Richard Lewontin, a professor of comparative zoology, is an accomplished writer who is known for his passionate, eloquent, and deeply critical accounts. Like his many other books this is a brilliant synthesis of ideas supported by facts that caution us that the problems of biology are not as simple as they seem to many -including some biologists. Organized in four short chapters, this book builds a strong case for why biology is more complex than we anticipate it to be. Professor Lewontin refrains from proposing any all-explaining theories, but builds a strong case for why the study of biology must follow the route that he proposes one of creating new methodologies to make complex problems more tractable. He emphasizes the obvious lack of explanation for individual variations within a species and brings to light a lacuna in the understanding of the interplay between the organism, its genetic makeup, and the environment in which it exists. He provides ample experimental evidence for why grandiose aims to "compute" an organism are unfounded. In what to many is the age of complete biological understanding, he stresses that such understanding would elude us if we fail to change the course of biological research. In tracing some of the important discoveries in biology, he stresses how science is the art of the solvable. Therefore, "progress in biology depends not on revolutionary new conceptualizations, but on the creation of new methodologies that make questions answerable." The clear logical flow and the careful choice of relevant experiments to illustrate a point make this a compelling book to read. Requiring hardly any prior exposure to biology, this book will be a treat to anyone who thinks about life.


For a performance analysis of vibration isolation systems, the concept of vibration power flow can be employed preferably when noise radiated from the supporting structure with finite impedances is of interest. The idea is basically simple to understand and formulas for precise estimation of the vibration power are easy to derive. However, It is often required to simplify the process of experimentation under several assumptions due to instrumental limitations. For an example, rotational degree of freedom has not been well treated in bending vibrations of beam or plate-like structures. Yet, several recent studies showed that the moments and rotations play an important role in power transmission and should be taken into consideration carefully as the frequency range of interest goes to audibly high. Therefore, it is readily agreed that reduction of the noise radiation over the high frequency range can be effectively accomplished by adjusting the rotational stiffness of the isolator without changing the vibration isolator efficiency in low frequency range relevant to the translational stiffness of the isolator In this paper, the vibration power flow approach is applied to an AC motor installed on a finite plate in order to illustrate the contribution of the rotational vibration power to the total vibration power transmission. The effects of rotational stiffness of the isolator on the vibration power transmission are investigated by inserting various shapes of Isolators with different rotational stiffness but with $ame translational stiffness between the motor and the plate. The resultant noise radiation from the plate is presented to verify the proposed approach.


Two polysaccharides were isolated from . by conventional methods,including distilled water extraction,ethanol precipitation and DEAE C52 column chromatography. The properties and contetns of polysaccharide were determined by toluidine blue,I2 KI and Phenol vitriol methods. The result show that one are neutral,and the content of the polysaccharide is 7.4%;another are acid,the content of the polysaccharide is 1.1%.


The paper points out the close relationship between Chinese traditional buildings with the confucianism,elaborates that the triple design of the elevated decoration intertwines the reason and the romance,mixes the practical and aesthetic functions and combines the skill and art,so to a great extent,it embodies the senior and inferior,respectable and unrespectable order in "Li".


Group recommendation has attracted wide attention owing to its significance in real applications. One of the big challenges for group recommendation systems is how to integrate individual preferences of each group member and attain overall preferences for the group. Most of the traditional group recommendation solutions regard group members as equal participants and assign a same weight to each member. As a result, performance of this type of recommendation methods is not as good as expected. To improve the performance of group recommendation, a novel group recommendation model via Self-Attention and Collaborative Metric Learning (SACML) is presented in this paper. With the employment of Self-Attention mechanism, the SACML model can learn the similarity interactions between group members and services and decide a different weight for different group member. Based on these weights, group preferences for services can be generated by the aggregation of group members' preferences and the group's own preference. Similar metric space between group and services is obtained via collaborative metric learning with the group preferences and positive and negative services' features. Group recommendation is finally implemented based on the obtained metric space. Simulation has been conducted on CAMRa2011 and Meetup datasets, and experimental results show that the proposed SACML model has better performance in comparison with those baseline methods.


A railway switch ballast cleaning machine with a digging mechanism of hollow framework: an UP guide slot and a DOWN guide slot are respectively installed in corresponding guide sleeves. A digging chain which can rotate under driving by a drive sprocket installed in the hollow cavity of the framework. The two guide sleeves connect with a horizontal expansion socket installed on the main bodywork through a chain shaft. A mixed ballast conveying belt is installed on the upper end of the framework. The drive sprocket is installed on the upper corner of the framework. The present utility model equips with framework swing (horizontal rotation) device. During operation, the decline degree of the digging bottom girder can be changed through rotation and transversal movement of the digging mechanism controlled by an oil cylinder. And thus the digging width can be changed continuously to adapt to operation requirements in railway switch area.


147 Background: The optimal sequence to administer approved life prolonging ARS inhibitors: Abiraterone (A) and Enzalutamide (E),and taxanes: Docetaxel (D) and Cabazitaxel (C), to maximize individual pt benefit is an unmet medical need. Sensitivity to an individual agent is dependent on the intrinsic biology of the tumor and the treatment to which it has been exposed. For each agent, response rates are lower in pts who have received prior treatment with any of the other drugs, but for the individual, sensitivity to one does not necessarily predict sensitivity to the other. We sought to develop response and resistance signatures to A & E or D & C from a baseline blood sample. Methods: 91 pt blood samples collected from 79 pts for CTC analysis with the Epic Sciences platform prior to treatment (27 pre-A, 28 pre-E, 28 pre-D, 8 pre-C). Epic analysis identified traditional CTCs (CK+, CD45-, intact nuclei, morph distinct), CK- CTCs (CK-, CD45-, intact nuclei, morph distinct), small CTCs (CK+, CD45-, intact nucl...


Globalization is a complementary pattern beyond borders that brings about international investment, foreign trade, expansion of information and technology, convergence of production and consumption and integration of financial markets. Economic integration is an aspect of globalization which causes a decrease in prejudicial preventions among countries. In addition, it leads to the simplification of more extensive consumption markets, proficiency in production, use of capital and financial sources, use of technology spillovers, access to foreign investment and international cooperation. In this paper we focus on spillovers, arising from R&D development, trade relations and technology transfer. This study investigates the relationship between R&D spillovers, trade integration and their cross effects on expansion of trade flows in East - West Asia and Pacific. Accordingly, we use an augmented gravity trade model and estimate it the panel data approach to analyze the impacts of R&D spillovers and other determinants on bilateral trade relations among the selected Asia-Pacific countries over the period of 1995-2008. The results indicate that R&D spillovers and integration accelerate the trade flows.


In this paper, we compare the features of the application of the theory of measurements and the measure of the similarity of the model to the phenomenon under study on the basis of calculating the amount of information contained in the model. An experimental estimate compared with the standard model's uncertainty calculation procedure shows that this measure is preferable to the traditional approach to calculating the threshold discrepancy. The article presents an algorithm that is used to calculate the minimum achievable uncertainty in the resolution of the model's fuzziness, as well as experimental results demonstrating its effectiveness.


Empirical evidence contradicts the view that savings rates are independent of permanent income levels. Instead, a distinctive nonlinear relationship between savings and permanent income has been found. What explains this result? Using Robert Frank's model of the demand for nonpositional goods, this note explores the impact that treating savings as a nonpositional good has on the relationship between savings and permanent income. Frank's model is extended and predictions are generated for various income distributions and utility function parameters. The similarity of the predictions to existing evidence increases as more weight is given to current consumption rank.


Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 22% of all cancer deaths. In 2014, there were ∼ 35 900 lung cancer deaths. Survival has not shown much improvement in the last 40 years in the UK, with a 10-year survival rate of 5%. However, diagnosis at its earliest stage equates to a greater than 33% 5-year survival rate compared with 5% for diagnosis at a later stage (http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/ cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/lung-cancer#heading-One). The 2012 UK age-specific mortality rate of 25.4 means that it ranks 28th out of 40 European countries (Cyprus ranking top with 14.7 and Hungary ranking bottom with 43.3) (http://globocan.iarc.fr/old/summary_table_site-html. asp?selection= 15110&title= Lung&sex= 0&type= 1&win dow= 1&europe= 4&sort= 4&submit=%C2%A0Execute).


In the current era of globalization of the Internet is very rapid development, because the human need for the internet is always evolving and rapid technological advancement. Most people use the internet to access social media, one of which is social media twitter. Many people who express their wishes or opinions on social media twitter is both positive and negative opinions. Opinions from this community can be used as research to obtain an information. The result of such information in its utilization requires proper analysis so as to provide support in determining a decision. Sentiment analysis is a data processing technique that can solve the problem well. Sentiment analysis was used in this study to see the opinion of the public against the election of the Jakarta regional head on social media twitter. This study used the Naive Bayes algorithm to classify opinions to be positive or negative by using the selection of features of Chi Square that have been done N-gram before. The purpose of this research is to see the level of classification accuracy using Naive Bayes algorithm by using N-gram feature.


This paper presents the effects of via losses to be connected with an embedded DPDT(Double Pole Double Thru) in a substrate. The substrate consists of two ABF(Ajinomoto Bonding Film) and a Epoxy core. In order to verify and test effects of via, via chains in a substrate using SoP-L process are proposed and measured. Via loss can be calculated as averaging the total via holes. The exact loss of a DPDT switch embedded in substrate are extracted by using the results of via chain and measured data from embedded DPDT. The calculated one via insertion loss is about 0.0005 ㏈ on basis of measured via chains. This result confirms very low loss in via. So the inserti on loss of the embedded switch is confirmed only switch loss as loss is 0.4 ㏈.


If Viagra is King, where is the Queen? Soon after the Food and Drug Administration approved the male impotence medication Viagra (sildenafil citrate) in April 1998, more than 300,000 prescriptions were written in a single week, and more than $400 million worth of the drug was sold in its first quarter on the market. Many insurance companies demonstrate a willingness to offer coverage for Viagra prescriptions, while, at the same time, most employerbased large group plans have refused routinely to cover any contraceptive method that could reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies derived from treatment of male sexual dysfunction. Furthermore, studies have found that women of reproductive age spend 68% more than men on out-of-pocket health care costs, with reproductive health care services and prescription contraceptives accounting for the largest portion of this difference. Such disparities have helped raise the question of contraceptive equity to some prominence over the past several years. We are now nearly two generations beyond the landmark reproductive rights decision of Roe v. Wade. However, much of the recent public discourse in the United States pertaining to reproductive rights has, to put it mildly, lacked the critical nuance or sophistication one might hope for given how long


A spectral integral method (IEM) for solving the two-body Schrodinger equation in configura- tion space is generalized to the calculation of the corresponding T −matrix. It is found that the desirable features of the IEM, such as the economy of mesh-points for a given required accuracy, are carried over also to the solution of the T −matrix. However the algorithm is considerably more complex, because the T −matrix is a function of two variables r and r ' , rather than only one vari- able r, and has a slope discontinuity at r = r ' . For a simple exponential potential an accuracy of 7 significant figures is achieved, with the number N of Chebyshev support points in each partition equal to 17. For a potential with a large repulsive core, such as the potential between two He atoms, the accuracy decreases to 4 significant figures, but is restored to 7 if N is increased to 65.


The aim of this study is to develop a recovery system of platinum group metals (PGMs), such as palladium, platinum, and rhodium from wastewaters that contain [PdCl4], [PtCl6] or [RhCl6-n(H2O)6] ions. A built-in electromotive force from a microbial fuel cell (MFC) was utilized for recovering the PGMs from its cathode chamber under the biofilm-coated anode. After 40 hours of reaction, the obtained Pd, Pt and Rh recovery efficiencies from MFC cathodes with an initial concentration of 200 ppm were 99.2%, 99.5%, and 98.7%, respectively. The highest maximum power density of 7.03 W/m2 with a fill factor of 0.638 was achieved at 1000 ppm Pd2+ catholyte concentration under the experimental range. Using an initial catholyte concentration of 500 ppm for comparison, the maximum power density that was achieved was 4.22 W/m2 for [PdCl4], 5.04 W/m2 for [PtCl6], and 2.44 W/m2 for [RhCl6-n (H2O)6], respectively. Finally, the electrical energy generation rate was obtained from discharging curves and remaining concentration data in the order of Pd-MFC (39.2 Wh/kg) > Rh-MFC (35.1 Wh/kg) > Pt-MFC (17.2 Wh/kg). The metals recovered on the electrode surface were found to be pure based on the SEM micrographs and EDS analysis. *Correspondence to: platinum group metal recovery, built-in electromotive force, microbial fuel cell, biofilm-coated anode, electrical energy generation, wastewater treatment


they relegate Doubleday (or the cavorting pristine amateurs) to the ash bin of revisionist history. Both scholars and fans of baseball will enjoy Baseball in the Garden of Eden, although some who find a chronological presentation of history easier to follow may have difficulty keeping track of key characters and storylines as Thorn's narrative meanders back and forth across the centuries like an ancient river. Even readers who are only marginally interested in baseball will find the book appealing for its enjoyable prose and the insights it provides into American history in general. Thorn weaves historical tidbits about border wars, gold rushes, "flash" papers, full-contact democracy, and the rise (and demise) of Theosophy into his history of baseball. There may have been 25,203 books about baseball on the cybershelves of our baseball library before Thorn unveiled his latest contribution, but Baseball in the Garden of Eden is a supremely worthy addition to the genre.


ABSTRACT Adopting a phenomenological hermeneutical approach, this qualitative study focuses on an understudied group of older adults experiencing very-late-onset alcohol use disorder. This group constitutes 11% to 16% of all older adults with alcohol problems. To illuminate the experiences of the older adults the authors interviewed 12 older adults age 60 to 76 years (7 men). The participants were interviewed for 45 to 60 minutes using a semistructured format. The analysis was done in accordance with the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis which allows for description and interpretation. Generally, findings are in accordance with existing literature. The authors found that older adults tend to define their alcohol problems in a unique way, which has implications for treatment and prevention efforts. The authors identified a tendency for the participants to define alcohol problems in relation to work or inability to take care of family. Further the findings suggest that older adults might try to avoid stigmatization. Hence, older adults with onset of alcohol use disorder after age 60 years may evaluate their alcohol use with respect to a "private" self-regulation standard thereby resisting labelling themselves as "alcoholics." This might keep them from initiating treatment or may delay treatment seeking.


Nowadays, 3D printers based on Cartesian kinematics are becoming extremely popular due to their reliability and inexpensiveness. In the early stages of the 3D printer design, once it is chosen to use the Cartesian kinematics, it is always necessary to select relative positions of axes and linear drives (prismatic joints), which would be optimal for the particular specification. Within the class of Cartesian mechanics, many designs are possible. Using the Euler–Lagrange formalism, this paper introduces a method for estimating the natural frequencies of Cartesian 3D printers based on the kinematic scheme. Comparison with the finite element method and experimental validation of the proposed method are given. The method can help to develop preliminary designs of Cartesian 3D printers and is especially useful for emerging 3D-printing technologies.


1Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6 2Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie-Curie Private, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 9B4 3Department of Marine and Environmental Science, Hampton University, Hampton, VA 23668, USA 4Department of Biology and Hjort Centre for Marine Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, Bergen 5020, Norway 5Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health, and Comparative Medicine, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK 6Equipe Diversité et Ecologie des Poissons, UMR5119 Ecologie des Systèmes Marins Côtiers, Université Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, Montpellier cedex 5 34095, France 7Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft Laboratory, Suffolk NR33 0HT, UK 8Institute of Hydrobiology and Fisheries Science, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Olbersweg 24, Hamburg 22767, Germany


The main bridge of Poyang Lake highway bridge II employs the scheme of a five-span $(68.6+116.4+420+116.4+ 68.6=790)\ \mathbf{m}$ composite beam cable-stayed bridge with two pylons and two cable planes. In this paper, the finite element modeling is used to conduct the seismic analysis, the problems to be solved in transverse seismic design are studied without changing the existing bridge structure, several measures are put forward and compared, finally, it is decided that a transverse elastic cable should be set between the tower and beam, which can be recognized as a technological innovation to a certain degree.


Jonathan Ashley-Smith's 'Let's be Honest' presentation and paper from the 1994 International Institute for Conservation (IIC) conference on preventive conservation is the starting point for this article which considers the evolution of environmental standards to ask whether it is technological or psychological factors that have initiated their greatest change. It examines the implications of categorising types of damage for decision-making and asks whether understanding damage as a process rather than an outcome contributes to a cautionary approach to environmental standards in conservation. The article considers the possible psychological justifications used by those advocating standards for collections and asks whether these may lead to behaviour which is ineffective or ethically compromised. Challenging questions are then asked of the profession about what it cannot do, does not understand, and where it fails. The article concludes that although conservation has made progress in understanding materials and their properties to inform the implementation of environmental standards, it has made significantly less progress in understanding how and why decision-makers introduce and apply standards.


Using overlapping fields with space-based Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based Subaru Telescope imaging we identify a population of blended galaxies that are blended to such a large degree that they are detected as single objects in the ground-based monochromatic imaging, which we label "ambiguous blends." For deep imaging data, such as the depth targeted with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), the ambiguous blend population is both large (∼14%) and has a distribution of ellipticities that is different from that of unblended objects in a way that will likely be important for weak lensing measurements. Most notably, for a limiting magnitude of i ∼ 27 we find that ambiguous blending results in a ∼14% increase in shear noise (or an ∼12% decrease in the effective projected number density of lensed galaxies; neff) due to (1) larger intrinsic ellipticity dispersion, and (2) a scaling with the galaxy number density Ngal that is shallower than 1 / N gal . ?> For the LSST Gold Sample (i < 25.3) there is a ∼7% increase in shear noise (or ∼7% decrease in neff). More importantly than these increases in the shear noise, we find that the ellipticity distribution of ambiguous blends has an rms that is 13% larger than that of non-blended galaxies. Given the need of future weak lensing surveys to constrain the ellipticity distribution of galaxies to better than a percent in order to mitigate cosmic shear multiplicative biases, if it is unaccounted for, the different ellipticity distribution of ambiguous blends could be a dominant systematic.


We consider the class C(a) of asymptotic tests proposed by Neyman [6]. The term of order n 1/2 in the normal approximation for the distributions of the test statistics is obtained. Moreover several theorems on conditional distributions are proved. They are used in deriving the main result but they also seem to be of independent interest. Neyman [6] proposed a class of asymptotic tests called C(a) for the following statistical problem. Let a random variable (r.v.) X have a distribution depending on parameters 0 = (O., , O.) and 4 which take their values in open sets O c RS and R1 respectively. (We denote by Rs. s = 1. 2. , the space of real row vectors x = (x1, l , x5) with the Euclidean norm ||x|| = (xx')"I2, a prime denoting the transposition.) The hypothesis H: = 0, where OCE is a specified value, is to be tested on the basis of n independent observations X1, *-, Xn of the r.v. (In the sequel, we put '0 = 0.) The distribution of X is assumed to have a density f(x; 0, 4) (with respect to an appropriate measure) which satisfies certain regularity conditions. The C(a) tests are constructed as follows. Let a function g(x, 0) be such that


In view of the current higher education facing actual situation,with the related theory,applying the principle of transverse and longitudinal inspection combined,as well as quantitative and qualitative evaluation combined,by trying to use effect analysis,expert evaluation,hierarchical analysis and other methods in university students affairs,the evaluation indexes system and weights of the management of university students affairs by objectives were established.In addition,authors tried to draw an outline of the inner relationships of guiding ideology,construction contents,implement approaches and effectiveness evaluation in university students' affairs.


The main objective of this paper is to measure the heart pumping function continuously and with maximally non-invasive methodology in a medical setting arrangement. Thus this paper is aimed to determine the study of impedance plethysmographic method to evaluate the stroke volume changes. To obtain this, the plethysmographic device (i.e.) the hardware circuit is developed with the input current source of 100mv (peak-peak) and 10 kHz frequency. The signal obtained is amplified and it is measured in terms of voltage (i.e.) the single frequency current with the constant amplitude. The electrical impedance waveform is obtained by fitting the electrodes (Ag/Agcl) in the forearm. The peak amplitude is measured with the impedance variation inside the body. Additionally, the blood flow is analyzed with the help of fuzzy logic tool box with various activities such as Dehydration, Physical exercise, Cool skin, Warm Skin and breathe hold activity. Immediately after measuring the blood flow with the help of Impedance plethysmography, the end systolic and end diastolic values are obtained with the help of echocardiogram for the 18 subjects both in the normal condition and immediately after holding the breathe for 25 seconds. For the 18 subjects the correlation coefficient is obtained in a linear fashion between the changes in peak amplitude of forearm impedance plethysmographic waveform and changes in stroke volume before and after the 25 second breathe holding activity. Finally the forearm impedance plethysmographic waveform can be used to analyze the heart beat changes in the heart stroke volume. The process could be monitored for the series of cycles in determining the heart pumping performance.


We study gains to momentum trading from 1946 through 2002. Past papers assume a zero-investment strategy where short sales of losers fund the purchase of winners. In practice, the broker holds the cash from the short sale as collateral, and the investor funds long positions with his own or borrowed capital. To estimate implementation costs, we assume that the investor borrows through securing other investments, pays margin costs on the borrowings, and earns the rebate rate on the cash from the short sale. We find that the difference between the call money and rebate rates is 1.4% per year over the full sample, but in more recent years, this cost approaches 2%. This zero-investment friction and trade costs restrict arbitrage and smart-investor trades. Also trade costs change over time and allow us to look at the effects of trade cost changes and momentum returns. Congress deregulated trade commissions on May 1, 1975. Commissions fell dramatically for large stocks but did not materially change for small stocks. The commission change sets up a natural experiment to test if momentum fell after commissions fell. We find that large-stock momentum fell but standard momentum strategies, which use a substantial number of smaller stocks, did not materially change.


Opgedra aan Prof. Hennie Schutte by geleentheid van sy sestigste verjaarsdag. Abstract A Boolean algebra is the algebraic version of a field of sets. The complex algebra C(B) of a Boolean algebra B is defined over the power set of B; it is a field of sets with extra operations. The notion of a second-order Boolean algebra is intended to be the algebraic version of the complex algebra of a Boolean algebra. To this end a representation theorem is proved.


This paper investigates the distribution of the topic marker -ni in Tibetan, and compares its distribution with that of Japanese topic marker -wa, and shows two findings. First, in Tibetan, an ergative language, the ergative case marker -kyis cannot be replaced by the topic marker -ni. On the other hand, in Japanese, an accusative language, the nominative case marker -ga can be replaced by the topic marker -wa. Second, in Tibetan, embedded topicalization is possible within non-L-marked clauses, while it is impossible in Japanese. We will consider what these findings might suggest for the theory of (Tibetan) grammar.


Lightning protection of wind farms is a complex problem because of the shape and the
placement of these structures in places where lightning strikes are very common. That's
why many different methods for the protection of wind turbines have been developed and
researches are done for their effectiveness. One of these methods uses the interconnection
of the wind turbine's grounding grids for protection.
In this thesis, a transient analysis of a grounding interconnected system of a wind farm,
consisting of four wind turbines, is being conducted. The grounding grids of each wind
turbine are interconnected through buried conductors for the recording of the voltage
behaviour in different nodes of the grounding grids. Additionally, a comparison of the
voltage waveforms in different nodes is being conducted, as well as a comparison for
different injected currents and values of soil resistivity in the place where the
interconnecting conductors are being placed. A comparison of the behaviour of an
interconnected system using conductors placed on the ground is also being conducted.
For the simulation of the grounding systems, the model of circuit approach was used.
According to this, the grounding electrodes are modeled using series resistors and
inductors and transverse conductivities and capacitancies.
The equivalent circuit was created in the electromagnetic phenomena programm EMTP
and the parameter values were calculated with the use of Microsoft Excel.


For next-generation lithium-ion batteries, Ni-rich cathode materials are considered as promising candidates because of their high energy density and cost advantage. However, the interphase failure presented on the surface of Ni-rich cathodes negatively impacts cycling performance, making it challenging to meet the requirements of long-term applications. Here, a novel strategy that allows us to improve the interphase properties via an introduction of a nucleophilic-based additive, involving using an appropriate amount of the inducer lithium isopropoxide (LIP) in the commercial electrolyte to achieve an ultra-long cycling stability of Li||LiNi0.83Co0.11Mn0.06O2 (NCM83) cells. Our strategy enables Li||NCM83 cells to maintain a capacity of 148.7 mAh g-1 with a retention of 83.3% even after 500 cycles. This outstanding cycle ability is attributed to robust cathode-electrolyte interphase (CEI) constructed on NCM83 surface LIP induced ring opening polymerization of ethylene carbonate (EC). As a result, the organic-inorganic components of CEI effectively constrain gas evolution and the corresponding phase transformation behavior. Furthermore, the CEI also suppresses microcracks formation and eventually sustains Ni valence and coordination environment at high voltage.


The authors have modified a linear stability analysis of the planar magnetron with intense electron flow to describe the case of a cylindrical magnetron. The eigendifferential equation for extraordinary mode oscillations was solved numerically over a range of parameters characterizing the electron flow and the magnetron geometry. The effect of the anode resonators was imposed through the boundary condition at the outer radius of the electron flow. Both the magnetron instability (doppler-shifted electron cyclotron resonance) and the dicotron instability were observed, with the latter being made possible by the anode resonators, even though the electron flow has only one free surface. The results have implications for the start-up of existing experimental high-power magnetrons.<<ETX>>


In order to prepare the monoclonal antibody agaist Ractopamine (RCT),RCT-conjugated antigen was produced by methods of mixed acid anhydride.The spleen cells of BALB/c mice immunized by RCT-BSA were fused with SP2/0 plasmacytoma cells using PEG4000. A hybridoma cell line of 3E_1-C_9-E_(10) was screened for specificity to RCT and cloned by limited dilution method ,which secreted stable monoclonal antibodies against RCT with indirect ELISA titers of 1×10~5in supernatant , 1×10~7in astices. The McAb of 3E_1-C_9-E_(10) generally had 24% cross-reactivity to Dobutamine, and showed little or no cross-reactivity to Salbutamol and Clenbuterol.


Trust has been a central variable in western thought and practice concerning organization and personal development, and here Dr. Shih provides perspective on its criticality in the challenges facing his firm's clients. His views fit easily with western treatments of the role of trust.


According to this study: An individualized intervention for antibiotic stewardship in patients who had asymptomatic bacteriuria was associated with a reduction in the number of orders for urine cultures and use of antibiotics.


A piston-type eccentric wheel compressor comprises a motor, an eccentric wheel, a piston, a connecting steel cable, a cylinder body, a cylinder cover, an air inlet and exhaust valve body, an exhaust pipe; wherein, the motor is connected with a body of the compressor; a motor output shaft is provided with the eccentric wheel and a bearing; a bottom cover is screwed with the body; one end of the cylinder body is provided with an air inlet and exhaust valve body and the cylinder cover which are screwed with the body through a bolt; the air inlet and exhaust valve body is provided with an air inlet and exhaust valve; the cylinder cover is internally provided with a clapboard which divides the cylinder cover into an air inlet chamber and an exhaust chamber; two sides of the cylinder cover are provided with an air inlet hole and an exhaust hole which is provided with a joint; exhaust hole joints between two adjacent cylinders are communicated by using the exhaust pipe; the piston is arranged in the cylinder body; one end of the piston is a cylinder body; the other end of the piston is a connecting rod; the end of the rod is provided with a screw hole; two cylinders are symmetrically arranged between two piston connecting rods and are fixedly connected with a ring connecting two ends of the steel cable by using bolts. The utility model is star-type structure, with every two cylinders symmetrically arranged, and has the compressors with four-cylinder, six-cylinder, and eight-cylinder, etc.


Polish road transportation system has recently been referred to as Tigers or Kings of Europe with its leading position being emphasized among other European countries. Therefore, it is about time the true condition of the system was revealed. The following presentation thoroughly illustrates the actual state of Polish road transportation system in 2012. Once the lecture of this article is finished, each reader can come to his own conclusions regarding road transport in Poland and decide whether monarchist terms of any kind are appropriate for this system description.


We prove that the linear system of hypersurfaces in P^3 of degree d, 14 <= d <= 40, with double, triple and quadruple points in general position are non-special. This solves the cases that have not been completed in a paper by E. Ballico and M.C. Brambilla.


Abstract : This thesis reports on the development of an AFIT(Air Force Institute of Technology) ADP System Network Model. This system model consists of a workload and a network model. User's guides, maintenance guides, data dictionaries, and code listings are provided for each model in the appendices. After the system model is implemented it will be a powerful tool which ADP managers may use to manage the increasingly complex data processing system. The last chapter of this report outlines a progression of follow on efforts required to accomplish the implementation of this development. (Author)


Reactions between molten Zn and Fe have been observed directly by means of an in-situ heating experiment in a high-voltage electron microscope. In order to suppress evaporation of Zn during the in-situ heating experiment the specimen was coated with a plasma-polymerized hydrocarbon film. Mechanisms for the formation of Fe-Zn intermetallic compounds are discussed and it is concluded that all the models proposed so far are of doubtful validity.


Changes and developments information technology at this time causes the competition in the transport business world becomes more intense, especially motorcycles automatic. There are many players in this industry, but only two of them as major players with significant market shares. Honda Beat and Yamaha Mio are two brands that dominate the motorcycle automatic industry. This study aimed to compare the product differentiation and brand image on a motorcycle automatic Honda Beat and Yamaha Mio. The research sample 50 respondents Honda Beat, and 50 respondents Yamaha Mio. The method used comparative analysis. data Analysis using validity and reliability test, normality test, homogeneity, and hypothesis testing Independent Samples T Test. Results of analysis using Independent Samples T Test was found that the product differentiation and brand image motorcycle automatic of Yamaha Mio better than Honda Beat. Preferably Yamaha management must continue to maintain the level of demand in the increasingly fierce competition, and Honda further increase of the motor design and marketing strategies.


Kleinman's exchange with Cambrosio, Limoges and Pronovost (CLP) over their paper, 'Representing Biotechnology',' can be seen as another rehash of the debate between discourse-focused and interests-based explanations in social studies of science and technology. CLP berate Kleinman for assuming that their goal was explanation of how Quebec's policy for biotechnology came into being, rather than an account of the contingent nature of the construction of that policy. They suggest that their aim was not to give a causal explanation, which would be naive in their view, but to provide the resources for a different kind of (eventual) explanation. What they did not clarify is the fundamental difference between their notion of explanation and that of Kleinman; in particular, theirs embodies a far greater recognition of the essential contingency, or indeterminacy, in the construction of'natural' or 'rational' policy commitments. In defending their discourseor representations-based analytical approach, CLP are surely right to deny that they were ever naive enough to claim that representations unilinearly 'cause' policies, any more than they cause anything else. However, their self-defensive concern does tend to reduce into a false unilinear causation the processes of mutual constitution between representations and political actors (interests, or 'sides') to which they are otherwise fully sensitive. Thus, for example, for CLP, the positing and bounding of sides (in policy negotiations or conflicts) 'are consequences, not causes, of representational practices in an agonistic field'.2 Although they rightly criticize Kleinman's gratuitous assumption of 'sides' with 'winners' and 'losers', and his presumption that these


This invention relates to a craft of hydrogenation of petroleum alkanes schizolysis carbon nine fraction of distillate, and it applies the craft of the combination of pressure thermal polymerization and finestill. Some of the carbon nine is conducted pressure thermal polymerization, while the other is conducted negative pressure finestill. The hydrogenation is conducted on flash evaporation oil which is from pressure thermal polymerization and finestill carbon nine which is from negative pressure finestill. This craft can inprove the carbon nine distill proportion and cut down the amount of colloid of schizolysis carbon nine, which make the schizolysis carbon nine product after hydrogenation colorless and none stimulant smell.


A topography optimization approach is applied to reduce the radiation noise of stamping parts of engines.Through optimal design of the original structure,structure of stamping parts is improved and its rigidity is greatly enhanced.Taking the oil pan of an engine as an example,the FEM model of a thin-walled structure is established.On the basis of mode analysis of the oil pan,rib width and angle are chosen as the shape variables.Aiming at the maximization of some intrinsic frequency,the best distribution of ribs is found,the structure rigidity is raised and the surface radiation noise is reduced.Meanwhile,the improvement strategy is proposed due to the shape optimization results and technological requirements.


This paper presents a class of subgradient-push algorithms for online distributed optimization over time-varying networks. In this setting, a private strongly convex objective function is revealed to each agent at each time step. In the next time step, this agent makes a decision about its state using this knowledge, along with the information gathered only from its neighboring agents, prescribed by a sequence of time-varying directed graphs. Under the assumption that this sequence is uniformly strongly connected, we design an algorithm, distributed over this time-varying topology, that guarantees that the individual regret, the difference between the accumulated cost of agents' states and the best static offline cost, grows only sublinearly. Simulations illustrate our results.


The aim of this article is to provide a brief introduction and description of SBN (Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale), the Italian national network which has been working as a full‐scale union catalogue and shared cataloguing system since June 1992 and now connects 104 libraries. The gradual development of SBN over the past 10 years is described as well as its structure and architecture and its future possible developments.


Oxide ceramics with low thermal conductivity have been of increasing interest in thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) applied to the hot sections of advanced gas turbine engines, to increase the thermal ef fi ciency of the turbines. [1] The typical top coat ceramic in TBCs is 7 wt% Y 2 O 3 -stabilized ZrO 2 (7YSZ). The aim of gas turbine development is to produce engines that can withstand increased operation temperature. Many efforts in searching for next-generation TBC materials with lower thermal conductivity have on declined phonon conduction due to point defect phonon scattering. For O an to Y 2 O in ZrO 2 -based TBC their the larger Gd 3 þ ion (ionic radius ¼ 0.105 nm) doped ZrO 2 was found to have a thermal conductivity about 20% lower than that of YSZ stabilized by the smaller Y 3 þ ion (ionic radius ¼ 0.102 nm). et al. systematically investigated the in fl uence of the substitution of La in by Nd, Eu, Gd, and Dy on the thermal properties of La 2 Zr 2 O 7 and compared with predictions from theory. the of


The effects of interplanting 4 kinds of economic green manure on the ecological environment of newly-reclaimed young tea plantation were studied.The results showed that interplanting economic green manure in newly-reclaimed young tea plantation could averagely reduce the earth''s surface temperature by 6.64 ℃ in high temperature period.The temperature of 0~10 cm,10~20 cm and 20~30 cm deep soil layer was decreased by 5.54 ℃,2.95 ℃ and 1.97 ℃,respectively.The moisture content in 0~30 cm deep soil layer was averagely enhanced by 1.93%.The content of available nutrients in the soil was averagely enhanced as follows: organic matter by 2.68 g/kg,total nitrogen by 0.09 g/kg,alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen by 27.81 mg/kg,available phosphorus by 2.92 mg/kg and rapidly available potassium by 5.13 mg/kg.The average soil and sand loss of sloping surface and broad in tea garden was reduced by 41.75% and 24.64% respectively.


The current paper deals with the Mandarin Chinese construction chadian mei 'almost NEG' that is ambiguous depending on whether negation has a normal or pleonastic interpretation. The literature either takes mei as semantically vacuous in the latter interpretation (e.g. Zhu 1959; Liu 2011; Yuan 2013), or attributes the ambiguity to that of the approximation marker Chadian (Kaufmann & Xu 2013). This paper offers novel empirical arguments for the ambiguity of mei, and proposes a multidimensional semantic analysis for the 'pleonastic' mei: the apparent semantically vacuous mei is a counterfactual commentary expression with non-at-issue meaning contributions at the levels of conventional implicatures and conventional presuppositions. I argue that this analysis fits with the distributional properties of chadian mei and that additionally, it provides further empirical support for the three-dimensional semantic framework (Liu 2012).


Semiconductor devices continue to get ever smaller, which means that individual defects play an increasingly important role in their performance. In the process of fabricating more innovative, better performing devices, crystal growers have developed an amazing intuition about how atoms and molecules behave on crystal surfaces. Their intuition, formed from knowledge of fundamental atomic-scale processes and honed through experience, concerns such questions as where atoms and molecules stick, how they interact with each other and the substrate, and how they diffuse


Objective:We studied the effects of mice`s voluntarily climbing-diet-induced resistance exercise-on body composition. Methods:The mice were divided into the sedentary control group( C) and the climbing group( E) in which the height of climbing was progressively increased.At 7thand 12 thweeks respectively,the body compositions of the mice were assessed via DEXA. After muscle sampled,the wet weights and the hypertrophy ratios of the muscles were measured. Results: After 7 weeks of training,the DEXA results indicated that fat mass and fat% of the E group were lower( P 0. 01,P 0. 05 respectively) than the C group. The wet weight and the hypertrophy ratio of tibialis anterior were greater( P 0. 05,P 0. 01 respectively) than the C group. At 12 thweek,compared with the C group,the lean mass in the E group was higher(P 0.05),but fat mass and fat%(P 0.01both) significantly decreased;the hypertrophies of gastrocnemius,soleus,tibialis anterior,extensor digitorum longus,triceps(P 0.01all) and biceps(P 0.05) were greater in E group. Conclusion: The diet-induced voluntarily climbing exercise could cause muscle hypertrophies,increase the lean mass and muscle wet weight,and decrease the fat mass and fat% in mice. So it is concluded that mice`s voluntarily climbing with bearing body weight is the model of progressive load exercise training which causes little stess and has a positive impact on body composition.


In the early days of electronic neutron imaging, the best available and most expensive components were used to build detectors. Experience has shown that only few parameters are truly important, so we have built a whole new line of specialized neutron imaging detectors based on astronomy cameras and 3D printed housings with external shielding. As an additional benefit, 3D printed housings produce no gammas on neutron capture, and provide nearly spot-free images. Plans and print files for 3D printed detectors are available for free on request.


In this communication, first a four element rectangular microstrip antenna array is designed, with corporate feed technique for X-band frequency of 9.1GHz, with a peak gain of 10.09dBi, peak sidelobe level of -10.74dB and backlobe level of -13.71dB. Then defected ground structure (DGS) slots are applied at the feed line T-junctions with appropriate size and shape. With DGS the peak sidelobe level has reduced to 14.46dB and the backlobe level has reduced to -23.12dB. The front to back ratio has increased from 13.72dB to 17.31dB. Both sidelobe and backlobe levels are reduced over 8.7 GHz to 9.3GHz, by this technique. The 3dB gain bandwidth has also increased from 1.38GHz to 1.42GHz. Slight improvement in the peak gains is also observed by this novel technique. The Simulations are carried using HFSS software.


The present invention relates to an inorganic / organic hybrid precursors perovskite compound, an inorganic one embodiment of the present invention / organic hybrid substance before perovskite compound containing the organic cation, a metal cation, a halogen anion, and a guest molecule ( guest molecule, GM).


This article has been retracted by IOPPublishing following an investigation into tortured phrases [1], potentially masking overlap to other publishedwork by that of others. Upon analysis by independent subject experts, it is confirmed there aremajor errors in the governing equations and inmany of the tables andfigures. One expert also comments that 'there is no validation of themethod or of the results in thework'. IOP Publishing has investigated in linewith theCOPE guidelines, and agree thework should be retracted as there is 'clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result ofmajor error (eg,miscalculation or experimental error), or as a result of fabrication (eg, of data) or falsification (eg, imagemanipulation)', and overlap in the introductionwith an unacknowledged source [2]. This overlap does not impact themethod or results of the article. IOPPublishingwishes to credit the Problematic Paper Screener for bringing the issue to our attention, and the two independent subject experts who analysed the paper. Despite responding in earlier stages of the investigation, the authers have not commented on thewording of the retraction notice.


The complexity of urban management has been continuously increased in recent years,especially in China,since China has been in an age of fast urbanization. As the major participants of urban development,citizens have played a leading role in urban management. The satisfaction of citizens is regarded as the ultimate indicator of urban management. In this paper,an Urban Management Public Satisfaction Index (UMPSI) model is proposed. This UMPSI model considers the particularities of Chinese urban management,and modifies the ACSI model and ECSI model to reflect the practices of urban management in China. A questionnaire survey was conducted in Hangzhou,the capital city of a Chinese coastal province. The result of the survey confirmed the index model. And the factor analysis helps to understand the logics and factors of public satisfaction on urban management,and could provide some guidelines to municipal governments.


The present invention discloses a voltage regulating circuit. The circuit comprising: a voltage supply configured to receive a power supply terminal; control transistor may have a body region, a first source / drain region, a second source / drain region disposed above the body region, and a gate disposed on the gate insulating region insulating region above the gate region, a first source / drain region may be coupled to the power supply terminal and a first gate insulating layer may have a thickness region; internal logic circuit having a power terminal and a plurality of transistors, each transistor having a second the thickness of the gate insulating layer region, the internal power supply terminal of the control transistor with the second source / drain region coupled; inverter having an inverter input and an inverter output of the inverter with the input of the logic circuit The internal power supply terminal coupled to the inverter output and the gate region of the control transistor coupled to the inverter may comprise a third region having a gate insulating layer thickness is at least one transistor; thickness of the first layer, the second layer thickness and the thickness of the third layer may be substantially the same.


13 or Valentine's Day in 2005, The Vermont Teddy Bear Company sparked controversy with its creation of the "Crazy for You" bear. The bear wore a straightjacket with a small heart embroidered on the front. A tag with the words "Commitment Report" came with the bear. This tag stated, "Can't Eat, Can't Sleep, My Heart's Racing, Diagnosis: Crazy for You!" Mental health advocacy groups argued that the bear stigmatized people with mental illnesses and called for the bear to be pulled from shelves. The Vermont Teddy Bear Company responded: "We recognize that this is a sensitive, human issue and sincerely apologize if we have offended anyone. That was certainly not our intent. The bear was created in the spirit of Valentine's Day and as with all of our bears, it was designed to be a lighthearted depiction of the sentiment of love" (Associated Press, January 13, 2005). The Vermont Teddy Bear Company continued to sell this bear until their inventories were gone. The bear became an instant collector's item now selling on eBay® for over three times its original value. While newspapers across the country reported on this controversy, these accounts told a fairly similar story: Mental health advocates protest a teddy bear. The story that remained untold was why such a bear would be stigmatizing. Without situating the "Crazy for You" bear within the larger discourse of representations of mental illness, it remains too easy to dismiss such a situation as being a matter of bad judgment on the part of the Vermont Teddy Bear Company or as an oversensitivity and inability to "take a joke" on the part of the mental health advocates. To understand why this bear would be stigmatizing, it is necessary to place such an example within the context of the overwhelming number of other depictions, both historical and contemporary, that collectively create what I call a visual culture of stigma.


Smnmary: To investigate the effects of prostaglandins (PGs) and leukotrienes (LTs) on hypoxic pub monary vasoconstriction (HPV), in vivo rats experiment and in vitro perfused lung experiment were conducted. The effect of hypoxia on hemodynamics, concentrations of TXB~ and 6-keto-PGF~, in serum and lung tissue during hypoxia and effects of PGs and LTs on HPV were observed. The results showed that pulmonary arterial pressure (PoD and pulmonary vascular resistance were increased during hypoxia, but cardiac output and systemic arterial pressure were decreased. There were increases of the concentrations of TXBI and 6-keto-PGF~, and their ratio in serum and lung tissue during hypoxia. After use of cyclooxygenase inhibitor (indomethacin)/n v/oo and in vitro, HPV was augmented respectively, but after use of lipoxygenase inhibitor (diethylcorbarn~ine) or leukotriene receptor blocker (LY-171883), HPV was attenuated. It was suggested that LTs mediated pulmonary vasoconstriction, PGs inhibited pulmonary vasoconstriction and they played a modulating role during hyAlveolar hypoxia can induce pulmonary vasoconstriction, but the mechanism of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction remains unknown. It might relate to arachidonic acid released from endothelium or to the vasoactive substances released from other cells in lung tissue during hypoxia. Furthermore, the extra-pulmonary reflex and the directive effect of hypoxia on pulmonary vascular smooth muscles might also be involved. In this study, we conducted in vivo rats experiment and employed in vitro perfused lung experiment, in order to exclude the effects of systemic factors, with an attempt to observe effects o( PGs and LTs, metabolites of arachidonic acid on


Young South Africans who live in contexts of poverty face many challenges and obstacles in their attempts to rise out of their circumstances. However, adding support in the form of well-being teams who take ownership of promoting well-being may facilitate resilience and serve an important supportive function. Four different well-being teams participated in a focus group interview. They consisted of teachers, learners, parents, and a mixed group. The theory of positive communication provided a framework to understand the themes that emerged. Therefore, in an effort to level the playing field for these young South Africans, the educational system should create more spaces that enable and facilitate learning and that promote positive communication.


The specijication language is a critical component of the hardware-software eo-design process since it is used for functional validation and as a starting point for hardwaresoftware partitioning and eo-synthesis. This paper proposes the Java programming language as a specijication language for hardware-software systems. Java has several characteristics that make it suitable for system specijication. Howevel; static control and datajlow analysis of Java programs is problematic because Java classes are dynamically linked. This paper provides a general solution to the problem of statically analyzing Java programs using a technique that pre-allocates most class instances and aggressively resolves memory aliasing using global analysis. The output of our analysis is a control datajow graph for the input specijication. Our results for sample designs show that the analysis can extract fine to coarse-grained concurrency for subsequent hardware-software partitioning and eo-synthesis steps of the hardware-software codesign process to exploit.


Although there has been empirical attention paid to the criterion-related validity of predictor composites, there has been much less attention paid to the standardized ethnic group differences associated with these composites. One important area of inquiry in predictor composite research is the influence of adding predictors to a test of general mental ability. The limited empirical literature on this practice is mixed, but the prevailing expectation is that there is likely to be higher validity and less adverse impact. Unfortunately, much of the previous work is limited by the presence of inaccurate validity and standardized ethnic group difference values. In this analysis we formed meta-analytic matrices to more accurately estimate the validity and standardized ethnic group differences of several composites that combine a measure of cognitive ability with measures of conscientiousness, a structured interview, or biodata. While results were somewhat complex, we found that adding alternative predictors does not result in a situation in which validity automatically goes up and adverse impact potential automatically goes down. In fact, the reductions in adverse impact (if any) from adding non-cognitive predictors were more modest than much of the literature suggests.


INTRODUCTION ................................................................ HISTORICAL BACKGROUND. ... ................................................ PROPERTIES OF ACYLASES. ..................................................... Type I Acylases ("Fungal" Type).............................................. Type II Acylases ("Bacterial" Type)........................................... Synthetic Ability ofAcylases................................................ ROLE OF ACYLASES IN MICROBIAL ECONOMY ................................. QUANTITATIVE ASPECTs. .. .................................................... COEXISTENCE OF ACYLASE AND IS-LACTAMASE (PENICILLINASE) .................. ASSAY METHODS.............................................................. Biological Methods........................................................ Butyl Acetate Extraction Technique.......................................... Use of Radioactive Substrate................................................ Detection ofX After Treating Reaction Mixture with Penicillinase.................. Liberation ofAmmonia or Amino Groups from Substrates Other than Benzylpenicillin Direct Estimation of6APA.................................................. PENICILLINAMIDASE............................................................ RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT.................................................... LITERATURE CITED............................................................ Vol. 30, No. 4 Printed in U.S.A.


Economic sectors are closely linked to the rest of the economy through backward and forward linkages. This present paper intends to assess the interconnectedness in the production structure of the Malaysian economy,
using the input-output analysis. In this research, Rasmussen unweighted and weighted approaches were applied to the Malaysian I-O table for the year 2010 using 50 aggregated sectors to identify the key sectors. The most
contribution of this study is that it provides us a good tool in devising pragmatic policies so as to enhance the competitiveness of key economic sectors and establish a deeper economic linkage, thereby induce a greater
rates of economic development.


We demonstrate for the first time optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the 900-1100 nm wavelength range. A photonic crystal fiber (PCF) in combination with a sub-15fs Ti:sapphire laser is used to produce an emission spectrum with an optical bandwidth of 35 nm centered at ~1070 nm. Coupling the light from the PCF based source to an optimized free space OCT system results in ~15 micrometers axial resolution in air, corresponding to ~10 micrometers in biological tissue. The near infrared wavelength range around 1100 nm is very attractive for high resolution ophthalmologic OCT imaging of the anterior and posterior eye segment with enhanced penetration. The emission spectrum of the PCF based light source can also be reshaped and tuned to cover the wavelength region around 950-970 nm, where water absorption has a local peak. Therefore, the OCT system described in this paper can also be used for spatially resolved water absorption measurements in non-transparent biological tissue. A preliminary qualitative spectroscopic Oct measurement in D2O and H2 O phantoms is described in this paper.


ABSTRACT This article offers the "architrope" as a means for apprehending rhetorical figures on a symbolic landscape (or "tropography"). I argue that ethical critique of public memory places requires more than reading visual representations and envisioning resistive viewer agencies. Inspired by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's declaration that it should not be possible to remember Victorian England's women writers without recalling the "worlding" functions of colonial literature in British imperialism, I examine how the Brontë Parsonage Museum should unworld and otherworld its memoryscape. Adding spatial dimension to visual rhetoric, I map tropographic turns where visitors should not only unsettle histories but also confront aporias of postcolonial, feminist, and queer memories. Although rhetorical scholars celebrate the radical potential of the uncanny and the subjunctive mood, my analysis shows that uncanniness can be commodified, and colonizing narratives necessitate overt negation. Remapping commonplaces of museums and memorials therefore requires replacing rhetorical theory's acquiescence to possibility with emplaced attunement to impossible demands of the forgotten and unrepresentable dead.


The efficiency of two modern sensing techniques, namely the "Acoustic Emissions" and the "Pressure Stimulated Currents" ones, when they are used as Continuous Structural Health Monitoring tools, is assessed experimentally. The protocol includes multi-point bending of an accurate copy of a fractured marble epistyle of the Parthenon's Temple on the Acropolis of Athens, under a scale of 1:3. The integrity of the epistyle is restored with three pairs of bolted titanium bars, according to the pioneering technique developed by the scientists of the "Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments". The data provided by the above techniques are considered in juxtaposition to each other and also in comparison to data provided by the "Digital Image Correlation" technique. It is concluded that, at least from a qualitative point of view, the data of all three techniques are in good mutual agreement. Combined exploitation of the various sets of experimental data enlightens interesting aspects concerning the succession of failure mechanisms activated during the loading procedure, revealing the critical role of the internal interfaces characterizing the restored epistyle. Moreover it is definitely indicated that both the "Acoustic Emissions" and the "Pressure Stimulated Currents" techniques provide clear signs of upcoming failure well before macroscopically visible damages are detected at the external surface of the specimen.


are clearly detected by 1-Ir. Allen. As to the aarfhm~ of the First Gospel, it is shown, we think quite satisfactority, that hc was a Palestinian, but not the Apostle Matthew, whose own work was composed in Hebrew or Aramaic. The name ' BIatthew' came readily to be transferred from thc original Apostolic work to our present canonical Gospel. The date is fixed by Mr. Allen within a fcw years before or after the fall of Jerusalem (70 :~.r~.). As to the Commentary itself, the purpose of our author, as explained at the outset, namely, to make I clear tile conception ( f t~i~ L'~~au~elrst, has necessitated


BACKGROUND Laryngoscopy and intubation of the trachea causes increases in pulse rate and blood pressure. This is due to sympathoadrenal discharge caused by epipharyngeal and parapharyngeal stimulation. Unfortunately, the complete answer to this seemingly simple co-occurrence of laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation remains elusive. We wanted to compare the effects of three drugs namely lignocaine, fentanyl, esmolol for obtunding the haemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and intubation. blood pressure and the MAP were found to be effectively controlled in the fentanyl group. The increase in pulse rate in the lignocaine group was found to be highly significant at all points of time as compared to the pre-intubation rate (p < 0.0001). In the fentanyl group, we observed a fall in the pulse rate; however, this fall in pulse rate was not significant (p > 0.05). An increase in the pulse rate was observed in the Esmolol group. When compared to pre-intubation, this rise was found to be significant in the 1 st to 5 th minute, after which the change in rate in the 10 th min was not significant when compared to the pre intubation rate. Fentanyl, in a dose of 2 µgm / Kg I.V., was a safe and effective agent in controlling the increase in heart rate and blood pressure in response to laryngeal stimulation and airway instrumentation.


Weber's law suggests a logarithmic relationship between perceptual stimuli and human perception. The Weber sampler is an adaptive, nonuniform sampling mechanism that exploits Weber's law to sample the signal at a minimum rate without significant perceptual degradation. In this paper, we introduce and analyze a regularized Weber sampler for smooth deterministic signals as well as smooth random processes. While analysis for a fixed Weber constant δ is analytically intractable except for some special cases, we exploit the fact that the Weber constant is usually small. Under suitable assumptions, for deterministic signals, we provide analytical approximations to the number of samples in a unit time interval and the intersample times. For a random signal, we give analytical approximations to the expectation and probability distribution function of the respective quantities. Our class of deterministic as well as random signals is quite wide, and in particular covers bandlimited signals and signals satisfying second order ordinary differential equations. We also present a number of simulations to demonstrate that our approximations are good up to a Weber constant of 0.2, which is the regime of practical interest. Our results provide a source model for the Weber sampler, which can be used in the study of transmission of perceptual stimuli signals over communication links.


A recent paper published by Bonvillian, Garber & Dell (1997) examines one ancient and two medieval studies of children's language development, whereby children were allegedly isolated from hearing any spoken language in order to discover what, if any, language the children would come to produce. Bonvillian et al. consider studies attributed to Psamtik I, an Egyptian Pharaoh in the seventh century BC; to James IV of Scotland in the fifteenth century AD; and to Akbar the Great, Mogul Emperor in India, in the sixteenth century AD. Bonvillian et al. conclude, correctly, that the Akbar study did take place. However, their contention that the Akbar study indicates that a system of gestural communication is a precursor to language is, in our view, unwarranted. Here, we criticize the paper by Bonvillian et al. on three grounds: it fails to mention previously published research on the topic; it fails to mention another medieval study attributed to Frederick II, King of Sicily, in the thirteenth century ad; and its contention that gestural communication is a precursor to language is not supported by reference to the primary sources on Akbar's study.


The competition environment between companies is intense, a fact that obliges them to continuously promote changes. This is also the reality experienced by Higher Education Institutions. Universities have been undergoing a significant change in relation to the conduct of their activities with the reduction of their budget due to the current situation in the country, which compromises the payment of outsourced services such as purchases of materials and maintenance of equipment. In view of this, the work proposes a cost reduction methodology using the tools that the Lean philosophy provides and bringing the benefits of this methodology to the activities developed in the laboratory sectors. In this way, as a general objective of this study, we will use the lean concept of the Lean philosophy to know how to optimize the process of material economy and aim at increasing productivity in Teaching laboratories. In order to carry out the present study, a bibliographic review was necessarily developed. As a conclusion, it was possible to identify that the Lean Manufacturing instrument makes possible a considerable gain, exalting its benefits and stimulating the assimilation of its concepts, showing positive results.


This article introduces the Reflective Judgment model of intellectual development (King & Kitchener, 1994), which illustrates how reasoning skills develop in adulthood, and shows how the development of these skills is relevant to multicultural education on college campuses. Many students do not understand the basis for differing points of view on controversial issues and develop their own judgments based on whim or others' opinions rather than on an analysis of the evidence. Instructors may better understand students' justifications for their beliefs in light of the students' different assumptions about knowledge and how it is gained. Suggestions to faculty members for promoting intellectual development are offered in the context of multicultural education.


In the research the author regards the problem of organizing the control of competitive activity in indoor soccer. The researcher states that the system of assessing a player's efficiency ratio is possible to develop if it is based on studying the structure of competitive activity in indoor soccer, on mathematical and statistical validation of a complex assessment with fractional coefficient of every principal factor which influences the efficiency of competitive activity as well as it is possible to create it by means of automating the control of competitive activity in indoor soccer by using the software program Microsoft Excel. For the first time for practice of indoor soccer by the author the automated system of an assessment of indicators of competitive activity of players player's efficiency (KPI) is developed and experimentally proved.


We extended the decision feedback-based demodulation and equalization techniques for differential phase shift keying (DPSK) to the demodulation and equalization of doubly differential PSK (DDPSK). The decision feedback demodulator for DDPSK comprises two consecutive differential detectors which are based on some reference signals obtained from previously detected and received data. The proposed equalizer is a hybrid of this decision feedback demodulator and a linear feedback equalizer. By modifying the equalizer output based on the decision feedback demodulation before feeding back into its feedback part, the proposed equalizer can act like an equalizer with decision feedback structure. Computer simulation results demonstrate that the performances of the decision feedback demodulation and the equalizer are comparable to those of the coherent receiver and the decision feedback equalizer (DFE) with coherent detection, respectively.


The designed photolabeling probes: 5-diazonium-1-β-D-ribofuranosyl-1H-imidazole-4-carboxamide (1) and 5-azido-1-β-D-ribofuranosyl-1H-imidazole-4-carboxamide (2) were synthesized via a short and convenient synthetic route,namely by diazotizing AICAR and subsequently performing substitution with NaN 3 . Although 1 was not stable even at low temperatures, 2 showed a rapid and clean photochemical reaction, which suggests that it may be a valuable tool for use in photolabeling studies.


This work deals with the implementation of eCall in the Slovak Republic. eCall is an element that improve the quality of care of the vehicle occupants after the car accident. The document analyses the development of traffic accidents in the Slovak republic, it describes a present procedure for the implementation of eCall and proposes a next implementation procedures in national region and compares potential cost and benefits of eCall in the Slovak republic.


The construction socialism new countryside provides chances as well as challenges for the development of rural library.It's an efficient path of dealing with rural library development by combining library and teaching.


We propose a simple method and develop the correct limit formulas to predict the shock trajectories over a wide range of planar, cylindrical, and spherical blast waves.


Objective To observe the effects of adefovir dipivoxil in treatment of pulmonary tuberculous complicated with chronic hepatitis B(CHB).Methods There 39 pulmonary tubercalosis cases complicated with CHB were divided into two groups randomly,20 patients in treatment group and treated with adefovir dipivoxil,10 mg/day,19 patients in control group and treated without adefovir diivoxil.The patients were followed up for 3.5 years.Results In the course of antituberculous chemotherapy,the abnormal Liver function rate turned to be 94.74% in the control group but only 33.33% in the treatment group(P0.01).The abnormal liver function rate turned to be 94.74% in the control group but only 10.00% and 5.07% in the negatives、HBV-DNA group and pulmonary tuberculosis group(P0.01,P0.01)respectively.The presence of HBV-DNA in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis was associated with high mortality rate and the cause of death was related to hepatic failure.Conclusion The effect of adefovir dipivoxil is effective for treatment of pulmonary tuberculous cases complicated with CHB.


This paper discusses the in
fl
 uence of organizational values on managers' competencies.
Organizational values are a re
fl
 ection of individual values of founder or founding members of the
organization. Through time organizational values are shaped by every member of the organization
and by events that shape the organization. On the other hand competencies of managers are not
shared by the whole organization though they do in
fl
 uence the way managers run their organizations
and through this also how organizations work. Based on the
fi
 ndings of previous studies a model for
measuring the in
fl
 uence of organizational values on managers' competencies was proposed. More
speci
fi
 cally, by conducting a preliminary study a model was created that discusses the in
fl
 uence
of six most commonly stated organizational values on the matching competencies. To this end
research question has been proposed: What is the level of correlation between organizational
values and matching competencies of managers? The paper-and-pencil survey was carried out in
the travel and leisure industry, where 1,100 employees were surveyed. The 388 participants who
fi
 lled out the questionnaire represent a 35.27% yield of surveys sent out and 4.26% of the population
of this industry in Slovenia. We have determined that there is a statistically signi
fi
 cant in
fl
 uence of
organizational values on matching competencies. This
fi
 nding clearly indicates that organizational
values have a strong in
fl
 uence on managers' competencies. This also to some extent supports the
idea of managing by values where managing of organizations is focused on organizational values
and every decision is done through the scope of these values.


A first order derivative spectroscopy method was developed and validated for simultaneous estimation of Phenylephrine HCl (PE), Doxylamine Succinate (DOX) and Dextromethorphan HBr (DEX). A simple and easy UV spectrophotometric method with good sensitivity has been developed for simultaneous quantification of PE, DOX and DEX. The method employed second order derivative method based on the measurement of absorbance at two wavelengths 288.80, 264.66 and 283.24 nm, ZCP of PE, DOX and DEX respectively. The calibration curve was linear in a concentration range of 20-100 µg/ml of PE , 25-125 µg/ml of DOX and 40-200 µg/ml. the developed method was validated as per ICH Q2(R1),2005 guideline , for its accuracy ,precision , LOD and LOQ and the results were found to be satisfactory , thus the method is specific , rapid , and simple with good sensitivity for estimation of PE , DOX and DEX. These analytica l methods are also applicable in ordinary laboratories. It can also be adopted for quality control tests for these drugs.


The past 20 years have witnessed ongoing endeavors researching the factors that influence the implementation of performance budgeting. While various factors have been identified, the effort to build frameworks is still lacking. This research proposes a framework to study the nature of relationships among various political, economic, legal, and organizational factors with performance budgeting, as evidenced in US state governments. We found that the presence and the characteristics of the legal foundation, managing for performance, shared responsibilities with the legislature, and capacity building are the most important factors. The environmental factors, however, are not statistically significant.


Predicting the transition temperature, Tc, of a superconductor from Periodic Table normal state properties is regarded as one of the grand challenges of superconductivity. By studying the correlations of Periodic Table properties with known superconductors, it is possible to estimate their transition temperatures. Starting from the isotope effect and correlations of superconductivity with electronegativity (\Chi), valence electron count per atom (Ne), atomic number(Z) and formula weight (Fw), we derive an empirical formula for estimating Tc that includes an unknown parameter,(Ko). With average values of \Chi, Ne and Z, we develop a material specific characterization dataset (MSCD) model of a superconductor that is quantitatively useful for characterizing and comparing superconductors. We show that for most superconductors, Ko correlates with Fw/Z, Ne, Z, number of atoms (An) in the formula, number of elements (En) and with Tc. We study some superconductor families and use the discovered correlations to predict similar and novel superconductors and also estimate their Tcs. Thus the material specific equations derived in this paper, the material specific characterization dataset (MSCD) system developed here and the discovered correlation between Tc and Fw/Z, En and An, provide the building blocks for the analysis, design and search of potential novel high temperature superconductors with specific estimated Tcs.


The object of the study is carbonate deposits of the Upper Devonian deposits of the name of the Roman Trebs and the name of Anatoly Titov, which are one of the largest deposits among the explored continental ones in Russia. They are located in the Timan-Pechora oil and gas province, the northeastern part of the Nenets Autonomous District on the territory of the Sadayaginskaya step of the Khoyverhollow.
 The purpose of studying the deposits of the Syrachoy horizon is to identify the conditions of the formation of deposits for understanding the structure of the reservoir.
 The methodology of the work consists in a detailed study of core material, thin sections, the selection of lithological heterogeneity, their comparison with logging curves, the implementation of intra-layer correlation and comparison with seismic data.
 The main result of the work is the construction of a sedimentation model of productive deposits which became the basis for the distribution of reservoir rocks.


Conventionally, innovation theories have long held the view that innovations stem from either the introduction of breakthrough, or the marginal improvement of, products or processes. Yet according to Shumpeter (1939), new combinations do not necessary require the introduction of new structures or the improvement of existing ones. The redeployment of existing structures (e.g. technology) in new application domains (e.g. new markets) also qualifies as a ?new combination? which is considered as an innovation. the phenomenon of creating new functions for existing structures has been named as ?exaptation?. A famous example of an exaptated product is Listerine, and its shift from a surgical antiseptic to an oral health care product. The innovation and entrepreneurship literatures have only recently recognized exaptation as a mechanism for the emergence of new markets, which eventually drives entrepreneurial activity. The creation of exptative combinations requires the flexible interpretation of ?what is already known? in a manner that allow for the identification of potential functional shifts, and in linking identified functions to a fitting context. This raises the question of what determines the capacity to create new venture through new exaptative combinations? Considering that entrepreneurs usually employ knowledge that they gained through prior employment in their search for new opportunities, we argue that the previous experiences of entrepreneurial teams shape their ability to create novel technology-market combinations. Since employers are rather heterogeneous in the knowledge that they possess and transfer to their employees, the entrepreneur's knowledge base is dependent on the specific organizations where he/she previously worked. Employment at organizations with substantial abundant knowledge in particular is a significant contributor to developing an individual's knowledge base that may assist him in developing the capacity to discover novel technology-market combinations (Agarwal et al., 2004). Hence, we focus on how previous experiences at a large number of employers (high inter-organizational mobility), and its interaction with experiences at entrepreneurially prominent organizations with different social structures (Universities vs. KIS firms) shape the creation of new market niches through exaptation. To accomplish this aim, we collected, and analyzed using a probit model, data on 62 new ventures (and their corresponding 124 founders/co-founders) that have employed blockchain technology in the energy sector worldwide. Blockchain is an example of an exaptated technology as it was initially developed to keep records of all Bitcoin, the famous cryptocurrency, transactions, and was later exaptated to serve different functions in several industries. Our analysis shows that entrepreneurial teams with high levels of inter-organizational mobility are more likely than those with lower levels to create new niche markets through exaptation that teams with low levels of inter-organizational mobility. This effect of inter-organizational mobility on exaptation is distinct, based on specific prior experience at entrepreneurially prominent organizations with different social structures. In particular, we found a significant complementarity between experience at entrepreneurially prominent universities and high levels of inter-organizational mobility. On the other hand, we found a substitution effect between experience at entrepreneurially prominent KIS firms and low levels of interorganizational mobility. Our findings contribute to both innovation and entrepreneurship literatures by proposing and providing evidence that the specific experiences of entrepreneurial teams are the sources of knowledge that permits the creation of new market niches through exaptation, and by suggesting that the entrepreneurial team's experience at entrepreneurially prominent organizations with different social structures can influence the adoption of a certain entry strategy. Our findings may also encourage policy makers to challenge the current status quo (which tends to prioritize new groundbreaking technologies) by qualifying exaptative projects to receive available public grants. We also believe that our results can assist new exaptative ventures in the formation of founding teams. Agarwal, R., Echambadi, R., Franco, A. M., & Sarkar, M. B. (2004). Knowledge transfer through inheritance: Spin-out generation, development, and survival. Academy of Management Journal, 47(4), 501-522. Schumpeter, J. (1939). Business Cycles: A Theoretical, Historical, and Statistical Analysis of the Capitalist Process. London: McGraw-Hill. Exaptation and niche market creation: the role of the founding team's prior experiences Fakher Omezzine Grenoble Ecole de Management, France firstname.lastname@example.com Isabel-Maria Bodas-Freitas Grenoble Ecole de Management, France email@example.com


Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) from infected pregnant individuals to the fetus or newborn occurs from 1.2% to 4.3%. Our aim was to determine the rate of positivity among newborns delivered to infected mothers during epochs of different variants predominance.


Last month I commented on how affordable housing industry leaders' were observing signs that the nation's housing policy appeared to be headed in a new direction — a pull-back from the last two administrations' focus on homeownership and a realization by the Obama Administration and a growing number of congressional leaders that many U.S. residents' circumstances are more in step with living in rental housing. This news in other times would have been cause for great industry celebration, but in today's economy, characterized by a dearth of investors and equity, it is a call to action.


The utility model discloses an improved structure for support frames of artificial Christmas trees, which is provided with a first support foot and a second support foot that can rotate oppositely, wherein the first support foot and the second support foot are sheathed together by sheathing members which are respectively shaped on the upper end and the lower end, and the middle parts of the sheathing members are provided with jacks for the insertion of an artificial Christmas tree. Because only the sheathing members are respectively arranged on the upper ends and the lower ends of the two support feet so as to connect the two support feet by the improved structure for support frames of artificial Christmas trees, a long sheathing tube which penetrates the middle part of the entire support frame is avoided to use, and a large number of materials can be saved. Thus, the production cost of the support frame is reduced.


A kind of automatic monitoring system for underground substation is described in detail.In the system uses Siemen S7-300 PLC as underground centralized control station,which can deal with various telemechanical protocols of power system and can communicate with various intelligent electronic devices;therefore,the automatic monitoring of underground substation can be implemented.


ABSTRACT The essential oil of oregano (Lippia graveolens H.B.K.) was produced by steam distillation of samples collected from different locations in the State of Jalisco. A combination of physical and chromatographic analyses was used to determine the quality of the oils produced and to quantify thymol (the major component in this species). Based on thymol content (above 30%) and oil yield (above 1.8%), oregano from two out of twelve locations sampled in the northern part of the State of Jalisco has the possibility of a commercial exploitation.


Effort-reward imbalance and overcommitment are increasingly identified as work-related risk factors for burnout and somatic symptoms. In order to explore the situation in German kindergarten educators, a cross-sectional study based on questionnaire responses from N = 1,933 was carried out. Burnout was found in 24.4% and somatic symptoms in 47.3% of the study participants. Binary logistic regressions were used to identify effort-reward imbalance (OR = 3.75, 95% CI: 2.85–4.95) and overcommitment (OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.34–1.47) as independent predictors for burnout. Results confirm the high relevance of the effort-reward imbalance concept for the health status of kindergarten educators.


This paper considers the effects of strategic substitutabilities on performance and incentives in venture capital financing. The analysis points to a subtle link between two pivotal roles of venture capitalists: (i) monitoring ventures and setting performance incentives, and (ii) coordinating and shaping the product market strategies of ventures operating in similar product spaces. When strategic substitutabilities are strong, the VC's role is to soften potentially too aggressive product market strategies. In contrast, small strategic substitutabilities can lead to more aggressive performance incentives. This is because they enhance the VC's commitment to weed out losers, which strengthens entrepreneurial incentives and results in overall efficiency gains. We discuss our findings in light of case study evidence from the venture capital industry.


Taoist power transmission is the most important link in the development of Taoism, and there are usually six types:teacher-pupil type, organization type, family type, consulting type, pretending type, temple type, each of which has its own obvious characteristics. It is not only a reflection of social reality, but also a historical process, and has its unique evolution.


Using compressed air foam system and drainage apparatus,the drainage process of compressed air foam with typical protein based class A agent was studied under the concentration range of 0.3%~(2.4%,) and an analysis model was proposed for the drainage process.It was found that a delay period exists before foam drains,and the drainage rate firstly rises to a peak and then drops slowly to zero,which is different to the empirical thought that drainage decreases from the moment that drainage begins.Some important drainage parameters as maximum drainage rate,specific constant of drainage and drainage half-life are all related closely to the foam concentration.Increasing the concentration will lead the maximum drainage rate and the specific constant of drainage rate to decay exponentially while the half-life of drainage shows an exponential increase.The model was found to be in good agreement with the experimental result and reflect the drainage process of compressed air foam well.


The processes of LAMBDA ( SIGMA /sup 0/) hyperon and K/sup o/-meson generation in pi /sup -/p collisions were studied at the pi /sup -/ meson energy of 6.8 Bev. Cross sections for the production of LAMBDA ( SIGMA /sup 0/) and K/sup 0/, the relations between the cross sections for the generation of y/ sup 0/K and KK pairs, the average multiplicity of charged particles, the angular and momentum distributions of LAMBDA and K/sup 0/ in the center-of-mass system, and the distributions of the transverse momenta of LAMBDA and K/sup 0/ were obtained. (auth)


The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious. -Marcus Aurelius, 121-180 CE IN THE EARLY 4th century BCE, more than five centuries before the great philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius made the observation quoted above, Gallic tribes sacked Rome. Faced with the first real threat to its existence, the young Roman state recognized the need to rethink how it organized for combat. Of the various changes adopted, the most important and extreme transformation was the abandonment of the Greek-style phalanx. This military organizational structure had been long-established as the most effective way to achieve success against opponents with a similar operational paradigm. However, the Romans understood that - unlike Greece - Italy and Gaul were not governed by city states, whose armies met on large plains deemed suitable by both sides to settle disputes. Rather, they were a collection of hill tribes adept at using the complex terrain to their advantage. Accordingly, the Romans acknowledged the need for something more flexible than the unwieldy, slow-moving phalanx to achieve their operational goals. Faced with a newly complex operating environment, the Romans took the transformative step of adopting the more flexible infantry formations of their most tenacious enemies, the Samnites.1 Today, America is experiencing an analogous military epiphany as its military adapts to complex, adaptive, and asymmetric operating environments that defy accepted military conventions. In January 2008, in the wake of its final after action review from its 2006-2007 deployment to northern Iraq, the U.S. Army 25th Infantry Division Headquarters found itself revising longstanding organizational thinking to adapt its structure to the new demands it would face in northern Iraq later that year. The division's new operational milieu presented an increasingly complex operating environment, an adaptive asymmetric threat, and a traditional staff organization ill-suited to deal adequately and effectively with either. The division recognized a vital requirement to rethink how to organize its staff to best meet the commander's vision and intent (as embodied in our campaign plan). We felt this reorganization should fulfill three critical roles: inform and enhance the commander's decision making cycle, create a logical nesting of our staff processes with the Joint architecture used by our higher headquarters, and make our subordinate units more effective in their counterinsurgency roles across northern Iraq. To support the needs of the command, we applied a deliberate problem-solving process. This process was rooted in "value-focused" thinking; that is, we first delineated what was important to achieve - operational success (what we valued). Then we built our organization around it. The result was a staff organization employing an "operations, targeting, and effects synchronization" (OTES) process appropriate to our goals. This process evolved in the context of Joint doctrine, as we projected the best likelihood for achieving the "enduring effects" envisioned in our campaign plan. This article sets forth * The methodology we applied. * The results ?? the process. * The implementation of the desired course of action. * An assessment of how it performed in a combat environment. Methodology * Our staff organization methodology began in January 2008, after the 25th Infantry Division's after action review of its recent deployment to northern Iraq from August 2006 to October 2007. Foremost among various lessons learned, we determined that a conventional Prussian general staff structure was inadequate to address the complexities of the evolving operational environment. The following factors drove this determination: * There was exponential growth in relevant available information. * Staff responsibility lines had become less clear as problem complexity grew. * There was a limited ability to synchronize efforts in time and space. …


Islamic finance has gained interest in Muslim as well as non-Muslim countries as financial markets are trying to attract capital from investors in search of investment opportunities in accordance with Islamic principles. While the industry is growing on fertile grounds in countries such as Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, a mix of other countries such as the United Kingdom, Luxemburg, Hong Kong, Senegal, South Africa etc., have tapped into that market by issuing Sukuk or Islamic bonds, although their regulatory frameworks are not designed for their specificities. In 2010, Benin, a former French colony, which inherited its secular constitution has introduced Islamic microfinance without modifying its regulatory framework. The objectives in this paper are three-fold: review the microfinance policy, the regulatory framework and its relevance to the effective functioning of Islamic microfinance. The paper also presents the experience of Benin in Islamic microfinance, and the evaluation of its impact in a policy environment characterized by secularism that implies exclusion of religious specificities. Using a combination of evaluation studies, survey of stakeholders and experts in Islamic microfinance in Benin, and complementary interviews, this research finds that the impact of Islamic microfinance is not separable from the impact of the overall microfinance sector in which it is blended. The impact appears to be positive in terms of contributing to the improvement of living conditions, and loosening the financing constraints on households and small and medium enterprises through additional financial resources.