A microprocessor based control system for a pulse width modulated thyristor inverter motor drive is described. The system is used to operate a 50KVA Reliance variable speed drive which has a modified McMurray inverter circuit. The basis of this control system is a single 8085 microprocessor with 4K bytes of EPROM. The control scheme developed employs sinusoidal pulse modulation using a triangular wave as the carrier. The system can use any pulse width modulation technique in which the thyristor firing order and the interval between successive firings can be calculated in advance. Descriptions of how the control scheme is implemented, the hardware configuration and the software routine are provided. The experimental results are also presented and discussed.


In this work, we have explored optimum fabrication condition by a solution processing method for 3 at.% Si-doped indium oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs). In-Si-O (ISO) thin films were investigated by X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques, and the operation of TFTs was characterized by a conventional three-probe method. XRR results suggested that as the annealing temperature increased, the film thickness decreased. In addition, according to XRD measurement, the ISO film started crystalline from 850°C regardless the film thickness. The best ISO TFT showed the value of VT of-5 V, µ of1.32 cm2/Vs, SS of1 V/dec, and on/off current ratio about 107.


The unparalleled military, economic and cultural power of the United States gives it the capacity to impact hugely on global health, both negatively and positively. Many people feel that the balance sheet is negative despite the large amounts of aid the US has given to the developing world. They cite, among other things, US influence over the design of a global political economy that has widened inequalities and obstructed poverty alleviation; multiple examples of US foreign policy undermining democracy and fuelling conflict; the use of military force and other means to secure control of strategic natural resources; the hindering of efforts to tackle climate change; and opposition to the International Criminal Court. This view of the US is at odds with its image of itself and the role it projects onto the global landscape – that of the leader of the free and democratic world; benevolent and principled; and the largest contributor of official development assistance. This chapter provides a contribution to this discussion by looking at various aspects of US foreign assistance, as well as US policy in certain priority global health challenges. A longer and more detailed version of this chapter is available from the GHW website.


We consider a class of models of non-equilibrium electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometers built on integer quantum Hall edges states. The models are characterized by the electron-electron interaction being restricted to the inner part of the interferometer and transmission coefficients of the quantum quantum point contacts, defining the interferometer, which may take arbitrary values from zero to one. We establish an exact solution of these models in terms of single-particle quantities --- determinants and resolvents of Fredholm integral operators. In the general situation, the results can be obtained numerically. In the case of strong charging interaction, the operators acquire the block Toeplitz form. Analyzing the corresponding Riemann-Hilbert problem, we reduce the result to certain singular single-channel determinants (which are a generalization of Toeplitz determinants with Fisher-Hartwig singularities), and obtain an analytic result for the interference current (and, in particular, for the visibility of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations). Our results, which are in good agreement with experimental observations, show an intimate connection between the observed "lobe" structure in the visibility of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations and multiple branches in the asymptotics of singular integral determinants.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the demographic and psychographic characteristics of older green tea consumers in the USA. By understanding this segment's background, perceptions, and behaviors, health and marketing professionals can tailor messages to reach clients and consumers.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey was completed in January 2014 with 1,335 older adult consumers (=55 years old). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and binomial logistic regression.

Findings

More than half (n=682, 51.2 percent) of respondents drank green tea. Most green tea consumers in this sample are college-educated and employed female home owners. The odds for green tea consumption are greater if a respondent is in good health, was informed about diet and health, or made a health-related dietary change in the past year. There are greater odds of consumption if the respondent is familiar with the relationship between drinking green tea and the reduced risk of cancer however, the importance of health statements on product labels are not predictive of consumption.

Research limitations/implications

This study was conducted in the USA and with older adults. Future research should explore characteristics of younger consumers, i.e. 18-54 years old.

Practical implications

Health educators, regulators, and marketing professionals may use this profile to tailor messages that speak to consumers and client's values and motivations.

Originality/value

To the authors' knowledge, this is the first profile of older adult green tea consumers in the USA.


Although Nabokov enjoyed high acclaim as a serious artist, his work never pretended to the high seriousness of "moral fiction." Yet he obviously intended, through his forbidding forewords and enticing texts, to invite his readers to reflect on the engagement with "reality" that serious fiction encourages. With principled wit, his compositions shatter the durable illusion that "realistic" characters and readers can somehow cocreate the structures that hold them captive. Nabokov's characteristic refusal to finish off his compositions frees both characters and readers to create a posttextual existence. His novel Invitation to a Beheading, although often misunderstood as a transparent allegory, is an opaque parable that resists the complicity of writer and reader, of leader and follower, to execute identities and meanings. Nabokov's modernistic narrative—as much as, if not more than, the conventional moral fictions of mimetic realism—is an ethical form that values the irreducible density of human experience.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the ways in which the regulation of the telecommunications sector has contributed to the economic development of the Romanian economy (as an example of a transition economy).Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes a case study approach, considering Romanias's transition to a market economy, a description of the telecommunications market, and demand characteristics of the mobile market.Findings – The paper highlights the significant role that has been played by the mobile sector in terms of providing basic telephony services and in developing innovative services. The paper links the growth in the SME sector to the growth in the provision of mobile services. The paper also discusses the issue of a failed incumbent operator and how delays in embracing tariff reform in an increasing competitive environment have hindered the ability of the incumbent to compete and reform its activities.Research limitations/implications – The paper highlights the advantages...


This report analyzes trends in wood fuel use within the city limits of Seattle and Spokane (Washington) and in the greater Portland (Oregon) metropolitan area. Short-term (through 1985) and long-term (through 2000) trend projections are presented. Short-term projections were made based on volumes of firewood removed from the nearest national forest(s) and average heating season nephelometer light scattering coefficient (Bscat), normalized for temperature and meteorological effects for two sites in the Portland areas and one site in Seattle. For long-term projections of wood fuel use, a state-of-the-art model was adapted and applied to simulate wood fuel use during 1970-2000. This model calibrated well against limited available data on actual wood use. The model projects increasing or decreasing wood fuel use based primarily upon the magnitude of potential fuel cost savings from heating with wood versus other fuels.


The effects of benazepril on P42/44MAPK, angiotensin Ⅱ expression in renal tissue and renal pathological change of the experimental diabetic rats were assessed and the possible mechanism of benazepril's renoprotective effect was explored. Adult male Wistar rats, 11-12 weeks age,weighing initially 160 to 200 g were randomly allocated into 2 groups: control group (A, n=6) and experimental group (n= 12). Diabetic rats in experimental group were rendered diabetic by intraperitoneal injection of Streptozotocin (60 mg/kg body weight), and randomly subdivided into B group (diabetic control) and C group (diabetic rats treated with benazepril, 6 mg/kg every day).Studies were performed 8 weeks after induction of diabetes. Twenty-four h urine of every rat was collected to detect urine creatinine. Serum glucose concentration and serum creatinine were determined by collecting blood samples from the inferior vena cava. Body and kidney weight were recorded. Creatinine clearance (Ccr) and ratio of kidney weight to body weight were calculated. Plasma and renal tissue angiotensin Ⅱ concentration was assayed by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The phospo-p44/42MAPK protein expression was detected by Western-blot. The results showed that benazepril had no significant effect on the blood glucose level in diabetic rats in two experimental groups.Ccr and ratio of kidney weight to body weight were increased in group B (P<0. 01) as coapared with normal rats at the end of the 8th week. At the end of the 8th week, Ccr in group C was lower than that in group B (P<0.01). The ratio of kidney weight to body weight in group C was lower than that in group B at the 8th week. There were glomeruli hypertrophy and slight or moderate mesangium proliferation in diabetic rats, while there was fragmentally proliferative mesangium in group C at the end of the 8th week. Renal tissue angiotensin Ⅱ concentration was significantly increased in group B, while benazepril could significantly decrease the concentration of angiotensin Ⅱ in renal tissue. The ex


Purpose of the study: To our knowledge, only qualitative data is available concerning the tension placed on the first carpometacarpal ligaments as a function of joint motion. The three articles published in the literature have provided discordant data. We conducted a quantitative study. Material and methods: Digitalized computed tomographies of the carpometacarpal joints magnified threefold were fed to a Stratasys® machine which created a rapid «polystyrene shock» prototype of the first and second metacarpals as well as the trapezium and the trapezoid. After a preliminary study of the behavior observed with various materials, rubber with known consistency was used to simulate the different ligaments. The first metacarpal was submitted to six movements in defined directions starting from the neutral position (in accordance with Pieron, 1973). Ligament lengthening observed for each movement from the resting position of the first metacarpal was used to define the direction producing the greatest lengthening. This lengthening was measured directly with a graduated ruler under 2.5 x optical magnification. Results: The anterior oblique ligament was under tension in the positions close to extension (positions L and D). The posterior oblique ligament was under tension in the position of ulnar finger opposition and in volar abduction (positions K and F). The inter-osseous ligament was under ension in volar abduction, opposition and flexion (positions F, K, J). A complex behavior was observed, best described by two portions, medial and lateral. Discussion: This preliminary study on a model system depended on the interpretation of the ligament and joint surface anatomy. The method of creating joint motion described by Pieron enables comparison between two studies but does not correspond to the physiological position. Conclusion: For a small-sized joint, magnification of the bony pieces and use of optical magnification facilitates apprehension of ligament lengthening during joint motion. This method can be used to better assess maximal range of motion according to ligament deformations observed in relation to joint solicitation.


The temperature distributions and concentration distributions of reactant gas in a horizontal epitaxial reactor were investigated experimentally and theoretically in the high flow rate range, that is, Q= 10-60 l/min (20°C, 1 atm, Re=160-1400). The temperature and concentration distributions in the reactor in the case of no axial temperature gradient in the high flow rate range were between the calculated distributions for spiral flow and the calculated distributions for axial flow with no cross-sectional flow. When the flow rate is less than 20 l/min, the temperature and concentration distributions are approximately calculated by the fundamental equations in the case of stable spiral flow. However, when the flow rate is larger than 50 l/min, these distributions are approximately calculated by the fundamental equations in the case of axial flow with no cross-sectional flow. An empirical equation for the estimation of gas temperature distributions in the high flow rate range was obtained.


As matter of fact,the problem of over-higher education has taken place in China,which is a kind of structural over education and displays as followings: difficult employment for undergraduate students,declined level for both salary and employment.The causes for the occurrence of this problem are lower price supply of higher education as public goods from Chinese government as well as its macro-higher education policy,both society and individuals excessive pursuing or consumption of higher education with non-manpower capacity factor or wrong signals.The over-higher education gets rise in huge waste of the very scarce resource of China's higher education.Therefore,the sate should prospect and control it in a macroscopic view.


The paper aims to examine how trade rules aff ect a much greater array of domestic policies and institutions than ever before. The expanding scope of trade policy places an additional strain on policymaking and institution-building, especially for developing countries. By analysing WTO accession cases, the paper concludes that this process can, under certain conditions, induce countries to establish or improve trade-related institutions. The diff erence-in-diff erence analysis is employed as the empirical model. Results are robust with alternative model specifi cations and choice of economic policies and institutional variable. However, the accession process lacks mechanisms which take account of acceding countries' diff ering levels of economic development and institutional capacity, placing a heavier burden of implementation policy and institutional reform and related costs on countries with limited human, administrative and fi nancial resources such as LDCs.


The following issues remain to be debated and decided on in the formulation of a national health service program for the United States: 1)the role and interrelationships between the various levels of government voluntary agencies and professional societies; 2)the extent of coverage of the population; and 3) regional plans for the organization and delivery of services. Basic principles in formulating any national health plan are: 1)health care must be considered a universal right; 2)preventive care must be included free of charge; and 3)quality and cost controls are needed. To assist planners in the United States national health programs in Sweden and Britain are considered in detail.


ABSTRACT The Somerset Levels and Moors comprise low-lying farmland in south-west England, prone to seasonal flooding. The area suffered uncommonly severe floods in 2012 and 2013/2014, triggering high-profile debates about the area's long-term future. The article focuses on the experiences of the floods in one village, Muchelney. Drawing on mixed methods, this interdisciplinary study examines physical and social routines, and how these were disrupted, adapted or reinforced. Indications of adaptability, resourcefulness and hierarchy emerge. The examination of routines draws on modest material representations sought out after the events took place, to illustrate how the floods submerged the landscape's physical geometry and disrupted mobility, but also presented new conduits. Within the trauma of isolation and inundation, prolonged media scrutiny revealed a range of gendered, hierarchical and uncomfortable social experiences that complement evidence of a resilient community pulling together and learning to cope among the upending of normal life.


Dr. Moore then showed X-ray films of the stump of a tuberculous ureter which was causing the continuation of symptoms after nephrectomy for a tuberculous kidney. The specimen removed at operation was also shown. Since the second operation the patient's symptoms had already been ameliorated. Dr. Moore said that this patient illustrated the usual procedure adopted at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in nephrectomy for tuberculosis. At, the primary operation the kidney and as much, of the ureter as could be easily reached were removed through the usual loin incision. As a rule there was no further trouble from the stump of the ureter; but every now and then a patient did have trouble, as in the case demonstrated. In these circumstances it was held that a second operation some months later for removal of the remainder of the ureter was the proper treatment and did .not impose such a strain on the patient as an .attempt to deal with the whole of the ureter at the first operation. •


uf economic development training instiGermany. tutes. 10-21 International conference on the use of I'ale University, quantitative data in cross-national compaU.S.A. rative research (convened by the Interna_ ,, ,, tional Social Science Council). ' j'~'-~ : ~'-~~''J~:; ' _:E ~ 17-27 Seventh General Assembly of the InternaMexico City, tiunal Council for Philosophy and HumanMexico. istic Studies. 19-24 Annual Round Table, International PolitiOxford, cal Science Association. England. 25 Symphosium on the education aspects Unesco, of space research and communications Paris. ,


In[1],the Kothe nuclear sequence spaces are described and in[2]the characte-rization of the semi-nuclear and the barreled locally convex spaces by the boundedvariation of functions respectively.In this paper several kinds of bounded variationof operator-valued functions are studied. Let X and Y are Banach spaces,T(t):[0,1]→L(X,Y)be a operator-valued fun-ction.We called T(t)be uniformly bounded variation,if there exist a constantM>0,such that for any partition △:0=t 0 1 n =1 we have


This paper re views traditional. historical and arc haeological evidence about the use of dogs for hu nt ing in the South Island. mainly the so uthern region. It is concluded that hunting dogs may have played a significa nt role in moa ext inctio n.


Decision trees are a class of machine learning algorithms that are praised for their ease of interpretability and versatility. Recently, an integer programming formulation using categorical variables has been devised by G¨unl¨uk et al. (2018), called Optimal Decision Trees (ODT), which has good computational and classification results. We scrutinise their findings and devise a framework to construct decision trees more thoroughly and investigate its suitability for economic contexts. We find that the ODT technique proposed by G¨unl¨uk et al. (2018) shows good performance and computational efficiency, except for the dataset imbalance correction factor. Also, feature selection can be advantageous and K-fold cross-validation improves the validity of the accuracy estimates. When applying the framework to economic contexts, one has to beware that the model needs re-estimation frequently. We conclude that ODT is a good technique that can handle classification problems well, also in economic contexts.


The goal of the study 'Fitness to drive with cognitive impairments' (FitCI) is tofind a reliable, valid, and rehabilitation-oriented Dutch method for the assessment of the fitness to drive of drivers in general and drivers with cognitive function disorders more in particular. This method must meet the requirements of the Dutch Committee on Tests and Testing (COTAN) of the Dutch Association of Psychologists (NIP). To this end a neuropsychological test battery is composed which, together with an anamnesis and heteroanamnesis and a series of drives in a driving simulator, is considered to make a reliable and valid assessment of the fitness to drive of people with cognitive function impairments. This report describes the choices that were made for the composition of the neuropsychological test battery. In the next phase of the FiTCI project, the validity and the reliability of the method — the neuropsychological test battery, (hetero)anamnesis and simulator drives combined — will be tested by comparing the method's assessments of fitness to drive with the judgements that are made based on the driving test 'practical ability' which is held by the Dutch Driving Test Organisation (CBR). This report may be accessed by Internet users at: http://www.swov.nl/rapport/D-2012-03.pdf


The raison d'etre for this publication is to serve the professional financial planning community. So it is a safe bet that you, the financial planners reading this publication, would consider yourselves to be professionals. If so, you should be extremely alarmed by proposals, advocated by sections of the financial services industry, to dilute the best interests duty as part of the review of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms.


We discuss the application of new techniques for the identification of smooth models of many variables. Based on the Gamma test, these non-parametric methods enable us to quickly evaluate, prior to model construction, an estimate for the best mean-squared error that can be achieved by a smooth model on unseen data for a given selection of inputs. By examining this estimate for alternative selections of inputs, we show how the best choice of inputs for modelling a particular target output can be selected. We also discuss how the distribution of the data in input space and the complexity of the unknown function that we seek to model influence the size of the required data set. The techniques have been implemented in a Windows application called winGamma licensed by the University of Wales, Cardiff. We demonstrate some typical winGamma analyses for time series prediction, including chaotic time series with lags.


This paper had reported the application of HACCP system in ferment dairy products. All hazard factors which possibly affect the product quality were analyzed by physical,chemical and biological methods,the critical control points,critical limits. supervise system and correct measures were set up in order to improve on ferment dairy quality.


Purpose To examine the impact of enhanced early discharge on families experiencing repaired hip fracture in an older adult. Design Qualitative Sample Convenience sample of 23 care recipients over the age of 60 years who had experienced a hip fracture and their caregivers. Methods Families were incerviewed 4 to 6 weeks postdischarge from the hospital. Prior to the interview a questionaire designed to measure intra-family strain was mailed to the main caregiver. The resulting narratives were analyzed for recurring themes. Findings A high number of clients and their families experienced a high degree of mismatched care, especially in relation to care received by nursing staff. This perception was not influenced greatly by location (i.e. hospital or community) and was exacerbated during periods of transition. Conclusion Heightened communication involving clients and families, especially during transition from hospital to home, may lessen family/client perceptions of mismatched care. Implications for Nursing Research Communication methods. role clarification of the professional nurse, and the ability to provide more holistic care during transition phases of health care are areas that need to be explored and developed.


A British feminist is sounding the alarm about the effects on teenagers of easy access to pornography, saying that a skewed view of sex is becoming the norm in society and the idea of intimacy is dying. ... For an increasing number of young people, pornography is no longer something that goes alongside sex but something that precedes sex. Before they have touched another person sexually or entered into any kind of sexual relationship, many children have seen hundreds of adult strangers having sex.


11602 Background: Non-Medical opioid use is a growing crisis. Cancer patients at risk of harmful use of prescribed opioids are frequently underdiagnosed. The aim was to develop a nomogram to predict the probability of occurrence of Inappropriate opioid use that is, presence of SOAPP ≥ 7) among patients receiving outpatient supportive care consultation at a comprehensive cancer center. Methods: 3588 consecutive cancer patients referred to a supportive care clinic from March 1, 2016 to July 15, 2018 were reviewed. Patients were eligible if they had diagnosis of cancer, and were on opioids for pain for at least a week. All patients were assessed using Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale with spiritual pain and financial distress (ESAS-FS), MEDD (morphine equivalent daily dose), SOAPP-14 (validated questionnaire for assessment of risk of inappropriate opioid use, and CAGE-AID (screening questionnaire for alcoholism/substance use disorder). Patients at with SOAPP+ were defined by SOAPP score ≥7. A nomogram was devised based on the risk factors determined in the multivariate logistic regression model and it can be used to estimate the probability of inappropriate opioid use. Results: Median age was 62yrs. Median ESAS pain item score on consultation was 5, Median ECOG was 2.20.4% were SOAPP+ and 10.1% were CAGE-AID+. SOAPP+ was significantly associated with gender, race, marital status, smoking status, depression, anxiety, financial distress, MEDD and CAGE score. The C-index is 0.8(CI 0.78, 0.82). A nomogram was developed. For example, for a male Hispanic patient, who is married, never smoked, with the following ESAS scores: (depression = 3, anxiety = 3, financial distress = 8), CAGE score of 0, and MEDD of 20, the total score is 9+9+0+0+6+10+26+0+1 = 61. In the nomogram a score of 58 indicates the probability of inappropriate opioid use being 0.1 and a score of 88 indicates the probability of 0.2. Based on the patient's total score of 61, the probability of his aberrant behavior is between 10% to 20% (close to 10%). Conclusions: A nomogram can predict the risk of inappropriate opioid use in cancer patients.


The Female Mind: A User's Guide, edited by Abel and Ramsay, is a much-needed, holistic resource for both laypeople and clinicians about the mental well-being of women. It is divided into five parts, each comprising chapters eloquently written by experts. Part I. Women in perspective considers the many facets of what it means to be a woman in ancient and contemporary society, and how this evolves throughout their life. Parts II and III, Women in society and Women and their environment, go on to explore several sociocultural circumstances and environmental factors that affect a woman and how they may negatively affect their mental health. Parts IV and V, Women and specific disorders and Women and treatment, take individual disorders and explore how they are experienced by women before discussing treatment options and patients' perspectives on these services. Although many sociocultural factors influencing a woman's mental health are discussed throughout the text, the role of LGBTQ+ identity is overlooked. This seems an unfortunate omission given that the text explores the psychological stress that societal expectations of a woman's lifestyle can bring, yet fails to acknowledge the diversity of a 'queer' lifestyle and the associated oppression. Further, although the editors acknowledge 'gender fluidity' in the introduction, the text later refers to 'both genders' (p. 152); reinforcing the oppressive concept of binary gender. Perhaps the greatest strength of this book is its ability to empower educated women to develop an understanding of how societal and environmental circumstances may make them vulnerable to mental health issues as well as aiding in understanding particular illnesses they may experience. Furthermore, chapters end with concise sections detailing self-help options for women, further support that may be available when experiencing difficulties and advice for loved ones on how best to provide care. Another great asset of this book is the inclusion of the lived experience of women in similar situations throughout the text. I believe the openness of each story helps readers to understand the diversity of experience and hardship a woman may have, and how such issues can often be resolved. In addition, I believe each story contributes to destigmatisation of the vulnerabilities women face in mental health or otherwise. Finally, I thank all contributors for this fantastic and unique text and would strongly recommend it to anyone who wishes to gain a more comprehensive understanding of The Female Mind.


Teaching archives play an important part in the quality,the reform,and the management of instruction.There are some problems existing the teaching archives because of the high mobility of teachers and students,and the old fashioned facilities of instructional Hospital.The great attention and improvement of the management of the teaching archives are favorable to give play to the teaching archives in the instructional management and activities.


The matric suction within unbound granular materials (UGMs) can be small when compared with cohesive soil, however suction can influence the engineering behavior of UGMs. Unfortunately, there are few studies on the potential matric suction in UGMs. This paper presents matric suctions for seven recycled products and one virgin aggregate. The products were recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) and recycled clay masonry blended with RCA. The percentage of masonry in the blended materials varied between 10% and 30% by mass. Soil water characteristic curves (SWCC) were established for each material by preparing samples at various moisture contents and measuring matric suction with filter papers in contact with the soil. In order to define the wet end of the SWCC, further samples were conditioned on a tension plate using a hanging water column. The recycled products had suctions higher than the virgin aggregate at an equivalent moisture state. Air entry values and residual suctions were determined for each material. Three published models were applied to fit SWCCs to the experimental data. Generally these models provided good fits to the data for each UGM. The influence of matric suction on both resilient modulus and permanent strain of the recycled materials are presented.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between the financial performance of Islamic finance and economic growth in all of Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Turkey and Saudi Arabia within the endogenous growth model framework. Design/methodology/approach – This study applied dynamic panel system GMM to estimate the impact of the financial performance of Islamic finance on economic growth using quarterly data (2014:1-2018:4). CAMELS system parameters were employed as variables of the financial performance of Islamic finance and gross domestic product (GDP) as a proxy of economic growth. The sample contained all Islamic banks working in the five countries. Findings – The findings demonstrated that the only significant factor of the financial performance of Islamic finance, which affects the endogenous economic growth, is profitability through return on equity (ROE). The experimental findings also indicated the necessity of stimulating other financial performance factors of Islamic finance to achieve a significant contribution to economic growth. Practical implications – The analysis in this paper would fill the literature gap by investigating the link between financial performance of Islamic finance and economic growth, as this study serves as a guide for the academicians, researchers and decision-makers who want to achieve economic growth through stimulating Islamic finance in the banking sector. However, this study may well be extended to investigate the link between the financial performance of Islamic finance and economic growth over the Z-score model as another measure for the financial performance of Islamic finance. Originality/value – This paper is the first that investigates the link between financial performance of Islamic finance and economic growth empirically using CAMELS parameters within the endogenous growth model to provide robust information about this link based on a sample of the top pioneer Islamic finance countries.


Subject Matter: The preservation of the environment for future generations and the achievement of other «sustainable development» goals consented by all the states within the the UN have given birth in the XXI century to the «Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)» standards, which are increasingly used with respect to either grant financial support to business entities. However, the introduction of ESG standards is accompanied by a number of negative consequences (an increase of the regulatory burden on business etc.), which led to a movement towards the consolidation of the opposite anti-ESG standards. The article explores the anti-ESG standards principally basing on the example of legal systems of the USA States, where they are introduced into parliamentary and subordinate legislation. Methods: The research was conducted using classical general scientific and special legal methods of cognition (historical, systemic, formal, etc.) in conjunction with an interdisciplinary approach (appraisal of legal phenomena in view of economic and political factors). Novelty: The article is the first attempt in Russian legal science to analyze, systematize and evaluate the essence and significance of anti-ESG standards in foreign legislation and law enforcement practice. Conclusions: Nowadays the American federalism is facing the legal competition between «pro-ESG» and «anti-ESG» rules at the States' level. The results of this competition is worth monitoring in Russia and other countries in order to develop their own approaches to the legal regulation of sustainable development including ESG (or anti-ESG) standards.


Bioassay-guided fractionation of a hexane extract obtained from the leave of Azorellabiloba led to the isolation of the diterpene natural productmulen- 11,13-dien-20-oico (1). Inhibitory activity root growth was tracked using a Ipomea purpurea and zea mais.


Theoretical dynamic modelling of friction clutches and principles of application of this
model at drive systems is presented in this paper. Provided that the friction clutch consists
of two rigid shafts connected only by friction, we face with the problem simulation of drive
systems. Drive systems have no unique dynamic model due to the fact that the model
of the whole system on the transitional process of the engagement of the clutch is quite
different from that when the driving and driven shafts are connected rigidly. So the task
is to create an unique model and to present the principles of application of this model for
drive systems.


Objective To observe the expression and role of HSP70 in human epidermis and cutaneous neoplasms.Methods 56 cases of epidermis tumors,including 29 biopsy samples from basal cell carcinoma, 27 from squamous cell carcinoma,and 30 from normal human skin were investigated. HSP70 expression was examined by immunohistochemical SABC staining with specific monoclonal antibodies.Results The expression of HSP70 was detectable in the cytoplasm throughout the epidermal cell layers in normal human epidermis,HSP70 expression in the tumor cells in basal and squamous cell carcinomas was reduced (P0 01). The nucleus of part tumor cells in basal and squamous cell carcinomas had moderate HSP70 expression.Conclusions Reduction of HSP70 expression is significantly correlated with cutaneous neoplasms. Nucleus positive expression of HSP70 could contribute to the malignant growth of keratinocytes.


This research paper intends to draw conclusions about the profile of the compulsive gamblers attended to in the Family Guidance Centre of Leon from 1991 to 2004. Starting from a theoretical study on compulsive gambling, pathological gambling and the process of gambling addiction, and presented to the general service which is offered by the COF and the specific service in reference to compulsive gamblers, we focused on the study of the protocol applied by social workers along the first interviews before each treatment is started. The variables that have been studied are: dynamics of access to the Centre, identification details, family antecedents, personal antecedents, family background, social and work background, characteristics of their illness, clinical consequences, external consequences.


The reactions of the multipion production in np-interactions were studied at the momenta of incident neutrons from 1.73 to 5.20 GeV/c. The pions multiplicity of the studied reactions was from 2 to 6. It was shown that the characteristics of the reactions were satisfactory described within the framework of OPER-model (One Pion Reggeizied Exchange). Additionally the diagrams of one baryon exchange (OBE) were used for a better description of the data at the momenta of incident neutrons below 3 GeV/c.


Hearing complaints are common following traumatic brain injury (TBI) even in the absence of peripheral auditory impairment. Study goals were to explore the mechanisms which underlie this complaint. Adult listeners with a history of mild TBI or concussion were compared to young and age-matched controls. All listeners had normal or near-normal audiometric thresholds. Listeners with TBI reported difficulty understanding speech in noise. We hypothesized that hearing complaints after TBI are related to damage to neural pathways resulting in degraded temporal resolution. A battery of psychophysical tasks were used to test this hypothesis, specifically: monaural temporal fine structure, to evaluate temporal coding of unresolved harmonics; binaural temporal fine structure, to evaluate temporal coding of a low-frequency sinusoid; interaural coherence, to evaluate sensitivity to the similarity of a correlated broadband noise; and masking level difference, to evaluate the ability to take advantage of interaural phas...


The main challenges facing manufacturing companies, both now and increasingly in the future are: increasing competition, mainly through overcapacity; changing relationships with business stakeholders; increasingly demanding customers; growth in new technology; global distribution of design and production; environmental legislation; and political and economic factors. Here, the authors argue that in order to address these issues and remain (or become) successful, manufacturing companies need to respond in the following ways: be more responsive to changing markets; be more customer focused; be adaptable to new situations; form alliances and partnerships; manage the strategic supply chain; minimise the time-to-market of new products; and utilize the developing technologies for global communication.


This paper presents a single-phase ac-dc-ac converter circuit that uses solar energy to charge a dc voltage source of dc-Link. The proposed circuit structure of the system is a single-phase ac-dc-ac circuit topology consisting of six-switch devices for charging power from the ac input voltage source to charge the dc-link voltage and drive the output voltage signal. The output ac voltage signal driving can be driven in buck or boost mode which the level of voltage and frequency are adjustable. To reduce energy consumption through the main ac input voltage, the proposed system can supplement the voltage source from the solar energy source by energy charging control to dc-link voltage either positive or negative voltage. It causes the system to receive power from two sources for output voltage driving. A detailed topology analysis is presented followed by simulation results to verify the advantages of the proposed converter system.


Professor P. J. Zoetmulder has already taught us, in his "Survey of Old Javanese Literature" appropriately entitled Kalangwan, "Beauty" (Zoetmulder 1974: 151-165), to appreciate the figure of the poet (kawi) as a man of letters in the setting of his times and culture. Taking his information from the literature itself, he has given us a picture of the poet as practitioner of the "cult of beauty", as it flourished in and around the courts of early Java. And so we are able to catch a glimpse of a fragile world of particular charm. It may even be possible to take his account a step further, but in order to do that it is first necessary to limit the scope of our discussion in time, and accordingly I wish to devote some comments to the state of the arts in the Majapahit period (defined roughly as the 14th and 15th centuries). During this time a line of Hindu kings ruled at Majapahit in East Java. From surviving works of Old Javanese literature we know that leading poets often worked under the patronage of kings or members of the royal family. Is it perhaps possible to say something more about the nature of the relationship between royalty and the court and the prac tice of the arts, including poetry? (It hardly needs to be stressed that poetry is only one of the arts that were cultivated at court.) Evidence on this point is to be had from the Old Javanese prose work Nawanatya. Selections from this have been published by Pigeaud1 ; although it is unfortunate that he did not reproduce the whole text, this contains a passage that is of considerable interest for Javanese cultural history. The Nawanatya is available apparently in one MS.


There are at the present time two major approaches to moral education which have arisen out of the theory and research of KohIberg and his colleagues. The firs t to appear, the moral discuss ion approach , began as a result of the efforts of Moshe Blatt , a doctoral student of Kohlberg's who attempted to stimulate development through the discuss ion of hypothetical dilemmas in his Sunday School class . The second , the just community approach, originated in a women's correctional institution and was later applied to high school settings. The moral discussion approach clearly grew out of Kohlberg 's psychological investigations into moral development. The very dilemmas which Kohlberg used to assess an individual's moral stage were appropriated for classroom use in order lo stimulate stage development. The just community approach while drawing in part from Kohlberg's psychological research represents other important theoretical considerations , considerations which have important implications for future research in moral development and education.


We analyze the pT spectra of π±, K±, p, and p¯ produced in different centralities' Au-Au collisions at different collision energies from 7.7 to 62.4 GeV using a two-component Erlang distribution in the framework of a multi-source thermal model. The fitting results are consistent with the experimental data, and the yield ratios of negative to positive particles are obtained from the normalization constants. Based on the yield ratios, the chemical potentials of light hadrons (π, K, and p) and quarks (u, d, and s) are extracted. This study shows that only the yield ratios of p decrease with the increase in centrality. The logarithms of these yield ratios in the same centrality show obvious linear dependence on 1/sNN. The extracted chemical potentials (the absolute magnitude for π) of light hadrons and quarks decrease with the increase in energy. The curves of chemical potential vs. energy for all centralities derived from the linear fits of the logarithms of the yield ratio as a function of energy have their maximum (the absolute magnitude for π) at the same energy of 3.526 GeV, which is possibly the critical energy of phase transition from a liquid-like hadron state to a gas-like quark state in the collision system.


PurposeThe heat transfer properties play significant roles in the thermal comfort of the clothing products. The purpose of this paper is to find the relationship between heat transfer properties and fabrics' structure, yarn properties and predict the effective thermal conductivity of single layer woven fabrics by a parametric mathematical model.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the weave unit was divided into four types of element regions, including yarn overlap regions, yarn crossing regions, yarn floating regions and pore regions. Second, the number and area proportion of each region were calculated respectively. Some formulas were created to calculate the effective thermal conductivity of each element region based on serial model, parallel model or series–parallel mixing model. Finally, according to the number and area proportion of each region in weave unit, the formulas were established to calculate the fabric overall effective thermal conductivity in thickness direction based on the parallel models.FindingsThe influences of yarn spacing, yarn width, fabric thickness, the compressing coefficients of air layers and weave type on the effective thermal conductivity were further discussed respectively. In this model, the relationships between the effective thermal conductivity and each parameter are some polynomial fitting curves with different orders. Weave type affects the change of effective thermal conductivity mainly through the numbers of different elements and their area ratios.Originality/valueIn this model, the formulas were created respectively to calculate the effective thermal conductivity of each element region and whole weave unit. The serial–parallel mixing characteristics of yarn and surrounding air are considered, as well as the compression coefficients of air layers. The results of this study can be further applied to the optimal design of mixture fabrics with different warp and filling yarn densities or different yarn thermal properties.


A methanol solution of the Tc(VI) complex (Ph 4 As)[TcNCl 4 ] is reduced in the presence of pyridine to give the orange Tc(V) complex [TcN(OH)(py) 4 ](Ph 4 B) (1); the pyridine ligands are labile and undergo exchange with free pyridine in solution. The TcO 2 + and TcN(OH) + cores also appear to be similar electronically, since the 99 Tc NMR chemical shifts for these two compounds are not significantly different. Compound 1 reacts with 2,3,5,6-tetramethylbenzenethiolate (tmbt) to give quantitative yields of the robust compound trans-TcN(tmbt) 2 (py) 2


Generalization is an important outcome of treatment for phonological disorders. However, generalization often fails to occur. When it does not occur spontaneously, modifications must be made in the treatment program. In this article, a framework is provided for types of generalization that are potential results of treatment. The framework includes stimulus generalization (across materials, activities, people, settings) and response generalization (across word position, phonetic context, sounds, linguistic level). Within this framewor described which can increase the potential for generalization to occur. Guidelines are also given for measurement of generalization.


Objective To compare the effects of different surgical approaches on Siewert Ⅱ (esophageal invasion ≤3 cm) adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction. Methods This retrospective study included 251 cases of Siewert Ⅱ adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction undergoing D2 or D2 + total gastrectomy by transabdominal approach ( TA group, 128 cases) or left thoracoabdominal approach ( LTA group, 123 cases). Operation time,blood loss, extent of esophageal resection, number of lymph nodes dissected,morbidity, mortality and the survival rate were a analyzed between the two groups. Results The 3,5-year overall survival rates were 62. 5%, 39.0% ( TA group) and 54. 9%, 31.9% ( LTA group),respectively (P > 0. 05). Length of esophageal resection in the LTA group were slightly longer than that in the TA group (5. 6 ± 1.1) cm vs. (5.4 ± 1.1 ) cm (P <0. 05), the positive surgical margin between two groups were not statistically different[1.6% ( LTA group) vs. 3. 1% ( TA group), ( P > 0. 05 )]. The mean number of removed lymph node were not significantly different between two groups[23.4 ± 8.7 ( TA group) vs. 23.7 ± 8.4 ( LTA group)], ( P > 0. 05 ). The operation time (227 ± 24) min, blood loss (270 ± 78)ml, and perioperative morbidity( 13.3% ) and mortality( 1.6% ) in TA group was significantly better than the LTA group[(261 ±32) min, (342 ±59)ml, 26.8%, 6.5%](P<0.05). Conclusions For Siewert Ⅱ adenocarcinoma at esophagogastric junction (esophageal invasion ≤3 cm) ,total gastrectomy with D2 or D2 + lymph node dissection through the transabdominal approach could achieve curative purposes, with a low morbidity and mortality rate.

Key words:
Adenocarcinoma;  Esophagogastic junction;  Lymph node excision


Ecuadorian Amazonian communities play a leading role in calling foreigners to experience their beautiful landscapes and the uniqueness of their traditions; therefore, it is important for their inhabitants to be able to communicate with the English-speaking tourists who visit them. Through a mixed methods approach using questionnaires and interviews, the present study aimed to determine perceptions of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) learning within the framework of Andragogy principles among the Musap Shuar community. The findings of the study show favorable perceptions and high motivations regarding English language learning among adults in the community, making them ideal candidates for ESP learning within the framework of Andragogy. Implications for future research and implementation in other communities engaged in community-based tourism are included.


Examples of the disclosed system includes a refrigerant compressor, the compressor having a motor, which motor is cooled by the cooling fluid, the cooling fluid is supplied to the motor from the motor by the motor main refrigerant loop cooling circuit. The exemplary system further comprises a sub-cooling circuit, the cooling fluid to cool the motor.


and pulse-rate were raised. Haemorrhage seemed more likely than infection because the haemoglobin had fallen from 62 to 49. One bottle of human AHG concentrate obtained from the Lister Institute and equivalent to 500 ml. of fresh frozen plasma was given on each of 3 days. A blood-culture taken at this time was sterile. On the fourteenth postoperative day bovine AHG 4000 units daily was substituted for the human concentrate and this was continued for a further 14 days, during which time a striking fall in the white blood-cell and platelet counts occurred. Generalized slight pitting oedema was noticed on the nineteenth day. He was then given chlorthiazide 0.5 g. twice daily on alternate days for 8 days and effervescent potassium (potassium bicarbonate, potassium acid tartrate, and anhydrous citric acid) I g. three times daily. Serum proteins, bilirubin, and alkaline phosphatase were normal. Serum electrolytes on the twenty-fourth day showed a low potassium level of 2 mEq./l. An E.C.G. showed sinus rhythm and prolongation of the Q-T interval-confirmatory evidence of hypokalaemia. This was corrected by increasing the dosage of potassium to 3 g. three times daily and 5 days later the serum electrolytes were normal. A wound swab taken on the thirty-third day and another 3 days later produced a moderate growth of Streptococcus faecalis sensitive to erythromycin, ampicillin, and chloramphenicol, and Proteus sp. sensitive to nalidixic acid (negram). Anticonvulsant therapy was maintained during his stay in hospital and consisted of: phenobarbitone 60 mg. twice daily, epanutin IOO mg. twice daily, and mysoline 250 mg. at night, with supplementary vitamins and oral iron. When discharged to a convalescent home on 9 June, 54 days after operation, the wound had almost healed. Two weeks later healing was complete. He continued well during the following 6 months (Fig. I 8).


Original Research Article Thrombocytopenia is encountered in day to day clinical practice and the criterion for patient's admission in the intensive care unit (ICU) depends upon various risk factors. APACHE II and many other scoring systems are generally used in ICU patients to assess the mortality risk. Studies have revealed the use of hematological indices analyzed in counters in predicting the outcome of various diseases. Platelet indices such as Mean platelet Volume(MPV)Platelet Distribution Width(PDW) and Plateletcrit(PCT)as considered as the markers of platelet activation. Hence we attempted to compare the platelet indices with APACHE II scoring system in assessing the risk severity in patients admitted in ICU with thrombocytopenia. The study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital, south india. A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted over a period of year (2017-2018).Patients who were admitted in ICU with thrombocytopenia were evaluated with clinical details. Thrombocytopenia workup including complete blood counts, platelet indices and peripheral blood picture was carried out. APACHEII score, Estimated and Percentage mortality were calculated. Statistical analysis was done by using commercially available statistical software packages. We found a cause related mortality risk particularly in sepsis where there is severe thrombocytopenia and among the platelet indices PDW showed a significant correlation with APACHEII score, estimated and Percentage mortality(p=0.046,r=0.026,p=0.031)respectively. We also found significant correlation of platelet count and plateletcrit with percentage mortality (p=0.053,r=-0.197,p=0.023,r=-0.230).Percentage mortality had a causal relationship and in our study it had an inverse association with platelet count and plateletcrit in assessing the disease severity. In cases of thrombocytopenia, PDW can be utilized in estimating the disease severity in cases of sepsis along with APACHEII scoring system among critically ill patients.


The 2007 Nobel literature laureate Doris Lessing (1919-2013) is one of the twentieth century's most prolific and versatile British writers. Her literary career is marked by the robustness and diversity of her ideas. The plurality of voices in her work makes room for discovering a very different Lessing from how she is usually construed and for discussing some of her views in a new and somewhat unusual light. In this study, I intend to look at her thoughts on education, literature, racism, and women's rights and locate possible commonalities between them and certain facets of Islamic thought. As she is considered a humanist, a secular writer of great
stature, the "grande dame" of British writing of her time, and handles explicit sexual relationships, a sense of remoteness and incomprehension is perhaps palpable in any attempt to discover an "Islamic Doris Lessing." However, given that she is known for her courage and outspokenness, as well as for making unconventional
moves and iconoclastic statements sometimes at the expense of her literary reputation, it will be interesting to see her ideas from an Islamic perspective.


The description of exclusive processes of diffraction dissociation of hadrons is discussed on the basis of the Drell-Hiida-Deck model. The advantages of the model and the difficulties that arise when it is confronted with experiments are considered. A review is given of the main modern developments of the model associated with allowance for crossed exchanges, resonance contributions, absorptive corrections, and final state interactions.


A review of a film about 6 contemporary European theologians: Judith Wolfe, Garrick Allen, Ann Loades, David Brown, Perry Schmidt-Leukel and Lieven Boeve sponsored by the Templeton Religion Trust. Beautifully made by Sean Dimond, the film interweaves the interviewees' theological explorations with elements of their biography and shots of their daily lives and recreations. Despite the very different fields in which they all work: eschatology, the textual history of the Bible, the place of women in church and society, religion and art, interreligious understanding, theology and interruption, common themes begin to emerge, the elusiveness of self-understanding, the sense of the diversity and the constantly developing nature of religious traditions, such that there is always more to be expected and surprised by.


In order to find a suitable roll crown of the pinch roll, the stress of the pinch roll was analyzed when the strip steel was bitten but not reached the coiler, and the stress of the pinch roll during coiling including 3-5 windings and the contact stress between pinch roll and strip steel, were analyzed in detail. The results showed that the suitable crowns of the top pinch roll and the bottom pinch roll are 3.5 mm and 2.0 mm, respective.


In this note, special solutions of the Emden Fowler equations are constructed by Puiseux expansions. The approach is a generalisation of the Frobenius theory at regular singular points of linear analytic differential equations. Convergence of the expansions is proved by a contraction argument. It is shown that two different families of solutions are constructible via Puiseux expansions. The solutions reduce to Bessel functions for exponent β = 1, where the equation gets linear, and to the homoclinic loop at the second critical exponent β2. The relation to the seperatrices from the phase plane systems introduced by Rothe in [17], as well as van den Broek and Verhulst in [5] is established. One of the two families of solutions are just the well known (E) solutions arising in the description of selfgravitating polytropic gasspheres. The mass radius relation of polytropic gasspheres as discussed in Shapiro and Teukolsky [18] is extended to exponents from zero up to the second critical exponent.


The two-dimensional electron liquid, at the interface between two band insulators LaAlO3 and SrTiO3, exhibits novel, unconventional superconductivity below 200 mK. One of the remarkable properties of the two-dimensional superconductor is its fantastic tunability by external parameters such as gate-voltage or magnetic field. We study the superconductor to insulator transition induced by gate-voltage by employing a self-consistent, mean-field Bogoliubov-de Gennes treatment based on an effective model. We show that the non-monotonic behaviour of the superconductivity with respect to gate-voltage is intrinsically due to the Rashba spin-orbit coupling. With increasing gate-voltage both the electron concentration and Rashba spin-orbit splitting increases. Elevated electron filling boosts superconductivity whereas enhanced spin-orbit splitting annihilates electron-pairing. The non-monotonicity is a result of this competition. The device application of the superconductor-insulator transition in this interface is discussed.


Non-invasive fetal electrocardiographic (FECG) monitoring plays an important role for detecting and diagnosing the fetal diseases due to its negligible risk. In the present study, we aimed to propose systematic methods for accurately locating the fetal QRS complexes and estimating the QT interval in non-invasive FECG signals. The methods included 4 steps. In Step 1, we firstly used the wavelet decomposition and comb notching filter to pre-process the original maternal abdominal ECG (AECG). Then we used the entropy method to assess the signal quality. Finally principal component analysis (PCA) and signal quality flags were used to obtain an optimal AECG reference signal for maternal R-peaks detection. Step 2 determined the actual maternal R-peaks for the channels with good signal quality. In Step 3, maternal ECG (MECG) templates were constructed using the coherent averaging method and the constructed MECG signals were obtained by first compressing the MECG template according to the real length of each period and then joining period-by-period. The pure FECG signals from the channels with good signal quality were obtained by removing the corresponding MECG signals. In Step 4, after the pre-processing for the obtained FECG signals, fetal R-peaks were determined by a combination method of adaptive threshold and PCA and then fetal heart rate, fetal RR and QT intervals were determined. Our best entry results on set B were: average score for event 4 is 264.87 and average score for event 5 is 9.04, which is a significant improvement compared with the sample submission (event 1/4 is 3258.56 and event 2/5 is 102.75).


This quantitative descriptive study aimed to identify the influence of coaching relationship on the coaching communication by the perception of polytechnic lecturers. A total of 411 lecturers randomly selected from the five polytechnics which successfully obtained an overall excellent performance including academic standards and quality management through the recognition of the polytechnic ratings. Data for this survey were collected through a questionnaire which was adapted from an instrument used by Heslin, VandeWalle, and Latham (2006), and Gregory and Levy (2010). The results of multiple regression analysis showed that coaching relationship had positive and significant influence on coaching communication. In term of the implications, this study showed the role of the middle manager is extremely important in creating the coaching relationship in order to improve coaching communication performance. © 2016 Elixir All rights reserved. Elixir Leadership Mgmt. 90 (2016) 37804-37807 Leadership Management Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal) Tele: E-mail addresses: firstname.lastname@example.com © 2016 Elixir All rights reserved Ying-Leh Ling et al./ Elixir Leadership Mgmt. 90 (2016) 37804-37807 37805


Historically, the implementation of research-based assessments (RBAs) has been a driver of education change within physics and helped motivate adoption of interactive engagement pedagogies. Until recently, RBAs were given to students exclusively on paper and in-class; however, this approach has important drawbacks including decentralized data collection and the need to sacrifice class time. Recently, some RBAs have been moved to online platforms to address these limitations. Yet, online RBAs present new concerns such as student participation rates, test security, and students' use of outside resources. Here, we report on a pilot study addressing these concerns. We gave two upper-division RBAs to courses at five institutions; the RBAs were hosted online and featured embedded JavaScript code which collected information on students' behaviors (e.g., copying text, printing). With these data, we examine the prevalence of these behaviors, and their correlation with students' scores, to determine if online and paper-based RBAs are comparable. We find that browser loss of focus is the most common online behavior while copying and printing events were rarer.We found no statistically significant correlation between any of these online behaviors and students scores. We also found that participation rates for our upper-division population went up when the RBA was given online. These results indicates that, for our upper-division population, scores on online administrations of these RBAs were comparable to in-class versions.


Abstract We estimated annual survival rates of swift foxes (Vulpes velox) and documented number of young per pair in a transition zone between shortgrass prairie and sagebrush steppe plant communities in southeastern Wyoming during 1996–2000. Annual adult survival ranged from 40% to 69%, with predation by coyotes (Canis latrans) the primary cause of deaths. Two foxes died of canine distemper virus. Annual survival rates did not differ among years (P > 0.12). Nineteen of 24 (79%) swift fox pairs were observed with young over 3 years. Mean minimum litter size was 4.6 based on these 19 litters and 6 others not associated with our radiocollared foxes. Adult survival was similar and litter size slightly larger than observed elsewhere in the species range, suggesting that viable swift fox populations can be supported by sagebrush steppe and shortgrass prairie transition habitat.


INTRODUCTION

The National Earthquake Hazard Program of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) has made extensive use of the Internet to disseminate information regarding its programs. Our Web site has been the recipient of much positive feedback from public and government agencies alike, and enjoys a high profile within the internet community. Interested parties may access this site at .

It is a natural step, therefore, to use this visibility to collect information from the public regarding felt effects of a large earthquake. With this as a goal, we experimented in a very limited way with two small earthquakes. The first occurred on June 24, 1997 in Georgia Strait, offthe coast of British Columbia. With a magnitude of 4.6, the event was felt in the interior of the province to a distance of 150 km. In total we collected just over 100 replies and produced an isoseismal map for internal...


There are many reasons to be concerned about the condition of children. Some progress steadily through our public schools to higher education or the world of work, but poor academic performance and other problems plague a significant portion of the student body.


One key technique in Internet of Things(IoT) is localization, which has been an indispensable context for most of the applications in IoT. In this paper, we introduce an indoor location detecting platform based on the passive RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology. The major advantage of our platform is that it can be adopted to meet different detection granularity requirement based on the flexible RFID antenna design. Second, the only thing for a user to carry with is a tiny RFID tag on his/her shoes which is light weight and no charging power problems. Thirdly it will be shown that our design is easy to be augmented into normal artifacts in an unobtrusive way for the indoor environment. Two versions of the RFID-based location detection systems are introduced. One is called U-tile (Ubiquitous tile), in which passive RFID reader is embedded into the tiles. Another improved version is called Indoor-tracer, which adopts anti-collision RFID and more light weight comparing with the previous version U-tile so that it can embedded into various artifacts like bags and drawers. The performances of both two prototype systems were evaluated and the mutual-aware applications for remote family based on IoT were developed by using the platform.


This paper discusses that the fuzzy metagraphs can be used as a tool for scheduling and control of fuzzy projects. Often, available resources for executing projects may be limited. It is assumed the resources required to accomplish each activity of project (metagraph edges) is renewable. One of the common methods for scheduling projects is using the min-slack. So, first, the forward and backward computations for deterministic metagraphs are described. Then, assuming that the completion time of activities are positive trapezoidal fuzzy numbers, the forward and backward computations are generalized for fuzzy metagraphs. Consequently, completion time of project, earliest and latest time of start and end of activities and floating time of them are obtained as fuzzy numbers. Also, critical activities and critical paths are defined. Then, for scheduling, by using the selected ranking method, the activities of project (metagraph edges) based on min-slack ascending were ordered. Through some numerical examples, calculation steps and the results are illustrated.


Malware attacks have become serious and crucial issue now a days, as it can affect victim in many ways. Hence detecting malware at early stage is an essential aspect in the security of computer systems. Existing malware system contains a traditional antivirus detection method that depends on signature-based and behavioral methods. Traditional methods of malware detection are not that effective and cannot detect unknown malwares. In recent years machine learning is coming out as an emerging and challenging field in malware detection. Proposed method implements machine learning and deep learning technique for detecting malware. This is achieved using machine learning algorithm, Support Vector Machine and deep learning concept using Convolutional Neural Networks where in malwares are represented as images. The study compares the performance of conventional, machine learning-based, and deep learningbased malware detection techniques. Proposed method implemented for malware detection using Convolutional Neural Networks with malware images is more secure compare to dynamic based method as binary malware files are converted to images and images are never executed also it can reduce drawbacks of traditional signature based method at some extent.


Guidelines for the characterization of porous solids, J. Rouquerol et al simulations of sorption in pores with constrictions, M.J. Bojan and W. Steele rare gas probes for energetic heterogeneity in zeolite pores - theory and simulation, R.J.M. Pellenq and D. Nicholson pore-size distribution analysis and networking - studies of microporous sorbents, C. Lastoskie et al transports in reconstructed porous media, J. Salles et al modelling of mercury intrusion and extrusion, M. Day et al neutron scattering investigations of adsorption in microporous adsorbents having controlled pore geometry, J.D.F. Ramsay electro-gravimetric measurements of binary coadsorption equilibria, R. Staudt et al molecular interactions on porous solids under magnetic field, S. Ozeki et al formation and pore structure of zeolite membranes, D. Uzio et al investigation on adsorption of N[2] Ar, CO and CH[4] on aluminophosphates, H. Reichert et al sorption kinetic investigation of NaCaA-type zeolite ageing, M. Bulow and P. Struve a frequency-response study of the diffusion of hydrocarbons in silicates I and II, L.V.C. Rees and D. Shen ultramicropore characterization by He adsorption, K. Kaneko et al studies of surface and structural heterogeneities of microporous carbons by high-resolution thermogravimetry, M. Jaroniec et al the importance of the porosity of mortars, tiles and bricks in relation to their bonding strengths, M. Yates et al. (Part Contents).


ABSTRACT Emotions play a significant role in our lives. While the literature has shed some light on how emotions are evoked, not all aspects are well understood. Music and dance or movement have been shown to stimulate an aesthetic or emotional response and seem to affect each other. However, these cross-modal influences have only been studied in individuals who are passively engaged . Missing are accounts of how music affects dancers and moving affects making music, a gap which is especially salient considering the frequent application of music during dance/movement therapy sessions. In this paper, I present a vignette from a creative arts studio class and subsequently describe the use of a heuristic arts-informed methodology as a means of gaining greater understanding about the connection between music and movement and their influences on emotions. I connect extant literature to my own findings and derive suggestions for the field of dance/movement therapy.


Circadian pacemakers are essential to synchronize animal physiology and behavior with the day:night cycle. They are self- sustained, but the phase of their oscillations is determined by environmental cues, particularly light intensity and temperature cycles. In Drosophila , light is primarily detected by a dedicated blue-light photoreceptor: CRYPTOCHROME (CRY). Upon light activation, CRY binds to the pacemaker protein TIMELESS (TIM) and triggers its proteasomal degradation, thus resetting the circadian pacemaker. To understand further the CRY input pathway, we conducted a misexpression screen under constant light based on the observation that flies with a disruption in the CRY input pathway remain robustly rhythmic instead of becoming behaviorally arrhythmic. We report the identification of more than 20 potential regulators of CRY-dependent light responses. We demonstrate that one of them, the chromatin-remodeling enzyme KISMET (KIS), is necessary for normal circadian photoresponses, but does not affect the circadian pacemaker. KIS genetically interacts with CRY and functions in PDF-negative circadian neurons, which play an important role in circadian light responses. It also affects daily CRY-dependent TIM oscillations in a peripheral tissue: the eyes. We therefore conclude that KIS is a key transcriptional regulator of genes that function in the CRY signaling cascade, and thus it plays an important role in the synchronization of circadian rhythms with the day:night cycle. clocks are self-sustained oscillators, but their free-running period does not exactly match day length. Thus, they have to be reset by environmental inputs to stay properly phased with the day:night cycle. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster relies primarily on CRYPTOCHROME (CRY)—a cell-autonomous blue-light photoreceptor—to synchronize its circadian clocks with the light:dark cycle. With a genetic screen, we identified over 20 candidate genes that might regulate CRY function. kismet ( kis ) is among them: it encodes a chromatin remodeling factor essential for the development of Drosophila . We show that, in adult flies, KIS is expressed and functions in brain neurons that control daily behavioral rhythms. KIS determines how Drosophila circadian behavior responds to light, but not its free- running period. Moreover, manipulating simultaneously kis and cry activity demonstrates that these two genes interact to control molecular and behavioral circadian photoresponses. Our work therefore reveals that KIS regulates CRY signaling and thus determines how circadian clocks respond to light input.


Yan Song was absorbed in reading in his hometown and wrote many excellent works in his early years.His poems were lucid and euphemistic,obviously influenced by the former seven poets.They corresponded to the popular style at that time and to his identity.


The Virtual Fruits Market application offers a unique platform for Indian farmers to directly connect with end-users, ensuring a fair and consistent price for their produce. With this platform, farmers can receive better profits for their yield, while end-users can benefit from the availability of high-quality products at affordable prices. The app also provides access to experts who can offer solutions to farmers, enabling them to make informed decisions and optimize their profits. Furthermore, the app ensures that the solutions provided are exclusive and of the highest quality, making it a valuable tool that creates a win-win situation for both farmers and end-users. Overall, the Virtual Fruits Market app is a beneficial tool that serves as a reliable bridge between farmers and end-users


This paper describes a method for creating multilingual dictionaries using Wikipedia as a resource. A lucky strike on the road to multilingual information retrieval, the main idea is simple: taking the titles of Wikipedia pages in English and then finding the titles of the corresponding articles in other languages produces a multilingual dictionary in all those languages. While the page contents may vary greatly, the great majority of page titles seem to be faithfully translated. Here, the method is used to produce specialised dictionaries in two areas: Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence. Such dictionaries can form a useful auxiliary teaching resource by providing students from non-English speaking countries with a quick translation of some of the key concepts in the subject area.


Vendor management systems (VMSs) are web-based software packages that can be used to manage businesses. The performance of the VMSs can be assessed using multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) techniques under uncertain situations. This article aims to analyze and assess the performance of VMSs using MADM techniques, especially when the uncertainty is of complex nature. To achieve the goals, we aim to explore Hany mean (HM) operators in the environment of complex picture fuzzy (CPF) sets (CPFSs). We introduce CPF Hamy mean (CPFHM) and CPF weighted HM (CPFWHM) operators. Moreover, the reliability of the newly proposed HM operators is examined by taking into account the properties of idempotency, monotonicity, and boundedness. A case study of VMS is briefly discussed, and a comprehensive numerical example is carried out to assess VMSs using the MADM technique based on CPFHM operators. The sensitivity analysis and comprehensive comparative analysis of the proposed work are discussed to point out the significance of the newly established results.


Cell growth requires the synthesis of proteins and other macromolecules that are critical for increase in cellular mass and number. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) controls cell growth by regulating various aspects of protein synthesis. mTOR, in association with raptor and mLST8 (termed mTOR complex 1 or mTORC1), regulates translation in a rapamycin‐sensitive manner. mTOR also forms a structurally distinct complex with rictor, SIN1, and mLST8 (termed mTORC2). The function of mTORC2 and why this complex is insensitive to rapamycin are currently poorly understood. So far it is known that mTORC2 is involved in actin cytoskeleton reorganization and phosphorylation of Akt/PKB, an AGC kinase family member that becomes deregulated in cancer. Recently, we found that mTORC2 controls the folding and stability of Akt and conventional PKC by phosphorylation at the highly conserved turn motif site. This TORC2 function is growth factor‐independent and conserved from yeast to mammals. We will discuss how mTOR may function to link translation to protein folding. Our findings reveal the diversity of mTOR functions in the control of protein synthesis and cell growth. This work was supported in part by the American Heart Association 0530192N, American Cancer Society RSG0721601TBE, and NIH GM079176 (to E.J.) and NIH HL070225 (to B.S.)


This discussion document prepared by the alumni of IIT critically examines the reasons put forth by the HRD ministry to abolish JEE in its present form and merge it with AIEEE. The paper argues an opposing viewpoint and builds the case for the necessity of Joint Entrance Examination for IITs By Alumni, Indian Institute of Technology


The device has a ball bearing with balls (13) mounted between inner and outer rings. The inner ring has a semi-inner ring (14) secured in rotation to a rotative member (3), and freely and axially moves relative to a support plate (9). Another semi-inner ring (16) is secured in rotation to the member. A semi-outer ring is formed by an actuating plate (19). Annular plate (22) moves in rotation and connected to an abutment member of a torque conversion member based on U configuration such that spacing of a side wall of plate carrying ramps (21, 25) and abutment surface brings together the plates. An independent claim is also included for a gear box comprising an output pinion.


The Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) of automatic Sun/sky radiometers collected data on Tenerife, Canary Islands, in June-July 1997 during the second Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE 2). Initially, two instruments were deployed at Izana observatory (2360 m above sea level) and one at a mountain station Teide (3570 m above sea level). Repeatability of the calibration constants (Langley method) for all instruments was less than 0.5%. Aerosol optical depths measured by colocated sunphotometers and column size distributions, retrieved from spectral sky radiance data, were in good agreement. Later, one of the instruments was relocated at sea level. On July 8, 17, and 25, Saharan dust outbreaks were observed. Diurnal variations of spectral aerosol optical depth are presented. Relative diurnal stability of Saharan dust optical properties has been observed. Volume size distributions at various heights (sea level and 2360 m above sea level) show that the main portion of coarse particles is situated above 2360 m level. Measurements on July 25 showed how incoming dust has changed the magnitude and spectral dependence of aerosol optical depth and volume spectra of columnar aerosol. Mean optical depth and Angstrom parameter values for Saharan dust outbreaks during the ACE 2 experiment agree well with the Atlantic Ocean and Bermuda data obtained during the Tropospheric Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational Experiment (TARFOX) in July 1996, as well as with previously reported Atlantic Ocean results. Also, there is a good agreement between ACE 2 data for Saharan air masses and data obtained on certain sites of the AERONET network.


Net primary productivity (NPP) is an important indicator of ecosystem health and its estimation and understanding of factors determining its spatial and temporal variations is critical. It is important to note that biophysical factors and human induced factors are interlinked in determining NPP patterns. Nevertheless, it is difficult to consider some aspects of human management systems in relation to NPP variations on a global scale analysis than on a local scale analysis. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that, at the local scale, particularly in highly intensive systems, land-use/land tenure types influence NPP variations by altering the biophysical conditions of the land. We estimated NPP between 2000 and 2009 using MODIS data and used ANOVA to test the abovementioned hypotheses. Results showed that NPP significantly (p < 0.05) varied by land-use/land tenure type. We also found that biophysical factors remained essential in explaining NPP variations even at local scales. These results exhibit the intricacies that exist between the biophysical and human-induced factors in explaining NPP variations within ecological landscapes.


A 67-year-old male presented to the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute emergency room complaining of a slow-growing lesion on the left eye that was present for about 6 months and that was causing decreased vision. He also complained of pain, discharge, foreign body sensation, redness, and an inability to close his left eye due to recent growth of the lesion. He denied any history of trauma, STDs, recent infections, or past ocular surgery.


Laminarin is a kind of polysaccharide extracted from kelp, which has immunomodulatory, anti-tumor, hypoglycemic, and antioxidation effects. Laminarin extraction from kelp and encapsulation with polymers in supercritical carbon dioxide (ScCO2) are a green and efficient process. The solubilities of laminarin in ScCO2 are one of basic parameters in the process. By using the method of dynamic and static combination, the solubilities of laminarin in ScCO2 with or without the ethanol as a cosolvent were measured under the temperatures of 308.15, 313.15, and 318.15 K and the pressures from 10.0 to 16.0 MPa. The effects of the operating parameters including the pressure, temperature, and content of a cosolvent on the solubility of laminarin in ScCO2 were investigated experimentally. The solubilities obtained from the experiments were correlated by using Chrastil, Mendez-Santiago Teja (M-S T), Del Valle and Aguilera (D-A), Bartle, Thakur-Gupta (T-G), and M-Mendez-Santiago-Teja-Thakur-G (M-MST-TG) models, respectiv...


Objective: To explore the changes of cognitive functions, plasma, cortisol and cytokines levels of depressed patients after treatment.Methods:Sixty patients with depression (ICD-10) and 30 normal controls were tested with Stroop Test, Verbal Fluency Test (VFT) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Blood samples were adopted for the radioimmunoassay measurement of plasma cortisol and cytokines levels. The patient group was tested both before and after 6 weeks antidepressant treatment. Results:Before treatment, the depressive patients had lower score in VFT than control (90.8±26.8/114.8±18.3,t=-4.09,P0.01). They had higher score than control in Stroop test (110.4±132.4/87.7±19.7,t=2.69,P0.05). In most item of WCST, the patient group had higher than control except those of number of classification and number of false. After six weeks treatment, the VFT score increased (98.6±25.7,t=3.28,P0.01), those of WCST items increased. There was positive correlation (r=0.34~0.38,P0.01) between cortisol level before treatment and the score of WCST. The score of HAMD negatively correlated with results of the VFT and Stroop test(r=-0.43, r=-0.32,P0.01).Conclusion:Cortisol level increase is related to cognitive decline. Antidepressant treatment can improve cognitive function of depressive patients.


Using sex identity theory, the paper studies the impact of feminine identity and soft influence tactics on leadership styles, specifically task oriented and participative. Earlier researchers have documented difference in the working and leadership styles of men and women and tactics used for securing compliance from team members. Yet there are few studies which have proceeded beyond an understanding of leadership styles which are based on the "psychosocial" behavior of men and women stemming from their sex identity, defined in terms of "masculinity" and "femininity". The results from 379 subjects from four different sectors show that there is a significant correlation between feminine identity and soft influence tactics which directly impact the leadership styles of men and women. We posit that these leadership styles are not gender specific but defined by the identity of the leader and the situational requirements.


Attention is paid to the tentative preparation of NOSbCl4, the only product being NOSbCl6.

The temperature dependence in the Raman spectrum of NOSbCl6 is explained in terms of the coupling between NO+ and SbCl6−.


There is an optimal cruise point with the lowest fuel consumption when a hypersonic vehicle performs steady-state cruise. The optimal cruise point is composed of the optimal cruise altitude and the optimal cruise Mach number, and its position is closely related to the aircraft parameters. This article aims to explore the relationship between the optimal cruise point and relevant aircraft parameters and establish a model to describe it, then an aircraft parameter optimization method of adjusting the optimal cruise point to the target position is explored with validation by numerical simulation. Firstly, a parameterized model of a hypersonic vehicle is obtained as a basis, then the optimal cruise point is obtained by the optimization method, and the influence of a single aircraft parameter on the optimal point is investigated. In order to model the relationship between the aircraft parameters and the optimal cruise point, a neural network is employed. Finally, the model is used to optimize the aircraft parameters under multiple constraints. The results show that, after aircraft parameters optimization, the optimal cruise point is located at the predetermined position and the fuel consumption is lower, which provides a new perspective for the design of aircraft.


An extension is presented of the relational model to present indefinite and maybe kinds of incomplete information. A data structure, called an I-table, is introduced, which is capable of representing indefinite and maybe facts. The information content of the I-table is defined and an operator to remove redundant facts is presented. The relational algebra is then extended, in a semantically correct way, to operate on I-tables. Queries are posed in the same way as in conventional relational algebra, but the user may expect indefinite as well as maybe answers.<<ETX>>


The Confucianist spirit was the Chinese ancient times's mainstream culture,it with the Taoism thought combined action,had the important influence to ancient times's writer literary intelligentsia.Regarding the individual value,the Confucian said that the spirit in is essentially the opposition.In the ancient times realistic society,the Confucian said that the thought does together frequently uses in the gentleman person personality the construction.Song Dynasty gentleman person concurrently Jinan both,constructed the Confucian to say the supplementary personality pattern and to it surmounting.


In this paper we answer some of the questions left open in [2]. We use the terminology of [2]. In particular, a theory will be a formal system formulated within the first-order calculus with identity. A theory is identified with the set of Gödel numbers of the theorems of the theory. Thus Craig's theorem [1] asserts that a theory is axiomatizable if and only if it is recursively enumerable. In [2], Feferman showed that if A is any recursively enumerable set, then there is an axiomatizable theory T having the same degree of unsolvability as A. (This result was proved independently by D. B. Mumford.) We show in Theorem 2 that if A is not recursive, then T may be chosen essentially undecidable. This depends on Theorem 1, which is a result on recursively enumerable sets of some independent interest. Our second result, given in Theorem 3, gives sufficient conditions for a theory to be creative. These conditions are more general than those given by Feferman. In particular, they show that the system of Kreisel described in [2] is creative.


Purpose: To compare the stability of intraocular lens (IOL) insertion methods of sutured haptics in the bag with scleral fixation to those of in the bag insertion and scleral sulcus fixation. Methods: In group of only phacodonesis, two IOL insertion methods, in the bag insertion and sutured haptics in the bag with scleral fixation were compared. In group of phacodonesis with less than 90° zonulysis, two IOL insertion methods, sutured haptics in the bag with scleral fixation and scleral sulcus fixation were compared. Postoperative 2 months and 12 months refraction were compared with target refraction and the refractive change between postoperative 2 and 12 months were compared in each group. The change of anterior chamber depth (ACD) at postoperative 2 and 12 months were compared with preoperative ACD, and the change of ACD between postoperative 2 and 12 months were compared in each group. Results: In group of only phacodonesis, the typical in the bag insertion group showed significant ACD change between postoperative 2 and 12 months (p = 0.010), but the group of sutured haptics in the bag with scleral fixation didn't show the significant ACD change (p = 0.515). In group of phacodonesis with less than 90° zonulysis, the sulcus scleral fixation method showed significant ACD change and significant refractive change (p = 0.015, p = 0.004), but the group of sutured haptics in the bag with scleral fixation method didn't show the significant ACD nor refractive change (p = 0.713, p = 0.106) between postoperative 2 and 12 months. Conclusions: In eyes with zonular instability, sutured haptics in the bag with scleral fixation method can promote the postoperative stability of IOL.


The present study recorded the seroprevalence of Mycoplasma in sheep and goats of Himachal Pradesh based on agglutination test using Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri colored antigen. Out of the 314 serum samples screened, 15 (4.77 %) were found positive for mycoplasmosis. The prevalence was found to be slightly higher in goats (5.02 %) compared to sheep (4.44 %). The seroprevalence of mycoplasmosis was the highest in Kangra district (11.59 %) followed by Mandi district (9.67 %) and Hamirpur district (2.17 %). The high seroprevalence of mycoplasmosis in Kangra district may be attributed to the migratory flocks as the district falls along their route of migration followed by the nomadic tribes on their way to the higher reaches of Kullu, Mandi and Chamba in summers and back to their respective grazing areas in the lower hills and plains during winters.


This report, one of a series by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, describes travel changes resulting from the first 4 years of operation of the rapid transit system of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. By 1979 with only one-third of its planned 101-mile system operating, Metro was already carrying almost half of all weekday transit trips and was regarded as an integral feature of real estate development. The characteristics of transit ridership and the effects of Metro operation on bus and automobile travel are detailed.


A high efficiency digital data encoding apparatus for efficiently coding input digital data, in this device, the plurality of samples arranged in the input digital data block to generate orthogonal transform coefficient data in each block, the coefficient data according to the number of bits of adaptive coding. The apparatus comprises a plurality of input digital data orthogonal transform means for orthogonal transform in accordance with different block lengths. Output orthogonal transform means selects only one output orthogonal transform means in accordance with. In the high efficiency digital data encoding apparatus, input digital data is divided into a plurality of frequency bands, it is formed by a block consisting of a plurality of sample values in each band, and orthogonal transform for each band each block to produce coefficient data, the coefficient data encoded.


Emergencies and crisis are an inevitable fact of modern life, with extreme weather events, fires, hazmat spills and traffic accidents happening often and in every jurisdiction. The potential consequences are indisputable: serious injury and/or death to the public and to responding personnel, damage to public and private property and the risk of long-term financial repercussions, among others. Under the resulting chaotic and challenging working conditions, Urban Search and Rescue (USaR) crews must make quick decisions under stress to determine the location of trapped victims as quickly and as accurately as possible. The EU FP7 project INACHUS presents a holistic approach in providing a system that aims at achieving significant time reduction related to the USaR phase by advancing wide-area situation awareness solutions for improved detection and localization of trapped victims, assisted by simulation tools for predicting structural failures and a decision support mechanism incorporating operational procedures and resources of relevant actors. In the proposed approach structural damage analysis is performed based on the input coming from 3-D airborne and ground-based laser scanning, images and their subsequent analysis through advanced photogrammetric and computer vision techniques, and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) sensors pre-installed inside the buildings. Furthermore, INACHUS involves new types of sensors and technologies for detecting and localizing trapped survivors in disaster situations (among others bio-chemical sensors, ground-based seismic sensors, infrared sensors, real-time locating systems, radars, etc.). Several miniaturized sensors are integrated into a snake robotic system capable of penetrating into the rubble and providing useful information to locate possible trapped survivors. Robust snake robot design together with a novel control system enables operator controlled robot operations in complex environments. This paper presents the general concept of INACHUS solution together with preliminary evaluation results of the applied techniques evincing that the proposed system could significantly contribute to successfully addressing the societal demand to increase survival rates in the aftermath of natural or man-made disasters by tackling a plethora of practical operational challenges, including greater effectiveness of USaR operations with the same number of human resources and enhanced situational awareness.


Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP) can denoise a signal by greedily approximating a least-squares (LS) estimate as a linear combination of elements (atoms) of a dictionary. OMP iteratively decomposes a signal through deterministic atom selections at each iteration step. Recently proposed randomized OMP algorithms employ random atom selections instead and have the potential to further improve denoising. Typically, the best approximation from these algorithms can be obtained only within a narrow range of iterations. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-stage randomized OMP (MS-ROMP) denoising approach that performs successive ROMP runs, each denoising the obtained estimate from the previous one. We show through simulations that, under certain conditions, this can significantly improve denoising performance by producing a good approximation after any number of iterations beyond the sparsity level.


Abstract : We requested equipment necessary to build an electrokinetic injection and separation system for the analysis of protein and peptide transport, adsorption and kinetics as well as other biomolecular characterization as prescribed by our current Army contracts. Biomolecular, and more specifically proteomic, analyses are vital for fully understanding biological systems. Under a recent PECASE grant awarded to the PI, we are investigating fundamental protein transport, adsorption, and kinetic interactions using a novel nanofluidics-based platform. Since nanofluidic channels are on the same length scale of both the electric double layer that forms at a solid-liquid interface as well as the biomolecules themselves, we can harness the coupled physics of complex biological fluids in nanofluidic channels towards unique, efficient technology that will potentially allow for a truly new regime of proteomic analysis. Specifically, we bought an instrument that helps us validate our characterization instrument, the equipment needed for our system itself, and a variety of corresponding parts that accompany the equipment in order to allow us to operate with real human samples, with whole blood and in darkfield conditions.