Abstract This essay considers what happens when the To-Day and To-Morrow series' project of futurology — imagining future developments across a range of disciplines — meets the sciences, and their attempt to establish prediction on a scientific basis. It concentrates on L. L. Whyte's volume Archimedes, or the Future of Physics (1927), which makes some striking predictions not only about the convergence of the sciences of physics, chemistry, and biology, but also about the effect of the new physics to subvert some fundamental scientific axioms about time and the reversibility of experiments. Whyte also considers where post-Relativity physics might lead in terms of the understanding of how consciousness relates to matter. The essay traces parallels with contemporary theories of language and literature, arguing that, like many volumes in the series, Archimedes confronts the problem of how to imagine the future for still-evolving humans is for human language and thought to attempt to understand the post-human.


Our perception and understanding of landscapes has become increasingly filtered through digital representations of landscapes such as satellite images and DEMs (Dietrich & Montgomery, 1998). Such models are conceptualized as fields and represented through discretization, usually as regular grids. However, the discrete objects (e.g. grid cells) characterizing a field have no meaning in reality and only exist for reasons of representation (Fisher, 1997; Goodchild et al., 2007).


Sports drinks are the most common and by far the most efficient in replenishing electrolytes lost during exercise or heavy physical activity. Although there are a number of commercial sports drinks available, the electrolytes in these products are intentionally added. Watermelon contains natural vitamins and minerals both in its flesh and rind. Watermelon rind also contains citrulline, a compound that helps fight free radicals, may boost libido, and aid in weight loss. Although watermelons are abundant in the Philippines, the rinds are often discarded. This study developed a sports drink from watermelon rind (WRSD) and compared its nutrient content with two commercial brands. Nutrients studied were vitamins C and B6 and the minerals potassium and sodium. Shelf life study was done to determine the minimum number of days of refrigeration storage prior to fermentation. Methods of analysis used were the following: vitamin C – iodometric titration, vitamin B6 – high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), potassium and sodium – atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS); and shelf life study – pH analysis. Compared to commercial brands, WRSD has the highest amount of potassium at 34.8 mg/100 g and significant amount of sodium at 45 mg/100 g. It is an excellent source of vitamin C at 192 mg/100 g. However, it is an insignificant source of vitamin B6 at <10 mg/100 g. As a natural drink, it is shown to be stable for at least 12 days. Study concludes that watermelon rind is a viable source of electrolytes and substrate for sport drink production. A value-added product from underutilized waste rinds may be developed where electrolytes are naturally available.


Results of the VLSI implementation of an acoustic classification system's identification stage, intended for the detection of gunshots and chainsaws in a protected tropical area, are shown, with the idea of later building a surveillance wireless sensor network with similar nodes. The system performs from signal preprocessing to feature extraction, with results of the HDL description of the system tested on a FPGA against a golden reference, using real data taken from a protected rain forest area. Final classification of signals, using HMM, is in the final stages of testing. Some post-place-and-route results of the code ported to a commercial 130nm CMOS technology are also given.


The abyssal seafloor in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ) in the central Pacific is covered with large densities of polymetallic nodules, i.e., metal concretions containing iron, manganese, nickel, cobalt, and copper. These nodules are of economic interested and considered potential future resources for said metals, but they also host a variety of deep-sea fauna. In a recent study it was estimated that the removal of these nodules would lead to a loss of up to 18% of all taxa in the CCZ. Here, I assess the impact of removing these nodule-dependent taxa on carbon cycling at two sites (B4S03, B6S02) of the Belgian exploration license area in the eastern CCZ. For this purpose, I developed two highly-resolved carbon-based food web models with 72 (B6S02) to 77 (B4S03) food-web compartments consisting of different detritus pools, bacteria, metazoan meiobenthos, macrobenthic isopods, polychaetes and other macrobenthos, megabenthic cnidarians, crustaceans, poriferans, holothurians and other invertebrate megabenthos, and fish. These compartments were connected with 304 (B6S02) to 338 (B4S03) links which were reduced by 5–6% when nodule-dependent faunal compartments were removed. The models estimated the total system throughput T‥, i.e., the sum of all carbon flows in the food webs, in intact food webs as 1.24 mmol C m−2 d−1 and 1.20 mmol C m−2 d−1 at B4S03 and B6S02, respectively, whereupon 67.7% (B4S03) to 69.8% (B6S02) of T‥ flowed through the microbial loop. A removal of the nodule-dependent fauna did not affect this microbial loop, but reduced the scavenger loop by 54.6% (B6S02) to 84.1% (B4S03). Overall, nodule-dependent fauna is responsible for only a small fraction of total carbon cycling at the eastern CCZ. Therefore, when the effect of prospective deep-seabed mining on carbon cycling is investigated, its impact on benthic prokaryotes and the microbial loop should be addressed specifically.


Funding of Sports Activities for Children and Youth in the Czech and Slovak Republics The article follows the basic objective: how to help finance children and youth in the field of sports activities. It deals with legislation in this area in the Czech and Slovak Republics, together with the concept and comparison of legislation of the two republics. Finally, these are suggestions de lege ferenda with an effort to deal with the issue by legislative change with suggested ideas.


Symbolic computation in algebraic categories provides computer implementations for modern algebra theories. The present paper reveals the utility of the parameterized categorical approach by deriving a multivariate polynomial category (over various coefficient domains), which is used by our Mathematica implementation of Buchberger's algorithms for determining the Gröbner basis. These implementations reveal the advantages of object oriented programming in symbolic computation, their practical importance relying in the extension of Mathematica, a widely used symbolic computation system, with a new type system. The approach we propose for Mathematica is inspired from D. Gruntz and M. Monagan's work in Gauss, for Maple.


Abstract. The stimulant action of branched‐chain amino acids upon insulin release was examined in rat pancreatic islets incubated at physiological concentrations of D‐glucose and L‐glutamine. In the presence of the latter nutrients, L‐leucine and L‐isoleucine used together at a physiological concentration (0.25 mmol/1 each) doubled insulin secretion rate. The effect of L‐leucine upon insulin release was dose‐related without any indication of a threshold phenomenon. The insulinotropic action of L‐leucine was mimicked, to a limited extent, by its nonmetabolized analogue, 2‐aminobicyclo[2,2,l] heptane‐2‐carboxylic acid, l‐Glutamine slightly inhibited glucose‐stimulated insulin release. It is concluded that, under close‐to‐physiological conditions, L‐leucine stimulates insulin release by acting in the islet cells both as a fuel and as an allosteric activator of glutamate dehydrogenase.


The strategies for breaking a cipher has been shifting towards side channel attacks which exploit the run-time physical attributes of cryptographic chips. Among the many such attacks, the scan-based attack has become a convenient approach for attackers to extract the secret information. As reported in academic research, the scan-based side-channel attacks have been successfully mounted on Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) crypto chips. On the other hand, the scan design-for-test (DfT) has become a mandatory practice for almost all the modern designs for the test, debug, and diagnosis. Therefore, the development of a secure scan test technique is very much needed, which can effectively countermeasure the scan attacks on cryptographic chips. In this paper, we propose a new countermeasure against scan attacks on AES crypto chips. The proposed countermeasure is based on the principle of test response encryption. The scan chain content can be scanned out only in encrypted form and hence cannot be analysed by an unauthorised user. The proposed countermeasure thwarts all the known scan attacks on scan design without compromising on its test capabilities. Moreover, the extra circuitry used for test response encryption is used during mission mode to achieve 2X throughput compared with the conventional iterative AES architecture.


Abstract : Continuing research on the anomalous event problem has placed these events in a particular tectonic setting. The location of the anomalous events is associated with the termination of the tectonic trends of the Himalayas, and the intersection of these trends with the northern extension of the Ancaman-Burman arc. Thus, the tectonic regime of the anomalous events is not part of the Himalayas, but rather appear to be related to 'end-effects' at the eastern terminus of the Himalayas. Further, the thick crust of the Tibetan Plateau, almost twice that of normal continental crust, probably plays a significant role in the occurrence of seismic events with anomalously low surface-wave amplitudes. The thick crust not only offers a medium for the occurrence of earthquakes of moderate focal depth, but also provides a waveguide for the efficient propagation of Love waves and higher-mode Rayleigh waves.


As a result of a new laboratory analysis of the spectrum of five times ionized nickel (Ni VI) some unclassified lines in the emission spectrum of the nova-like variable RR Tel have been identified as forbidden transitions of this ion. Comparisons between the spectra of RR Tel and of h Car have resulted in the possible identification of forbidden lines of Fe V, VI and Ni V and VI in the spectrum of h Car. Such high ionization stages have not previously been identified in this object.


The human life expectancy has never stopped increasing during the last decades causing, among other benefic phenomenon, the apparition of different types of dementia often due to the Alzheimer disease. Despite a reduced independence these patients want to stay at their home more than anything causing the apparition of an expensive home care. To answer this problem, smart homes appeared, and many works focused on recognize the activities made by the inhabitant to assist him if the need arises. However, only a few authors worked on creating a cheap and reliable smart home infrastructure. We already addressed this point in previous works by creating a distributed architecture. Still, we did not prove, at the time, that the activity recognition was still achievable on such infrastructure. Consequently, we present, in this paper, a new kind of distributed activity recognition implementing a form of safety based on reflex behavior and making all its decision in a distributed manner. With an average accuracy at least as good as the centralized manner, we prove here that even if the architecture is distributed, the activities can still be recognized.


It ARISES an absorbent body for an absorbent product such as a diaper, an incontinence device, a sanitary or SIMILAR napkin and comprising an acquisition part liquid (13; 11, 13) and one part liquid storage (12 ) adjacent thereto. PART OF ACQUISITION liquid has at least one cavity (13) is located in the wetting area ASSUMED the absorbent body and extending inside through PART liquid storage (12) and communicating LIQUIDA WITH A LAYER (14) disposed below the storage layer liquid (12). THE MATERIAL ON THE PART OF ACQUISITION OF FLUID (13; 11, 13) has a pore AVERAGE SIZE IS LARGER THAN AVERAGE SIZE OF PORE IN PART liquid storage (12). The absorbent body has an absorption HIGH INSTANTANEA REPEATED even during wetting and a low rewetting.


L‐Arginine is the physiological substrate for the formation of nitric oxide (NO) and accounts for the biological activity of endothelium‐derived relaxing factor. We have studied L‐arginine transport in the heart using a rapid dual‐isotope dilution technique. The time course of L‐[3H]arginine uptake (extraction) by the isolated perfused guinea‐pig heart was found to occur in two phases. The first phase reached a plateau in 6.6 +/− 0.6 s and lasted 8.8 +/− 0.7 s, whereas the second phase developed a plateau after 16.3 +/− 0.8 s. The first phase of maximal uptake (Umax,1) accounted for 13.4 +/− 1.4% of the total uptake and the second (Umax,2) for 32.3 +/− 1.8%. The two phases of uptake were inhibited by unlabelled L‐arginine in a dose‐dependent manner, which suggests that both phases are carrier mediated. The degree of inhibition of Umax,1 and Umax,2 by unlabelled L‐arginine was not significantly different. Studies of the kinetics of uptake of these processes revealed an apparent Km,1 of 183 +/− 10 microM with a Vmax,1 of 50 +/− 10 nmol min‐1 g‐1 for the first phase and Km,2 of 167 +/− 14 microM with a Vmax,2 of 93 +/− 13 nmol min‐1 g‐1 for the second phase of uptake. These results suggest a similar affinity for the receptors of both transport systems, but with different values for Vmax (P < 0.05). In contrast, 1 mM unlabelled D‐arginine had no effect on either the first or second phase of uptake of L‐[3H]arginine by the heart, which suggests that these processes are stereospecific. In the presence of the L‐stereoisomer of nitro‐arginine‐mono‐methyl ester (L‐NAME), a potent inhibitor of NO synthesis, the Umax,1 was inhibited by about 60% while Umax,2 was inhibited by only 20%, which suggests that there is a difference in the effect of L‐NAME on the two phases of L‐arginine uptake. The first phase most probably represents uptake into the capillary wall, i.e. endothelium and smooth muscle, while the second phase represents entry into the extra‐endothelial compartment, i.e. the cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts.


The 'Health and Safety at Work Act (1974)' has always seemed to have important industrial relations implications. The Act was greatly influenced by the Robins Report which had stressed the need for greater voluntary regulation at the operational level. Substantively, the Act followed the Robins philosophy in the provision of the very important general duties of employers in section two. These duties, whilst comprehensive, were necessarily expressed in terms of relative standards, which need interpretation in particular workplaces. Although it was intended that codes of practice would be provided to facilitate this, the Act also followed Robins procedurally in providing for the appointment of employee safety representatives to participate in such interpretations. An amendment to the Act at the behest of the TUC provided that the legal rights and privileges of safety representatives be confined to those appointed by recognised independent trade unions. The passage of the regulations on safety representation are therefore a further stage in the formal development of trade union involvement in the control of health and safety at work. The purpose of this article is to assess the industrial relations implications of such safety representation.


Scientific research is becoming an increasingly collaborative endeavour. The nature and magnitude of collaboration vary from one discipline to another, and depend upon such factors as the nature of the research problem, the research environ ment, and demographic factors. Earlier studies have shown a high degree of correlation between collaboration and research productivity, and between collaboration and financial support for research. The extent of collaboration cannot be easily determined by traditional methods of survey and observation. Bibliometric methods offer a convenient and non-reactive tool for studying collaboration in research. In this paper, several types of collaboration have been identified, and earlier research on collaboration has been reviewed. Further research is needed to refine the methods of defining and assessing collaboration and its impact on the organization of research and communica tion in science.


The morphology and active site engineering of electrocatalysts is an efficient strategy to improve the intrinsic activity and selectivity of electrocatalytic CO2 reduction. Here the ultralong and thin Bi nanobelts (Bi‐NBs) are fabricated, which feature a high edge‐to‐facet ratio and high‐degree connectivity is inherited from the ultrahigh‐aspect‐ratio crystalline bismuth−organic hybrid nanobelts, through a cathodically in situ reconstruction process. The unique nanostructure of Bi‐NBs leads to a significantly enhanced performance for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction with a near‐unity formate selectivity and high formate partial current density, which is far superior to those of the discrete Bi counterparts with low edge‐to‐facet ratios. Notably, Bi‐NBs perform ultrahigh formate selectivity over a broad potential window with a high current density reaching 400 mA cm−2 for formate production in a flow cell. Moreover, it is ultrastable to continuous electrolysis for nearly 23 h at 200 mA cm−2 without compromising the selectivity. Based on calculations, the enhanced performance is closely related to the high edge‐to‐facet ratio of Bi‐NBs, since the rich edge sites are conducive to the stabilization of the key *OCHO intermediate for formate production. In addition, the ultralong and interconnected Bi‐NBs provide "expressways" for electron transfer during CO2 electroreduction, further contributing to the improved performance.


CONTEXT
Hypopressive exercise (HE) has been used as an alternative lumbo-pelvic injury prevention program and claimed to be a means of respiratory and flexibility improvement. However, the possible effects of HE on athletic populations and physical performance remain unclear.

OBJECTIVE
Examine the effects of a HE program on posterior back chain kinematics, thoracic mobility, pulmonary function, and lower lumbar pain in female basketball players over an 8-week training period.

DESIGN
Prospective (1) baseline, (2) midpoint (4 wk), and (3) after 8 weeks.

SETTING
Sports field.

PARTICIPANTS
A total of 17 professional female basketball players (mean age 20.7 y, SD: 3.50; body mass index, 21.71, SD: 1.69).

INTERVENTION
Participants performed 8 HE weekly sessions of 30 minutes.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Back chain kinematics was assessed with the sit and reach and finger to floor test, and back pain was assessed through numerical rating scale. Respiratory parameters were assessed by spirometry and through thoracic mobility.

RESULTS
The analysis of variance revealed significant differences between the 3 measurement periods for thoracic mobility (P > .01); forced expiratory volume in the first second (P < .05) while no statistical differences were found for the rest of spirometry outcomes. Significant differences were also revealed between baseline and after the intervention for the sit and reach test (P > .01), peak expiratory flow (P = .01), and forced expiratory volume in the first 25 seconds (P = .04). Also, significant differences between weeks were found in levels of lumbar pain (P = .003) and the finger to floor test (P = .002).

CONCLUSIONS
These preliminary findings suggest that a HE program can improve posterior back chain and chest wall kinematics as well as lower lumbar pain levels. However, no gains seem to be observed for the majority of pulmonary variables except for peak expiratory flow and forced expiratory volume in the first seconds.


A ring-oven method is described for determining cesium-137 in irradiated uranium solutions. A small drop of the solution is placed on a pre-formed ferric hydroxide precipitate situated at the center of a filter-paper. The paper is positioned on a ring oven, and washed with ammonia solution and water. The cesium-137 migrates to the ring zone, and the other fission products and uranium stay in the center of the paper. The cesium-137 in the ring zone is determined by using a gamma scintillation spectrometer. The method compares well with an ion-exchange procedure. (auth)


By         : Mhd Rasyid Gafaro Advisor I         : Helmawati S.E.,Msi Advisor II : Nurul Huda S.E.,Msi SUMMARY Small and medium-sized industries play an important role in fostering overall economic growth. The development of industry, especially small industry in the direction can be one of the qualified enough role in the economy, so as to be able to compete within and outside the country. In addition, industrial development aims to develop the potential of existing resources and owned, and the ability to survive in the worst economic conditions though. The more convincing the need for these sub-sectors to be developed and in the supporting auxiliary climate. It is the duty of the government to provide guidance, even the initiative in the effort to create this climate. The purpose of this research is to analyze and to know the influence of the number of small industry, labor and investment to small industry production in Solok Regency. This research is conducted by using time series analysis model which is processed using Eviews program rock. The results showed that the number of small industries and labor has a positive and significant effect on the production of small industries in Solok District, while investment does not significantly affect the production of small industries in Solok Regency. Keywords: number of small industry, labor, investment and small industry production.


The phrase "digital marketing" refers to the different promotion and advertising activities/techniques utilized to engage with clients via digital channels. Digital marketing aids in the education of end users about products, their features, values, advantages and disadvantages, and large-scale promotions. The auto market in Uzbekistan, which has a significant number of prospective consumers, is thriving, with a wide range of options/varieties accessible and a coupled cutthroat rivalry in which every firm is fighting for survival. In the current circumstances and environment, digital marketing may be quite useful in promoting businesses, ideas, services, and concepts. With the rise of the IT & Communication sector, where almost every Uzbek has access to the internet via computer systems, mobile phones, or tablets, the internet is gradually infiltrating the core of every industry, including the automobile industry, empowering customers to seek relevant information about anything they want. The main purpose of this study is to discuss how digital marketing influences decision-making in Uzbekistan's automobile industry, mainly Lada brand. The research compares traditional marketing methods with digital marketing approaches utilized in the automobile industry. The research is based on consumer input about their pre- and post-purchase experiences with automobiles purchased through Digital Marketing and Traditional Buying Methods. The research is being carried out in Uzbekistan with the help all Lada dealerships by using a structured questionnaire. To compare conventional marketing with digital marketing techniques, many statistical methods are used. It provides marketers insight into how to position their goods in this competitive market.


ABSTRACT The Astley–Francis Scale of Attitude toward Theistic Faith was designed to access the attitudinal dimension of religion across the major theistic faith traditions. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Astley–Francis Scale of Attitude toward Theistic Faith among a sample of 10,678 13- to 15-year-old students from across the UK, exploring the performance of the scale independently among three groups: religiously unaffiliated students (N = 3711), Christian students (N = 6649), and Muslim students (N = 318). The data support the internal consistency reliability and the construct validity of this instrument among all three groups and commend it for application in further studies.


The β-carbolines present a complex problem involving multiple equilibria in the excited state in hydrogen-bonding solvents including water. Three excited state species exist:  neutral, cation, and zwitterion. Here we examine the multiple equilibria and excited state kinetics of harmine, using time-resolved and steady state fluorescence techniques. From an analysis of the multiexponential decays, measured at the emission wavelengths of the three species as a function of the pH, seven unknowns (four rate constants and three reciprocal lifetimes) were determined. Data analysis was made both by a previously reported numerical method and by analytical solution of the differential equation set. The results obtained accurately describe the independently obtained steady-state fluorescence results. The dramatic modifications of the equilibria and rate constants between the ground and excited states can be understood on the basis of the significative changes in charge densities on the two nitrogen atoms of harmine ...


The dispersion property of modified nano-TiO2 particles and its antibacterial properties on cotton fabrics were studied. The nano-TiO2 particles were modified with reactive groups (such as hydroxyl groups, amino groups and silica groups). The modified nano-TiO2 particles were characterized by particle size analyzer, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Besides, the chemical load technology of optimizing the nano-TiO2 on the textile fiber combined with fiber by grafting and cross-linking was studied. The results showed that the stability of nano-TiO2 sol was related to the concentration of the modifier and the pH values of the system. The washing fastness and the antibacterial property of the fabric treated by modified nano-TiO2 had been increased and the antibacterial property of treated fabric was also related to the concentration of the modifier. By determining the fiber's crystallinity, as well as the fabric's breaking strength and tear strength, the influence of the modified nano-TiO2 photocatalyst on the structural properties of cotton fiber was discussed.


It was introduced the developmental history of train communication network, described the configuration of dominating train communication network, including TCN and LonWorks. Then it was recommended the access control protocol in train communication network. After that, according to the Chinese situation, some advice was given while selecting train communication network. At last, it was introduced an application of train communication network.


Recently, Java Script with HTML5 has become popular for building Website. As a side effect, those technologies can be used to collect a so-called fingerprint that contains hardware information, such as battery status or screen size, of the browser device. A Web server can collect this information without the user's agreement. Our studies show that we can also collect information that could not be obtained with existing fingerprinting, e.g., The number of CPU cores, hard disk space, and so on. In this paper, we report the various kinds of information that can be collected by using Java Script with an HTML5 API.


One case of group urolithiasis broke out in some dog farm in Nanjing,the morbidity was 34.44%(62/180),the mortality was 45.16%(28/62),with long duration time of the disorders.In this case,the disorder was diagnosed as uric acid urolithiasis by following methods: Crystalloid was proved in their economy by exploration with B ultrasonic sound equipment,which strong punctate and group reecho can be inspected from their urinary bladder and kidney;crystalloid bodies aggraded in kidney caused the tissue necrosis;the examination on urine and biochemical indexes indicated the dysfunction of kidney;most of the crystalloid bodies were spheroid by scanning electron microscope examination.


This paper presents an application of the dual extended Kalman filter (DEKF) algorithm for the estimation of vehicle/tyre dynamics states and parameters. The developed algorithm Adap-tyre relies on online adaptation of simple tyre models available in the literature and it is used in this paper for vehicle handling estimation. The performance of Adap-tyre is assessed by comparing estimated vehicle characteristics (vehicle body sideslip angle and tyre lateral forces) and tyre parameters with characteristics of a non-linear vehicle planar model with tyres modelled according to the magic formula. Simulation results indicate that the proposed algorithm is very efficient in estimating critical vehicle states and tyre parameters.


Dear Editors, Leukemia is a group of clonal stem cell diseases characterized by the clonal proliferation of malignant hematopoietic stem cells and impairment of normal hematopoietic function. Although chemotherapy combined with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has significantly improved the outcome of leukemia patients, a proportion of patients still experienced relapse after therapy. An uncommon event termed "lineage switch" is observed in a subset of leukemia patients which describing the condition where leukemia converts to another lineage from the lineage at initial diagnosis upon relapse. The incidence rate of this conversion phenomenon is 6%9%,1 the most common switch occurred from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and AML rarely transformed to ALL. Several hypotheses have explained the mechanism of lineage switch in acute leukemia. Firstly, lineage switch is often associated with clonal selection. Two or more different clones may exist when leukemia occurs, and the dominant leukemia clone at initial diagnosis might be inhibited or eradicated by chemotherapy, the other subclone appears with a dominant phenotype.1,2 Secondly, leukemia multipotential progenitor cells may lose lineage marker during the maturation process and differentiate toward the other lineage, thus undergoing a lineage switch.1 For example, the blast crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia can be transformed into AML or ALL. Thirdly, chemotherapy could modify the original leukemia clone by amplifying or suppressing the natural differentiation programs, causing a conversion in the phenotypic characteristics.3 Finally, the lineagespecific transcription factors and local microenvironment


Based on the cutback method,an experimental system has been set up to measure the beat-length of high-birefringence(hi-bi) optical fiber. The least-square fitting is adopted to process data. The restriction to the cut length of fiber is relaxed and the measurement range of beat length is extended, so that the cutback method can be suitable for the short beat-length measurement of hi-bi holey optical fiber.


This monograph reviews several made-in-Manitoba projects designed to serve at-risk populations. In these initiatives, Creative Problem Solving – in combination with mentoring, career awareness, and other interventions – has been used successfully to reduce the recidivism rate of Native Canadian inmates (the Second Chance program), to reclaim talented but troubled high-school dropouts (Lost Prizes) and other underachieving young people (Prism), to turn around the lives of marginalized Native teens (Northern Lights), and to support inner city children and youth at risk for alienation, school failure, and gang involvement (MARS – Mentoring At–Risk Students, and PLUTO – Please Let Us Take Off). 2 #308-monograph.final 1/14/01 12:08 PM Page 2


Bi-metallic tubes (BMTs) combine performance advantages of two different tubes and are usually used in particular conditions where corrosion resistance is important. Traditionally, BMTs are manufactured by plastic processes such as extrusion, explosive welding/cladding, hydroforming and even combinations thereof. However, rotary swaging, which is commonly used to produce tubes, was seldom mentioned when preparing BMTs. In this work, Cu-Al BMTs were achieved using swaging-diffusion method (SDM). The effect of process on formability of BMTs are investigated. The experimental results indicate that with the increasing of deformation, metallurgical bonding layer, which is more desirable than mechanical bonding layer, can be achieved. And the metallurgical bonding layer will thicken to 2μm after diffusion. Besides, some failures produced in the swaging process are presented.


We present a comprehensive study of a chirped pulse Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier system operating at 1 kHz. Main constituents of the system are described in detail. The amplifier stage was first converted to a repetition rate-tunable kHz gain-switched nanosecond Ti:sapphire laser. Operation characteristics at different repetition rates such as build-up times of laser pulses, pump power-dependent output powers and pulse durations, damage thresholds, and tunability ranges were studied. Based on the results achieved, the switching time of the Pocket`s cell used and the round trip numbers in the regenerative amplifier were optimized at 1 kHz. The output pulses with a pulse width of 50fs from a home-made Ken lens mode-locked Ti:sapphire oscillator were used as seed pulses. The pulses were expanded to 120ps in a grating stretcher prior to coupling into the 3-mirror amplifier cavity. After amplification and recompression, a stable 1kHz Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier system, which delivers 85-fs, pulses, was fully constructed.


A voltage converter for a semiconductor memory circuit, comprises an oscillator 1; a sub-circuit including a buffer 2, charge-pumping circuit 3 and power section 4; a main circuit including a buffer 2', charge-pumping circuit 3' and a power section 4'; and an output voltage detector 5. In a stand-by mode, only the sub-circuit operates. When detector 5 detects a drop in voltage VOUT due to increased load demand, the main circuit is also brought into parallel operation. The circuit aims to reduce overall power consumption and provide a more stable power supply. A plurality of main circuits may be provided in parallel.


A convenient one-pot procedure is reported for preparing N,N-disubstituted carbamoyl chlorides by using chlorocarbonylsulfenyl chloride as a carbonylating agent. It comprises the reaction of secondary amines with chlorocarbo- nylsulfenyl chloride in the presence of an aprotic organic solvent to produce the corresponding N,N-disubstituted carba- moyl halides. Insertion of the carbonyl group without using phosgene is the novelty of this method. Resume ´ : On a developpeune methode monotope pour preparer des chlorures de carbamoyle N,N-disubstitues qui fait ap- pel au chlorure de chlorocarbonylsulfenyle comme agent de carbonylation. Elle implique la reaction d'amines secondaires avec le chlorure de chlorocarbonylsulfenyle en presence d'un solvant organique aprotique qui conduit ala formation des halogenures de carbamoyles N,N-disubstitues correspondants. La nouveautede cette methode correspond al'insertion d'un groupe carbonyle sans faire appel au phosgene. Mots-cles: chlorure de chlorocarbonylsulfenyle, amines secondaires, dichloromethane, halogenures de carbamoyle.


Objective: The relationship between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms and abnormalities in sperm quality has been the subject of several studies, with the objective of improving the treatment of male infertility. This study, which contributes to the identification of genetic markers of sperm abnormalities, was conducted to study mtDNA mutations in the asthenozoospermia profile. Methods: This case-control study included 30 patients with asthenozoospermia and 28 with normospermia after spermogram and spermocytogram analyses. After the extraction of total DNA from the spermatozoa of 58 ejaculates from these individuals using the phenol-chloroform method, the amplification of genes of interest in mtDNA using specific primers was performed by conventional polymerase chain reaction, and sequencing was used to detect mutations. Results: Male patients with asthenozoospermia in the tertiary sector had significantly more mutant- than wild-type (P = 0.0005) MT-CO II genes. Similarly, for the same gene, males with asthenozoospermia and primary infertility had significantly more mutants than the wild-type (P = 0.001). Sequencing revealed 29 mutations that were observed only with asthenozoospermia, which could be the basis for low sperm mobility. Conclusion: This study identified several mutations in mtDNA genes that could be considered genetic markers of asthenozoospermia if confirmed in a deeper study.


This paper is based on the situation that USB keyboard is the electrostatic-sensitive part of Type-B Ultrasonic Machine. First of all, the principle of electrostatic and the principle of USB transfer are introduced. Second, the existing programs in design of USB keyboard on Type-B Ultrasonic Machine is analysis. Finally, a series of improvement measures are advanced from two respects which are the physical structure and circuit design to solve the program.


The paper analyses Max Müller's criticism of the imitative theory of language upheld by the English philologist Hensleigh Wedgwood (1803–1891) and later endorsed by Charles Darwin in The Descent of Man. By recalling Müller's and Wedgwood's theoretical backgrounds and epistemological aims, it argues that their disagreement was more apparent than real, reflecting two different concepts of imitation: imitation as a strictly human capability for Wedgwood and as a broad cross-species behaviour for Max Müller, who critically foresaw the evolutionist challenge to the alleged uniqueness of human language. Darwin used Wedgwood's theory of imitation in order to demonstrate an evolutionary continuity between humans and non-human animals, thus confirming Müller's worries and partially betraying Wedgwood's own beliefs.


b Background: Congenital ocular motor apraxia (COMA) is characterized by impaired voluntary saccades and abnormal head thrusts. However, mechanism of this disorder remains to be elucidated. Methods: This study analyzed the eye movements and imaging findings in 16 patients with COMA, who had been recruited from 2003 to 2009 at the Neuro-Ophthalmology Clinic of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. Results: All the children showed impaired saccades and smooth pursuit in the horizontal direction. One of them also exhibited impaired vertical saccades and smooth pursuit. Eight children showed excessive blinks in association with an attempt to generate saccades. The typical head thrust usually developed around the age of eight months and had resolved by the age of 6-7 years. History of spasmus nutans was confirmed in seven children. Fourteen children showed cerebellar vermian hypoplasia, mostly in the inferior portion, and five of them also had dysgenesis of the corpus callosum. The severity of cerebellar vermian hypoplasia was correlated with developmental delay, as determined by the age of independent walking. Conclusion: Cerebellar vermian hypoplasia is a frequent finding in COMA. Dysfunction of the oculomotor vermis may responsible for the impaired saccades and smooth pursuit in COMA. The occasional association of COMA with spasmus nutans indicates a common pathophysiology of these benign developmental disorders. J Korean Neurol Assoc 28(1):27-32, 2010


Geosciences For Sustainable Future 13-15 July 2021 Virtual Conference Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS 32610 Seri Iskandar Perak, MALAYSIA © Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS 2021 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, without the written permission of the copyright holder, application for which should be addressed to the publisher. Such written permission must also be obtained before any part of this publication is stored in a retrieval system of any nature. The publisher, authors, contributors and endorses of this publication each excludes liability for loss suffered by any person resulting in any way from the use of, or reliance on this publication. List of ABOUT ICER 2020, Foreword, Organising Committee and Reviewers are available in the pdf


Two-dimensional mathematical model of rotary desiccant wheel is established by considering affection of basis material thermal storage to heat and mass transfer.The numerical curve exhibits very good agreement with experimental results,and simulation error is less than 10%.The transient responses of rotary desiccant wheels were simulated under step change of process air volume with different affecting factors.Results showed that With process inlet humidity ratio increased and temperature decreased,and regeneration inlet temperature increased and humidity ratio decreased,difference of new stable value to initial value of process outlet humidity ratio increased and temperature increased.Response time of step increase to process air volume was less than that of step decrease.The analog results also told us that the sensible heat load could be reduced 20% through variable air volume,and could be reduced another 13% with changing regeneration temperature or flow rate.


The unique role of the EEG alpha rhythm in different states of cortical activity is still debated. The main theories regarding alpha function posit either sensory processing or attention allocation as the main processes governing its modulation. Closing and opening eyes, a well‐known manipulation of the alpha rhythm, could be regarded as attention allocation from inward to outward focus though during light is also accompanied by visual change. To disentangle the effects of attention allocation and sensory visual input on alpha modulation, 14 healthy subjects were asked to open and close their eyes during conditions of light and of complete darkness while simultaneous recordings of EEG and fMRI were acquired. Thus, during complete darkness the eyes‐open condition is not related to visual input but only to attention allocation, allowing direct examination of its role in alpha modulation. A data‐driven ridge regression classifier was applied to the EEG data in order to ascertain the contribution of the alpha rhythm to eyes‐open/eyes‐closed inference in both lighting conditions. Classifier results revealed significant alpha contribution during both light and dark conditions, suggesting that alpha rhythm modulation is closely linked to the change in the direction of attention regardless of the presence of visual sensory input. Furthermore, fMRI activation maps derived from an alpha modulation time‐course during the complete darkness condition exhibited a right frontal cortical network associated with attention allocation. These findings support the importance of top‐down processes such as attention allocation to alpha rhythm modulation, possibly as a prerequisite to its known bottom‐up processing of sensory input.


The Biblical story of King Solomon and the two mothers is not immediately recognisable as a source of insight for resolving the territorial disputes in the South China Sea (SCS). After all, international geopolitical conflicts are more complex than domestic ones. More importantly, these conflicts occur in a structurally different political order: no sovereign like Solomon exists in the international political order who can make a final, authoritative, and enforceable decision on inter-State disputes.


Bilateral hyperplasia of the coronoid process of the mandible is an unusual entity which often presents with limited mouth opening. Thorough clinical and radiographic examination can help in the diagnosis and the treatment planning of this condition. This article consists of a case report of two patients. The patient in each case, presented with a reduced mouth opening, and when subjected to further investigations, was diagnosed with bilateral coronoid hyperplasia.


Regional reanalises are attractive new sources of meteorological data for the growing society of the end users, due to their physical consistency, dynamical coherency, and multivariate products at higher than the global reanalises spatio-temporal resolution. The assessment and quantification of uncertainties of the products of the regional reanalises and their added value are crucial for the interpretation. Hence these products could be also incorporated in the regional climatology, consistent comparisons of their long-term timeseries against independent and representative data sets have to be performed. The present study could be considered as step ahead in this direction - the MESCAN-SURFEX, which is the product with the most detailed spatial structure among all others in the UERRA (Uncertainties of Ensembles in Regional Reanalysis) project, is compared against two gridded observational data sets in South-east Europe: the well-known regional CARPATCLIM and the product of the Bulgarian National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology ProData. The comparison aims to assess the skill of MESCAN-SURFEX to reproduce the climatological field of the mean temperature. Additionally, the daily extreme temperatures are estimated using the MESCAN-SURFEX output on sub daily basis and the results are compared against their CARPATCLIM- and ProData-counterparts. The computation of the mean and extreme temperatures with the MESCAN/SURFEX data are performed for the whole time span of this product and the comparison against the references for the whole time span of each of them on daily basis. The main conclusion of the study, which agrees with the outcomes of more detailed recent evaluations, is that MESCAN-SURFEX reproduces realistically the regional temperature field over Southeast Europe. According to the mean temperature, the differences remains under certain limits (RMSE generally below 2 °C) without, at least not apparent, systematic and spatial pattern. The estimation of the extreme temperatures produces results with biases comparable to the biases of the mean temperature, which makes the proposed method applicable for certain cases.


Beijing representative of northern cities of China has made great progress in landscape, beautification and construction of the city but it has heen shortage of the new resources of climhing plants. This article systematically introduces the study results of several climbing plants intro- duced from abroad and domestic in cultivation and appli- cation. The promising climbing plants resources, which may apply to cities' landscape in future in northern China are described.


Introduction: Military police activity individuals performing operational activity remain 12 hours using mandatory safety equipment. This work aimed to verify the electromyographic response in operational military police officers before and after a cycle of two working days. Methods: Forty-four male individuals were evaluated, with an average age of 34.59 ± 8.05. The used protocol consisted in the evaluation of paravertebral muscles and rectus abdominis muscles in a maximum isometric voluntary contraction test (MVC) during trunk extension movements, starting from the sitting position. Moreover, the Roland-Morris functional evaluation questionnaire and the Corlett and Manenica diagram for painful areas were used. An electromyograph with 16 pre-set channels was used. Signals were processed in time (EMGME) and spectral (EMGMF) domains, using the MatLab  program. The Shapiro-Wilk test and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test were applied. Statistical analyses were performed through the SPSS v21.0 software and Microsoft Office Excel 2010, considering p < 0.05 as significance level. Results: Results showed statistical differences in the post-working day for time analysis, an EMGME decrease in the right rectus abdominis muscle (p = 0.016) and in the age-stratified sample, with individuals over 31 years old (p = 0.016); in the spectral analysis, EMGMF reduction in the right iliocostalis (p = 0.027) and right and left side in the stratified sample, in individuals over 31 years old and with more than 10 years of service. Conclusion: The used protocol highlighted a decrease in the amplitude of the electromyographic signal, as well as possible muscle fatigue on the right side where officers usually carry their weapons.


Objective To investigate the effects and mechanism of a cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) selective inhibitor NS-398 on the proliferation and apoptosis of mammary adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell. MethodsAfter the treatment with NS-398 on MCF-7 cell,MTT assay was used to observe the inhibition of MCF-7 cell growth and apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry.The expression of COX-2,Bcl-2 and Bax was detected by flow cytometry.The content of PGE2 in the supernatants of cell culture was measured by radioimmunoassay(RIA). ResultsNS-398 may inhibit the proliferation of MCF-7 cells in a concentration-and time-dependent manner.Meanwhile NS-398 treatment resulted in an increase of G0/G1-phase cells(P0.01) and a decrease of S-and G2/M-phase cells(P0.01).The apoptosis of MCF-7 cells was also obviously increased after NS-398 treatment.COX-2,Bcl-2 and PGE2 protein expression was down-regulated(P0.01),while Bax protein expression was up-regulated(P0.01) after NS-398 treatment. ConclusionNS-398 may inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of MCF-7 cell through the inactivation of COX-2,down-regulation of PGE2 and Bcl-2 expression,and up-regulation of Bax expression.


As the core of power generation and transmission of vehicle,powertrain system provides and transmits power to transmission mechanism while generating vibrations which is the main source of vehicle vibration.As a part of the whole vehicle,powertrain while driving will be influenced by the outside interference.Independently studying powertrain vibration isolation performance can not meet the actual requirement in the process of car driving.Therefore,this paper studied vibration isolation characteristics and optimization design of powertrain-vehicle system with energy decoupling method.After the vibration transfer rate and the frequency response analysis,the energy decoupling method is effective for the improvement of mounting system's vibration isolation performance.


Measuring insert (X) for a measuring device (D1), preferably a thermometer, for determining a process variable, particularly the temperature, with a sensor element (M) for sensing the process variable, with a guide tube (F) for receiving connecting cables (A) of the sensor element (M), wherein the guide tube (F) is configured at least in a partial area in such a way that the partial region forms a spring element (P).


Design patterns have a key role in software development process. However, their impact on software quality is not well investigated. There is no common agreement on how design patterns impact software quality. This paper aims to empirically investigate whether the Adapter design pattern impacts software maintainability positively or negatively. To achieve this aim, refactoring techniques have been applied to generate a non-pattern version for four subject systems. Then, software metrics have been calculated and compared for both versions; the pattern version and non-pattern version. The correlation of software metrics to software maintainability have been used and adopted from previous research studies. The empirical results show that the Adapter pattern versions have a better software metrics than do the non-Adapter pattern versions i.e. a sign that the Adapter design pattern impacts software maintainability positively.


Amorphous Bi5Nb3O15 (B5N3) phase was formed for the films grown at 350 °C under low oxygen pressures (OPs) (≤200 mTorr). However, when OP exceeded 400 mTorr, crystalline Bi3NbO7 (B3N) phase, which is a low temperature transient phase of the crystalline B5N3 phase, was formed even at 350 °C. The dielectric constant (k) increased with increasing OP due to the formation of the crystalline B3N phase. The leakage current density increased with increasing OP, due to the increased surface roughness of the film. Presence of the intrinsic oxygen vacancies was also responsible for the increased leakage current density. Mn-doping improved the electrical properties of the films by producing the doubly ionized, extrinsic oxygen vacancies which reduced the number of the intrinsic oxygen vacancies. Mn-doping also considerably increased the k value of the film to a maximum of 108 for the 5.0 mol % Mn-doped film grown at 350 °C.


Mixtures between choline and geranic acid (CAGE) have previously been shown to insert into lipid bilayers. This may be useful for the transdermal delivery of larger pharmaceuticals, however, little is known about the mechanism of activity. By comparing the interactions between CAGE and lipid bilayers with those of a less‐active, yet closely‐related analogue, choline octanoic acid (CAOT), a chemical basis can be investigated. Overall, six systems are studied here by neutron reflectivity, where d54‐1,2‐dimyristoyl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphocholine (DMPC) solid‐supported phospholipid bilayers are first formed on SiO2 substrates before exposure to the deep eutectic solvent (DES). Components of the DES could be identified within the bilayer by exploiting contrast variation and selective deuteration. CAGE is shown to be a mild disruptive agent, free to insert and diffuse across the bilayer, preserving much of the bilayer integrity. Experiments identify co‐mingling of geranate ions inhibits the efficient packing of lipid tails, increasing hydration across the bilayer. Conversely, CAOT is found to both exchange and remove lipid molecules to achieve incorporation, inducing swelling and the formation of solvent patches. It appears these behaviors derive from the structures of the anions and thus amphiphilicity of the DES, laying the foundations for the rational design and optimization of these candidates toward transdermal delivery.


Application of a fuzzy logic control (FLC) approach to the design of variable structure systems (VSS) is presented. Rule-based controllers which utilize fuzzy set theory have the advantage of not needing a mathematical description of the plant. This feature of FLC is combined with properties of the sliding motion in VSS: control independence, reduced computational burden, etc. FLC and VSS are compared and combined. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of fuzzy VSS with different degrees of uncertainty.<<ETX>>


METHOD FOR PREPARING A NEW DERIVATIVE sulfated diosmin. It DESCRIBES THE PROCEDURE FOR THE PREPARATION OF COMPLEX ALUMINUM OF heptakis (hydrogensulfate) diosmin, which comprises reacting one mole of diosmin with seven moles AN AGENT sulfating IN TOTAL ABSENCE OF HUMIDITY AND, after isolating the heptakis (hydrogensulfate ) diosmin RESULTING AS sodium salt THIS IS A SOLUTION AQUEOUS with aluminum chlorohydrate. THE PRODUCT IS USEFUL IN TREATING PROCESSES ulcer.


The field experiment was conducted during rabi 2014-15 to 2016-17 on clayey soil at Junagadh (Gujarat) to evaluate the efficacy of some preand post-emergence herbicides in combination with hand weeding (HW) for weed management in cumin. The major weed flora observed in the field were monocots viz., Brachiaria spp. (signal grass), Asphodelus tenuifolius (wild onion), Indigofera glandulosa (three leaf indigo), Echinochloa colona (Barnyard grass) and Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crow foot grass), dicots viz., Chenopodium album (common lambs quarters), Digera arvensis (false amaranth), Amaranthus viridis (pigweed), Portulaca oleracea (purslane), Physalis minima (ground cherry), Euphorbia hirta (common spurge) and Leucas aspera (thumba), and Cyperus rotundus (purple nutsedge) as sedge. The results revealed that the treatments viz., weed free, pendimethalin 900 g ha-1 as preemergence fb HW at 45 DAS and oxadiargyl 75 g ha-1 as early post-emergence at 7 DAS fb HW at 45 DAS significantly enhanced growth and yield attributes viz., plant height, number of branches per plant, number of umbels per plant, number of umbellates per umbel, number of seeds per umbel and 1000-seed weight, and ultimately increased seed (967, 934 and 919 kg ha-1) and stalk (2007, 1892 and 1849 kg ha-1) yields over unweeded check. These treatments also recorded the lower dry weight of weed at harvest (69, 188 and 277 kg ha-1) and weed index (0.00, 3.38 and 4.95%) as well as higher weed control efficiency (96.21, 89.62 and 88.06%) along with higher net returns (Rs. 64291, 66772 and 65328 ha-1) and B:C ratio (3.17, 3.80 and 3.74) over unweeded check.


With the development of computer technology, teaching video data grows exponentially. How to rapidly capture the wanted video data at the sea video database is the currently hot research topic. This paper put forward to a method of key frame extraction based on mutual information for teaching content-based video analysis and retrieval. Experiments show that this proposed approach can make a good representation for video contents.


Critical legal thinking is a discipline-specific type of critical thinking. There are many definitions, but we consider it to be...


The free radical intermediates from the photolysis of eleven substituted styrenes (1–11) with both tertiary and secondary amines were studied by spin trapping and the high-pressure liquid chromatography electron paramagnetic resonance (HPLC-EPR) technique. Eleven α-methylbenzyl radicals were trapped by 2-methyl-2-nitro-sopropane (MNP) and separated by HPLC. Resolution enhancement was applied to obtain long-range hyperfine splitting constants (hfsc). The nitrogen hfsc are linearly correlated with the Hammett substituent constants. The major mass spectral fragments for the trapped aminoxyl radicals (12–22) include [M+1]+, [M–1]+, [M– t Bu]+, [M– t BuOH]+, [M– t BuNO]+, and [(CH3)3C]+. The structures of 12–22 were also confirmed by chemical synthesis by adding Grignard reagent to α-phenyl-N-tert-butylnitrone (PBN) and its derivatives.


The effects of different processing procedures(alkali refining,bleaching,deodorization,dewaxing)on the content of α-tocopherol,sterol,squalene in the oil-tea camellia seed oil were investigated.The results showed that among the four processing procedures,the effect of deodorization on the content of α-tocopherol,sterol,squalene in the oil-tea camellia seed oil was the greatest,and their content lost 52.1%,34.5%,55.4%,respectively,while the content of α-tocopherol,sterol,squalene in the corresponding deodorizer distillate was the highest,and the content was 750.90 mg/kg,2 463.58 mg/kg and 8 887.47 mg/kg,respectively.The influence of bleaching was greater,and the content of α-tocopherol,sterol and squalene lost 11.5%,9.5%,8.5%,respectively.Bleaching and deodorization were important procedures to affect the content of bioactive constituents in oil-tea camellia seed oil.The alkali refining and dewaxing procedures affected greatly the fatty acid compositions.


In this paper, a tunable sub-wavelength resonator using a hemispherical plasma discharge is investigated at VHF-UHF frequencies. The overall setup is detailed. The resonance is experimentally investigated with an indirect method which consists in studying the influence of the plasma hemisphere on the transmission between two near-field monopole probes. The design presented here opens new perspectives for the realisation of plasma-based electrically small antennas thanks to a non-intrusive and adequate integration of the whole plasma control system below a ground plane.


This the basic principle and characteristic of concrete-filled steel tube structure are summarized briefly in this paper,introduced the present research direction in new form of structure,nodal performance,earthquake-resistance property,fireproof properties and use of high-performance material,summarize application and development of the concrete-filled steel tube structure.


P2P applications impose an enormous traffic load on the Internet. Actually, however, topological difference between P2P network and underlying physical network (Internet network) is creating inefficient use of the physical network resources. To this problem, we propose P2P download control methods using router network parameters (e.g., number of router-hops, TCP window size and RTT) that can achieve effective use of router network resources, thus relieve ISP traffic burden and improve the response time of P2P applications. To evaluate proposed methods, network topologies of P2P network and router network were established and simulation was performed. As for network topology, BA model is used for P2P network and modified FKP model is used for router network. Simulation results revealed the effectiveness of the proposed control methods.


The goal of this study was to determine whether and how differences in tree canopy cover and elevation at sea level affect the understory herbaceous cover and trees stock growth in the Darab Kola forests of Mazandaran province, Iran. Correlation and regression analysis were used to determine the dependence between different vegetative parameters and physiographical properties. Results showed that there wasn't significant relationship between trees density and elevation at sea level (R =0.05; p>0.05; r=0.22). There was 2 The total forest area of Iran is approximately 12.4 cloud cover (7, 8). million hectares, which makes only 7.4% of the total land Many studies have indicated relationships between area. Therefore, Iran is categorized under Low Forest individual species, but none have related combinations of Cover Countries (LFCC). However, it is a rich country overstory variables to understory herbaceous vegetation from the aspect of plant biodiversity with almost 8,000 in broad leaved forests of Iran. In Ponderosa pine/Gambel vascular plant species. The real temperate commercial oak ecosystem, scientists used canonical correlation deciduous forests, with an area of almost 2 million ha, are analysis to relate overstory variables (canopy cover, basal extended in the north of Iran, in the Caspian Region, the cover and density) to herbaceous vegetation cover so-called Hyrcanian forest (1). Hyrcanian forests with an variables. This analysis showed that among herbaceous area of about 1.9 million hectare are located in north of cover variables, Oregon grape, Kentucky bluegrass, Iran, in southern coast of Caspian Sea. It is exclusive site sedge and foxtail barley; and among overstory variables, for some valuable and unique species like Gleditsia the density and the basal cover of Ponderosa pine caspica Desf., Parrotia persica C.A. Meyer. and indicated the highest positive contribution to the Pterocarya fraxinifolia (Lam.) Spach (2, 3). correlation of the two linear combinations,while the Physiographical properties of a forest are widely known density and canopy of Gambel oak negatively affected the as a factor potentially important in generating differences canonical correlation (9). in ecosystem characteristics. Its impacts are various due After the analysis on the linages of species, the to its compound character, potentially encompassing fractal dimensions of vegetation and soil in a managed


This article presents a survey of the recent research which has been making significant progress in examining scribal schools and education in ancient Israel. It specifically treats scholarly recourse to the extra-biblical data provided by epigraphic remains, and discusses the comparative potentials of the wider ancient world itself. Several monograph-length treatments have added substantially to the literature. A brief critical examination of all these works is provided, in order to facilitate the reader's keeping up with the latest views and opinions concerning such studies. The literature will be treated chronologically, and the most substantial recent contribution by Carr (2011) will be subject to an extensive review, testing Carr's conclusions against the cumulative weight of earlier findings. Finally, ways of moving forward in treating this subject will be suggested.


The Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of electron and hole impact ionization rates for 4H- and 6H-SiC in high electric field is presented. This work focuses on the study of impact ionization rates and impact ionization coefficients since these parameters play a very important role in determining the device performance. In our simulation, the impact ionization rates are obtained by using modified Keldysh equation with a softness factor fitted to the experimental data described by other researchers. The electron and hole impact ionization coefficients in 4H- and 6H-SiC are parameterized at high electric field. The electron and hole impact ionization coefficients for a wide range of electric fields have been successfully derived in our model.


Coinage metal aluminium clusters M2Al2 (M = Cu, Ag, and Au) were studied by Hartree–Fock (HF) and second-order Moller–Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) with pseudopotentials. It was found that the butterfly structure with C2v (1A1) symmetry is more stable than the planar structure, and Au2Al2 is the most stable of the title species. The binding energies and the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO) gap are evaluated, which indicates that doping clusters M2Al2 are more stable than the pure clusters M4 (M = Cu, Ag, and Au). Electron correlation and relativistic effects stabilize the present species.


Purpose. Analysis of the distribution of mercury concentrations in the whole district; identification of links between mercury content and other toxic and potentially toxic elements, petrographic composition of coal and its main technological parameters. Methodology. The methods of mathematical statistics with the construction of histograms of distribution and dendrograms of clustering of coal seams of the region by Hg concentrations are also used in the work. Results. Peculiarities of distribution and the nature of mercury distribution in 56 coal seams, which belong to the suites С14, С21, С22, С23, С25, С26, and С27 of the lower and middle divisions of the coal period of the Krasnoarmeysk geologicalindustrial area, have been determined. Simple and cumulative histograms are constructed and analyzed. The calculations of the weighted average concentrations in the coal of the main layers and suites were performed, the composition of the typomorphic geochemical association of mercury with other toxic and potentially toxic elements in the coal of the region is clarified. The main factors influencing the mercury content in the nearest stratigraphic section of coal seams in the process of coal accumulation and epigenetic transformations of the coal seam were significantly varied. The average value of mercury content in coal of the main working seams of the area is significantly below the maximum allowable concentration in coal. In the district as a whole, there is no significant connection between mercury concentrations and ash content and sulfur content of total coal, at the same time there is an increase in mercury content with increasing degree of coal carbonization. Scientific novelty. The nature of the distribution and the main statistical indicators of mercury concentrations in the main coal seams and suites of the Krasnoarmeysky geological-industrial region of Donbass were established. A typomorphic geochemical association of mercury with other toxic and potentially toxic elements in the coal seams of the district has been established. Practical significance. The practical significance of the obtained results is to identify the absence of a significant relationship between mercury concentrations and ash content and sulfur content of total coal, as well as to calculate the regression equations between the elements included in the geochemical association with mercury. Key words: mercury, mine, coal height, coal ash content, depth, sulfur content, regression equation, correlation coefficient.


Environmental contextSecondary organic aerosols account for a major fraction of atmospheric particulate matter, affecting both climate and human health. Organosulfates, abundant compounds in organic aerosols, are difficult to measure because of the lack of authentic standards. Here we quantify terpene-derived organosulfates in atmospheric particulate matter at a rural site in Germany and at the North China Plain using a combined target/non-target high-resolution mass spectrometry approach.
AbstractOrganosulfates (OSs) are a ubiquitous class of compounds in atmospheric aerosol particles. However, a detailed quantification of OSs is commonly hampered because of missing authentic standards and the abundance of unknown OSs. Using a combined targeted and untargeted approach of high-resolution liquid chromatography–Orbitrap mass spectrometry (LC–Orbitrap MS), we quantified for the first time the total concentrations of known and unknown monoterpene (MT) and sesquiterpene (SQT) OSs in summertime PM10 particulate matter from field studies in rural Germany (MEL) and the North China Plain (NCP). At each site, we observed more than 50 MT-OSs, 13 of which were detectable at both sites. For both locations, median concentrations of MT-OSs were in the range of 10 to 40ngm−3, to which the 13 common MT-OSs contributed on average >50%. The main contributor to MT-OSs was C9H16O7S (MT-OS 267) with average mass concentrations of 2.23 and 6.38ngm−3 for MEL and NCP respectively. The concentrations of MT-OSs correlated with the concentrations of MT oxidation products only for MEL. For NCP, the low concentrations of MT oxidation products (i.e. typically <1ngm−3) suggested a suppression of carboxylic acid formation under high concentrations of NOx and particulate sulfate. Furthermore, we observed 17 SQT-OSs for the MEL samples, whereas 40 SQT-OSs were detected in the NCP samples. Only five of these SQT-OSs were detectable at both sites. Correspondingly, the total concentrations of SQT-OSs were larger for NCP than for MEL, which suggested large differences in the particle chemistry. In particular, aerosol acidity was found to be a key factor during SQT-OS formation, and was probably not sufficient in the PM10 from MEL.


Background: In recent years, forensic odontology is facing a wide recognition as a consequence of the crucial role the discipline has in many legal and criminal cases, and experts in the field are constantly in research of more accurate and advanced methods. Materials and Methods: The contents of the most-known peer-review forensic journals were searched to identify the publications in forensic odontology from 2000 to 2015. They were categorized according to the topic, type, and origin of the publication. Results: There is a significant increase in publications in the recent years which primarily focus on dental age assessment, bite mark analysis, and dental identification. Most of the publications were research papers, and the majority of research is conducted in a few selected countries. Conclusion: It is fundamental that further research is needed to strengthen the forensic odontology investigation outcomes and to establish the standard protocols and international communications.


1. Plastic container comprising: a container (10) having a non-planar outer surface (20) with a digital image printed thereon ink droplets (30), wherein ink drops (30) vary in diameter from 10 to 200 microns, and wherein the number of ink droplets varies from 200 1200 drops per inch. ! 2. Container (10) according to claim 1, wherein ink drops (30) vary in diameter from 30 to 90 microns. ! 3. A container (10) according to claim 1, wherein the number of ink drops (30) varies between 300 and 1200 drops per inch. ! 4. Container (10) according to claim 1, wherein ink drops (30) are distributed on the surface of the container, and a portion of droplets (30) overlap with neighboring drops (32). ! 5. Container (10) according to claim 1, wherein the ink droplets (30) form a lattice structure. ! 6. Container (10) according to claim 5, wherein the grating structure formed by the calculated or expected flow rate drops. ! 7. Container (10) according to claim 1, wherein the corner edges (36, 38) of ink drops (30a, 30b) is in the range from about 5 to 25 °. ! 8. Container (10) according to claim 1, wherein the corner edges (36, 38) of ink drops (30a, 30b) is in the range of about 12 to 15 °. ! 9. A container (10) according to claim 1, wherein the digital image has a plurality of colors. ! 10. Container (10) according to claim 1, wherein the part adjacent the ink drops (30) overlap to provide one or more process colors. ! 11. Container (10) according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the ink droplet (30) is UV-curable. ! 12. Container (10) according to claim 1, wherein the ink droplets (30) form a predetermined image on a surface of the container. ! 13. Container (10) according to claim 1, wherein the individual ink drops (30) have varying diameters. ! 14. Container (10) according to claim 1, wherein the container comprises


Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that develops on a complex genetic background, the so-called atopic diathesis. Genetic epidemiological studies based on linkage analysis with full genome scan strategies, as well as association and case-controlled studies, have unravelled several chromosomal loci with putative candidate genes. These loci were revealed to be distinct from those newly identified for allergic asthma. Some of these genes localized on chromosomes 3, 17 and 20 are shared with psoriasis, another chronic inflammatory skin disease. These observations suggest, at least, the role of putative genes involved in the down-regulation of inflammation in the skin. Single nucleotide polymorphisms have been identified in several genes for which the functional significance remains to be determined. In most (70–80%), but not all patients, AD is characterized by the presence of elevated total serum IgE levels. However, a subgroup of atopic patients (20–30%) exhibit normal IgE levels. Mechanisms contributing to the extrinsic/IgE-mediated and the intrinsic/non-IgE-mediated forms have been the focus of intensive research in recent years. These forms have been particularly studied in the context of AD, which has lead to new nomenclature recently approved by the World Allergy Organization. Moreover, we now have increasing evidence for the putative role of an autoimmune phenomenon in the complex pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis. Mainly adult patients exhibit specific IgE directed against self-proteins of epidermal origin. A new picture emerges in which the natural history of AD seems to be divided into three phases. First, an initial intrinsic phase, eczema, occurs in early infancy. This is then followed in 60–80% of cases by a sensitization to food and/or environmental allergens with the development of the extrinsic phase, true AD. In this form, it is speculated that antigen-presenting cells expressing the high-affinity receptor for IgE (FceRI) play a major role in the control of inflammation. Consequently, these AD patients will have benefit from prevention measures. Finally, most probably due to molecular mimicry, an IgE sensitization to self-proteins is observed in 60–80% of AD patients. Whether these specific IgE antibodies have a pathophysiological role or are only to be considered as an epiphenomenon remains to be clarified. In summary, due to rapid advancements in the research field of atopic diseases, it now becomes possible for the first time to delineate a new disease classification of allergic and nonallergic subtypes of atopic diseases, thereby bringing hope to the clinician for a more specific treatment approach for each subgroup of these patients.


The present invention discloses a cooling plate (10) for a metallurgical furnace, comprising a cast cooling plate body made of a ferrous metal (12) and at least one cast steel plate is cooled in the cooling duct (12) ( 20). Cooling the steel plate cooling duct (20) (12) of the metal sleeve outer surface (26) in a thickness range of millimeters, a metal sleeve (26) with copper, copper alloys, nickel and nickel alloys from the group consisting of made of a metal selected.


Current 4-step models are unable to meet the requirements of policymakers to forecast the effect of many of the new policy measures which they wish to implement (e.g. road pricing, peak spreading, parking). On the other hand there is intense interest in activity based models because they are policy-responsive. Most of the models in Europe are 4-step models and if they are to be migrated to an activity based modelling framework then this can either be undertaken by building a new activity based model from scratch or by migrating the existing model to an activity based model framework. Most of these models are in use, so migration is often the preferred option, with a requirement to complete the migration in stages so that the model can use the enhancements introduced at each stage in the migration process. To take full advantage of the activity based framework requires new data to be collected. However calibrating an activity based model with a 4-step model data provides a better model than the 4-step model calibrated with the same data. This study shows how to configure distribution and mode choice as a hierarchy of choices which are modelled with a set of nested choice models which can be calibrated with the same source data as was used for the 4-step model. It shows how this can be extended to include other travel choices including time period choice, time interval choice and parking choice, interfaced with the same highway and public transport assignment models as used for the 4-step model. Complex elements such as activity duration, which is dependant upon a range of characteristics such as the makeup of the travelling party can also be encapsulated within the model. If necessary a trip frequency model can be applied at the beginning of the choice hierarchy to provide sensitivity of the model to trip suppression and induced trip making in response to improved transport provision or worsened congestion. The paper shows how the nested choice models can be simplified to mimic the 4-step model if that is necessary. This could be useful to show consistency between the models and demonstrate the extra capabilities of the new model. However the full power of the activity based approach is realised when two other features are implemented: people's activities (the activity synthesiser) and micro-simulating every individual in the study area (the population synthesiser). These processes and possible migration paths are described and the relative merits of different migration sequences are discussed. Experience in migrating several models from 4-step to activity-based models includes the Cheshire Sub Regional Strategic Transport Model, Ashford Area Transport Model and other models which were successfully migrated from 4-step models to activity based models using existing data sources. For the covering abstract see ITRD E145999


Personal communication system provides miniaturized components that incorporate high level signal characteristics plus noise rejection in both microphone and earphone circuitry. The microphone is designed to overcome such spacecraft flight problems as size, ambient noise level, and RF interference.


Recently we often use SNS such as Twitter or Facebook to discuss about a particular topics online. We use "hashtag" to demostrate the topic of a tweet, thus we can share the opinion about the topic. We use "like!" button to demostrate our feeling of a comment, thus our consent will be visualized. We use such technics to enact discussion smoothly. In some cases, we use online communication system such as SNS or BBS to discuss online within their own organization. In this paper we call such discussion using social media or online communication system as "online discussion". The authors have some experiences to hold such online discussion event in our organization. Thus we tried to compose a pattern language to summarize our knowledge obtained from the online discusson event.


The Anselmian argumentation in the Proslogion may be red in the light of the view of reality expressed by Anselm in the De Veritate. For Anselm, truth is a way of being, that is an ontological condition that concerns the whole of reality and which consists of corresponding with the Supreme Truth. There emerges the principle that one cannot go towards God without starting off from Him, and this principle represents a reading prospective for the unum argumentum present in the Proslogion. Id quo maius cogitari nequit, then, is the expression of the Absolute, of the source of every act of consciousness and of knowledge.


1. The e-Gateway Numbering (ENUM), comprising: database temporary ENUM, connecting a plurality of ENUM with the relevant information on the identification of the caller; ! a module for assigning a temporary ENUM during this communication route, wherein said ENUM is input into said temporary ENUM database; and! a module for searching said database of temporary ENUM ENUM specified time and sample related information on the caller ID. ! 2. The gateway of claim 1, wherein said entrance to said temporary ENUM database is temporary entrance, which expires after a predetermined period of time after said given communication. ! 3. The gateway according to claim 1, wherein said information about the caller identification includes the telephone number of the user who initiated the predetermined relationship. ! 4. The gateway of claim 3, wherein said telephone number does not match the 10-bit telephone number of the North American Numbering Plan. ! 5. The gateway according to claim 3, wherein the phone number includes the country code. ! 6. The gateway according to claim 1, wherein said information on the caller identification includes a user's email address that initiated the predetermined relationship. ! 7. The gateway of claim 1, wherein said information about the caller identification includes an address user dialog messages, initiating said predetermined relationship. ! 8. The gateway according to claim 1, wherein said information about the caller identification includes an identifier transportation means. ! 9. The gateway according to claim 1, wherein said information about the identification of the caller Caller


Inland waterway vessel video has a very important role in the automated management of inland waterways. However, there is currently no open platform for implementing video processing of inland waterway vessels. According to the characteristics of large video and video formats of inland vessel, the paper proposes to build a standard video library for inland vessel and establish a video processing platform for inland vessels based on Hadoop, which adopts B/S architecture, with Html, CSS and JavaScript as front desk technology, JSP, Servlet and JavaBean as background processing technology, and realizes the function of online processing video. Compared with the traditional stand-alone mode, HDFS provides a parallel computing model, Map Reduce, and a distributed file system called Hadoop. It realizes the parallel processing of inland river vessel video processing, improves the speed of inland river vessel video tracking and detection, and shortens the running time of the algorithm.


Abstract This paper provides an overview of government and independent research conducted in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in an effort to highlight additional areas in need of study. In addition to the overview of natural disasters and their impact on the United States, the aftermath of the San Francisco earthquake and the actions taken by the government, the local and private sector is also highlighted as providing some lessons learned but maybe forgotten in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The literature is replete with studies on the impacts of natural disasters on real estate markets. Baen and Dermisi (2006) reviewed many of these in their study of federal policies and programs. Montz and Tobin (1998) examine property market disequibrium following a flood event. Brookshire, Thayer, Tschirhart, and Schulze (1985) and Bernknopf, Brookshire, and Thayer (1990) examined the real estate market implications of natural disaster risks, and Murdoch, Singh, and Thayer (1993) discussed the real estate impacts of the actualization of such a risk following California's Loma Prieta Earthquake. Geotechnical risks also motivated Sanders (1996) and Kinnard and Dickey (1995). In many perspectives, including economic, the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005 is thought to be the worst natural disaster to hit the United States in modern times. The Insurance Information Institute estimates the property coverage alone for Katrina topped $38.1 billion, although as of this writing that was not finalized. Current thinking puts the total damage estimate, insured and uninsured, at between $200 billion and $300 billion. To put this in perspective, the next most severe natural disaster, Hurricane Andrew, generated $15.5 billion in insurance claims in 1992. The combined 9/11 attacks totaled $18.8 billion in insurance claims in 2001 dollars and an estimated $67.3 billion in total costs.1 The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 caused an estimated $500 million in property damages at the time, of which $235 million was insured. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the government's reevaluation strategies, the non-governmental agencies and researchers' suggestions for redevelopment of New Orleans, and the lessons learned from the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire are discussed. Second, and perhaps more importantly for the real estate research community, this paper hopes to offer suggestions for future research. Hurricane Background and the Generation of Katrina Hoyos, Agudelo, Webster, and Curry (2006) opined that global warming will lead to a significant increase in both the frequency and intensity of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes. If this is indeed true, and coupled with the estimate that roughly 60% of the population in the United States lives in coastal areas, then a significant revisit of public policies with respect to building, financing, and insuring properties in these areas may be in order. The areas for future research include, but are not limited to, policies for building on flood plain land, federal flood protection programs (levees, dams, and channelization), and public expenses for rebuilding in sensitive areas. Hurricanes and the U.S. Mainland According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), hurricanes are rated on the Saffir-Simpson scale in Categories 1-5 (Exhibit 1). The official Atlantic hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30, with peak activity usually found between mid-August and mid-October. Typically, ten tropical storms develop annually in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, or the Atlantic, and six of these become hurricanes. The U.S. mainland is usually hit by about five hurricanes during a three-year span, of which two will be major hurricanes (Category 3, 4, or 5). Exhibit 2 identifies the worst hurricanes in U.S. history from 1900 through 2005 in terms of deaths and damages and how they measure in comparison to other natural disasters. …


ABSTRACT The multi-layered participation that has found its way into networked media spaces in recent times have contributed to increased collaboration between mainstream journalists and ordinary citizens as co-creators of media contents. With these progressively blurring boundaries in the news production process, the need to ascertain the evaluation of mainstream media practitioners about the credibility and legitimacy of alternative media platforms have never assumed a more social and professional relevance in the journalism sphere. This study adopts Shoemaker and Reese's Hierarchy of Influence model as a theoretical template to investigate the extent to which individual, routine, and organisational level influences affect journalists' perception of citizen journalism credibility. This research is contextualised in Nigeria, an environment with a distinctly dissimilar political, economic, and cultural landscape to the countries of prior research. Findings from a random sample survey (n = 397) revealed, contrary to previous assumption, that journalists' judgement of citizen journalism as moderately credible, is mostly a consequence of individual-level factors (demographics, career length) and routine level factors (frequency of online media use), rather than by organisational level influences (media affiliation, professional ethics). The peculiarity of Nigerian journalism landscape places professional allegiance and media structures at the lowest level of influences.


List of illustrations Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. 'I can make any post interesting' 3. 'The first original physiologist in the United States' 4. 'The best friend the soldier has' 5. 'Foggy with embarrassments' 6. 'A New York medical man' 7. 'A laborious and skilful observer' 8. 'So great her science' 9. 'Systems of cures and wonderful remedies' 10. 'A positive mental science' 11. 'All men are insane' 12. 'I said that I would be back' 13. 'Very near being a great man' Notes Note on sources Bibliography of William Alexander Hammond, M. D. Index.


This paper discusses the divisions between different heavy ion reaction processes. Fusion, deep inelastic, quasi-elastic and elastic interactions are discussed in terms of coupled channel calculations. 20 refs., 8 figs. (LSP)


This study aims to evaluate the functional outcomes for the fixation of transverse patella fracture (TPF) using a transosseous suturing method with a non-absorbable polyester suture. A retrospective case series method was conducted on 37 patients who underwent open reduction and internal fixation using a transosseous suturing technique with a non-absorbable polyester suture at Lower Limb Department, Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Ho Chi Minh City, from 1/6/2020 to 1/6/2022. Results showed that the surgery time was 37.43±9.76 minutes; average follow-up time was 8.57±5.35 months. The results of facet joint after surgery and bone healing were 100% (very good and good); bone healing time was 14.22±2.78 weeks; rehabilitation time was 13.84±3.3 weeks; knee function according to Lysholm scale achieved very good and good results with the average score of 97.62±3.7 points; no hardware-related complications in the study. One patient fell again and broke the kneecap; 100% of the patients were satisfied after the treatment, especially with the reason that there was no need for a second surgery to get the instruments. In conclusion, the fixation of TPF using a transosseous suturing method with a non-absorbable polyester suture is safe and effective with no hardware-related complications and does not require a second surgery to instrument collection during the mean follow-up period of 8.57±5.35 months.


The utility model discloses a flow-equalized anti-blocking flue gas sampling gun which comprises a flue gas sampling tube, a sealing seat, flow-equalized holes, a flue gas mixing chamber and a flue gas outlet tube, wherein the flue gas sampling tube comprises multiple branch flue gas sampling tubes which are different in length, one ends of the multiple branch flue gas sampling tubes are fixed in the sealing seat, the other ends of the multiple branch flue gas sampling tubes are respectively provided with a flue gas sampling mouth, the flow-equalized holes are formed in the tail ends of joints of the branch flue gas sampling tubes and the sealing seat, the flue gas mixing chamber is connected with the flue gas sampling tube, and the flue gas mixing chamber is communicated with the flue gas outlet tube. According to the sampling gun, a situation that the flue gas flow rate of each flue gas sampling point is equal is realized, and the accuracy of oxygen content measurement of flue gas is improved; the ash deposition on the flue gas sampling gun can be prevented, so that the application reliability of the flue gas sampling gun is improved.


The article analyses the state of labour market in the Republic of Kalmykia and the regional peculiarities during the period of 2002-2006.


This research is focused on laser percussion drilling optimization through integrating the neural network method with the Lonberg-Marcoitte(L-M). To begin with, optimum input parameters of the process were obtained in order to optimize every single output parameters (responses) ANN method was used to create an experimental model of the process based on the experimental results. Then optimum input parameters (peak power, pulse width, pulse frequency, number of pulses, assist gas pressure and focal plane position) were determined by (L-M). The output parameters include the hole entrance diameter, circularity of hole entrance and hole exit circularity, and hole taper. The tests were conducted on Stainless steel 304 sheets, with 2.5 mm thickness. The sheets were drilled by a 400 w pulsed Nd: YAG laser emitting at 1.06 μm wave length. Oxygen was used as assist gas. With regards to the accuracy of the optimum numerical results and the high capability of the neural network in modeling, this method is reliable and precise and confirms the qualitative results in the previous studies.


B. B. King has retained his Mississippi ties, such as his annual Homecoming Festival each June in Indianola. To document what has happened in the Delta since 1960, a chapter featuring Big Jack Johnson could have been added, recording the changes to Delta towns and counties, the evolution of Delta blues tastes to Delta soul-blues, the blues festivals held each year in Greenville and Clarksdale, the addition of horn sections (or the imitation of them by today's guitarists) to blues bands, and the efforts of the University of Mississippi and the Delta Blues Museum in providing access to the Mississippi blues past and present including those heard in the Delta. For the people who continue living in the Delta and supporting the local musicians, it is contemporary Delta blues and soul, and not rock music, that is the final destination of Delta blues. While reading the book, I noticed some aspects, attitudes, and theses that were unexamined, perhaps taken as given. That Delta blues led to rock music was one I noted previously, as well as the importance of the guitar in the music without venturing a guess as to why they were prevalent in the Delta. Another was that blues is primarily to be listened to, not to be danced to, an assumption that readers of Albert Murray's Stomping the Blues (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976) may disagree with. The origins of the 12-measure blues form are unexamined, not even speculated on, by Gioia, although the blues as dance may yield a clue to the possible source of the three 4-measure phrase structure. In all fairness, Palmer in Deep Blues did not delve into these issues either. Nor am I regarding these assumptions as flaws in the books by Palmer and Gioia, although at one time I did regard those and the historical inaccuracies in Palmer as such. Palmer's book has been widely read and shared by white readers, many of them rock listeners, others readers of the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and other publications that he wrote for. Gioia is more aca demic in approach, with endnotes citing historians. At his most speculative, he uses the literate style of a novelist, not Palmer's approximation of relating a folktale orally. Delta Blues may be too incomplete in its assumptions to serve as a narrative conveying the current overall view of this Mississippi style for today's blues historians, but it will serve well enough as an introductory text for college-educated general readers.


Objective
To investigate the white matter injury in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) combined with cognitive dysfunction by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

Methods
The Montreal cognitive assessment, conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and DTI were performed in 11 SLE patients with cognitive dysfunction (CDF), 11 SLE patients without cognitive dysfunction (non-CDF) and 10 health controls. Local gray differences among three groups were compared by SPM5 software and voxel-based analysis.

Results
In conventional MRI, abnormal lesions were detected in 3 CDF patients. In DTI, compared to non-CDF group, CDF patients showed significantly increased apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in right precuneus and brodmann area 6, 21 (P<0.01). No difference of fractional anisotropy (FA) was found between these two groups. Compared to health controls, CDF patients showed significantly decreased FA values in right parahippocampa gyrus, cerebellar tonsil and pons (P<0.01), and increased ADC values in right superior frontal gyrus, cuneus, middle temporal gyrus, insula, brodmann area (13, 20, 21, 27, 30, 47), and left middle frontal gyrus, brodmann area 10, cingulate gyrus and corpus callosum (P<0.01). Compared to health controls, non-CDF patients showed significantly increased ADC values in right parahippocampa gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, brodmann area (10, 25), left middle temporal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, brodmann area (3, 13, 19, 25), bilateral insula and corpus callosum (P<0.01), and no difference of FA.

Conclusions
DTI is more sensitive to detect white matter impairment of cognitive dysfunction in SLE patients than conventional MRI.

Key words:
Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging; Lupus erythematosus, systemic/CO/RA; Cognition disorders/CO/RA


The most crucial process of success in the logistics outsourcing is the selection of third party logistics (3PL) providers. So, the evaluation indicators system of 3PL providers has become a very important subject. In this paper, first of all, a three-lever evaluation indicators system is designed based on the long term cooperation between manufacturers and 3PL providers. Then, the modified grey multi-hierarchical comprehensive evaluation method is adopted to give an overall and systematic evaluation for the selection of 3PL providers. And the weight of every evaluation indicator is determined by integrating analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy method in the process of evaluation. Finally, an instance illustrates the comprehensive evaluation method is simple and effective.


In this article, we introduce a new class of generalized Laguerre-based Frobenius type Eulerian polynomials and then derive diverse explicit and implicit summation formulae and symmetric identities by using series manipulation techniques. Multifarious summation formulas and identities are given earlier for some well known polynomials such as Eulerian polynomials and Frobenius type Eulerian polynomials are generalized.