This thesis focuses on the use of high permittivity tunable dielectrics and more specifically sol-gel ferroelectric thin films for low cost, high performance tunable devices such as varactors and filters at RF and microwave frequencies. The topics covered include measurement techniques for the characterization of tunable dielectrics at low and microwave frequencies, fabrication processes, electrical and acoustic modeling of thin film ferroelectric varactors, performance optimization using conductive electrodes, realization of tunable microwave circuits and integration of tunable dielectrics with conventional bulk acoustic wave resonators (FBAR). A lead strontium titanate (PST) sol-gel ferroelectric varactor is designed, electrically and acoustically modeled and fabricated, displaying dielectric tunability of ∼75%. A two port automatic extraction technique using MATLAB allowing the de-embedding of parasitic connecting transmission lines, as well as parasitic pads has been developed and presented, yielding accurate dielectric permittivity values in good agreement with literature. The potential factors that may compromise the electrical performance of the ferroelectric tunable varactor are analyzed and a novel Au/TiO2 bottom electrode stack process is proposed and shown to improve the RF performance of the tunable varactor lowering the overall metalization resistance and improving performance, compared to the commonly used Pt electrodes. To establish the possibility of tunable microwave systems integrating sol-gel ferroelectric tunable varactors the following novel microwave devices are designed, modeled and fabricated: A ferroelectric varactor-based RF resonant switch, integrating a thin film solgel PST ferroelectric varactor with a high Q micro-machined inductor is fabricated. An insertion loss of ∼1.5 dB and isolation of ∼18 dB have been achieved for a single 7 GHz resonant switch with a device area of 0.6 mm × 1 mm. The intrinsic performance limitations of this type of device due to the ferroelectric thin film are discussed and the implementation of cascaded switches and state-of-theart ferroelectric materials for further improvement of performance of this device, have been considered and simulated. Tunable band-stop resonators and notch filters using sol-gel PST ferroelectric varactors in a coplanar waveguide (CPW) defected ground structure are fabricated and measured. The PST varactors tune single resonators and 3-pole band-stop filters, operating at the center frequency of 4 and 8 GHz, having a maximum rejection of more than 13.8 dB at the stop band, while the insertion loss at the pass band is less than 3 dB. Full-wave analysis is performed to identify the critical points, where PST varactors are implemented to adjust the resonance frequency of the devices. An optimized fabrication process allows for fabrication of a 3-stage filter with a maximum rejection of 28 dB, albeit with a reduced tuning range, possibly due to DC bias path leakage. Finally, a fabrication approach where a ferroelectric varactor is integrated with a conventional zinc oxide (ZnO) acoustic wave resonator is presented. The approach avoids the piezoelectric thin film degradation due to the ferroelectric annealing by first fabricating the ferroelectric varactor and superimposing the conventional FBAR on top of it. The tuning of the series resonant frequency of a conventional ZnO FBAR with a ferroelectric varactor is demonstrated. Field induced deformation limits the maximum shift of the resonance to 0.45% at 1.5 GHz, for 41% tunability of the ferroelectric varactor, suggesting a big scope for possible improvements in performance by improving the design and fabrication.


Stipa baicalensis Roshev., S.grandis P. Smirn, and S.krylovii Roshev are constructive species of the Inner Mongolia steppes. They are not only the main resources of forage in Inner Mongolia, but also the natural ecological defense of the Beijing-Tianjin area, boasting very important economical and environmental values. Studies on these Stipa species have been reported both in the domestic and overseas journals, focusing mainly on the grasses geographical distribution, and their biological and physiological characteristics. With the development of molecular biology techniques, studies on the molecular biology of Stipa species have drawn the attention of many researchers. Though analysis of the genetic similarities and genetic structure of one species of Stipa have been documented, research work on the genetic relationship between different Stipa species are still lacking. In the present study, 14 populations of three Stipa species from the middle and eastern Inner Mongolia steppes were analyzed with RAPD markers. We obtained 223 bands from the 16 primers, in which 184 bands were polymorphic. The rate of polymorphism was 82.51%. There were 14 samples to show the obvious similarity among the species, and populations within the same species were initially clustered together. We obtained the special RAPD markers within the populations of the same species.


Uganda has undergone profound changes in the past decade-and-a-half. The country is try ing as m uch as possible to shake off its im age as the `sick m an' or `bad boy' of Africa, as it had come to be known in the 1970s as well as the first half of the 1980s. These books reflect various points of view w ith regard to the country' s political, social and econom ic developm ent in the late 1990s. Books that have a positive, though uncritical, assessm ent of the country' s developm ental trends include Philip B riggs' s Guide To U ganda , E ttagale Blauer and Jason Laure' s U ganda: E nchan tm ent of the W orld and C am erap ix ' s Spec trum G uide T o Uganda. If Africans are tired of being portrayed negatively in the international media, these books try as m uch as possible to show Uganda' s natural scenic beauty through expert colourful photography. The books also give brief descriptions of the country' s history, politics, geography and economics. Cam erapix' s Spectrum Guide To Uganda is the best book of the three because of its num erous co lourful pho tographs, w h ich include people, culture, livestock , w ildlife, cities and tow ns. If anything, this book should be a prim ary candidate for key international photography aw ards. The photography is sim ply m ind-boggling: Ugandans would be surprised and am azed at how beautiful their country is, if they perused the book. M oreover, it goes further than the other two books, in listing the country' s latest currency rates, business tax law s, entry visa requirem ents as well as m edia comm unications. BOOK REVIEW S


The presenters for this session have been working on both the construction of digital archives/databases and analysis of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) digital game content covering the past three decades of game history: www.lgbtqgamearchive.com and www.queerlyrepresent.me. For the first 15-20 minutes of this session the presenters will discuss the research and analysis of the LGBTQ video game archive project and Queerly Represent Me database. We will talk about how both projects began, what they include, and what early findings we have based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of the LGBTQ characters and relevant content in games from 1985-2005. We will also discuss the process of making publicly available research resources. The remainder of the time would be spent walking attendees through the process of doing this type of research through a series of small group activities. We will go over the difficulties of discerning video game characters genders and sexualities (as well as race and class markers) with some specific examples chosen from the archive. Finally, we will use small group activities to illustrate the medium specific concerns in analyzing LGBTQ game content including the procedural rhetoric of same-sex romance options, the limitations of gender options in character design, and the contingent nature of LGBTQ representation in games where non-player characters' backstories are revealed only if specific player actions in the game occur. Our primary goal is that attendees will take away from this session a greater understanding of the complexity of analyzing LGBTQ game content, and the myriad ways gender and sexuality are made relevant in digital games. Moreover, we hope that they will be empowered to do their own original research on LGBTQ game content (either contributing to our existing archives or by starting their own public research projects). Finally, building on the goals of both projects we hope to bring attention to the long history of LGBTQ content in digital games as a way of helping all of us invested in game culture imagine new possibilities for future representations.


Glass sponges, as examples of natural biocomposites, inspire investigations aiming at both a better understanding of biomineralization mechanisms and novel developments in the synthesis of nanostru...


Dipyrone is an analgesic and antipyretic widely used in Colombia; It is considered in other countries as a harmful medicine. The objective of this work is to determine its use as an analgesic for the management of pain in a third level entity. Descriptive cross-sectional study, with a population of 240 adults who received treatment with dipyrone; The data sources are the clinical history, the consumption reported by pharmacy in 2011 and the monthly calculation of the defined daily doses. Statistical analysis of the information was carried out in Stata 10. This drug was found to be the first-line analgesic in the institution for the management of pain in the postoperative period, with a prescription dose higher than that established by WHO. We analyze the possible relationship with adverse reactions, which occurred in 52% of patients, such as hypotension (98%) and skin rash (2%). It is concluded that there is a need to adjust the dose to 3 g / day to observe the clinical effectiveness of the medication and the economic impact on the institution. Abbreviations: DDD, defined daily dose.


Abstract This study analyzed the concentration of the heavy metals(Cd, Hg, iAs) of urine(n=576) from May, 2007 to Oct 2007. The subject was residents in G, Y, H industrial area, Jeollanam-do, in which exposure due to the adjacency of the industrial complex. As to the heavy metal concentration in the urine of the residents in the whole exposed region and the comparing region, the content of cadmium, mercury, and inorganic arsenic in the exposed region group were 1.23, 1.85, and 8.80µg/g_ct respectively, and those of the comparing region group were 1.87, 2.00, and 8.93 µg/g_ct respectively, which indicates that the concentration of the comparing group was higher than that of the exposed group. The heavy metal concentration for each age group increased in proportion to age except those under 10 for some substances(p<0.01). As to geometric mean concentration cadmium and inorganic arsenic in urine according to the smoking history of the subject, the concentration of the smoking group and the non-smoking group were 1.65 µg/g_ct and 9.13 µg/g_ct respectively, while those of the non-smoking group were 1.47 µg/g_ct and 8.91 µg/g_ct respectively, which indicates that the former is higher than the latter. As to the inorganic arsenic concentration in urine according to the food preference, in order of vegetable, fish, and meat showed high concentration (p<0.01). To clarify the factors affecting the heavy metal concentration in urine among the subjects, the multiple regression analysis was conducted. As a result, it turned out that as to cadmium content in urine, gender, age, drinking, and smoking have influence on the subjects, with explanatory adequacy of 37.5 %.


The paper presents a characterization of relevance as a primitive conceptual notion. Informal definitions for the notions of positive (ir)relevance and negative (ir)relevance are suggested and a set of schemas and rationality postulates for formalizing these notions are proposed. A possible-world approach is adopted to give the relevance-relations a semantics. The semantics is connected to the postulates via a representation theorem. Several conditions for relevance that are derived from the given postulates are inspected. Finally, a method for defining default reasoning in terms of relevance is briefly described.


1. Introduction David Walker Part 1 2. Lenin and Marxism: Class Struggle, the Theory of Politics and the Politics of Theory Alan Shandro 3. Left-Communism: Rosa Luxemburg and Leon Trotsky Compared Ian Thatcher 4. Right Wing Marxism Jules Townsend Part 2 5. Soviet and Eastern Bloc Marxism Mark Sandle 6. Eurocommunism Rick Simon 7. Western Marxism Joe Femia 8. African Marxism's Moment Daryl Glaser 9. Applying Marxism to Asian Conditions: Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh and the 'Universality of Marxism' Nick Knight 10. Marxism in Latin America/Latin American Marxism? Ronaldo Munck Part 3 11. Marxism and Socialism Howard Chodos 12. Marxist Theory, Marxist Practice Daryl Glaser 13. Marxisms and Capitalisms: From Logic of Accumulation to Articulation of Class Structures Yahya M. Madra and Fikret Adaman 14. Marxism and Method Daniel Little


This article presents the design and experiment of a multi-output DC supply for a 5G millimeter-wave front-end module, with some specified requirements, such as miniaturization of power supply modules, wide voltage input (15-24V), multiple voltage outputs (12V, 5V, 2.5V, 1.2V), and high output current (3A). Based on the DC/DC convert LTM4634 and LT3083 for cost control, a completed the power module is designed and fabricated, along with some key information, such as the design introduction of the power supply module, structural framework, hardware design block diagram, PCB layout diagram, measurement setup, and the experimental results.


Propagation of sound from a source to a receiver in an enclosure can be modeled as an acoustic transmission channel. Objective room acoustic parameters are routinely used to quantify properties of such channels in the design and assessment of acoustically critical spaces such as concert halls, theatres and recording studios. Traditionally, room acoustic parameters are measured using artificial probe stimuli such as pseudo random sequences, white noise or sine sweeps. The noisy test signal hinders occupied in-situ measurements. On the other hand, virtually all audio signals acquired by a microphone have undergone a process of acoustic transmission in the first place. Properties of acoustic transmission channels are essential for the design of suitable equalizers to facilitate subsequent machine audition. Motivated by these needs, a number of new methods and algorithms have been developed recently to determine room acoustic parameters using machine audition of naturally occurring sound sources, i.e. speech and music. In particular, reverberation time, early decay time and speech transmission index can be estimated from received speech or music signals using statistical machine learning or maximum likelihood estimation in a semi-blind or blind fashion. Some of these estimation methods can achieve accuracies similar to those of traditional instrument measurements. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-919-4.ch018


We present an analysis of highly magnetized neutron stars "magnetars", in search for high frequency oscillations in the recurrent emission from the soft gamma repeater SGR 1806-20, and we discuss the physical interpretation of these oscillations and its implications on the neutron star properties and structure. We present evidence for Quasi-Periodic Oscillations (QPOs) in the recurrent outburst activity from SGR 1806-20 using RXTE observations. By searching for timing signals at the frequencies of the QPOs discovered in the 2004 December 27 giant flare from the source, we find three QPOs at 84, 103, and 648 Hz in three different bursts. The first two QPOs lie within 8.85% and 11.83%, respectively, from the 92 Hz QPO detected in the giant flare. The third QPO lie within 3.75% from the 625 Hz QPO also detected in the same flare. The detected QPOs are found in bursts with different durations, morphologies, and brightness, and are vindicated by Monte Carlo simulations. We also find evidence for candidate QPOs at higher frequencies in other bursts with lower statistical significance. The fact that we can find evidence for QPOs in the recurrent bursts at frequencies relatively close to those found in the giant flare is intriguing and can offer insight about the origin of the oscillations. We confront our findings against the available theoretical models and discuss the physical interpretation of these QPOs. The leading interpretation for the origin of magnetar QPOs suggests that these toroidal seismic oscillatory modes are most likely to be excited by a crustquake of the neutron star crust. Other models have been proposed to explain the magnetar QPO phenomena including magnetospheric oscillations, magnetic flux tubes and modes of a passive debris disk. Theoretical modeling and observation of QPOs will be very useful in putting stringent constraints on neutron star equation of state.


We modeled flexible microelectronic systems and analyzed the stress and strain distribution assuming an international standard bending test evaluating flexible electronics. The flexible microelectronic system consisted of a flexible substrate, a thin silicon die bonded to the substrate using bumps, and an underfill and molding layer. The highest stress values were found at the square silicon die corners under bending deformation. After rounding the die corners, the copper bumps were the weakest component in the system. When polymer bumps replaced copper bumps to improve mechanical stability, the critical bending radius reduced from 13.5 to 8.0 mm, and the silicon die was again the most vulnerable component. When the die thickness decreased from 50 to 30 μm, the critical bending radius of the flexible system even decreased to 6.9 mm. Therefore, it is advantageous for mechanically reliable flexible microelectronic systems to bond thin silicon dies with rounded corners to a flexible substrate using polymer bumps.


In this study the capabilities of very high resolution VHR satellite images for producing large scale maps were evaluated for an area in Egypt. Data used in this study were obtained from skysat imagery. The SkySat Pansharpened0.8m and Multispectral1m scene products were orthorectified, pan sharpened, and color-corrected (using a color curve). A 4-band imagery was acquired on November 2017 and covered an area of 15× 8km with spatial resolution of 0.8m. An investigation of individual 4-band was carried out to find out the potential of the information content in pansharpened SkySat image in producing large scale mapes. Twenty Check Points (CPs) were taken as the source of supplementary data to be used in this respect for checking the geometric accuracy of the orthorectified image. The coordinates of the CPs were determined using GPS Topcon HiPer V GNSS receiver with horizontal accuracy of (10mm + 1ppm). The geometric accuracy was assessed using the ground and image coordinates. the RMSE found to be σ∆E=±0.966m and, σ∆N=±1.094m for easting and northing directions with total RMSE = ±1. 459m. According to American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) standards it is found that skysat images can be used for producing or updating large scale map of 1:3000 and smaller scales depending on the accuracy required in the map output. It can be concluded that high resolution satellite imagery skysat data can be used in various applications within a national mapping agency in a country like Egypt. Introduction: Remote sensing technology and satellite imagery have been investigated and used in a different field since the eighteenth decade. It was used successfully in different fields such as agriculture, mining, disaster management, meteorology, forestry and geographic information systems. For example, it was used to explore the variety types of vegetation, oil spills, wetlands and soil types [4]. High resolution satellite(sub-meter) sensors are considered one of the excellent progressions which explore new applications of remote sensing data, one of these is the large-scale map. SkySat was launched by Space Imaging in 2017.It is including in the list of commercial satellite which took images with a meter and sub-meter pixel size resolution. EROS A1 (2000), QuickBird (2001), IKONOS (2006), orbview(2008), Rapied Eye(2008) ,WorledView(2016), and a number of other satellites have followed it in taking images about the same or less pixel sizes[5]. Maps are date incisive evidence of a locality conserving the nations of Earth's surface in their production time. Production of maps are compiled in different scales [1], with respect to the spatial size of the features to be registered on the maps and the range of the area of interest. The larger the range of the area to be represented on a map is probational to, the smaller the size of the features can be described and vice versa [1]. The small-scale maps cover extensive areas such as a region, county, a whole country or even a group of countries on a single sheet. On the other hand, large scale maps, are produced for many purposes with a full particulars of information content of the studying area or specific area. Mostly the Large scalemaps are used in urban studies for different objectives. The cadaster maps and digital land information databases about real estate utilities and ownership International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 9, Issue 5, May-2018 ISSN 2229-5518 2,170 IJSER © 2018 http://www.ijser.org IJS R where right realizations about borders of neighboring land portion is required are prepared in larger scales [2]. Producing, updating and revision of large scale-maps require accurate information's with acceptable spatial precision [1]. Before launching of high resolution sensors, the only source for producing these maps was land surveying or aerial photography which are costly and time consuming. With the help of new high spatial resolution satellite images, producing, and updating of large scale maps became much easier, faster, and cheaper than before. SkySat Ortho Scene Characteristics Overview: The ortho scene product enables users to easy create imagery by joining and merging the chosen SkySat ortho scenes to cover the specific area required [Figure1]. The product of SkySat ortho scene is orthorectifiesd and is designed for a variety of usage that require imagery with a cartographic projection and accurate geolocation. The image was prepared by removing distortions caused by terrain and can be used for cartographic purposes, [Table1]. SkySat ortho scene product contains visual, panchromatic, analytic, and pansharpened multispectral imagery that is examined and in a raw digit's format. It is sensorand geometrically-corrected and projected to a cartographic map projection. The geometric correction uses fine Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) with a post interval range between 30 and 90 meters. Ground Control Points (GCPs) are used in the creation of every image and the accuracy of the product will vary from region to region based on available GCPs Table [1] Specifications of SkySat Imagery. SkySat Ortho Scene Product Attributes Scene Product Description 1Product Format and Components Image File – GeoTIFF format Metadata File – JSON format Rational Polynomial Coefficients – Text File -UDM File – GeoTIFF format 2Information Product SkySat Satellites have three cameras per satellite, which capture overlapping strips. Each of these strips contain overlapping scenes. One scene is approximately 3199m x 1349m 3Spectral Bands Blue: 450 515nm Green: 515 595nm Red: 605 695nm NIR: 740 900nm Pan: 450 900nm 4-Geometric Corrections Sensor-related effects are corrected using sensor telemetry and a sensor model. Orthorectification uses GCPs and fine DEMs (30m to 90m posting). 5Horizontal Datum WGS84 6Map Projection UTM 7Geometric Accuracy <10m RMSE 8-Ground Sample Distance 0.8m (At reference altitude 600km) 9-Pixel Size (Orthorectified) 0.8m International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 9, Issue 5, May-2018 ISSN 2229-5518 2,171 IJSER © 2018 http://www.ijser.org IJ ER Figure (1) The Capture of Imagery The Capabilities of SkySat: Since data again of the SkySat constellation [Figure 2] from seven satellites, concentration was made by SkySat team on processing this high-resolution data which were accessible and available via cloud-based data infrastructure. After four months of heavy lifting object from spacecraft, data pipeline and product teams, they delighted to declare that sub one-meter, high-resolution imagery is now accessible and available through the Planet SkySat Center [3]. The unparalleled ability of the SkySats imagery made it possible to offer a range of new high-resolution (hi-res) products to the marketing mix. All SkySats collect imagery with submeter resolution (0.8meter GSD), in the Red, Green, Blue, Near Infrared, and Panchromatic bands. Due to their unique push-frame architecture, the cost reaches 100$ per 1 km square to obtain SkySats image. SkySats can also capture full motion video with frame rates as high as 50hz and durations longer than 2 minutes. [3] Figuer2Illustrationf Four of High-Resolution SkySat imagery Satellite Developed Study Area: The study area lies in new capital city near Cairo Egypt which is located between 30 03 13.74'' and 29 55 22.33'' N latitudes and 31 40 02.88'' and 31 45 19.08'' E longitudes. The area covers about 15X 8km. The study area is characterized by nearly hilly terrain as shown in Figure 3 Subset: Subset is a process used when the image has to be reduced in size or a sample portion of the image need to be used for carrying out analysis. The chosen area lies within 21 satellite images International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 9, Issue 5, May-2018 ISSN 2229-5518 2,172 IJSER © 2018 http://www.ijser.org IJSER and were provided by a commercial data provider [Figure1]. The skysat satellite imagery was larger than the area of interest AOI. The AOI was extracted by using subset tool. One of the advantages of performing the subset step is that after extracting the region of interest from the larger image, the geometric accuracy assessment processing will be done for the required area only and the calculation of ∆E, ∆N, and the total RMSE will be from the AOI only and not the whole images. Methodology: The procedure that will be followed in this assessment is to compare the coordinates of 20 points well identified in both the field and skysat images the first set of coordinats were observed using GPS Topcon HiPer V GNSS receiver and the second set from the image using ERDAS Imagine 9.2 software. Data from, Skysat images acquired in November 2017 were used in this study. A subset area of 5 X5 km was used from these Skysat images with 0.8 m spatial resolution (according to the data Image property). All visible bands were included in the analysis. Remote sensing image processing was performed and inspected using ERDAS Imagine 9.2 Field Work: According to the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) at least twenty check points are recommended based on the tested area as the source of data to be used in this respect for image geometric comparison [Table 2]. The Selected CPs on the ground were located to be clearly visible and accurately identified in both the image and the field. For example, points of roads intersection, corners of isolated features such as building, houses and intersection of paths or streams. A relative positioning technique was used to obtain the grid coordinates of the twenty selected points, located in tested area. Table2Recommended Number of Check Points Based on Area [6] The field data were collected using Topcon HiPer V GNSS receiver. With Kinematic check points system.Topcon HiPerV Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver is a multiplefrequency GNSS receiver, which is flexible, powerful, and reliable. Table3 show


The direct impacts of higher temperatures on birds are manifested over timescales ranging from minutes and hours to years and decades. Over short timescales, acute exposure to high temperatures can lead to hyperthermia or dehydration, which among arid-zone species occasionally causes catastrophic mortality events. Over intermediate timescales of days to weeks, high temperatures can have chronic sub-lethal effects via body mass loss or reduced nestling growth rates, negatively affecting sev eral fitness components. Long-term effects of warming manifested over years to decades involve declining body mass or changes in appendage size. Key directions for future research include elucidating the role of phenotypic plasticity and epigenetic processes in avian adaptation to climate change, examining the role of stress pathways in mediating responses to heat events, and understanding the consequences of higher temperatures for species that traverse hot regions while migrating.


The germination rate of Passiflora edulis seed and the callus induction of root were studied in different seed soaking time with gibberellin and different seed treatment conditions.The results showed that the shucked Passiflora edulis seed on MS medium was the optimal way for seed germination.The optimal medium of root callus induction was MS+0.5 mg/L 2,4-D,and the induced callus were mostly light green,granular and loose texture.


Multi-well horizontal pads are common in unconventional reservoirs. With addition of infill wells and hydraulic fracturing, interference between multiple multi-fractured-horizontal wells (MFHWs) has become a serious issue. Current RTA workflows assume a single MFHW in the unconventional formation. This paper presents a new multi-MFHW solution and related analysis methodology to analyze targeted well rate performance in a multi-MFHW system.
 In this work, a semi-analytical equation describing multi-well pad in the Laplace domain with well interference is proposed. The proposed semi-analytical model can simulate the rate performance of a multi-well horizontal pad with variable BHP for a targeted well in the pad and different initial production durations for the offset well. From the constant BHP condition and Laplace transforms, we obtained multi-MFHW solutions for transient flow. We used superposition of various constant BHP solutions to study interference among various fractures and MFHWs. The variable BHP of the targeted well is achieved by a variable dimensionless BHP function in the Laplace domain without any convolution or deconvolution calculations. A systematic validation for the proposed method is conducted using a commercial numerical simulator for cases of different initial production times for offset MFHWs, multi-MFHWs with variable BHP. Through the total material balance of the multi-MFHW system, we can analyze a target well in the pad with this multi-MFHW analysis. Interference by offset wells often appears after pseudo-radial flow in the target well's hydraulic fracture. It causes the pressure derivative curve during elliptical and infinite-acting radial flow (IARF) to rise, as does the RNP derivative. The inverse semi-log derivative has the opposite trend. Well interference also makes the rate/pressure drop functions to deviate from initial straight lines in later stages. Sensitivity analysis of well spacing shows that "transition flow" will change from elliptical to formation linear flow between wells as well spacing increases and it can show the transitional flow characteristics in more common cases.


We examine how the reality of the work conducted behind the closed doors of the boardroom relates to the projections made in economic models analyzing the work of boards: We analyze a unique set of data from a sample of real-world boardrooms – minutes of board meetings and board-committee meetings of eleven firms in which the Israeli government holds shares. The findings show that boards: usually discussed issues of supervisory nature (69% of the cases), were usually given updates rather than an opportunity to make a decision (58%), were virtually never presented with alternatives (1%), rarely disagreed with the CEO (2.5%), but from time to time did request to receive further information or an update (11%). These findings do not support the economic models that predict that boards make decisions pertaining to the actual business, from a range of options; they do support the models that predict that, apart from replacing the CEO from time to time, the common ongoing work of boards is to monitor and assess the CEO. 1 We chose to mimic Graham and Harvey's (2001) title – "The Theory and Practice of Corporate Governance: Evidence from the Field," because the orientation of the current study is similar to theirs: they studied how capital structure practices compare, in reality, to the predictions made in economic models, and this study asks the same question about the work of boards. 2 The Hebrew University of Jerusal em, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com. I am grateful to Prof. Eugene Kandel and Prof. Michael Weisbach, the co-advisors of her doctoral dissertation, upon which this paper is based. I thank the executive and non-executive employees of the Government Companies Authority of Israel, who allowed me both formally and practically, to conduct this research. I also thank the companies studied, which kindly provided me with private and sensitive data. In addition, I thank the following people who shared their thoughts and advice with us at different stages of the preparation of this paper: Amir Barnea, Alon Eizenberg, Ada Demb, Julian Franks, Ann Gillette, Ilan Guttman, Saul Lach, Avri Ravid, Arthur Raviv, Daniel Schwartz, Schraga Schwartz, Eytan Sheshinski, and Tammar Zilber. Last, I thank the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology, and Hebrew University's School of Business Administration, for financial support.


An investigation was made into the formation of functional groups that occur in unstabilized polyethylene during oxidation under the conditions of the induction test. Model substances were synthesized in which the nature and amount of functional groups, e.g. peroxide, carbonyl, hydroxyl, vinyl, etc., differed. The behaviour of these specimens was studied under the conditions of the oxidation test. The relationship of the induction time to the type of functional group allowed a sequence of reactivity to be drawn up. i.e. •—OOH > CO > —CH2CH CH2 > O—CH==C112 > —C=C-->—C---H > 01011 > CH—OR Here the damaging effect of the peroxide group on the alkyl ether group decreases from left to right. Comparison was made with a specimen stabilized with substituted phenols and a polymethylene produced by the decomposition of diazomethane. The second part of the paper presents substances of the following structures containing S-: e CH2:CHS—CH2CH2R CII2CH -S--CH2—CH20H X R H0--CH2---C112--S—CH2-—CH2-—S—CH2-—CH2—OH The functional groups of these compounds compensate the injurious effect of the groups in the substrate, with the result that the compounds act as inhibitors. For example, the thioether bridges are converted to SO and ) SO2 derivatives. The sulphurous substances that also contain a vinyl double bond allow capture by disproportionation and addition reactions. Although much work has been devoted to it, the problem of stabilizing polymers against oxidative degradation is still widely discussed. It retains its importance for the following reasons. (1) Increasing demands are being imposed by plastics processors and end users. (2) There are no technically 253 HERBERT NAARMANN perfect products available, i.e. most products display some defects, have fluctuations in their molar weights and morphology, and contain some impurities. Improvements in manufacturing processes and changes in the specifications for the raw materials may appear to be insignificant microscopically but, when regarded in detail, are often the reason for troublesome secondary effects. The need for developing even more effective inhibitors has not lost its urgency. Because of this, oxidative reactions in polymers assume great practical importance. Much work has been carried out in this field, it is assumed that the first stage of oxidation is the formation of radicals and of hydroperoxides, which have been detected in all polyolefin oxidation processes. We have tried to establish a relationship between oxidative degradation and the chemical structure of products with a defined amount of functional groups in the light of the many hypotheses that have been put forward and the analytical data available. Polyethylene was taken as a model.


To implement super-resolution imaging of microvessels in clinical practice, the trade-off between the concentration of microbubbles (MB) appropriate to detect single MB and reasonable short measurement times has to be resolved. Therefore, we estimated the measurement times necessary to adequately reconstruct the microvessel trees in 3 different tumor models.


Blockage of arteries by the formation of plaques causing stenosis is a major health problem among human beings.In this study, a model is developed for the flow through a multi-stenosed elastic artery segment under the effect of body acceleration and slip velocity. Fluid is regarded as Non-Newtonian Bingham Plastic Fluid. The equations representing the model are solved analytically using Perturbation Method. Result is discussed for velocity, wall shear stress and volumetric flow rate by varying several parameters like pulse frequency, slip parameter and Womersley Frequency parameter graphically.


my, physics and other disciplines that after we start up an expensive instrument or complete a massive computation, we must save all the bits of information generated by the instrument or the computation. The arguments for this practice are, first, that the cost of acquiring the bits is so great that we cannot afford to lose any of them, and, sec? ond, that some rare event might be recorded in those bits, and to throw them away would be a great loss for science. Sometimes these points are made with such vehemence that I am left with the impression that saving the bits is not merely a question of cost but is a moral imperative. Those who accept the imperative of saving the bits are perforce limited to questions about technologies for storing and moving bits. How can we build a communications net? work with enough bandwidth to carry all the bits? How can we build storage devices to hold them? How can we build retrieval mechanisms that will provide access to them from around the world? Given a determination to save ev? ery bit, data compression is worth considering only if it is lossless, or in other words if it is a reversible mapping from the original data to the compressed data. "Smart instru? ments" that detect patterns in the data and inform us of those patterns are of little interest; indeed, there is some? times outright hostility to such instruments. It has been claimed, for example, that on-board data processing by weather satellites delayed the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole by several years. When the Hubble Space Telescope is operated at full ca? pacity, it sends some 300 million bits per second via NASA's satellite-link network to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. This data stream will be joined by that from the ACT (advanced communications technology) satellite and several other "Great Observatories." By the late 1990s, NASA will have placed in orbit a network of satellites making up the EOS (earth observing system). These are just a few of the growing number of advanced space-borne instruments, any one of which can produce a data stream of hundreds of millions of bits per second. Let us do some simple arithmetic with the EOS data stream. This system is expected to produce between 1012 and 1013 bits per day. These are enormous numbers. If the data are stored on compact optical disks, which hold about four gigabits each, then a day's output will fill up at least 2,500 CDs. Where will all the disks be kept? Will the God? dard center be responsible for recording 2,500 disks daily? Even a national communications network with gigabit-per second capacity will be inadequate to divert the stream to other sites for recording. And if we succeed in recording all the bits, how will we gain access to them? How will I as a scientist ask for the records that might contain evidence of a


Being different from conventional natural gas transportation at high pressure,the transportation of coalbed gas is restricted by the explosion limit range,so its transportation pressure is relatively low.According to the leakage and diffusion model of coalbed gas from a pipeline,numerical simulation with FLUENT software is performed.As a result,the velocity and concentration distributions of coalbed gas after leakage as well as the graphs of safe zones are obtained.It is shown that at the same height,the concentration of methane is higher than that of hydrogen sulfide.If there is no wind,the velocity or concentration distribution is almost symmetrical.The range within 100 m downwind is the most dangerous area.


Slang word is a complex word, difficult and cannot be ignored. Slang is used by certain circles and is limited so that not everyone knows the meaning of the conversations carried out by group members. Based on previous research that has been done, namely making slang using a manual process that requires quite a lot of time to collect slang words, so that our research aims to collect slang words by applying Deep Learning, namely Natural Language Processing using the word embedding FastText method to speed up the collection process. slang words. The author implements the techniques and algorithms that have been designed in the previous stage. This stage will ensure that the processes carried out in the research can be carried out in accordance with the theories that support the research. From the combined data between YouTube comments and the Indonesian dictionary, it was found that 421 words are slang words. These slang words are obtained by means of the process of looking for word similarities (similarity words) between YouTube comments and Indonesian dictionaries. In building a slang dictionary from the youtube comment dataset with a pre-trained FastText model, a preprocessing process and normalization is carried out. After the normalization process was carried out to get normal words from each slang candidate, the results of the slang dictionary were 278 rows consisting of four columns, namely the lexical column, threshold, slang candidate, and normal words using a threshold of 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2


2 Abstract: Fifteen Yankasa rams, balanced for their weight, were used to evaluate the effects of feeding basal diet of Pterocarpus erinaceus forage supplemented with Sheabutter Fat (SBF) based concentrate diets on performance, nutrient digestibility and economic benefit. The rams were submitted to four supplemental diets containing: 0 g/kg SBF (control), 50 g/kg SBF and 100 g/kg SBF in a completely randomized design for 56 days. Average Daily Gain (ADG), intakes of Ether Extract (EE) and Crude Protein (CP), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), digestibility coefficients of EE and Organic Matter (OM), digestible OM, digestible and metabolizable energy concentrations and net benefit improved (p<0.05) with increasing levels of SB F supplementation. While forage intake was reduced (p<0.05) in SBF diets, the reverse was the case for the concentrate (p<0.05). Dry Matter (DM) intake and intake as the percentage of live weight, CP, OM and Crude Fibre (CF) intakes and CF digestibility were similar among the treatments. SBF diets improved (p<0.05) digestibilities of DM and CP compared to the control. OM intake was higher (p<0.05) in 50 g/kg SBF than in the control which compared with 100 g/kg SBF. Cost of feed consumed/sheep was lower (p<0.05) for 100 g/kg SBF compared to the control and 50 g/kg SBF. Feed cost/kg of mutton decreased (p<0.05) progressively from the control to 100 g/kg SBF. Differential and relative benefits were more (p<0.05) for 100 g/kg SBF than for 50 g/kg. 100 g/kg SBF supplementation improved the performance, nutrient digestibility and economic benefit.


Chaperonins are large multimeric protein complexes whose function is to facilitate the folding of nascent or stress-denatured proteins. Their ubiquity across all domains of life is testimony to the vital role that they play in the cell. Until recently, chaperonins had been classified into two groups: I and II. Bacteriophage EL, a large virus that infects the gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is source to the first reported virally-encoded chaperonin. This chaperonin, φEL, shares an ATP binding motif along the equatorial domain with GroEL, a well-studied group II chaperonin found in Escherichia coli. However, structural characterization of φEL has revealed a drastically different protein folding mechanism to that of group I and group II chaperonins, leading to its classification in a new group III. A single amino acid difference between the two motifs is hypothesized to play an important role in the novel mechanism of φEL, which features a ring separation step. This study uses a colorimetric assay to measure ATP hydrolysis, and structural characterization via Cryo-electron microscopy to analyze the effects of reversing this mutation. Results show that the mutant chaperonin has negligible ATPase activity, and a 20 angstrom CryoEM electron density map reveals that the mutant chaperonin is locked in its ATP-bound doublering conformation, suggesting that the mutated residue plays an important role in the ringseparation step, without which the chaperonin cannot function.


Objective : To study the role of NO in the modulation of extracellular and intracellular Ca++ in vasodilator mechanism.

Methods: Goat hearts were collected from local abattoirs within 20-30 min. of slaughter in cold aerated modified Kreb's Henseleit solution. Both the left anterior and circumflex coronary artery branches were dissected out, cut into rings of 3-4 mm length and 2-3 mm external diameter and mounted in a 20 ml organ bath through triangular stainless steel hook. The tissues were equilibrated for 90 min. under a resting tension of 1.5 g. Responses were recorded isometrically with a force displacement transducer connected to a polygraph. Role of extracellular Ca++ was studied in Ca++ - induced contractile tissues and that of intracellular Ca++ was studied in U- 46619 - contracted tissues either in the absence or presence of NO donors.

Results: SIN-1 inhibited the contractions induced by Ca++ with a rightward shift of concentration-response curve and with corresponding, but not concentration- dependent increase in EC50 . SNP caused concentration-dependent rightward shift of concentration -response curve of Ca++ . Both SIN-1 and SNP had a bimodal effect with significant inhibition at low concentration of Ca++ and a potentiating effect at high Ca++ concentration. In addition, SNP and SIN -1 inhibited U- 46619 - induced contraction dose dependently.

Conclusion: Both SIN-1 and SNP inhibited influx of extracellular Ca++ as well as release of intracellular Ca++ .


The German regulatory guide demands the performance of a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) including external events. In 2005, a new methodology guideline (Methodenband) based on the current state of science and technology was released to provide the analyst with a set of suitable tools and methodologies for the analysis of all PRA events. In the case of earthquake, a multilevel verification procedure is suggested. The verification procedure which has to be used depends on the seismic risk at the site of the plant. For sites in areas with low seismic activity no analysis or only a reduced analysis is proposed. This paper describes the evaluation of safety margins of buildings, structures, components and systems for plants at sites with high seismic risk, corresponding to the German methodology guideline. The seismic PRA results in an estimation of core damage frequencies caused by earthquakes. Additionally, the described approach can also be adapted for the usage in a reduced analysis for sites with lower earthquake risks. Westinghouse has wide experience in performing seismic PRA for both BWR as well as PWR plants. Westinghouse uses the documented set of seismic design analyses dating from construction phase and from later updates, if done, as a basis for a seismic PRA, which means that usually no costly new structural mechanics calculations have to be performed.


This paper describes initial results of a fiber optic-based sensor during on-site testing performed by FEORC and Fiber and Sensor Technologies at Ingersol-Rand. Advantages of the fiber optic sensor are a demonstrated enhanced survivability, higher sensitivity, smaller size, electromagnetic interference immunity, and reduced risk of explosion. The conventional wire strain gages typically survive only a few minutes attached to the drill steel and drive chain, while the fiber sensors described here have survived over 400 hours and are currently still functioning properly. The tests described include the demonstration of strain energy measurements on the drive chain and drill steel, and displacement measurements of the piston within the drifter. All of the sensors tested can be used as both a laboratory evaluation and testing tools, as well as being an integral part of a proposed control and health monitoring system.


Planning at the Landscape Scale, Paul Selman, London and New York, Routledge, 2006, 213 pp., £29.99 (p/b) This is a welcome book that takes as its premise the importance and value of planning through the landscape, and therefore at a scale and spatial pattern responsive to landscape processes, rather than planning for landscape, often based on the myopic perspective of a partial view. As might be expected from someone who was editor of the scholarly journal Landscape Research for 10 years, Paul Selman brings to his subject a wealth of knowledge and a sophisticated understanding of landscape planning and management, environmental science, cultural geography, and the challenges facing contemporary planners. He sets out the arguments for thinking and acting at 'the landscape scale' and articulates the need for embracing natural and cultural processes in a holistic way, before moving on the describe principles and instruments for landscape-scale planning and, finally, giving guidance and evidence on the practice(s) of landscape planning. The book is a pleasure to read, using a fluent and eminently readable writing style that eschews jargon and always explains and exemplifies technical terms. Early on, Selman defines what he means by each term or phrase, including ones that may be familiar but subject to varying interpretations, pointing out, for example, the difference between interdisciplinarity (integrating several academic disciplines across subject boundaries) and transdisciplinarity (requiring engagement by stakeholders as well as academics across the spectrum of disciplines, towards a common goal). He highlights the recent emphasis on communities of place, the quotidian landscapes of most people's lives underlined by the European Landscape Convention, and the importance of acknowledging a spatial dimension to 'justice'. In introducing what planning for sustainability might mean, Selman notes that: 'Whilst there is little point in pretending that late-modern society can simply revert to pre-industrial mixed farm and forest, a key challenge for landscape scale planning may well be associated with recapturing the serendipitous balance between economic need, emotional attachment and ecological dynamics that appears to have transpired in many traditional, low-intensity landscapes' (p. 15). He emphasises repeatedly the nested spatial units within which dynamic landscape systems, natural and cultural, find expression at different scales, providing intrinsic domains within which activities can be organised. In arguing for planning at the landscape scale, he goes on to say: 'it may be hypothesised that landscapes - as intimate amalgams of natural, human and built capital - reflect the quintessential spatial frame for the governance of sustainable development' (p. 18). Such a Geddesian view, espousing the importance of the biogeographical unit as a basis for thinking about 'place/work/ folk' (see Welter, 2002), is timely and suggests that the 'topic of landscape is moving from a sectoral to mainstream feature of spatial planning' (p. 22). We can be grateful to Selman for having reviewed, summarised and critiqued a considerable literature, including his own writings, relevant to the topic. He draws from an international body of work, although with an emphasis on European theorists, and, particularly in the later, more applied chapters, provides numerous examples of UK and European principles and practice, often supplemented by comparator North American ones. Always generous to the work of others, his book includes numerous useful figures that provide condensed overviews of key models or frameworks in the literature. …


The vertical and horizontal distribution of pear thrips in Vermont sugar maple forest soils was investigated. In the fall, about 86% of the thrips were found in the upper 10 cm of soil, though a few were found as deep as 20 cm. No thrips were found in the leaf litter. Soil sampling tools to determine thrips populations within an entire forest were tested and a standard hand-held bulb planter was found to be the most effective. No consistent pattern in thrips distribution around individual sugar maple trees was found. Pear thrips distribution within a forest stand predominating in sugar maple appeared to be random, but clumped, and variation in the density of pear thrips among individual samples was relatively high. For conducting soil sampling on a statewide scale, ten soil samples per sugarbush was found to be sufficient for estimating pear thrips population levels within an acceptable error range.


Abstract:In this snapshot, I discuss the potential value of gardening as a reciprocal research method. I draw on my experience of partnering with a school in establishing and supporting an ongoing primary school vegetable garden, as part of a long-term research project. I suggest that the garden creates a space in which to "talk around" the problem of diet-related non-communicable disease, rather than trying to define or address it directly, and therefore allows for the co-construction of our understanding of "food choice," both in exploring the limitations of choice, and in discovering participatory opportunities to leverage for change in the food system. In this light, I discuss the value of slow research around a shared physical space, where reciprocity is derived from a negotiated give-and-take of learning to grow vegetables. Over time, locally relevant, relational and cumulative framing emerges. I argue that slow, reciprocal research involves embracing the full complexity of context, and adopting a posture of flexibility means that, rather than trying to control outcomes, we remain curious about the process itself.


OBJECTIVE To observe the biodistribution of carboplatin-Fe@C nanocage-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (C-Fe@CN-CN) injected into hepatic artery under magnetic field in rats. METHODS Eighty normal rats were randomly divided into two groups. Abdominal exposure was carried out through a midline incision, and a cannula was inserted into the hepatic artery and fixed. Carboplatin was injected in Group A. In Group B, C-Fe@CN-CN was injected and the left liver lobe was under 5 000 Gs magnetic field as targeted region for 30 min. At 15, 30 min, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h after injuection respectively, the rats were sacrificed. The tissues of targeted liver, non-targeted liver, kidney, spleen, lung and heart were collected. The drug level of tissue was measured by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The tissue was stained by HE to observe the aggregation of C-Fe@CN-CN. C-Fe@CN-CN was also labeled with 99Tc, and the distribution of radioactivity in vivo was detected by ECT. RESULTS The cmax of caboplatin of targeted liver in Group B (38.47 μg·g-1) was increased by 1.6 times as that of non-targeted liver (14.79 μg·g-1), and 6.7 times as that of liver in Group A (4.98 μg·g-1). The concentration of carboplatin of targeted liver at 48 h in Group B (3.11 μg·g-1) was increased by 7.9 times as that of non-targeted liver (0.35 μg·g-1), and that in Group A was too low to be detected. The cmax of carboplatin in kidney, spleen, and lung in Group B (29.94, 1.54, 1.76 μg·g-1) were significantly lower than those in Group A (37.78, 2.14, 2.34 μg·g-1). The histology examination demonstrated that a lot of C-Fe@CN-CN was accumulated in the interval of liver cells or in the hepatic sinusoid in the magnetic field. There was no the aggregation of C-Fe@CN-CN in non-targeted region. The photograph of radioacticity also showed C-Fe@CN-CN was accumulated in the targeted liver. CONCLUSION C-Fe@CN-CN shows remarkable magnetic target and controlled release in vivo. It can be accumulated among cells in targeted region under magnetic field and slowly release drug to increase the levels of drug, prolong the active time and decrease the cmax in other organs.


The early vestibular stimulation plays vital role in development of sensorimotor integration. The present study was intended to evaluate the efficacy of practice of using cradle in the early infancy for the development of the sensorimotor integration. The study was cross-sectional case-control study involving 62 kids studying at kindergarten in a preschool. The children who had early vestibular stimulation acted as cases (n =28) and those who has not been given early vestibular stimulation acted as control. (n = 34). Flexibility, power testing, balancing were checked among these. The scores of individual test were noted down and they were added up to make Sensorimotor Integration (SMI) Score of each kid. When compared between these scores it was found that it was significantly better in experimental group. Balance beam test and Draw man test revealed significant differences in the control and cases, balance and body perception was better in experimental group. We can conclude from the scores that on developmental scale the children with early vestibular stimulation were placed at higher rank as compared to control. We found that kids with early vestibular stimulation showed more interest and performance in the sports involving motor skills, balance activity. The children exposed to early vestibular stimulation might perform better in the sports in the adulthood.


One type of multimodal (comprised of nanometer and sub-micrometer WC particles) and two types of conventional (comprised of nanometer and sub-micrometer WC particles, respectively) WC/Co powders were deposited on AISI 304L stainless steel substrates by using high velocity oxygen fuel spraying. The use of multimodal WC particles was indicated to have a beneficial effect on the solar absorptance (α) of the WC/Co coatings. The α of the multimodal WC coating reached 0.87, which was much higher than what can be achieved by either fine (0.82) or coarse powders (0.80) alone. By microstructural analysis, the enhancement in solar absorptance of the multimodal WC/Co coating was ascribed to the layer of distributed WC particles. During the thermal spraying, the nanostructured WC particles underwent rapid melting for the large specific surface area while the aggregated powders were heated, but not necessarily melted. The molten nano-WC would fill the available pores between the softened and heated aggregates, providing a layered distribution of WC particles for the spray-deposited coating. In this condition, the light-trapping in the multimodal coating will be enhanced due to the efficient light reflection among the multimodal WC particles, which contributes to the enhancement of solar absorptance.


The temperature dependence of specific heat for the compounds CeNi4Cu and YbNi4Cu is analysed. These studies are supported by magnetic susceptibility and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurements. The scheme of the energy levels created by the splitting due to the crystal electric field is determined from the Schottky contribution to the specific heat. Anomalies observed at low temperatures are discussed in the framework of heavy-fermion/Kondo physics. It is found that an external magnetic field has a strong influence on the low temperature part of the specific heat.


Abstract : A southward shift of the solar wind magnetic field enhances field-cutting at the dayside magnetopause and internal magnetospheric convection. The magnetopause is connected to highly conducting dayside auroral oval ionosphere where large Pederson currents flow in response to convection electric fields. When field-cutting starts, internal magnetic flux cannot return freely to the magnetopause, but flows at a line-tied limited rate determined by the ionospheric conductivity. If the line-tied flux return rate is less than the field-cutting rate, the magnetopause shrinks in size. The distorted magnetopause forces more current into the ionospheric Pederson circuit, which then self-consistently permits a larger flux return rate. For typical magnetospheric parameters, the time constant for the establishment of equal flux return and field cutting rates is 20-40 minutes; the magnetopause shrinkage is 1-2 R sub E; the missing flux adds roughly 10% to the geomagnetic tail flux. The time constant for convection establishment is consistent with DP-2 and the growth phase of magnetospheric substorms. (Author)


MUSICAL MYSTERIES The Quarter Note Tales. By Arthur Wenk. Ontario, Canada: Wingate Press, 2006. [350 p. ISBN-10: 0973856513; ISBN-13 9780973856514. $23.95 CDN] Arthur Wenk, probably best known to the music community for his work on Debussy and for his indexes to the analytical literature, published in MLA's Index and Bibliography Series, has turned his attention to fiction, particularly the genre of mystery. The Quarter Note Tales, consisting of three novellas that progress chronologically, introduce us to protagonist Axel Crochet, a musicologist and organist. In his author's notes, Wenk suggests that Axel Crochet "represents a nod to Debussy's Monsieur Crochet [sic]." The first two novellas are set in academia, while the third is set in a church. The root causes behind the crimes-plagiarism in the first two, and financial fraud in the third-could be considered unforgivable in their settings. The first novella, "An Unfaltering Trust," finds Axel in his first year of a tenure-track appointment at Chihuahua State University, part of the California State University system. Chihuahua State's vision of itself, however, differed from that of a regional campus. "The 'Founding Fathers,' as they like to call themselves, had quite a different vision. Inspired by their own education at the University of Chicago and dissatisfied with the run-of-the-mill offerings at neighboring state colleges, they came to Chihuahua with the intention of creating the "Swarthmore of the West" (alternately, the "Dartmouth of the West," p. 2). An English professor, Grant Jarman, has died as the result of what appears to be suicide, soon discovered to be murder. Jarman had been having an affair with a student, Deirdre O'Donahue, who goes to great length to keep Jarman's memory fresh in the minds of the campus. The editor of the student newspaper, Jerome Chowning, also aids in this effort. As Axel finds himself involved in investigating the murder he enters into a relationship with Jarman's widow, Melissa. Throughout the novella, we find vignettes of department and college life. The chair of the three-member music department is a composer who talks of spending six months writing a quartet. We learn that the dean is insisting that the department appoint an official committee to nominate a new chair, even though they all agree that the current chair should continue. We read about Axel's near alienation of the choir when he insists on intense, two-hour rehearsals and that when he tries shorter rehearsals with less intensity, the group responds. We also hear pointed comments on the California Legislature's interference in campus funding, teaching loads, and enrollment. As Axel comes closer to uncovering the murderer, we learn of professional jealousy and plagiarism. Axel's reputation, both on and off campus, has been tarnished by a series of anonymous notes, and he learns that his contract will not be renewed for the following year. Axel puts himself in physical danger to expose the murderer, and although his reputation has been cleared, decides to leave California and return to the Boston area, where he did his graduate work. The second novella, "Murder in the Music Department," finds Axel in an eastcoast music department, Brooks University. The department chair, Edgar Frost, has been murdered by being hit on the head with a bust of Brahms that he kept in his of- fice, and the voice teacher, Viola Mordent, is accused of the crime. Mordent does not want to hire a detective to clear her, and the university president's wife and longtime friend of Mordent's, Maureen Chesterton, asks Axel to investigate for a week. Although Axel does not feel up to the task, "An untenured assistant professor would be crazy to claim that a murder investigation wasn't in his job description" (p. …


Ecumenical Babel: Confusing Economic Ideology and the Church's Social Witness Jordan J. Ballor Grand Rapids, Michigan: Christian's Library Press, 2010 (142 + xi pages)


We report on the development and characterization of phosphate glass optical fibers for laser and optical amplifier applications. We discuss preliminary results on the implementation of compact fiber lasers and optical amplifiers.


The series of polyethylenimine (PEI)-based solid sorbents were prepared by the wet-impregnation of PEI (Mw = 600) on the surface of six porous materials, i.e., mesoporous silicas (MCM-41, SBA-15, and KIT-6), mesoporous carbon (CMK-3), protonated titanate nanotube (PTNT), and fumed silica (FS). The resultant materials, denominated PEI/supports, were characterized by N2 adsorption/desorption at 77 K, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). CO2 adsorption on the PEI/supports was evaluated using 2 vol % CO2 in flowing air on a self-assembled fixed bed reactor. The observations made here show that relative to the other four sorbent counterparts, PEI/PTNT and PEI/FS exhibit better performance of CO2 adsorption, mainly attributed to their more abundant secondary macropores, together with more homogeneous PEI surface dispersion. For all the PEI/supports, the adsorption data of CO2 at vario...


Food and agricultural policy research is often challenged with the issue of commercializing the application of transgenic technology in food production. There is a need for an enhanced understanding of how risk and benefit information influence the general attitudes of farmers towards genetically modified (GM) technology. This paper contributes to existing literature by studying the various adoption factors that influence Ghanaian farmers' attitudes toward GM crop technology by using risk perception as a mediating tool. An empirical choice of methodology which is structural equation analysis was incorporated in this study. We report that, after conducting a survey among 325 respondents, Ghanaian farmers' negative attitudes toward GM technology is as a result of the influence of risk perception on the attributes of the innovative technology (relative advantage, trialability, mass media, and interpersonal relations). We employ a conceptual framework that incorporates Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) and Risk analysis to assess the relationships between the attributes and attitudes towards GM technology. It was revealed in the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis that, risk perception exerts a significant influence on the effects of the attributes of GM technology adoption thus reflecting a negative attitude towards the adoption of the related technology. We further discussed the implications for emphasizing the need for a positive attitude toward the acceptance and adoption of GM technology in Ghana.


FIELD: medicine, hematology, polypeptides, pharmacy. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to composition containing factor VII or factor VII-related polypeptide and factor XI or factor XI-related-polypeptide, sets containing indicated compounds and to using composition used in treatment of bleeding. Pharmaceutical composition contains the effective dose of factor VII or factor VII-related polypeptide, and factor XI or factor XI-related polypeptide. Invention provides the following effects: (1) design of composition that can be used effectively in treatment or prophylaxis of bleeding and blood coagulation disorders being oral composition preferably; (2) design of compositions as the single dosed formulation that can be used effectively in treatment or prophylaxis of bleeding or as a procoagulant agent; (3) design of compositions possessing the synergetic effect, design of treatment methods or sets that promote to the development of synergetic effect; (4) design of compositions, methods for treatment and sets without adverse effects, such as the high level of systemic activation of the blood coagulation system. EFFECT: valuable medicinal properties of pharmaceutical composition. 43 cl, 1 tbl, 4 dwg, 2 ex


Let $X$ be an $n$-dimensional connected scheme smooth and projective over ${\bf C}$. We decompose the motive $\underline{\rm Hom}({\bf L}^{n-2},M(X))$ using intermediate Jacobians. We also construct a morphism $M_{2n-2}(X)\rightarrow M(X)$ induced by a conjectural Chow-Kunneth decomposition of $M(X)$.


Former APS Director of Social Issues Professor Ann Sanson discusses her experiences at the recent Australia 2020 Summit held in Canberra. Additionally she reveals that the main focus was on prevention and intervention rather than treatment and cure of mental health problems.


Associated to the redefinition of the concept of poverty, a new approach suggests that poor people's participation is crucial to overcome poverty. This paper examines this proposal taking as framework of analysis the features and possibilities of participation in authoritarian regimes, considering that countries with endemic poverty most of the time have also authoritarian political systems. Taking Mexico as a case study, the author argues that recommending participation is not enough. What is needed is eliminating traditional forms of participation (i.e. clientelism and corporatism) and developing democratic forms of participation. Only that change might allow poor people to defend their rights, and then struggle to curb the most severe consequences of the concentration of power and material resources in the societies they live in.


Despite their prolonged history, Androcars (Robocars, Self Driving Cars, Autonomous Cars) only until recent decades gained substantial advances in parallel to the developments in computer vision and machine learning applications. In particular, we saw striking developments in the last twenty years. Today androcars are running their test drives on the public roads. In this text, we discuss the effect of different optimization and regularization techniques in convolutional neural networks applied to androcar design.


The Brian\c con-Skoda theorem appears in many variations in recent literature. The common denominator is
that the theorem gives a sufficient condition that implies a membership $\phi\in \ideala^l$,
where $\ideala$ is an ideal of some ring $R$.
In the analytic interpretation $R$ is the local ring of an analytic space $Z$, and the condition
is that $|\phi|\leq C|\ideala|^{N+l}$ holds on the space $Z$. The theorem thus relates the rate of vanishing of $\phi$ along the locus of $\ideala$ to actual membership of (powers of) the ideal. The smallest integer $N$ that works for all $\ideala \subset R$ and all $l\geq 1$ simultaneously will be called the Brian\c con-Skoda number of the ring $R$. The thesis contains three papers. The first one gives an elementary proof of the original Brian\c con-Skoda
theorem. This case is simply $Z=\C^n$. The second paper contains an analytic proof of a generalization by Huneke. The result is also sharper when $\ideala$ has few generators if the geometry is not to complicated in a certain sense. Moreover, the method can give upper bounds for the Brian\c con-Skoda number for some varieties such as for example the cusp $z^p = w^q$. In the third paper non-reduced analytic spaces are considered. In this setting Huneke's generalization must be modified to remain valid. More precisely, $\phi$ belongs to $\ideala^l$ if one requires that $|L \phi| \leq C |\ideala|^{N+l}$ holds on $Z$ for a given family of holomorphic differential operators on $Z$.
We impose the assumption that the local ring $\O_Z$ is Cohen-Macaulay for technical reasons.


Efficient, narrowband rocking filters have been made in polarisation-maintaining monomode optical fibre by photoinducing periodic birefringent gratings along the length of the fibre. These gratings, fabricated with a period chosen to provide synchronous coupling between the two principal states of polarisation of the LP01 mode at a preselected wavelength, gently rock to and fro along the principal polarisation axes of the fibre. To photoinduce the grating, the fibre is exposed periodically along its length to a UV light beam which is incident at right angles to the geometrical axis of the fibre and is directed π/A rad with respect to the principal polarisation axes. Efficient polarisation mode conversion at 1.3 μm with the birefringent fibre grating is demonstrated.


Early detection of pneumonia in patients through effective medical imaging may enable timely remedial measures and reduce the severity of the infection. There is an increase in cases among new-borns, teenagers and also people with health issues in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic also revealed the major impact pneumonia had on the lungs and the consequences of delayed detection. The presence of the infection in the lungs is examined through images of Chest X-ray, however, for an early diagnosis of the infection, this paper proposes an automated model as a more effective alternative. Convolutional Vision Transformer (CVT) which gives an accuracy of 97.13%, and is a robust combination of Convolution and Vision Transformer (ViT), is suggested in this paper as a potential model to detect pneumonia early in patients.


The Road of Tang and Tubo was very important in the cultural communication of the Han and Tibetans. Based on the current research materials, this paper studies the formation causes and its political, economic and cultural significance. This paper doesn't agree that the Tang-Bo part came into its short golden period after Princess Wencheng were married in Tubo. This view is debatable. Most of the time, the road was unlocked even if the relations between the two countries were tense, and was the main road for their ambassadors and logistics forces. The Bo-Ni part played an important role in the history of China-India and Tibet-India. This road is more important for the Tubo kingdom than in China-India history.


This paper is based upon a research project conducted in a Victorian government secondary college which sough to examine the teaching practice of two remarkable classroom and ensemble practitioners. The study focused upon the Year Eight and Nine Classroom Music Program as well as an original music ensemble within the school. There emerged clear pathways for students to experience, compose and perform original music on a scale not seen within the mainstream school environment. Classes are cooperative experiences in creating and recording new material, composing film scores, performing contemporary arrangements and exploring the maelstrom of the 'jam' sessions. It can be a loud and intensely chaotic experience for the uninitiated, but the processes and boundaries are well understood by the student participants, who speak of a level of control and freedom not found anywhere else in their experience of mainstream education. The students speak to us through written reflections and rehearsals observations about song writing, relationships and cooperation, while the teachers speak passionately about the value of what they do and the rewards that such an approach engender. Ultimately, it was about risk-taking by both staff and students and a willingness to explore and engage with sound at a fundamental level.


An investigation of 97 towns and 15 commuting regions in Sweden shows that the developmental pattern has a significant influence on the energy consumption for transportation. The main source for the energy data is the officiai Swedish statistics on fuel sales quantities in the municipalities in 1989, adjusted for fuel consumption in the agricultural sector. For the individual town, a dense pattern of development clearly gives the lowest per capita energy consumption for transportation. At the regional level, however, a decentralized pattern of residence seems to be favourable with respect to energy conservation, provided that each individual town and village has sufficiently high population density.


AbstractThe load-displacement responses of laterally loaded, single bored piles in weathered granite soil are investigated using field model tests and numerical analyses. Field model tests were conducted to simulate the loading conditions of foundations for offshore structures subjected to large overturning moments with small lateral loads. The results of numerical analyses from existing methods were compared with experimental data to assess their suitability to predict lateral load capacities. These comparisons revealed the following reasons for underestimating the lateral load capacities of piles in weathered granite soil in practice: cohesion component of soil, friction between pile and soil, volume expansion characteristics of soil, and the underestimation of ultimate lateral soil resistances of p-y curves. Parametric studies were used to determine the influence of the previously described factors on the lateral load capacities of piles and confirmed the importance of the appropriate estimation of the...


The fourth dimension is a complex concept that deals with abstract reasoning, our sense of perception, and our imagination. This paper gives a brief overview of the background that leads to the study of the fourth dimension and focuses on the specifics of mathematics and visual imaging to illustrate the challenges and benefit of interdisciplinary collaboration to create a sound outcome.


In recent decades, the applications for wireless local area networks called WLAN(Wireless Local Area Networks) have become increasingly numerous, hence the need for greater transmission rates. The diversity techniques and especially the spatial diversity techniques [1], [2] are very effective in reducing the impact of these problems on system performance. The fact received signal is affected by multiple channels, we assume uncorrelated, induces a gain of diversity, properly operated can improve system performance in terms of quality of service (QoS: Quality of service) and transmission rate. The implementation of multiple antennas for transmission and reception is made possible by recent advances in wireless technologies. To eliminate the selectivity of the channel and combat fading and interference, and advanced modulation interference, technique OFDM is applied. The combination of MIMO MMSE-VBLAST -OFDM is an optimal solution to increase the transmission rate and improve the performance of signals received. The aim of this paper is to study the performance of MIMO systems by combining the OFDM with MMSE-VBLAST coding in a Rayleigh channel that characterizes most wireless transmissions. In Section 2, we present the MIMO technology. Section 3 concerns the channel model considered. In Section 4, we describe the MIMO-OFDM model adopted for this work. Section 5concern the OFDM transmission technique. Section 6, we discuss the simulation results of our study performance. We end our paper with a conclusion. 2. MIMO technology


Abstract A layer of TiO2 nanotubes is widely used as a surface application on Titanium (Ti) implants because the nanotubes help promote cell adhesion and provide better cell response than the metal surface. Although several studies have reported the relationship between TiO2 nanotubes and cell osseointegration rate, the corrosion rate of the TiO2 nanotube layer under the circumstance of usage has yet to be fully evaluated. In this work, we have studied the effect of surface preparation conditions on the corrosion behavior of a TiO2 nanotube layer on a pure Ti substrate. The surface of the titanium substrate was prepared by different methods, followed by one-step anodization to obtain a TiO2 nanotube array. A surface roughness non-contact tester and field emission scanning electron microscope were used to characterize the surface roughness and surface morphology of the as-received, mechanically polished, and chemically polished substrate both pre and post anodization. The corrosion behavior of the prepared substrates was also investigated in Phosphate Buffered Saline solution using potentiodynamic polarization technique. The results suggest that surface roughness at the nanoscale of the prepared surfaces has no relationship with corrosion resistance. However, after anodization, the corrosion rate has a good relationship with the standard deviation of inner tube/pore diameter.


ABSTRACT Due to complex interactions between immersed tunnel and surrounding environment, it is difficult to apply theoretical analysis for axial displacement (DIS) of immersion joints. To develop a generalised model for DIS prediction, Deep Neural Network (DNN) could be considered. However, the spatial generalisation of black-box DNN models is not always convincible for small data. In this study, we proposed a novel hybrid physical data (HPD) informed DNN model with improved spatial generalisation for prediction of DIS. The physical mechanism of DIS is firstly analysed by correlation between DIS and other monitoring data. The HPD is then created based on the physical analysis and contributes to the DNN as a substituting feature rather than an additional feature. Three DNN models fed with different groups of features are compared, while the proposed HPD-DNN has outperformed others in terms of both prediction generalisation as well as accuracy. The permutation feature importance analysis reveals that HPD has effectively enhanced physical interpretation of DNN, which supports the results stated in physical analysis. The application of HPD is further verified to enhance the spatial generalisation of prediction for not only DNN but also other black-box models, which is promising for insufficient data problems in geotechnical engineering.


The waste tires from vehicles are continually increasing in the world and disposal of waste tires has become a global problem and required to find an adequate recycling system. As a method of recycling of waste tires, rubber particles of tire can be used in concrete and it has become a preferable solution for disposing waste tires. The goal of this research is to study the mechanical properties of recycled shredded rubber particles extracted from scrap tires in concrete to introduce a sustainable waste management system and subsequently to reduce the use of non-renewable resources in concrete. In this paper, fine aggregates of concrete were partially replaced with recycled shredded rubber particles less than 5 mm in size. Concrete cylinders with different proportion of rubber up to 50% of fine aggregates by volume were prepared and tested under compression. Also, specimens without rubber were prepared and tested as control specimens. The compressive strength and elastic modulus of the specimens are analyzed to characterize the behaviour of concrete. Overall, increasing the content of shredded rubber decreased the strength and elastic modulus, however increased the ductility of failure. It seems 40% shredded rubber content is the maximum to be recommended for more in-depth studies. This is an on-going research and more results will be presented at the time of the conference.


[Objective]To understand the hepatitis B virus infection among women at childbearing age.[Methods]1 524 women aged 20-49 were selected by multistage random sampling methods in 12 counties(cities,districts) of Shandong province.All of them were investigated by the questionnaire and blood samples were obtained from them.[Results]Of 1 524 tested,the positive rate of HBsAg,Anti-HBs,HBeAg and Anti-HBe was 4.53%,40.35%,1.57% and 2.17%;Those who were HBsAg positive alone and were postive for both HBsAg and HBeAg accounted for 2.95% and 1.57% respectively.Geographically,the prevalence rate of HBsAg in the east,middle and west was 6.39%,2.33% and 4.57%(P0.01),that in urban areas and rural areas was 6.48% and 3.55%(P0.01).The susceptibility rate of hepatitis B was 51.31%,that in the east,middle and west was 45.62%,50.53% and 58.25%(P0.01),that in the rural areas and the urban areas,54.68% and 44.60%(P0.01).The coverage of 3-dose hepatitis B vaccine(HepB) was 10.96%,that in the women aged 20-29,30-39 and 40-49 years was 17.82%,11.45% and 7.18%(P0.01);that in the east,middle and west was 15.69%,10.36% and 7.18%(P0.01);that in rural areas and urban areas was 7.29% and 18.27% respectively(P0.01).[Conclusion]The susceptibility rate of HBV and the positive rate of HBsAg in women at childbearing age are high in Shandong province,while the coverage of 3-dose HepB is low.


PRELIMINARIES. Motivation: Sensitivity and Large-Scale Systems. Nonlinear Solid Mechanics: Continuous and Semi-Discretized Formulation. Concepts of Sensitivity Analysis for Linear Systems.THE SENSITIVITY OF NONLINEAR SYSTEMS. The Basic Concepts of Nonlinear Quasi-Static Problems at Regular States. Inelastic Systems. Shape Sensitivity. Buckling and Post-Buckling. Nonlinear Dynamics. Metal Forming Using the Flow Approach. Nonlinear Thermal Systems. Appendices. References. Index. Glossary of Symbols.


This paper analyzes exports of multinational corporations (MNCs) in Vietnamese manufacturing, highlighting the disproportionately large contribution of heavily-foreign MNCs with foreign ownership shares of 90% or more. The exports of heavily-foreign manufacturing MNCs are substantial and concentrated in apparel, footwear, and electric machinery-related industries. Export propensities also tend to be markedly higher in heavily-foreign MNCs than in other MNCs, and these differences generally persist after controlling for the effects industry affiliation, firm size, vintage, and capital intensity. There is a large variation in the relationship between ownership shares and export propensities among industries and years, however.


It is considered a semiotic model of design of the information system. The main attention is paid to construction of linguistic means of the model and to the mechanism of introduction of algorithms into the formal system.


In this paper we will describe the main criteria for the methodology handbook, the organisation of the repository and as well as the integration of the repository in Moodle eLearning platform as main communication basis for communication between teachers communities. We present also the results of a first teacher's training with the instruments developed in the project


In the context of rapid development of science and technology today, cultivation of innovative computer talent is particularly important in today's information age. The talent cultivation mode of computer between China and America were researched by the international education method of "going out and bringing in". In the three aspects of teaching materials, operating system and experimental teaching, this paper expounds the differences of the talent cultivation of computer between China and America, discusses and researches these differences.


The utility model relates to a welding fixture of an elevator beam, which is characterized by comprising a supporting stand; the supporting stand is movably connected with a movable top plate and is fixedly connected with a fixed top plate; multiple intermediate plates are arranged between the fixed top plate and the movable top plate and are fixedly connected with the supporting stand; the width and the height of the intermediate plate are equal to the width and the height of the elevator beam to be welded; and the top of the supporting stand and the intermediate plate are respectively provided with lock devices. The welding fixture has the advantages of simple structure, and is convenient, stable and safe in operation.


This document provides supplementary information to "Low-loss prism-waveguide optical coupling for ultrahigh-Q low-index monolithic resonators," https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.5.000219, including detailed simulations for Si3N4 waveguide platform (section 1), simulations for adiabatic taper structures (2), semi-numerical simulation model for prism-waveguide couplers together with ultrahigh-Q crystalline resonators (3).


A critical approach on totalitarianism is necessary because of the permanence of those conditions which produced the classical totalitarian regimes. This phenomenon can be also perceived today in some regions of the Third World. A clear distinction between authoritarianism and totalitarianism is useful, in order to further analyze the possibilities of totalitarianism contained in charismatic populism and in the despotic routines of non-democratic and anti-pluralistic cultures. In the Third World and because of a partial modernization process, the pathologies of Modernity flourish now, which are distinctive of totalitarianism.


Coincident study on the Atmospheric Electric Field(AEF) change and EAS particle increase during thunderstorm is very important in understanding the acceleration of secondary cosmic rays particle caused by AEF.From April to August,2006,thunderstorms were frequently recorded at Yangbajing Cosmic Ray Observatory.This work analyzed the correlation between AEF and scaler mode counting rate during thunderstorm when the AEF has violent change.The results revealed that the counting rate of four channels had different feedback on the violent change of AEF,which showed that their energy and most components were different.In general,counting rate in channels of n = 1,2 are found to have large increase varying from 1%to 9%,while there was less or no significant changes for channels of n = 3,n≥4.These preliminary results were very important to further study of the acceleration mechanism of secondary cosmic rays.


Adsorption of o-dihydroxybenzene on soil and modified soil(ammonium -CTMAB modified with 16 alkyl three methyl bromide) was studied.Adsorption thermoisopleth and adsorption dynamics,and influence of pH value and ion intensity to adsorption were investigated.The results showed that the modified soils have higher ability for o-dihydroxy benzene than unmodified one.Thermoisopleth of adsorption of o-dihydroxy benzene accords with Langmuir isotherm.The adsorption speed of o-dihydroxy benzene accords with the first class dynamics law.Along with the increase of ion strength,the adsorption ability of the unmodified soils weakens,and the adsorption ability of the modified soils strengthens obviously.The adsorption ability is strengthened following pH increasing.


Until recently, interferon and lamivudine were the only proven therapies for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. But, many patients cannot tolerate interferon, and drug resistance develops frequently with lamivudine. Now we have a third option, the nucleotide analogue adefovir dipivoxil (Hepsera), which was evaluated in these 2 industry-sponsored, multicenter, …


The expansion properties of extrudate such as diameter ratio, sectional expansion index, longitudinal expansion index, specific length, and specific density are used to describe the effect of extrusion processing as well as material parameters. In this study four types of extrudates namely lentil, lentil+starch, whole dry pea+starch, and split dry pea+ starch were evaluated for their expansion properties with N = 50. The effect of number of replicates and progressive values of the statistical parameters like mean, coefficient of variability (CV), standard deviation (SD), and standard error (SE) were compared graphically. It was determined that 30 replicates were sufficient for determining the expansion characteristics of the extrudates. The CV of the extrudates was lower than other engineering materials due to the homogeneity of the sample, obtained as effect of the mixing capacity of extrusion processing. A mathematical relationship was developed from the pooled data to predict the number of replicates required for desired CV from the advance estimate with five observations. The determination of specific density by dimensional measurement, as well as bulk density by glass bead displacement, was also compared. For measurement of bulk density, five replicates were found to satisfy low CV condition.


Abstract We apply a novel approach to approximate within ϵ to all the eigenvalues of an n × n symmetric tridiagonal matrix A using at most n2([3 log2(625n6)] + (83n − 34)[log2 (log2((λ1 − λn)/(2ϵ))/log2(25n))]) arithmetic operations where λ1 and λn denote the extremal eigenvalues of A. The algorithm can be modified to compute any fixed numbers of the largest and the smallest eigenvalues of A and may also be applied to the band symmetric matrices without their reduction to the tridiagonal form.


Abstract The interaction of supercritical turbulent flows with granular sediment beds is challenging to study both experimentally and numerically. This challenging task has hampered advances in understanding antidunes, the most characteristic bedform of supercritical flows. This article presents the first numerical attempt to simulate upstream-migrating antidunes with geometrically resolved particles and a liquid–gas interface. Our simulations provide data at a resolution higher than laboratory experiments, and they can therefore provide new insights into the mechanisms of antidune migration and contribute to a deeper understanding of the underlying physics. To manage the simulations' computational costs and physical complexity, we employ the cumulant lattice Boltzmann method in conjunction with a discrete element method for particle interactions, as well as a volume-of-fluid scheme to track the deformable free surface of the fluid. By reproducing two flow configurations of previous experiments (Pascal et al., Earth Surf. Process. Landf., vol. 46, issue 9, 2021, pp. 1750–1765), we demonstrate that our approach is robust and accurately predicts the antidunes' amplitude, wavelength and celerity. Furthermore, the simulated wall shear stress, a key parameter governing sediment transport, is in excellent agreement with the experimental measurements. The highly resolved data of fluid and particle motion from our simulation approach open new perspectives for detailed studies of morphodynamics in shallow supercritical flows.


In advocating a biocultural approach to literature, one is claiming an ineluctable relation between science and culture. Biology, for example, is as intrinsic to the embodied state of readers and writers as history and culture are intrinsic to the professional bodies of knowledge known as science and biology. To think of science without including a historical and cultural analysis would be like thinking of the literary text without the surrounding weave of active or dormant discursive knowledges. It is similarly limited to think of literature—or to debate its properties or existence—without considering the network of meanings we might learn from a scientific perspective. Combined, these propositions link with a more synthetic argument: that the biological without the cultural, or the cultural without the biological, is doomed to be reductionist at best and inaccurate at worst.


The invention discloses a roughening process for base membranes made of IPMC (isopropyl mercuric chlcride) materials. The roughening process is characterized by comprising the following steps of (1) clipping an IPMC material into a base membrane, adhering the base membrane to a base plate, fixing the periphery of the base membrane by using a frame of which the boundary dimension is the same with that of the frame, and surrounding the inside of the frame and the upper surface of the base membrane into a cavity; (2) uniformly spreading abrasive materials on the upper surface of the base membrane; (3) placing a polishing hammer on the upper surface of the base membrane in the cavity, enabling the lower surface of the hammer head of the polishing hammer to be parallel to the upper surface of the base membrane and to contact with the abrasive materials, repeatedly pulling the hammer head of the polishing hammer by using balanced pressure, and enabling the abrasive materials to scrape the upper surface of the base membrane so as to roughen a single surface of the base membrane; (4) taking out the base membrane, soaking the base membrane by using mixed solution containing ethyl alcohol, and performing ultrasonic treatment on the base membrane; and (5) roughening the other surface of the base membrane according to the step (1), the step (2), the step(3) and the step (4).