This study examines the effectiveness of technology-based information systems with using models DeLone and McLean (1992) and developed by Seddon and Kiew (1996). This study modifies model s Seddon and Kiew (1996) and applied to the public sector . The purpose of this study to test the effect of system quality, information quality, top management support on the usefulness and user satisfaction. Data were collected through a survey method with questionnaire technique. Respondents were taken using purposive sampling method with with individual analysis unit. Total respondents 108 user SIMDA applications in 36 units working. The study was conducted in October 2016 and the data analysis technique used is the partial least squares (PLS). Based on the results of empirical testing and discussion can be concluded that the quality of information and top management support positive effect on usefulness, but the quality of system has no effect on the usefulness. System quality, information quality, usefulness has positive effect on user satisfaction, but the top management support has not effect on user satisfaction.


This paper focuses on a numerical implementation for simulating complex flow phenomena such as shock wave and wave runup. We use the Nonlinear Shallow Water Equations (NSWE) for representing the flow. The wave model is implemented by using finite volume with momentum conservative staggered grid scheme. A relatively simple leap-frog scheme, upwind method, and special treatment in advection term are used in the numerical implementation. To test the numerical implementation, we reconstruct a physical experiment that was proposed by Aureli et al. 2000, i.e. a dam-break flow that creates shock wave and wave runup. Results of numerical simulation shows a good agreement with experimental data of.


Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) is a technology to monitor the equipment status and predict impending faults. It is used to predict the potential fault and provide fault information and track trends of system degradation by capturing characteristics signals. So how to detect characteristics signals is very important. The select of test point plays a very important role in detecting characteristics signal. Traditionally, we use dependency model to select the test point containing the most detecting information. But, facing the large complicated system, the dependency model is not built so easily sometimes. And the greater trouble is how to calculate the matrix. Rely on this premise, the paper provide a highly effective method to select test point without dependency model. Because Signal flow model is a diagnosis model based on failure mode, which focuses on system's failure mode and the dependency relationship between the test points and faults. In the signal flow model, a fault information can flow from the beginning to the end. According to the signal flow model, we can find out location and structure information of every test point and module. We break the signal flow model up into serial and parallel parts to obtain the final relationship function between the system's testability or prediction metrics and test points. Further, through the partial derivatives operation, we can obtain every test point's importance degree in determining the testability metrics, such as undetected rate, false alarm rate, untrusted rate. This contributes to installing the test point according to the real requirement and also provides a solid foundation for the Prognostics and Health Management. According to the real effect of the practical engineering application, the method is very efficient.


Takivatan Bunun, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan, has a dedicated class of words expressing time, place and manner. These words are interesting because of their considerable positional and grammatical variation. This talk will focus on a number of relatively common time words: (tu)dip 'then', qabas 'in the old days', laupa(ku) 'now', and haip 'today'. It gives an overview of the clausal slots in which these words occur and their associated behaviours. I will present a number of explanations for this unusual positional and associated grammatical variation. I will suggest that variation in the position and grammatical behaviour of Takivatan time words is likely connected to a number of functional and historical factors that might be common to many Austronesian languages of Taiwan.


Multifunctional materials that are capable of facilitating multiple electrocatalytic processes are highly desirable. This work reports the observation of bifunctional electrocatalytic properties for water‐splitting in layered oxides, featuring 2‐dimensional layers of octahedrally coordinated transition metals separated by alkaline‐earth or rare‐earth metals. Remarkably, these materials are able to catalyze both half‐reactions of water‐splitting, i. e., oxygen‐evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen‐evolution reaction (HER). Electrical charge‐transport studies of SrLaFe1‐xCoxO4‐δ in a wide range of temperatures, 25 to 800 °C, indicate semiconducting behavior for all three compounds, where there is a systematic increase in electrical conductivity as a function of temperature. The end member of the series, SrLaCoO4‐δ, exhibits the highest electrical charge transport and best electrocatalytic activity toward both OER and HER. This catalyst also features the highest degree of polyhedral distortion as well as the presence of oxygen‐vacancies. In addition, the transition metals in this material have a favorable electronic configuration for enhanced electrocatalytic activity.


This study compared the profitabilities of systems of dairy production based on N-fertilized grass (FN) and grass-white clover (WC) grassland and assessed sensitivity to changing fertilizer N and milk prices. Data were sourced from three system-scale studies conducted in Ireland between 2001 and 2009. Ten FN stocked between 2·0 and 2·5 livestock units (LU) ha−1 with fertilizer N input between 173 and 353 kg ha−1 were compared with eight WC stocked between 1·75 and 2·2 LU ha−1 with fertilizer N input between 79 and 105 kg ha−1. Sensitivity was confined to nine combinations of high, intermediate and low fertilizer N and milk prices. Stocking density, milk and total sales from WC were approximately 0·90 of FN. In scenarios with high fertilizer N price combined with intermediate or low milk prices, WC was more (P < 0·05) profitable than FN. Based on milk and fertilizer N prices at the time, FN was clearly more profitable than WC between 1990 and 2005. However, with the steady increase in fertilizer N prices relative to milk price, the difference between FN and WC was less clear cut between 2006 and 2010. Projecting into the future and assuming similar trends in fertilizer N and milk prices to the last decade, this analysis indicates that WC will become an increasingly more profitable alternative to FN for pasture-based dairy production.


OBJECTIVE:To survey the current situation of business performance of listed medical companies in China METHODS:The data of financial and business status of listed medical companies in China were collected and analyzed in order to evaluate the developing potentials of these companies RESULTS:In the year 2000,2001 and the first 3 quarters of 2002,the average yield per stock,the net profit per stock and the net asset yield rate of China's listed medical companies were 0 26,0 1 987 and 0 1 412 yuans(RMB),2 83,3 1 139 and 3 2 050 yuans(RMB) and 10 81%,5 1 189% and 2 3 759% respectively CONCLUSION:The new products,production scale,production values and the net assets in China's listed medical companies increased year by year,whereas the net assets yield rate of these companies brought down due to the new policies such as decrease of drug price and public bidding for the medicine sale


October December 2018 40 Volume 1 Issue 3 Cu2ZnSnSe4 Solar Cell by Co-Sputtering with CdS and ZnCdS HeteroJunction Companion and Its Effects Near to Hetero-interface: A Better Power Source for Micro and Nano Robotic System D. Sivasamy, M. Dev Anand, V. Krishnama Naidu Department of ECE, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad 85, Andhra Pradesh, India Department of Mechanical Engineering, Noorul Islam Centre for Higher Education, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India Department of ECE, GRIET, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India *Corresponding author: E-Mail: email@example.com ABSTRACT In this report, copper zinc tin selenideCu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) solar cell photo conversion efficiency of 4% and 2.2% were achieved by co-sputtered CZT precursor followed by selenization process without any carrier gas flow and with the aid of chemical bath deposited cadmium sulfide (CdS) and zinc cadmium sulfide (ZnCdS) heterojunction companion and its effects related to Se, Sn, Cu elemental loss near to the CdS/ZnCdS and ZnCdS/CZTSe hetero-interface then CdS/ZnCdS and ZnCdS/CZTSe solar cell performance is preliminarily presented and discussed. Especially this work frames a good baseline for obtaining CZTSe absorber without any carrier gas flow during the selenization process and ZnCdS hetero-junction companion consisting of very less cadmium content alternative to the cadmium rich CdS buffer layer for earth-abundant CZTSe solar cells. The present grain based discrete CZTSe p-n junction solar cell device is very useful as a power energy source for micro and nano robot system.


Uncertain short‐ and long‐term cancer risks with anti‐TNF therapies is a concern, and led to a recent black box warning. This meta‐analysis, requested by the European Medicines Agency, aimed at better assessing short‐term risks by using meta‐analytic techniques based on individual patient data from all corporate‐sponsored randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab.


We report the low‐temperature metalorganic chemical vapor deposition of InSb on (001)CdTe. This low‐temperature process was carried out by a precracking technique. Epitaxial growth with a substrate temperature as low as 185 °C can be obtained using a simple two‐stage heater. The deposited films were examined by double‐crystal x‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and energy dispersive analysis of x ray. The films grown at 240 °C are stoichiometric, single crystal, and of specular surface morphology.


This paper focused on finding a cost-effective LTE mobile network design methodology, suitable for socio-economic circumstances of developing countries. Developing countries have different requirements and circumstances compared with those of developed countries that had deployed LTE networks in advance, thus a differentiated way of design and deployment methods are necessary. This paper analyzed LTE design-related attributes of developing countries, identified relevant technological requirements and appropriate technologies, and suggested design methodologies. These suggestions were verified through the case studies of several developing countries that a Korean telecommunication company (Korean telecom company A) had participated in the LTE design and deployment for future reference by other developing countries.


Will development of unconventional reservoirs (tight gas, shale gas and CSG) in Australian proceed as in North America? What aspects of Australian development are more favorable? And what aspects will make development in Australia more difficult or expensive? Australia currently has a more challenging cost structure than North America, but there are some distinct hidden advantages in Australia's oil and gas permitting laws. Australia's gas market appears to be much more attractive, at least for the short to mid-term. And the environmental issues are playing out in Australia in a very similar manner to North America. Inside Australian companies developing unconventional resources, there is a debate over competing development philosophies that is largely hidden from public view; this is the debate between a low cost factory-like pattern drilling program versus an expensive upfront investment in geoscience data that will hopefully lead to a more economic drilling and completion solution. Within the subsurface technical realm, a common mantra in North America now is "every shale gas play is different" - meaning that a technical solution for shale gas development in one basin may not work in another basin. With this view, shale gas development in Australia will not be any more or less challenging than trying to adapt Barnett shale gas solutions to the Eagle Ford shale (which is highly successful) or to the largely disappointing Woodford Shale. But there is one significant development challenge common to Australian basins that has not been experienced in North American: higher tectonic stress and higher differential stress. These higher stresses can lead to horizontal fracture stimulation treatments instead of the expected and more favorable vertical frac treatments. While it is still too soon to pick the successful and unsuccessful unconventional plays in Australia, this talk will attempt to highlight the critical drivers in that success.


To the independent local medical schools,how to deal with new challenges to accelerate development and enhance educational competitiveness is practical problems that have to be considered and solved.In this regard,Guangzhou Medical University has been taking an active practice to develop in a rapid,scientific and effective way,such as orientating scientifically,running the college with distinguished features,innovating the system,optimizing the management,strengthening the team building,enhancing the educational potential,adjusting the disciplinary structure and promoting all-round development.


A system of tuning is described by which the current distribution and therefore the radiating properties of an antenna, may be varied over an extremely wide range. This is effected by means of a localized capacity and inductance connected to the top of the radiator. The capacity may conveniently take the form of a sphere, a cylinder, or a disk. The inductance may take the form of a coil housed within the sphere or cylinder or it may consist of two parallel wires so adjusted for length as to supply the necessary inductive component. By appropriate adjustment the current distribution may be varied at will. The advantages are: (a) Increased radiation efficiency of antennas for any given length; (b) control of radiation angle and consequently the distance at which fading may become important; and (c) reduction of ground losses. The system is believed to be particularly adaptable to frequencies between 500 and 300,000 kilocycles.


This article provides an analysis and generalization of scientific approaches to the content of the category of effectiveness in economic sciences and public administration as well as to the definition of the criteria and factors influencing the effectiveness of communication in public administration and the ways of their activation. The article proposes a scheme of a complex of factors that increase communication effectiveness and can serve as a basis or algorithm for the development of methodics of quantitative and qualitative assessment of communication effectiveness in public administration.


In this study, an interspecific BC1 population of Jatropha was evaluated for wood related anatomical and physiological traits. Significant variability was present in the BC1 plants for all observed traits. Moisture content had strong positive correlation with one-minute sap flow, fibre diameter and cortex index and a strong negative correlation with vascular bundle index. Calorific value on fresh weight basis had strong negative correlation with moisture content, one-minute sap flow, fibre length and fibre diameter and a significant positive correlation with vascular bundle index. However, calorific value on dry weight basis did not show significant correlation with any other studied trait. Significant positive heterosis over the mid-parent values was observed for pith index (~67%) and fibre length (~14%). On the other hand, negative heterosis was observed for vascular bundle index (34%), fibre diameter (26%) and one-minute sap flow (36%). No significant heterosis for moisture content and calorific value on fresh weight basis was found. Transgression was observed in 25, 37.5 and 62.5% of the BC1 plants for pith index, vascular bundle index and cortex index, respectively. Further, transgression was observed in 12.5% of the BC1 plants for moisture content and 16.6% of the BC1 plants for calorific value on fresh weight basis. No significant transgression was observed for fibre length, fibre diameter and one-minute sap flow. Overall, there seems a great potential for improvement in Jatropha as a source of biomass for energy production.


Translational capacity (i.e. ribosomal mass) is a key determinant of protein synthesis and has been associated with skeletal muscle hypertrophy. The role of translational capacity in muscle atrophy and regrowth from disuse is largely unknown. Therefore, we investigated the effect of muscle disuse and reloading on translational capacity in middle‐aged men (Study 1) and in rats (Study 2).


To break through 1-D IC layout limitations, we develop computationally efficient 2-D layout decomposition and stitching techniques which combine the optical and self-aligned multiple patterning (SAMP) processes. A polynomial time algorithm is developed to decompose the target layout into two components, each containing one or multiple sets of unidirectional features that can be formed by a SAMP+cut/block process. With no need of connecting vias, the final 2-D features are formed by directly stitching two components together. This novel patterning scheme is considered as a hybrid approach as the SAMP processes offer the capability of density scaling while the stitching process creates 2-D design freedom as well as the multiple-CD/pitch capability. Its technical advantages include significant reduction of via steps and avoiding the interdigitating types of multiple patterning (for density multiplication) to improve the processing yield. The developed decomposition and synthesis algorithms are tested using 2-D layouts from NCSU open cell library. Statistical and computational characteristics of these public layout data are investigated and discussed.


Machinima is still dominated by game-based and virtual environments products. No one has utilized the advantages of machinima in the production of three-dimensional animation. For this reason, machinima needs to be enhanced so that it can be used in the production of animation, especially lowcost animation. Enhancing machinima is done by combining the process of making machinima and traditional 3-dimensional animation. The involvement of animation studios is also done to ensure that the production process can run properly. The implementation of the combined production process accelerates the animation production process because there are steps that are eliminated and the use of real-time rendering features. However, obstacles are still found in the process of migrating assets from animation software to game engine software. Keywords—machinima; 3D animation production; low budged animation


The Lidder Valley in Kashmir displays an excellent section of the Palaeozoic sequence of the Tethys Himalayan basin. The sequence earlier classified by Middlemiss (1910), however offers scope for revision in respect of lithostratigraphy and nomenclature. A new classification, adopting several new names, has been presented. The sequence is divided into Hapatnar Group, Chorgali Group, Lidder Group, Panjal Volcanic Group, Zewan and the Sonamarg Group in the ascending order. The paper discusses the details of lithostratigraphy, the need for new nomenclature, and the sedimentation and structure of the Tethys sequence in the Lidder Valley.


PT. Tenun Pelangi Company is a company in the garment sector, which produces several types of products such as cotton sarong, teteron sarong, and silk sarong. This problem of this company is shortage or excess production, master production scheduling is aimed at obtaining the
appropriate master production scheduling in determining production.
From this problem the first step is forcasting demand for six periods in the future with Excel program. The result of forecasting demand is used which has the smallest MAD value. The next step is planning agregat which transportation method and using LINDO software assistance.
After getting the optimal solution then it is made the preparation of master production schedule in order to anticipate the excess or shortage of demand.
From calculating of data that has been done after applying the transportation methodit can be known, the production of PT. Tenun Pelangi Company from January 2010 to June 2010 is not shortage and the excess production.
Keywords: Forcasting, Aggregate Planning, Transportation Method, Master Production Schedule


When the accident occurred at the Chernobyl-4 nuclear generating unit on April 26, 1986, the Soviet authorities took two days to report it. The accident happened in the course of some experiments at the beginning of the annual routine revision, in the course ofwhich there was first a power drop and then a power excursion. At the IAEA meeting in the autumn of the same year, the Soviet side reported as the cause of the disaster maloperation combined with deficiencies in the conceptual design of RBMK reactors. Today it is taken for granted that the reactivity increment initiating the power excursion was brought about by the insertion of the control rods and shutdown rods, as the rods of the RBMK reactor line, because of their faulty design, under certain circumstances will not bind reactivity but release it when inserted. In this way, the chain reaction is not stopped, but accelerated. This phenomenon is called positive scram effect.


A series of anthraquinone-imide-based dimers, C5 -AQI-Si2, C5 -AQI-Si3, C5 -AQI-Si4, and C5 AQI-Si8, have been prepared by the hydrosilylation of N-(hex-5-enyl)-6-(40-((S)-2-methylbutoxy)phenyl)anthraquinone-2,3-dicarboxylic imide and hydride-terminated siloxanes with different lengths. Their liquid crystalline behaviors, and piezochromic and near-infrared electrochromic properties have been characterized by DSC, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry, and UV–vis–NIR spectroscopy. Although anthraquinone imide is not liquid crystalline by itself, all the dimers formed a smectic A mesophase. Under moderate pressure, the color of the dimers changed from light yellow to deep red. Upon reduction to a radical anionic state, the dimers exhibited an intense NIR absorption at 844 nm. These anthraquinone-imide-based dimers are probably the first multifunctional molecules with combined liquid crystalline, mechanochromic, and NIR electrochromic properties.


Considering the current state of system theory, the theory of self-organization and autopoiesis, we come to the conclusion that, first of all, we must identify what would determine the essence of cybernetics for us. Among the reasons why it is difficult to reveal the essence of cybernetics is the presence of numerous directions of this system theory, which are mutually overlapping. Despite the fact that due to this breadth the active development of cybernetics is ensured, it also causes the lack of certainty. Such a lack of certainty in some cases is perceived as inconsistency. The analysis mentioned in this article is not focused on streamlining the categories, concepts related to cybernetics. It seems necessary only to present the key features inherent in the cybernetic approach. Nor can we bypass what is usually called cybernetics 2.0, second-order cybernetics, or cybernetics of self-referential or self-observing systems. The emergence of second-order cybernetics is associated with the interpretation of the system and its environment in relation to an infinite sequence of discrimination processes carried out by the observer. The observation of events that occur in the field of observation is referred to as first-order observation. In the case of second-order observation, the observer does not see what he does not see. This observation is an observation of an observation. In the works of Heinz von Förster, we see that as a response to the negative assessment by humanists of the main object of cybernetic research – the machine – he distinguishes two types of machines: machines that are trivial, and machines that are not among them, that is, non-trivial. And it is the study of non-trivial machines that constitutes the content of self-referential cybernetics.


Water tree degradation in underground XLPE insulated cables is a growing, worldwide problem. This form of degradation is ultimately fatal for affected cables, and therefore the detection of damaging trees in power cable insulation is vital for distribution companies to avoid catastrophic failure. Dielectric response measurements, in both the time and frequency domains, can generate valuable information about the condition of the cable. However, the interpretation of how these dielectric response measurements relate to water tree density and length is a difficult task. This paper will present a new dielectric response model for water tree degraded XLPE insulation. The model is based on finite element analysis to determine the electrical behaviour of water tree degraded insulation. Preliminary simulations will verify the model development by comparing the results to small sample pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) measurements performed by other researchers. The importance of a strong non-linearity mechanism for accurate modelling will also be elucidated.


Holch P, Warrington L, Potrata B, et al. Asking the right questions to get the right answers: using cognitive interviews to review the acceptability, comprehension and clinical meaningfulness of patient self-report adverse event items in oncology patients. Acta Oncol 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0284186X.2016.1213878 When the above article was first published online, there was an error in the data in the abstract. This has now been corrected in both the print and online versions. The authors apologise for this error.


"A practitioner must avoid all conduct which, if known, could damage his reputation as an honourable lawyer and honourable citizen." That was delivered in Lewis's benchmark 1982 book entitled, "Legal Ethics: a Guide to Professional Conduct for South African Attorneys".


The high level football teams mainly use 442 , 451, 433, 352 formation in the match now. Among of them 442 formation is wide spread application in the league tournament of English, Germany and Italy. Under the background of the all attacks and all defends tactic, the football match formation presents the multiplex phenomenon. The football match formation is no longer a fixed pattern and an inevitable magic weapon which wins in the match, it is only a mark inheriting the soccer tactic change each detail and forms the match pattern. The football match formation is constituted by players which are the fight strength of teams. Therefore it has the vital significance to analysis and research on the Characteristics of development of the current football match formation.


This study aimed to conceptualize the empowerment of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) using a hybrid model. In the final phase, "perceived competence and knowledge on lifestyle management," "sense of control of one's own health care," "self-acceptance to change," and "motivation for voluntary behavior" were identified as intrapersonal aspects; "information search," "active communication between patients and health care professionals," and "supportive relationships" were identified as interactional aspects; "self-management in one's life" and "coping behavior with disease" were identified as behavioral aspects. A concept accurately reflecting CAD characteristics may facilitate the implementation of risk factor management.


In distributed storage system, how to optimize the repair time of failure data to ensure the high reliability of the system has aroused wide attention. In recent years, studies have found that different node selection mechanisms in the repair process have a great impact on the data regeneration time, and previous work has proposed the node selection under the single node failure scenario. In the case that multiple nodes are repaired at the same time in the system, the huge space-time overhead of SPSN algorithm makes the data regeneration time no longer optimal. Make statistics on failure data and causes of existing real systems; In order to solve the replication strategy in the storage overhead and the erasure code strategy in the repair of bandwidth overhead, network coding technology, called regenerative code, is introduced into distributed storage system to balance the storage cost and bandwidth cost. In this paper, single-node repair algorithm and multi-node collaboration algorithm are mainly studied.


Results from using a novel local enhancement algorithm to detect the dot target in noisy images are present. The object of interest is assumed to have a very small spatial spread extent and is masked by correlated noise of such larger spatial extent. The proposed algorithm is to replace the central signal value inside a window by a generalized mean value of all the pixels inside the window. Thus the target pixel is enhanced by other target pixels inside the window and the background noise is suppressed relatively. For very low signal-to-noise, the detection systems show a high probability of detection (P/sub d/). Experiment results are presented at the end of the paper.


Abstract Transport is a vital part of the nuclear industry and the safety record of radioactive materials transport across the world is excellent. This record is due primarily to well-founded regulations developed by such intergovernmental organisations as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Maritime Organization. It is due, also, to the professionalism of those in the industry. Attitudes to nuclear transport are important. They have the potential, if not heeded or responded to sensitively and convincingly, to make life very much more difficult for those committed to the safe, reliable and efficient transport of nuclear materials. What is required is a balanced situation, which takes account both of the public's attitudes and industry's need for an efficient operation. The voices of the nuclear transport industry and those who value the industry need to be heard. The World Nuclear Transport Institute was established to provide the nuclear transport industry with the collective eyes, ears and voice in the key intergovernmental oganisations which are so important to it. The nuclear transport industry has a safety record which could be regarded as a model for the transport of dangerous goods of all types. The industry is situated within a comprehensive and strict regime of national and international standards and regulations. That is the message to be disseminated, and is the commitment of the World Nuclear Transport Institute as it works to protect and to promote the safe, efficient and reliable transport of radioactive materials.


Experiments can be one way to interest pupils in science. Here, we describe experiments that incorporate children's experiences of the body in a setting outside the classroom and shared with teache ...


Peripheral ossifying fibroma is a solitary, benign, reactive gingival overgrowth frequently arising from the interdental papilla. It is commonly seen in second decade in females. It is usually painless and slow growing, commonly seen in the anterior aspects of the jaws. The etiopathogenesis of the peripheral ossifying fibroma is not clearly established and the treatment of the lesion includes complete surgical removal along with the removal of causative factors to prevent recurrence. We report a case of peripheral ossifying fibroma in a young male patient.


Computer-assisted, 3-dimensional reconstructions of macular receptive fields and of their linkages into a neural network have revealed new information about macular functional organization. Both type I and type II hair cells are included in the receptive fields. The fields are rounded, oblong, or elongated, but gradations between categories are common. Cell polarizations are divergent. Morphologically, each calyx of oblong and elongated fields appears to be an information processing site. Intrinsic modulation of information processing is extensive and varies with the kind of field. Each reconstructed field differs in detail from every other, suggesting that an element of randomness is introduced developmentally and contributes to endorgan adaptability.


Context: Many metrics are used in software engineering research as surrogates for maintainability of software systems. Aim: Our aim was to investigate whether such metrics are consistent among themselves and the extent to which they predict maintenance effort at the entire system level. Method: The Maintainability Index, a set of structural measures, two code smells (Feature Envy and God Class) and size were applied to a set of four functionally equivalent systems. The metrics were compared with each other and with the outcome of a study in which six developers were hired to perform three maintenance tasks on the same systems. Results: The metrics were not mutually consistent. Only system size and low cohesion were strongly associated with increased maintenance effort. Conclusion: Apart from size, surrogate maintainability measures may not reflect future maintenance effort. Surrogates need to be evaluated in the contexts for which they will be used. While traditional metrics are used to identify problematic areas in the code, the improvements of the worst areas may, inadvertently, lead to more problems for the entire system. Our results suggest that local improvements should be accompanied by an evaluation at the system level.


Theravada Buddhism is often characterized as a religion of individualistic ascetics. This belief has led many scholars to disregard Buddhist rituals and ceremonies that are oriented towards practical, this-worldly goals such as health, wealth, and happiness. I argue that Buddhist ceremonies are commonly oriented towards bringing about practical results in the present or near future. Furthermore, I argue that because of its ability to bring about practical results, Buddhist ceremonies can act to strengthen group identity, as individuals benefit from village wide ceremonies by virtue of being community members. The focus of this thesis is the Songkran festival held in the Palaung village of Pang Daeng Nai, Chiang Mai province, Thailand. The Palaung are a Mon-Khmer speaking minority group who, unlike most other highland minorities inhabiting northern Thailand, are long time Theravada Buddhists. While there are several Buddhist rites which take place throughout the festival, this thesis focuses on the song krau ceremony a village wide exorcism and blessing aimed at removing misfortune from the village and ensuring prosperity for the coming year. The ceremony illustrates the way Buddhism is used to bring about practical results, as well as constructing a sense of group identity within the village.


Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Social Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Art in Education (MA-Ed) of the Mzumbe University


Summary
Breakfast is known to confer benefits for children, including improvement in nutrient and weight status as well as cognitive performance. Reliable UK-specific data regarding breakfast consumption patterns in schoolchildren and the provision of breakfast clubs in schools are limited, but are required to inform academics and policy makers alike. The aim of this study was to establish patterns in breakfast consumption in UK schoolchildren and to assess the current provision of breakfast clubs in England. Data were gathered by Childwise in June–July 2011. The large population representative sample included a total of 65 schools (38 primary and 27 secondary), from which 3311 children aged 5–15 years were surveyed at school regarding their breakfast consumption. Data regarding school breakfast club provision were collected from 2087 teachers via the National Foundation for Educational Research omnibus. The results indicated that 86% of children ate something before school (whether at home, on the way to school or at a school breakfast club). Of the remaining 14% of breakfast skippers, a third reported not eating anything until lunch time. The extent of breakfast skipping was higher in girls than boys, and higher in secondary than primary school pupils. Breakfast skipping also varied by UK region, such that the highest levels were evident in Scotland and the North West of England, and the lowest in the East of England. Within secondary schools, breakfast skipping was higher in schools from urban areas and areas of high deprivation. Of the 86% of children who did eat breakfast, 4% reported consuming it at a school breakfast club and a further 4% on the way to school. In contrast, 56% of schools in England were found to be operating a breakfast club at the time of survey, with greater availability at primary compared with secondary school. Overall, the findings suggest that breakfast skipping remains a considerable problem in UK schoolchildren, particularly in adolescents.


N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)oxalamide (BHEOA) was subject to hydroxyalkylation with ethylene carbonate (EC). By means of instrumental methods (IR, 1H-NMR, MALDI ToF, GC, and GC-MS), an influence of the reaction conditions on structure and compositions of the obtained products was investigated. The hydroxyalkyl and hydroxyalkoxy derivatives of oxalamide (OA) were obtained by reaction of BHEOA with 2–10-molar excess of ethylene carbonate (EC, 1,3-dioxolane-2-one). The products have a good thermal stability and possess suitable physical properties as substrates for foamed polyurethanes. The obtained products were used in manufacturing the rigid polyurethane foams which possess enhanced thermal stability and good mechanical properties.


The present invention provides a method of measuring a shape of a target surface, including a step of obtaining shape data by causing a stage which holds the target surface to rotate the target surface about a rotation axis, positioning each of a plurality of partial regions of the target surface in a field of view of a measurement apparatus, and causing the measurement apparatus to measure each of the plurality of partial regions, a step of obtaining, for each of a plurality of partial contour regions, a central position of the target surface using data of a contour included in the shape data, and a step of obtaining, based on the obtained plurality of central positions, a position of the rotation axis of the target surface in positioning each of the plurality of partial regions.


A decade of snow water equivalent monitoring in the French Mountain ranges. Snow- pack estimation in mountains is important for hydroelectric power supply since it allows to anticipate the water resources available during spring snowmelt and thus to optimize filling reservoirs. To get this estimate of the snowmelt contribution, EDF operates a network of forty cosmic "ray snow gauges" (NRC) in the French mountains, automatic snow gauges dedicated to measure the snow depth and its water equivalent. The setup of this network began in 1998 and was completed at the end of 2004. The NRC measures the attenuation of cosmic ray by the snow cover. A reference "off snow" signal is nec- essary to compensate natural variations of the cosmic ray. The local calibration of the device by in-situ snow sampling is also essential. With these precautions, the reliability and accuracy of "snow water equivalent" signal from the NRC is quite satisfactory. After more than a decade of operational use of the NRC network, EDF makes a very positive evaluation of this device which has proven to be both reliable and accurate.


Ferroresonance is a complex non-linear electrical phenomenon that can cause dielectric & thermal problems to the transmission plant and switchgear. Electrical systems exhibiting ferroresonant behaviour are nonlinear dynamical systems. The application of conventional linear mathematics is therefore not fully appropriate for the study of ferroresonance. The prediction of ferroresonance is achieved by detailed modelling using a digital computer transient analysis program such as the EMTP/ATP. This paper presents the analyses performed with ATP and compares them with system measurements to identify the crucial factor in ferroresonance.


Heat scratch on full hard sheet surface is easy to occur on steel cold rolling tandem mills,particularly when rolling thin gauges under high speed.Severe heat scratch can result in frequently roller change,and the coils will be degraded.For one of Bao Steel cold rolling tandem mills,a SMS 5-stand-6-high tandem mill,heat scratch is easy to occur when rolling thin gauges which are less than 0.5 mm,under high speed conditions,typically above 800 m/min.So that the rolling speed must be lowered below 800 m/min when rolling extra-thin gauge,in order to avoid heat scratch.As a result,the mill production is significantly impacted.This study investigated the heat scratch characteristics of this mill and the main lubrication quenching factors that impact the occurrence of heat scratch.The results showed that roll bite lubrication and quenching may indeed play a large role in mill chatter.The main factors to influent the generation of heat scratch include the film forming properties in a high temperature and high pressure rolling contact,boundary lubrication properties under high temperature,emulsion quenching properties,etc.It is shown that heat scratch can be significantly reduced or even eliminated so as to increase the mill rolling speed by improving and optimizing these properties of the rolling lubricants.


. This paper focuses on proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) and usage of carbon nanotubes for increased efficiency. The paper also discusses a possible material that may find potential application in the fuel cell as an alternative to the carbon nanotubes existing so far.


This workshop focuses on the relationships among speech, gaze and action in collaborative physical tasks. We address three key challenges: characterizing the nature of collaborative physical tasks, understanding how people coordinate their activities during collaborative physical tasks, and designing technology to support these tasks.


NASA's Magellan mission to understand the geological and geophysical processes that have shaped the planet Venus is reviewed. Through synthetic aperture radar, radiometric, altimetric, and gravity measurements, the scientific community hopes to improve its knowledge of the planet's topography and internal mass distribution. The spacecraft sequence software design, development, and test are described and the nominal operational flow of stored sequence design and generation are addressed. The ground processing of engineering telemetry and imaging data are described and the Magellan operational experience with nonroutine behavior of the spacecraft during the cruise and mapping portions of the prime mission is summarized.


The evolutionary history of cattle and buffalo has always been a topic of great interest to the evolutionary biologists. The phylogenetic studies of bovin species has been carried out at various levels, varying from the study of domestication and migration of populations to major cladogenesis. Along with the archeological studies there are studies from molecular biology and more recently from genomics. The phylogenetic perspective of the bovins and their evolutionary history, are reviewed in terms of what has been done, what needs to be done and potential challenges in doing it.


This paper presents some similarity measures between complex neutrosophic sets. A complex neutrosophic set is a generalization of neutrosophic set whose complex-valued truth membership function, complex-valued indeterminacy membership function, and complex valued falsity membership functions are the combinations of realvalued truth amplitude term in association with phase term, real-valued indeterminate amplitude term with phase term, and real-valued false amplitude term with phase term respectively.


Dear Editor, We read with great interest the article by Fang et al. on the modification to the keystone design perforator island flap (KDPIF), which was originally described by Behan in 2003. The authors report a modification, namely a "boat‐shaped" flap, whereby a V shape is added along the lateral arc of the flap, forming a V‐Y flap on the KDPIF's outer arc, shaped like the sail of a boat. Since its inception, several modifications of the original keystone flap have been designed and used in various applications, indeed, in March 2017 we published our own modification, a keystone flap "plus" design, with the aim to decrease tension in the flap, reduce healing time and provide overall better results. Our modification itself employs an additional triangle which is added to the middle point of the lateral arc whose height is equal to half the maximum width of the defect or flap and is positioned along the direction perpendicular to its long axis (Figure 1). This modification bears a resemblance to that of Fang et al. with one difference lying in the dimension of the "sail," which in their case is the same size as the width of the elliptic defect. Furthermore, they also state that their flap width can be either the same width as the elliptic defect or one and a half times its size and highlight only a slight difference in their description of the perpendicular lines drawn at 90° at either end of the defect affirming that it is possible for them to be wider. We therefore maintain that our colleagues' proposed modification of the keystone flap is indeed an evolution of our own modified design and it would have been desirable that our study had been cited in their work to render their background literature more complete. Our study details that the keystone "plus" flap represents a valid surgical alternative to the original design with results showing that there were fewer cases of delayed wound healing compared with the standard keystone flap in our case series (15% vs. 44%). These results seem to be reflected in Fang et al., with only two cases of delayed wound healing in the 31 "boat‐shaped" flaps performed. We affirm that the addition of the triangle leads to an increase in skin area making it possible to exploit the extra elasticity reducing the tension in the central part of the flap, which most likely impacts on the reduction of delayed wound healing and renders better aesthetic results. This conclusion is reflected in Fang et al.'s prophase study, who hypothesise that the addition of the "sail" could reduce and disperse the tension in the flap and that they will pursue further control studies. This is something which we would strongly advise since, once again, this is in line with our own study. This would therefore validate whether the larger dimension of the "sail" is also associated with a lower rate of delayed healing despite the slight increase in the scarring due to the larger triangle.


Many countries using inactivated (Salk) poliovirus vaccine on a large scale have been maintaining a continuing field surveillance of vaccine safety. If and when these countries embark on programmes involving the use of oral poliovirus vaccines they will almost certainly wish to conduct a similar type of surveillance. The assessment of field safety of live virus vaccines is complicated by the fact that oral vaccines are infectious and therefore the safety of the vaccine to contacts of vaccinees and to the community as a whole requires consideration. This would be particularly true in countries which chose a gradual introduction of live vaccine in preference to, mass " area feeding " where the opportunities for vaccine virus spread would be more limited. Knowledge of the changes which occur in the character of the vaccine viruses after human passage is essential for laboratories assisting in surveillance work, because they may be required to distinguish between naturally occurring viruses and viruses of vaccine origin. In this trial of Sabin type II oral poliovirus vaccine we have attempted to define some of the more common changes which occur in the virus after human passage.


The fertility of flow-cytometrically sex-sorted stallion spermatozoa is compromised by the additional stress of cryopreservation, a step which is essential for the wider application of this technology. The aim of this study was to compare the cryoprotective effects of dimethyl formamide (DMF) and glycerol at different concentrations. Sex-sorted and control spermatozoa were cryopreserved in the presence of 2, 3 or 4% DMF or glycerol. Post-thaw total motility (TM) was assessed using computer assisted sperm assessment and viability was assessed using Syto-16/propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry at 0, 45 and 90 min post-thaw. The DNA integrity (%DFI) was determined using the sperm chromatin structure assay immediately post-thaw. Compared to controls, se x-sorting caused a significant decrease in TM (34.6 vs. 9.4%) and viability (30.0 vs. 12.5), and a significant increase in %DFI (11.3 vs. 63.2%). The TM of control and sex-sorted spermatozoa did not differ at 0 min (29.2 vs. 22.0%), but were significantly different at 45 and 90 min (37.4 vs. 5.6% and 37.2 vs. 0.5% respectively). The viability of sex-sorted spermatozoa decreased significantly at each time point (20.9, 9.6 and 6.9% at 0, 45 and 90 min) though the viability of control spermatozoa did not decrease over time. DMF resulted in lower %DFI values than glycerol for sex-sorted, but not control spermatozoa (59.6 vs. 66.0). However, DMF reduced the viability of sex-sorted spermatozoa compared with glycerol (11.0 vs. 13.9%). DMF resulted in higher TM than glycerol for control spermatozoa only (37.9 vs. 31.3%). Increasing the cryoprotectant concentration caused a significant decrease to the viability of control spermatozoa (33.4, 30.8 and 25.9% for 2, 3 and 4% respectively), but had no effect on sex-sorted spermatozoa. The results of this study indicate that the cryoprotective effect of DMF on sex-sorted stallion spermatozoa was superior to that of glycerol.


This two coverage dataset makes up a 1:25,000 scale surficial geologic map along the Castle Mountain fault between Houston and Hatcher Pass Road in southcentral Alaska. The map area lies entirely within the Anchorage quadrangle and within the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The primary purpose of the map is to delineate the location of the Castle Mountain fault and other active or potentially active faults in the area. This map lies between two other maps along the Castle Mountain fault by Detterman and others (1974, 1976).


The paper presents carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes data for the mammal bone remains from excavation of the site Ostrov Listvenichnyi (Point 2) (Northern Angara region). Early and Middle Holocene layers of this site demonstrate the shift from pre-pottery Mesolithic to Neolithic industry. Stable isotopes studies can help to understand the scale of paleoenvironmental changing in that process. The main problem on this way is the completeness of data in Northern Angara region. Because of it, current study exploits previous stable isotopes evidences of the multilayered Ust-Keul 1 site and the results of AMS-dating in addition to analyses of mammal remains of the site Ostrov Listvenichnyi (Point 2). There are Cervus elaphus, Capreolus pygargus, Alces americanus, Canis familiaris, Ursus arctos in the sample. The species composition of the fauna and the ratio of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in the bone remains indicate the dominance of the forest (taiga) landscape. Further carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes composition of Northern Angara is compared with the data of Baikal Archaeological Project. The last one consists of Early and Middle Holocene Kitoi isotope materials and isotope investigations of modern mammals in Baikal region. The comparison demonstrates that the most of indicators of the Northern Angara Holocene are included in the isotope variation of the South Angara region analogues. But the data also illustrates exceptions such as Alces americanus and Ursus arctos isotope ratios. Nitrogen isotope level of that mammal remains in Holocene is significantly more than in modern ones. That phenomenon may be caused by season/age climate fluctuation resulting in water or food stress. Thus analyses of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes data of the site Ostrov Listvenichnyi (Point 2) demonstrate that there is no obvious evidence of correlation between paleoclimate changing and stable isotope composition in Early and Middle Holocene at least before the new investigation in Northern Angara region.


Four treatments (control, N, NP, NPK) of an ongoing long-term fertilizer study in an interior Alaska aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) stand were chosen to characterize the response of selected attributes of the leaves to supplemental nutrients. Vertical differentiation of the canopy with respect to mean and total leaf area and mass, total leaf number, foliar nutrient concentrations, and indices of leaf size (length, width), shape (length/width), and internal anatomy (specific leaf weight, SLW) were considered for each of the treatments. In addition, seasonal changes in levels of chlorophylls, foliar nutrients, and nonstructural carbohydrates were determined. Canopy and leaf morphology and foliar nutrient levels responded markedly to increased soil nitrogen. Augmenting soil P or P and K did not greatly alter the nitrogen response. Canopy leaf area and leaf biomass were approximately doubled by nitrogen fertilization due to increases in leaf numbers rather than increases in mean leaf area or mass. The general effect of fertilizer on a tree basis (particularly nitrogen) was to increase levels of chlorophyll and nutrients per unit leaf area or leaf mass (CO/sub 2/ fixation potential) and to augment total leaf surface (light capturing potential) by increasing the number of leaves. Within the canopy, the photosyntheticmore » potential on an individual leaf basis as indicated by nutrient concentrations and SLW was positively correlated with height thus predicting that large leaves originating from leader shoots at the top of the canopy are the most productive.« less


Thank you for downloading behavior disorders in infants children and adolescents. As you may know, people have search hundreds times for their favorite readings like this behavior disorders in infants children and adolescents, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some malicious virus inside their computer.


The appearance and basic symbolism displayed on flags and national coats of arms of states is an important topic in geography, especially political geography. The colors and graphic details of many national flags and coats of arms refers to religion because – formerly and now – religious beliefs have a strong influence on the development of societies. Symbols of all the great world religions – Christianity and Islam are presented on almost 70 flags and 80 national coats of arms of countries of the modern world. Religious symbols placed on the flags and coats of arms: refer to the religious traditions of a nation, symbolically define the religious residents, "identify" state religion, may be the motto of religious tolerance. The inscriptions on the flags, and the motto of the national coat of arms refer directly to God or to specific ethical and religious values.


Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is considered as one of the major element in food consumption patterns of Sri Lankans. The importance and contribution of rice towards healthy dietary patterns have been widely studied with the increasing health risks of wheat flour. Rice based food items are frequently consumed by Sri Lankans in traditional and domestic food practices since early days. Now the usage of rice flour in food industry is highly concerned with the usage of diversified market strategies. Rice products are now being introduced to the local market to benefit the modern life style of people. Rice is used as a major component in composite flour technology because of its proven quality and applicability in food industry. This review article gathers information about food items developed using rice as an important ingredient in Sri Lanka and provide an overview of rice based product diversification and development with the modern life style.


Aspiration is associated with the decreased Quality of Life Score (QOLS) in swallowing and chewing. It is caused by central nervous system disorders that include stroke, cerebral palsy, and intractable neurological diseases, disorders of oral cavity, pharynx or larynx and so on. Because the simple aging causes ingesting/swallowing disorders, it became one of serious health problems of the aging society. The evaluation of dysphagia is used by video fluoroscopy (VF), video endoscopy (VE), repetitive saliva swallow test, water swallow tests, and food tests. The advantage of VF and VE is the detailed evaluation and diagnosis for it, and the disadvantage of them is a higher risk of carcinogenesis by X-rays. Therefore, the authors propose a noninvasive swallow testing system by fuzzy logic. This study developed a fuzzy system that permits flexible modeling using breath information and sound intensity. The results confirmed that the fuzzy inference method yields a high accurate swallow estimates of 84.75%.


We have recently reported the application of I3C NMR relaxation time analysis to investigate the phenyl group internal rotation in benzylidyne- and phosphinidene-capped metal carbonyl clusters2-6 with the goal of elucidating the factors affecting electronic interactions between the aryl ring and molecular skeleton. The experimental results have ranged from unhindered phenyl group rotation in Co,(CO)g(p3-CPh) (1) to complete immobility in Co4(CO)lo(cc4-PPh)~ (2) and CpzCo~(r-CO)(CO)3(cc3-CPh) (3). The arrested ring rotation observed in the latter complex was attributed to a strong electronic interaction between the bridging carbonyl's T* orbital and the phenyl a system through the metal 2e and carbynyl 2p orbitals. The same phenomenon has been observed by Stoneet al.' in their low-temperatureNMR


Hydrogen isotope geolocation of insects is based on the assumption that the chitin in the wings of adult migratory insects preserves the hydrogen isotope composition (δ2H) of the larval stages without influence of adult diet. Here, we test this assumption by conducting laboratory feeding experiments for monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) including: (1) a starvation treatment where adults were not fed and (2) an enriched treatment where adults were fed a diet isotopically enriched in deuterium (~ +78‰) compared to the larval diet. The δ2H values of adult wings were measured at different time steps along the 24-day experiment. We also investigated intra-wing differences in δ2H values caused by wing pigmentation, absence of wing scales, and presence of major wing veins. We conclude that, although the magnitude of the changes in δ2H values are small (~6‰), wing δ2H values vary based on adult diet and insect age, particularly early after eclosion (i.e., 1–4 days). We found that wing shade, wing pigmentation, and the presence of wing scales do not alter wing δ2H values. However, wing samples containing veins had systematically higher δ2H values (~9‰), suggesting that adult diet influences the hemolymph that circulates in the wing veins. We hypothesise that there is a stronger influence of adult diet on the isotope signal of wings during early adult life relative to later life because of increased metabolic and physiologic activity in young insect wings. We argue that the influence of the isotopic contribution of adult diet is generally small and is likely minimal if the wings are carefully sampled to avoid veins. However, we also demonstrated that wings are not inert tissues, and that adult feeding contributes to some of the intra-population δ2H variance. We conclude that δ2H geolocation using insect wings remains valid, but that adult feeding, butterfly age and wing vein sampling generate an inherent uncertainty limiting the precision of geolocation.


Objective This study aims to quantify and describe the burden of fatal pedestrian crashes among persons using wheelchairs in the USA from 2006 to 2012. Design The occurrence of fatal pedestrian crashes among pedestrians using wheelchairs was assessed using two-source capture-recapture. Descriptive analysis of fatal crashes was conducted using customary approaches. Setting Two registries were constructed, both of which likely undercounted fatalities among pedestrians who use wheelchairs. The first used data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, and the second used a LexisNexis news search. Outcome measures Mortality rate (per 100 000 person-years) and crash-level, driver-level and pedestrian-level characteristics of fatal crashes. Results This study found that, from 2006 to 2012, the mortality rate for pedestrians using wheelchairs was 2.07/100 000 person-years (95% CI 1.60 to 2.54), which was 36% higher than the overall population pedestrian mortality rate (p=0.02). Men's risk was over fivefold higher than women's risk (p<0.001). Compared to the overall population, persons aged 50–64 using wheelchairs had a 38% increased risk (p=0.04), and men who use wheelchairs aged 50–64 had a 75% increased risk over men of the same age in the overall population (p=0.006). Almost half (47.6%; 95% CI 42.8 to 52.5) of fatal crashes occurred in intersections and 38.7% (95% CI 32.0 to 45.0) of intersection crashes occurred at locations without traffic control devices. Among intersection crashes, 47.5% (95% CI 40.6 to 54.5) involved wheelchair users in a crosswalk; no crosswalk was available for 18.3% (95% CI 13.5 to 24.4). Driver failure to yield right-of-way was noted in 21.4% (95% CI 17.7 to 25.7) of crashes, and no crash avoidance manoeuvers were detected in 76.4% (95% CI 71.0 to 81.2). Conclusions Persons who use wheelchairs experience substantial pedestrian mortality disparities calling for behavioural and built environment interventions.


I first show that if there are more than two potential candidates in the Hotelling-Downs model of the simultaneous choice of positions by politicians then an equilibrium fails to exist in a wide range of situations. Subsequently I study a temporal model in which candidates are free to act whenever they wish. For the case of three potential candidates I find that in every equilibrium exactly one candidate enters. There is always an equilibrium in which the position chosen by the entrant is the median; the only other possibility is that the position chosen is far from the median.


Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ozone (O3) are the principal naturally occurring radiatively active gases in the earth's atmosphere (Ruddiman, 2001). These gases are responsible for trapping outgoing infrared radiation in the earth's atmosphere, heating it, and thus keeping the earth's average temperature at approximately 15°C. These gases act as the panes of glass in a greenhouse, trapping in heat from sunlight, and consequently are also referred to as greenhouse gases (GHG).


We demonstrate degenerate four-wave mixing of a 12×100 Gb/s DP-QPSK signal with counter-phase dithering by a phase modulator embedded in a fiber-loop. A ≈9 dB higher conversion efficiency enables an OSNR penalty of 0.7 dB at 10-3 BER.


Abstract : A Continuous Oxidation-Reduction System (CORS) is being developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The CORS combines reduction and oxidation reactions within a single reactor. The materials being processed are fed continuously while the products are continuously removed. The system is being developed for the continuous oxidation and/or reduction of reactive metals, salts, oxides, and other compounds. Recent feasibility tests reducing cerium oxide were successful. Two applications of this system currently being examined are: actinide oxide reduction and the separation of radionuclides from wastes and residues. In comparison to traditional processes such as fluorination/bomb reduction and Direct Oxide Reduction (DOR), CORS reduces operator radiation exposure, waste, processing time and equipment requirements. A patent has been filed for this process.


This dissertation describes two theories of risky choice based on a normatively axiomatized partial order. The first theory is an atemporal alternative to von Neumann and Morgenstern's Expected Utility Theory that accommodates the status quo bias, violations of Independence and preference reversals. The second theory is an extension of the Inter-temporal von Neumann-Morgenstern theory of Kreps and Porteus (1978) that features a normatively deduced preference for flexibility. A substantial part of the thesis is devoted to examining equilibrium implications of the inter-temporal theory. In particular, a multi-agent multi-period Bayesian rational expectations equilibrium is shown to exist under certain conditions. Implications to asset pricing are then investigated with an explicit parameterization of the model.


This chapter outlines major trends in supporting student veterans at colleges and universities, including ways that campus professionals can initiate programs and services to assist this emerging population of students.


Pine wood nematode disease is a devastating pine disease that poses a great threat to forest ecosystems. The use of remote sensing methods can achieve macroscopic and dynamic detection of this disease; however, the efficiency and accuracy of traditional remote sensing image recognition methods are not always sufficient for disease detection. Deep convolutional neural networks (D-CNNs), a technology that has emerged in recent years, have an excellent ability to learn massive, high-dimensional image features and have been widely studied and applied in classification, recognition, and detection tasks involving remote sensing images. This paper uses Gaofen-1 (GF-1) and Gaofen-2 (GF-2) remote sensing images of areas with pine wood nematode disease to construct a D-CNN sample dataset, and we train five popular models (AlexNet, GoogLeNet, SqueezeNet, ResNet-18, and VGG16) through transfer learning. Finally, we use the "macroarchitecture combined with micromodules for joint tuning and improvement" strategy to improve the model structure. The results show that the transfer learning effect of SqueezeNet on the sample dataset is better than that of other popular models and that a batch size of 64 and a learning rate of 1 × 10−4 are suitable for SqueezeNet's transfer learning on the sample dataset. The improvement of SqueezeNet's fire module structure by referring to the Slim module structure can effectively improve the recognition efficiency of the model, and the accuracy can reach 94.90%. The final improved model can help users accurately and efficiently conduct remote sensing monitoring of pine wood nematode disease.


The article presents the results of research and work related to the implementation of the research and development project POIR.01.01.01-00-0120/17 co-financed by the EU, through the NCBR, entitled: Innovative technology using thermal analysis, TDA, of self-feeding manufacturing of high-quality cast iron to produce new generation, enhanced performance casts. In many foundries, thermal derivative analysis (TDA) is used in addition to chemical analysis to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of an alloy while it is still in the melting furnace or ladle and before it is poured into the mold. This fact makes it possible to improve the metallurgical quality of the alloy by introducing alloying additives, carburizers or modifiers into the furnace as part of the pre-modification or primary or secondary modification in the ladle or when pouring into molds. Foundry machinery (modifier dosing systems and spheroidizing station) is very important in these operations. Only the full synergy of modern equipment with modern technology ensures high quality and repeatability of the casting process. The article mainly discusses the obtained parameters of TDA analysis (with the use of the ITACA system) at different stages of melting and how to improve them by using modern and fully automated dosing systems (Itaca OptiDose, ItacaWire and ItacaStream). Special attention was paid to the minimum temperature of the eutectoid. The change of its value after the modification process, its influence on the quality of the melted metal, a very strong correlation with the number of nuclei and the number of graphite precipitations in the casts were shown.


Currently, disintegrators are the most effective devices for producing fine powders. However, they have a significant drawback - the rapid wear of the working elements, affecting the quality of grinding and the duration of the disintegrators without replacing them. As a result of the studies conducted, the influence of wear of working elements on the particle size distribution of crushed sand was evaluated. It was revealed that the main reason for the wear of working elements is abrasive wear caused by the sliding of particles of material on the surface of the working element at the time of their collision. In the process of grinding, the wear rate of the working elements decreases, which is associated with a change in its profile and plastic hardening of the material. An analysis of the shape of the working element showed that its impact surface during the grinding process tends to acquire a profile at which an optimal angle of collision with material particles will be ensured, while all the energy received at the time of impact is spent on splitting the material. The proposed technique can be used in studies to assess the impact of various parameters of the disintegrator and the properties of the material being ground on the degree of wear of the working elements and the quality of grinding.


At Olkaria (Kenya) geothermal energy has been used since 1981, to generate electricity and now there are currently 3 plants with a nominal capacity of 205 MW. Preliminary measurement and evaluation of possible mercury (Hg) emission from two plants has been investigated. Potential atmospheric Hg emission has been determined based on an existing model for estimating the transport of mercury along geothermal fluid flow streams as pertains to energy recovery and conversion from liquid dominated geothermal reservoirs. Hg concentrations, addition, retention and release rates were calculated at a number of locations in the geothermal power plants based on the plant operating parameters and steam flow process (turbine, condenser, non-condensable gas ejector, and cooling tower). Potential Hg emission rates through plume range from 0.455 g/h to 2.17 g/h, or 10-30 mg/h per MWe. The emission per hour per MWe is 130-300 times lower compared to Hg levels reported for 88 MWe five operating geothermal power plants around Mt. Amiata area in Italy. These emissions are coupled with a release of 1.07 kg/h per MW of hydrogen sulphide (H2S). The potential Hg release rates to the environment will depend greatly on the concentration of H2S in the system. Any higher H2S contents may reduce solubility of Hg in the brine hence making it to be available in the steam. The volatile Hg may travel with the non-condensable gases as Hg vapour.


Further development of modern high-technology production goes hand in hand with the establishment of a balance between the interests of consumers and producers. Most of this is relevant when developing and promoting innovative products with high added value to markets, especially if production is under conditions of large industrial plants, for example, the steel industry. This causes the need for a rapid response to requests by the user, but requests are not always consistent with the technological possibilities, or are beyond the known standard requirements for products, which require a certain amount of mutual adaptation of «producer-customer». On the other hand, to keep the market position in the highly competitive manufacturer must take into account not only the market needs in traditional products, but also to anticipate their development vector to produce advanced metal products. The article consideres the theoretical aspects of the Adaptive control of metal products quality. The concept of adaptive management of quality indicators on the basis of the principles of operational «technological adaptation» in terms of multivarious technological systems is suggested.


The transition between the chosen microstructure and microvariables and the material properties on the macrolevel is always a sensitive point in the theory of homogenisation. In this talk we will observe the transfer of data between the scales based on the multiscale finite element method where in each Gauss point of the macromesh a micromesh is attached. For a given deformation gradient provided from the macroscale one calculates microfluctuations satisfying periodic boundary conditions and from those the effective first Piola‐Kirchhoff stress tensor for each Gauss point. The latter provides a possibility to calculate the elasticity tensor on the macrolevel. We study a microstructure containing elliptical cracks of random aspect ratio and orientation. The results based on such procedure show the dependence of the macrovariables on the crack ellipticity. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


(15S)-15 Methyl Prostaglandin F2 Alpha (Carboprost trometha-mine) was used as an abortificient drug in early pregnancy not exceeding 49 days. Its efficacy, side effects and complications were studied and discussed.


People in the United Kingdom reported rising levels of happiness in 2012, rating their satisfaction with life significantly higher than in previous years and the things they did more worthwhile, while levels of anxiety fell.

The results are the first year by year comparison possible under the programme launched by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 2010 to measure people's wellbeing. The programme has now gathered two years' worth of data from questions answered by 65 000 people each year as part of the national household survey.1 2 3 They show that 2012 was a good year for happiness, possibly boosted by the Queen's diamond jubilee, with its …


17524 Background: Clinical and pharmacokinetic data suggest that the effect of rituximab could be improved by prolonged exposure to the drug.

METHODS
To test for this hypothesis we performed a prospective randomized trial of rituximab maintenance therapy in patients with CD20+ B-cell Non-Hodgkins-Lymphoma. After completion of standard treatment patients were randomized to either observation or maintenance therapy with rituximab (375 mg/m2) every 3 months for 2 years. Patients after first line therapy as well as relapse patients were included in the study. Patients with aggressive lymphoma were enrolled if they had achieved a complete response (CR) after initial treatment. Patients with aggressive lymphoma with residual tumor mass were examined with positrone emission tomography (PET) and qualified for randomization if PET showed no signs of tumor activity. Patients with indolent lymphoma qualified for the study if at least a partial response (PR) was achieved.

RESULTS
So far 124 patients (pts) with CD20+ B-cell Non-Hodgkins-Lymphoma were enrolled in this trial. Histological subtypes included diffuse large cell lymphoma (55 pts), follicular lymphoma (24 pts), mantle cell lymphoma (16 pts), primary mediastinal lymphoma (12 pts), marginal zone lymphoma (8 pt), Burkitt's lymphoma (3 pt), immunocytoma (2 pt), primary intestinal lymphoma (1 pt), hairy cell leukemia (1 pt), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (1 pt) and unclassified B-cell lymphoma (1 pt). No severe adverse events were observed during rituximab maintenance therapy. Results from an interim analysis including event free survival and overall survival for the observation group and for the maintenance therapy group will be presented.

CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that rituximab maintenance therapy is feasable, effective, safe and well tolerated in patients with CD20+ B-cell Non-Hodgkins-Lymphoma. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


Photostability of colloidal quantum dots (QDs) is one of the major criteria determining their long‐term applicability in energy and chemical technologies. Yet, photostability studies of QDs are extremely sensitive to experimental conditions, lack a detailed mechanistic understanding, and are time‐, material‐, and labor‐intensive. Herein, an automated microfluidic platform for accelerated photostability studies of colloidal QDs is introduced, 3.5× faster and 100× more material efficient than the conventional flask‐based studies. The developed microfluidic strategy provides real‐time in situ access to the optical properties of QDs throughout the photostability experiments. Specifically, the material‐efficient microfluidic platform is used to study the mechanism and kinetics of CdSe QDs' photodegradation. The studies suggest that a generation of singlet oxygen via triplet energy transfer from colloidal CdSe QDs can initiate photo‐oxidation of CdSe QDs. Furthermore, the presence of at least one additional photodegradation pathway of CdSe QDs parallel to the photo‐oxidation pathway is unveiled. The systematic photostability experiments reveal how the incident photon flux and the starting average diameters of CdSe QDs affect their photodegradation rates. This work sheds light on the complex and multifaceted photodegradation phenomena of colloidal CdSe QDs and illustrates the unique characteristics of microfluidic strategies to improve and accelerate photostability studies of QDs.


Tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) production, stimulated by chronic high salt (HS) intake, has been implicated in salt sensitive hypertension (SSH) though the mechanism is not yet clearly defined. TNF‐α exerts its biological responses via interaction with two cell surface receptors, TNF‐α receptor type 1 (TNFR1) and type 2 (TNFR2). While TNFR2 activation enhances renal injury, TNFR1 activation induces natriuretic response, suggesting a counter‐regulatory mechanism in SSH opposing salt retention. Earlier, we have demonstrated that the TNFR1 protein expression decreases but TNFR2 protein expression increases in renal cortical tissues during development of SSH induced by angiotensin II. We hypothesize that such differential protein expressions of TNFR1 and TNFR2 are also involved in the development of SSH induced by nitric oxide (NO) deficiency. To examine this, experiments were performed in C57BL6 strain of mice (n=7 in each group) chronically treated with or without NO synthase inhibitor, nitro‐L‐ arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME; 0.05 mg/min/gm of body weight by osmotic mini‐pump) which were fed either normal (NS; 0.4% NaCl) or HS (4% NaCl) containing diet for 6 weeks. Systemic blood pressure (SBP) was measured using tail‐cuff plethysmography and 24 hour urine collections were made using metabolic cages at the start of the experiment and at the end of every week during the experimental period. At the end of the treatment period, the mice were sacrificed and the kidneys were isolated and processed for tissue analysis. Immuno‐ histochemical analysis of TNFR1 and TNFR2 protein expressions using appropriate antibodies in renal cortical tissues was performed. The staining area as well as the intensity of TNFR1 and TNFR2 immunoreactivity in renal cortical sections was analyzed using NIS Elements Software AR (version 3.0 for Windows; Nikon), which allowed a computerized determination of the area of positive staining (μm) and the intensity of immunoreactivity (density of positive staining in an analyzed area). As usual, HS intake alone did not alter mean SBP (NS, 76 ±2.1 vs HS, 78 ±1.4 mmHg) but it caused an exaggeration of L‐NAME induced increases in mean SBP (NS, 95 ±3.9 vs HS, 104 ±2.8 mmHg; P=0.06) at the end of the 6 week treatment period. The urinary excretion rate of TNF‐α was undetected in mice at the start of the experimental period but it was increased (31±7 pg/day; P<0.05) in L‐NAME treated mice fed with HS diet for 6 weeks. As expressed in percent area of positive staining, it was observed that TNFR1 immunoreactivity is lower in L‐NAME treated mice compared to untreated mice both in NS (1.0±0.1 % vs 2.7±0.6%; P<0.05) and HS (1.4±0.2% vs 4.1±0.5%; P<0.01) intake conditions. The intensity of TNFR1 immunoreactivity also showed the similar results. TNFR2 immunoreactivity was minimal in untreated as well as in L‐NAME treated mice. Collectively, these data indicate that NO synthase inhibition downregulates TNFR1 activity in the kidney. Such decrease in TNFR1 activity minimizes TNF‐α induced natriuretic response leading to further increase in salt retention and thus, causes HS induced exaggerated hypertensive response in NO deficient condition.


By studying and analyzing the preamplifier and main amplification circuits design in photoelectric conversion circuitry,the optimum handling way for circuit amplifying,filtering,noise reduction processing was given,the purpose of the useful signal separating and outputting from the noise was achieved.The various factors affecting the stability of performance parameters from the principle of photoelectric conversion circuit design to the final plate process were discussed.The criteria and the basis were put forward for the circuit device selections,arrangement,wiring,and noise reduction methods and so on.


Ring vortex evolution, from the initial roll‐up phase through to the final turbulent phase, was experimentally studied to see the dependence of its stirring properties on both the initial (accelerating, constant, decelerating, slow, fast) piston motion as well as on the boundary (tube/hole geometry) conditions. Stirring between fluid initially upstream and that initially downstream of the nozzle plane is done more by convective entrainment at the beginning (roll‐up and contraction phases), by diffusive entrainment during the laminar and wavy phases, and by mixed entrainment and ejection during the transition to turbulence and the turbulent phase itself. During vortex roll‐up, it was found that tubes eject shorter streaklines than do holes, and that there is less Re dependence for this for tubes than for holes. During the contraction phase, entrainment ends, save for minimal entrainment due to axial inflow into the ring from along the cores of Goertler‐type vortices. Generally, the rate of fluid ejected is...


The authors reported that cerebral stroke, and hypertensive lesion of retinal blood vessel are caused in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) lowered in the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in erythrocytes. In this study, in order to elucidate the relation between functional changes of erythrocytes and damages of vascular tissues in the GSH-Px activity lowered state, methemoglobin levels, erythrocyte deforming ability, and radical removing ability were investigated. In addition, using isolated blood vessels, erythrocytes lowered in GSH-Px activity were


This study identifies some limits of current circular-economy thinking and envisages possible developments that could bring it even further, to a more holistic socio-industrial design. To examine the current progression towards more circular economic models, it focuses, in particular, on the management of undesired overflows (mostly waste, pollution, and dissipated energy). It draws from the industrial ecology literature and adopts a societal metabolism perspective to examine circularity and overflows at the levels of industrial complexes, societies, and ecosystems. It begins by reviewing how the contemporary quest for designing more sustainable industrial processes has generated a typological progression from systems pursuing linear efficiency towards those pursuing incremental and accumulated circular efficiency. This progression mirrors the evolution of natural ecosystems along three dimensions: from micro to macro, from open to close, and from simple to complex. However, although design rationales motivated by gains of efficiency can justify and propel the evolution from linear to circular-economy systems, they fall short of properly respond to complexities—including those of moral order—that lie beyond the usual realm of economic analyses. This paper proceeds therefore to inquire on further developments that could also: incorporate unaccounted economic externalities into the analyses, enlarge the language beyond the one of economic calculations, and develop design possibilities that are able to integrate economic, environmental, and social aspects into an integral and sole system. Possible examples of a holistic socio-industrial design are discussed and evaluated on their potential to eliminate undesired overflows or even subvert these into positive ones. Finally, the possible transition toward a holistic socio-industrial design is observed through lenses that go beyond the economic one s. logic as compared to professional investors that focuses on the projects' core values and legitimacy. CF has thus been welcomed as method for "riskier" sustainable ventures to gain early "seed investment". In seeking to empirically test this proposition, we propose to explore how a series of value framed campaign texts influence the potential of crowdfunders' willingness to invest in a number of hypothetical crowdfunding campaigns. These value frames derived from the Value-Belief-Norm theory on environmentally significant behaviour. Using a novel survey-based experimental design that mimics existing CF platforms, the paper proposes to explore how the respective expressed value frames influence investment behaviour and ultimately conclude which most significantly impacts the individual investments. Contributing to the literature by firstly further exploring the guiding motivations for crowdfunder investments and secondly, the contention that crowdfunder investments correlate well with sustainability-oriented projects. This paper explores the role of business cases as a tool ‐ in ‐ use for decision ‐ making processes on water management. The literature is rich on generic discussions of the business case for corporate sustainability, whereas there have been less efforts to examine the concrete use of business cases in everyday organisational life. Drawing on the practice ‐ based management literature, it is concluded that the business case tool has a decisive influence on water management activities among European food companies. However, the analysis also show the business case tool are not set in stone but can be adapted and negotiated in a number of different ways to make change happen. Empirically, the analysis is based on interviews and survey data from a European study of water management within the food sector.


The dielectric anisotropy Δe and threshold voltage Vth for electrically controlled birefringence have been measured for a series of nematic liquid crystals (binary mixtures of MBBA and PEBAB) with different negative Δe values. The threshold voltage varies as |Δe|−1/2, in agreement with theoretical predictions. The bend elastic constant K33 evaluated from these experiments is in order‐of‐magnitude agreement with recent measurements for pure MBBA.


The corrections in absorbed dose calibration for the replacement of the medium by an ionization chamber shows some discrepancies. The calibration procedures is discussed. (AIP)


BACKGROUND Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may appear after hospitalisation for surgery with general anaesthesia in elderly patients. Prevalence and risk factors in this setting are unknown. Postoperative delirium could be a risk factor. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of, and risk factors for, PTSD 3 months after surgery with general anaesthesia in elderly patients. DESIGN A prospective, clinical observational study. SETTING This study was carried out between March 2009 and May 2010 in a German university hospital in Berlin and was part of a larger study focusing on depth of anaesthesia. PATIENTS Inclusion criteria: at least 60 years of age; noncardiac surgery with general anaesthesia. Exclusion criteria: impaired preoperative cognitive function [mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score <24]; expected surgery time less than 1 h; nonproficiency in the German language. INTERVENTIONS None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Screening for PTSD 3 months after surgery using the screening instrument Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome 14-Questions Inventory Score (PTSS-14). The following risk factors for PTSD 3 months after surgery were tested: age; American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status; sex; duration of anaesthesia; postoperative delirium; PTSS-14 score 7 days after surgery; postoperative vomiting and nausea; postoperative pain; and preoperative depression. STATISTICS Univariate statistical analysis was performed with Fisher's exact test and Spearman correlation. A backward logistic regression was performed. RESULTS A total of 559 out of 1277 patients were included. Sixty-six patients (12%) were identified with PTSD 3 months after surgery. Seventy-seven patients (14%) were identified with postoperative delirium. Independent associated factors in the backward logistic regression were postoperative delirium (risk factor) and preoperative depression (protective factor). CONCLUSION The prevalence of PTSD 3 months after surgery in elderly patients was high using the screening instrument PTSS-14. Postoperative delirium is a risk factor for PTSD 3 months after surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION ISRCTN Register: 36437985. http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN36437985/


5G has significantly facilitated the development of attractive applications such as autonomous driving and telemedicine due to its lower latency, higher data rates, and enormous connectivity. However, there are still some security and privacy issues in 5G, such as network slicing privacy and flexibility and efficiency of network slicing selection. In the smart grid scenario, this paper proposes a 5G slice selection security scheme based on the Pohlig-Hellman algorithm, which realizes the protection of slice selection privacy data between User i(Ui) and Access and Mobility Management function (AMF), so that the data will not be exposed to third-party attackers. Compared with other schemes, the scheme proposed in this paper is simple in deployment, low in computational overhead, and simple in process, and does not require the help of PKI system. The security analysis also verifies that the scheme can accurately protect the slice selection privacy data between Ui and AMF.


With the development of aerospace industry, the complexity of aerospace software is increasing, and the statue of software testing is becoming more and more important. The coverage test is an important method of testing the code logic defects. In order to meet the particularity of embedded aerospace software, this paper proposes a method to improve test coverage by improving test cases, which reducing the number of test cases and improving the efficiency of testing, thereby improving the effectiveness of test coverage. Based on five kinds of optimization types, the full text reduces the number of test cases and removes redundancy in order to improve the efficiency of test cases. While improving the test coverage, the method improves overall test efficiency, finally achieves the expected effect and reduces the cost of software development.


ABSTRACT This article analyses French executives' and lawmakers' legitimisations of the intervention in Libya with the aim of understanding the discursive construction of intervention. It investigates the arguments in favour of intervention and the oppositions they were confronted with. To these arguments belong a re-evaluated democratic legacy of France, an identification with the Libyan people, and a debate on Responsibility to Protect and the rule of law in world politics, which have a broader relevance for French actorness abroad. The article applies the Essex School discourse theory and techniques from Interpretive Policy Analysis on executive speeches and parliamentary documents for structuring the debate and for estimating the strength of ideas in their interdiscursive configuration. An ideal-typical explanation of the legitimisation of intervention and of the choice of one policy over another is made. The article argues that going to war in Libya equated to a question of cultural appropriateness.


In this paper,taking environmental sciences scientific papers covered by CSSCI during 2001-2010 as data sources,the authors get 10-year environmental science partner institutions as well as the total number of inter-institutional cooperation intensity. Using statistical methods to classify the underlying data integration,using social network analysis methods to understand the entire network center aggregation trends and uniform distribution of the weights degree of cooperation,and using the centrality analysis methods to evaluate the stability and efficiency of the network cooperation as well as a variety of macro and micro characteristics,the auhtors get to understand China 's development of cooperation networks on environmental science disciplines,find the more influential organizations in environmental science disciplines,explore the scale-free characteristics of cooperation networks in environmental science,and grasp the integrity of the environmental scientific development. Accordingly,the administrative departments can make related policies,enhance the control ability over cooperation networks and promote innovative scientific and technological achievements,as has a certain significance for the development and construction of environmental science disciplines.


The invention provides an industrial automation system including an emergency stop system. The industrial automation system according to the invention includes an emergency stop system configured to interrupt power to at least a portion of an industrial control system. The industrial automation system further includes a user perceptible indicator associated with the emergency stop system that in use provides an indication to a user of an operative state of the emergency stop system.


Climatic change is a serious issue experiencing the globe today as well as the globe in the future.To be able to stop or opposite this issue, community must change, learning to improve what they use to be able to be less dangerous to the surroundings. Making structures "green" would
significantly effect this issue.There are many methods for this to be done and more methods are
being developed quickly. As these new improvements occur, the price compensate for natural developing becomes more sensible for the customer.New improvements are made daily in the area of technological innovation that are intended to save power and secure the surroundings.This is a very important time to be aware of power intake, due to international heating.Normally, there will be experts regularly creating new technological innovation in this area, but another big question is whether there should be policies that power people to create or use natural designed products.While natural developing development may appear expensive for customers, new improvements in the technological innovation area are offering progressively cost-effective alternatives.


on the culture of human articular cartilage, including the first published values for rates of proteoglycan synthesis in the human invertebral disc; J.N. Payne reviews progress in the study of uptake and transport of exogenous material by nerve cells in culture; E.M. Carey and colleagues describe the acquisition and differentiation of oligodendrocytes in re-aggregating glial cell cultures; and J.M. Polak and S.R. Bloom discuss the use of tumour cell cultures for understanding neuroendocrine biology. It could be said that much of this work involves fundamental biomedical research, in which in vitro approaches are the methods of choice for scientific reasons. However, the final four chapters are more directly concerned with the replacement of animal procedures, in toxicity testing. Peter Bach reviews changes in cultured cells exposed to toxic chemicals, with specific reference to the kidney; R.C. Garner discusses methods for estimating levels of carcinogen-macromolecular binding in tissues as a basis for assessing carcinogen exposure in man; and J.W. Payne describes the use of engineered strains of Escherichia coli as an alternative to animal assays for available amino acids in foods and feedstuffs. However, it was the chapter by C. Rhodes, G.J.A. Oliver, M.A. Pemberton and R.C. Scott which I found most stimulating and provocative. Rhodes et al. discuss the background to acute in vivo toxicity studies and the pressure for replacement in vitro alternatives to methods such as the LD50 and Draize eye irritancy tests. They have been involved in the development of in vitro methods at the Central Toxicology Laboratory at ICI, but their view of their potential value, at least in the foreseeable future, is strictly limited: as prescreening tests, they can be used to make judgements about progress to the next (live animal) stage; this could result in the total avoidance of animal tests or the use of modified tests with fewer animals, but they are unlikely to be accepted as the only assessment of acute toxicity and irritancy. While we can understand a degree of defensiveness in industrial toxicologists responsible for advising their companies on the potential hazard of chemicals handled or produced within their factories, this article represents a challenge to all that the Humane Research Trust and FRAME stand for. Yes, we can welcome reduction and refinement, and we can appreciate the value of pre-screens but total replacement must remain our goal. Rhodes et al. do not convince me that we lack realism. I also question a number of points of detail in this article. First, I agree that cytotoxicity ID50 values for certain types of chemicals may allow us to put them into the classification categories required for producing safety data information sheets and labelling for containers. However, I do not think it is acceptable to use these broad classification categories as the basis for a semiquantitative comparison of in vivo data and the results of in vitro tests. Since the in vivo categories are based on numerical values, why not use them? Secondly, the in vivo/in vitro validation data presented for the detection of both skin and ocular BOOK REVIEWS