This document briefly describes the physics of RHIC, the collider, and four of the detectors which are now planned to explore the new realm of high energy heavy ion physics.


The article deals with principle of the heart activity measurement using a piezoelectric sensor. There is an information about design of the device serving for arterial pulse wave measurement. The device allows conversion of an electrical charge from the piezoelectric sensor and offers analog signal preprocessing. The signal is later digital processed to achieve a heart rate of the measured subject.


feminist jurisprudence, feminist social history, and judicial behavior. Davis suggested that Cook's most important contribution has been in the agenda she has set for the study of women judges as decision makers. In articles published in 1980, 1981b, and 1988, she explored whether women judges would make a difference in cases of equality and women's rights; her results, not surprisingly, were mixed. In asking whether women judges decide differently from their male counterparts-either in outcomes or in their methods of reasoningCook was asking, beginning in 1980, the questions that scholars are still trying to answer now. In sum, Cook has improved our understanding of judges and their decisions through her attention to the impact of socialization, to political culture and public opinion, to judicial selection, and to the difference gender makes. She continues to be an active researcher with two


Some key technic indexes of criterion of JB/T10285-2001 on "The vacuum freeze-drying equipment for food" were analyzed. Results shows that the index of leaking rate of drying storehouse is too small, and the index of surface temperature of cold trap is too large, and some errors about energy consumption of dehydration were found in the criterion. And some suggestions according to the practical engineering are given to modify the indexes of the criterion.


Competition in the culinary business in the city of Solo is currently very tight, and critical consumer demands are an important problem for entrepreneurs to always provide high satisfaction to customers. Service quality is not enough to satisfy customers, but it needs to be high value for customers. This study aims to analyze (1) effect service quality and perceived value on customer satisfaction; (2) effect perceived value on customer satisfaction; (3) effect service quality on customer satisfaction moderated of perceived value. This research using sample 100 customers who buy culinary in Kota Barat Solo Area. Data collecting with questionaire technique through validity and reliability test. The data analyse using regression linear analysis and absolute residual test, and previously the researcher using classical assumption test. Results of this research showed that (1) service quality have a significantly effect on customer satisfaction; (2) perceived value have a significantly effect on customer satisfaction; (3) perceived value has moderate the effect of service quality on customer satisfaction.


A scheme based on mathematical morphology and neighborhood search is presented to detect dim small target.In this method,according to the intensity features of dim small target,mathematical morphology is adopted to detect the suspicious targets by pre-processing the initial images,and then neighborhood search is used to detect the true target for the motion features of dim small target.


Full and practical details - getting into the region, modes of transport, what to see, where to stay and where to eat. Comprehensive chapter on the historical background of this most famous of all trade routes.


Wind energy has many advantages, because it does not pollute and is an inexhaustible source of energy. The Double Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) is one of the most important generator used for Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT). The DFIG stator is linked directly to the grid, whilst the DFIG rotor is coupled via an electronic converter. In this paper, a discrete-time Neural Sliding Mode (N-SM) Field Oriented Control (FOC) for DFIG stator active and reactive powers control is proposed. The adaptive nature of the proposed controller improves the transient response as compared with discrete-time Conventional Sliding Mode Control (C-SMC) for DFIG parameters variations and disturbances. The proposed controller is based on a Recurrent High Order Neural Network (RHONN), using an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) as training law. The RHONN works as an identifier to obtain an accurate model, which is robust against disturbances and parameter variations. A comparison between C-SMC and N-SMC is included. The validity and the effectiveness of the proposed controller are tested using Matlab/Simulink simulation results.


Libraries have traditionally been responsible for the collection and storage of scholarly information but the twenty-first century will see changes in that role as a digital transformation in knowledge production occurs. This will require new models of collaborative activity in universities in order to provide appropriate frameworks for access to, and the storage of, scholarly information. Libraries will also be increasingly involved in the production and distribution of campus scholarly information through institutional repository and open access initiatives.


Due to the numerous benefits of blockchain technology (BCT), firms are eager to adopt blockchain technologies in their businesses for greater information sharing, increasing efficiency, and reducing the cost. But in the field of supply chain management, blockchain technology literature is in its early phase for lacking theoretical foundation. The primary purpose of this research is to determine the organization theory used in the BCT literature from the perspective of operations and supply chain related fields. The findings reveal that six organizational methods used in BCT literature in supply chain-related fields, including resource-based view, network theory, institutional theory, agency theory, information theory, and transaction cost analysis. This article provides a foundation for future researchers who want to use organizational theory and deepen research on BTC in the field of supply chain management, thereby contributing to the BCT discussion.


In imformation retrival, query reformulation algorithms construct querise from a set of intial input and feedback documents, and retrieval performance cna be varied by different sets of input documents. In this study, we developed a criterion for measuring the performance sensitivity of query reformulation algorithms to unput sets. In addition, we also propose a way of mesuring the changes in retrived area, (CIRA) during qucry reformulation. We cimpared CIRAs of query refromulation algorithms (i.e., query tree, DNF method, and Dillon's method) using three test sets:the CACM, CISI, and Medlars. In the experiments, the query tree showed the highest decreasing CIRA during refirmulations, which means the fastest convergence rate to an output set. For sensitivity analysis, the query tree sored the highest sensitivity to different input sets even though its differences to the tther algorithms are very small.


Starch was isolated from four new waxy barleys and compared with normal and highamylose barley starch. The waxy barley samples were selected lines from crosses of Swedish hulled and naked barley cultivars with the cultivar Azhul as donor of the waxy gene. The starches from the waxy barley samples were found to contain 0.7–2.6% amylose when determined iodimetrically by amperometric titration and 0.0–0.9% when determined by size exclusion chromatography after debranching. However, Sepharose CL-2B elution profiles of the starches detected by iodine staining showed that all four waxy samples were free from detectable amounts of amylose. The amylopectin starches were found to contain a small polysaccharide fraction with molecular size smaller than amylopectin, with an iodine staining lmax range of 550–600 nm. The water extractable and acid extractable b-glucan contents in the waxy barley cultivars were generally found to be higher than those in normal barley.


The purpose of this research was to develop a simple, sensitive, and accurate method for simultaneous determination of 35 free amino acids using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS). Tea samples were extracted with boiling water bath, and then separated by XBridge BEH Amide column by gradient elution. The exact mass and MS/MS spectra of the target compound was detected under the TOF–MS and Information dependent acquisition (IDA)–MS/MS mode. The results demonstrated good linearity (R2 > 0.9980) in the range of 0.5–1,000 ng/mL. The limits of detection (LODs) were 0.13–25.00 mg/kg and the limits of quantitation (LOQs) were 0.25–50.00 mg/kg. The recovery rate ranged from 70.1 to 105.1% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) <11% (n = 6). This research provides a targeted strategy for developing an analysis method for amino acids in tea.


For the time varying optimization problem, the tracking error cannot converge to zero at the finite time because of the optimal solution changing over time. This paper proposes a novel varying parameter recurrent neural network (VPRNN) based hierarchical optimization of a 7-DoF surgical manipulator for Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery (RAMIS), which guarantees task tracking, Remote Center of Motion (RCM) and manipulability index optimization. A theoretically grounded hierarchical optimization framework based is introduced to control multiple tasks based on their priority. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is demonstrated with both simulation and experimental results. The results show that the proposed VPRNN-based method can optimal three tasks at the same time and have better performance than previous work.


According to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) statistics, the enrollment rate in China's institutions of higher learning was 3.8 percent in 1993, only slightly higher than the average for developing countries (3.3 percent) and lower than the world's average of 15.5 percent—to say nothing of the rate in developed countries. In contrast to this abysmally low enrollment rate for higher education is the enormous enthusiasm and potential of our country's residents for investing in higher education. A report by the State Statistical Bureau shows that urban and rural monetary savings throughout China have zoomed from 21.06 billion yuan in 1978 to more than 5,000 billion yuan in April 1998. An average of 10 percent of residents' savings are slated for educational expenses, more than the 7 percent planned for housing. Expenses for education comprise 41 percent of expenses for urban households [sic]. Clearly, China's market for education has enormous potential. Many households that have become rich are willing to pay ten or more times the normal fees to get their children who are 1 or 2 points under par [for entrance exams] into an ideal school—a practice so commonplace as to have become a normal phenomenon.


Carbon nanotubes have attracted interest as possible membranes for desalination based on the observation of fast diffusion of water in simulations of long or infinitely periodic systems. When carbon nanotubes are finite they have often been simulated in force-field studies as having unsaturated dangling bonds for convenience, even though this is chemically unrealistic. In the present work, the influence of realistic terminations on the diffusion of water through the nanotubes is examined through computer simulation as well as the nature of the interface with saline solution at seawater concentrations. Termination of the cleaved nanotubes by hydrogen with a range of functional groups is explored including hydroxyl, carboxylic acid, and carboxylate anions with sodium counter cations. Realistic structures are found to lead to a reduced alignment of the nanotubes within the membrane layer and therefore a broader interfacial region. Diffusion of water within the finite nanotubes is slower than observed in the ...


Abstract The indicators of perinatal outcome are birth weight and gestational age. The standard method of assessing the outcome is comparing the newborn's birth weight with the reference system, presented in the form of percentile charts. Acceleration or delay in prenatal development, which are associated with environmental changes, stress the need to validate the developmental norms. The goal of this study is to evaluate the need to construct new and accurate reference standards. The study includes data of newborns from singleton pregnancies: 4919 born in 2000 and 3683 born in 2015. Study variables included gestational age, sex, and birth weight. Percentile values estimated for two groups of infants born in years separated by a 15-year period, born in 2000 and in 2015, were compared. Birth weight percentiles, from the 28th to the 42nd week of gestation, were calculated using the Lambda Mu Sigma method. Estimated values revealed the birth weight standards in different weeks of gestational age for both years: 2000 and 2015. Comparison among medians estimated for infants born in these years showed the existence of significant differences among boys in the 28th, 36th, and 39th weeks and among girls in the 34th and 41st weeks of gestational age. As the period between the two measurements involves several years, environmental changes during this time period might have significantly affected the course of pregnancy and thus the birth weight. Hence, there is a need to validate the developmental norms. The reference standards should be renewed, and must be done on a periodical basis.


The legal culture is an ens of the group legal value view which came into being in a certain period and the way in which this value view could socialized. Deng Xiaoping's theory about building up legal system not only points out the orientation of the legal culture in China, but makes clear the nuclear problem in the construction of legal culture. As a result, Deng Xiaoping's theory on the build of socialistic legal culture of China shows great foresight.


A model to estimate adolescent sterility among married women is presented using the principle of convex combination of two or more probability density functions.


A broad consensus has emerged that strengthening women's property rights is crucial for reducing poverty and achieving equitable growth. Despite its importance, few nationally representative data exist on women's property rights in Asia, hindering formulation of appropriate policies to reduce gender gaps in land rights. This paper reviews existing micro-level, large sample data on men's and women's control of land, using this information to assess gaps in land rights. Utilizing nationally representative individual- and plot-level data from Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste, we calculate five indicators: incidence of landownership and distribution of landownership by sex, and distribution of plots owned, mean plot size, and distribution of land area, all by sex of owner. The results reveal large gender gaps in landownership across countries. However, the limited information on joint and individual ownership are among the most critical data gaps and are an important area for future data collection and analysis.


An inherent modal analysis has been performed on the structure of a centrifugal charging pump with Ansys software based on a newly developed 3D model.Using static method,its anti-seismic performance at SSE seismic load has been analyzed according to SRSS algorithm by simultaneously considering the actions of the gravity,temperature and pressure load.Results show that the fundamental frequency of the charging pump body is 655.13 Hz,far more than 33 Hz,indicating that the structure is rigid;the biggest Mises equivalent stress is 103.40 MPa,appearing in the middle area of outer casing,less than the material allowable stress 140.23 MPa specified by ASME-Ⅱ;the maximum displacement response is 0.143 mm,occurring in the middle area of outer casing,far below the gap of 1mm left between various components.Calculation results prove the charging pump to be satisfactory according to relevant standards.


In this paper, by using MM5 V2 model, we have successfully simulated a heavy rain process that occurred in Wuhan area in July,1998 has been simulated. Based on the high resolution output data, the diagnostic analysis is conducted to disclose the structure of meso β scale vortex system in three different periods. The results show that the horizontal scale of the system is within 90 km, and the circulation is evident only in the low midlevel troposphere(850 hPa~650 hPa), and the most important feature is its warm core positive vorticity column with accumulation of various thermodynamic and dynamic variables.


The administration of thyroxine to a number of experimental animals has resulted in marked structural and metabolic changes in the myocardium. Thyroxine has been shown to produce myocardial hypertrophy (1, 2) and to increase oxygen consumption and fatty acid utilization by the heart (3). In the dog made hyperthyroid by the administration of large doses of thyroxine, increased free fatty acid utilization by the heart was accompanied by a decreased uptake of glucose (3). In this communication data are presented which show that the administration of i-thyroxine to guinea pigs resulted in an increased rate of long chain fatty acid oxidation and a decreased rate of glucose oxidation by myocardial homogenates. The stimulatory effect on fatty acid oxidation was associated with elevated concentrations of free carnitine and acylcarnitines and increased long chain acyl coenzyme A (CoA)-carnitine acyltransferase (CAT) activity. The decreased glucose oxidation was associated with elevated levels of myocardial hexosemonophosphates and citrate. Citrate, the tissue concentration of which is increased by enhanced fatty acid oxidation, has been identified as one of several compounds that exert rate-controlling influences on glycolysis by inhibiting the activity of phosphofructokinase (PFK) (4, 5).


Bird nests can be complex bio-engineered structures constructed from a range of materials to provide a site for incubation, and in many species chick rearing. Reports of the materials used in nest walls and cup linings are typically qualitative and do not assist in understanding the functional properties of the structure as a whole. This paper provides size and composition data for nests from four species of the Motacillidae family: the meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis), pied wagtail (Motacilla alba), grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), and the yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava), three species of the Sylviidae family: willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus), Eurasian reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) and Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), and the dunnock (Prunella modularis) of the Prunellidae family. Three hypotheses were tested: do nest dimensions correlate with body mass? Is it possible to distinguish among species based on their nest composition; and for individual species? Is it possible to distinguish between the cup lining and outer nest wall based on the materials used in construction? Nest composition and size varied among species although the degree of intra-specific variation was different. Size of a nest was unrelated to average female adult body mass. Composition relied on similar types of materials but in differing quantities between species. It was possible to distinguish among species in terms of nest construction, and between the cup lining and the outer nest, on the basis of at least one of the component materials. By providing quantitative data on composition, it may be possible in the future to understand better the structural, insulative and hydrological properties of the nest. Such information will be invaluable as we begin to develop an understanding of the factors that have driven evolution of nest architecture.


This is a case study of interinstitutional e-collaboration in a rural part of Canada, based on e-teaching and elearning for senior high school students. In the process of developing e-collaboration between institutions, new structures and processes were created that complemented traditional schools. Through this initiative, e-collaboration provided extended educational and, indirectly, vocational opportunities for senior students in small schools in Atlantic Canada. In a pilot study in 1999, selected advanced placement (AP) subjects were made available online for what was believed to be the first time. Furthermore, the AP subjects were made available online to students in senior classes in small rural Newfoundland and Labrador secondary schools (N = 8). There were no online AP courses to guide the initiative at the time and the curriculum at this level had not previously been provided to students in small rural schools. Through interinstitutional e-collaboration senior students in rural schools in a small part of Atlantic Canada were provided with extended learning opportunities. AP instruction was developed both on site and online, synchronously and asynchronously within new collaborative structures organized around e-teaching and e-learning.


The subject of the present report was first suggested from the observation that the growth of vaccinia virus was inhibited in the rabbits which had previously been used in experiments with streptococcus toxin or toxoids . In the present investigation, the method of intravenous inoculation , as reported. by us on another occasion, has been employed1). In order to ascertain whether or not this 'viristatic action is due to immunologic reactions, series of mice was inoculated with streptococcus toxoid at weekly intervals , with doses of 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 cc. After an interval of one week from the last inoculation , the animals, together with the same number of untreated mice , were inoculated intravenously with purifed vaccinia virus . The results of the observations are summarized in Table 1, which show that generalized vaccinia developed on the 6th day in both the immu nized and unimmunized animals, the severity of manifestations being identical in both groups . Thus it is clear that the immunity resulting from streptococcus toxoids had no bearing on inhibiting action in question.


The possibility of allowing a machine agency over killing human beings is a justifiably concerning development, particularly when we consider the challenge of accountability in the case of illegal or unethical employment of lethal force. We have already seen how key information can be hidden or contested by deploying authorities, in the case of lethal drone strikes, for example. Therefore, this chapter argues that any effective response to autonomous weapons systems (AWS) must be underpinned by a comprehensive transparency regime that is fed by robust and reliable reporting mechanisms. This chapter offers a three-part argument in favor of a robust transparency regime. Firstly, there is a preexisting transparency gap in the deployment of core weapon systems that would be automated (such as currently remote-operated UCAVs). Second, while the Pentagon has made initial plans for addressing moral, ethical, and legal issues raised against AWS, there remains a need for effective transparency measures. Third, transparency is vital to ensure that AWS are only used with traceable lines of accountability and within established parameters. Overall this chapter argues that there is an overwhelming interest and duty for actors to ensure robust, comprehensive transparency, and accountability mechanisms. The more aggressively AWS are used, the more rigorous these mechanisms should be.


The changes in the peripheral blood of albino rats panirradiated with 600 r and protected with cysteamine ( beta mercaptoethylamine) in different doses administered in different x-ays were studied. Cysteamine protects against the blood changes only if given in the right dose (3 mg) intraperitoneally, immediately before irradiation. If administered 6 hr before irradiation it has no immediate protective action, but it enhances the recovery of hematopoiesis by protecting the recovery factor. Pretreatment during the days preceding irradiation appears to be useless and becomes harmful if continued after irradiation. Cysteamine injected into normal animals in total doses exceeding 48 mg (two 3 mg doses pro die 150 mg/kilo) causes leucopenia characterized by relative granulocytosis and lymphopenia. Cysteamine is thus shown to have a radiomimetic action on blood cells. (auth)


We give the definition of neotectonic movement of the South Yellow Sea and put forward the research techniques. The neotectonic movement of the South Yellow Sea has been controlled by the tectonic zone of the West Pacific Ocean and it is the inheritance and development of the old tectonic movement. We describe the brief characteristics of the neotectonic movement of the South Yellow Sea. The research on the neotectonic movement of the South Yellow Sea is of great significance.


The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for implementing a CDMA system summer time, the method comprising the following process steps: the base station detects the current state of the system when daylight saving time, according to the detected state of the summer time system, the system synchronization information time zone offset plus the time zone offset to or subtracting the offset standard time summer time, or remain constant offset standard time zone, and the system synchronization information to the terminal. Said adjusting means comprising a base disposed on a module of daylight saving time, daylight saving time adjustment module detects the current state of the system of summer time, and according to the detected state of the summer time system, the system synchronization information is provided in the time zone offset a standard time zone offset plus or minus offset when daylight saving time or standard time zone offset remains unchanged, and the system synchronization information to the terminal. Automatic daylight savings the present invention may be implemented on all mobile phones.


Background: Paraplegia induced by spinal cord ischemia reperfusion injury (SCIR) remains a devastating complication following thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic open surgery / endovascular aortic...


Background: The provision of accurate and timely drug information to health care professionals is an important mechanism to promote safe and effective drug therapy for patients. World's Drug and Poison Information Centers (DPICs) are mainly affiliated to hospitals, rather rarely with faculties of pharmacy or with faculties of medicine and other related organizations. Methods: Data was collected from a questionnaire which was distributed among 400 health care providers in April 2009. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 17). Results: Medical reference books and drug information textbooks (36.7%) and expert colleagues (29.7%) were the "most commonly" used drug information resources. In addition, 77.8% of respondents "almost never" use DPICs. About 77% of respondents were non- acquainted with these centers' activities. Five expectations were considered 'very important' by respondents : Provide information on IV drugs incompatibilities (74%), Provide drug interaction information (70.1%), Provide new drugs information (56.5%), Education/training of health care professionals regarding rational drug therapy and prevention of medication errors (54.9%), Providing information on dosage forms of drugs available in Iran (53.5%). Conclusion: Being non acquaintance with services of DPIC centers can be considered as the most important reason of not using them. Considering "announcement of availability of drugs in pharmacy" as one of the activities of DPICs, shows that the health care professionals are not acquainted with real services of these centers. It shows an urgent need for culture building activities to introduce them to these centers services.


A Variety of bone and joint manifestations of Crohn's disease have been reported,1 2 3 including ankylosing spondylitis,1 nonspecific synovitis,4 periosteal new-bone formation,5 6 7 and aseptic necrosis.5 One case of granulomatous synovitis has been reported.8 The unusual case of Crohn's disease of the colon reported below was complicated by granulomatous disease of bone. Case Report A 44-year-old man complained of severe bilateral leg pain progressing, in one month, to the point that he was having difficulty walking. He also complained of mild abdominal distention. Physical examination gave normal results. Urinalysis, complete blood count, glucose, urea nitrogen, cholesterol, uric acid, total protein with albumin-globulin . . .


Submitted for the DAMOP09 Meeting of The American Physical Society Effective three-body interactions and decoherence of coherent atom states in optical lattices PHILIP JOHNSON, American University, EITE TIESINGA, TREY PORTO, CARL WILLIAMS, NIST — We show that effective attractive three-body interactions are generated by the virtual excitations of bosons to higher vibrational states in a three dimensional optical lattice. These processes can quickly decohere non-equilibrium coherent states faster than would be expected from the effects of inhomogenieties, which may explain the surprisingly rapid damping of collapse and revival oscillations seen in some experiments. Using Feshbach resonances, it should be possible to tune the effective three-body interaction strength, creating new opportunities for studying the effects of three-body interactions on the coherence and correlations of both equilibrium and non-equilibrium many-body states. Philip Johnson American University Date submitted: 23 Jan 2009 Electronic form version 1.4


In sensor network environments, sensor nodes have limited power because of their resource constraints. Therefore it is important to efficiently use their power in sensor networks. Power consumption of sensor node is closely related to its communication operation. So, we need to reduce the communication operation in order to minimize the power consumption. And sensor networks are inherently unreliable because radio transmission can easily fail, nodes can move, and so on. In this paper, we propose a reliable data aggregation protocol in order to overcome these problems. This protocol performs the routing and the query insertion process at the same time to minimize the packet loss caused by network changes. Also, this protocol removes the communication operations caused by the periodic routing without query


Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) has become known as a central mediator of responses to endotoxin, rheumatoid diseases, and other forms of inflammation. Current investigations indicate that the production of TNF-α is controlled by other mediators, including interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). In the present study, we investigated the regulatory effects of IFN-γ and/or PGE2 on LPS-induced TNF-α production and mRNA expression in mouse peritoneal macrophages using the enzyme immunoassay and Northern blot analysis, respectively. In response to 10 ng/ml of LPS, TNF-α production reached a maximum at approximately 4 hrs, followed by rapid decline. At the molecular level, TNF-α mRNA accumulated rapidly after LPS exposure, reaching a peak by 3 hr, and declined more rapidly than did the production of TNF-α. Exposure of macrophages to 100 U/ml of IFN-γ caused an increase in both the TNF-α production and mRNA expression induced by LPS. Exogenous PGE2 caused a dose dependent reduction in LPS-induced TNF-α mRNA accumulation as well as TNF-α production. Macrophages primed with IFN-γ showed the reduced responsiveness to the suppressive effect of PGE2 on the production of TNF-α and the accumulation of TNF-α mRNA. These findings indicate that the suppressive effects induced by PGE2 on the accumulation of TNF-α mRNA as well as the production of TNF-α can be reduced by the pretreatment of macrophages with IFN-γ. These studies demonstrate the role of IFN-γ as an immunomodulating compound that may effectively regulate TNF-α production by modulation of macrophage responsiveness to PGE2.


ready for the tasks ahead, the implications of which, in this changed world, transcend the prosperity of a single learned society. The Secretary, in facing this future, finds reassurance in the words of many past worthies. In 1899 C. Alphonso Smith said: "Though it is true that our Association finds the reason of its existence in the problems that still confront it, it finds no less surely the warrant of its perpetuity in the results that lie behind it." [. ..] In 1936 Carleton Brown said: "Those who are posted on the parapet of the castle cannot afford to ignore attempts to undermine the foundations." In 1942 Frederick Padelford warned: "The Association cannot afford to be snuffy and to ignore these problems of teaching, because its own welfare is involved. If the languages and literatures were to suffer a partial eclipse, the Association would suffer in exact proportion." In 1945 Fred N. Robinson declared: "Literary scholarship is, after all, one world, however little of it the single scholar may be able to control. If learning in the classical and continental fields is allowed to decline in America, then our English scholarship will also be impoverished." In 1948 Percy Long penned his valedictory: "We shall find ourselves passe unless we look less toward exploring minutiae of the past, and more toward the problems of the present and the future.... It is our duty to confront the present, to put forth our strength in battle for the ideals in which we believe." And he added: "This Association is destined, I believe, ... to become increasingly important in the life of the American people." The present Secretary shares that faith. He is convinced that MLA scholars and teachers are in a uniquely favorable position to demonstrate, in one of its central fields, the intellectual vitality and social relevance of the humanistic tradition.


Objective
To investigate the curriculum setting of undergraduate nursing education of three universities (Tibet University, Xizang Minzu University, and Tibet Medical College) in Tibet, so as to provide reference foundation for the reform of undergraduate nursing education system in Tibet.

Methods
Cross-sectional study and content analysis were conducted by collecting ongoing undergraduate nursing education programs from three universities that we referred above and comparing with approval standards and related literature, and then we analyzed similarities and differences as well as deficiencies by obtained current curriculum setting status from February to April 2016.

Results
The curriculum setting of undergraduate nursing education in Tibet met the professional certification standards, however, it was necessary to increase some courses and the teaching hours of some courses. The average percentage of course modules of three universities in Tibet were given as: 36% for public basic courses, 25.66% for professional basic courses, 35.16% for professional required course, and 3.2% for humanities and social sciences.

Conclusions
It is recommended to improve the curriculum setting of undergraduate nursing education system in Tibet, reduce the ratio of public basic courses, and increase the ratio of humanities and social sciences. Furthermore, the nursing and Tibetan local features should also be considered in the curriculum setting.

Key words:
Education, nursing; Tibet; Curriculum; Undergraduate


This dissertation considers the impact of the emerging security regime enshrined in the ISPS Code and the relevant amendments to SOLAS Convention, 1974 on the doctrine of seaworthiness. The momentary aspect of seaworthiness is reflected in case law, through the position taken by the courts when dealing with claims involving allegations of unseaworthiness and lack of due diligence. While relevance of the ISM Code to the assessment of seaworthiness of a ship is demonstrated, the undertaking of seaworthiness upon the company as defined in the ISPS Code is analyzed with respect to security requirements. As there has yet to be any ISPS Code related cases, the absolute obligation of seaworthiness according to the English law, is dealt with through a hypothetical scenario. The concept of due diligence within the security regime is discussed with reference to the development of the Ship Security Plan (SSP). The relevance of the port facility to the equation of seaworthiness is also considered. Other issues considered are the limitation of liability and the relevance of soft law to seaworthiness. As the breach of the undertaking of seaworthiness may lead to loss of cover, the implications of the security regime are discussed. Pending harmonization of the law in marine insurance law, reference is made respectively to Marine Insurance Act 1906 and to the continental Norwegian Marine Insurance Plan 1996. A few recommendations are made to assist companies in fulfilling their undertaking of seaworthiness.


A vision system for intelligent vehicles is proposed here. The system exploits the characteristics of the gray level histogram of the road to detect lane markers. Each lane marker is then analyzed using a decision tree, and finally the relations between lane markers are analyzed to create structures defining the lane boundaries. The resulting system also generates images that can be used as preprocessing stages in lane detection, lane tracking or obstacle detection algorithms. The system runs in realtime at rates of about 30 Hz.


The differential constraint method is used to work out a reduction approach to determine solutions in a closed form to the highly nonlinear hodograph system arising from 2 × 2 hyperbolic nonhomogeneous models. These solutions inherit all of the features of the standard wave solutions obtainable via the classical hodograph transformation and in the meantime incorporate the dissipative effects induced on wave processes by the source-like term involved in the governing equations. Within such a theoretical framework the problem of integrating the standard linear hodograph system associated with 2 × 2 homogeneous models is also revisited and a number of results obtained elsewhere of relevant interest in wave problems are recovered as a particular case. Along the lines of the proposed reduction approach, different examples of 2 × 2 governing models are analysed thoroughly in order to highlight the flexibility of the provided solutions to describe hyperbolic dissipative wave processes.


The rise of the Internet and social media (i.e. reviews, forum discussions, blogs and social networks) constituted an interesting source to detect user opinion trends. This study examines the global publication output on opinion mining and sentiment analysis from documents published in 2000 to 2020. Bibliometric indicators on the trends, most cited papers, authors, institutions, countries, funding agencies and research subject areas were independently screened and analysed using bibliometrix package in R. A total of 7603 eligible documents were identified from 2000 to 2020. The total number of citations for all publications was 129,251, with an average of 17.0 citations per publication. About 14,629 authors wrote those documents with 1.93 authors per document and a collaboration index of 1.98. The most prolific author was Cambria Erik, with 47 publications and h-index of 42. The leading countries for research were China with n = 824, India with n = 576 and the United States with n = 244 publications. Lecture Notes in Computer Science proceedings was the top-ranked venue for publications with n = 434, h-index of 32 and 4598 total citation scores. National Natural Science Foundation of China was the top-ranked funding agency for research, and most of the publications were computer science ( n = 6320) documents. The study provides an in-depth assessment of the landmark of the hot research topic and acknowledges the contribution of the most productive and active authors across different countries in the world. In addition, the findings could support the younger scholars in their future research direction and improve the efficiency in potential future research collaborations and projects.


. Comparison between Brazil's and British Columbia's forest policy . The Brazilian forest legislation, which is considered advanced by many authors, is the major mechanism of forest protection. However, the effectiveness of this legislation has been questioned due to the alarming levels of deforestation observed in the national territory. Some authors stand out that the command and control instruments (main public policy instruments in which the Brazilian Forest Code is based on) allow the creation of laws with low compliance. On the other hand, Canada is identified as a world leader in sustainable forest management, although it has the same public policy instruments used in Brazil. This study compares the implementation of forest legislation in Brazil to the one observed in British Columbia (Canada). The results show that the lack of land tenure in Brazil compromises the State control over the territory and, consequently, interferes with the effectiveness of law enforcement, particularly on private land, whereas effective control observed in the Canadian provinces makes possible the development of economic activities to zero deforestation and assists in the effective implementation of forest policies.


The invention relates to an anti bacterial anti mite fiber and preparation method thereof, the anti bacterial anti mite fiber is prepared by adding through a polymer an organic anti mite agent eugenol and/or ISO eugenol formulated with an inorganic anti bacterial agent zinc oxide and preparing into an anti bacterial anti mite agent, after melting, and spinning and being prepared. The method works by firstly mixing the organic anti mite agent eugenol and/or ISO eugenol with the inorganic anti bacterial agent zinc oxide, after refining with a ball crusher, and sieving to obtain a formulated anti bacterial anti mite powder material, then using a surface treatment agent to surface coat the formulated anti bacterial anti mite powder material; then adopting a direct append method, the surface coated and formulated anti bacterial anti mite powder material being evenly mixed with a polymer, after melting, and spinning to prepare into the anti bacterial anti mite fiber; or adopting a masterbatch method, the surface coated and formulated anti bacterial anti mite powder material being melted with a polymer and mixed together to prepare into an anti bacterial anti mite master batch, then the anti bacterial anti mite master batch being evenly mixed with a polymer, after melting, and spinning to prepare into a fiber with a long period anti bacterial anti mite effect.


4 Acknowledgement 5 Introduction 6 Section 1: Contextualizing and problematizing sex-selective abortion (SSA) 10 Abortion and Sex-Selective Abortion 10 Sex-selective abortion: an international phenomenon 12 SSA – still a reality in India, but socio-economically, culturally and regionally stratified ......... 13 Geographical differences 15 Socioeconomic differences 16 Sex-selection in Canada 19 A contextual overview 19 Parental preferences 21 A problem on the rise in Canada? 23 Section 2: Theoretical Framework: The Western Gaze on Third World Women 26 Theoretical Overview 26 The Western Gaze on Gendercide in India 33 Section 3: Western Media Representations of Ethnic Minority Communities 38 Section 4: Methodology: The Western Gaze in Canada – An issue of (mis)representation? ...... 45 Research Question and Working Hypothesis 45 Why analyze mainstream newspapers? 46 Which articles were selected, how and why? 47 How were the selected articles analyzed? 50 Thematic Content Analysis 50


Characterization of fracture toughness is discussed in relation to specification of steels for northern pipelines. The state of the art and research trends in measurement of CTOD for girth welds and CTOA for linepipe steel are described.


We discuss the representations of the electronic data, especially content of the web pages, into the audio space. We define two metrics usable for comparing two distinct audio representations. First metric is connected with data changes perception by reading users. Changes in the web page that are not important for the reader comparing to the previous version are called small changes on the web page. Changes with higher importance value for reader are called huge changes. Ability to catch relevant changes in source data document by audio space representation is important measurable attribute for users reading these data. This attribute is called web change perception for web pages. First, we describe evaluation of the web change perception and next we are measuring sound perception of these representations. The applications of the metric are in tunning interfaces for representing web pages into the audio space.


Abstract Within the library profession, there is widespread support for access to libraries for people with disabilities. However, there is limited literature on the topic of access to public libraries for children with disabilities and their families and very little empirical research on this topic exists. This paper reports on an investigation of factors influencing access to public libraries for children with disabilities and their families from the perspective of the public librarian. An in-depth study of 18 public librarians who focus on providing access to public libraries for children with disabilities was undertaken. Librarians from the United States and Canada took part in both a one-on-one interview and a questionnaire. Based on the research findings, a model for inclusive public libraries is proposed.


The compounds [CpTi(SCH 2 CH 2 S) 2 Na] n and [CpTi(SCH 2 CH 2 CH 2 S) 2 Na] n have been used as precursors to heterometallic compounds. Reaction with [Cu(NCMe) 4 ]BF 4 gives insoluble compounds formulated as [CpTi(SCH 2 -CH 2 S) 2 Cu] n (1) and [CpTi(SCH 2 CH 2 CH 2 S) 2 )Cu] 2 (2), respectively. Compound I is also formed in the reaction of [CpTi(SCH 2 CH 2 S)Cl] 2 with [Cu(NCMe) 4 ]BF 4 . The Rh(I) derivative [CpTi(SCH 2 CH 2 CH 2 S) 2 Rh] n (3) has been synthesized from the reaction of [CpTi(SCH 2 CH 2 CH 2 S) 2 Na] n and [(C 2 H 4 ) 2 RhCl] 2


As computer systems become increasingly inter-networked, Distributed Real-time Embedded (DRE) systems has became increasingly common and important, a challenging problem faced by researchers and developers of DRE software is devising and implementing an method that can effectively analyze requirements in varying operational conditions. In this paper, a Hierarchical Distributed Real-time Embedded net (HDRE-net) is proposed as software analysis tool. The basic task, function module and communication process are modeled by using HDRE-net, thus forming the whole application through the synthesis operation of Petri net. Time Reachability Graph is adopted to analyze the correctness of HDRE-net, the basic properties of DRE software are also considered. Finally, a specific example is given to simulate the analysis process, and the results show that the method can be a good solution to analyze DRE software.


This paper proposes a decision support system which integrates the objective weights of importance of the attributes as well as the subjective preferences of the decision maker to decide the composite weights of importance of the attributes. Using fuzzy set theory the qualitative attributes are converted into the quantitative attributes. Based on this model, a decision support system AGVSEL is developed for the selection of AGVs. AGVs are ranked by using the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), block TOPSIS and modified synthetic evaluation method (M-TOPSIS). The effectiveness of the support system is demonstrated with an illustrative example. The computational results obtained enable evaluation and selection of an appropriate AGV. Sensitivity analysis reveals that at a moderate value of interpolating factor rank transition takes place for topmost position thereby achieving better insight into the complex interplay of subjective and objective weights. Finally, the results of the proposed approach are compared with the results obtained by published methods. Thus, the proposed weight method with AGVSEL system improves decision making in MADM environment.


Objective To investigate the correlations between Indocyanine green (ICG) secretion test and MELD scores. Methods Forty patients with end-stage liver diseases were divided into hepatic functional class A,B and C according to Child-Pugh classification. Indocyanine green (ICG) secretion test (plasma clearance (K) and 15 min-retention rate (R15) were conducted by Pulse Dye Densitograph Analyzer ( DDG) ,and the scores of model for end-stage liver diseases were calculated. Results When Child-Pugh classification was gradually increasing,and K values were decreasing,R15 and MELD scores were increased. There was significant statistical difference between different functional classes. Significant correlation was observed between Indocyanine green (ICG) secretion test and MELD scores:negative correlation was observed between K values and MELD scores (r=-0.901),while positive correlation was observed between R15 values and MELD scores (r=0.864). Conclusion 1. Indocyanine green (ICG) secretion test (K values,R15) is good parameter for hepatic functional reserve. 2. K value and R15 have tight correlation with MELD scores. Compared with,K value,which has more significant correlation with MELD scores,can probably be a convenient and precise index for evaluating end-stage liver diseases.


This study aims to determine whether the effects of the Intellectual Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, and Spiritual Intelligence on the Level of Understanding of Students. The research was carried out for three months, starting in March to May 2020. The research method was used survey method with approach of causality. The population in this study were students totaling 201 respondents. Data collection techniques using literature techniques and questionnaires. Data were Analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 24 for. PLS (Partial Least Square) with structural equation analysis (SEM). Results Showed that each variable has the same effect. The above description shows that there is a significant jointly and significant correlation between Intellectual Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Spiritual Intelligence, and Behavior Study


The present invention relates to river water or lake water purification system consisting of a wetland system using the overflow contact filtration equipment and vegetation roll. More specifically, this is made by the overflow contact filtration equipment consisting of a two-stage filtration, absorption, biological oxidation, ion exchange, denitrification, such as dephosphorization. More specifically, the physical removal, such as removal of contaminants, such as a river water or lake water flowing through the screen and the grit chamber into a primary and absorption, filtration, and absorption by the constructed wetland system using a vegetation roll secondarily additionally then to occur, to a wetland plant apparatus using a contact upflow filtration plant and vegetation roll from which finally discharged. Water purification apparatus according to the present invention is the environment which is effective to physically remove biological contaminants, by adopting the overflow system of the two-stage Unlike conventional filtration equipment to minimize the clogging of the filter material can be a high processing established in the made short a service, and a mixed water purification additional physical removal function and wetland plants with upflow contact filtration equipment and vegetation roll by minimizing the area of wetland plants, and a two-stage, with vegetation roll designed as environmentally friendly landscape created object the modular unit by applying the structure and character of the river or the appeal was able to continuously place the modules of the unit structure according to the load variation and the environment.


The NASA-standard thermohydraulic analyzer, SINDA/ FLUINT (Ref 1), has been used to model various aspects of loop heat pipe* (LHP) operation for more than 12 years. Indeed, this code has many features that were specifically designed for just such specialized tasks, and is unique in this respect. Furthermore, SINDA is commonly used at the vehicle (integration) level, has a large user base both inside and outside the aerospace industry, has several graphical user interfaces, preprocessors, postprocessors, has strong links to CAD and structural tools, and has built-in optimization, data correlation, parametric analysis, reliability estimation, and robust design tools. Nonetheless, the LHP community tends to ignore these capabilities, yearning instead for "simpler" methods. However, simple methods cannot meet the challenging needs of LHP modeling such as transient start-up and noncondensible gas (NCG) effects, are often hardware-specific or proprietary, or cannot be used in a vehicle-level analysis. There are many reasons for this hesitancy to use SINDA/ FLUINT as it was intended. First, hardware developers tend to be less versed in analytic methods than the user community they serve. Second, there are political hurdles, such as the fact that ESA contractors are required to use ESA sponsored software. Third, the state-of-the-art in LHPs is not so advanced that the analysts can be ignorant of the complex two-phase thermohydraulic and thermodynamic processes and phenomena involved, and unfortunately most thermal analysts are accustomed only to "dry" thermal control (radiation, conduction, etc.). Fourth, the general-purpose and complete nature of SINDA/FLUINT tends to make it intimidating, especially in light of the third reason listed above. SINDA/FLUINT is not designed strictly for LHPs or even for LHP-like systems; it has been used for everything from nuclear reactor cooling to dynamic models of human hearts and tracheae. The user's manuals and standard training classes† rarely mention capillary phenomena because only a fraction of SINDA/FLUINT's users are thus inclined. It is to address this fourth reason that this paper has been written, since the authors can do little to redress the first three problems. This paper summarizes the available modeling capabilities applicable to various LHP design and simulation tasks. Knowledge of LHPs is assumed. INTRODUCTION: THERMAL/FLUID NETWORKS SINDA/FLUINT is the NASA-standard heat transfer and fluid flow analyzer for thermal control systems. Because of its general formulation, it is also used in other aerospace specialties such as environmental control (ECLSS) and liquid propulsion, and in terrestrial industries such as the electronics packaging, automotive, refrigeration, and power generation industries. SINDA/FLUINT is used to design and simulate thermal/fluid systems that can be represented in networks corresponding to finite difference, finite element, and/or lumped parameter equations. In addition to conduction, convection, and radiation heat transfer, the program can model steady or unsteady singleand two-phase flow networks, including nonreacting mixtures and nonequilibrium phenomena. A built-in spreadsheet enables the user to define custom (and perhaps interrelated) variables (Figure 1). The user can also define complex self-resolving interrelationships between inputs, and also between inputs and outputs. This spreadsheet allows rapid and consistent model changes, minimizes the need for user logic, and makes parametric and sensitivity studies trivially easy to perform. Top-level modules automate design, optimization, test data correlation, reliability estimation, and robust design (reliability* Although LHPs will be used to demonstrate various modeling capabilities, most of these capabilities are equally well applied to capillary pumped loops (CPLs). † Classes in capillary modeling are taught, albeit rarely because of their specialized nature.


Infant industry structures, weak institutions, wide spread market failures and lack of trust permeate the Tanzanian business environment. Nevertheless, some local enterprises succeed in overcoming these challenges. This paper seeks to understand the strategies of these enterprises. Drawing on case studies of Tanzanian enterprises in the food processing industry, we identify six generic coping strategies which contrast markedly with the kind of strategies conventional strategic management thinking would prescribe: Instead of focus strategies, Tanzanian enterprises diversify across industries and value chain functions; Instead of competitive strategies, Tanzanian enterprises embark on network and political strategies; And instead of internationalizing based on home-market strengths, Tanzanian enterprises internationalize in response to home-market weaknesses. We characterize the strategies adopted by Tanzanian enterprises and discuss implications for the strategic management literature. Introduction Sub-Saharan Africa is at a critical juncture in regard to private sector development. From the 'lost' continent, Africa is now increasingly depicted as the continent of opportunity and hope (McKinsey, 2010). It is argued that Africa is seeing the rise of a dynamic entrepreneurial class, signalling a fundamental change from the previous state-led development path (Moyo, 2009). It is further argued that African enterprises are developing competencies that will reverse the de-industrializing trends of past decades (UNIDO, 2012) and that dynamic African enterprises are rising to meet the growing demand for African products in local and international markets (BCG, 2010). In sum, the renewed hope in African development is to a large extent directed toward its private sector, its entrepreneurs and its enterprises. CBDS Coping with the African business environment 4 4 However, behind the optimism, there are harsh realities that may undermine the promises of private-sector-driven development. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to some of the most challenging business environments on the globe (World Bank, 2014). Although growth is high in several African countries, this growth is mainly fuelled by natural resources and services (UNIDO, 2012). Productivity remains low and many African countries are sliding backward on global competiveness indexes (WEF, 2013). Across the continent, red tape and bureaucracy, over and under regulation, rent seeking and corruption remain major obstacles to enterprise development (WEF, 2013; Cooksey & Kelsall, 2011). Much of the literature addressing the rise (or demise) of African enterprise is informed by country, value chain or industry level studies (see e.g. Bigsten, 2006; Fafchamps, 2004; Rodrik, 1998; Gibbon, 2005; Liedhom & Mead, 2013; Morris et al., 2012; UNIDO, 2013; Page, 2013) and there are conspicuously few studies that focus on African enterprise development from a firm strategic perspective (Uchenna & Mair, 2014; Mellahi & Mol, 2015; Ozcan & Santos, 2014; Acquaah, 2012; Tvedten et al, 2014). In order to extend and further develop the firm perspective on African enterprise development, this paper will analyze the survival and growth strategies of seven Tanzanian food-processing enterprises. The paper will characterize the strategies adopted by these enterprises to cope with the challenging Tanzanian business environment and discuss how these strategies compare to strategies typically adopted in more developed markets. Finally, implications for the strategic management literature are outlined. Methodology The paper builds on qualitative data collected during field research with Tanzanian SMEs in the food-processing sector in 2013 and 2014. An exploratory multiple case study approach (Yin, 2009) was found appropriate because of the scarcity of knowledge in the area and because of our aim of understanding the impact of a challenging business environment on firm strategies. Given our focus on understanding how enterprises manage to succeed in a challenging environment, seven successful enterprises were selected as our cases. 'Successful' enterprises were defined as those with the ability to survive and achieve sustained growth over three years. We selected enterprises in the following subsectors of CBDS Coping with the African business environment 5 5 the food-processing industry: dairy, fish processing, grain milling and edible oil. Our sample comprises both large and small companies. Interviews were conducted with top managers, who, in some instances, were also the owners and/or founders of the enterprises. As a methodological tool, we asked the respondents to identify critical incidents in the life span of the enterprise. The critical incident technique is well suited to examining significant events and how they are managed (Cope & Watts, 2000). A key advantage of this technique is that it enables the researcher "to relate context, strategy and outcomes, to look for repetition of patterns, and thus to build up a picture of tactics for handling difficult situations" (Chell, 2004, p. 47). At the beginning of each interview we briefly explained the purpose of the interview before asking the respondent to describe the development of the business, focusing upon anything significant that had occurred, which was seen to have changed the business' prospects either for good or for bad. We used a semi-structured interview guide to enable the informants to steer the course of the conversation while we used a check-list of the key themes to be covered. The interviews, which were all audiotaped, lasted from one to two and a half hours. The data was processed in the following way: Firstly, through inductive data analysis we made extensive descriptions of each enterprise highlighting critical moments, key resources, strategic responses, and challenges. Secondly, we conducted a cross-case analysis through which we uncovered recurrent practices and behaviors. These behaviors and practices were grouped into generic strategies. Thirdly, these strategies were related to the kinds of strategies typically described by the existing literature on firm strategies in developing-


Water dispersible or water soluble porous bodies comprising a three dimensional open-cell lattice containing (a) 10 to 95% by weight of a water soluble polymeric material and (b) 5 to 90% by weight of a surfactant, said porous bodies having an intrusion volume as measured by mercury porosimetry of at least about 3 ml/g with the proviso that said porous bodies are not spherical beads having an average bead diameter of 0.2 to 5 mm


In recent work, a set of line digitization algorithms based on the hierarchy of runs in the digital line has unified and generalized the iterative line‐drawing algorithms used in computer graphics. In this paper, the additional structural information generated by these algorithms is leveraged to describe a run‐based approach to draw anti‐aliased line segments in which anti‐aliased run‐masks are substituted for the individual run lengths as the line is being drawn. The run‐masks are precomputed using a prefiltering technique such that one or more run‐masks are defined for each of the one or two possible run lengths that occur in the line. The run‐masks can be defined for any order or level of the hierarchy of runs in the digital line and the technique is illustrated using runs of pixels. Comparing the use of run‐masks to applying the prefiltering technique for each pixel in the line, a line of similar visual quality can be produced more efficiently. We place no restrictions on the placement of the end points of the line, which may reside anywhere on the two‐dimensional plane.


Abstract Objective: To explore the nature of the relationship between the Greysteel massacre and the low number of admissions with overdose to the area general hospital in the following week. Method: Ward records over a ten year period were examined for seasonal and yearly trends for admission with overdose. Results: In the two year period surrounding the week following the Greysteel massacre there were no similar periods of low admission with overdose. Conclusion: A direct relationship between the Greysteel massacre and the ensuing dearth of admissions with overdose seems likely.


The significant effect factor of slow light transmission in photonic crystal coupled resonator optical waveguide has been investigated. The change tendency of guided mode band, group velocity and group delay with the tuning of distance between neighboring cavities have been discussed in detail. The guided mode is flattened clearly and the group velocity decreases sharply with the increasing of cavities distance. When the interval between contiguous cavities is 7 lattice constants of photonic crystal, the ultra small group velocity below 2×10-4c has been obtained. This is roughly two orders of magnitude smaller than that in line defect PC waveguide. The maximal group delay through CROW of 13.23μm with supercell 7×7 exceeds 400ps, which are four orders of magnitude larger than that in traditional waveguide with same length.


Autonomous automation is a hot topic in research right now, and as human needs increase, scientists and students alike have been motivated to develop new automated technologies. This essay can be used to better understand how autonomous vehicle technology is developing. The Indian government is also devoting a sizable portion of its resources to military advancement. This study focuses on a remote-controlled bot connection method that is so flawless that it doesn't provide any difficulties. For the purpose of improving the remote vehicle's connectivity and operating range, this project will make use of wireless adapters in the capacity of signal emitters or extenders. Because of this connectedness, the bot is able to simply transfer data for doing facial recognition while simultaneously taking a live feed from the end that it is receiving it from. This project takes advantage of cutting-edge research on network setups and intercommunication technologies in Internet of Things devices. This results in an increase in the distance between the remote user and the bot. By utilizing the algorithms that are already available, it is possible to swiftly discover any obstructions or suspicious activities and report it to the military base.


Velopharyngeal in-competence(VPI) is a common abnormality seen in Cleft
palate patients causing hyper nasal speech which is a major communicative disorder
in such patients. Assessment of this VPI is complex process due the
Velopharyngeal apparatus being a combination of soft palate structures that regulate
the airflow from the lungs and larynx through the mouth for oral sounds through the
nose for nasal sounds.
The present study of perceptual speech and flexible video endoscopy in
patients with cleft palate pathology indicates a co-relation between speech defect
and type of VPI. In management of patients with cleft palate, it is important that
surgical correction of the defect is done at the same time achieving velopharyngeal
competency for speech without creating nasal airway obstruction. Velopharyngeal
endoscopy with speech assessment will define the anatomic and functional bases for
the velopharyngeal correction and also to plan /tailor pharyngeal flaps. This
approach also appears to be a useful and necessary tool for 'surgical feedback'.
Hence a multidisciplinary approach involving Otolaryngologists / Plastic surgeons /
Speech pathologists for preoperative evaluation of the defect with perceptual speech
analysis and velopharyngeal endoscopy is mandatory.


Life, individuals can establish intimate relationships and engage in sexual interactions with others that they may never meet face to face. Such encounters often occur anonymously, removed from the limitations of physical reality and various cultural conventions. Second Life provides a space for individuals to participate in non normative behaviors in a virtual setting that do not result in real world consequences. Although human interest in finding spaces to engage in deviant sex is nothing new, Second Life offers a unique vantage point for the continued examination of such pursuits. In this way, I examine Second Life not only as an intersection of virtual anonymity and non-normative behavior, but also as a novel environment in which to explore how technological transformations in economic and cultural life influence individual erotic experience and the meaning ascribed to sexual expression. In the following paper, I investigate the dynamics among residents of Second Life who engage in virtual sex for recreation and also as a monetary transaction. Using participant observation and resident interviews, I examine the constructed meanings of their encounters in terms of online intimacy, romance, and cyber sex. Informed by Gagnon and Simon's sexual script theory and


Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is an arboviral disease transmitted by mosquitoes. It is a disease of the poor and young (less than 15 years of age) in rural settings with maximum probabilities of their exposure to mosquitoes that are zoophilic. The disease pattern reflects a large proportion of subclinical cases to a small proportion with disease manifestations. It becomes fatal in U.P. in about 40% of the cases (due to seizures) in the absence of early treatment and leads to sequelae in one-third of the cases. Nearly half of the states of India are endemic for Japanese Encephalitis. Both the Govt of India and the State Govt have taken up the disease seriously and made all possible multi-sectoral approaches/ efforts to contain the menace of the disease. Rehabilitation centres have been established in the affected districts to provide physio and speech therapy. Even National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) participated to generate awareness among the community against the dreadful disease. With all efforts, a plateau-like situation of the disease has been reached over the years. More coordinated efforts are required in tackling this problem. The environmental conditions will govern the spread of the virus along with the vector. The present article reflects an overview of the problem of JE and efforts made so far to tackle this disease and make the younger generation aware of their contribution through open field of the research in restricting the spread of the disease as well as complete cure of the seizures due to JE.


To develop the concept of legal base in rendering public services it is proposed for the first time to use system project technology of complex social-economic systems based on the object-oriented modelling method. The use of system project technology gives completeness and complexity of considering problems, purposes, principles, and means of providing citizens with guarantee of civil entitlement realization on public services.


Rapid urbanisation has been a factor affecting cities negatively and irreversibly in developing countries like India, adversely leading to depleting natural resources and promoting unbalanced and uneven urbanism. To handle the influx of population into core urban regions and to promote holistic, sustainable development, government and planning agencies are now looking upon regional development. Developing countries like India has laid plans for future urban corridor-oriented development. This study aims to understand the urban growth of two major developing cities influenced by transport corridor through a methodological approach using multi-temporal satellite data and its position in India's network of cities. Land use analysis was validated with the aid of measures such as overall accuracy and kappa statistics, with good values of more than 85% and 0.75 respectively were achieved. The hierarchical network analysis indicated five different clusters based on the urban growth rate. Among these clusters, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune cluster was further shortlisted for analysis based on the urban transport corridor affecting the growth of these cities. Cellular automata-based SLEUTH model was adopted in this work to carefully observe sub-division level details of the region under the influence of the corridor. Exhaustive calibration, with three phases of coarse, fine and final, validation procedure along with statistical fit measures reveal urban expansion for Ahmedabad region has witnessed an increase from 497.50 km2 (2017) to 826.24 km2 (2025) while Pune region has experienced tremendous urban area transformation of 901.11 km2 in the year 2025 against 497.27 km2 in 2017. Results of this analysis would help policymakers and planners to inculcate decisions concerning future urban trends accommodating safer, healthier, sustainable and liveable urban ecosystem.


Background: Use of RT-qPCR pool testing in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been limited due to a lack of data on its sensitivity and efficiency.

Methods: We mixed single specimens of extracted RNA positive for the SARS-CoV-2 E gene by RT-qPCR with negative specimens, in pools of 4 (n=89), 8 (n=92), 16 (n=102), and 32 (n=105) specimens each. We estimated the average change in Ct for each pool size and added it to the Ct values of the first 1,350 tests in our lab, to obtain dilution-corrected Ct values. We estimated pool sensitivity as the proportion of samples with dilution-corrected Ct>40, and used it in simulations of the efficiency (tests used/true case detected) of binary split pool testing.

Findings: We tested 388 pools. Average Ct changes were 2.21, 2.51, 3.27, and 3.94 cycles, for pools of 4, 8, 16, and 32 specimens, respectively. Corresponding pool tests sensitivities were 91.1%, 89.6%, 85.8% and 82.5%. Pool testing was substantially more efficient than individual testing. For prevalence of 0.5% to 2.0%, the efficiency of pools of ≥8 specimens was 30% to 280% higher, and the number of people tested was 4.4 to 13.9 times higher than those of individual testing were.

Interpretation: Binary split pool testing substantially increases the number of people tested and the number of true cases detected per test. This strategy is key to curtail the transmission of SAR-CoV-2, by increasing efficiency in the identification and isolation of symptomatic and asymptomatic infected individuals.

Funding: Major Office of Bucaramanga, Colombia.

Declaration of Interests: None.

Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by both the UIS' and the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Institutional Review Boards.


In the reconstruction of high resolution (HR) images from low resolution (LR) images frames, the error in the estimated motion degrades the reliability of the reconstructed HR image. Some methods were recently proposed where motion estimation and HR reconstruction is performed simultaneously. The estimated motion is still prone to error when it is based on a simple block matching. In this paper, we propose a reconstruction of a HR image by applying POCS and a regularized block matching simultaneously. In this method, a motion vector is obtained from a regularized block matching algorithm since the motion of a pixel in an image is highly correlated with the motion in neighboring regions. Experimental results show that the improved accuracy of the estimated motion vectors results in higher PSNR of the reconstructed HR images.


We analyse a simple Chiang-type lagrangian in CP2 which is topologically an RP2 but exhibits a distinguishing behaviour under reduction by one of the toric circle actions, in particular it is a one-to-one transverse lifting of a great circle in CP1.


In linear algebra, the Perron–Frobenius theorem, proved by Oskar Perron (1907) and Georg Frobenius (1912), asserts that a real square matrix with positive entries has a unique largest real eigenvalue and that the corresponding eigenvector can be chosen to have strictly positive components, and also asserts a similar statement for certain classes of nonnegative matrices. This theorem has important applications to probability theory (ergodicity of Markov chains); to the theory of dynamical systems (subshifts of finite type); to economics (Okishio's theorem,[1] Hawkins–Simon condition[2]); to demography (Leslie population age distribution model);[3] to social networks (DeGroot learning process), to Internet search engines[4] and even to ranking of football teams.[5] The first to discuss the ordering of players within tournaments using Perron– Frobenius eigenvectors is Edmund Landau.[6] [7]


FIELD: technique and process for preparing of beverage using capsule content. SUBSTANCE: apparatus is designed for preparing of beverage from capsule containing substance to be drawn in drawing system 7 for preparing of beverage. Apparatus has cassette charging system 2 comprising capsules ordered in the form of sets 20-23, and gripping means 4 movable between cassette charging system 2 and drawing system 7. Gripping means 4 is designed for rotation and movement and is adapted for gripping of individual capsule from one set and releasing said capsule in drawing system 7. Gripping means 4 is designed for moving between at least two positions, first of said positions being gripping position wherein capsule is individually held and transferred by gripping means 4, and second of said positions being releasing position wherein gripping means 4 is expanded for releasing capsule from gripping means 4 within drawing system 7, which is adapted to be closed with capsule therein. Method involves selecting and processing capsule in such apparatus. EFFECT: reliable and simplified application of system for feeding and pouring of liquid extract. 16 cl, 15 dwg


The Slaughter field of Cochran, Hockley, and Terry counties, Texas, covers approximately seventy squares miles and on February 1, 1941, it contained 162 producing oil wells. Present control shows no structural closure. The field is situated on a series of noses dipping gently south-southeast but these do not control production. The pay section, which is about 100 feet thick, is the Permian San Andres dolomite. The pay is a brown granular dolomite having inter-crystalline porosity. In some parts of the pay section larger openings also occur. The depth to the top of the pay, which is about 800 feet below the top of the San Andres, ranges from approximately 4,900 to 5,000 feet. The southern and eastern limits of the field are mainly determined by the structural position of this pay with reference to the water table. Production to the west seems to be limited by contamination of the pay section with silt and anhydrite. Two structurally high dry holes on this side of the field showed large amounts of silt and anhydrite in the beds equivalent to the pay section. The northern limits of production have not been defined but indications point to a breaking down of the section in this direction also. End_of_Article - Last_Page 934------------


Provided is a water vapor cleaning method for crust of a cement production device and a device used in the method. A plurality of water vapor through holes penetrating through a wall with a thickness are formed in the places, easily crusting, of the inner wall of the cement production device in advance. The through holes are communicated with a pressure container capable of generating water vapor mixing, and the crust generated on the surface of the inner wall of the cement production device is removed through water vapor pressure produced by the pressure container. The device used in the method comprises a pressure water vapor tank, an air input pipe, an air input pipe solenoid valve, a water input pipe, a water input pipe solenoid valve, an overflow pipe, an overflow pipe valve, an overflow pipe solenoid valve and a pressure meter. Water inlets, an air inlet and a plurality of water outlets are reserved in the upper portion of the water vapor tank, and opening and closing of the water inlets and the water outlets are controlled by the solenoid valves. The water vapor cleaning method for the crust of the cement production device and the device used in the method have the advantages that the crust can be removed under the condition that a rotary kiln system normally operates and the valves are not opened, one removing device can control a plurality of points, and long-distance or central control room operation further can be achieved, so that work of removing the crust is more safe and convenient.


Analysis is a basic ability for students to think critically and include one of the high cognitive that were important to mastered students. Where the ability of high-level thinking was one of the goals of education in the 21st century. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Generative Learning model on the Ability of Student Analysis on Matter of Human Nervous System in Class XI IPA SMA Muara Lakitan Musi Rawas Regency. This research used Quasi Experiment method of Nonequivalent Control Group Design. The population of this research was the students of class XI IPA with sampling technique used nonprobability of purposive sampling. With the sample of research class XI IPA 1 and XI IPA 2 which amounted to 69 students. Technique of data collection used multiple choice test amounting to 15 question, observation of model execution, field notes and documentation. Based on analysis result of student's analysis ability showed that mastery of analysis ability indicator in experiment class 67,7% higher than control class that was 55,3%. The improvement of analytical ability can be seen from the N-gain value where the experimental class has a gain value of 0,53 with medium category higher than control class that is 0.19 with low category. The results of hypothesis testing using t test obtained tcount = 3.969 and ttable = 1.670 with 95% confidence level ( = 0.05). The data shows that tcount> ttable, then H0 is rejected and Ha accepted. Thus, it can be concluded that the Generative Learning model has an effect on the students' analysis ability in the XI grade of SMA Negeri Muara Lakitan of Musi Rawas Regency.


The alternative evaluation of enterprise's technological strategy is a multi-plans chosen which selects the best strategy from several feasible alternatives.The alternative evaluation model of enterprise's technology is established based on the Euclid method for strategy alternative evaluation presented by Madjid Tavana.The abilities for taking use of technical resource in and out enterprise,making profits and avoiding risks of alternatives of enterprise's technology strategy can be evaluated from three criteria——technology,market and operating strategy.It provides guidance for the enterprises' technology strategy selection.


Prospect theory has challenged the decision-making principle of expected utility maximization which based on rationality.According to the prospect theory,there are some irrational such as frame effect,reference point and certainty effect in individual decision making under uncertainty.120 undergraduates are made the subjects of the laboratory experiment,the experiment showing that the attitudes to risk are different under uncertainty.The difference indicates the decision making of individual is not only prompted by expected utility,but also influenced by some psychological factors.There are some irrational psychological characteristics,such as the frame effect,reference point and certainty effect.


Objective To screen out the unidentified new single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to obtain the complete single point mutation for genotyping of thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT). Methods DNA sequencing in areas having high frequent mutant sites including 1 intron and 4 exons of TPMT gene by means of fluorescence binding auto sequencer. Results 3 new candidate SNPs were discovered in 30 cases of DNA specimens. Conclusion There are many types of SNPs in TPMT gene which need large scale screening and functional research works.


THE INVOLVEMENT OF PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS IN ENTREPRENEURIAL RESEARCH The last decade has seen a growing interest in entrepreneurship research. There has been an increasing number of academic and practitioner journals in the areas of entrepreneurship and small business as well as a significant increase in the number of entrepreneurship research centers (Wortman 1987). At the same time, there has been some concern regarding the applicability of the research to entrepreneurs, small business owners, and government policymakers (Brockhaus 1987, Hornaday et al. 1984). This article raises the issue of the applicability of current research activity to foundations that may be sources of support. The study indicates possible sources of funding, specific research topics of interest to funding organizations, and the restrictions, if any, imposed by the various organizations. DEFINING THE RESEARCH AGENDA Who decides what entrepreneurship researchers study? Consider an analogy in the art world. In 1989, legislation was introduced in the U.S. Congress to establish guidelines for grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution 1989). NEA had been accused of supporting artists who produced obscene work or work contrary to generally accepted standards of public taste. Some members of Congress argued that NEA should hold grant recipients accountable for responsible use of public funds. Nationally renowned artists countered that it is impossible to set standards for art. Only the passing of time reveals whether something qualifies as true art. Academic researchers face a similar, if less extreme, quandary. Most scholars prefer to choose their own research agendas. They may select topics that they believe warrant investigation from literature reviews or from observation. They may be mining veins of research that they expect to make significant contributions to the understanding of small business and entrepreneurship. As Brockhaus (1987) reported, however, the interests of researchers do not necessarily match the interests of the objects of the research. Brockhaus contrasted the published studies of entrepreneurship researchers with the issues voted by business owners at the 1986 White House Conference on Small Business as being the most important to them. The discrepancies caused him to conclude that academicians are not addressing the needs of the primary stakeholders for their research. This finding leads to the question of whether small business owners and entrepreneurs should participate in setting research agendas. Further complicating the selection process is the source of resources that support entrepreneurship research. Major investigations often require resources that are in excess of those available at academic institutions. As a result, third party funding is sought, frequently from corporations, government, or private foundations. These organizations, in turn, have their own objectives in providing resources. This study was designed to look specifically at private foundations as sources of unds for entrepreneurship research. What topics do they fund already and what are they likely to support as accepted topics for entrepreneurship research? To what extent are the interests of the foundations aligned with the preferred topics of researchers? The purpose of this study is to identify a set of funding sources and the entrepreneurship-related research these sources may be willing to support. In revealing this information, the study raises questions about the roles played by different parties in determining the types of research conducted and the allocation of resources. METHODOLOGY Private foundations that support activities related to business and free enterprise were identified from the Taft Foundation Reporter (17th edition), which lists major private foundations in America. …


The method of producing polycrystalline silicon thin films having improved electrical characteristics and a method of manufacturing a thin film transistor having the same are disclosed. And irradiating a laser beam showing a uniform energy density distribution of a rectangular shape in the width direction of the laser to the part of the amorphous silicon thin film formed in the first edge area of the substrate. So as to grow the silicon grains in the amorphous silicon thin film liquefied by the laser beam, thereby crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin liquid. By increasing the size of a silicon grain while moving in the first direction by a predetermined interval to form a polycrystalline silicon thin film is irradiated with a laser beam representing an energy density distribution of a rectangular shape. Thus, by irradiating a laser beam showing a close distribution of energy density distribution in a rectangular shape to the substrate repeatedly, it is possible to form the improved electrical properties polycrystalline silicon thin film.


Assuming that the spin a of the black hole presumably located at the core of the active galactic nucleus Messier 87 takes the value which maximizes the ergospheric volume of the Kerr spacetime, we find the results compatible with the recent observations obtained by high-resolution interferometry on the origin of the jet, which would be located inside the innermost stable circular orbit diameter. Moreover, we find that a flow of unbound geodesics issued from the ergoregion is able to frame the best fits at large scales recently obtained for describing the observed profile of the relativistic jet launched from this central engine.


The question: Where am I? It is one of the most basic questions asked by humanity over time. The emergence, advancement and development within the area of robotics, such as autonomous robotics, has become one of the most successful achievements reached at the time; Being that a robot by itself can perform tasks and even behaviors without any human intervention is something thought, formerly, only in science fiction. The question: Where am I? It has been transformed into: How does a robotic unit know where it is? And to answer this question the objective of many of the investigations in this field of study has been to find the best technique or solution that allows the robot to give navigation capabilities in an autonomous mode. In the context of the displacement of aerial robotic platforms in unstructured environments, that is, where the a priori map is not known; the safety of the agents acting within the workspace area is paramount, especially when it comes to human lives. For this, a trained aerial robot with a good instrumentation is necessary, which must be able to overcome situations of risk when it carries out its tasks to reach a mission success. This paper aims to address a strategy of simultaneous location and mapping within the robotic operating system ROS, so that a terrestrial robot platform (Pioneer3DX) or aerial (DJI Matrice 600 Pro) can move in a three-dimensional space with the ability to auto-locate and make decisions in real time so that do not collide with obstacles when going to a defined mission target. It is possible to execute the SLAM algorithm of the slam_gmapping package with ROS interface and visualization in RVIZ with the terrestrial and aerial robotic platform; with the ability to evade static and dynamic obstacles.


Managerial constraint is a central theme in strategic management research. Although discussed using a variety of labels (including choice and determinism) and theoretical perspectives (including resource dependence and population ecology), the common question is the degree to which executives have choices or options when making decisions. Two of the most commonly used approaches for discussing constraint are organizational task environments (Dess & Beard, 1984) and managerial discretion (Hambrick & Finkelstein,1987). These two papers share substantial commonalities in both their theoretical background and operationalization, raising the question of whether discretion and task environment are indeed separate constructs. This chapter reviews both conceptual and methodological issues associated with the use of task environment and discretion. Drawing on a review of published studies and original data analysis, we offer methodological suggestions for future research. Forthcoming in D. Ketchen and D. Bergh Research Methodology in Strategy and Management, Volume 3. Elsevier, in press.


Despite the fact that a physics course typically culminates in one final grade for the student, many instructors and researchers believe that there are multiple skills that students acquire to achieve mastery. Assessment validation and data analysis in general may thus benefit from extension to multidimensional ability. This paper introduces an approach for model determination and dimensionality analysis using collaborative filtering (CF), which is related to factor analysis and item response theory (IRT). Model selection is guided by machine learning perspectives, seeking to maximize the accuracy in predicting which students will answer which items correctly. We apply the CF to response data for the Mechanics Baseline Test and combine the results with prior analysis using unidimensional IRT.


The department editors for the new Spatial Interfaces department map out their plans for what they'd like the column to cover in future issues and describe what their first installment will highlight. The emerging field of spatial interfaces offers fertile ground for practitioners in the field and academia alike. The department provides a unique forum for the broad range of topics around interactive interfaces and displays beyond the desktop.


Tetragonal, rhombohedral and monoclinic ferroelectric domains can all occur in morphotropic PbZr1−xTixO3 (PZT) ceramics. In this article, the influence of these domains on the splitting of reflections in selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns along the main pseudo-cubic zone axes is reported. The orientation of the domain wall in a transmission electron microscopy image with respect to the splitting of reflections in the diffraction pattern has to be considered for the interpretation. The distinction of tetragonal and rhombohedral splitting is achieved for a pronounced splitting except for 〈111〉 with the domain wall edge on. As the monoclinic structure contains tetragonal as well as rhombohedral distortions, the distinction of monoclinic symmetry from tetragonal and rhombohedral based only on the splitting of reflections is not possible. Conceivable models of configurations of monoclinic subdomains inside the existing tetragonal or rhombohedral microdomains are derived from group–subgroup relations. Some experimental observations are given, which can only be explained by these models.


Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we demonstrate that the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between a terminal alkyne and an azide can be performed under solvent-free ultrahigh vacuum conditions with reactants adsorbed on a Cu(111) surface. XPS shows significant degradation of the azide upon adsorption, which is found to be the limiting factor for the reaction.


Social Media and Its Effect on Self-Esteem and Mental Health Isabeau Justice Kaigler, BA Humanities Honors The University of Texas at Austin, 2020 Supervisor : Stephen Slawek Modern technology enables today's society to have social media tools and applications readily accessible on their smartphones and the internet. The use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and tumblr can impact the health of peer relationships and the critical development of the sense of self. People use these online social environments to share information and seek social support in times of need. This desire to connect and relate to one another can lead to social comparison and affect mental well-being. Additionally, people often use social media as an avenue for self expression and creative endeavors. Using music and lyrics to convey a specific message dates back to ancient times and it is still a common way to tell stories to a broad and diverse audience. Modern day musicians have adapted their craft to appeal to audiences on these new social platforms and the art of storytelling in music has evolved to incorporate today's technology and social media applications. The songs written and recorded for this


It is of great significance to do a research of grassland tourism development model on the different position and the different interest demands of the key stakeholder when it comes to the issue of accelerating the development of grassland tourism.At present,the key stakeholder interests′ uncoordinated lead to threats to the sustainable development of grassland tourism is increasingly prominent in the Xilingule grassland tourism development.This paper applies the stakeholder theory to analyze the position and interest demand of the key stakeholder in the grassland tourism development,Construction of government-led development model,division of labor between stakeholders operating mode and government,pastoral,tourists to participate in the development of regulation and control mode.And through organizational innovation,community involvement mechanism innovation,industry management mechanism innovation and policy innovation in practice grassland tourism development model,it is reasonable and effective coordination of the various stakeholders of the contradictions and conflicts,thus promoting the pastoral grassland tourism sustainable development.


Over the past several years a dramatic change has taken place in the design and function of alpine skis. This paper will present the comparison the carving technique to the traditional parallel turns to show the factors of the carving skis.


Amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) is a DNA fingerprinting technique based on restriction endonuclease digestion of the amplified 16S ribosomal DNA, followed by agarose gel electrophoresis. In this study, the suitability of this method to investigate the bacterial communities in soils was evaluated. ARDRA patterns using enzyme digestion (HaeⅢ) of cloned 16S RNA gene sequences from uncontaminated soil were obtained, and a phylogenetic tree was built according to the 19 sequenced clones. In addition, ARDRA on the whole community level was applied to soils contaminated with different amounts of Cd and Pb. The results indicated that 5 mg·kg-1 Cd and 500 mg·kg-1 Pb affected soil microbial community structure, however, no relationship, a positive relationship was observed between heavy metal concentration and microbial diversity, and the largest diversity index appeared in the most heavily polluted soils.