whereas those social distancing together who frequently exercise together may be even likelier to exercise as an excuse to leave the house. Social distancing may also influence cancer outcomes through its impact on the dynamics of patients' relationships with their health care professionals and informal caregivers, as building trust and rapport in both types of relationships is critical to facilitating positive cancer outcomes. Communication in in-person cancer care may be disrupted by increased mask wearing (which can lower trust and connection2); consequences of these disruptions may be more pronounced in racially discordant patient-clinician interactions, in which racial bias can already disrupt communication. In addition, patientclinician communication is shifting toward telemedicine, which could widen cancer care disparities owing to racial/ethnic inequities in access to electronic devices and software and inadequate attention to cultural tailoring within some telemedicine programs.8 Moreover, access to in-person cancer screening and treatment has declined in the pandemic to prevent transmission and ensure adequate clinical capacity for COVID-19 care.5 Reduced access to care will result in increased VIEWPOINT


Annotation. The goal of this study was to investigate the characteristic histological and morphological signs of changes in the venous wall as one of the main pathogenetic links of thrombosis in oncological pathology. Assessment of these changes is necessary to understand the process of occurrence and prevention of thromboembolic and thrombotic complications in patients with oncological diseases. Histological, submicroscopic and polarizing materials of hind limb veins of 11 mature nonlinear male rats weighing 170-180 g on day 30 of chronic neoplastic intoxication complicated by deep limb vein thrombosis were studied. It is established that experimental neoplastic intoxication in rats on histological examination was accompanied by the development of submicroscopic reorganization of endotheliocytes and their desquamation, platelet ligation as one of the causes of future thrombotic complications. Thus installed the negative effect of long-term neoplastic intoxication on the cells and all layers of the venous vascular wall as well as on the blood forming elements was studied. A close connection between the presence of the obtained changes against the background of oncological diseases and the development of such thrombotic complications as phlebothrombosis, pulmonary embolism and thrombophlebitis has been established. The development of complications shows that the prevention of thrombosis is an important component of conservative therapy of cancer patients, to prevent the development of lethal outcomes. High incidence of PE, deep vein thrombosis and thrombophlebitis in the superficial venous system emphasizes the use of preventive means of conservative treatment of cancer patients to prevent these complications, resulting in a high mortality rate. The study of morphological changes of the venous wall under the influence of chronic neoplastic intoxication in experimental conditions allows to carry out a detailed analysis of possible complications.


Although various methodological biases have been shown, the choice experiment (CE) literature has confirmed the relevance of sustainability in consumers' purchase choices. Analysing 186 case studies through the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology, this study defines the state-of-the-art and future perspectives of the CE approach, allowing us—for the first time—to evaluate in a single study all variables to be considered for setting up the CE questionnaire, with a focus on the selection of attributes and levels, maximising the reliability of the result, and minimising potential method biases. This paper defines a standardised workflow to expand and refine a sustainability perspective that can potentially drive cross-cutting CEs in every consumer good by investigating the accuracy of characteristics driving the willingness to pay (WTP) a premium price for greener consumer goods. Most of the studies analysed in this article concern food products (92%), and around half (51%) focus on sustainability-related aspects, frequently described in generic terms. The results show how defining an adequate number and type of attributes and levels characterising the target product is crucial for a bias-reduced study. These need to be concrete and familiar, and using labels is essential to enhance informed choice, with sustainability being a far-reaching concept with multifaceted definitions. Moreover, choosing a neutral target product, defining the correct sample size, selecting a balanced and representative group of respondents, and using the right analysis model can also minimise potential bias.


Multiples that are reflected more than once beneath the surface are also real reflections from subsurface interfaces. They are typically characterised by smaller reflection angles, longer travel paths and wider illumination ranges than primaries. With the increase in reflected times at the surface, the orders of multiples included in the seismic data will increase. Multiples with higher orders will cover a larger area and contain more structural information. Therefore, if these high order multiples are utilised properly, subsurface structures will be better described. Since the wavefields of different order multiples are extraordinarily complex and research regarding the separation of different order multiples is sparse, conventional techniques for the processing of multiples cannot effectively deal with different order multiples. Considering that the focal transform can flexibly perform order reduction or elevation of multiples and the surface-related multiple elimination (SRME) can effectively separate primaries and multiples, a practical and novel method based on both the focal transform and SRME is proposed to separate different order multiples in this paper. Based on the theoretical derivation, a detailed workflow of the proposed method is provided. Taking full advantages of the focal transform (weighted cross-correlation) and SRME (weighted convolution), the proposed method can effectively separate different order multiples. Numerical examples further illustrate the feasibility and validity of the promising method. Considering that the focal transform can flexibly perform order reduction or elevation of multiples and surface-related multiple elimination (SRME) can effectively separate primaries and multiples, a practical and novel method based on both the focal transform and SRME is proposed to separate different order multiples in this paper.


We consider a production process begins with in-control state and produces product with multiple quality characteristics. The quality shift leads the process to out-of-control state and the equipment failure may occur under both quality states. A cost model is established to design the multivariate exponentially weighted moving average control chart in order to monitor the information of the production process.