The strength of public-key cryptography depends on the degree of difficulty of a private key to be determined from its corresponding public key. Such a Key can be generated from computationally high radix arithmetic operations like modular exponentiation with very large integer values. To perform this modular exponentiation, different multiplication algorithms like Montgomery algorithm, Karatsuba algorithm, VLM3 algorithm are used. In this Paper, those algorithms results are analyzed and their performance towards measure of algorithm complexity, critical path delay, area, time period and frequency are compared. Keyword: High-speed and high-radix arithmetic; Modular exponentiation and multiplication; Montgomery algorithm; Karatsuba algorithm; VLM3 algorithm.


OBJECTIVE:To provide references for Chinese drug distribution reform.METHODS:The drug distribution model in USA was briefly introduced and compared with that in China.The difficulties and orientations in Chinese drug distribution reform were put forward.RESULTS CONCLUSIONS:Drug distribution reform should be carried out cautiously.Our government should deal well with the relationships between different interested parties and set up a reimbursement mechanism in medical institutions in order to facilitate the reform.


This paper examines the short-term price reactions after one-day abnormal price changes on the Ukrainian stock market. The original method of abnormal returns calculation is examined. We find significant evidence of overreactions using the daily data over the period 2008-2012. Our analysis confirms the hypothesis that after an abnormal price movement the size of contrarian price movement is usually higher then after normal (typical) daily fluctuation. Comparing Ukrainian data with the figures from US stock market it is concluded that the Ukrainian stock market is less efficient which gives rise to opportunities for extra profits obtained from trading based on contrarian strategies. Based on results of the research we also recommend some rules of trading on short-term market overreactions.


The article reviews the activities of Kutuzov in Poland and Lithuania in the final stage of the Patriotic War of 1812: organization of supplies of the Russian army by requisitioning, involvement by French administration to the local management, establishment of the Higher Transitional Council/


Microelectronic substrates like silicon, alumina and LTCC (Low Temperature Cofired Ceramics) allow for high robustness and reliability, 3D packaging (electrical connection, channels, cavities and membranes) as well as integration and application of electronic components whereas piezoceramic materials offer sensor and actuator operations. To combine the advantages of both, integrated solutions are of great interest. This paper deals with two approaches of monolithic integration, (i) screen printing of piezoceramic thick films on microelectronic substrates and subsequent post firing and (ii) integration of pre-fired piezoceramic components into green LTCC multilayer packages and subsequent sintering. Functionality of smart microsystems not only depends on the outer design and construction but to a great part on interaction of substrate and piezoceramic material properties. A thorough choice of materials as well as the understanding and prevention of chemical reactions are necessary to build effective systems.


This study analyzed tactics and strategies in public relations campaigns targeting Hispanic-Americans in the United States for its effectiveness in order to identify the best practices to guarantee a successful campaign. This study included a case study examining three public relations campaigns targeting Hispanic-Americans. The case studies uncovered common themes and trends throughout the three campaigns, as well as analyzed the tactics and strategies that were implemented. This then resulted in the recommendations of the best practices for effectively targeting Hispanic-Americans throughout public relations campaigns which were, conduct extensive research, determine the theme, determine the language, and be culturally relevant.


PURPOSE: A frequency mold wave power generator is provided to vary the width of an air chamber so as to efficiently cope with variations in wave, wave height and wave period. CONSTITUTION: A frequency mold wave power generator includes an air chamber(20). The lower surface of the air chamber is closed with a fluid having wave. Power is generated using the airflow energy within the air chamber according to the wave. The size of the air chamber is varied to change the inside volume of the air chamber.


Reliable data and robust conceptual framework are two necessary preconditions for anti-poverty measures need to be effective and achieve their goals - bringing people out of poverty. Both preconditions are far from met in the case of Roma - one of the biggest minorities in Europe. Data on the absolute number and distribution of Roma population in the EU is patchy, incomparable - or does not exist at all. Thus addressing the data challenge is a necessary precondition for populating indicators that reflect the true face of Roma poverty - are ultimately, for the efforts to take Roma out of poverty to succeed. In its first part, the paper provides an overview of the available approaches and the possible sources of information that can generate the data necessary for monitoring different aspects of Roma inclusion process. The authors point out that different sources have their strengths and weaknesses and using them in complementary manner is desirable. How to use the data (what indicators to apply) is equally important. In its second part the paper proposes a multidimensional poverty index that is better reflecting the specifics of Roma poverty and exclusion than traditional poverty or vulnerability indicators. However two critically important dimensions remains insufficiently covered - namely "agency" and "aspirations". The authors call for reflecting these dimensions through the thematic components in the standardised European social surveys.


Experimental work has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of applying suction at the wind tunnel working section walls, around a 2-D high-lift wing model. The system was designed to control the three-dimensional effects caused by the interference between wind tunnel wall boundary layer and the low pressure region generated at 2-D wing models by the application of suction. This system consists of a perforated plate near the wing model, at the turn-tables, that communicates with a plenum chamber controlled by a suction system. Measurements of the pressure distribution at three different chord positions and two different span positions were performed with and without suction along with central wake mapping, flow visualization and acoustic measurements with a microphone array. Results show that this technique minimizes the three-dimensionality of the flow in 2-D testing, and the results are sensitive to the suction area only at the low-pressure surface of the wing. The technique was applied to a larger experimental set-up with different three-element high-lift wings, and the results showed that 2-D flow can be enhanced by controlling the correct suction area and mass flow. Also, control of the 2-D flow with minimum suction self-noise can contribute to aeroacoustics measurements.


We show that three open questions in particle physics and cosmology: the origin of neutrino mass, the identity of dark matter, and the origin of the baryon asymmetry of the universe can be explained simultaneously in the three-loop seesaw model proposed by Krauss, Nasri, and Trodden. We discuss the difficulty of successful leptogenesis with three right-handed neutrinos, and we propose a scenario with four right-handed neutrinos that satisfies all observational constraints. This scenario predicts a sleptonlike particle as light as a few hundreds GeV that can be probed by future collider experiments.


With the improvement of people's living standards, the demand for books and the efficiency and accuracy of accessing books are also increasing. Because the information displayed to readers on the library management system is the position of the book when it is neatly arranged, sometimes the position of the book is inconsistent with the actual position of the book, which increases the difficulty for readers to find the target book. The traditional bookcase has a simple structure, and it takes a certain amount of time to search for books on weekdays. In view of the time-consuming situation of borrowing books, and in order to make it convenient for borrowers to find books, it is extremely important to develop a new type of networkable smart bookcase for libraries.


In the last three decades, since the democratization of the country and the rise of environmental concerns, Brazil has created a regulatory framework capable of dealing with the environmental impact of its core developmental policies. An environmental governance package has been constructed, with the environmental licensing process as its major instrument. However, this process is based on an urban planning perspective with little assessment of specific local ecological conditions and social organizations. Indeed, the process of globalization has resulted in an intensive exploitation of natural resources, which increases the use of marginal economic areas and the expansion of the economic frontiers into territories occupied by family agriculture, traditional peoples and ethnic minorities. Hence, we see the creation of conflict zones involving locals, state sectors and entrepreneurial groups. Increasingly, within this context, anthropologists have been required to act as experts and mediators by different groups, including state institutions, private companies, and social movements. Based on ethnographic research about the environmental licensing processes of hydroelectric dams in Brazil, this paper focuses on the limits of anthropological knowledge, the contexts of its production and the role of anthropologists in political processes involving unequal networks of power.


The utility of picosecond fluorescence dynamics as an experimental indicator of exciton motion in conjugated polymers is assessed by examining the fluorescence dynamics of phenylene vinylene polymers and oligomers as a function of temperature and chemical derivatization. Both polycrystalline poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) and an oligomeric analogue in polystyrene exhibit similar picosecond fluorescence Stokes shifts at all temperatures, indicating that this shift is due mostly to intramolecular relaxation. In PPV, the decay time of the integrated fluorescence decreases from 800 ps at 16 K (close to the oligomer lifetime of 930 ps) to 200 ps at 290 K and is accompanied by an increase in the anisotropy decay. A simple model for the dependence of the fluorescence decay on the exciton diffusion yields an activation energy of 170 cm-1 for exciton motion in PPV. In contrast to the unsubstituted PPV, poly[(2-methoxy-5-hexyloxy-p-phenylene)vinylene] (MH−PPV) forms an amorphous solid whose fluorescence Stokes sh...


[Background] Unresectable biliary tract carcinoma is known to demonstrate a poor prognosis. We conducted a single arm phase II study of LFP Therapy (5-FU (5-fluorourasil) continuous infusion (CVI) and Low-Dose Consecutive (Cisplatin) CDDP) for advanced biliary tract malignancies basically on an outpatient basis. [Methods] Between February 1996 and September 2003, 42 patients were enrolled in this trial. LFP Therapy: By using a total implanted CV-catheter system, 5-FU (160mg/m 2 /day) was continuously infused over 24 hours for 7 consecutive days and CDDP (6mg/m 2 /day) was infused for 30 minutes twice a week as one cycle. The administration schedule consisted of 4 cycles as one course. RESIST criteria (Response evaluation criteria for solid tumors) and NCI-CTC (National Cancer Institute-Common Toxicity


This PAPER puts forward the one-direction singular set,two-direction singular set;a model based on the S-rough sets information system is also given.And it discusses some features of the attribute transfer.From Skowron's discernbility matrix point of view,discernable matrix of S-rough is proposed.Then,an attributes reduction algorithm based on the S-rough set theory for information system is rendered.Finally,the algorithm in the application of medicine is given.It has proven this algorithm validity.


Social enterprises are focused on creating public value. Public value can be described as 'what adds value to the public' and 'what is valued by the public'. This interpretation leaves social enterprises with a problem. Due to the fact that these organizations are confronted with a complex multi-stakeholder environment, it is important to assess for which stakeholders the organizations should create public value, and what public value exactly means to the different stakeholders. This assessment is important because stakeholders determine whether a public organization is operating legitimate. When an organization is not operating in a legitimate way, stakeholders may withdraw their support, therewith threatening the autonomy or continuity of the organization. In our research we elaborate on the aspects of legitimacy, public value and the interaction with stakeholders in order to fill in the relationship between public value, legitimacy and support. We have found that stakeholder interaction at least consists of the choice of stakeholder groups, the assessment of their expectations and stakes, the way the organization should interact and the moments the organization should interact. We state that expectations and stakes towards public value are similar with aspects of reputation, due to the fact that it is hard to judge the choices, products and services and values and norms of social enterprises. In our view, it is certainly possible to set up stakeholder interaction in an effective way. We think that the next challenge should be about the topics discussed with various stakeholders.


Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is an important cash crop in Nigeria. In spite of the economic importance of plant-parasitic nematodes reported on ginger, little or no information is available as regards plant-parasitic nematodes diversity and abundance on ginger in Nigeria. This work was conducted in 2018 to identify plant-parasitic nematodes associated with ginger in Kaduna state and to determine their population densities. Three Local Government Areas (LGA) were visited and between 12 to 16 ginger farms were sampled per LGA. A total of 42 soil samples was collected at a depth of 0 - 30 cm of the plant rhizosphere. Plant-parasitic nematodes were extracted from the soil using modified sieving and decanting method. Identification to genera level was done using identification keys viewing with dissecting microscope at X40 magnification. Nineteen (19) genera of plant-parasitic nematodes were identified, with 12 genera occurring in all LGA(s). Scutellonema (113.33), Meloidogyne (110), and Pratylenchus (93.33) were the most abundant per 100 ml of soil when locations are combined. Plant-parasitic nematodes population average was 870-950 per 100 ml of soil. All locations showed a high percentage similarity of plant-parasitic nematodes diversity and were statistically similar. This high diversity and population abundance can be among the reasons for the low productivity of ginger in Nigeria. It is therefore important to educate farmers on the economic importance of plant-parasitic nematodes on ginger and its management. Further research using the most occurring genera to establish the threshold population densities capable of causing economic yield loss needs to be conducted


Houston- Significant changes in excimer laser refractive surgery
may be ready to move these procedures toward the goal of producing prolate
corneas and to yield improved outcomes for custom ablations, said Jack T.
Holladay, MD, clinical professor, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.


Biase Continanza, Milan, all of (IT) Cohen, T. et al., "Copper-Induced Coupling Of Coupling Of (73) Assignee: Zambon Group S.p.A., Vincenza (IT) Vinyl Halides",Journal of American Chemical Society, vol. 94, No. 12, 1972, pp. 4363-4364. (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this &&. patent is extended or adjusted under 35 Anthony N. De Silva et al., "Grignard Addition Reactions to U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days. 1,4-Difunctionalized But-2-ynes'Australian Journal of Chemistry, vol. 46, 1996, pp. 1657-1671. (21) Appl. No.: 09/555,509


We describe progress towards a workforce management system in which personnel scheduling is integrated with other important processes such as payroll processing, attendance and absence recording, staffing forecast and planning, etc. Our focus is on customeroriented sectors in which a considerable proportion of the available workforce is part-time. First, we discuss the importance of having an integrated workforce management strategy and then, we address the particular aspects of shift pattern design and staff allocation using a fast-food restaurant and a leisure centre as examples.


Increasing evidence suggests that sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is involved in the pathogenesis of allergic bronchial asthma. In the present study, the changes in the expression levels of enzymes associated with S1P turnover were determined in a mouse model of allergic bronchial asthma. Male BALB/c mice were actively sensitized with ovalbumin antigen, and were repeatedly challenged with aerosolized antigen. Twenty-four hours after the last antigen, total RNAs were extracted from lungs. The RT-PCR analyses revealed that mRNAs for the S1P-producing enzymes, sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) and SphK2, and for the S1P-breakdown enzymes, S1P phosphatase 1 (S1PP1), S1PP2, S1P lyase, and lipid phosphate phosphatase 1a, were expressed in the lungs of mice. Among them, the mRNA levels of SphK2 and S1PP1 were significantly increased in the lungs of the repeatedly antigen-challenged mice. It is thus possible that the S1P turnover is increased in the airways of allergic bronchial asthma.


Aspirin as a chemopreventative agent—We are now recommending aspirin, if appropriate, to all those who carry a Lynch Syndrome mismatch repair gene mutation. This follows the Lancet 2011 publication (Vol. 378:2081-87) of the first randomised trial of aspirin as a chemoprevention agent with cancer as the primary end point (CAPP2 study). The long-term data showed no significant difference in time to first colorectal cancer in the intention to treat analysis. However, the per-protocol analysis revealed a significant difference with a hazard ratio of 0.41 (p=0.02) providing clear evidence of the effectiveness of aspirin as a chemo-preventative agent in this group via a delayed effect on CRC. We have opted to recommend low dose Aspirin (100300mg) rather than the high dose aspirin used in the trial because of the potential side effects. The CAPP 3 trial which will help to answer this question is due to start shortly.


Diversification is considered a way to lower investment risk by using a variety of investment avenues. The objective of this study is to compare the portfolio performance based on mean-variance optimisation with a naively diversified portfolio for textile spinning stocks in the Pakistan country. The data period of study spans from January 2015 to April 2022. The result shows that portfolios based on naïve diversification strategies outperformed the mean-variance portfolio optimisation in terms of risk and return for the textile sector in Pakistan. Of all the 9 variance-covariance estimators, the portfolio of sample and single index covariance technique is optimal for estimating variance-covariance matrices based on low RMSE (root mean square error) in Pakistan. This study extends the debate on mean-variance portfolio theory and naïve diversification strategy from the developed economy to the emerging equity market of Pakistan. This research contributes by providing the framework to the potential investors regarding their investments in the textile sector in Pakistan.


Objectives: With the accumulation of big data surrounding National Hockey League (NHL) and the advent of advanced computational processors, machine learning (ML) is ideally suited to develop a predictive algorithm capable of imbibing historical data to accurately project a future player's availability to play based on prior injury and performance. To the end of leveraging available analytics to permit data-driven injury prevention strategies and informed decisions for NHL franchises beyond static logistic regression (LR) analysis, the objective of this study of NHL players was to (1) characterize the epidemiology of publicly reported NHL injuries from 2007-17, (2) determine the validity of a machine learning model in predicting next season injury risk for both goalies and non-goalies, and (3) compare the performance of modern ML algorithms versus LR analyses. Methods: Hockey player data was compiled for the years 2007 to 2017 from two publicly reported databases in the absence of an official NHL-approved database. Attributes acquired from each NHL player from each professional year included: age, 85 player metrics, and injury history. A total of 5 ML algorithms were created for both non-goalie and goalie data; Random Forest, K-Nearest Neighbors, Naive Bayes, XGBoost, and Top 3 Ensemble. Logistic regression was also performed for both non-goalie and goalie data. Area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) primarily determined validation. Results: Player data was generated from 2,109 non-goalies and 213 goalies with an average follow-up of 4.5 years. The results are shown below in Table 1.For models predicting following season injury risk for non-goalies, XGBoost performed the best with an AUC of 0.948, compared to an AUC of 0.937 for logistic regression. For models predicting following season injury risk for goalies, XGBoost had the highest AUC with 0.956, compared to an AUC of 0.947 for LR. Conclusion: Advanced ML models such as XGBoost outperformed LR and demonstrated good to excellent capability of predicting whether a publicly reportable injury is likely to occur the next season. As more player-specific data become available, algorithm refinement may be possible to strengthen predictive insights and allow ML to offer quantitative risk management for franchises, present opportunity for targeted preventative intervention by medical personnel, and replace regression analysis as the new gold standard for predictive modeling. Figure 1.


The invention relates to a connection interface structure of a factory building and a large dam and a construction technology thereof. The purpose of the invention is that the connection interface structure of the factory building and the large dam can ensure that independent stressed units can generate relative displacement; meanwhile, the connection range of the factory building and the large dam and processing measure of a seam surface can effectively improve overall stability and ground foundation stress of the factory building and the large dam and guarantee that stress of the factory building structure meets the requirements. The technical solutions solve the problems as follows: connection interface structure of the factory building and the large dam has a large dam with large volume entity concrete structure and a factory building with featuring multi-hole space and slab and girder structure, a pressure steel pipe for drawing water is connected between the upper side of the factory building and the large dam and an upstream backwater gate and between a machine set of the factory building and the upstream backwater gate, the pressure steel pipe has the characteristics that the connection interface structure of the factory building and the large dam is divided into a treatment region, a steel dowel region, a No. 1 grout compartment and a No. 2 grout compartment, a grout stop plate is embedded around the grout compartment. In the invention, the structure and the construction technology are applicable to hydroelectric dam back type factory buildings adopting the structure connecting the factory building with the large dam.


This research is a field research to highlight service of the Surabaya Syariah Namira Hotel in the perspective of sharia hotel principles and Regulation of the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia Number 2 of 2014. To elaborate on that theme, there are two core issues that will be answered, namely: how is the management of the Surabaya Syariah Namira Hotel? And how is the management of the Surabaya Syariah Namira Hotel in the perspective of Sharia principles and the Regulation of the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia Number 2 of 2014? The data obtained through observation, interview and documentation. The results showed that the service and management of the Surabaya Syariah Namira Hotel is carried out in accordance with the internal hotel regulations and completed with facilities as required in sharia hotel. While based on sharia principles and the Regulation of the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia Number 2 of 2014, the Surabaya Syariah Namira Hotel is adequate to be classified as sharia hotel and as the Hilāl-1 category.


By using the method of response surface analysis the effects of plasma processing time,processing power,the pressure of oxygen on the surface wettability of carbonized bamboo were investigated,with comprehensively reduced rate of surface contact angle in the surface of carbonized bamboo of PF glue as evalution index. In addition,reconstituted bamboo lumber was produced by using the best plasma treatment process. The results showed that the best technology of plasma treatment was as follows: time was 82 s, power was 143 W,oxygen pressure was 39 Pa. The comprehensively reduced rate of surface contact angle was 1.29 under the best treatment process,the MOE and MOR of reconstituted bamboo lumber were increased by 26. 59% and 30. 05% respectively. Through electronic scanning electron microscopy( SEM) analysis,the surface wettability of carbonized bamboo surface was increased due to carbonized bamboo surface etching,and surface was rougher after oxygen plasma treatment.


Since the 1990s, the corporate governance became a policy issue people continued to focus on in developed countries. After the Asian financial crisis, corporate governance reform becomes a hot topic in Asian countries and regions, especially, scholars study this topic just in recent years in China. China' equity holdings of listed companies are different with other market. Majority stocks are concentrated in the hands of the company's internal management control, which has limited the development of the China listed companies in corporate governance. And this may bring interest conflicts among shareholders and managers. This study is aimed to check whether China's corporate governance especially remuneration committee has effects on dividend policy (Dividend per share and Dividend yield) through some empirical works with the quantitative research methodology. This research use regression model and ANOVA analysis to check the validity and reliability of independent variables(the existence of remuneration committee, number of independent directors in RC, RC size, BOD size, independent ratio of RC, CEO membership, industry, market value, total assets, total revenue and leverage).


The interconnect half‐pitch size will reach ≈20 nm in the coming sub‐5 nm technology node. Meanwhile, the TaN/Ta (barrier/liner) bilayer stack has to be >4 nm to ensure acceptable liner and diffusion barrier properties. Since TaN/Ta occupy a significant portion of the interconnect cross‐section and they are much more resistive than Cu, the effective conductance of an ultrascaled interconnect will be compromised by the thick bilayer. Therefore, 2D layered materials have been explored as diffusion barrier alternatives. However, many of the proposed 2D barriers are prepared at too high temperatures to be compatible with the back‐end‐of‐line (BEOL) technology. In addition, as important as the diffusion barrier properties, the liner properties of 2D materials must be evaluated, which has not yet been pursued. Here, a 2D layered tantalum sulfide (TaSx ) with ≈1.5 nm thickness is developed to replace the conventional TaN/Ta bilayer. The TaSx ultrathin film is industry‐friendly, BEOL‐compatible, and can be directly prepared on dielectrics. The results show superior barrier/liner properties of TaSx compared to the TaN/Ta bilayer. This single‐stack material, serving as both a liner and a barrier, will enable continued scaling of interconnects beyond 5 nm node.


We present Very Large Telescope spectroscopic observations of the GRB 990705 host galaxy and highlight the benefits provided by the prompt phase features of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) to derive the redshifts of the latter. In the host spectrum, we indeed detect an emission feature that we attribute to the [O II] λλ3726, 3729 doublet and derive an unambiguous redshift z = 0.8424 ± 0.0002 for this galaxy. This is in full agreement with the value z ~ 0.86 ± 0.17 previously derived using a transient absorption edge discovered in the X-ray spectrum of GRB 990705. This burst is therefore the first GRB for which a reliable redshift was derived from the prompt phase emission itself, as opposed to redshift determinations performed using putative host galaxy emission lines or interstellar absorption lines in the GRB afterglows. Deep and high-resolution images of the host of GRB 990705 with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the burst occurred in a nearly face-on Sc spiral galaxy typical of disk-dominated systems at 0.75 ≤ z ≤ 1. Assuming a cosmology with H0 = 65 km s-1 Mpc-1, Ωm = 0.3, and Ωλ = 0.7, we derive an absolute B magnitude MB = -21.75 for this galaxy and a star formation rate SFR ≈ 5-8 M☉ yr-1. Finally, we discuss the implications of using X-ray transient features to derive GRB redshifts with larger burst samples and especially examine the case of short and dark long GRBs.


An assured water-supply is essential to the survival and functioning of any urban community. Aristotle was, therefore, stating the obvious when he emphasized that a secure water-source was necessary when selecting a site for a new city, for this factor had long since been appreciated by the Greek colonists of Thurii and Cyrene, for example. An assured water-supply, however, may merely depend on the proximity of rivers and springs, and on the digging of wells and the provision of cisterns, as was the case at Rome until the construction of the Aqua Appia of 312 B.C. It was probably the physical growth of cities which led to the establishment of more organized, civic water-supplies. By the classical period the presence of public fountains was taken so much for granted that Pausanias regarded them as one of the requirements without which a settlement could hardly be recognized as a polis–and only the inhabitants of poleis were civilized.


In this paper, we introduce a second-order masking of the AES using the minimal number of shares and a total of 1268 bits of randomness including the sharing of the plaintext and key. The masking of the S-box is based on the tower field decomposition of the inversion over bytes where the changing of the guards technique is used in order to re-mask the middle branch of the decomposition. The sharing of the S-box is carefully crafted such that it achieves first-order probing security without the use of randomness and such that the sharing of its output is uniform. Multi-round security is achieved by re-masking the state where we use a theoretical analysis based on the propagation of probed information to reduce the demand for fresh randomness per round. The result is a second-order masked AES which competes with the state-of-the-art in terms of latency and area, but reduces the randomness complexity over eight times over the previous known works. In addition to the corresponding theoretical analysis and proofs for the security of our masked design, it has been implemented on FPGA and evaluated via lab analysis.


While often marginalized in Atlantic world studies of slavery and freedom, Pennsylvania's civil rights past has attracted a new round of scholarly scrutiny. Whether examining the rise of Atlantic abolitionism or documenting the longstanding struggles of African Americans to achieve freedom, justice and equality, historians have over the past fifteen years reimagined Pennsylvania as a most ramifying place. Indeed, building on the work of Gary Nash, Emma Jones Lapsansky, Jean Soderlund and others, scholars have reintegrated Pennsylvania into the Atlantic world. What happened in the colony and the state was potent—anything but hidebound in the world of slavery and freedom. This essay highlights some of the main historical trends.


This research was conducted to Students 9th grade at SMP Swasta Kenanga Medan. There are two aims of this research. They are :(1) to know Students' strategies of 9th grade at SMP Swasta Kenanga in translating phrase;  (2) to make it easier for 9th grade at SMP Swasta Kenanga to understand translating phrase. The  findings  of  this  research  showed  that  there  are  two  strategies that students used in translating phrase. They are free translation and word by word. The writer used qualitative as the method for conducting this research. The data are obtained from the Questionnaire.
Key Words:  Strategy, Translation, and Phrase


I investigate the economic importance of correlation in mutual fund flows for funds with overlapping portfolio positions. I illustrate theoretically that systematically correlated trading patterns between funds have a negative impact on asset prices and should influence portfolio choice. Theoretically, I show that the expected return from an asset is conditional on the contemporaneous trading pattern of the asset holder, once trading needs are not i.i.d. Finally, I derive a theoretical upper bound of optimal flow correlation and make the conjecture that an optimal equilibrium portfolio outcome exists for any combination of pairwise fund flow correlations. Empirically, I construct a measure of portfolio adjusted flow correlation and find that co-movement in flows can significantly deteriorate fund performance in the long-run, by about 1.4% annually, measured adjusted for style between peer funds with high and low correlation. Finally, I find that around one third of US mutual funds holds non-optimal portfolios as far as dynamic liquidity from correlated trading patterns is concerned.


In February 2012, the College of Engineering allocated an unprecedented level of funding to solicit proposals for the Strategic Instructional Initiatives Program (SIIP) – a new program targeting the improvement of undergraduate engineering education. Faculty proposed large-scale renovations of a specific undergraduate course or closely-related group of courses, with the goal of improving student engagement, learning outcomes, and faculty teaching experiences. While our faculty possess requisite expertise in their course content, they are less aware of effective teaching practices. This weakness was particularly detrimental to our large enrollment gateway courses, undermining student persistence and subsequent academic success. Consequently, in addition to providing funding, the SIIP initiative attempted to provide on the fly faculty and community development. In this paper, we will discuss our observations and reflections on successful and halted reforms and will describe modifications to our approach to administrating and leading this pedagogical change effort.


Governments around the world are increasingly concerned about the rise in diet-related chronic disease and there has been increased interest in policy interventions targeted at changing eating habits. In this paper, we discuss the ways in which food markets might fail to deliver the optimal outcome and how this may justify government intervention. We consider how well different types of policies – information campaigns, taxes and regulations – are able to counteract these market failures and we consider some of the implementation issues associated with targeting different consumers and anticipating firms' strategic responses.


Some incorrectness and mistakes in the popular books on MATLAB are pointed out. A correct understanding of matrix power X^p and X^(n/m) is given. Finally, (X^n)^(1/m) and (X^(1/m))^n are compared.


Form the wave differential equation in circular cylindrical coordinates, the field distribution of cylindrical wave fields is deduced. The expression of complex amplitude is given in reference plane vertical to the optical axis by far-field approximation when the line source and the principal axis are at any angle.


Governments around the world believe that tourism will increase if locations within their nations are featured in films. Money and other inducements are often offered to moviemakers to encourage them to shoot within a particular constituency. This article finds a positive and statistically significant relationship between successful films and tourism.


This article reports on the investigation and optimization of cryogenic noise mechanisms in InGaAs metamorphic high-electron-mobility transistors (mHEMTs). HEMT technologies with a gate length of 100, 50, and 35 nm are characterized both under room temperature and cryogenic conditions. Furthermore, two additional technology variations with 50-nm gate length are investigated to decompose different noise mechanisms in HEMTs. Therefore, cryogenic extended <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Ku$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-band low-noise amplifiers of the investigated technologies are presented to benchmark their noise performance. Technology C with a 50-nm gate length exhibits an average effective noise temperature of 4.2 K between 8 and 18 GHz with a minimum of 3.3 K when the amplifier is cooled to 10 K. The amplifier provides an average gain of 39.4 dB at optimal noise bias. The improved noise performance has been achieved by optimization of the epitaxial structure of the 50-nm technology, which leads to low gate leakage currents and high gain at low drain current bias. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time that an average noise temperature of 4.2 K has been demonstrated in the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Ku$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-band.


As road traffic including trucks increases, the need for a larger size noise barrier is increasing. Especially in the metropolitan districts an eight-meter height noise barrier has been widely used. However, such a barrier may sometimes have negative impacts, such as impedance of sunlight and the need for structural reinforcement when used on bridge structures. This also may result in increases in barrier building costs. It was known that the multiple-edge type noise barrier with absorbing lining drastically reduces diffracted sound. This paper shows the efficiency of the multiple-edge noise barrier, as well as the noise-prediction method needed in the design stage. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E204151.


We present the design and implementation of a fully automatic polyhedral source-to-source transformation framework that can optimize regular programs (sequences of possibly imperfectly nested loops) for parallelism and locality simultaneously. Through this work, we show the practicality of analytical model-driven automatic transformation in the polyhedral model ‐ far beyond what is possible by current production compilers. Unlike previous works, our approach is an end-to-end fully automatic one driven by an integer linear optimization framework that takes an explicit view of finding good ways of tiling for parallelism and locality using affine transformations. We also address generation of tiled code for multiple statement domains of arbitrary dimensionalities under (statement-wise) affine transformations ‐ an issue that has not been addressed previously. Experimental results from the implemented system show very high speedups for local and parallel execution on multi-cores over state-of-the-art compiler frameworks from the research community as well as the best native compilers. The system also enables the easy use of powerful empirical/iterative optimization for general arbitrarily nested loop sequences. 1. Introduction and Motivation


ABSTRACT Early marriage is a holly/sacred relationship between a man and a woman who had age under 19 years or were currently enrolled in high school and the relationship have been legally recognized in law and religion. The purpose of research was to know the influence of internal and external factors on early marriage among teens at Seumadam Village, Kejuruan Muda Subdistrict, Aceh Tamiang District. This was observational research with a cros-sectional approach. Population were all teens of 15-19 years as many as 556 people. Samples of the research were married teens aged 15-19 years, or who have a boyfriend or were engaged as many as 95 people. Data were obtained through interview using a questionnaire and analyze with the step of univariate, bivariate using chi square test and multivariate using multiple logistic regression test. The result showed that respondents marriaged at age 15-19 year were 26,3%. There was an influence of knowledge, emotional maturity, culture, exposure to mass media and free sex on early marriage among teens. The variable that most influenced on early marriage among teens was culture with the coefficient of B = 3.404. It is suggested to the Seumadam Village to cooperate with the local government such as institution of religion affair office, education and health to reactivate PIK-KRR (information center of counseling adolescence reproductive health) as a forum to get information about complication a pregnancy problem. Keyword : Early Marriage, Teens


Abstract The reliability analysis for the system with degradation and random shocks is an important issue in the field of reliability engineering. In this paper, we use Wiener process to fit the performance degradation process, and regard both the degradation rate and the mean of the magnitude of shock load as random variables which follow the truncated normal distribution. With the Markov Chain Monte Carlo(MCMC), we provide a new method to estimate the parameters of the reliability function of the system. At the end of the paper, we take the degradation and shock data of the MOSFET as an example to show the effectiveness of the method presented in the paper.


The title compound, C 16 H 12 Cl 2 N 2 , crystallizes in the centrosymmetric space group P2 1 /c. Two independent but chemically identical molecules comprise the asymmetric unit and in each of these the pyrazole ring is planar.


The quantity 'dose equivalent ceiling', defined as the sum of the peak dose equivalents generated by all the components of the field if each were incident normally to the front face of an anthropomorphic phantom, is suggested. Its relationship to personal dosimetry and primary standard quantities is discussed.


This monograph provides a neuroscience–based systemological, epistemological, and methodological rational for the design of an advanced and novel parametric statistical analytics designed for the biological sciences referred to as "Biotrichotomy". The aim of this new arena of statistics is to provide dual metrics designed to analyze the Pre and the Post Hoc outcomes of biological phenomena. The data analysis methodology of "Biotrichotomy" as "Biotrichotometrics" uses the unique instrumentation of the qualitative to quantitative "Tri–Squared Test"and its associated Post Hoc statistic "Tri–Center Analysis" as in–depth data analytic psychometrics. Using these two tools together the researcher has a seamless longitudinal research methodology. Access through these procedures also allows the use of the traditional parametric statistical measures of central tendency within the trichotomous research design framework. In terms of post hoc metrics, Tri–Center Analysis involves the computation of normal distribution parametric measures to examine the values of an independent statistically significant Tri–Squared Test. Both systems of statistical analysis were initially introduced in the i-manager's Journal on Mathematics and i-manager's Journal of Educational Technology respectively, and the result of this paper illustrates their utility, usability, and viability.


This paper presents the MOBICUS project experiment protocols with some first results. Twelve partners from companies and research labs have joined forces to conduct a large study on lithium-ion batteries (LIB) aging under real automotive conditions. Experiments include not only calendar or cycling aging tests, which a part of them was built using a D-optimal design, but also mixed sequences with calendar and cycling experiments. The collected data will enable to build rigorous aging laws taking into account combined calendar and cycling phases. Two different technologies of LIB are tested.


This is the last and only recorded performance of the April Rabbit, a one-night evening of entertainment which boasted the talent (literary and musical) of emerging artists on the West coast of Newfoundland. Originally started in 1998 by Al Pittman and Stephanie McKenzie, the April Rabbit (which took its inspiration from The March Hare, Atlantic Canada's largest literary festival) was run by McKenzie, Douglas Walbourne-Gough and Rebekah Robbins (as well as other volunteers) for a significant number of years. This last production of the April Rabbit includes its first international guest/performer, Jamaican poet Tanya Shirley. Produced by Douglas Walbourne-Gough, Stephanie McKenzie and Helen Reid, Corner Brook, Newfoundland.


This paper investigates the relationship between development, environmental policy determination, and mass media. It stresses the role of mass media as a channel through which the level of development influence environmental policy making. Special interests appear to wield considerable influence over environmental policies, and create policy distortion. We develop a model with two political parties competing in election and policy influence by special interests to study environmental policy determination. Mass media acts as information provider to voters in the election. It informs voters regarding environmental policy platforms announced by the political parties. The theory suggests that, as development progresses, environmental awareness rises and so does the demand for environmental news. This induces profit maximizing media form to report more environmental news, and in turn keeps voters better informed regarding the policy platforms of the parties. We find that, in equilibrium, a more stringent environmental policy is implemented when the voters are better informed through mass media. The model also demonstrates the way in which process of development brings about the stringency of environmental policy at a level closer to the social optimum when special interests present. Empirical evidence across countries supports our fndings.


The concept of hybridity is increasingly employed as an analytical tool to explore the varieties and outcomes of externally led interventions, and in some cases is portrayed as a desirable political project that could stimulate alternative and counter hegemonic programming. This article critically explores this trend in peace and development studies by examining some of the tenets and critiques of the concept of hybridity with the aim of furthering its development as a useful conceptual tool. It also explores the underlying normative implications and rhetoric that underpin some of the work on hybridity in these fields. In doing so, it offers a set of queries that could be used to explore practices, impacts and potential alternatives in peace and development programming.


For decades, Texas Department of Transportation districts have constructed auxiliary lanes to support interchange ramp operations and to resolve congestion proximate to freeway entrance and exit ramps. While auxiliary lanes are built throughout Texas, the existing roadway design manuals/guidelines do not present all of the necessary design tools and details for design engineers. The objective of this research project was to develop implementation-oriented guidelines on the use of auxiliary lanes. To fulfill this goal, the researchers (1) reviewed and synthesized national and peer states' practices, (2) conducted a survey of traffic engineers, (3) analyzed operational benefits from adding auxiliary lanes at the segment level, (4) used micro-simulation to identify scope of impacts of auxiliary lanes at the corridor level, (5) analyzed safety impacts of adding auxiliary lanes, and (6) developed guidelines and recommended best practices. The outcomes of this study provide important recommendations and numerical tools (e.g., the look-up tables) in implementing and designing freeway auxiliary lanes for new construction or rehabilitation projects. The developed methodologies and outcomes will complement the provisions in current state roadway design manuals/guidelines.


Integrators are included in the feedback loop of a control system to eliminate the steady state errors in the commanded variables. The integrator windup problem arises if the control actuators encounter operational limits before the steady state errors are driven to zero by the integrator. The typical effects of windup are large system oscillations, high steady state error, and a delayed system response following the windup. In this study, methods to prevent the integrator windup are examined to provide Integrator Windup Protection (IW) for an engine controller of a Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft. An unified performance index is defined to optimize the performance of the Conventional Anti-Windup (CAW) and the Modified Anti-Windup (MAW) methods. A modified Genetic Algorithm search procedure with stochastic parameter encoding is implemented to obtain the optimal parameters of the CAW scheme. The advantages and drawbacks of the CAW and MAW techniques are discussed and recommendations are made for the choice of the IWP scheme, given some characteristics of the system.


In this study, using mixtures of pure Al, Si, Mn, and Fe powders, the α-Al9FeMnSi intermetallic compound was formed onto AISI 304L stainless steel samples by reactive sintering. The processing parameters were temperature (800, 850, and 900 °C) and applied pressure (15 and 20 MPa), using a constant holding time of 7200 s. In this paper, the influence of pressure and temperature on the microstructure, microhardness, and wear resistance of the formed layers was studied. Using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), microhardness testing, and wearing measurements (pin on disc tests), the cross-section and top side of the coatings were observed and analyzed. We were able to determine the phase composition of cladded layers and interfaces as well as their morphology. The results indicated that several layers were formed during reactive sintering, i.e., an Al-diffusion layer on the top of the substrate, an interface, and the α-Al9FeMnSi coating itself. The microhardness values of the different layers formed were determined, ranging from 400 to 500 HV for the intermetallic coating, to 120 HV for the substrate. In this way, it was found that the formed intermetallic coating is suitable to increase the corrosion resistance of stainless steel. Additionally, all the coating showed high adherence to the substrate, exhibiting high microhardness and wear resistance. Pin on disc wearing tests showed the wearing mechanisms are predominantly delamination and ablation of the cladded layers and substrate.


Abstract: In this research, mesoprous compound MCM-41was synthesized by using CTAB as template and TEOS as silica source. In order to increase the adsorption capacity, the surface of the synthesized adsorbent was modified by 3-aminipropyletrimethoxysilane.The structure of the adsorbent was studied by XRD, IR, BET and TG-DTG techniques. For removal of cerium ion from aqueous solutions, NH2-MCM-41 adsorbent was employed. The effect of experimental conditions including pH, initial cation concentration, contact time and temperature were investigated. Maximal adsorption capacity was obtained at ph = 6.


Significance The miniaturization of autonomous systems down to the colloidal scale requires transferring functions, such as sensing or reconfiguration, to the constituent materials. Currently, limitations in fabrication and control strategies remain prevalent. Here, we combine directed particle assembly via capillary forces with multiple thermoresponsive microscale hydrogels to realize colloidal clusters that can self-propel under AC electric fields and that explore multiple dynamical states via well-defined temperature-induced transitions controlled by light. These simple, multistate active units constitute a promising step toward advancing our capabilities to fabricate small-scale adaptive agents, inspired by larger-scale soft robotic systems, in a conceivably not-too-distant future.


The emergency triggered off by SARS poses from a new perspective challenges to Chinese legal system. It not only tests the current legal system and governmental institutions, but also tests the concept of the Rule of Law that is held by the government. It is evident that the Rule of Law can provide a reliable institutional guarantee for controlling emergencies. During the period of the emergency, it is easier to find out the defects of the legal system, which is covered during the normal state. Therefore, it is conducive to further improving the legal system and to promoting the Rule of Law by leaps and bounds. At the same time, we need to pay attention to the limits of rules that are made during the state of emergency, to adhere to the principles guiding the exercise of emergency powers, to solve in the timely fashion the differences among newly mading and existing rules, and to establish new mechanics of law with the purpose of improving the Rule of Law in China. The sudden erupt of SARS also exposes problems in constitutionalism. To a great extent, whether or not we could successfully control emergencies, such as SARS, depends on whether or not we could promote consciously constitutionalism in China, and depends on whether or not we could establish legal mechanics or procedures pertaining to the notion of limited and controlled government.


Team from ISP acknowledges financial support from
Ukrainian State Program "Nanotechnology and
nanomaterials". S. Pud would like to acknowledge the
DAAD Foundation for financial support.


Book reviewed Dock Workers: International Explorations in Comparative Labour History Sam Davis, Colin J. Davis, David de Vries, Lex Heerma van Voss, Lidewij Hesselink and Klaus Weinhauer (eds) Ashgate, 2000, 863 pp., 75 pounds (hardback, 2 volumes) Labored Relations: Law, Politics and the NLRBA Memoir William B. Gould IV MIT Press, 2000, 474 pp., 27.50 pounds Trade Unions and Global Governance. The Debate on a Social Clause Gerda van Roozendal Continuum, 2002, 260 pp., 75.00 pounds (hardback), 25.00 pounds (paperback) Organized Labour in the 21st Century A.V. Jose (ed.) International Institute for Labour Studies, 2002, xii + 406 pp., 120


The reason for the fluctuation of fluid in the oil gas separator is analyzed,mathematical expression of kinetic energy and potential energy of the fluctuated fluid is derived.and the devices to reduce the fluctuating of fluid in the separator are proposed.Experiments of these devices are carried out under different frequencies and amplitudes of the fluid.The results of the experiment are analyzed and the conclusion is given.


Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics and treatment effects of the spinal injury patients in earthquake,and to provide the basis for the prevention and management of this type of injury.Methods The clinical data of 281 spinal injury cases in the earthquake were analyzed.There were 126 males and 155 females;their age ranged from 7-86 years,with an average of(46.32±12.47) years.A total of 223 patients were found trauma on the other body sites,246 patients without surgical indications were transferred into other hospitals after their physical conditions became stable.Totally 35 patients were followed up for 21-28 months,averaging 29.4 months,including 24 males and 11 females;their age ranged from 17-76 years,averaging 38.2 years.Totally 35 patients who got surgical treatment in our hospital were followed up.The variation of front and rear edges of the height and spinal canal cross-sectional area improvement before and after surgery were analyzed by imaging.Improvement of nerve function before and after surgery were assessed according to the Frankel grading standards.Results The older age,women,farmers and indoor activities were risk factors for spinal injury.Heavy-weight crushing and falling were the most common causes.The most common sites of spinal fractures were T11-L2,and mostly multi-segmental spinal fractures.Frankel grade recovery of nerve function in patients with follow-up indicated level of two and above 54% and one level 38%.Conclusion Analyzing the earthquake disaster in the injury mechanism and injury characteristics can help to make timely and accurate diagnosis,reduce misdiagnosis for spinal injuries.Early decompression and fixation can relieve pressure on the spinal cord,increase the spinal stability and create favorable conditions for spinal cord function recovery.


Objective
To study the efficacy and safety of percutaneous transhepatic one-step biliary fistulation (PTOBF) with rigid cholangioscopic lithotripsy for treatment of complicated hepatolithiasis under the ultrasonic navigation technique.

Methods
In this retrospective study, PTOBF lithotripsy surgery was performed in 94 patients with hepatolithiasis under general anesthesia with tracheal intubation, and with percutaneous transhepatic puncture of targeted bile duct under ultrasonic navigation in The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. Biliary expanders were used along a guidewire to expand the sinus gradually until 14Fr to establish a fistulous channel. Lithotripsy was then performed through the channel by rigid cholangioscopy. The operation-related data were collected and analyzed, including puncture and fistula establishment success ratio, complication rate, intraoperative blood loss, residual and recurrence hepatolithiasis rates.

Results
94 patients (total 122 patient-times) underwent PTOBF lithotripsy. There was no perioperative mortality. The overall puncture success rate was 100%, and the fistula/puncture rate was 97.5% (119/122). In 118 patients success was achieved in 2 time (96.7%). The complication rate was 9.6% (9/94). The average intraoperation blood loss were (24.9±21.3)ml. The residual calculus rate after therapy was 13.8%(13/94). All patients were followed-up for a period that ranged between 18 and 30 months. The recurrence rate was 14.9%(14/94).

Conclusions
Ultrasonic navigation technique plays an important role in bile duct puncture, sinus expansion and rigid cholangioscopic lithotripsy for treatment of complicated hepatolithiasis. PTOBF lithotripsy is a safe and effective procedure, which provides a new way in mini-invasive treatment for hepatolithiasis. It is worth generalizing.

Key words:
Ultrasound; Navigation; Percutaneous transhepatic puncture; Hepatolithiasis; Rigid cholangioscope


In this paper, an analysis of the properties of adaptive notch filter (ANF) applied to direct frequencies estimation is presented based on the results of G. Li (1997) and M.V. Dragosevic and S.S Stankovic (1995). The ANF presented in G. Li (1997) is purely parameterized by notching frequencies of the filter. This characteristic makes it not only much simpler but more robust compared with traditional algorithms. ANF presented in M.V. Dragosevic and S.S Stankovic (1995) that includes adaptation of both pole contraction and forgetting factors results on superior tracking properties. On the basis of such results, we present a stable ANF with improved tracking characteristics. In experimental part, we use mentioned method to track stationary single sinusoid, frequency-hopping single sinusoid, in additive white noise. Simulation results confirm the theoretical conclusions and show that they are highly efficient in practice.


Questionnaires are versatile tools that allow data to be collected from different respondent groups for a range of purposes. This article outlines the use of questionnaires in orthodontics for rese...


Aerobic granular sludge has just been invented for a decade. It shows more advanatages compared to the conventional activated sludge in terms of settling ability, dense structure, high biomass retention, biodiversity, and treatment performance. The incorporation of aerobic granule with support media could enhance those above characteristics, acceleration of granulation process and shockloading control. Because of those advantages, Aerobic Granular Sludge Process would be a prommising Technology in the near future.


Background and Objectives: While nursing graduates are directly involved in nursing, they are required to ensure that they have the necessary clinical competence. The aim of this study was to determine the necessity of final examination at the end of the undergraduate nursing course from the point of view of faculty members and students of Mashhad and Torbat Heydariyeh. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, the viewpoints of 20 faculty members and 78 students were collected by semi-structure interview and reseacher made questionnaire in 2016. The results were reported as descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, number, percentage). Results: Seventeen faculty members (88.20%) considered final nursing exam necessary and 41 students (52.91%) did not consider the existing evaluation to be sufficient. Conclusion: It seems that paying attention to planning in order to change the current process of clinical evaluations and conducting comprehensive standard tests can enhance the nursing students' knowledge and skills. of interest:


The new type of image scanner has higher frequency response and the scan with high speed can be realized. Based on the study of the movement parameter separation of the scanner, the multi-parameter test system is established by the use of the semi-conductor probes placed in a symmetry way. The nonlinear revision and the supplement method for the photo-electric 2D position probe are proposed. The DMA transmmision of the 4 channel analogy signal are realized. The test speed and accuracy are arised. The test of movement parameters is realized during the high frequency movement of scanner.


In this paper we discuss a new theoretical approach for determining the metal nanocrystallite size, lattice strain and total probability of faults from the X-ray diffraction line profile broadening. The emphasis is made on the rigorous analysis of the line profiles in terms of Fourier transform. The generalized Fermi distribution function is used for the single X-ray line profile approximation in order to determine the crystallite size and the lattice strain by the deconvolution technique. Our method is implemented in a computer package program developed with Maple 10 software. We apply our method to elaborate the global structure of Au/SiO 2 nanoclusters with catalytic applications.


An attempt has been made to highlight the importance of the structure of the thickener filmon dye release during sublimation transfer printing of polyester. Indalca AGBV when used alone as a printing thickener gave a continuous film in which the dye was embeded. This film acted as a barrier to the release of dye from paper, resulting in low dye transfer. The dye transfer, although low, was dependent on the dye particle size and the thickness of the wet film deposits. The incorporation of a suitable auxiliary in Indalca AGBV thickening disrupted the continuity of the thickener film and enhanced dye transfer. The dye particle size and film thickness of Indalca AGBV lost their significance in the presence of a suitable auxiliary in the print paste./ ,/


Research Highlights: This research provides an application of a model assessing the naturalness of the forest ecosystem to demonstrate its capacity to assess either the deterioration or the rehabilitation of the ecosystem through different forest management scenarios. Background and Objectives: The model allows the assessment of the quality of ecosystems at the landscape level based on the condition of the forest and the proportion of different forest management practices to precisely characterize a given strategy. The present work aims to: (1) verify the capacity of the Naturalness Assessment Model to perform bi-directional assessments, allowing not only the evaluation of the deterioration of naturalness characteristics, but also its improvement related to enhanced ecological management or restoration strategies; (2) identify forest management strategies prone to improving ecosystem quality; (3) analyze the model's capacity to summarize the effect of different practices along a single alteration gradient. Materials and Methods: The Naturalness Assessment Model was adapted to the Abies balsamea–Betula papyrifera forest of Quebec (Canada), and a naturalness assessment of two sectors with different historical management strategies was performed. Fictive forest management scenarios were evaluated using different mixes of forestry practices. The sensitivity of the reference data set used for the naturalness assessment has been evaluated by comparing the results using data from old management plans with those based on Quebec's reference state registry. Results: The model makes it possible to identify forest management strategies capable of improving ecosystem quality compared to the current situation. The model's most sensitive variables are regeneration process, dead wood, closed forest and cover type. Conclusions: In the Abies balsamea–Betula papyrifera forest, scenarios with enhanced protection and inclusion of irregular shelterwood cuttings could play an important role in improving ecosystem quality. Conversely, scenarios with short rotation (50 years) could lead to further degradation of the ecosystem quality.


Whether task‐based brain functional connectivity (FC) following exercise suggests adaptations in preferential brain regions is unclear. The objective of this study was to explore cognitive function and FC changes following multiple‐modality exercise and mind‐motor training in older adults with subjective cognitive complaints.


This work addresses the joint compensation of IQ-imbalances and carrier phase synchronization errors of zero-IF receivers. The compensation scheme is based on blind-source-separation which provides a simple yet potent means to jointly compensate for these errors independent of modulation format and constellation size used. The low-complexity of the algorithm makes it a suitable option for real-time deployment as well as practical for integration into monolithic receiver designs.


We present a type checking algorithm for establishing a session-based discipline in the pi calculus of Milner, Parrow and Walker. Our session types are qualified as linear or unrestricted. Linearly typed communication channels are guaranteed to occur in exactly one thread, possibly multiple times; afterwards they evolve as unrestricted channels. Session protocols are described by a type constructor that denotes the two ends of one and the same communication channel. We ensure the soundness of the algorithm by showing that processes consuming all linear resources are accepted by a typing system preserving typings during the computation and that type checking is consistent with respect to structural congruence.


On the one hand the poster is designed to provide an overview of the flood data available in the exceptionally rich source material found in the bridgemasters' accounts and other flood-related evidence (e.g. road and fishpond preparation expenses) in the town accounts, legal documents and royal orders (charters) as well as letters and other contemporary documentation (e.g. tax release). Documentary evidence can be found concerning single flood events and related impacts, while another smaller but important group of sources contains information related to multiannual flood problems. Due to the variety and special nature of the available evidence, methodological (e.g. terminology, classification, coverage) problems are also discussed. On the other hand, in the present poster a classification and a numerical analysis of flood events are also provided: in this case a 3-scale index classification is applied. Moreover, an overview of the greatest flood events or series of events (e.g. the great flood year of 1485 or the prolonged flood problems of 1501-1503) are as well discussed, and results are compared to the available flood series on the upper Danube tributaries and other Central European rivers.


Eighty‐three cases of primary malignant lymphomas of the central nervous system (CNS) from the files of the AFIP were studied according to various clinical and pathologic parameters. The histologic patterns observed are analogous to those seen in the spectrum of malignant lymphomas arising in the reticuloendothelial system of other organs. The authors favor the diagnosis of primary malignant lymphoma of the CNS rather than that of "reticulum cell sarcoma" or "microgliomatosis" used in the past. Lesions are frequently multifocal, and surgery, other than for diagnostic biopsy, is not usually beneficial. The clinical course can be significantly prolonged by radiation therapy.


The operators on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) have agreed with the Norwegian Authorities to work towards a reduction of the environmental impact from produced water releases (and also from drill cuttings and mud releases) down to a zero release option, or a zero effects release option. In order to achieve this, an indicator for the potential impact from produced water releases has been developed, namely the EIF (= Environmental Impact Factor). This paper shows how this EIF factor has been applied to five different releases on the NCS in order to select the best option for reducing the potential impact from produced water.


Objective To investigate the vascularity of zonal location of benign hyperplastic nodules ,and to determine theclinical value of contrast-enhanced transrectal ultrasound for assessing vascularization of the prostate gland .Methods Sixty-two patients with hypo-echoic biopsy-proven BPHnodules intransition zone (TZ) (32 patients) or peripheral zone (PZ) (30patients) of the prostate underwent contrast-enhanced transrectal gray-scale ultrasonography (CETRUS) .In addition, mi-crovessel density ( MVD) was determinedinthe biopsy speci mens .Findings were compared betweentwo groups .Correlationbetween PI and MVD was also investigated .Results There was significant difference in enhancement pattern between PZand TZ benign hyperplastic nodules (P0 .01) . PI was found to be i mportant parameter strongly correlated with degree ofvascularity of zonal location of hyperplastic nodules (r=0 .51 ,P=0 .01) .Conclusion The hyperplastic nodules located indifferent zones of the prostate (PZ and TZ) showed significant difference in vascularity . CETRUS could afford informationof the vascularization of BPH.


The ever dynamic nature of the world of work requires that organisations constantly review factors that energise managers (particularly middle level managers) towards achievement of set goals. This category of employees translates strategic decisions by top management into action through the operational employees. They (middle level managers) therefore serve as a link between top management and the lower level employees thus making their role to be of outmost importance to the survival and competitiveness of any organisation thus necessitating the need of our present study. The study adopted a survey research method using quantitative research design. A measuring instrument with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of above 0.70 was developed and used to collect primary data. Non-random sampling technique using purposive/convenience sampling procedure was employed in deriving a sample size of 250 middle-level managers who participated in the survey. Main hypotheses were formulated and tested using the Chi-Square test to determine the level of association between intrinsic and extrinsic motivational variables and achievement of organisational goals by middle level managers. Results show that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational variables impacted significantly on achievement of organisational goals by this category of managers. Based on this finding, we therefore recommend that organisations should combine both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational variables in the design of goal achievement strategy for middle level managers. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n16p53


This article investigates the security sector in Somalia, with a focus on the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), a government security unit, involved in the fight against the Al-Shabaab insurgency. This article argues that the historically traumatic legacy of autocratic oppression of the former military regime gives the Somali intelligence agency an infamous reputation that survives today and plays a significant role in the operations of the intelligence agency. Intelligence agents employ tactics from the late Cold War era military regime's intelligence services, suggesting striking historical continuities of the military regime in practice and performance. The empirical data also shows that NISA is enmeshed in the 'dirty war' between the federal government and Al-Shabaab. Not only does the intelligence agency normalize extrajudicial activities to serve the agenda of political authorities and to suppress their critics, but it also financially benefits from arrests without trials. NISA agents harass the public and political opposition groups daily and brutally suppress mass media and freedom of speech, especially in the government-controlled areas in Mogadishu. As the first empirical academic investigation into NISA, the article contributes to broader debates on intelligence, the anthropology of the state, security studies, and institution- and state-building in violent environments.


Objective This study was carried out to evaluate the nephrotoxic effect of Bauhinia monandra leaf extract on some Wistar rats. Materials and Methods Twenty rats were randomly divided into 4 groups of 5 each. The first group was the control and was fed with normal rat diet. The 2 nd group received alloxan and B. manandra extract 1g/kg, i.p. The 3 rd group received alloxan and B. monandra extract 2g/kg, i.p., while the 4 th group received alloxan and B. monandra extract 4g/kg, i.p. The extract was given once daily for eight days and the rats were sacrificed after fasting for 16hr. Blood samples were then taken for biochemical analysis. Results Rats that received up to 4g/kg i.p. B. monandra extract had normal sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate but urea and creatinine levels were high in the group administered with 2g/kg of the extract and increased significantly in the group administered with 4g/kg of the extract. Excessive administration of B. monandra extract above 2g/kg can be toxic to the kidney. Conclusion B. monandra causes elevation of certain biochemical parameters as such, it will be necessary to augment this medicinal plant with substances that can balance any elevated parameter and such a substance should not interfere with the function of the plant or alter the normal physiology of the body.


A provision of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) allows on-site inspections (OSIs) of suspect nuclear sites to determine if the occurrence of a detected event is nuclear in origin. For an underground nuclear explosion (UNE), the potential success of an OSI depends significantly on the containment scenario of the alleged event as well as the application of air and soil-gas radionuclide sampling techniques in a manner that takes into account both the suspect site geology and the gas transport physics. UNE scenarios may be broadly divided into categories involving the level of containment. The simplest to detect is a UNE that vents a significant portion of its radionuclide inventory and is readily detectable at distance by the International Monitoring System (IMS). The most well contained subsurface events will only be detectable during an OSI. In such cases, 37 Ar and radioactive xenon cavity gases may reach the surface through either "micro-seepage" or the barometric pumping process and only the careful siting of sampling locations, timing of sampling and application of the most site-appropriate atmospheric and soil-gas capturing methods will result in a confirmatory signal.


Photograph of Alexis Fritz-Stibbe's laptop computer open to a work task across her lap while she lies in a hammock in her yard.


Objective To study the expression of gravin in the keloid and to investigate its probable role in the pathogenesis of keloid. Methods Skin biopsy was performed and skin samples were obtained from 18 normal human controls and 25 patients with keloid. The mRNA expression of gravin in specimens was detected by real-time fluorescent RT-PCR, and double immunofluorescence analysis was used to investigate the distribution of gravin protein in skin tissues. Results As detected by real time PCR, the relative expression of gravin mRNA was remarkably reduced in comparison with normal skin (0.4565±0.1728 vs 0.0953±0.0664, P<0.01). Results of double staining indicated that, in normal skin, gravin was primarily distributed in the cytoplasm of fibroblasts; while in keloid, it was observed mainly in macrophages and sporadically in fibroblasts. Conclusions Compared with the normal skin, keloid shows a different expression intensity and distribution of gravin, which might contribute to the development of keloid by regulating the proliferation of fibroblasts and activation of macrophages.

Key words:
Keloid;  Genes, gravin;  Immunohistochemistry


Abstract Adhesion strength plays an important role in the mechanical properties of glued aluminum foam sandwich (AFS). This study aims to understand the effect of epoxy resin liquidity on the three-point bending performance of AFS. The liquidity of epoxy resin was improved by adding alcohol or acetone diluents. The adhesion strength of seven groups of epoxy resin added with different quantities of alcohol or acetone were tested through single-lap shear test and the mechanical properties of AFS glued by the seven adhesives were investigated through three-point bending test by using WDW-T100 electronic universal tensile testing machine. Results indicated that the liquidity influenced the properties of epoxy resin significantly and then affected the mechanical properties of glued AFS. The adhesion strength went down with the improvement of epoxy resin liquidity in general but when certain quantity of acetone was added into the epoxy resin, its plasticity improved and then the deformation mechanism of AFS changed, especially when 15% of acetone was added into the epoxy resin the energy absorption value of AFS improved by over 100%. This work can not only improve the comprehensive properties of AFS but may make it possible for AFS to be produced by machine because of the improvement of the epoxy resin liquidity.


During the last years wind energy has experimented a significant growth in comparison with other types of renewable energy sources. Accordingly, the number of wind farms has increased sharply to become one of the most developed worldwide infrastructures. Unfortunately, the high number of constraints and restrictions that must be considered nowadays when designing a wind farm deployment (e.g. protected environmental areas or geographical unfeasibility) calls for tools aimed at the cost-effective optimal placement of wind farms, along with an optimized micro-siting of their compounding wind turbines. In this paper a novel multi-objective adaptation of the Harmony Search meta-heuristic algorithm is developed and tested for efficiently solving the problem of optimally deploying wind turbines in wind farms, which is accomplished by simultaneously addressing two conflicting objectives: the yield production and the capital cost of the deployment. Experimental simulation results over a certain region of the Basque Country (northern Spain) will be presented and discussed so as to shed light on the practical applicability of the derived solver.


The application scope of ANSYS is introduced,and its technique is analyzed in this article.Based on this,the author explains how to make the quadratic exploitation of ANSYS by the interior language (ANSYS Parametric Language),and how to realize the connection of ANSYS and VB.


Abstract In this article, we reorient the literature on colonialism and ethnic violence by exploring how different types of communalizing colonial policy (CCP) affected postcolonial patterns of ethnic warfare. We hypothesize that CCPs have limited or mixed effects when they simply recognize or empower communities but that they promote ethnic warfare when explicitly favoring some communities over others, especially when this discrimination affects the power of communities. To test these hypotheses, we combine a statistical analysis of the British Empire with a focused case study of Myanmar. We find that two relatively non-discriminatory CCPs—the use of communal census categories and high levels of indirect rule—had limited or mixed effects on postcolonial ethnic warfare. Unequal communal representation in the legislature and security forces and a mixed use of indirect rule, on the other hand, are three highly discriminatory CCPs, and we provide evidence that they increased the odds of postcolonial ethnic warfare.


Edge tracing is considered important for deformable object manipulation in order to reveal the original shape of the object, for example during pattern recognition. This paper proposes a unique tracing method for towel spreading which is a deformable object using two robot arms with sensors equipped grippers. Tracing in this paper context involves tracing the towel's edge, with the robot arm movement based on feedback from sensors. Development of special tools for deformable object manipulation is also considered to be important as well and must consider the properties of the deformable objects. This paper also proposes the development of a unique pair of grippers with gear at both the tips for fabric manipulation purposes. The gripper will allow more flexibility towards fabric manipulation. Experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of both the method and the grippers


An active insecticide for preventing and eliminating the agricultural pests, such as thrips, aphis, aleyrodid, leafhopper, plant hopper, rice borer, etc, is proportionally prepared from pymetrozine and other active components chosen from pyriproxyfen, methylamino abamectin benzoate and buprofezin.


I am moved by the generous introduction we have just heard, but know that I must resist the temptation to believe it. My way of doing that is to turn to an avocation of mine, the creation of ostensibly humorous bird cartoons. So I would like to respond with what I consider my existential classic: A small, enthusiastic bird looks up and says, excitedly, "All of a sudden I had this wonderful feeling, I am me!" And an older, bigger, more jaundiced bird looks down at him and says, "You were wrong." I'm delighted to be speaking to you, to this group, at this time, in this place. What I would like to do this morning is to take you along a few paths of my work, including newer reflections that connect with our agitated and dangerous world. My title, "Owning Reality," is my organizing principle. The title suggests not only the predatory behavior I have studied but my active opposition to that behavior. That opposition is in keeping with a long-standing effort to combine scholarship and activism. In some traditions it is held that scholarship and activism must remain entirely separate, and ne'er the twain shall meet. I think the opposite is true. Scholarship is rendered meaningful by activism, and activism is significantly informed by scholarship. Both need to be undertaken with discipline.


Based on the configuration and spectrum of TM images, the combination method among pseudocolor of different bands, band ratio, principal element analysis and hue transformation is used to process intensively the remote sensing images which reflect the structure, ore-hosted strata, ore-bearing intrusive and alteration under the special geographic settings in Kalameili ore belt in Xinjiang. The satisfied results have been made in the application of remote sensing technique in prospecting of ore deposits. Those has made significant attempt for quick remote sensing mapping and establishment of prospecting criteria in Xinjiang.


This paper studies the state/output synchronization of switched Boolean networks (SBNs) with impulsive effects via the algebraic state space representation (ASSR) approach. First, an algebraic form is established for SBNs with impulsive effects via ASSR. Second, based on the algebraic form, some necessary and sufficient conditions are presented for the state/output synchronization of SBNs with impulsive effects under arbitrary switching signals. Third, two special kinds of switching signals, that is, free switching signal and feedback switching signal, are considered for the state synchronization of SBNs with impulsive effects. Finally, two illustrative examples are worked out to show the effectiveness of the obtained results.


An experiment was conducted to develop cryopreservation protocol for spermatozoa of stinging catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis and to use the cryopreserved sperm in its breeding trials. The activation of sperm motility at various concentrations of NaCl solution was tested and complete activation and inhibition of sperm were obtained at 0.4% and 0.9% to 1% NaCl solution respectively. In toxicity test, sperms were incubated with DMSO, methanol and ethanol at 5, 10, and 15% concentrations where DMSO and methanol produced better motility at 5 and 10% concentration with Alsever's solution and egg-yolk citrate at 5 and- 10 min incubation period. Three extenders- Alsever's solution, egg-yolk citrate and Ginsburg Fish Ringer solution and three cryoprotectants- DMSO, methanol and ethanol were used for cryopreservation of sperm, and among the diluents, Alsever's solution with 10% DMSO showed best performance producing 77.50±3.22% post-thaw motility. On the other hand, egg-yolk citrate and Ginsburg Fish Ringer solution along with 10% DMSO produced 63.75±2.39% and 62.50±3.22% post-thaw motility, respectively. Sperm preserved with Alsever's solution plus 10% DMSO produced 52.5±3.34% and 38.0±2.39%fertilization and hatching, and those preserved with Alsever's solution plus 10% methanol produced 46.9±3.11% and 32.7±2.70% fertilization and hatching respectively. The fry produced using cryopreserved and fresh sperm grew well and no significant difference (p>0.05) was found between two groups.


This paper studies the ability of markets to alleviate taste-based discrimination in a laboratory experiment. We find that markets significantly reduce discrimination relative to individual choice situations with the same payoff structure and the same social group membership of the trading partner. We identify three main mechanisms behind this effect. First, the price of prejudice matters in both situations, but significantly more so in the market. Second, markets reduce identification with one's social group. Third, markets diminish egalitarian preferences. Passive subjects correctly anticipate the main effect. We
confirm the main treatment effect in an online experiment with natural groups.


In the study,nine different artificial unmethylated oligodexynucleotides(CpG-ODN) sequences to the swine peripheral blood lymphocytes and spleen cells respectively were made by artificial methods.The effect of the invitro lymphocyte transformation was detected by MTT assay.According to the tested OD,The stimulation index of CpG-ODN(SI) was screened out to study the immune effect of CpG-ODN.It is showed that the nine CpG-ODNs had different extent of immunostimulatory effects on the swine peripheral blood lymphocytes and spleen cells.After elaborate analysis,the conclusion was drawn that the CpG-ODN7 had the strongest immunostimulatory activity on the swine peripheral blood lymphocytes(SI=3.5) and CpG-ODN6 had the strongest immunostimulatory activity on the swine spleen cells(SI=2.7).This would be useful for study of effective CpG-ODN immune adjunct for gene vaccination in future.


ABSTRACT The effect of Title I reading instructioa was examined in a group of students as they progressed from grade two through grade six. The number of students who fell below the twenty-third percentile on a reading achievement test (the criterion for Title I participation) was tabulated for each year to determine the prOgraes effectiveness both in selecting students and in improving student reading ability. The results showed that Title I intervention reduced the number of students scoring below the twenty-third percentile at the time the students were tested in third grade, but these gains were not maintained after the third grade. The 'achievement records of individual students revealed that both those students who were remediated successfully by Title I participation in the early grades and then discharged (to continue with regular reading instruction) and those students who were achieving well in the early grades without the help of Title I began to fail behind after third grade. The Title I program "cured' less than half of the students, and many students--particularly those with low ability--needed continued assistance in order not to fall drastically behind their peers. These results conflict with results from single-year evaluations mandated for all Title I programs, suggesting that data from a single year may offer incomplete or even distorted information on whether students are learning to read. (RL)


Extremely wide-field imaging systems have many advantages regarding large display scenes whether for use in microscopy, all sky cameras, or in security technologies. The Large viewing angle is paid by the amount of aberrations, which are included with these imaging systems. Modeling wavefront aberrations using the Zernike polynomials is known a longer time and is widely used. Our method does not model system aberrations in a way of modeling wavefront, but directly modeling of aberration Point Spread Function of used imaging system. This is a very complicated task, and with conventional methods, it was difficult to achieve the desired accuracy. Our optimization techniques of searching coefficients space-variant Zernike polynomials can be described as a comprehensive model for ultra-wide-field imaging systems. The advantage of this model is that the model describes the whole space-variant system, unlike the majority models which are partly invariant systems. The issue that this model is the attempt to equalize the size of the modeled Point Spread Function, which is comparable to the pixel size. Issues associated with sampling, pixel size, pixel sensitivity profile must be taken into account in the design. The model was verified in a series of laboratory test patterns, test images of laboratory light sources and consequently on real images obtained by an extremely wide-field imaging system WILLIAM. Results of modeling of this system are listed in this article.


In this paper a system is presented for classification of facial images based on facial age estimation. The presented age-group classification system can be used for multimedia forensics where the investigation can be facilitated by automated analysis of large image datasets. Hence, two main features of such systems are usually desired: increased speed of computation and reliability to real-life images. In an attempt to meet these criteria we propose a combination of subspace projection algorihtm and a classifier for age group classification. Additionally a face detection algorithm is integrated to ensure detection of faces in complex scenes. The proposed system is implemented as software application and was tested on a large image dataset with real-life capturing conditions.


The stochastic quasi-synchronization issue for uncertain chaotic delayed neural networks (DNNs) is investigated. Stochastic perturbation and three uncertain elements, including the discontinuous activation functions, mismatched connection weight parameters and unknown connection weight parameters, are considered in the chaotic DNNs. According to the Ito formula and the inequality techniques, the parameters update laws and the control laws are given to realize the synchronization. And a stochastic quasi-synchronization criterion is established. Furthermore, sufficient conditions are proposed for the control of the synchronization error bound by choosing appropriate control laws. Some numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.


Euterpe oleracea Mart. is a palm tree popularly known as acai, which is primarily found in northern Brazil. The acai's fruits contain anthocyanins, a class of polyphenols to which antioxidant properties have been attributed. The aim of this work was to develop O/W sunscreens emulsions containing acai glycolic extract (AGE) and to evaluate both their physical stability and photoprotective efficacy. Emulsions containing AGE and sunscreens were formulated using different types and concentrations of polymeric surfactant (acrylates/C 10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer and sodium polyacrylate). The influence of two rheology modifiers (polyacrylamide (and) C13-14/isoparaffin (and) Laureth-7 and Carbomer) on the stability was also investigated. Physical stability was evaluated by preliminary and accelerated studies. Emulsions with 1.0% sodium polyacrylate were stable and exhibited non-newtonian pseudoplastic behavior and thixotropy. Photoprotective efficacy was evaluated by in vivo Sun Protection Factor (SPF) and determination of Protection Factor of UVA (PF-UVA). When AGE was added to the sunscreen emulsion, no significant increase in the in vivo SPF value was observed. The emulsion containing AGE showed PF-UVA = 14.97, 1.69 of the SPF/PF-UVA ratio and a critical wavelength value of 378 nm, and may therefore be considered a sunscreen with UVA and UVB protection.


Aphids are one of the main threats to crops, rural families, and global food security. Chemical pest control is a necessary component of crop production for maximizing yields, however, it is unnecessary to apply the chemical approaches to the entire fields in consideration of the environmental pollution and the cost. Thus, accurately localizing the aphid and estimating the infestation level is crucial to the precise local application of pesticides. Aphid detection is very challenging as each individual aphid is really small and all aphids are crowded together as clusters. In this paper, we propose to estimate the infection level by detecting aphid clusters. We have taken millions of images in the sorghum fields, manually selected 5,447 images that contain aphids, and annotated each aphid cluster in the image. To use these images for machine learning models, we crop the images into patches and created a labeled dataset with over 151,000 image patches. Then, we implement and compare the performance of four state-of-the-art object detection models.


Background.  The Global Burden of Disease Study (2017) estimated that oral diseases affect 3.5 billion people worldwide, with untreated dental caries being among the most prevalent non-communicable diseases (WHO, 2017). The main objective of this study was to determine the factors affecting the utilization of oral and dental services at Katate Health Centre IV, Kanungu district. Methodology.  A descriptive cross-sectional study was done on 61 randomly sampled respondents from whom data was collected using a questionnaire and then analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results.  The study identified individual factors affecting the utilization of oral and dental services which were; traditional beliefs (4.6%), traditional healers being part of dental care (67%), use of native herbs (63.9%), lack of awareness (80%), myths and misconceptions (21.3%) and some believe that dental caries and tooth extractions do not require medical interventions (9.8%). More still, the study revealed different socio-economic factors which included; high costs of dental service (71%), unemployment (19.7%), lack of insurance (75%), low levels of education (77%), and low family income (50.8%). Health system-related factors were; poor transport systems (55.7%), long distances (47.4%), poor relationship with the health workers (23%), long waiting times and delays (19.7%), lack of confidentiality (29.5%), inconveniences at oral and dental care clinics (32.8%). Conclusion.  Factors affecting Utilization of Oral and Dental Services include Traditional beliefs and traditional healers, myths, and misconceptions, Unemployment, low education levels, low family income, and high costs. Long waiting times, lack of confidentiality, and poor relationship with health workers. Recommendation.  There is a need for the administration of Katate Health Centre IV in Kanungu district in conjunction with the Ministry of Health to ensure that dental services including dental equipment, sundries, drugs, and medical dental practitioner available for clients at every level of health care.


Linear complementary dual (LCD) codes play an important role in data storage, communications systems and cryptography. In this paper, we construct some symplectic LCD codes from quasi-cyclic (QC) codes, and prove that these symplectic LCD codes with dimension two over <inline-formula><tex-math id="M1">\begin{document}$ \mathbb{F}_{2^a} $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> are maximum-distance-separable (MDS) codes. By extending the generator matrices of symplectic LCD MDS codes with dimension two, we obtain a series of symplectic LCD codes over <inline-formula><tex-math id="M2">\begin{document}$ \mathbb{F}_{2^a} $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula>. As an application, some new entanglement-assisted quantum error-correcting codes (EAQECCs) over <inline-formula><tex-math id="M3">\begin{document}$ \mathbb{F}_{2^a} $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> are constructed by symplectic LCD codes.