Organic matter input to soils accelerates native soil carbon (C) decomposition, inducing the priming effect. Yet, priming response to substrate input and its correlation with microbial physiology remain unclear. To gain mechanistic insights into priming, two incubations (five-week) were conducted in four soils (grassland, pinon-juniper, ponderosa pine, mixed conifer). 13C-glucose (350 and 1000 μg C g−1; low and high C) without or with nitrogen (N) in the form of NH4NO3 (C:N ratio = 10; low and high C + N) were applied weekly. We found that low C input did not induce priming, while high C input induced strong positive priming. Compared to C input, C + N input decreased priming at both low and high substrate rates. Enzyme activity increased with the rate of C input in all soils except the pinon-juniper, but decreased with additional N input at high substrate rate in the ponderosa pine and mixed conifer. Microbial biomass C (MBC) decreased with the rate of C input in all soils except the ponderosa pine, while microbial biomass N (MBN) showed variable responses. Microbial biomass turnover and soil C accumulation increased with the rate of C input but showed no response to additional N input. Microbial C use efficiency (CUE) was unaffected by substrate inputs in the grassland. Priming positively correlated with the activity of β-glucosidase (BG), cellobiohydrolase (CBH), phenol oxidase (POX), and peroxidase (PER) in all soils except the pinon-juniper. Priming also positively correlated with microbial respiration, turnover, soil C accumulation, and soil C:N ratio, but negatively correlated with MBC and soil N content in all soils. Taken together, microbial physiological parameters (respiration, enzyme activity, biomass, turnover) and soil characteristics explained 56% and 23% of the priming effect. Our findings demonstrate that activity of extracellular enzymes and microbial turnover are main drivers of the priming effect, suggesting the critical role of microbial physiology in mediating soil C cycling in different terrestrial ecosystems.


Although the present-day orbital distribution of minor bodies that go around the Sun between the orbit of Neptune and the Kuiper Cliff is well understood, past ~50 au from the Sun, our vision gets blurred as objects become fainter and fainter and their orbital periods span several centuries. Deep imaging using the largest telescopes can overcome the first issue but the problems derived from the second one are better addressed using data analysis techniques. Here, we make use of the heliocentric range and range-rate of the known Kuiper belt objects and their uncertainties to identify structures in orbital parameter space beyond the Kuiper Cliff. The distribution in heliocentric range there closely resembles that of the outer main asteroid belt with a gap at 70 au that may signal the existence of a dynamical analogue of the Jupiter family comets. Outliers in the distribution of mutual nodal distances suggest that a massive perturber is present beyond the heliopause.


Methane drainage is used in Polish coal mines in order to reduce mine methane emission as well as to keep methane concentration in mine workings at safe levels. The article describes the method of methane drainage used in longwall D-2 in seam 410. In Poland, coal seams are frequently mined under difficult geological conditions in the roof and in the presence of very high methane hazard. In such situations, mines usually use a system with roof caving and a U ventilation system, which means that methane is drawn off from a tail entry behind the longwall front. In this system, boreholes are drilled from a tailgate and methane is drawn off from behind longwall face. The article shows the influence of a specific ventilation system on the drainage efficiency at longwall D-2 in seam 410. At this longwall, measurements of methane emission and the efficiency of methane capture were conducted. They consisted in gauging methane concentration, air velocity, absolute air pressure and the amount of methane captured by the drainage system. Experimental data were used to estimate the variations in absolute methane-bearing capacity and ventilation methane, and – most importantly – to gauge the efficiency of methane drainage.


In many applications, uncertainty regarding the duration of activities complicates the generation of accurate plans and schedules. Such is the case for the problem considered in this paper - predicting the arrival times of buses at signalized intersections. Direct vehicle-to-infrastructure communication of location, speed and heading information offers unprecedented opportunities for real-time optimization of traffic signal timing plans, but to be useful bus arrival time prediction must reliably account for bus dwell time at near-side bus stops. To address this problem, we propose a novel, Bayesian hierarchical approach for constructing bus dwell time duration distributions from historical data. Unlike traditional statistical learning techniques, the proposed approach relies on minimal data, is inherently adaptive to time varying task duration distribution, and provides a rich description of confidence for decision making, all of which are important in the bus dwell time prediction context. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated using historical data provided by a local transit authority on bus dwell times at urban bus stops. Our results show that the dwell time distributions generated by our approach yield significantly more accurate predictions than those generated by both standard regression techniques and a more data intensive deep learning approach.


This article explored strategies to promote the migrant workers' health,satisfy their medical insurance and improve the medical insurance system by means of studing quite a lot of questions existed in present medical service.The ultimate aim would be the realization of harmonious medical insurance in the whole society.


Illiberal democracies are on the rise. While such political regimes have eliminated important institutional constraints on executive power, they tend to feature an occasionally defiant judiciary. We provide a novel explanation for this phenomenon by focusing on the judiciary's role as a potential provider of valuable information to the executive about divisions within the regime's elites. The model features an office-motivated executive that balances the conflicting interests of the voters and the elites in determining a redistribution policy and the type of judicial review this policy will be subject to. An independent judiciary is observed in equilibrium only if the resulting revelation on the strength of the elites would be sufficiently informative for the executive to warrant reneging on its ex ante optimal policy. Intuitively, in the absence of a strong legislative opposition or a free media, a degree of judicial independence helps the survival of the nondemocratic regime by more informatively balancing the interests of the voters and the elites. We conclude by discussing institutional and welfare implications. Our results contribute to the debates on the survival of independent political institutions in authoritarian regimes.


Recent work has shown that plots of solar flare X-ray peak temperatures, Tm, versus log peak fluxes, Fp, show statistically significant separations of lower Tm flares with fast (Vcme ≥ 1000 km s−1) and wide (Wcme = 360°) strong coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from higher Tm flares with no CMEs or slow (Vcme < 1000 km s−1) or narrow (<360°) weak CMEs. We extend that statistical separation to CME kinetic energies, Ecme. Flares with long-duration timescales also have well-known associations with fast CMEs and solar energetic (E > 10 MeV) particle events. Using a data set of 585 ≥ M3.0 GOES X-ray flares, we ask whether longer flare timescales (rise times, TR; durations from onset to half-power decay, TD; decay times to half power, Td; and decay times to C2, TC2) also statistically discriminate among the three groups of CMEs for speeds, widths, and energies. All log–log plots of flare timescales versus Fp produce significant separations of the three groups of CMEs generally better than those of Tm versus log Fp. We use separations of CME distribution medians to sort the four flare timescales as effective discriminants among the three CME groups. Separations between the confined flares (no-CMEs) and weak CMEs are generally smaller than those between the weak CMEs and strong CMEs. A combination of Tm and TC2 provides optimum group separations, but Tm and log TD or log Td appears best for CME forecasting purposes.


Most of the research in energy efficient data gathering in data centric applications of wireless sensor networks is motivated by LEACH scheme which by allowing rotation of clusterhead role among the sensor nodes tries to distribute the energy consumption over the network. Selection of sensor node for such role rotations greatly affects the energy efficiency of the network. Hence many proposals are reported in the literature suggesting different clusterhead selection strategies. However, till now, these strategies have not been talked about for their collective understanding. So, efforts have been made, in this paper, to discuss them in unison and present a global view. Comparison of their costs of clusterhead selection in different rounds and after effects like cluster formation, distribution of clusterheads and creation of clusters shows a need of more energy efficient clusterhead selection strategy.


Multiagent systems are applied as a solution for distributed IT systems. Organizational concepts are usually applied to analyze and design such systems. Thus, a multiagent system can be seen as an organization which coordinates agent interactions. In this paper, we propose a formal model to specify the coordination behavior of a multiagent system organization. This formal model enables the developers to have a cross checking between the agent interactions, the organizational structure and the coordination behavior of the organization. We can also apply this formal model to evaluate the system properties such as security


Buried dielectrics using high dose Hydrogen with subseq example) is a well-known process [1]. The ion implantation portion o is not fully characterized in silicon as to dose rate, dose duty cycle o wafer splitting are not uncommon due to improper or non-uniform h problems such as parameter holds or changes in beam spot size. Thi will use the generation of surface blisters and sub surface damage anneal temperature and times is proposed. Various microscopy and m dose, the dose variations and various wafer platen conditions. There related to high dose H.


The Advanced Comm~~nications Technology Satel lite (ACTS) is a major NASA conununications program involved in the development of a high technology experimental satellite for commercial use. Its conununications capability includes a basebandswitched, time division multiple access (BBS TDMA) system, which operates in the 30/20-GHz frequency bands in conjunction with an on-board baseband processor and scanning beams. This paper addresses the network control architecture of the BBS-TDMA system. After a brief system overview, key network control elements, including the TDMA frame structure, acquisition and synchronization, demand assignment, and fade control, are described. The onboard baseband processor plays the preeminent role in the BBS-TDMA systrm, and its control aspects are discussed in detail. The paper also includes a description of the ACTS ground subsystem, consisting of the master control station and the TDHA terminals.


Abstract : The proposed DNA Satellite X-ray Test Facility (SXTF) will require an instrumentation system integration which will be a significant part of the overall facility development. This report is a preliminary survey of the instrumentation system with conceptual designs, a division of instrumentation into tasks and subtasks, and a definition of approach for each with a review of those areas in which additional research and development is required. A summary of findings is included. (Author)


Cyclic steam stimulation(CSS)is currently the most common production method in heavy oil reservoir.Its main mechanisms are formation elastic energy-driven,crude oil viscosity reduction by heating,improvement of oil-water relative permeability,liquid thermal expansion and plug removal of near wellbore area.But the contribution of the mechanisms of cyclic steam stimulation is rarely discussed.By using reservoir simulation software and orthogonal test analysis,how to realize CSS simulation was described by the current popular thermal recovery numerical simulation software,and showed that the importance sequence of these five kinds mechanisms contribution on CSS recovery was as follows:formation elastic energy,crude oil viscosity reduction by heating,plug removal of near wellbore area,liquid thermal viscosity and improvement of oilwater relative permeability.And the previous two played a decisive role,which were the high recovery guarantee of CSS.Research findings could guide designers to efficiently design CSS in heavy oil reservoirs and to use simulation software for CSS.


A high-copy number suppressor gene of the yeast temperature-sensitive lethal abf1 mutant was isolated and named SAB1 (suppressor of ABF1). Chromoblot hybridization and grid-filter hybridization analyses showed that the SAB1 gene was located on chromosome IV. Deletion analyses of the SAB1 plasmid revealed that the suppressor activity was contained in a 1.1 kb DNA region. The nucleotide sequence of the 1.1 kb DNA fragment was determined and turned out to be identical to that of the yeast phosphoribosylanthranilate isomerase gene (TRP1). A binding site for ARS-Binding Factor 1 was located in the coding sequence of the TRP1 gene, which has been known to be a part of the B domain of yeast autonomously replicating sequence 1 (ARS1). Our results suggest that ABF1 might be important for the transcription of the yeast TRP1 gene in addition to having important roles in the stimulation of replication at the ARS1 locus.


Childhood obesity is an important health problem affecting Chinese and Chinese American children. A cross-sectional study examined factors that contributed to children's weight status in Taiwan and the United States. Participants were 163 Chinese children (ages 8 to 10 years) and their mothers. Mothers in both countries completed basic demographic questions and the Family Assessment Device and Attitudes Toward Child-Rearing Scale. U.S. mothers also completed the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale. Children had their weight and height measured and also completed the Children Self-Administered Physical Activity Checklist, Food Frequency Questionnaire, and Schoolager's Coping Strategies Inventory. Multiple regression analyses indicated that five variables significantly contributed to the variance in children's body mass index: older age (10%), being a boy (5.8%), more democratic parenting style (7.4%), poor communication (8.4%), and poor behavior control (3%). Families with clear communication, adequate behavior control, and structured parenting help to regulate their children's healthy behavior.


In Turkey environmental valuation studies using con tingent valuation method have been increased in rec ent years. However, many bias resources affecting negat ively reliability and validity of the contingent va lue estimates were defined and discussed in the environ mental valuation literature. In this study bias re ources faced within contingent valuation studies were explained and discussed with regard to real reasons, favorabl e nd contrary evidences, control tests of biases. Sensit ivity for bias resources in all Turkish contingent valuation studies was also investigated and related research needs were revived.


Abstract : The goal for this project was to establish feasibility for a surface modifying additive concept whereby the surface of coatings could be made antimicrobial. Proof of principle was established via the synthesis and testing of a generation 1 (Gen- 1) polyurethane antimicrobial surface modifying additive that killed challenges of P. aeruginosa (Gram negative) and S. aureus (Gram positive) in 30 minutes or less.


The aim of this study was to determine the effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy(ESWT) on lower extremity muscle activation and balance ability in stroke patients. Thirty subjects were randomly divided into ESWT group (n=15) and sham-ESWT (n=15). ESWT group received a daily 2000 shot for two times a week for eight weeks. Subjects were measured on lower extremity muscle activation(tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius) and balance ability(limited of stability). Analysis of covariance(ACOVA) were performed for comparison of lower extremity muscle activation and balance ability between group. Significant difference in lower extremity muscle activation and balance ability was observed in ESWT group compared with the sham-ESWT group. Findings of this study suggest that ESWT may have a beneficial effect on improvement of lower extremity muscle activation and balance ability in stroke patients and use it as basic data for the rehabilitation training of stroke patients.


Let $p$ and $q$ be two positive integers, the goal of this note is to demonstrate, in a very simple and elementary way without using advanced tools, a formula to express the value of the integral $I(p,q)=\int_0^\infty{\sin^p t\over t^q}dt$ when it converges.


Abstract International organisations are increasingly urging governments to support the dissemination of new organisational concepts. Research into the efforts made by the business community in its quest for new organisational concepts and permanent monitoring of the effects of organisational transformation are necessary tools for supporting these policy lines. Since 1980 a variety of organisation surveys have been undertaken in an effort to evaluate the extent and effects of workplace innovation. Comparisons of the findings or results of these major organisation surveys are fraught with major difficulties because the choices of methodology and survey design differ widely. Moreover, little information is currently available about the methodological limitations of these organisation surveys. This paper therefore concentrates on the methodological design of 16 major organisation surveys. The objectives of the paper can be described as follows:


Huey-tsyh Chen Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325. Among these four authors, the positions of Scriven and Chen are the opposites of each other. Smith agrees that theory-driven evaluations are useful, but he prefers to use an investigative inquiry approach to carrying out evaluations. Leviton demonstrates the need for theory-driven evaluations by analyzing the program theories that underlie various community-based programs and discusses their implications for evaluation research. In spite of sharp disagreements between Scriven and Chen, their differences serve


The conventional representation of an electric circuit as a pattern of branches, nodes and meshes (topological graph) is historic. The less familiar representation as a set of contiguous rectangles, proposed by the author1 in 1951 from a suggestion made by Hering2 (1927), has many conceptual advantages;* not only does it represent the network pattern topologically but it displays other physical properties: the dual of the circuit is included; the element energies and co-energies (energy duals) are shown; current and voltage magnitudes are represented, etc. This rectangle representation of a planar circuit is briefly reviewed and its special application to non-linear circuits is explained. From simple geometrical symmetry of the rectangle diagrams it becomes immediately obvious that iterative structures (lattices, bridged-T, etc.) may be constructed from dual non-linear resistive elements having linear iterative impedances. If these can be constructed practically, they might be connected in cascade, without mutual interaction, as non-linear equalizers analogous to Zobel's constant-resistance phase-equalizers. The analogy to Zobel's networks is shown to be surprisingly complete, though the author can yet find no physical relation between these and the present non-linear networks.


Abstract Teacher professional development is becoming an important issue in the education system of Indonesia as a result of an increase in teachers' perceived importance. Consequently, various number of teacher professional development (PD) programs are designed. Most of the devised PD programs, however, are considered not very supportive, particularly in terms of putting things gained in the PD programs into practices in the classroom. It is therefore necessary to find an alternative program that enables schools to take part in reinforcing teacher PD programs. Among the alternatives is the school-based professional community learning. This type of PD program accentuates the roles of schools in providing possibility for teachers to put training or other PD programs materials into real practices. Keywords: teacher professional development, professional community learning


University fellowship covered the first four semesters of my research.

A research grant was provided by the AUC to cover the costs of the laboratory supplies and chemicals.


Alternative gateoxide Pr2O3 : Growth characterization on Si (111) and Si (113)

Several investigations have been made to desricbe the interface structure of this oxide on Si(111). These studies [Tarsa et al., Mussig et al.] did show that the (001) plane of the hexagonal phase of Pr2O3 is growning on the Si(111) surface. Last year we reported about the p(1x1) observed in LEED.

With gracing incidence x-ray diffraction measurements, we can now explain the bonding and positions of the Pr-Atoms and the orientation of the oxide parallel to the surface. Several evidences lead to the assumption, that the layer only occurs as a monolayer (= one unit cell of hexagonal Pr2O3 bulk phase along the c vector). Thicker layers observed in LEED, did not show any different reconstructions. In situ GIXRD measurments of thicker layers are underway. Postannealing up to 760°C of the thicker layers leads to Island growth and forming PrSi2. The therby seen p(2x2) reconstruction in LEED is formed from submonolayer coverage of Pr on Si (111).

The growth on Si(113) is reported the first time. The depostion was made out of a tungsten or out of a mo-crucible at 500°C, like it was used for Si (111). After the depostion of 0.2 nm of Pr2O3 one can observe a change in the LEED pattern from the exhibited (3x1) or (3x2) reconstruction of Si (113) into a weak (4x1) pattern. AFM pictures show an ordering in on dimension and islands of triangular to trapezioid forms. The roughness is lower than the one, seen on the p(2x2) reconstructed surface. First GIXD measurements did not show any reconstructions peaks, which indicates that the pattern seen in Leed is coming from the oxygen ordering.


Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a disease that affects approximately 1 in 3,500 boys with a life expectancy of ~26 years. Newly approved FDA treatments are designed to treat specific mutations that account for only 25% of the patients, leaving an unmet need for an effective treatment for the clinical pathologies of the disease. Many of these pathologies are caused by dysregulation of the extracellular matrix (ECM). The lab of prof. Irit Sagi has developed an antibody-like inhibitor for a key ECM remodeling enzyme. This inhibitor is specific, stable and was proved beneficial in a DMD mouse model.


Physical platforms such as trapped ions suffer from coherent noise that does not follow a simple stochastic model. We view coherent errors as rotations about a particular axis, and observe that since they can accumulate coherently over time, they can be more damaging. It is natural to consider coherent noise acting transversally giving rise to an effective error, which is a $Z$-rotation on each qubit by some angle $\theta$. Rather than addressing coherent noise through active error correction, we instead investigate passive mitigation through decoherence free subspaces. In the language of stabilizer codes, we require the noise to preserve the code space, and to act trivially (as the logical identity operator) on the protected information. Thus, we develop necessary and sufficient conditions for all transversal $Z$-rotations to preserve the code space of a stabilizer code. These conditions require the existence of a large number of weight 2 $Z$-stabilizers, and together, these weight 2 $Z$-stabilizers generate a direct product of single-parity-check codes. By adjusting the size of these components, we are able to construct a large family of CSS codes, oblivious to coherent noise, that includes the $[[4L^{2}, 1,2L]]$ Shor codes. Given $m$ even and given any $[[n, k, d]]$ CSS code, we can construct an $[[mn, k, d^{\prime}\geq d]]$ CSS code that is oblivious to coherent noise. This result is generalized to stabilizer codes in [Hu, Liang, Rengaswamy, and Calderbank 2020]. The MacWilliams Identities play a central role in the technical analysis, and classical coding theorists may be interested in connections to classical codes with all weights divisible by some integer $d$.


Fitness instructors play a key role in the fitness industry which is growing very fast. Job satisfaction is a very important factor because is basic to sustain quality and well-made fitness programmes. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to examine the job satisfaction of the Spanish fitness instructors, and how levels of job satisfaction varied across different ages, gender, work experience and level of education. This research falls within the methodology of quantitative type with a descriptive cut, via survey. The survey was given in person while using the standardized questionnaire: "Human resources of sport and physical activity". It was completed by 631 fitness instructors from Spain. The results were that they experienced moderate to high level in terms of job satisfaction. The relationships with colleagues, the feeling that their occupation is valued by their peers and by their customers, their level of autonomy and the job itself were the most satisfactory work factors. However, they experienced dissatisfaction from the lack of promotional and training opportunities and the financial remuneration. In conclusion, promotional, financial and training opportunities should be taken into account for the development of preventive measures to increase job satisfaction in fitness.


This paper proposes an optical speckle-correlation method for plotting displacement and strain fields on the surfaces of samples of structural materials. The method is implemented using computer models of a linear joint transform (JT) correlator, a JT correlator with medial and local-medial threshold, and also a JT correlator with a band-equalization filter. The errors of the surface displacements on test speckle patterns and actual speckle patterns are analyzed. Results are presented for calculations of the displacement fields of the strained surface of a duralumin sample, obtained by means of computer models developed for the JT correlator. © 2004 Optical Society of America


Rapid and specific rare cell detection for point-of-care testing requires an integration of the sample preparation for flow cytometry. To achieve such a challenging goal we have developed a magnetic flow cytometry technique which applies magnetophoresis to perform cell enrichment, focusing, and background elimination in a single step. Time-of-flight measurements are performed with integrated magnetic sensors to detect specifically cancer cells and cell diameters in whole blood.


Water transport is essential for many physiological processes in vascular plants. One of the forces driving water transport across roots is provided by the tension created by transpiration from the shoot, which extends to the root xylem. On the cellular level, water can be transported between cells


American Entomologist • Spring 2008 The importance of the Internet in student education continues to grow rapidly. According to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics Postsecondary Education Quick Information Systems, during 2000-2001, approximately 56% of twoand four-year degree-granting universities offered distance education courses. During this time period, approximately 3,077,000 students were enrolled in all distance education courses offered by these institutions. (Institute of Education Sciences 2003). With the help of universities, virtual high schools with student enrollments in the thousands are also being formed. Along with an increase in virtual high schools, the number of homeschooled students in the United States is currently estimated to exceed 1.7 – 2.1 million and is increasing rapidly (Home School Legal Defense Association 2008). Homeschool educators, many of whom do not have a science background, rely on sources of information and educational materials that are inexpensive or free to help them teach their students about science. As a result, web-based learning offers tremendous potential for science education. Digital materials, such as video clips and electronic presentations, can be excellent teaching tools to help illustrate scientific concepts or demonstrate biological behavior in distance learning situations, classrooms, and homeschool environments. However, three issues can constrain the expanding use of digital insect-related materials to teach science or entomology. Because the majority of entomologically related digital materials used in teaching are developed by individual educators or institutions for internal use, they are not publicly available or widely known. Further, although the Internet is the most likely source to which most educators turn when looking for digital teaching materials, educators face a significant challenge when attempting to locate suitable, high-quality teaching materials on the Internet. Not only does no mechanism exist to assure the quality and accuracy of materials obtained on the Internet, but there also is no efficient mechanism for locating subjectand grade-specific educational materials. By making entomologically related, quality-assured educational materials and resources more readily available and easier to access, an entomology digital library has the potential to become a primary vehicle for promoting education in the insect sciences and the use of entomology-related materials to teach science. To address this need, the Entomology Digital Library (EntDigiL) project was initiated.


The present invention, (i) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), (ii) a liquid containing the lymphocytes or (iii) lymphocytes containing tissue, from a sample containing the human forkhead box P3 ( Foxp3 +) process for the separation of CD4 + regulatory T cells (referred to herein as Foxp3 + Treg cells), kits for isolating human Foxp3 + Treg cells, and the use of anti-CD49d antibody to isolate human Foxp3 + Treg cells on.


Candida albicans is a dimorphic fungus forming part of the normal flora of the nasal, genital and gastrointestinal mucosa ([Greene and Chandler 1990][1]). It is an opportunistic pathogen, and many factors may allow it to proliferate, invade or be widely disseminated. These include local cutaneous or


Fully-depleted tri-gate oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) transistor memory cells with very short gate lengths in the range L/sub G/ = 30 - 80 nm have been fabricated for the first time. The devices show very good electrical characteristics and have been optimized successfully for high density applications. A NAND-type array organization is proposed and solutions to integration issues are given. In addition, high resolution scanning spreading resistance microscopy has been used to visualize the On-state of a tri-gate memory device.


The conductivity of proton conducting polymer electrolytes obtained by the complexation of ammonium hexafluorophosphate (NH 4 PF 6 ) with polyethylene oxide (PEO) increases with the addition of propylene carbonate (PC) (plasticized polymer electrolyte) and nano size fumed silica (nano composite polymer electrolytes). Plasticized polymer electrolytes have higher conductivity whereas nanocomposite polymer electrolytes have better mechanical properties. The simultaneous addition of PC and fumed silica leads to the formation of electrolytes with higher conductivity (4.50×10 -5 S/cm at 25°C) as well as better mechanical strength. The curved nature of log conductivity versus reciprocal temperature plot suggests the amorphous nature of these electrolytes and a small change in conductivity observed over the 20°C to 100°C temperature range is also suitable for their use in applications.


Incidental catch of S. lewini by artisanal fishermen in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica, suggest that this could be one of the coastal locations used by the species. This study aims to characterize the scalloped hammerhead shark population in Golfo Dulce, in order to best guide management actions for the conservation and sustainable use of the species. Fisheries-dependent biological data (size-TL, sex, reproductive status) were gathered for S. lewini between May 2010 and May 2011 in the communities of Puerto Jimenez and Pavones, Golfo Dulce during artisanal fishing trips. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) throughout the year was also estimated from catch data. We sampled a total of 315 sharks. Mean total length was estimated at 74.3±17.4cm. Both pups and juveniles were reported, which presented a male: female ratio of 1:1.2 (p>0.05). Total length and relative abundance of S. lewini had opposite tendencies, with the smallest TL (64cm) recorded during July-August, when CPUE was highest. (0.0075). Temporary closures from June to August are therefore recommended at areas of highest reported catch (Pique Fijo, Los Bajos y La Cienaga), in order to protect newly born S. lewini, and promote the sustainability of the species in the ETPS Closures should be complemented with a long-term study that can further clarify whether Golfo Dulce is a nursery area for S. lewini.


Estimation in truncated parameter space is one of the most important features in statistical inference, because the frequently used criterion of unbiasedness is useless, since no unbiased estimator exists in general. So, other optimally criteria such as admissibility and minimaxity have to be looked for among others. In this paper we consider a subclass of the exponential families of distributions. Bayes estimator of a lower-bounded scale parameter, under the squared-log error loss function with a sequence of boundary supported priors is obtained. An admissible estimator of a lower-bounded scale parameter, which is the limiting Bayes estimator, is given. Also another class of estimators of a lower-bounded scale parameter, which is called the truncated linear estimators, is considered and several interesting properties of the estimators in this class are studied. Some comparisons of the estimators in this class with an admissible estimator of a lower-bounded scale parameter are presented.


Dental caries is public health problem and the first permanent molars are the teeth most affected by this disease because of its high susceptibility, and this key piece dental organic masticatory function. Objective To determine the prevalence of dental caries in permanent first molars in schoolchildren 7-12 year so school Yangas Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa District Quives. Materials and methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study on 888 first permanent molars of 222 schoolchildren aged 7 to 12 years was conducted. The instrument was a format for recording dental morbidity (CPO) and oral hygiene index (OHI-S). And a questionnaire response options to determine the type of diet and oral hygiene habits. Results The statistical results showed that 90.4% of all schoolchildren examined had dental caries or had a history of it, observing the following distribution: 58.78% decayed parts, 3.4% and 0.9% sealed parts missing pieces. Cariogenic diet and poor oral hygiene act as risk factors for dental caries appearance. The average DMFT in school, increases with increasing age. Highlighting the critical ages between 11 and 12 years with a DMFT of 3 and 4. greater involvement of the lower molars 33.33% in females and 31.41% were male .in evidence Conclusions Molars were the most affected by dental caries, few teeth treated were presented. The results indicate high incidence of caries in the population and the need to strengthen education programs for oral health and specifically about the importance of this tooth.


The introduction of shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) has the potential to provide better transport to people groups who currently experience transport exclusion. In this paper we describe a series of four workshops carried out with members of a range of transport excluded people groups- older people (65+), women, disabled people, neurodivergent people, and people with mental health conditions (N=11). Workshops explored existing experiences of transport with a journey mapping activity and participants generated inclusive design solutions for SAVs through a participatory design activity. Through thematic analysis of workshop data, we identified 3 main areas where design intervention in the interiors of SAVs could create more inclusive SAV journey experiences. These areas were adaptability, safety & security, and navigability & familiarity.


For the third time this year you have noticed an unexpected positive response to your unconventional pharmacological treatment against a fairly common clinical problem. You are about to take an undaunted decision: to look up your old skills as a researcher and set up a study. There has to be something very special buried deep down among molecules and pathophysiological mechanisms that just beg to be discovered. Thoughts are rushing through your mind, and while you make a fast calculation on sample size you find out on PubMed that there are only two small case series reporting on this specific treatment. Both papers are from 1988. Now it is surely time for a major medical breakthrough! You ask some colleagues for advice and everyone is excited. The plan is to set up a pilot study, recruiting around 20 patients from three centers. Three weeks later your colleagues ask about the progress. Downhearted you break the bad news that there will be no pilot study, at least not with you behind the rudder. Tons of new regulations that have emerged during the last 15 years, endless forms requested from multiple agencies, and low priority set by the funding bodies have efficiently strangled all your enthusiasm. You end up with a recommendation from a rigid research coordinator at the department, telling you to start with a systematic review. That is what everyone is doing these days. Although fictional, I guess this story is not too uncommon today. Academic research not using financial and organizational support from the pharmaceutical industry is becoming more and more rare, and in this issue Chen and colleagues present results from a study aiming to identify barriers to improved and expanded palliative care research. Problems with funding, institutional capacity, and researcher workforce, among others, are discussed. They also discuss the challenge with heightened human subjects' protection, an issue that is particularly present when it comes to research in pediatric palliative care. Will research participation put additional burden on already laden parents? Results from a study by Steele and co-workers presented in this issue show that not only is research participation acceptable to parents with children enrolled in pediatric palliative care, but may also have positive effects, probably results that are counterintuitive to most clinicians and institutional review boards. Barriers and preconceptions exist, but as long as we guard the ethical principles around our work, we should not hesitate to improve the quality of palliative care through research. This implies that the quality of care delivered should be measurable, a topic that is explored in a study by Schenck and colleagues in this issue. They have identified quality measures with potential for use in hospices and palliative care programs and also studied different methods for quality data collection. Based on our extensive experience of setting up and managing a national quality register in end-of-life care in Sweden, I fully support the authors' aspiration to find measures that are sensitive to quality improvement interventions. Using these quality measures it is possible to perform palliative care research that rather quickly translates down to findings important to our patients. Isn't that one of the key issues in palliative care research?


Endometriosis is a gynecological disease that affects 10% of women on reproductive age, which causes clinical symptoms at different intensities, damaging the quality of life. The pharmacological treatment is based on the symptoms' relief, since there is no therapy capable of eradicating the disease. Among the processes involved in the pathophysiology of endometriosis, angiogenesis and inflammation are fundamental. The Euterpe oleraceaextract (acai) has been described as a possible candidate for drug development due to its properties antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the pharmacological effect of acai in the treatment of experimental endometriosis and to describe the safety / toxicity and anticancer data of acai utilization in preclinical models. In the experimental model of endometriosis, the treated group (n = 10, Sprague-Dawley rats) received 200 mg / kg of the acai extract via gavage for 30 days and the control group (n = 10) received vehicle.In the histological analysis it was possible to observe atrophy and regression of the lesions. Immunohistochemical analyzes (Vascular endothelial growth factor -VEGF, VEGFreceptor -VEGFR-2, cyclooxygenase-2 -COX-2, metalloproteinase-9 -MMP-9 and F4-80), real-time PCR expression (VEGF, VEGFR-2, MMP-9 and COX-2), ELISA (VEGF and PGE2), flow cytometry (F4-80) and biochemistry (nitric oxide) indicated a significant reduction of angiogenesisand inflammationin the acai treated group when compared to the control group. No evidence of toxicity was observed in the dose of acai administered, as compared to controls, based on weight, feed and activity of the animals. In addition, macrophage cells treated with 20 to 40 μg / ml acai had a 50% reduction in cell viability after 24, 48 and 72 h. A literature review was also conducted using four international databases to identify publications that studied the used of acai extract in experimental animal models of cancer (n = 6) and / or evaluated the safety / toxicity of acai in preclinical models(n = 3) using a methodological rigor (QATRS) to enable better quality control. Acai had antitumor activity, reducing the incidence and size of tumors, and did not present genotoxic effects. As a conclusion, it is possible to suggest that acai is effective in the treatment of endometriosis and can be considered a promising pharmacological treatment without causing adverse effects. In addition, it is suggested that acai may be used as a safe, chemopreventive and anticancer agent


Modern vaccines are usually formulated of recombinant pathogen-derived antigens, however these are in themselves poorly immunogenic, thus often requiring co-formulation with an adjuvant to enhance ...


This paper proposes a new EMI detection approach. The approach uses a wavelet to analyze various waveforms (generated by CAD or measured by digital oscilloscope) in a particular circuit, identify specialized EMI spectrum distribution in the circuit layout in order to assist removing EMI quickly. An EMI detection application for a DC-DC converter is also offered.


In this article, work on the experimental identification of a model of the trajectory generator of a PUMA-560 robot is reported. The model developed is based on theoretical work reported in the literature and the necessary parameters are obtained experimentally. The resulting model is validated versus the corresponding actual robot motions. All experiments are based on the use of a 3D non-contact position sensor to record the motions of the robot end-effector. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


The effect of buried misfit dislocation on the distribution of Ge self-assembled quantum dots (SAQDs) grown on a relaxed SiGe buffer layer was investigated. The strain field of arrays of buried dislocations in a relaxed SiGe buffer layer provided preferential nucleation sites for quantum dots. Burgers vector analysis using plan-view transmission electron microscopy (TEM) verified that the preferential nucleation sites of Ge SAQDs depended on the Burgers vector direction of corresponding dislocations. The measurement of the lateral distance between SAQDs and dislocations together with crosssection TEM observation clarified that the location of SAQDs was at the intersection of the dislocation slip plane and the top surface. The misfit strain should be an additional factor governing the uniformity in size, shape and distribution of Ge SAQDs.


Platelet‐activating factor (1‐O‐alkyl‐2‐acetyl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphocholine [PAF]) is a vasoactive ether lipid produced by activated blood cells. To examine the molecular traffic and sites of metabolism of PAF released in the vascular wall, we used a coculture system in which endothelial cells are grown on micropore filters suspended over confluent cultures of vascular smooth muscle cells. The endothelial cells took up PAF 5–7 times more readily from the apical than from the basolateral surface, converting it to 1‐O‐alkyl‐2‐acyl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphocholine (2‐acyl‐PAF) and other minor metabolites. Intact endothelial monolayers effectively shielded the underlying smooth muscle cells from PAF present in the apical fluid; after a 30‐min incubation with [3H]‐PAF, only 1% of the radioactivity was transferred to the interstitial fluid. By contrast, PAF readily entered the interstitial fluid when the endothelial monolayers were injured by exposure to xanthine and xanthine oxidase. PAF did not significantly increase the permeability of endothelial monolayers to albumin. Smooth muscle cells took up and metabolized interstitial PAF more quickly and more completely than did endothelial cells; 65% was converted to 2‐acyl‐PAF in 15 min by the smooth muscle cells. PAF enhanced the proliferative effect of PDGF on smooth muscle cells, as assessed by [3H]‐thymidine incorporation. These findings suggest that endothelial cells form a barrier to PAF released at the luminal surface, but PAF released in the vascular intima interacts primarily with smooth muscle cells, possibly stimulating proliferation in these cells.


Opinion about the American monetary policy of the past 10-15 years is divided. On the one hand several economists are convinced that the wise policy of the Federal Reserve (Fed) has mainly contributed to the exceptional performance of the US economy in the 1990s. This performance has been especially great in the second half of the 1990s with real growth rates of more than 3.5 % and low inflation rates of about 2 %. This is why some economists call the 1990s the "Fabulous Decade". On the other hand the strategy of the Fed is strongly criticized. While other central banks like the Bank of England or the European Central Bank (ECB) have made intensive efforts to present the general public with a clear and comprehensible strategy the Fed is - according to these critics - lacking such a clear framework. Instead of a well-articulated strategy the Fed has its "Magician" Greenspan. Some economists have meanwhile described the Fed as one of the most opaque and unclear central banks (among the most prominent ones). This paper will attempt to examine if these reproaches against the Fed-Strategy are justified and if the Fed should revise its policy concept. The paper firstly describes the current framework of the Fed, especially its targets and its operational procedure and shows possible deficits. The result of this theoretical analysis suggests in fact that the Fed's behavior is neither rule-orientated nor transparent. But as can be shown in the second part of the paper this academic and critical view of the Fed policy contradicts the market's opinion about the Fed policy. From the markets' perspective the Fed-Strategy seems to be highly transparent and credible. The paper proceeds as follows: The second section touches briefly on the issue as to why it might be important for a central bank to present a clear monetary policy strategy. Section 3 takes a close look at the targets of the Fed. Section 4 describes the current procedure of the Fed in monetary policy and tries to assign the Fed-Strategy to a common framework such as Inflation Targeting or the Taylor-Rule. Section 5 looks at the Fed-Strategy from the markets' perspective, especially the markets' judgment about the credibility and transparency of the Fed as being of central interest.


A new set of treatment guidelines for Paget's disease have been published leading with recommendations for the use of bisphosphonates.


A model of perceptual sharpness of multi-strokes cyan text has been established in the research.Firstly,we chose the staple boldface in the font size of 6.5pt and 10.5pt and used ink-jet printer to output it on the 16 kinds of representative printing paper respectively.Based on the ISO/IEC13660 standard regarding line properties,we chose the property index which can best reflect the character sharpness,correlated the subjective evaluation results with the property index,and realized the evaluation model of perceptual sharpness of multi-strokes cyan text.It turns out that perceptual sharpness of multi-strokes cyan text relates to the contrast,raggedness,blurriness and width of the character lines.The contrast has the greatest effect on the perceptual sharpness and positively relates with it,that is to say,a bigger contrast corresponds to a higher perceptual sharpness.However,the raggedness,blurriness and width of the character lines negatively relate with the perceptual sharpness.In other words,the perceptual sharpness will decrease with the increase of the raggedness,blurriness and width of the character lines.


In this paper,it is proved that the rough Hardy-Littlewood higher order maximal commutator Mmb,Ω is bounded on weighted Morrey-Herz space MK·α,λp,q(ω1;ω2).


The use of shells from terrestrial and freshwater molluscs for
radiocarbon dating has in the past been viewed with scepticism or even
dismissed entirely because the results are prone to distortion from
post-depositional diagenesis, or the incorporation of material with a low
14C/12C ratio whilst the mollusc was alive, or both. The thesis
attempts to discuss how the relative importance of the two factors can be
assessed and the corresponding ages corrected accordingly.
Diagenesis was studied by comparing the structure and chemical
composition of 39 species of British molluscs from modern specimens with
those of fossil samples. Three main effects of diagenesis were studied
using light and scanning electron microscopy, mass spectrometry and atomic
absorption spectroscopy: the transformation of aragonite to calcite, a
reduction in the standard deviation associated with the distribution of
major ion concentrations within a shell population, and an enrichment in
the lighter isotopes of carbon and oxygen. Only the transformation of
mineralogy proved to be sufficiently sensitive to detect diagenetic
material present at levels of 1-27%. The effects of diet and ambient carbon
dioxide were studied by chemical analysis and mass spectrometry.
Differences in stable isotope ratio values between micro-environments were
found to be significantly greater than those between and within species.
The established relationship between 13C, 14C and the environment can
be used to identify shells in which the apparent age effect will be at a
minimum.
Comparison of 14C dates for charcoal and untreated shell
samples showed that the above sources of error led to discrepancies of as
much as 1500 years in the shell dates. Seven samples selected and
pretreated in accordance with the procedures proposed in this thesis gave
ages within two standard deviations of the values accepted for the deposit
in question, and four samples gave ages which were being statistically
identical with the accepted values. In addition, the screening tests
permitted samples destined to give erroneous ages to be identified from the
outset.


Abstract A laboratory scale high rate anaerobic fluidized bed reactor, which is designed to treat a diluted molasses waste stream, has been developed; Three days after seeding, the reactor degraded 80% of the feed Total Organic Carbon (TOC) at a liquid residence time of 3 h. Step changes in reactor loading (up to 42 g molasses 1‐1day‐1) were imposed and the resulting performance monitored. It is apparent from the results that alkaline consumption is the most satisfactory indicator of reactor performance. It may be used as a measured variable for a reactor control strategy to maintain an acceptable effluent quality.


Data for 1977 and 1995/96 are used to study (changes in) the effects of the partners' resources on long‐distance migration of couples in the Netherlands. The analyses were performed separately for couples with employed and with non‐employed women. In 1977, couples with non‐employed women showed the classical pattern of family migration, with strong effects of the human capital and labour market characteristics of the male and the females mostly using their power to prevent migration. The couples with employed women, on the other hand, in 1977 already showed a more modern pattern of family migration. The effects of the male's occupational prestige and sector were not significant for these couples and an age advantage of the male did not lead to more migration. Over time, the position of the employed women seems to have become even stronger and our results suggest that in 1996 at least some of them were able to initiate a move for their own career and hence to turn their husband into a tied mover.


Purpose: The purpose of this research is to develop a concurrent supplier selection model to minimize the purchasing cost and fuzzy quality loss considering process capability and assembled product specification. Design/methodology/approach: This research integrates fuzzy quality loss in the model to concurrently solve the decision making in detailed design stage and manufacturing stage. Findings: The resulted model can be used to concurrently select the optimal supplier and determine the tolerance of the components. The model balances the purchasing cost and fuzzy quality loss. Originality/value: An assembled product consists of many components which must be purchased from the suppliers. Fuzzy quality loss is integrated in the supplier selection model to allow the vagueness in final assembly by grouping the assembly into several grades according to the resulted assembly tolerance.


Let S be a compact connected finite dimensional monoid whose group of units G is a compact connected Lie group. Then there is an open set W about the unit element such that any compact subgroup within W has dimension at most dim S dim G 1 and if any toral subgroup achieves this dimension then that toral subgroup lies in the centralizer of G. Two applications are given, one to embeddings of irreducible monoids into S. Let G denote the group of units of a compact connected monoid, say, with zero, and let Z(G, S) denote the centralizer of the group of units. The structure of Z(G, S) is basically unknown. Indeed, it is an unsettled conjecture that it is connected [3]. For this aspect of Z(G, S) see [2]. It is the purpose of this note to place certain elements and subgroups in Z(G, S). It will be shown that toral subgroups of maximal dimension sufficiently close to the unit element must lie in Z(G, S). This will be used to show that certain irreducible monoids must also lie in Z(G, S). Let G be a compact group which is the group of units of a finite dimensional compact connected monoid S. If B is a closed subgroup of S outside of the minimal ideal the product GB can have dimension at most dim S 1. (See [1].) If, in fact, one has dim GB = dim S 1 then GB is a left group. Thus, if BG also has dimension dim S 1 one can conclude that B meets Z(G, S) = the centralizer of G. For this and related items see [4]. Now given any open set V about the unit in a compact connected monoid there may exist nontrivial compact connected subgroups outside of the group of units. Indeed, using [1] and [3] one can show the following: Let S be a compact connected monoid which is not a group. Suppose there is an open set W in S such that W contains no connected subgroup outside of the group of units. Then there is a closed ideal J such that S/J contains a thread from zero to unit. The following lemma is hardly unknown. It is stated for convenience. If G is a transformation group of X, the stability subgroup at x is denoted by Gx. In the following lemma there is no need to distinguish left and right stability. LEMMA 1. Let G be a connected group of units of a comwact monoid and let 0 be an open set about the unit. There exists about G an open set W such that x E W implies Gx C 0. In particular, if G is finite dimensional, there is about G an open set V such Received by the editors April 14, 1978 and, in revised form, April 2, 1979. AMS (MOS) subject classifications (1970). Primary 22A15; Secondary 22C05, 22E20. i 1980 American Mathematical Society 0002-9939/80/0000-0223/$03.25


mon-law principles, innovatively applied, will continue to provide remedies for a host of environmental ills. Relatively constant historic principles of public nuisance liability are inherently flexible and uniquely capable of application to abate pollution, clean up contaminated sites, and recover damages in an ever expanding variety of ways. As New Age environmental problems are identified and grappled with, public nuisance can be looked to as a remedy itself or as a supplement to statutory remedies. Nuisance can fill the inevitable in-


A poet describes her intentions and her methods of writing poetry. She states that her poems are triggered by a personal association with a word or object and are thought out carefully, as she believes that her poems should make it possible for readers to love themselves and the world more.


The transfer of nonequilibrium spin polarization between the electron and nuclear subsystems is studied in detail. Usually, a thermal orientation of nuclei in magnetic field is negligible due to their small magnetic moments, but if electron spins are optically oriented, efficient nuclear spin polarization can occur. The microscopic approach to the dynamical nuclear polarization effect based on the kinetic equation method, along with a phenomenological but very powerful description of dynamical nuclear polarization in terms of the nuclear spin temperature concept is given. In this way, one can account for the interaction between neighbouring nuclei without solving a complex many-body problem. The hyperfine interaction also induces the feedback of polarized nuclei on the electron spin system giving rise to a number of nonlinear effects: bistability of nuclear spin polarization and anomalous Hanle effect, dragging and locking of optical resonances in quantum dots. Theory is illustrated by experimental data on dynamical nuclear polarization.


Acoustophoresis has proven to be a promising technique when it comes to separation of particles or cells in a microchip. One of the main areas of interest is the separation of so called circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from whole blood - which could serve as an indication of early stage cancer or in general be studied in order to obtain more information about these cells.

However, one issue with this technique has been the lack of easily accessible calibration. One would, for example, like to know the exact relation between the voltage transmitted to the piezo element (driving voltage) and acoustic energy that in turn can be used to obtain a desired trajectory of the particles or cells during separation - as they change a given driving voltage.

The main purpose of this thesis was to create an user-friendly software that can be used to calibrate this technique and would consist of several steps, were perhaps the main one is to find the distance from the channel wall to the closest particle trajectory when a different driving voltage is applied.

In order to obtain this, two different image-analyzing techniques were used on MATLAB: Findpeaks and Houghlines. The first one was chosen because it seemed to be the most promising method while the latter was chosen as a comparison and partly as it is the most famous image-analyzing methods known today.

Calibration is possible by obtaining the exact relation between the driving voltage and acoustic energy, which is possible by plotting a fitted curve to experimental data collected from either Findpeaks or Houghlines. With a few exceptions, the fitted curve matched (e.g. by passing through) the experimental data from Findpeaks significantly better compared to Houghlines.

Several observations were made during this study: variations in particle bead size and concentration affected the relation mentioned above, even though the latter should not, based on the equations used. In addition, the repeatability of the system was highly accurate when the same settings were used and flow rate did not have any major effect on the calibration.

Different type of microscopes, cameras and pump-systems were used to find the optimal option for calibration. Also, fluorescent particles were used for comparison with polymer beads during calibration. The outcome of this study was that no reasonable calibration could be obtained when the fluorescence particles were used and that microscope and camera were not always the main issue but rather the choice of pump-system, fluid velocity and the condition of the microchip.

In addition, a stability test was made in order to study whether the trajectories of the particles change when a constant voltage was applied during several minutes. No significant movements of the particle trajectories were observed in this study during usage of a pressure-driven flow system.


The authors discuss the design of a pseudo-two-dimensional median filter based on a novel compare-and-decode technique. The filter can be easily implemented using standard MSI devices. When running at 1.5 MHz, it takes only 0.35 s to filter a 512*512*8-b picture frame. >


In this paper, analysis is conducted in both theoretical and numerical aspects on the heat transfer in a pipeline system via three steps: (1) Development of a theoretical model based on the heat transfer theory and existing work from literature; (2) Development of a corresponding MATLAB-based software for the evaluation of heat loss within the pipeline system; (3) Validation of the software via three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations using ANSYS FLUENT. It is concluded that the software can provide in-depth understanding of the heat transfer phenomena in pipelines and can be used for fast assessment of the heat loss in pipeline systems.


This paper aims to propose a new model for the development of an organizational innovative culture in the business sector. The model is inspired by the analysis of the Asociacion de Productores Organicos Arhuacos y Campesinos de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Asoprocasines. This study is developed based on the qualitative approach, and it is validated by a case study. The data are recollected by direct observation, using an analysis matrix. The proposed model integrates the determinants factors in the generation of an innovative culture, based on the review of the literature. This model defines five steps: joint innovation to competitive strategy, developing skills in staff, customer feedback, planning and monitoring of innovation strategies, and monitoring the actions and strategies. The culture of change and the interaction of the company with the external environment are discussed. Additionally, two driving forces of this process are included, which are the adoption of culture of change and the interaction between company and external environment. Also, the model relies on the steps for managing innovation planed by the COTEC Foundation in 2004.


The purpose of this article was to assess process and production costs that a convenience sample of restaurants in the Midwestern region of the United States incurred using locally produced foods versus sourcing food products through national suppliers. Using a novel application of data envelopment analysis, results showed that surveyed restaurants could improve their time with the delivery process of local foods. While there was no statistically significant difference in production efficiencies measured by preparation time of menu items using local versus nonlocal ingredients, scale and establishment effects existed. This study fills a gap in foodservice literature by developing a unique analytical framework to assess multistage production cost.


A composite document such as a scanned magazine page usually contains a variety of content, such as, text and halftoned images. Different kinds of content on a page have different spatial and color characteristics that are best rendered by different halftone techniques. A direct application of multiple halftone techniques in a composite document can lead to disturbing boundary artifacts caused by the switching of halftone algorithms. In this paper, we present an adaptive halftone algorithm for rendering composite documents such as scanned magazine pages, on color laser printers. The method uses a combination of error diffusion and clustered-dot screening to generate an edge-preserving halftone that also has the desirable property of low noise and minimal halftoning artifacts in smooth image regions. In the presented method, narrow boundaries around image edge regions are treated as content-transition regions, in which clustered-dot screening and error diffusion are operated simultaneously. The halftone output within a transition region is controlled by the distance of the pixel to the boundary of an identified image edge. In our simulations, the proposed algorithm results in visually superior halftones.


Many engineering professors teach their classes wit hout having received previous training in psychopedagogy and neuroscience. While a few of them have received some form of pedagogical training during their academic career, the vast majority have not a cquired any training in the field of didactics, tha t is, in the science of teaching. Teaching is a difficult ta sk, and teaching effectively is even more difficult . Much literature exists on different teaching-learning me thodologies that have been empirically tested in engineering studies. However, practically none of t hese works make reference to the main factor in any learning process: how does the human brain learn? T his paper analyses learning from the perspective of its three main phases (motivation, attention, memorizat ion), and how these phases should be addressed in a lecture, since many of the Engineering classes at u niversities around the world are given as lectures. The current knowledge of neuroscience is used in the pa p r to provide twelve recommendations on how a lect ur should be successfully given in Engineering Degrees . For the selection of these twelve tips we use two criteria: they must be relevant in a lecture, and t hey must have a neuroscientific basis, which is exp lained in the framework of the paper. For the selection of these twelve tips, we use two criteria: they must be relevant in a lecture, and they must have a neurosc ientific basis, which is explained in the framework f the paper. The relationship between the twelve tips and the seven principles of good practice in undergrad uate studies enunciated by Chickering and Gamson has als o been established. The relation of each tip with t he learning phases to which it refers is explained, an example of how to apply it in a lecture is giv en. This paper presents a new way of working in engineering education: how to apply the knowledge provided by neuroscience to the teaching-learning process. This work provides some ideas about how this can be don in a lecture, but it is also necessary to conduct e xperiments to validate the effectiveness of the twe lve tips proposed herein. It is likewise necessary to carry out similar work for other teaching methodologies s uch as PBL, flipped classroom or service-learning. The future of education cannot be developed without tak ing into account the functioning of the human brain or by applying educational practices that are unsuppor ted by scientific evidence of their effectiveness.


This suggests that, in those tumours which exhibit rhythmic variations in radioactivity, metabolic activity may not proceed at a uniform rate but may occur in regular bursts of activity. If this hypothesis were true the rise and fall in radioactivity in thetumour could be explained bya number of phosphorus atoms being concerned in the synthesis or degradation of a single molecule of a compound. For example, the synthesis of one molecule of lecithin, containing 1 atom of phosphorus, requires the participation of 7 atoms of phosphorus in various forms, while the oxidation of one molecule of glucose results in thformation of about 32 high energy phosphate bonds.


Several thyroid neoplasms are known to arise in thyroid glands with preexisting thyroiditis. Apart from the well documented occurrence of follicular and papillary carcinomas, Hurthle cell neoplasms (both adenomas and carcinomas) are often detected in these cases. We present the case of a female patient who was diagnosed on histopathology as having Hashimoto's thyroiditis with a Hurthle cell adenoma, along with a short discussion of recent developments pertaining to Hurthle cell neoplasms.


In the situation of two electrostatically coupled conductors, a current in one conductor may induce a current in the other one. We will study this phenomenon, called Coulomb drag, in the Hubbard chain where the two 'conductors' are given by fermions with different spin orientations. With the aid of a Monte Carlo approach, which we presented in a recent paper, we calculate the trans-conductance in different variants of the Hubbard chain (with/without impurity and additional (long-ranged) interactions) for different fillings.


In order to effectively improve the overall efficiency and competitiveness of complex products manufacturing industry and the collaboration between the upstream and downstream manufacturing enterprises, an overall framework of a collaborative platform for the supply-chain is built up on the basis of the characteristics of complex products. In addition, the study also includes two key technologies of building a database of industry-standard components and making of a hierarchical networked collaborative planning.


Patients who have survived myocardial infarction (MI), compared to the general population, have an increased risk of reinfarction, myocardial revascularization, and death. In this study we investigated the prognostic significance of the predictors of the risk for adverse coronary events in 118 patients, both male and female, with a confirmed diagnosis of MI in the last 3 years. The predictors of reinfarction, revascularization and death in patients who survived MI were: poor adherence to hypolipemics (hazard ratio [HR] 3.06, p=0.006), physical inactivity (HR 2.22, p=0.056), the number of variable risk factors (HR 1.29, p=0.025), and age (HR 1.06, p=0.007). After the inclusion of the invariable risk factors in the model of multivariant analysis, the following factors were singled out as significant predictors of the risk: gender (HR 3.86, p=0.0015), physical inactivity (HR 2.38, p=0.007), change in the level of triglycerides (HR 1.49, p=0.040), change in the number of variable risk factors (HR 1.41, p=0.0007), and age (HR 1.05, p=0.009). A 3-year follow-up of the patients who survived the first MI and who were enrolled in this study of secondary prevention demonstrated that physical inactivity, the number of variable risk factors and age significantly contributed to an increased risk of reinfarction, revascularization, and death.


doi: 10.5367/ijei.2011.0031 relationships. Part three does work very hard, offering tasters of deep thought on topics such as enterprise morality and criminality, family business and ethics. Down concludes by highlighting the relevance of enterprise contextualization in research and study. Notably, it is language and linguistic style that mark out this book; its fabric is engaging, colourful and thought-provoking. Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Small Business will certainly appeal to those who want to think about and learn about enterprise and entrepreneurship.


The DC-DC power converter for LED automotive lighting applications equipped with a digital temperature sensors is presented in the paper. The LED driver is equipped with the additional temperature measurement circuit based on the digital sensors. Monitoring of the high power diode's temperature is very important in automotive applications. The microcontroller can turn-off the LED when the measured temperature crosses the preset threshold value or can limit the diode's current to prevent the temperature from farther rising. The presented converter has been tested and selected results of laboratory investigations are presented in the paper. The converter works well with whole range of typical automotive supply voltages.


Examples of functions / (n, x) satisfying these relations are given in (among many other books) [1, 2, 3], and include f(n,x) = n/[ji(l +nx)] and/(n,x) = (nl Jt) exp(-nx). The purpose of the present note is to point out that in fact there exists a much larger set of functions / (n, x) which satisfy equalities (1) and (2). We begin by considering any positive function E(x) defined in the interval [-«>, °°] and satisfying the conditions


To improve the safety and efficiency of air traffic control, it is important to detect any deviations (or maneuvers) of an aircraft from its planned route. In addition to the detection of maneuvers...


The paper raises the problem of the content and direction of the Russian educational policy regarding schoolchildren's identity formation. The quality of identity is considered as a special determinacy of the individual's relationship with other people and with social subjects. Two theoretical paradigms of human identity are distinguished in the paper and the basic characteristics of these paradigms are defined. The content analysis of the Russian Federal Public Educational Standards (FGOS) is performed in order to reveal the direction of identities formation that these standards entail. It is shown that modern Russian educational policy requests only one kind of identity, viz. the formation of a functionally acting member of society. The direct and the probable consequences of such policy are indicated in the article.


An alternative way for plastic tubes surface analysis was presented, and the time course of the effects of solvent exposure was evaluated. Atomic force microscopy was used to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze internal tubes topography. Differences in nanoroughness parameters were shown as potential markers for quality control check to detect differences among brands and areas along each tube. Mass spectrometry analysis was carried out to evaluate the effects of some solvents after the intrinsic contact with the polymer. The obtained spectra did not allow the visualization of any leaching component, suggesting a low rate of some possible reaction or dissociative interaction caused by polymer and tested solvent interactions that were in concordance with principal component analysis. The use of these techniques as tools for quality control evaluation, or search for new support to biomolecules immobilization can be seen as important innovations and can be applied in several other investigative and developmental approaches. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This study was conducted to determine the valid time for accurate detection of complete blood cell count (CBC) in pig blood using an automatic blood corpuscle analyzer (Hemavet 950FS). Blood samples were collected from 34 pigs (Duroc) with a 60 kg (±3.5) body weight. Ten specimens with CBC parameters in normal range and with no hemolysis were selected among 34 samples and used in this study. Regarding leukocytes parameters, white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil (NE), and lymphocyte (LY) counts showed a low daily variation (coefficient of variation, CV), whereas monocyte (MO), eosinophil (EO), and basophil (BA) CVs were significantly high (19.7, 56.9, and 53.3%, respectively). On the other hand, all parameters of erythrocytes and thrombocytes showed stable daily variation. All parameters of leukocytes and thrombocytes were significantly reduced as storage time passed (P<0.01 or 0.001), except for lymphocytes (P=0.535). However, no significant differences were observed in parameters of erythrocytes from blood up to 120 hours. From above results, we assert that Hemavet 950FS is useful in analyzing CBC, except for MO, EO, and BA. For accurate detection of leukocyte and thrombocyte parameters, analysis should be performed within 4 hours after blood collection when using Hemavet 950FS. On the other hand, parameters of erythrocytes could be stably detected for at least 120 hours after blood collection.


The management of the construction cost is to make rational determin ation and effective control of the construction cost. At present, the dynamic ma nagement of the construction cost has not yet formed really because the engineer ing construction monitoring engineers are unable to control the construction cos t, the construction monitoring is congenitally deficient for the control of the construction cost, and the examination and verification and the settlement of th e engineering don't follow the related laws and regulations. The weakening of th e construction cost management has caused tremendous waste, so the great attenti on must be paid to the monitoring of the construction cost.


The article highlights the key concepts of the encyclical Caritas in Veritate as well as one of the reasons for writing it, namely, to resituate the place of the Social Doctrine of the Church (SDC) within Moral Theology, also relating it to Fundamental Theology, so that it can respond as a pastoral instrument of evangelization, as had already been intimated in the Compendium of the Social Teaching of the Church of which Pope Benedict XVI has, in a sense, been 'its soul'. The author takes as the starting point charity, the basic concept in SDC. Later on he reflects on SDC as a body of doctrine and as an instrument in overcoming the fragmentation of knowledge. Next is examined the logic of gift in market relationships, since the economy needs ethics. There then follows reflections on the presence of Christianity in public life and SDC, from its anthropocentric dimension, as the answer to the pastoral challenge of evangelization.


fopsoil from nearby undisturbed areas was stripped and directly laid over regraded overburden to a depth of about 20 cm at Kemmerer, Wyo., and Oak Creek, Colo. Native plant response was determined after two growing seasons with only natural precipitation. Rhizomatous species were the most valuable for establishing the perennial plants. Plant density averaged 4.16 and 1.77 plants/m2 at Kemmerer and Oak Creek sites, respectively, but the density was too low to meet State and Federal revegetation standards without additional seeding. Plants established from fresh-stripped topsoil are a plus in revegetation as opposed to stockpiled topsoil where these plants are lost.


Autoclave,boiling water and microwave process were applied to treat pineapple puree. The physicochemical properties of processed puree were tested to analyze the effect of three methods. Moreover, physicochemical indexes were investigated after 2 weeks storage.Results showed that the thermal processing was able to prolong the quality guarantee period of pineapple puree. There were few influences on pH,total soluble solid and total acid by three processing,but the total sugar content increaseed. Autoclave infected more on the turbidity.The loss of VC in microwave treatment was less than that in other two ways. On the side of color differences,the autoclave produced more effects than the boiling water and microwave make. The microwave treatment was benefit for the color of pineapple pulp.


The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of the HCV antibodies in the relatives of polytransfused patients with different haemoglobinopathies. Our results have shown that 4.7% of relatives are aHCV positive. This incidence is much higher than that one reported in scientific publications with regard to non-haemoglobinopathis aHCV positive patients. Therefore a careful prevention and surveillance is needed in order to avoid the risk of infection in these subjects.


Monitoring, control and improvement of quality are important for companies. Process capability indices (PCIs) are tools widely used by the industries to determine the quality of their products and the performance of their manufacturing processes. Classic versions of these indices were constructed for processes whose quality characteristics have a normal distribution. But, many of these characteristics do not follow this distribution. In such a case, the classic PCIs must be modified to take into account the non-normality, because the effect of this nonnormality can lead to misinterpretation of the process capability and ill-advised business decisions. A non-normal model is the Rayleigh distribution which is very useful. This paper proposes a Clements's method to estimate the PCIs for Rayleigh processes. Finally, an example to evaluate its performance is presented. Keywords: Process Capability Indices, Manufacturing Processes, Rayleigh Distribution, Clements's Method. 1. Introduction When the quality of products is being monitored, it is important to have information about whether their manufacturing processes are being capable of maintaining specification or tolerance limits. In such a sense, 62 D. Dariae, and B. Sadeghpour Gildeh the concept of process capability provides a quantitative tool to establish how suitable a manufacturing process is. This concept corresponds to the ability that such a process has to generate a product that meets the specification limits established by the company so that it can be considered of good quality (Johnson, et al., 1994 and Kane, 1986). In statistical terms, a way to measure process capability is process capability indices (PCIs). These indices are defined as the ratio between the allowable variation (based on specification limits) and the natural variation of the production process (based on the data variability) due to non-assignable causes. PCIs were developed for processes whose quality characteristic to be monitored is normally distributed (Aslam, et al., 2013). Let random variable X be quality characteristic which has N , . In this case, the PCIs are defined as C = USL − LSL 6 , C = − LSL 3 , C = USL − 3 , C = { , }, C = USL − ! 6 "# [ % − & ] = USL − ! 6 " + − & , C ) = USL − ! − 2 | − ,| 6 "# [ % − & ] = USL − ! − 2 | − ,| 6 " + − & (1) Which, USL and LSL are upper specification limit and a lower specification limit, respectively. T is the target value and M is -./0 /./ . In the Table 1, presented the usage of PCIs . In many cases, these quality characteristics follow non-normal distributions and then PCIs for the normal distribution should not be employed in such cases, because the obtained results using them could be inaccurate, misleading and unreliable (Kane, 1986). Rayleigh distribution has wide applications, such as, in the field of acoustics (Rayleigh, 1880 and 1919), in communication engineering (Dyer and Whisenand, 1973a and 1973b), in life testing of electro vacuum devices (Polovko, 1968), so in this paper we consider the random variable has Rayleigh distribution and use a Clements's method to develop the PCIs . Capability Indices for Rayleigh Process 63 Note that, for Rayleigh distribution, the lifetime performance index 1 been investigated [8]. But, since the PCIs very much used to evaluate the quality of products, we in this paper develop the PCIs for this distribution. The rest of this paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, introduce the Clements's method. In section 3, introduce the Rayleigh distribution and in section 4, obtain the PCIs for this distribution. Finally in section 5, we illustrate the example for implement method by using the real data set. 2. Literature Review Clements (1989) introduced a method for Pearson system, using their quintiles. Gilchrist (1993) proposed a quintile transformation similar to the Clements method, but based on a standardized distribution, instead of Pearson distributions. Johnson et al. (1994) applied the Clements method and obtained estimators for PCIs. Pearn and Chen (1996) derived a new method for PCIs that can be viewed as a modification of the Clements method, but with better results than those obtained applying this method. The idea of all these authors was to reproduce the property of the normal distribution to result in, at most, 0.27% of nonconforming products. In Clements's method, the PCIs are defined as C 2 = USL − LSL 3 0.99865 − 3 0.00135 , C 2 = 2[3 0.5 − LSL] 3 0.99865 − 3 0.00135 , C 2 = 2[USL − 3 0.5 ] 3 0.99865 − 3 0.00135 , C 2 = min< 2 , 2 =, C 2 = USL − ! 6 >?3 0.99865 − 3 0.00135 6 @ + [3 0.5 − &] C ) 2 = USL − ! − 2 │3 0.5 − , │ 6 >?3 0.99865 − 3 0.00135 6 @ + [3 0.5 − &] (2) 64 D. Dariae, and B. Sadeghpour Gildeh Table 1. Process Capability Indices Usage Index It estimates what the process is capable of producing if the process mean were to be centered between the specification limits. Assumes process output is approximately normally distribute. C It estimates process capability for specifications that consist of a lower limit only.Assumes process output is approximately normally distributed. C It estimates process capability for specifications that consist of an upper limit only. Assumes process output is approximately normally distributed. C It estimates what the process is capable of producing, considering that the process mean may not be centered between thespecification limits. C ) It estimates process capability around a target T is always greater than zero. It assumes process output is approximately normally distributed. Cpm is also known as the Taguchi capability index. C It estimates process capability around a target T and accounts for an off-center process mean. Assumes process output is approximately normally distributed. C Which x(q), 0 0 . This is denoted by X ~ Rayleigh (B . Capability Indices for Rayleigh Process 65 If U~ E 0,1 Uniform distribution , Nhen Rayleigh and Uniform RVs related by the transformation X = B "−2 ln Q . Thus, it is useful to generate data of Rayleigh distribution. In addition % have the Exponential distribution with parameter R ST . Let X ~ Rayleigh (B . Then the probability density (PDF) function and the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of X are, respectively, U 3; B = 3 B2 W3X Y− 32 2B2Z , 3 > 0, B > 0. [ 3; B = 1 − W3X Y− 32 2B2Z , 3 > 0, B > 0. (3) The q × 100 th quantile or quantile function of 3 is 3 \ , B = [−1 \ = B"−2 ] 1 − \ , 0 < \ < 1. (4) Where [_R(.) is the inverse function of F(.). Hence, from Equation (4), 3 0.5 = B √2 ln 2 , and so it is the median of the Rayleigh distribution, as mentioned. The mean and variance of X are, respectively, #[%] = B"a 2 ⁄ and Var[X] = B (2 − c ). Let %R, ... %e be a random sample of size n from X ~ Rayleigh (B), with observation 3R , 3 , ... 3e . Then, the log-likelihood function for B is l B = g ln 3h e hiR – 2 ] B − ∑ 3h ehiR 2B (5) Taking derivatives of Equation (5) with respect to the parameter B and set them to zero, we obtain the maximum likelihood (ML) estimates of B, Bl say. Here, Bl = >∑ 3h ehiR 2 4. Findings In this section, we develop PCIs when the quality characteristic to be monitored follows a Rayleigh distribution, which are denoted by m, m , m , ) m , n m and n) m . In this subsection, we propose a PCI for the Rayleigh distribution comparing the specification limits with a range that covers a high 66 D. Dariae, and B. Sadeghpour Gildeh percentage of the distribution, 1 − [\1 + {1 − \2}] say, which can be specified or obtained in an optimal way. Consider the QF of the Rayleigh distribution provided in Equation (4) and the PCIs defined in Equation (2). Then, given LSL and USL, we propose a Rayleigh PCI by means of C o = USL − LSL 3 \ − 3 \R = USL − LSL B "−2 ln 1 − \ − B "−2 ln 1 − \R = USL − LSL B p "−2 ln 1 − \ − "−2 ln 1 − \R q (6) Now, to monitor a process only with a LSL, we use m = 2[3 0.5 − LSL] 3 \ − 3 \R = 2 pB √2 ln 2 − ! q B r s−2 lnt1 − \2u − s−2 lnt1 − \1uv = 2 p√2 ln 2 − ! B ⁄ q r s−2 lnt1 − \2u − s−2 lnt1 − \1uv (7) In addition, we have m = 2[USL − 3 0.5 ] 3 \ − 3 \R = 2 w Q! B − √2 ln 2 x p "−2 ln 1 − \ − "−2 ln 1 − \R q (8) n m = USL − ! 6 >?3 \ − 3 \R 6 @ + [3 0.5 − &] = USL − ! 6 >B r"−2 ln 1 − \ − "−2 ln 1 − \R 6 v + wB "2 ln 2 − &x (9) When the median moves away from the midpoint of the specification limits, we consider C o =min{ m , m } , where m y z m are given in Equations (7) and (8), respectively. Similarly, the n m and n) m are as ollows Capability Indices for Rayleigh Process 67 n) m = USL − ! − 2|3 0.5 − ,| 6 > ?3 \ − 3 \R 6 @ + [3 0.5 − &] = USL − ! − 2 │B "2 ln 2 − , │ 6 >B r"−2 ln 1 − \ − "−2 ln 1 − \R 6 v + wB "2 ln 2 − &x (10) Using the results on estimation provided in Section 3 and the invariance property of the ML estimators, we have that the ML estimator of the Rayleigh PCI given in section 4.1, can be obtained as l m = USL – LSL Bl p "−2 ln 1 − \ − "−2 ln 1 − \R q = USL − LSL Ys∑ 3h ehiR 2 Z p"−2 ln 1 − \ − "−2 ln 1 − \R q (11) From section 3, ∑ %h ehiR ~ {y y , R ST . Therefore, ∑ %h ehiR 4B ~ } e And then we have ~ Y}2 , 2 ≤ ∑ % 2 =1 4B2 ≤ }2 ,1−  2 Z = ~ Y 4 }2 , 2 ∑ % 2 =1 ≤ 1 B2 ≤ 4 }2 ,1− 2 ∑ % 2 =1 Z = 1 −  (12) From Equation (12), a 100 × 1 −  % CI for the 1/B is ƒ2> }2 ,α 2 ∑ % 2 =1 , 2> }2 ,1− α 2 ∑ % 2 =1 … Then, a 100 × (1-) % CI for the C o is ƒ 2[Q! − ! ] p "−2 ln 1 − \ − "−2 ln 1 − \R q > χ ‡ ,ˆ ∑ XŠ ‡ŠiR , 2[Q! − ! ] p "−2 ln 1 − \ − "−2 ln 1 − \R q > χ ‡ ,R_ˆ ∑ XŠ ‡ŠiR … For estimate the C o , we have C o = C o 1 − k Œh h Ž = 2 3 0.5 − Q! + ! 2  Q! − ! see Appendix, Part 1). So we have 68 D. Dariae, and B. Sadeghpour Gildeh l ) m = l m ƒ1 − 2 │ Bl √2 ln 2 − USL + LSL 2 │ Q! − ! … = l m  ''1 − 2 "Y s∑ 3h ehiR 2 Z √2 ln 2 − USL + LSL 2 " Q! − ! " •– The l m is the Equation (11). The asymptotic distribution of l ) m is normal and given by l ) m ~— ˜ ) m , ™ ) m (13) where J( ) m ) denotes its asymptotic variance provided in the Appendix (Part 2). From Equation (13), an approximate 100 × (1-) % CI for the C o is


An impedance analyzer or the Schering bridge is usually used for measurement of the medium-wave antenna impedance. However it has been said to be impossible to measure the exact antenna impedance under a high-intensity electric field environment generated by such as a neighboring radio station, especially with the same operating frequency because an undesired large signal is induced at the antenna input port. We propose a new measurement method and an instrument using a double synchronized detection, which has a function to suppress undesired signals efficiently. Here a double synchronous detecting technique is introduced to suppress the undesired signal with the same frequency as a measurement frequency. This system makes it possible to easily measure the antenna impedance with higher accuracy even under such an environment and also is useful for periodical maintenance of the transmitting antenna without interruption of broadcasting services in the daytime.


Production of methane from thick, extensive coal beds in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming has created water management issues. Since development began in 1997, more than 650 billion liters of water have been produced from approximately 22,000 wells. Infiltration impoundments are used widely to dispose of by-product water from coal bed natural gas (CBNG) production, but their hydrogeologic effects are poorly understood. Helicopter electromagnetic surveys (HEM) were completed in July 2003 and July 2004 to characterize the hydrogeology of an alluvial aquifer along the Powder River. The aquifer is receiving CBNG produced water discharge from infiltration impoundments. HEM data were subjected to Occam's inversion algorithms to determine the aquifer bulk conductivity, which was then correlated towater salinity using site-specific sampling results. The HEM data provided high-resolution images of salinity levels in the aquifer, a result not attainable using traditional sampling methods. Interpretation of these i...


The explosion of applied technology around the globe is redefining national interests. This book traverses the fields of energy, finance, and national security to offer a look at the new century's new geopolitics. Experts in all three areas join in a conversation about the ways in which globalization is affecting U.S. foreign policy. Their goal: to break free of predictive or policy-prescriptive trains of analysis.


The Space Race was a movement of rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union that used the sky as the main field of "battle". It looked to explore outer space as a form of reaffirmation of the belic power on earth. The use of technology in an unbridled way, in course since World War II, served, in disguise, for cultural progress. This way, even with the movement being directed at the sky, the reactions happened on Earth, especially after people arrived on the Moon in 1969. This event triggered cultural, technological, social and political transformations that influenced artistic production through the following decades. With this in mind, this work intends to observe and analyze in a critical-reflective way Michael Light's artistic book Full Moon, published in 1999. The work is composed of NASA's photographs of space missions carried out at the time of the Race. Questioning the American supremacy, Light appropriates the images and develops his work with an intention not only artistic, but also as social and political critic. In sight of this, the present study intends to consider if they appear and in what form these contents are related artistically in the course of this work.


We present a multiplicative multifractal process to model traffic which exhibits long‐range dependence. Using traffic trace data captured by Bellcore from operations across local and wide area networks, we examine the interarrival time series and the packet length sequences. We also model the frame size sequences of VBR video traffic process. We prove a number of properties of multiplicative multifractal processes that are most relevant to their use as traffic models. In particular, we show these processes to characterize effectively the long‐range dependence properties of the measured processes. Furthermore, we consider a single server queueing system which is loaded, on one hand, by the measured processes, and, on the other hand, by our multifractal processes (the latter forming a MFe/MFg/1 queueing system model). In comparing the performance of both systems, we demonstrate our models to effectively track the behaviour exhibited by the system driven by the actual traffic processes. We show the multiplicative multifractal process to be easy to construct. Through parametric dependence on one or two parameters, this model can be calibrated to fit the measured data. We also show that in simulating the packet loss probability, our multifractal traffic model provides a better fit than that obtained by using a fractional Brownian motion model. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Bovine herpesvirus type-1 (BHV-1) causes several diseases, but the most prevalent are infective bovine rhinotracheitis and infective pustular vulvovaginitis (IBR/IPV). In this paper we presented the latest discoveries about etiopathogenesis and diagnosing of BHV-1 infection based on the recent knowledge on the molecular structure and functional importance of some virus glycoproteins in the process of infection. We presented some eradication experiences in several countries as well as some legislative regulations on distinct measures for improved prevention, control and eradication of BHV-1 infection in breeding cattle herds.


SYNTHESIS 2004, No. 14, pp 2391–2406xx.xx.2004 Advanced online publication: 23.08.2004 DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-831192; Art ID: Z05304SS © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York Abstract: 2,3,5-Trisubstituted furans 6 and 1,2,3,5-tetrasubstituted pyrroles 8 can be synthesized in good yields in a one-pot three-step threeor four-component process by a coupling-isomerization-Stetter–Paal–Knorr sequence of an electron-poor (hetero)aryl halide 1, a terminal propargyl alcohol 2, an aldehyde 3, and, in the case of pyrroles, a primary amine 7. All novel furans and pyrroles exhibit a strong blue fluorescence with considerable Stokes shifts.


The relationship between women and resource extraction is complex and multifaceted. Women may work within the extractive industry or in jobs that support or service the industry. They may be part of a community affected by resource extraction and suffer differentiated impacts to those of men, which are either linked to, among other things, their gender roles within the community, their intersectional vulnerability to violence, or as activists and leaders resisting resource extraction. Their roles and identities in their communities may change due to resource extraction, and they may suffer inequalities in relation to accessing the benefits of extractive projects. 1


The development of high-order, monolithic analog filters using a compatible bipolar-JFET process, will be covered in this paper. A fifth order Chebyshev 8kHz low-pass filter with 0.1dB passband ripple uses ratioed capacitors, current sources and clock frequency as precision elements.