Abstract The article deals with the motor vehicle tax in relation with fiscal decentralization, particularly from 2005 with competence delegated to the self-governing regions in the area of motor vehicle tax. The result of this provision in the field of fiscal decentralization is increasing of differences in the motor vehicle tax burden in self-governing regions of Slovakia. The paper is the result of solving a series of impact studies solved by the authors in this field. Gradually over time from the transfer of competences in setting tax rates on motor vehicles to self-governing regions and usage of the incomes of this tax can realistically assess the development and impact of this element of fiscal decentralization in the Slovak Republic as well as propose a solution of resulting situation. The aim is to eliminate differences in motor vehicle tax burden at regional and interstate level while maintaining the current level of tax revenues of self-governing regions.


This paper presents some results of a two-year (2006-2007) research project supported by the French Ministry of Research's funding program ECONET. One of the project's objectives was to investigate the determinants of farm technical efficiency in New Member States before and after accession to the European Union, and in particular the role of public subsidies on this performance variable. Four countries were considered: Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, who acceded to the EU in 2004, and Romania, whose accession was in 2007. The study found that subsidies had a negative impact on farm technical efficiency in Hungary over the period 2001-2005, in the Czech dairy corporate sector over the period 2000-2004, in Slovenia over the period 1994-2003, and in the Romanian crop sector in 2005.


In an attempt to study the intermediary metabolism of carbohydrate in diabetic patients, the authors measured the blood glucose, pyruvic acid, lactic acid and inorganic phosphate following the administration of glucose (22 cases intravenously and 19 cases orally), and the following results were obtained ; 1. From the results of blood glucose and inorganic phosphate following the administration of glucose, the process of phosphorylation in the blood is almost inhibited in diabetic patients compared to the healthy persons and a marked depression of this process were found in severe cases of diabetics. Following the administration of glucose, the significant high blood lactic acid levels of severe cases of diabetic patients were lowered; acommpanying with rised pyruvic acid in the blood, while in the mild and moderate diabetic patients the increased blood lactic acid with no change of blood pyruvate were seen. It is clear from these results that a definite different response to intermediary carbohydrate metabolism following the administration of glucose may have been occured in the severe diabetic patients compared with those of mild diabetic patients or healthy persons.


The epoxy adhesive is prepared according to the optimal formula of the orthogonal experiment, and its curing properties, the dynamic mechanic parameters, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer(FTIR) and the thermogravimetric analysis(TGA) are measured. And its shear adhesive strength is about 22.0MPa, its tensile strength is about 12.50MPa and its charpy impact strength is 9.41kJ/m2. The result of TGA and dynamic mechanic analysis(DMA) test have shown that the thermal stability of the epoxy adhesive is good before 335°C and its weight retention ratio is more than 90% and Tg≈50°C. By exploring the experiments, the tensile adhesive strength of the dumbbell sample in the concrete for the underwater curing epoxy adhesives is more than 2.26~2.98MPa. Epoxy resins have many excellent properties of mechanics and adhesion. By suitable modification of the epoxy resins, they have widely been applied for the leakage proofing in the underground and the submarine tunnel; the repairing and reinforcing of the dikes, dams and bridges; the repairing of the mechanical, electrical and chemical equipments[1]. Since1960's, the underwater curing epoxy adhesives are developed and a great many works are done[2-10], for example, α-cyanoacrylate adhesive, the organosilicone adhesive, the urethane adhesive. But the open literatures abroad are few[11]. Zhang et al[12] investigated systematically the viscosity, reavtivity, mechanic and adhesive properties of the underwater curing epoxy adhesives for different curing agent systems, However, these studies concentrate on the laboratory results on the sheet steel piece, and the experimental testes on the damp and underwater concrete samples have not been seen up to now. This paper tried to explore the experiments on the damp and underwater concrete samples and obtained some good results based on the laboratory development on the sheet steel pieces.


The present study was aimed to assess wastewater treatment ability of Spirulina platensis from TH Truemilk dairy farm Nghia Dan district Nghe An province. This study was conducted for near one year and included monthly water analysis for various physic-chemical factors. Spirulina platensis are belonging to blue green algae viable for biological treatment. The results were showed to reduce nutrient concentrations from wastewater such as, nitrate, phosphorus and sulphate. In addition, the ability of these algae reduces B.O.D, C.O.D, T.D.S, calcium and magnesium hardness. There are recorded ability of this algae on removing nitrate 77.53 % , active phosphorus 75 % and sulphate 61.23 % while there are C.O.D 75.14 % T.S.S 73.68 %, B.O.D 69.38 %, calcium and cloride 59.17 %, 51.05 % during the eleventh day of treatment.


Due to the witnessed prevalence of the commercial multi-core microprocessors, parallel programming becomes a dire need for efficiently using all available hardware resources for one application. One of the parallel programming approaches is multithreading, which has been proved to play a great role in providing sequential computers with virtual parallelisation, yielding faster execution and easy communication. Such advantageous features are provided through creating a dynamic number of concurrent threads at run-time of an application. Based on these facts, this paper presents a parallel multithreaded approach for the well-known iterative deepening A* (IDA*) heuristic search algorithm using POSIX threads (Pthreads) and message-passing interface libraries running on 16 dual-core processors. The feasibility of the parallel multithreaded approach is investigated as an alternative for hosting applications requiring intensive graph search. The analytical evaluation and experimental results revealed the improved performance achieved by the proposed parallel multithreaded IDA* algorithm.


The idea of applying a low frequency magnetic field during laser welding process has been already carried out recently in order to make a stir effect inside the molten pool and therefore to improve the element dilution in the weld joint. However, the mechanism of magnetic stirring by laser welding process is still lacking a clear understanding yet. A big problem on the way is that neither the molten pool nor the element dilution can be easily observed during welding, which makes it difficult to realize a systematic and comprehensive investigation on the influences of magnetic parameters on the element distribution.In this paper, the effects of the magnetic field on the melt flow as well as the element dilution are shown by applying copper as "tracer" inside the molten pool. Several methods designed with different forms of copper at different positions in the workpieces to visualize the melt flow and the corresponding element dilution in different areas of the molten pool. The results demonstrate that a DC magnetic field, with its direction coaxial to the laser, tends to modify the melt flow dynamics by flux density up 100mT. The results of laser welding with filler wire showed that by the help of an AC magnetic field with frequency up to 10 Hz and flux density above 100mT, the element dilution could be improved in the weld joint.The idea of applying a low frequency magnetic field during laser welding process has been already carried out recently in order to make a stir effect inside the molten pool and therefore to improve the element dilution in the weld joint. However, the mechanism of magnetic stirring by laser welding process is still lacking a clear understanding yet. A big problem on the way is that neither the molten pool nor the element dilution can be easily observed during welding, which makes it difficult to realize a systematic and comprehensive investigation on the influences of magnetic parameters on the element distribution.In this paper, the effects of the magnetic field on the melt flow as well as the element dilution are shown by applying copper as "tracer" inside the molten pool. Several methods designed with different forms of copper at different positions in the workpieces to visualize the melt flow and the corresponding element dilution in different areas of the molten pool. The results demonstrate that a DC...


The solvent extraction of chromium (III) with lauric acid (HL) at 25°C is studied as a function of various parameters: pH of the aqueous phase, the concentration of lauric acid and the nature of the solvent. The solvent effects on the extraction of chromium (III) using polar and nonpolar solvents has been observed. It was shown that extracted species of the [Cr(OH)L2·2HL] formula are formed in cyclohexane, dichloromethane, chloroform, and toluene. However, in 1- -octanol or methyl isobutyl ketone, it was found a complex of the type [Cr(OH)L2]. The extraction constants and extraction yield (%E) are also calculated for different solvents. It was found that cyclohexane is the preferred solvent for this extraction system, The maximum extraction yield is accomplished using the cyclohexane as a solvent on 1:1 L/L ratio, and pH value of 4.73.


There is now an elegant and extremely powerful way to access bibliographic information in chemistry: an online substucture search system called DARC System, operating on the CAS structure file of 5 million compounds. DARC System allows the chemist to search for information in the same way as he thinks, that means in the language of structural formulae. With DARC, substructure search is done easily, quickly, with the best results one can expect, as they are relevant and complete. As the output of retrieved structures can be graphic, i.e., the structures can be displayed on a screen, DARC suits particularly the chemist, involved in structure activity relationship, organic synthesis, drug design. DARC offers the possibility of combining the structures retrieved with subject search in order to obtain bibliographic references concerning a special item e.g., pharmacological activities, toxicological or analytical data, synthesis. Therefore, substructure search with DARC is an information tool that every chemist should know and use nowadays. The DARC system has been especially designed to meet the medicinal chemist's requirements. DARC has


Communication plays a major role in expressing one's feelings to another person. People with vision, hearing, and speech problems find it difficult to communicate with others. They have some special languages for those people, which include tactile signing, braille etc. Among those methods, braille is the most widely used communication language. It is a system that uses a group of dots that are arranged in a particular manner to form letters, numbers and some special characters. The main aim of this research is to provide a two-way communication device between blind-deaf-dumb person and normal people. This work converts the input data, either in voice or image into braille that can be understood by deaf, blind and dumb person and also converts braille input from blind-deaf-dumb person into text or voice that can be understood by normal people. Once the text from images or voice is detected, it starts converting the text into braille format. The braille characters are displayed one after another with the help of the braille display. The deaf-blind-dumb person can feel the letters by placing their fingers on the braille display and in case the blind-deaf-dumb person wants to communicate with the normal people, they give the braille information through a display converted into text displayed on a liquid crystal display and gives voice output from the speaker.


7532Background: Transaminase elevation associated with idelalisib (IDELA) typically occurs early during treatment (median onset, 8 wk) and is often asymptomatic. Currently recommended management of...


People have the right to choose their own form of government. That lofty principle, affirmed by Churchill and Roosevelt in the Atlantic Charter, was to guide our post-war foreign policy. But suppose that people given a chance to choose their government make the "wrong" choice? Suppose they choose a government unfriendly to the United States, an undemocratic form of government at odds with our national interests? What then? Out of this conflict between idealistic principles and practical self-interest sprang the CIA's first peacetime covert operations. In "The CIA and the Marshall Plan" historian Sallie Pisani shows how the U.S. added a Cold War corollary to the principle of self-determination: massive foreign aid and nonmilitary covert operations to reshape war-torn Europe in the image of the U.S. Pisani tells, for the first time, the story of the top CIA operatives who were instrumental in developing the non-military covert intervention policies of the early Cold War years and the Office of Policy Coordination that carried them out. Through interviews with Deputy Director of Plans Richard Bissell (Bay of Pigs), OSS officer and later CIA official John Bross, CIA General Counsel Lawrence Houston, CIA field operative Kermit Roosevelt, and Frank Lindsay, head of paramilitary operations for OPC, Pisani traces covert operations from their roots in the New Deal and World War II through the years of the Marshall Plan.


An inverse paraboliic problem of determining a nonlinear source term with form of f(x,t;u)=a(t)g(u) is investigated.With aids of integral identity method,data compatibility and conditional stability for the source term's inversion are constructed.


Noise parameters are commonly used to design low noise amplifiers (LNAs), which are generally the first stage of a radio frequency receiver. If the LNA feeds directly into a mixer, the noise parameters of the mixer can significantly raise the overall noise parameters of the system. The extraction of mixer- based system noise parameters is complicated by the frequency conversion enabled by the mixer where the noise power on the input is at a different frequency than that on the output. This paper describes the setup, noise receiver calibration and extraction of mixer noise parameters. Additionally, challenges in low-frequency noise receiver calibration are described and illustrated using measurement examples.


The paper mainly presents the structure of senior middle school management information system and describes the function model and key technology adopted in the system.The system operates on .net platform of Microsoft and Browser/Server architecture and takes SQL Server 2000 as Database Server.ASP.NET programs operates on the Web Server access database with ASP.NET component ADO.NET.It has the advantage of friendly interface,easy for maintenance and good scalability.


Over the past several years, Japanese fertility has begun to decline. The author analyzes this recent fertility trend statistically. In part 1 where he covers a general view of fertility, basic fertility measures are examined. The number of births by age of mother are analyzed by the number of the female population according to their ages and fertility. Various indicators of fertility such as crude birth, standardized birth rate, total fertility rate, age-specific birth rate, and age-birth order-specific birth rates are examined. In part 2 where there is a discussion of marriage and marital fertility, the number of marriages and marriage rates by age are examined. For marriage rate, age-specific marriage rates of female population who are not married currently are estimated. Except for the census-taking years, marital status data are not available. Therefore, the estimation of population not currently married is required for the marital status life tables. Also analyzed are the proportion married by age and age-specific marital fertility. In part 3, cohort fertility is examined in light of the number of children ever born and accumulated by age-specific fertilities for cohorts from vital statistics. It is clear that cohort fertility has not changed much as period fertility in recent years. The noticeable change in cohort fertility is seen as a shift to an older age for childbearing. (author's modified)


Kinematic synthesis has become an essential issue in robot design, and as a result, much research in recent years has focused on the optimal dimensional synthesis of robot manipulators. However, for particular application area, such as robots in the agriculture field, the robot design is more challenging and need to consider the unstructured structure and working environment. For such an application, the robot manipulator with an open-source design has a high potential to be utilized and optimized. This paper uses an artificial bee colony algorithm (ABC) to optimize the structural dimensions of a four degrees-of-freedom robot manipulator. It was found that the robot manipulator with optimized dimensions effectively reaches the desired end-effector position. For example, for the target position of (1.5, 0.5, 2.0), the optimal link lengths generated an actual end-effector position of (1.4990, 0.4995, 2.000), with a mean position error of 0.62174 mm. This outcome shows that the optimal dimensions of the robot manipulator can be accurately obtained using the ABC algorithm.


Web mining is the use of information mining strategies to retrieve information from Web content, structure, and usage mining. In a web based business website, ecommerce, e-marketing must assistance buyers in their buy. This requires exact information on the client's preference. This comparison is acquired when the client is visiting an e-shop on the grounds that (s)he leaves an advanced impression that can be utilized to get his/her needs, wants and requests just as to improve web presence. These information can be utilized for information mining to comprehend the e-showcasing and selling measures in a superior manner. This paper presents an examination of Association rule mining calculations (i.e) apriori and FP Growth development dependent on the correlation of the calculation to discover the successive of clients engaged with e-shopping. In the ends, a few thoughts for good e-shopping Practices identified with the purchasing conduct examination of clients are appeared.


Intelligent ship detection based on high-precision synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images plays a vital role in ocean monitoring and maritime management. Denoising is an effective preprocessing step for target detection. Morphological network-based denoising can effectively remove speckle noise, while the smoothing effect of which blurs the edges of the image and reduces the detection accuracy. The fusion of edge extraction and morphological network can improve detection accuracy by compensating for the lack of edge information caused by smoothing. This article proposes an end-to-end lightweight network called morphological feature-pyramid Yolo v4-tiny for SAR ship detection. First, a morphological network is introduced to preprocess the SAR images for speckle noise suppression and edge enhancement, providing spatial high-frequency information for target detection. Then, the original and preprocessed images are combined into the multichannel as an input for the convolution layer of the network. The feature pyramid fusion structure is used to extract the high-level semantic features and shallow detailed features from the image, improving the performance of multiscale target detection. Experiments on the public SAR ship detection dataset and AIR SARShip-1.0 show that the proposed method performs better than the other convolution neural network-based methods.


In one embodiment, a method includes creating a logical router on a first router, the first router being supported on a first node, the logical router being created for a tenant. The method also includes determining whether a mode change is indicated, and migrating the logical router from the first router to the second router when it is determined that the mode change is indicated. The mode change is associated with migrating the logical router from the first router to a second router, where the second router is also supported on the first node.


Background: The major obstacle to stem cell transplantation (SCT) therapy is finding a matching family donor. In Saudi Arabia, 60% of pediatrics and 30% of adult patients cannot find a matching donor in their family. Little evidence has been published worldwide to assess women's acceptance of SCT, and so this research analyzed awareness of SCT and the acceptance and refusal rates for stem cell donation among Saudi females.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with females living in Saudi Arabia. Voluntary questionnaires of 20 multiple-choice questions consisting of demographics, knowledge, and acceptance and refusal rates for SCT and donation were randomly distributed across social media platforms.
Results: A total of 474 participants completed the questionnaire. Participants showed low levels of basic knowledge regarding SCT: 20.9% gave the correct answer for stem cell sources, 27.6% were aware of SCT centers, and 36.9% were aware of the possible factors affecting the success of SCT. A low percentage (1.3%) of respondents were registered at the Saudi Stem Cell Donor Registry (SSCDR). The internet and social media, in particular, were the major sources of knowledge for half the participants. Interestingly, even though some participants expressed concerns, three-quarters stated their acceptance of SCT and donation, especially if there is a need.
Conclusion: The females' lack of knowledge about SCT and concerns about stem cell donation may contribute to the shortage of donor availability, suggesting a need to increase the level of awareness and motivation, particularly via health professionals.


The adsorption of Na+ and Cl− at the charged water–platinum interface as a function of external voltage is investigated by molecular dynamics computer simulation. Generally, although the water structure is significantly affected by a strong external electric field, the structure of the ion–water complex at the surface is much less affected. At electric field values comparable to those found in experimental systems, Cl− is ''contact adsorbed'' on the metal and is mainly solvated by the water layer adjacent to the metal. In contrast, the small Na+ is solvated equally well by both adsorbed water molecules and water molecules outside the inner layer. At higher electric field values that are close to the upper end of what is believed to exist in electric double layers, both ions lose part of their hydration shell. The dynamic of the ion motion towards the metal up to about one solvent layer from the surface is in reasonable agreement with experimentally known ion conductivities at low electric fields, but it o...


In a multi-user environment, a large number of users share the same radio resources. The limited availability of radio channels in the network is that the same channel has to be assigned to many users. A user with very good quality may consider using low power and still have acceptable quality. The advantage is that it will disturb other users less, thereby improving their quality. Power control is essential to do the same thing but in a controlled manner. This paper focuses on the downlink in a cellular OFDM-based network model, suitable for LTE, LTE +, and 5G networks. We consider permanent uplink traffic where each HM module (eNB) has persistent traffic towards its RBMs.


The endosperm structure of dark-germinating Grand Rapids lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) achenes was examined by light microscopy under different germination conditions. Achenes imbibed in darkness at 25 C show significant structural modifications in a restricted area of the endosperm, opposite the radicle tip, before radicle emergence. These preemergence changes, similar to those observed in light-requiring Grand Rapids lettuce achenes after phytochrome activation, are mainly characterized by the mobilization of storage materials and the vacuolation of the cytoplasm Achenes imbibed under conditions not permitting the completion of germination (continuous far-red light, high temperature, and appropriate osmotic solution) do not show any structural change in their endosperm cells. We conclude that cytoplasmic modification of the endosperm cells in the micropylar region is necessary for the completion of germination in lettuce achenes, in addition to the necessity for decrease in embryo water potential.


Group extensions to spatial decision support systems (SGDSS as extensions of SDSS) lack an integrated conceptual basis. The article proposes and explores the concept of 'spatial complexity' as the key for providing this basis. Four sources of spatial complexity are distinguished: analytical, dynamic, social and constructive complexity. The current generation of SDSS mainly addresses matters of analytical complexity. SGDSS add some elements belonging to the realm of social complexity. Several specific problems associated with this analytical/social focus in current SGDSS arise: their preoccupation with the choice phase, their focus on consensus building and the piecemeal character of their support facilities. To arrive at a broader, more encompassing vision of the support to be offered by SGDSS, a focus on problem exploration and construction is needed. The article explores at the conceptual level how such a focus may be introduced. It offers a conception of SGDSS that avoids the narrow analytical/social f...


It is provided by one kind have a desired characteristic can be downsized ladder surface acoustic wave filter. Ladder surface acoustic wave filter (100) comprising: connecting an input terminal (IN) and the output terminal (OUT) of the series arm (SA), the at least one parallel arm (PA1 ~ PA3) connecting the series arm (SA) and the ground terminal , is inserted into the series arm (SA) of at least one series arm resonators (S1 ~ S4), and are inserted into the parallel arm (PA1 ~ PA3) at least one of the at least two series of mutually parallel arm resonator connected ( the connection point P11, P12), at least two parallel resonators connected in series with each other (P11 and P12) via the inductor between (L1) is grounded.


Backgrounds and Objectives: Estimation of exact time of admission for Labor is very important for mother and neonates safety. Therefore this study was done to detect the impact of early admission on labor conduct and neonatal


For many years now,"autonomy" in learning has been a topic of widespread discussion in educational field.Accordingly,it is Henry Holec who introduced autonomous learning to the field of second language in his project report to the Council of Europe in 1981.He defines autonomous learning as the ability to take charge of one's own learning.For autonomy is a very important element during English learning,many researchers have done lot's of study.Though we have many different kinds of explanations,the autonomous learning is the last goal.Meanwhile,the autonomous learning should be the goal of every teacher and learner.


During field studies in different floristic regions of Bulgaria in the period 2006-2013, we found localities of Stellaria alsine, Trifolium heldreichianum, Koeleria nitidula, Sieglingia decumbens, Stipa tirsa, Verbascum formanekii, Pedicularis leucodon, Saxifraga stribrnyi, Inula aschersoniana and Scilla bifolia that expand our knowledge of the vertical distribution of these species in Bulgaria, and hence their ecological niche in the country.


INTRODUCTION
Burnout is one of the most challenging questions of the healthcare systems in the 21st century.

AIM
The aim of this study was to analyze the Hungarian physicians' burnout and its associations with workload factors (work hours, shift work, multiple workplaces).

METHOD
Data of this representative, cross-sectional, online epidemiological study was obtained from online questionnaires completed by 4784 physicians.

RESULTS
Medium or high level personal accomplishment was present in 75.9% and emotional exhaustion in 58% among physicians, while medium or high level of depersonalization subscale was 53%. All of the 3 dimensions showed association with young ages (<35 years), work in in-patient care, shift hours and multiple workplaces. The physician partner increased the risk of depersonalization, however, children were protective factors. The work-home interface was associated with higher burnout scores.

CONCLUSIONS
Physicians' burnout is an important indicator of the functioning and effectiveness of the healthcare system. The results suggest the importance of prevention and intervention.


The interviewing process can accommodate both the analyst's and the company's objectives. Questions and answers bring out the functional aspects of factors that are unique to consumer staples companies. This presentation comes from the Industry Analysis: Consumer Staples conference held in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 28-29, 1995.


In this paper, a two layer technique for securing digital images is proposed. The two techniques used are visual cryptography (VC) scheme and int-to-int wavelet transform (IWT). (2,2) –VC scheme is used to split the secret image into two shares. Next, the IWT is used to decompose the image into its sub bands and the secret image shares are stored in the HH band of the decomposition. The performance is measured by computing peak signal to noise ratio, mean square error and cross-correlation coefficient. Keywords— Image Encryption, Visual Cryptography, Watermarking.


Italy represents an unexpected and in some ways paradoxical outcome in terms of fertility control: one of the lowest birth rates in the world seems to have been accomplished through the preponderant use of "traditional" methods. Compared to other countries, there has been a reluctance to abandon coitus interruptus. In France in 1994, 84% of women used IUDs or the pill, compared to 42% in Italy in 1995; the proportion using withdrawal was respectively 3% and 25% (Castiglioni et al. 2001). Using data from 349 interviews conducted in 2005-2006 in four Italian cities, we argue that Italians using withdrawal often have 'unplanned' AND desired conceptions. Such results suggest the need to rethink theoretical understandings of low fertility. Individuals manipulate culturally produced norms and beliefs about the appropriate moment to have a child through use of coitus interruptus; simultaneously, their actions are embedded in cultural, economic, and political processes. An "Imperfect" Contraceptive Society: Fertility and Contraceptive Practices in Italy


Those revered as heroes in Australian society rqlect essential elements oj'the Australian identity: the Aussie Battler, individualism, exceptional courage or commitment and links to the Bush heritage with tis tradition oj' hosptlality. The ideals oj' mates hip (incorporating citizenship and helping others in times oj' crisis), as well as ega!tlarianism are prized How do these angles on the Australian Identity relate to traditional views if Saints within the Catholic Church? I believe that many Australian heroes display the characteristics traditionally linked to saints: their stance for truth, willingness to sacr(/ice lifofor an ideal opposition to misguided authority and wzllingness to extend practical charity without judgement or expectation if return. Ned Kelly and Mary MacKillop will be considered as exemplars oj'saints and heroes. 45


At this moment, optometric leaders are seemingly wedged between fighting against online refractions and spectacles and fighting for "follow the money/ophthalmologic care."


This research aims to quantitatively describe the functions of the clinical and educational psychologist within the schools. For purposes of this investigation a survey was built based on the Modelo de Atencion Integral de los Departamentos de Consejeria Estudiantil, proposed by the Ministry of Education of Ecuador (MEE, 2014, p. 24-29) and on a research conducted in 2012 by Garcia, et al. (p.174). The sample was formed by 50 participants, 30 clinical psychologists and 20 educational psychologists. In order to assess the level of reliability of the survey, Cronbach Alpha coefficient was obtained through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Subsequently, a descriptive analysis was done through Microsoft Excel program in order to analyze the level of fulfillment of the functions individually and globally in each category. Based on the results and analysis, it was found differences and similarities in the ratings scored by the sample of clinical and educational psychologists regarding the functions performed within the schools.


Conventional airborne laser scanner systems output the three-dimensional coordinates of the surface location hit by the laser pulse. Data storage capacity and processing speeds available today has ...


indexing is a largely used technique in retrieval systems. It has as goal to extract and to represent the meaning of a document so that it can be found by the user. We can cite two types of indexing: manual indexing, and automatic indexing. The automatic indexing requires to use character and words recognition engines which work only over the texts of contemporary documents. In this paper, we propose a semiautomatic approach of old Arabic documents images indexing and searching without resorting to recognize their contents in order to deal with the incapacity of the recognition techniques to understand the contents of old documents. The proposed approach repose on the representation of the documents according to the structural features of their indexes chosen manually from each document by an expert. The approach is tested on a sample of approximately 1100 envelopes and shows good results. Keywords-component; indexing, old documents, structural features, documents analysis


Poster: "ECR 2017 / C-2794 / Is there a connection between the obstruction < the mitral and sub-valvular apparatus throughout the primitive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)?" by: "A. Zidi, M. elherfi, R. A. Aoiuni; Tunis/TN"


Abstract External energy inputs into all planetary upper atmospheres (including more than a half dozen moons with atmospheres) are comprised of combinations of solar EUV, soft x-rays, solar energetic particles, solar wind charged particles, magnetospherically accelerated particles, solar wind electric field, interplanetary dust particles as well as propagating lower atmosphere disturbances. Each input has analogous physical interactions with all planetary ionospheres and upper atmospheres, but the integrated consequences of the multiple energy inputs vary from planet to planet. The Earth forms the framework for most fundamental processes because of extensive measurements of the effects of each of the inputs. However the conditions at Earth are far different from those at the carbon dioxide atmosphere of magnetic field-free, slow-rotating Venus, the carbon dioxide atmosphere of Mars with patchy remnant magnetic fields, while the outer planets have hydrogen atmospheres, are fast rotating with intrinsic magnetic fields, and encompass moons that interact with the magnetospheres and have exotic atmospheres. Although the physical processes are known, our understanding of our solar system's ionospheres diminishes with increasing distance from the Sun.


98 strain (inducing frame shift type mutations) were found mostly in the center of the former Sagamihara City, whereas mutagenic substances easily detectable with TA 100 strain (induc-ing base pair substitution type mutations) were found to have spread over the whole of Sagamihara City. In order to look for hot spots, and in order to understand the distribution of mutagenicity, a sampling plan using non-arbitrary selection of sites as in the present study was effective.


ABSTRACT. Nephronophthisis (NPHP) is a recessive disorder of the kidney that is the leading genetic cause of end-stage renal failure in children. Egypt is a country with a high rate of consan-guineous marriages; yet, only a few studies have investigated the clinical and molecular charac-teristics of NPHP and related ciliopathies in the Egyptian population. We studied 20 children, from 17 independent families, fulfilling the clinical and the ultrasonographic criteria of NPHP. Analysis for a homozygous deletion of the NPHP1 gene was performed by polymerase chain reaction on the genomic DNA of all patients. Patients were best categorized as 75% juvenile NPHP, 5% infantile NPHP, and 20% Joubert syndrome-related disorders (JSRD). The mean age at diagnosis was 87.5 + 45.4 months, which was significantly late as compared with the age at onset of symptoms, 43.8 ± 29.7 months ( P <0.01). Homozygous NPHP1 deletions were detected in six patients from five of 17 (29.4%) studied families. Our study demonstrates the clinical phenotype of NPHP and related disorders in Egyptian children. Also, we report that homozygous


A heterozygous deletion within chromsome 22q11.2 (del.22q11.2) is the genetic basis of the most common interstitial microdeletion syndrome, The clinical findings associated with del.22q11.2 are extensive and highly variable from patient to patient. Main features include congenital heart defects (CHD), characteristic facial appearance, immunodeficiency resulting from thymichypoplasia, velopharyngeal dysfunction. Recombination between mismatched homologous elements (LCRs) leads to the deletion of 22q11.2. The clinical features, mechanism and candidate gene cloning of 22q11DS are reviewed.


Foods and drinks emit many volatile compounds, some of which are key odorants producing characteristic odor of each food and drink. All of volatile compounds do not contribute to the formation of odor. Thus, it is very important to identify key odorants from each food and drink for developments of flavor and fragrance. The omission method is useful to identify key odorants. In the method, a standard sample consisted of all volatile compounds and test samples, which are omitted one or some volatiles, are reconstructed by mixing authentic chemicals. Then, odor qualities are compared between the standard and the test samples by sniffing; if odor qualities are different between two samples, the omitted compounds are key odorants. However, it is not easy to prepare omission samples, because we have to identify chemical structures of compounds consisting of target odors, obtain authentic compounds, and reconstruct target odors that may be consisted of several compounds. To overcome these problems, we developed a high-throughput GC-MS system to prepare the omission samples automatically. The developed system is not necessary to identify chemical structures of candidate compounds, and to prepare authentic compounds for the reconstruction of target odors. The system innovatively improves analytical methods for identification of key odorants from foods and drinks.


It is well-known that exchange between metal and its ion in solution occurs on the surface of the metal.The removal of 203Hg from an aqueous solution with mercury metal has been studied using the techniques of this exchange reaction. When each of aqueous, I N HCl, I N HNO3 and I N NaNO3 solution containing trace amounts of 203Hg was shaked vigorously with mercury metal for about 10 min, 203Hg was removed from the solution up to 90-100%. From the experimental results it was found that no appreciable difference on the rate of removal 203Hg was observed in each case of these solutions. It may be indicated that 203Hg is not simply absorbed on the surface of mercury metal, but is caught on the metal by exchange reaction.It was also found that 203Hg was rapidly and completely separated from 0.5 N HNO3 solution containing about Pb 1mg/ml using this exchange reaction technique with mercury metal.


General and special education teachers often are faced with the question of how to provide reading instruction that meets the needs of middle and high school students with mild disabilities. In this article, we describe seven learning strategies that are designed to promote word recognition, vocabulary development, and reading comprehension. We provide an instructional sequence for each of the strategies, briefly report research findings, and include a checklist that teachers can use to evaluate learning strategies.


In the trial of intellectual property cases,forensic appriasal has played an increasingly important role.The appraisal of items related to the controversial intellectual property rights has particularly become the critical evidence for deciding a case.The appraisal procedure should be initiated with a neutral standpoint from a forensic science institution and a preliminary distinction between legal matters and fact matters should be made.Due process can be established by the trial procedure of appraisers,expert juror and expert assessor,with the assistance of IPR advisors,to maintain and safeguard judicial substantive justice.


Clonal selection algorithm has a shortcoming when solving the problem of combinatorial optimization,which is that the antibody diversity of population evolution declines in later stage. Therefore, this paper has improved the selection operator of this algorithm and introduced tabu criteria. What's more, the benchmark of a typical combinatorial optimization problem is combined to carry out simulation analysis on this algorithm. The result shows that the improved clonal selection algorithm owns a better global convergence, stability and quick convergence ability to solve combinatorial optimization problems.


The invention relates to a shale gas fracturing flow-back waste liquid treatment method, which combines a water treatment physicochemical technology, a chemical oxidation technology and a biochemical technology and solves the problem of environmental pollution brought by shale gas development. After shale gas fracturing flow-back waste liquid is sequentially treated through coagulation, micro-electrolysis, Fenton composite persulfate catalytic oxidation, flocculation and sedimentation, hydrolytic acidification, biochemical treatment and adsorption filtration, the effluent can be discharged with standard level and can also be reutilized. The coagulation, and the flocculation and sedimentation are favorable for improving the organic matter removal efficiency; by using the micro-electrolysis, high-concentration and non-degradable organic matters in wastewater can be effectively degraded, metal ions can be removed and the biodegradability of the wastewater can be improved; the biodegradability of the wastewater can be further improved by using the hydrolytic acidification; the treatment efficiency of the wastewater can be improved by the biochemical treatment; and stable water qualityof effluent can be guaranteed by the adsorption filtration. Sludge discharged by a system is dehydrated through a plate-and-frame filter press; filtrate enters a coagulation treatment unit; and filter cakes are dried and subjected to brick making, or are subjected to curing.


The system of gigabit ethernet all-optical switch combining with atmosphere laser communicator can effectively solve the problem of last mile accessing,for users the enjoyment of high bandwidth and high reliability.


Abstract The attention paid to the security threats hanging over Burkina Faso, while legitimate, has overshadowed the underlying transformations in Islamic associational life since the fall of President Blaise Compaoré in October 2014. This major political upheaval had a significant impact on the participation of Muslims in socio-political debates, the relations between generations and, more widely, the bases upon which religious authority is claimed. This article analyses the competition for religious leadership between Islamic actors in the public sphere in Burkina Faso by focusing mainly on francophone 'Muslim intellectuals'. First, the study shows the gap between the gerontocracy at the helm of the main Islamic associations and the Burkinabe youth, which widened throughout the 1990s and 2000s and came strongly to the fore after the popular uprising of October 2014. Second, taking advantage of the space left vacant by traditional community leaders during the transition process, some young francophone 'Muslim intellectuals' actively sought to portray themselves as the vehicles of a 'civil Islam' and strove to promote new forms of civic engagement through religion. Other Muslim organizations have also tried to take advantage of the new political context to strengthen their presence in the socio-political arena.


Abstract Herein we report encapsulation approaches for Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) encapsulated zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)-8 (CdS@ZIF-8), such as "bottle-around-the-ship" and "ship-in-the-bottle." In this study, these composites were evaluated for antibacterial and DNA-binding properties. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the synthesis of CdS nanoparticles using ZIF-8 as a capping agent. The as-synthesized nanocomposites were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Characterization studies revealed that both encapsulation approaches provided different morphologies to the encapsulated framework. The antibacterial activity of the as-fabricated nanocomposite, in which ZIF-8 acts as a capping agent, was more effective against Escherichia coli (E. coli) than Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis). Furthermore, DNA-binding studies of nanocomposites performed by UV absorption spectroscopic titration method in E. coli genomic DNA indicated that DNA binding occurs along with cleavage. Therefore, the designed nanocomposites demonstrate great promise for future anticancer research.


ABSTRACT A description is made of determination of Ni (II), Co (II), Sb (III), and As (V) in a mining aqueous sample with complex chemical composition by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at a static mercury drop electrode (SMDE). The analyzed sample contained a high concentration of alkaline earth cations (M2−) and pH buffer, thus direct determination was not possible and M2− had to be eliminated. The content of the species could be determined after this sample treatment. The versatility of the polarographic technique for detecting and quantifying major and minor components in the same sample was demonstrated, despite the near peak potentials of the analyzed species.


The present invention includes a plurality of address transition detecting section for outputting a transition detection signal by detecting a level transition of the page address signal has a predetermined enable interval, and; Detection signal combination unit for a logic operation and outputting a transition detection signal from the plurality of address transition detecting section and; The detection and response to the enable signal from the signal combining unit generating the ready signal and outputting a ready strobe signal has a predetermined enable interval unit; In response to the strobe ready signal, and the predetermined lead strobe signals, the strobe signal generator for generating a page address strobe signal to latch the page address signal; And a plurality of page address buffer that is enabled by the page address strobe signal to latch the page buffer address signal; And a page address decoder for decoding the page address signal buffered by a plurality of page address buffer; It said lid in synchronization with the strobe signal, the present invention relates to the selection of decoding the output of the column select signal corresponding to the page address signals that comprise a column column signal generating circuit path portion. Column path circuit, a page address


This presentation has been delivered during the 2017 Unisa Open Scholarship Seminar. Open in order to advance African Scholars and Researchers.


Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (N-SCLC) accounts for almost 85% of all diagnosed lung cancer and the prognosis remains poor usually because of assimilated drug resistance including cisplatin. The miR-497-5p family has been discovered to play a significant role in regulating biological functions in N-SCLC. The purpose of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanism of miR-497-5p and its target gene on modulating cisplatin chemosensitivity in N-SCLC cells. The enhanced chemosensitivity effect of miR-497-5p to cisplatin in A549 and H1299 cells was detected by MTT method. Dual luciferase reporter assay, quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting were performed to demonstrate that miR-497-5p directly targets CDCA4 to reduce the expression. Transwell, colony formation and flow cytometry assays showed that combination of miR-497-5p and cisplatin exerted stronger effects on inhibiting N-SCLC cells proliferation, migration and invasion as well as promoting apoptosis and G1 phase arrest than miR-497-5p and cisplatin alone. The same tendency was observed in the upregulation of apoptosis-related protein Bax and Cytochrome-C and downregulation of cycle-related proteins CyclinB1 and CDK1. Our results indicate that upregulation of miR-497-5p targets CDCA4 directly and may function as an important modifier to sensitize N-SCLC cells to cisplatin.


Objective To explore the curative effect of intrathecal injection of filtrated oxygen on vascular dementia(VD).Methods The VD patients were randomly divided into two groups.The 26 cases in the treatment group was given filtrated oxygen in addition to the routine therapy which was used in the contrast group.The curative effects after three month's and six month's treatments were evaluated according to MMse and FAQ.Results After 3 month and 6-month treatments,the MMSE scores in the treatment group were(18.76±4.27) and(20.48±4.76)respectively,and both of which were much higher than those in the contrast group(P0.01).The FAQ scores were(10.02±4.17) and 8.08±3.68)respectively,both of which were much lower than those in the contrast group(P0.01,P0.01).The total curative effects of the treatment and contrast groups were 73.17% and 46.15% respectively after six-month treatment(χ2=6.315,P0.05).Conclusion Intrathecal injection of filtrated oxygen can be used effectively and safely to treat vascular dementia.


This study develops the use of an impact hammer as an excitation source for identifying the dynamic coefficients of cylindrical aerodynamic bearings. The test rig and the identification method were originally developed for being used with two electromagnetic shakers applying non-synchronous excitations. The test rig is of a floating bearing type which means that the bearing is (almost) freely vibrating around a fixed rotating shaft. The impact hammer can then easily replace the two shakers for providing a source of excitation. This design permits to study all kinds of gas bearings operating at rotation speeds up to 60 kr/min, the static load being applied directly on the bearing via a spring. The dynamic coefficients are identified by applying two distinct (linearly independent) impacts. A transfer function approach of the impedances enables to take into account the frequency dependence of the linear dynamic coefficients. Test results are presented for a bearing of diameter 30 mm, L/D = 1 and clearance 22 µm and compared with theoretical predictions.


Using literature on entrepreneurial teams, we examine ways in which technology can be used as a connecting link to build women entrepreneurial teams. The study theorizes that use of technology creates a new realm (structural uncertainty) that gives rise to entrepreneurial women networks and women entrepreneurial opportunities (common interests) which in turn creates strong interdependence that provides a suitable environment for women entrepreneurial teams. We conceptualize that women use of technology for networking and mentoring purposes can be a first step in building the teams.


This paper describes an active transfer learning technique for multi-view head-pose classification. We combine transfer learning with active learning, where an active learner asks the domain expert to label the few most informative target samples for transfer learning. Employing adaptive multiple-kernel learning for head-pose classification from four low-resolution views, we show how active sampling enables more efficient learning with few examples. Experimental results confirm that active transfer learning produces 10% higher pose-classification accuracy over several competing transfer learning approaches.


F. cancrivora is an abundance species in Indonesia. It is believed that indigenous bacteria isolated from F. cancrivora have many bioactive substances. Different habitat of F. cancrivora will influence the bacteria lived in their mucous. Hence, comparing the morphological properties among them is one of preliminary assay to explore their potential as bioactive substances' producer. The present work explored the diversity of morphological characteristic of indigenous bacteria isolated from skin mucous of F. cancrivora. The bacteria were isolated from dorsal and ventral skin mucous using swab method. The colonies that appeared on nutrient agar were then purified and characterized based on the colony and cell properties. A total 20 isolates were obtained, 11 of them are from dorsal site and 9 isolates are from ventral site. The morphological characteristic of those isolates showed that the bacteria isolated from dorsal site have higher diversity in term of colonies and cell characteristic than bacteria isolated from ventral site of frog skin mucous.
Keyword: F. cancrivora, frog skin mucous, indigenous bacteria, morphological characteristic


Summary form only given. A method for integrating different data-using programs is discussed with reference to central data objects. This simplifies the integration of object-oriented systems with a hospital information system. The system has been developed as a prototype in Smalltalk and runs under MS-DOS on a personal computer.<<ETX>>


This work analyzes the harmonic currents, apparent, active, reactive and distortion power associated with a cluster of electric vehicle taper-current type battery chargers, connected to a common bus. A Monte Carlo simulation using pseudorandum number generators taking into consideration the statistical distribution of the states of charge of the batteries and starting times of the chargers is the primary tool employed in this study.


Property markets have long been recognised as an important source of risk to financial stability. Many economies have had multiple episodes of rapidly increasing property market prices leading to significant stresses for their financial system. Despite the recurring patterns of boom and bust, every crisis has its own unique features and there is always something new to be learned by carefully examining what went wrong, as well as what could have gone wrong but did not.


It is a current airline industry practice t o upgrade passengers from the economy cabin t o the business cabin at no additional cost to the passengers. Incorporating this practice, this paper deals with a single-flight-leg multi-fare class seat inventory control problem. A discrete-time dynamic programniing model for finding the optimal booking policy is developed. It i s found tha t the booking policy can be reduced to some set. of critical values.


combining a device, the engine-driven power steering system with a compressor (30) comprising a reduction gear (12) which is connected to a steering shaft (10), a motor (14) of the reduction gear (12) optionally, a steering force available represents, a first electronic clutch (16) which is mounted between the reduction gear (12) and a first shaft of the motor (14), and the power from the motor (14) to said reduction gear (12) transmits or interrupts the transmission, a power transmitting gear arrangement (20), the power from the motor (14) transmits to a compressor (30), a second electronic clutch (18) interposed between a second shaft of the motor (14) and an input side of the power transmitting gear arrangement (20) is mounted, and the power from the motor (14) transmits to the power transmitting gear arrangement (20) or interrupt the transmission, and the compressor (30) for an air conditioner which is connected to an output side of the power transmitting gear arrangement (20).


This book serves as yet another argument why a scholarly journal in the history of technology should indeed be titled "technology and culture." According to Harry Collins, most, if not all, machines work only because humans make up for the social failures of these machines. Technologies only work when they are part of culture. Take the pocket calculator. Have calculators "learned arithmetic" when being designed and built? Have humans delegated their arithmetic knowledge to calculators? The sum "7, divided by 11, multiplied by 11" will in most cases give an answer with a long decimal tail, while anyone with the smallest knowledge of arithmetic knows the answer to be 7. We can use calculators, Collins argues, because we humans have tacit knowledge of the strong type, "collective tacit knowledge" that compensates for the calculator's lack of cultural knowledge about how to use arithmetic in human interactions. Collins distinguishes three types of tacit knowledge, where until now we had only one: weak, or relational, tacit knowledge is tacit without any fundamental philosophical reason. It may be tacit because of secrecy or because of not making the effort to fully explicate what one knows. Think of an old warehouse man who knows exactly where to find the parts on the shelves; he may not be able to actually list everything, but when shown an example or given a proper description, he'll find his way through the racks to the proper location. A computer, when properly programmed, would be able to do the same, though possibly in a different manner. With enough effort, any piece of relational tacit knowledge can be made explicit. Medium, or somatic, tacit knowledge is tacit because it is tied to the human body. Here the famous example is the one Michael Polanyi used in his early introduction of tacit knowledge.When we ride our bicycles, we do not self-consciously use any models of physics to calculate balance. Rather,


The two epimers from the unusual thermal C6-epimerization of 5-oxo-1,2,3,5,5a,6,7,9b-octahydro-7,9a-epoxypyrrolo[2,1-a]isoindole-6-carboxylic acid, 5a(RS),6(SR),7(RS),9a(SR),9b(SR) and 5a(RS),6(RS),7(RS),9a(SR),9b(SR) have similar geometries but differ in their hydrogen-bonded crystal-packing modes


Federal energy R&D programs fall far short of the challenges of the next century, concludes a White Houseappointed expert panel that recommends a $1.1 billion increase in federal energy research spending over five years. Most of the increase would go to research in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and most of the recommendations affect the Department of Energy, which funds 90% of federal energy R&D. Overall, the report focuses on applied energy-technology R&D programs, urging an increase from $1.3 billion in 1997 to $2.4 billion in 2003. The increase, the report notes, would return DOE's real spending in this sector to 1991 and 1992 levels. Energy efficiency R&D would increase from $373 million in 1997 to $880 million in 2003. It would include research on energy-efficient buildings, 80-mpg vehicles, and highly efficient industrial microturbines. The increase is justified, the report says, because of the high promise of advanced-efficiency technologies and because they are quick starting ...


This paper describes a prototype system based on Augmented Reality (AR), designed to improve the biomechanics study. The proposal includes a full system overview with accents on the AR area, where the main solution is based on HoloLens. The whole system is focused on the latest available technology, not only for the AR module. To get to the best results, two systems that have the same aim are presented shortly. Besides the system design and requirements, a short technological overview is presented along with a dedicated chapter regarding the performance.


Abstract : The general objective of the research program is to develop method in experimental mechanics, with particular emphasis on stress analysis. The following phases have been dealt with: (1) new methods in three-dimensional photoelasticity, (2) viscoelasticity, (3) strains in actual solid propellant for rockets, (4) shrinkage stresses, (5) transient thermal stresses, (6) gravitational stress, (7) composite materials, (8) dynamic holography and photoelasticity, (9) interference phenomena, (10) two- and three-dimensional finite strains and stresses, (11) cables, (12) evaluation of relative merits and limitations of different experimental stress analysis methods, (13) elastostatics of boxes subjected to pressure and concentrated loads, (14) optimization of shapes, (15) speckle methods, (16) photoelastic coatings. (Author)


Global climate change is having an impact on the water cycle.The spatial and temporal variation in water quantity and quality due to climate change has aroused great concerns among scientists and politicians all over the world.At present,most research activities concentrate on the assessment of climate change impacts on surface water quantity,and only few reports focuse on the water quality concern.Global climate change mainly includes changes in precipitation,temperature,radiation and wind speed.This paper reviews the research advances in the assessment of surface water quality due to the effects of rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns,as well as the variation in wind-speed patterns,the radiation enhancement,and the changes in sunshine time.The paper demonstrates how changes in these climate parameters over time and space affect the surface water quality and environment.This is done through analyzing the direct and indirect influences of parameter variations on the water pollutant sources,migrations and transformations,as well as the rate of biochemical reactions and the ecological effect of pollution.And finally,research perspectives on the subject are provided from micro-,meso-and macro-point of view,respectively.


Objective To study the effect of Fufang Danshen Tablets against osteoporosis of CIA rats.Methods CIA rat model was established by injecting bovine type II collagen subcutaneously.Three groups including normal control group(n =10),experimental control group(n =12) and experimental group(n =12) were built and the mice were treated with sterilized water or Fufang Danshen Tablets,respectively for 2 months.Parameters including wet weight,dry weight,length and circumference,as well as the static bone histomorphology parameters of the mice shin bone in each group were collected for analysis.Results The wet weight,dry weight and static bone histomorphology parameters of bone tissue in experimental and experimental control group were significantly lower than that in normal control group,the similar results were found between experimental control group and experimental group.Conclusion Fufang Danshen Tablets can obviously inhibit bone erosion and osteoporosis in CIA rats,but further study was needed for clarifying the mechanism.


The HayWired scenario is a hypothetical yet scientifically realistic and quantitative depiction of a moment magnitude (MW) 7.0 earthquake (mainshock) occurring on April 18, 2018, at 4:18 p.m. on the Hayward Fault in the east bay part of the San Francisco Bay area, California. The hypothetical earthquake has its epicenter in Oakland, and strong ground shaking from the scenario causes a wide range of severe impacts throughout the greater bay region. In the scenario, the Hayward Fault is ruptured along its length for 83 kilometers (about 52 miles). Building on a decades-long series of efforts to reduce earthquake risk in the San Francisco Bay region, the hypothetical HayWired earthquake is used to examine the well-known earthquake hazard of the Hayward Fault. Earthquake risk in the San Francisco Bay region has been greatly reduced as a result of previous concerted efforts; for example, a roughly $50 billion investment in strengthening infrastructure was motivated in large part by the 1989 magnitude (M) 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake. The earthquake hazard from the Hayward Fault remains high, however, and work still needs to be done to ensure that the region is ready for an earthquake like that in the HayWired scenario. 1 U.S. Geological Survey; Natural Hazards, Science Application for Risk Reduction 2 U.S. Geological Survey; Western Geographic Science Center 3 University of Colorado; Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering 4 Laurie Johnson Consulting 5 University of California, Berkeley; Seismological Laboratory Hudnut, K.W., A.M. Wein, D.A. Cox, S.C. Perry, K.A. Porter, L.A. Johnson and J.A. Strauss, The HayWired Scenario; How Can the San Francisco Bay Region Bounce Back Better? Proceedings of the 11 National Conference in Earthquake Engineering, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA. 2018. The HayWired Scenario; How Can the San Francisco Bay Region Bounce Back Better? K. W. Hudnut, A. M. Wein, D. A. Cox, S. C. Perry, 1 K. A. Porter, L. A. Johnson and J. A. Strauss


China and Russia aim to increase bilateral trade to 200 billion USD by 2024. In addition to the enormous potential for cooperation in the field of traditional energy and mineral products, agriculture, investment and engineering contracts, as well as scientific and technological cooperation, have developed rapidly. The latter is expected to become a new pillar of Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation. The subject of this study is the ongoing innovation in the banking sector in the organization of settlements in the yuan between Russia and China. The international system of settlements and payments includes the transfer of financial information and the distribution of assets, it is a key link in global economic cooperation. However, the Sino-Russian system of payments and settlements is severely restricted by the United States. Against the background of abuse of the US financial hegemony and acceleration of internationalization of the yuan, the settlement system between China and Russia faces real demand for dedollarization, which lead to mutual settlements between China and Russia in the national currency, especially the RMB calculations. Based on the analysis of the actual and potential demand for Chinese yuan in the Russian market, the political environment of settlements in yuan and the technical conditions for calculating the amount, the authors concluded that the prospects for the Sino-Russian system of settlements and payments in yuan are high.


This article presents theoretical foundations for original Phillips curve formulation and an empirical investigation, where the structure of the theoretical model serves as a template for the creation of the empirical model.For a couple of decades the majority of empirical Phillips curve type assessments are performed using the New Keynesian Phillips curve with Calvo pricing as a benchmark for this type of relationship. New Keynesian model has solid microeconomic foundations, has proved itself very well in the analysis of price stickiness; nevertheless, it is not without limitations. The main insufficiency of New Keynesian model is that it has no direct links to the conditions and the changes that occur in the labour market. The need to encompass the conditions in labour market comes from the coincides that occur time to time when the growth rates of aggregate production may diminish or even become negative, but the level of employment may stay the same, what in turn means that the pressure on inflation won't drop, despite the fact that production level has not increased as expected or even has decreased. This article aims to fill this gap and presents alternative theoretical foundations for Phillips curve, that lead to the model with direct links to the labour market. Theoretical foundations are necessary as they may help to minimize the risks to miss some important details or to omit important factors. Although the empirical analysis in this paper is based on Lithuanian data, it is not country specific.


A recent state appellate court decision in California could help pharmacists claim meal and rest breaks they are due under state labor law. The case, which involved United Parcel Service workers, affirmed workers' right to up to 2 hours of extra pay daily.


Ferroelectric thin films such as barium strontium titanate (BST) and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) are potential materials for high-density dynamic/ferroelectric random-access memory applications. However, the properties of BST and PZT thin films are observed to be significantly inferior to their bulk counterparts. In addition, ferroelectric PZT films, when configured with metal electrodes, generally experience loss of switchable polarization (fatigue) under repetitive electrical cycling. We have reported previously that an interfacial defect layer was observed in BST/Pt interfaces. In this article, we discussed the possible origin of the interfacial defect layer and the effect it has on the thickness-dependent properties. We further suggested that fatigue in ferroelectrics could be explained by a field screening mechanism in which only a small fraction of the applied voltage is seen by the film bulk due to the screening effect of the interfacial layers.


Optimal allocation of powerplant releases during peak demand periods carries an economic advantage in the operation of hydropower systems interconnected to large electrical networks. This paper presents an alternative formulation for determining release strategies when the objective is not maximizing total hydroelectric generation per se, but rather the economic benefit stemming from it. The proposed hydropower problem is formulated within the realm of concave programming without sacrificing realism in the formulation, thus yielding a nonlinear‐concave objective function. A nonlinear mathematical programming technique, sequential quadratic programming (SQP), is used to solve the problem by successive solution of quadratic programming problems. The concave characteristic of the nonlinear objective function is fully exploited by SQP, which exhibits a rapid convergence to the global optimum. An expeditious procedure to formulate the hydropower problem under the SQP framework is also presented. The methodolog...


Objective To understand the pattern of human schistosoma infection among different seasons in the hilly areas under the present rural social and economic conditions so as to provide a theoretical foundation for the formulation of the strategy of Schistosomiasis control.Methods About 500 permanent people aged older than 5 in Xitan village were selected randomly in the last ten-day period of Junn and September,and the first ten days of December respectively.Their stool specimen were examined with the method of Kato-Katz(three slides were made from one specimen).Results The infection rate of human was generally 11.8% in Spring,6.4% in Summer and 3.3% in Fall with a significant difference among different seasons.The infection rate in Summer was significantly higher than that in Spring and Fall in the population younger than 20,students in primary and middle schools,and both male and female people.For farmers,the infection rates in spring and summer were significantly higher than the in autumn.For people older than 20,the infection rates reduced gradually and significantly with the seasons going.Conclusion Spring is the chief infection season and fall is the season with the least opportunity for infection in hilly areas.


In Indonesia, in period of 1999-2003, abot 35%-40% women in productive age of 15-19 are at risk of Chronic Energy Deficiency because of insufficient consumption of energy. This research is aimed at obtaining the description of nutritional status of girls in Bukittinggi and factors related to it. The research that was conductec in period of February tol March 2006 used the design of cross sectional. The study population is the girls studied are represented by the third-grade female students of senior high schools of 16-18 who are categorized as a late teenager who is very close to pregnant period. The sample consist of 156 female student that was selected by systematic random sampling at 11 schools. The results show that the BMI of the girls is 20,69 kg/m2 ± 2,63 on average. The proportion of students having BMI<18,5 kg/m2 is 19,9% all of which is distributed to 14,1% of light level of malnutrition and 5,8% for heavy level of malnutrition. Intake per day is 1694 calorie on average with protein contributed to intake is 11,8%, fat 26,7%, dan carbohydrat 58,7%. Intake energy compared with Recommended Dietary Allowence (RDA) are total energy consumption 77%, protein 93,6%, lemak 65,3%, and carbohydrat 84,7%. There is a significant relation between energy consumption, eating habit, body image by BMI. Variable energy consumption is the dominant variable influencing BMI. Key words: BMI, chronic energy deficiency, teenagers


The invention relates to a housekeeper robot, which comprises a chassis and a machine body which is connected with the chassis. The housekeeper robot also comprises a processing module, an equipment parameter database, a wireless communication module and an input/output module which are arranged in the machine body, wherein the equipment parameter database is used for storing the identification numbers and the state parameters of appliance equipment and a special robot; the input/output module is used for acquiring an input instruction of a user and sending the input instruction to the processing module; the processing module is used for generating a control instruction and sending the control instruction to the appliance equipment or the special robot through the wireless communication module; and the wireless communication module is used for receiving the uploaded state parameters of the appliance equipment or the special robot after the control instruction is executed and storing the uploaded state parameters to the equipment parameter database. According to the housekeeper robot and a network control system based on the housekeeper robot, the control operation is realized on various appliance equipment and special robots, and moreover, the operation is convenient and fast.


Abstract The dynamic motion of a cylinder is analyzed based on rotation about its center of mass and is restrained by a plane normal to the axis passing through its center of mass at an angle. The first part of this work presented an analysis of the stability of the motion. In the current report, the governing equations are numerically integrated in time and the steady state is obtained as a limit of the transient numerical solution. The calculated data are compared with observed behaviors. Introduction The dynamic motion of rigid bodies is instructive, and sometimes, entertaining. Many books (e.g., Ref. 6) have been dedicated to space dynamics, rotordynamics, and other fields with vast industrial applications. However, many "funny" devices also present challenges to engineers. The spin reversal of the rattlebacks has been studied for a number of years [1–3]. The lifting of the axis of the spinning egg was modeled as well [4]. The first part of this paper [5], presented some analytical stability considerations regarding the motion of a cylinder with a planar restraint. The paper was inspired by the observation of the rolling and collapsing motions of an oil drum, operated by a skilled individual. A video clip of this phenomenon can be seen at http://gltrs.grc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/GLTRS/browse.pl?2006/ TM-2006-213583/drumroll1.avi The motion can be induced into the drum by a regular periodic change in torque on the periphery of the drum, such as once every time the drum rotates about its transverse axis (see the video clip). The control of the motion definitely requires much skill in rhythm and agility. Even though difficult to describe and put into practice, such motions are of interest to rotordynamicists in stabilizing and maintaining stable spinning spacecraft and in spontaneous unloading of transmissions. The outcome compares favorably with known visual data. However, we recognize several limitations, as maintenance torques, friction, and other dissipation mechanisms are not completely addressed. The current analysis is not dedicated to the transient period shown in the video clip. The first part of this paper [5] was concerned with the stability of the barrel after a stationary situation has been reached. Here we integrate numerically the equations of motion and obtain the steady state as a limit of the transient solution. Some issues related to the control and to the startup of the motion are yet to be modeled. Future papers will address different aspects which are not treated herein.


When cancer occurs in teenagers and young adults, the impact is far beyond the physical disease and treatment burden. The effect on psychological, social, educational and other normal development can be profound. In addition, outcomes including improvements in survival and participation in clinical trials are poorer than in younger children and older adults with similar cancers. These unique circumstances have driven the development of care models specifically for teenagers and young adults with cancer, often focused on a dedicated purpose-designed patient environments supported by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in the needs of teenagers and young adults. In England, this is commissioned by NHS England and delivered through 13 principal treatment centres. There is a lack of evaluation that identifies the key components of specialist care for teenagers and young adults, and any improvement in outcomes and costs associated with it.

 To determine whether or not specialist services for teenagers and young adults with cancer add value.

 A series of multiple-methods studies centred on a prospective longitudinal cohort of teenagers and young adults who were newly diagnosed with cancer.

 Multiple settings, including an international Delphi study of health-care professionals, qualitative observation in specialist services for teenagers and young adults, and NHS trusts.

 A total of 158 international teenage and young adult experts, 42 health-care professionals from across England, 1143 teenagers and young adults, and 518 caregivers.

 The main outcomes were specific to each project: key areas of competence for the Delphi survey; culture of teenagers and young adults care in the case study; and unmet needs from the caregiver survey. The primary outcome for the cohort participants was quality of life and the cost to the NHS and patients in the health economic evaluation.

 Multiple sources were used, including responses from health-care professionals through a Delphi survey and face-to-face interviews, interview data from teenagers and young adults, the BRIGHTLIGHT survey to collect patient-reported data, patient-completed cost records, hospital clinical records, routinely collected NHS data and responses from primary caregivers.

 Competencies associated with specialist care for teenagers and young adults were identified from a Delphi study. The key to developing a culture of teenage and young adult care was time and commitment. An exposure variable, the teenagers and young adults Cancer Specialism Scale, was derived, allowing categorisation of patients to three groups, which were defined by the time spent in a principal treatment centre: SOME (some care in a principal treatment centre for teenagers and young adults, and the rest of their care in either a children's or an adult cancer unit), ALL (all care in a principal treatment centre for teenagers and young adults) or NONE (no care in a principal treatment centre for teenagers and young adults). The cohort study showed that the NONE group was associated with superior quality of life, survival and health status from 6 months to 3 years after diagnosis. The ALL group was associated with faster rates of quality-of-life improvement from 6 months to 3 years after diagnosis. The SOME group was associated with poorer quality of life and slower improvement in quality of life over time. Economic analysis revealed that NHS costs and travel costs were similar between the NONE and ALL groups. The ALL group had greater out-of-pocket expenses, and the SOME group was associated with greater NHS costs and greater expense for patients. However, if caregivers had access to a principal treatment centre for teenagers and young adults (i.e. in the ALL or SOME groups), then they had fewer unmet support and information needs.

 Our definition of exposure to specialist care using Hospital Episode Statistics-determined time spent in hospital was insufficient to capture the detail of episodes or account for the variation in specialist services. Quality of life was measured first at 6 months, but an earlier measure may have shown different baselines.

 We could not determine the added value of specialist cancer care for teenagers and young adults as defined using the teenage and young adult Cancer Specialism Scale and using quality of life as a primary end point. A group of patients (i.e. those defined as the SOME group) appeared to be less advantaged across a range of outcomes. There was variation in the extent to which principal treatment centres for teenagers and young adults were established, and the case study indicated that the culture of teenagers and young adults care required time to develop and embed. It will therefore be important to establish whether or not the evolution in services since 2012–14, when the cohort was recruited, improves quality of life and other patient-reported and clinical outcomes.

 A determination of whether or not the SOME group has similar or improved quality of life and other patient-reported and clinical outcomes in current teenage and young adult service delivery is essential if principal treatment centres for teenagers and young adults are being commissioned to provide 'joint care' models with other providers.

 This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Programme Grants for Applied Research programme and will be published in full in Programme Grants for Applied Research; Vol. 9, No. 12. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.


Professor Graham Hutchings and Dr Josie Goodall explain the function of the UK Catalysis Hub and how it is working to maintain the UK's position as a global scientific and industrial leader


PALLADSEifE, PdtvSe15 , a new selenide of palladium, occurs sparingly in the residual concentrates from the gold washing at Itabira, Minas Gerais, Brazil, associated with arsenopalladinite, isomertieite, and athene'ite (Clark et al., I974). Individual grains are up to o'5 mm in size. The name, given for the chemical composilion, and the mineral data have been approved by the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names, IMA. The full report includes data on five grains of palladseite separated from the concentrates, and compares the mineral's properties with those of the previously established synthetic phase (Geller, 1962 ). Here we report the results of the electron probe, X-ray, and optical investigation of one essentially typical grain of palladseite. Electron probe analysis gave Pd 55"77, Cu 3"99, Hg r-66, Se 38.59, total IOO-OI ~/o. Based on 3 2 atoms per formula unit the analysis recalculates to (Pdl~.47Cul.85Hgo.2~)z=17.56Se14.43. Copper and mercury are regarded as non-essential constituents. X-ray studies show palladseite to be primitive cubic without systematic absences, a IO'635 ,~, Dc~c 8"I5. The strongest lines of the powder pattern, obtained using a Gandolfi camera, are (d in /k , visual/ , N = h~+k~-~-l 2) 2"832 vs 14, 2.57I s 67, 2'430 s 72, 2'040 S 82, I'887 vvs 84, 1.723 s 93. According to Geller (i962) synthetic Pd~TSe~5 is cubic, space group Pm3m, a lO.6O6 A, Z = 2, D ~ 8'30, Deate 8"33. In reflected light, palladseite is isotropic. It is white in air and in plane polarized light, and a very light grey in oil. R values were measured at 2o nm intervals from 400 nm to 7oo nm in air and in oil. At the four COM recommended wavelengths its reflectance values in air and in Cargille oil, type A.D., are: 470 nm, 43"1 and 28-9; 546 nm, 44"9 and 3O'l ; 589 nm, 45"I and 3o-1; 650 nm, 45"o and 3o'1. Quantitative Colour Values derived from the spectral dispersion curves of reflectance, and calculated to the CIE illuminant C (675o ~ are, for the rectangular chromaticity coordinates x and y, o.3132 and o'3213 in air, o.3129 and o.3216 in oil. The Helmholtz values, dominant wavelength A D and excitation purity Pe %, are the same in air and oil, 57o nm and 2 ~ respectively; Y, the luminance differs; in air it is 44"92 and in oil 3o.ro. The VHN at one Newton is 414, range 39o-437. Cubic palladseite, being isotropic, can be readily distinguished from the only other known selenide of palladium, orthorhombic oosterboschite (Pd, Cu)rSe s. (Johan et al., 197o).


The paper presents the analysis of the membrane forces and moment redistribution effect on punching shear capacity of flat slabs on the area of the inner column. The previous experimental tests performed on the isolated slab specimens representing the slab-column connections are assessed by the method that uses the levels-of-approximation (LoA) approach, introduced in the fib Model Code 2010. LoA I to III are intended for design and the highest LoA IV, which uses non-linear finite element analysis (NLFEA) combined with the Critical Shear Crack Theory (CSCT) model is used for assessment and a better understanding of the punching shear phenomenon. Both, multi-layered (2D) shell and three-dimensional (3D) continuum elements were used to model the slab-column connection specimen and were found to accurately predict the structural response. The numerical model was then used to conduct a parametric study on the influence of slab continuity on punching shear resistance. The results from a non-linear analysis of continuous slab models are then compared with the punching shear resistance obtained from the code provisions. The paper will present the obtained results by the LoA method and recommendations concerning of NLFEA modelling of RC flat slabs.


While maximal exercise testing is useful for detection of arrhythmias and assessment of antiarrhythmic drug efficacy, few reports have documented the safety of this procedure in patients with malignant ventricular arrhythmias. We reviewed the complications of symptom-limited exercise in 263 patients with such arrhythmias who underwent a total of 1377 maximal treadmill tests. Seventy-four percent of the population studied had a history of ventricular fibrillation or hemodynamically compromising ventricular tachycardia and the remainder had experienced ventricular tachycardia in the setting of either recent myocardial infarction or poor left ventricular function. A complication was defined as the occurrence of arrhythmia during exercise testing--ventricular fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, or bradycardia--that mandated immediate medical treatment (cardioversion, use of intravenous drugs, or closed-chest compression). Complications were noted in 24 patients (9.1%) during 32 tests (2.3%), whereas 239 pa...


Acid–base bifunctional catalysts are of particularly interest, but also present great challenges in synthesis and applications. In this study, acid–base bifunctional graphene oxide hybrids were obtained by the modification of graphene oxide (GO) through a silylation reaction and radical addition. The obtained bifunctional hybrids displayed high acid and base catalytic activities towards a typical one-pot acid–base reaction sequence called deacetalization–nitroaldol reaction.


A new form of aerostat wind generation system which contains an array of interacting turbines is proposed. The design of the balloon turbine components is undertaken through the combination of artificial intelligence and rapid prototyping techniques such that the need for highly accurate models/simulations of the lift and wake dynamics is removed/reduced. Initial small-scale wind tunnel testing to determine design and algorithmic fundamentals will be presented.


Older adults with dementia have greater nursing facility utilization, hospital and home health use, and relocation transitions per person-year than those without dementia. Hospital to nursing home/skilled nursing facility transfers are particularly stressful and associated with challenges to rehabilitation and functional recovery. There is a growing international attention to the need to customize post-acute transitional care practices to the needs of the person with cognitive impairment. A critical first step is understanding the intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing the health, functional recovery and quality of life for persons with dementia admitted to post-acute care. This symposium will offer five presentations that address this objective. The first presentation describes the patient-level factors to consider when developing the rehabilitation plan for persons with dementia newly admitted to US skilled nursing facilities after hospitalization. The second presentation builds on the first, exploring UK nurses' perspectives on the key components of quality care during the transition from hospital to care homes, and their role in optimizing this transition. Next, a predictive model for discharge disposition of persons with dementia post-rehabilitative care is offered. The fourth presentation describes the post-acute utilization and outcomes, by German care setting, of individuals living with dementia. Finally, the emotional expression in persons with dementia is examined as a functional measure of interventional efficacy. Our discussant, Professor Murna Downs, will synthesize the research presentation findings, offer perspective on the conceptual similarities/dissimilarities across settings and geographies, and lead a discussion of future directions for policy and practice


Preface Perspectives on Contextual Effects Political Behavior and the Local Context: Reviewing and Evaluating Contextual Studies Toward a Theory of Contextual Effects Investigating Effects of the Local Context: Methodological Problems and Solutions Modeling Contextual Effects The Future of Contextual Effects Bibliography Indexes


The center village construction is an inevitable outcome of the residents of the villagers. How to program and construct the center village well, in regard to currently, is really an important but urgent task. This text tries to take GuangXi as an example, by means of surveying and researching its some experimental places, analyzing the difficulties during the process of the construction, and finally comes up with a series of countermeasures and suggestions, for the reference to the related sections.


In order to study the effects of Astragalus polysaccharides on Caspase-3expression and morphology in rats brain tissue after cerebral ischemia reperfusion,72 SPF level Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6groups,sham operation group,model group,positive control group,Astragalus polysaccharides high dose group,Astragalus polysaccharides middle dose group and Astragalus polysaccharides low dose group,12 rats in each group.With modified thread embolism method,the cerebral ischemia reperfusion models of rats were established.Each drug group was respectively given corresponding medicine for 15 days,and was detected after put to death.The changes of rats brain tissue in each group were observed by HE staining,and the expression level of Caspase-3protein in rats brain tissues were detected with immuno-histochemical method.The results showed that Caspase-3expression was weak in artificial surgery group,which was much stronger in model group(P0.01).Compared with model group,Caspase-3expression amount of other groups were obviously less(P0.05,P0.01),particularly in Astragalus polysaccharides high dose group.The morphological changes in model group appeared obvious apoptosis,neurons disappear,mesenchyme loosen,karyopyknosis and chromatin condensation,nerve cell apoptosis of other groups were less worse than that of model group,especially obvious in Astragalus polysaccharides high dose group.The study showed that Astragalus polysaccharide could significantly inhibited nerve cell apoptosis,this should be realized by reducing the expression of Caspase-3,and the inhibition effect was dose-dependent.


The article considers the possibility of using regression analysis to identify high and low density polyethylene by infrared spectrometry. The proposed technology can be used to identify virtually any organic compounds.


Paschen's law established from Townsend's theory has been widely used to compute partial discharges inception voltage (PDIV) in electrical insulation systems (EIS) using numerical models. The accuracy of PDIV calculation depends on a number of parameters such as the Townsend's secondary ionization coefficient $\gamma$. The present paper aims to propose a straightforward way to obtain a first estimation of $\gamma$ by combining PDIV measurements and a robust experimental-simulation approach that has been presented in a previous work to predict PDIV for aeronautical applications. In this paper, a needle-plane configuration is adopted for PDIV measurements and modeling in the case of two insulating films; a polyimide (PI) and a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The estimated value of $\gamma$ is determined as the value that provides the best fit with PDIV measurements for each material at 20 °C. The estimated values of $\gamma$ at 20 °C are $6.5\times10^{\mathbf{-4}}\textbf{ and 10}^{\mathbf{-5}}$ for PI and PTFE respectively, which are much lower than the traditional value found in the literature for metallic electrodes $(10^{\mathbf{-2}}$. Moreover, the temperature dependence of $\gamma$ is investigated from 20 up to 200 °C at an atmospheric pressure of about 1 atm. It is found that the use of the literature value could lead to an error of about 30 % between simulated and measured PDIV values.


Dimensionality reduction techniques aim at representing high-dimensional data in low-dimensional spaces. To be faithful and reliable, the representation is usually required to preserve proximity relationships. In practice, methods like multidimensional scaling try to fulfill this requirement by preserving pairwise distances in the low-dimensional representation. However, such a simplification does not easily allow for local scalings in the representation. It also makes these methods suboptimal with respect to recent quality criteria that are based on distance rankings. This paper addresses this issue by introducing a dimensionality reduction method that works with ranks. Appropriate hypotheses enable the minimization of a rank-based cost function. In particular, the scale indeterminacy that is inherent to ranks is circumvented by representing data on a space with a spherical topology.


In this presentation an overview of different defects in transmission metal di-chalcogenides (TMDs) will be presented [1,2]. We will first focus on: 1) defining the dimensionalities and atomic structures of defects (Fig. 1); 2) pathways to generating structural defects during and after synthesis and, 3) the effects of having defects on the physico-chemical properties and applications. We will also emphasize doping and allowing monolayers of MoS2 and WS2, and their implications in electronic and thermal transport. We will also describe the catalytic effects of edges, vacancies and local strain observed in MoxW(1-x)S2 monolayers by correlating the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (AC-HRSTEM) [3]. Our findings demonstrates that it is now possible to use chalcogenide layers for the fabrication of more effective catalytic substrates, however, defect control is required to tailor their performance. By studying photoluminescence spectra, atomic structure imaging, and band structure calculations, we also demonstrate that the most dominating synthetic defect—sulfur monovacancies in TMDs, is responsible for a new low temperature excitonic transition peak in photoluminescence 300 meV away from the neutral exciton emission [4]. We further show that these neutral excitons bind to sulfur mono-vacancies at low temperature, and the recombination of bound excitons provides a unique spectroscopic signature of sulfur mono-vacancies [4]. However, at room temperature, this unique spectroscopic signature completely disappears due to thermal dissociation of bound excitons [4]. Finally, hetero-interfaces in TMDs, will be studied and discussed by ACHRSTEM and optical emission.


The paper presents the results of modeling of the aerosol optical characteristics taking into account the effect of relative humidity of air. Two algorithms were applied: humidification by the Hanel formula with the same parameter of condensation activity for all particles and introducing the dependence of aerosol hygroscopic properties on the particle size. The results of calculations are compared with the data of field measurements.


Johansen derived the asymptotic theory for his cointegration rank test statisic for a vector autoregression where the parameters are restricted so the process is integrated of order one. It is investigated to what extent these parameter restrictions are binding. The eigenvalues of Johansen's eigenvalue problem are shown to have the same consistency rates accross the parameter space. The test statistic is shown to have the usual asymptotic distribution as long as the possibilities of additional unit roots and of singular explosiveness are ruled out. To prove the results the convergence of stochastic integrals with respect to singular explosive processes is considered.