The U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory has developed a railroad track maintenance management decision support system called RAILER. The detailed track inspection procedures are designed to implement the recently issued Army Track Standards in a manner consistent with the larger goals of RAILER, thus promoting both track safety and track maintenance management. The inspection procedures are divided into six track component areas, and field inspection forms have been developed that guide the inspector through the inspection of each component area. The inspection procedures include measures for dealing with track components that are hidden, such as by vegetation or road crossings. In addition to the Army Track Standards, the inspection procedures can also support other track standards such as those propagated by the FRA or designed by a private operator. This property serves to facilitate a transfer to the civilian sector. The inspection procedures also take advantage of the RAILER computer software to ease the overall burden of the inspector.


Consider a terrestrial free-space optical (FSO) communication system with a potential eavesdropper outside the laser beam who can capture the information through a non-line-of-sight scattering channel. We study the information security risks in this system under different atmospheric conditions and show that the risks can be neglected for the high-visibility condition while they become serious for the low-visibility situation. We further show the secrecy capacity when the eavesdropper changes locations and present a 2-D distribution. Finally, the secrecy capacity outage probability of a turbulence-induced FSO system is derived. It is found that the secure transmission system performance is very sensitive to the background radiation and required transmission rate under strong turbulence."?>.


The article presents cost of equity estimation of capital groups from the fuel and energy sector, listed at the Warsaw Stock Exchange, based on the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). The objective of the article was to perform a valuation of equity with the application of CAPM, based on actual financial data and stock exchange data and to carry out a sensitivity analysis of such cost, depending on the financing structure of the entity. The objective of the article formulated in this manner has determined its' structure. It focuses on presentation of substantive analyses related to the core of equity and methods of estimating its' costs, with special attention given to the CAPM. In the practical section, estimation of cost was performed according to the CAPM methodology, based on the example of leading fuel and energy companies, such as Tauron GE and PGE. Simultaneously, sensitivity analysis of such cost was performed depending on the structure of financing the company's operation.


We study conformal field theories (CFTs) on curved spaces including both orientable and unorientable manifolds possibly with boundaries. We first review conformal transformations on curved manifolds. We then compute the identity components of conformal groups acting on various metric spaces using a simple fact; given local coordinate systems be single-valued. Boundary conditions thus obtained which must be satisfied by conformal Killing vectors (CKVs) correctly reproduce known conformal groups. As a byproduct, on $\mathbb S^1_l\times\mathbb H^2_r$, by setting their radii $l=Nr$ with $N\in\mathbb N^\times$, we find (the identity component of) the conformal group enhances, whose persistence in higher dimensions is also argued. We also discuss forms of correlation functions on these spaces using the symmetries. Finally, we study a $d$-torus $\mathbb T^d$ in detail, and show the identity component of the conformal group acting on the manifold in general is given by $\text{Conf}_0(\mathbb T^d)\simeq U(1)^d$ when $d\ge2$. Using the fact, we suggest some candidates of conformal manifolds of CFTs on $\mathbb T^d$ without assuming the presence of supersymmetry (SUSY). In order to clarify which parts of correlation functions are physical, we also discuss renormalization group (RG) and local counterterms on curved spaces.


Basing on the materials from a traditional regional novel "P'ing-Min-Shih-P'a-Tung"(平閩十八洞), which is a Ming Dynasty written but published in Ching Dynasty novel concerning the battles between the natives in the southern Fukien province and the migrants of Han people from the North, the present paper tries to identify the tribal characters and the affinity of the native group, and more importantly to delineate the human-animal relationship or the totemic phenomena of the people revealed in the text. According to various evidences, the present author inclines to say that the native people described in the text was a southern minority group close related to the present day "she nationality"(畬族). The human-animal relations described in the novel are rather abundant and interesting. The author uses these rich materials as an example to delineate and disentangle the differences and the interrelations of two kinds of totemism often discussed in anthropological works: the symbolic totemism of metaphoric classification and the religious totemism of classical sense.


The solvent reorganisation around the proton has been investigated in mixtures of water with the dimethyl ethers of diethylene glycol and triethylene glycol using spectrophotometric observations on dilute solutions of 4-nitroaniline. The protonation occurs at only one basic site on the multiple ethers and the equilibrium constant is much greater than for simple ethers and alcohols. The Gibbs energy of transfer of the proton from water into the mixture is calculated. Comparing ΔGot(H+) with those for simple ethers and alcohols, it is concluded that the end ether group is the preferred basic site in the multiple ethers. ΔGot(H+) from this method are compared with ΔGot(H+) determined using the TATB method for a range of co-solvents: good agreement is obtained, except where enhanced structure is found in the water + co-solvent mixtures.


AbstractThis paper suggests that we understand Aristotle's notion of nobility (τὸ καλόν) as what is morally praiseworthy, arguing that nobility is not to be understood impartially, that Aristotle is an egoist at the level of justification (though not at the level of motivation), and that he uses the idea of the noble as a bridge between self-interest and moral virtue. Implications for contemporary ethics are discussed.


Shaw states, modernismo and the 'Gmeration of 1898' 'shared a common evistcntial malaise'. Elscwhere Dr Shaw goes much further, and in his 'Modemismo: A Contribution to the Debate', BHS, XLIV (1967), 195-202, he argued that modernismo's true explanation lies in 'the tragic vision ol existence' of its major exponents, whose work 'would bear idcological investigation of the type too often reserved for that of Machado and Unamuno'. It is a pity that he does not follow his


Endostatin is a cleaved fragment of collagen Type XVIII and has antiangiogenic activity. The clinical significance of circulating, soluble endostatin (S‐endostatin) is not known.


Flower-like hierarchical Bi2WO6 and Bi2WO6∶Er3+ microspheres were synthesized by a hydrothermal method.Bi2WO6∶Er3+ microspheres exhibited pure green upconversion lumminescence(2H11/2/4S3/2→4I15/2) under 980 nm excitation.The annealing temperature as well as Er3+-doped content had not evident influence on the spectrum shape of Er3+.Bi2WO6∶Er3+,in addition to the aforementioned luminescence properties,also showed high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RhB under visible light irradiation.The photodegradation efficiency of RhB reached 68.9% and 95.3% for Bi2WO6 and Bi2WO6∶Er3+,respectively.The enhancement of photocatalytic activity would be related to the both the larger RhB adsorbance and the visible-to-ultraviolet upconversion of Er3+ ions.


Influential factor was investigated during determining apparent density. The difference of apparent densities were obtained from different sampling amounts of powder. Authors were able to explain this phenomenon by means of the potential energy of powder particles from funnel to cup of the apparatus and the tapped powder in the cup because of striking action of falling powder particles overmuch to the cup.


Structure of milk-derived antihypertension peptides,antibacterial peptides and antioxidative pepides have some important effect on their function,especially primary structure and secondary structure.This paper summarizes the amounts,contents,types,positions of amino acids and the amounts of proline,hydrophobicity amino acids,alkalinity amino acids,and their position as well as the change of α-helix and β-sheet how to effect on their activity.


Small-group activities - or self-directed work teams - are extremely important elements of individual, as well as organizational, development. They are a means of stretching an employee's abilities, while at the same time boosting your company's business achievements. But when small group activities fail, it's usually because the group was never properly trained, or really didn't have the necessary control over the activity. Here's when small group activities succeed: When management sets the vision, and then successfully transfers that vision to the group along with the power to carry it out. But a group needs guidance. Go Go Tools is a fresh new book that gives you a concise - just five powerful tools is all it takes - and creative set of tools to clearly establish management objectives, and then helps you connect these objectives with your employees through self-directed work teams. The purpose of the tools is to allow small groups to solve problems expertly and quickly. For your benefit, the tools have been clearly arranged so that each corresponds to a definite step of the problem solving process. So use this energizing guide to breathe new life into your small group activities and increase the effectiveness of your teams, meetings, and improvement processes. Lead and motivate your team to successfully carry out simple, yet powerful improvements that will continuously build their loyalty and enthusiasm towards your improvement efforts.


We describe the installation and use of the Windows 95/NT version of PCx, the primal-dual interior-point code for linear programming. This document is a supplement to the PCx User Guide, which describes the Unix version of the code. The current version number is 1.0.


Background: Cognitive training is an important determinant of successful aging but rural areas of Canada are uniquely deprived from accessing such speciality services. A need exists to examine the application of cognitive training through a rural lens. Objectives: 1. To develop a novel collaborative approach to improving access to cognitive training in rural settings. 2. To evaluate the efficacy of a multicomponent cognitive training program for improving cognition in normal elderly persons. Treatment Conditions: Experimental training (ET) consisted of three modules: (1) Executive Functioning, (2) Memory, and (3) Psychosocial Training. Active control (AC) consisted of word searches, reading short stories and answering multiple-choice questions. Method: A multisite, randomized control, double-blind trial was conducted with 28 experimental participants (Mage = 70.68 ± 8.89) and 28 active controls (Mage = 74.39 ± 9.39). Treatments were self-administered 1 hour/ 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Pre-and post-training neuropsychological measures were utilized as determinants of program success. Results: Compared to the AC group, the ET group displayed significant gains on targeted abilities, executive (p = .002) and memory (p < .001), but not psychosocial (p =.105) ability. Training-induced benefits were also observed for the ET group on untrained measures of global (BCRS, p = .002) and functional abilities (DAD, p < .001; FRS, p = .042). Performance improvements were more reliable for the ET than AC for executive (55.5% vs. 12.5%), memory (55% vs. 19.5%) and functional ability (41% vs. 7.5%). Participant recruitment and compliance rates were enhanced by the involvement of a physician. Conclusion: Results support the efficacy of multicomponent cognitive training in reliably improving targeted and functional abilities. Physicians are critical players to the delivery of regimented cognitive training for older adults both in terms of recruitment and compliance. ii


Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) measures changes in the hemoglobin oxygenation state in the human brain. NIRS has recently started to be used for neuroimaging as well as for clinical monitoring. CW-type NIRS instruments have high temporal resolution and allow prolonged-time and continuous measurements, but they do not provide absolute values of changes in hemoglobin concentrations. In contrast, time-resolved spectroscopy (TRS), which uses short-pulse laser diodes as light sources, makes quantification possible. Quantification is necessary for imaging of brain activity. Recently, a 64-channel time-resolved optical tomographical imaging system (optical CT) and a single-channel TRS instrument have been developed. By the use of this optical CT or combining the single-channel TRS instrument with the multichannel CW-type NIRS instrument, we can obtain topographical images. NIRS is completely noninvasive and does not require strict motion restriction during measurements, unlike PET and fMRI. NIRS will provide a new direction for functional mapping studies.


This paper established mathematical model to analyze temperature distribution of the 4kA single-phase GIS bus.Finite element method is used to calculate power loss,which indirectly coupled to temperature and flow field.Analysis result illustrates that the temperature field distribution is symmetric,lowest temperature is at the bottom of the enclosure,while the highest is on the top of the conductor.The highest flow speed comes up over the conductor and at the bottom of the enclosure,the SF6 gas is almost static. Comparing the simulation result and experiment data,the coincidence shows the accuracy of the calculation.At the end of the paper, different contact resistance of bus conductor,as simulated failure,are assumed to estimate temperature change on the surface of the enclosure,which supported temperature on-line monitoring for GIS bus contact in theory.


This paper explores the need of better test support tools based on Protractor for web applications. It performs a development to enhance the tests traceability and to ease the application of the DRY and SOLID development principles with the creation of a specific tool and an ad-hoc framework. All of this, together, aims to enhance the maintainability of Protractor-based testing suites.


The Odour Emission Capacity (OEC) is an experimental parameter that quantifies the odour potential of a liquid, in terms of ou E /m 3liquid , based on the stripping of odorants contained in a known amount volume of liquid. The method was implemented for the first time in 1998 by Frechen and Köster and standardized in 2015 in the German technical standard VDI Guideline 3885/1. In particular, the sampling steps of gas phase for the dynamic olfatctometry analysis were fixed at 2, 6, 16 and 32 minutes. This work aims to propose a modified methodology to evaluate this parameter in wastewater which come from the sewer systems and industrial wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) characterized by high odour load (e.g. oil-refinery desalter water, oil-well water). The implementation of a system of dilution for the sampled gas, has appeared to be an important aspect to take into account in case of high odorous load, because it allows to perform the analysis also with smaller liquid volume (i.e. 1 L), a necessary condition for lab logistics and safety considerations as the safeguard of the involved operator's health (e.g. panel members, lab analysts). In order to improve the accuracy of the result and optimize the methodology, a different approach was studied through the increase in the number of odour concentration measurements and the modification of the sampling times. Results show that increasing the time of analysis from 32 min to 2 days, the trend of the time-varying integral of OEC reaches a quasi -stationarity respect the same curve associated to the OEC estimated with the standard methodology.


The artistic creation by the people in the prime Tang Dynasty has different features and styles but their aesthetic pursuits for unsophisticated nature and true manner as well as sentiment are in common, thus forming the aesthetic morale "out of clear water lotus engraved by nature" and creating brilliant poetry and art in the prime Tang Dynasty.


Geodesic domes are hemispherical thin-shell structures based on network of geodesics (great circles) on the surface of a sphere or a hemisphere. Great circles intersect to form triangular elements which make domes stronger to resist wind loads. They are made from platonic solids especially from icosahedron. The design of geodesic dome is quite difficult without understanding the basic concepts. This paper aims at explaining the concepts behind the design of geodesic domes.


Slightly ionized plasmas with a Maxwellian electron velocity distribution and non‐Maxwellian electronneutral molecule interaction are treated by using a modified Langevin equation having a complex dissipative factor g in the manner proposed by Molmud. At frequencies near the average electron collision frequency, this factor is evaluated and plotted for two plasma types in which the electron‐neutral molecule interaction is non‐Maxwellian. The interactions approximate that between an electron and an air or nitrogen molecule, and that between an electron and a helium molecule. The results are used to compute the microwave power transmission coefficient and transmission phase shift, assuming a plane wave‐uniform plasma slab geometry, for weakly ionized plasmas with the above interactions, at frequencies near the average electron collision frequency. Composite parametric plots are developed from the computations which provide a convenient means for obtaining the plasma electron number density and average elect...


An extended lattice model for reaction limited cluster-cluster aggregation is studied, where different kinds and states of bonds between monomers are considered. The decrease of the numbers of possible bonds per monomer yields decreasing fractal dimensions, which differ from the usual values obtained for diffusion limited and reaction limited clustercluster aggregation regimes, respectively


Abstract : This is an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems design document that describes the standards or convention the Department of Defense (DoD) will use to transmit a Purchase Order using the ASC X12 Transaction Set 850 Purchase Order (003010).


A low temperature (300°C–350°C) TiN thermal ALD process using titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) and anhydrous hydrazine was developed to yield films with resistivities below 200 μohm-cm. Surface treatments such as Ar plasma and atomic hydrogen were applied to further reduce the surface impurities including all halogens. These experiments indicate that minimizing oxygen concentration using an ultra-clean ALD process with minimum background oxidants and high purity precursors are keys in producing TiN thin films with low resistivity.


ABSTRACT The growing number of children in primary schools in Germany who have German as their second language (L2) has raised questions about the fairness of performance assessment. Fair tests are a prerequisite for distinguishing between L2 learning delay and a specific learning disability. We evaluated five commonly used reading and spelling tests for measurement invariance (MI) as a function of first language (German vs. other). Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses revealed strict MI for the Weingarten Basic Vocabulary Spelling Tests (WRTs) 3+ and 4+ and the Salzburger Reading (SLT) and Spelling (SRT) Tests, suggesting these instruments are suitable for assessing reading and spelling skills regardless of first language. The MI for A Reading Comprehension Test for First to Seventh Graders – 2nd Edition (ELFE II) was partly strict with unequal intercepts for the text subscale. We discuss the implications of this finding for assessing reading performance of children with L2.


Robot-assisted surgery for gastrointestinal cancers began to be covered by universal health insurance in April 2018 in Japan. However, the current status of this new procedures such as the number of patients and clinical outcomes was unclear. The aim of this study to retrospectively examine the dissemination and safety of robot-assisted esophagectomy (RAE) in Japan using a nationwide web-based database, or the National Clinical Database (NCD).

 The study included patients who underwent RAE or conventional minimum invasive esophagectomy (MIE) and were registered in the NCD in 2018. The outcomes were operative mortality and the numbers of hospitals and surgeons performing the surgeries.

 The number of patients undergoing RAE and MIE was 122 and 4799, respectively. RAE was performed at 28 hospitals by 37 surgeons, while MIE was done at 523 hospitals by 837 surgeons. In terms of annual case volume per hospital, RAE was likely to be performed in higher volume centers. The number of patients undergoing RAE per month in Japan was less than 5 before insurance coverage began. It has increased to more than 10 since April. Operative mortality occurred in 2 (1.6%) patients following RAE, while it occurred in 78 (1.6%) following MIE.

 RAE was safely introduced in Japan. The number of patients undergoing RAE and surgeons and hospitals performing it were gradually increasing but still limited.


The invention discloses an anti-freezing film capable of being quickly sealed and a preparation method thereof. The film is formed by composition of biaxial tension polypropylene and a polypropylene film, wherein the polypropylene film consists of a corona layer, an intermediate layer and a heat-sealing layer; the heat-sealing layer comprises metallocene three-element blocking polypropylene, an ethylene elastomer, an antitackiness agent and a slip agent the weight ratio of which is 50-86.5: 18-20: 1-2: 1-1.5. The preparation method comprises the following steps in turn: a step of extrusion, a step of solidifying a sharp cooling roller, a step of cooling, a step of thickness measurement, a step of corona, a step of swing, a step of edge cutting, a step of composition of BOPP and CPP and a step of forming a spiral-wound film through cutting. Compared with the prior art, the anti-freezing film capable of being quickly sealed has the characteristics of good anti-freezing property, cold resistance and mechanical performance, obvious shock resistance effect and penetration resistance effect, low initial sealing temperature, short heat-sealing time and high sealing intensity, and is suitable for a modern quick automatic packaging unit.


Nonlinear finite element analyses are performed to determine the ultimate strength of a double hull VLCC under pure vertical, horizontal and biaxial bending. A parametric finite element model is developed and the influence of nonlinear material behavior, mesh size and model length on the hull girder ultimate strength is demonstrated exemplarily for hogging and sagging conditions. An appropriate parameter configuration with respect to numerical efforts and accuracy is used to perform static implicit analyses for horizontal bending and biaxial load cases. Convergence is reached by using the full Newton-Raphson scheme — an incremental iterative solution approach. The results are validated against the well-established Smith method. Due to welding, initial deflections and residual stresses are produced. For the proposed finite element model initial deflections of plating and stiffeners have been considered. Furthermore, the influence of welding residual stresses on the ultimate hull girder strength is demonstrated for the different load cases. Nonlinear finite element analyses are also performed to determine the residual strength of the damaged double hull VLCC under combined loads. Different symmetric grounding damages are implemented by removing structural components of the model. Expectedly, the results show that the ultimate strength of the structure decreases as the damage extent increases.


Chiral metamaterials have attracted great interests in recent years owing to fascinating properties such as negative refraction, strong optical activity, and circular dichroism, which can be applied in many optoelectronic devices. Helix is especially suitable for studying chiral responses as the helical geometry well resembles the feature of circularly polarized light. In this study, we use a helix structure as a model system to demonstrate the general response of circularly polarized light in a three-dimensional dielectric helix nanostructure. The optical characterization is performed based on finitedifference time-domain (FDTD) method and our results show that the helix structure, consisting of dielectric helices arranged in a square lattice, exhibits multiple resonant peaks. The retrieved effective parameters from the complex transmittance and reflectance will be presented and the dispersion characteristics will be discussed based on various geometric parameters. The resonant frequencies can be tuned by structural parameters, and negative permeability can be achieved when the resonances are adjacent in frequencies. Depending on the geometrical arrangements, we will demonstrate the unique optical properties in an anisotropic helix nanostructure. Our analysis yields physical insight into the interaction of circularly polarized light with a three-dimensional chiral nanostructure, and provides design guidelines towards the implementation of all-dielectric photonic metamaterials.


This paper analyzes the consumption structure of the rural residents in Henan province from 2001 to 2008 with grey incidence analysis. The results show that the farmer' s consumption in Henan province is still characteristic of daily-needs-type and material dominated, and the farmer's life is chan-ging from the daily-needs-type to well-off-type and richness-type. Finally, some countermeasures are put forward to improve or optimize the farmer's consumption structure.


Due to considerable error rate and insufficient qubits in supporting full-scale quantum error correction, the Variational Quantum Algorithm (VQAs), which adopts a classical optimizer to train a parameterized quantum circuit, stands out as one of the most promising algorithms for Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices.


K e y words : Osmotic pressure — Mannitol — Proton NMR relaxation — Selfdiffusion — Membrane rupture — M n 2 + — Zea mays I n t r o d u c t i o n Cells of various plant species exhibit different sensitivity to osmotic stress. Dif ferences may also occur within a species or even between different organs of the same plant (Meidner 1983; Morgan 1984). For instance, epidermal cells of onion can survive water stress of —12.9 M P a during 20 hours (Pal ta et al. 1977). On the other hand, growth of maize stem, silk and leaves was completely inhibited at water potentials of -0 .50, —0.75 and —1.0 MPa, while root growth continued to —1.4 M P a (Westgate and Boyer 1985) **. In previous studies by Pal ta et al. * to whom all correspondence should be addressed ** According to Slávik (1974) water potential (ipw) of a plant cell is defined as the sum of three contr ibut ions: xl>w = ij>3 + 4>v + il>",, where V's is osmotic (solute) potential 5 7 0 Anisimov et al. (1977) cell survival was controlled by protoplasmic streaming or by plasmolysis in a hypertonic mannitol solution. In this work we used proton NMR relaxation method to test the action of an osmoticum (mannitol) in a concentration range of 1-15%, on the intactness of the cell membrane. Proton spin-lattice relaxation time, T\, of cellular water was measured in roots of Zea mays L, to follow dehydration of cells upon increasing external mannitol concentration. Measurements of restricted diffusion of cellular water (self-diffusion constant, D e / / ) in the same range of osmotic concentrations could be interpreted in terms of increasing populations of ruptured cells with the increasing concentration. Additional evidence for an increased permeability of membranes at higher osmotic pressures was obtained from ion transport studies on intact plants using M n 2 + as a paramagnetic ionic probe. M a t e r i a l s and M e t h o d s Plants The experiments were done with 8-9 days old maize plants (Zea mays L., var ZP SC 46A). The previously washed seeds were placed between sheets of wet filter paper and grown in dark at 25 °C. Three to four days old plants were then transferred into aerated half-strength Knopp solution, and grown for 5 days under controlled environment until the roots reached a length of 15-20 cm. Spin-lattice relaxation time (T\) measurements The spin-lattice relaxation time, Ti, was measured with a proton spin echo NMR (model IJS-2-71 modified relaxometer and a home made spin-echo instrument) using either 90°-ť90° or 180°-ť-90° pulse sequence at a resonance frequency of 32 MHz (Farrar and Becker 1971). In a first series of experiments the roots of intact plants were kept for 1 hour in mannitol solution of a specific concentration, then blotted, cut into segments, and placed into an NMR sample tube to measure T\. In another series of experiments the roots of intact plants were placed after pretreatment with mannitol (1 h) in a specially constructed NMR unit with continual perfusion of nutrient solution containing paramagnetic label MnCl 2 (Ratkovic and Vučinié 1990). S elf-diffusion (Deff) measurements Self-diffusion constant (D) of root tissue water was measured using the method of pulsed magnetic field gradient spin echo (PGSE) (Steiskal and Tanner 1965; Anisimov 1982). The diffusion constant was calculated from the ratio of the relative amplitudes of the spin echo in presence A(2r) and absence of the pulsed gradient, A(0), and the intensity of the pulsed magnetic field gradient (g): or osmotic pressure, il>p is hydrostatic or pressure potential, and Vm is matric potential (surface interactions in the cytoplasm and the cell wall). Therefore, the osmotic potential 4>Í describes decrease of the total water potential due to substances dissolved in water (e.g. mannitol). There are also alternative terminologies (Slávik 1974). NMR Study of Osmotic Effects in Cells 571


Reusable, inexpensive, and rapid testing of payloads in near-space conditions is an unfilled niche that could speed development of flight-ready projects. With growing availability of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and open source software, high-altitude ballooning (HAB) has become a viable option for rapid prototyping of ideas in near-space conditions. A product of the Jet Propulsions Laboratory's (JPL) collaborative Innovation to Flight (i2F) program, the Zephyrus system is a proposed HAB solution for high-altitude testing and atmospheric observation, a cheaper and easy-to-use alternative to traditional HAB systems. The Zephyrus system permits testing of small-to mid-sized instruments in the upper atmosphere (approximately 35,000 m maximum altitude) using a reusable common architecture. Over the summer of 2017, the i2F team demonstrated all of these key features of the Zephyrus platform via four test flights. Zephyrus I, II, III, and IV were successfully launched, tracked, and recovered over groundtracks of up to approximately 50 km and altitudes of approximately 30,000 m by a team averaging eight individuals, while accomplishing a majority of the intended science. This included a turnaround time of less than two weeks between two flight tests with differing instrumentation. Lessons from the Zephyrus I flight were successfully used in the Zephyrus II flight to speed up launch time and operations procedures (e.g. rigorous pre-launch preparation). Likewise, the Zephyrus III flight brought the cost of relaunching a mid-sized payload to 28,500 m down significantly. Many diverse instruments and experiments were tested during the Zephyrus missions (e.g. inflatable origami reflectors, flexible solar panels), demonstrating the system's versatility. From concept to first flight of Zephyrus I in just five weeks, followed by turnarounds as short as two weeks, the team demonstrated that it is entirely possible to bring to bear cost-effective, hobbyist HAB techniques in meaningful high-altitude testing using a new reusable test platform.


Background: Regional blocks in the field of anaesthesia were done traditionally with paraesthesia technique. To overcome the demerits with paraesthesia technique, nerve locator was applied for nerve blocks. Later, the application of ultrasonogram for regional blocks got the real time imaging of the nerves and drug administration. This resulted in publications of numerous studies with variable results. Therefore we planned to compare ultrasonogram and nerve locator in popliteal sciatic nerve block in our population. Methods: A prospective, randomized, observer blinded study was planned to compare the nerve stimulator (Group N) and ultrasound (Group U) on duration of 'block technique', number of needle reinsertions in popliteal sciatic nerve block for ankle and foot surgeries. We included all consented patients aged ≥18 years of both genders belonging to ASA I to III and excluded pregnant mothers, diabetes mellitus, neuropathy, chronic opioid use, positioning difficulty, coagulopathy, nerve block contraindications, local anaesthetic allergic patients. Results: The duration of block technique in Group U = 262.00 ± 108.36 Seconds and Group N = 715.16 ± 234.66 Seconds with statistically significant P value = 0.0001. The average number of needle reinsertions in Group N = 6.05 ± 2.31 and Group U = 2.46 ± 1.11 with statistically significant p value of 0.0001. Therefore the time taken to perform the block and the number of needle reinsertions in Group U is shorter than the Group N. Conclusion: The duration of block technique and number of needle reinsertions are better with ultrasound. Though the onset of motor and sensory blockade were better with ultrasound success rate is not significantly different.


Most English Bible translations render in ֶפֹש-ָהְלָאה Gen 19:9 with some variant of "Stand back!" However, a very few interpreters recommend a translation along the lines of "Come closer!" more in keeping with the typical gloss on נןש . A detailed study of the syntax and semantics of both נןש and הלאה, as well as constructions similar to ֶפֹש-ָהְלָאה demonstrates the strength of the minority suggestion.


The study analysis three personalities who generated selfrecords for a long period of time on their personality development and especially on character questions. The autobiographies** of Franklin, Gandhi and Thoreau's Walden experiment are studied as paradigmatic modes of enhancing intentionally one's own autonomy as a necessary condition to increase the personal ability to cope with major social conflicts for the sake of common good. The educational value of Franklin's methods for character training is based on practical exercises carried with students.


The objective of this work is to model, taking into account the stochastic nature of the pulses, the generation, acquisition and processing of these, generating simulated pulses with a high level of fidelity. The pulse are used to quantify the performance in resolution in time and energy, as well as evaluate all parameters involved in the measurement chain.


This study explored movie transportation's role in the relationship between movie watching and tourism. Based on the transportation theory, the results indicated that movie transportation (i.e., movie immersion) had a significant impact on the viewers' affective place images, cognitive place images, and visitation interest. Regardless of movie content, the more the movie viewers were transported, the more favorable impressions they had for the featured tourism sites and consequently the more interested they were in traveling to the target place. Moreover, the results also demonstrated that movie transportation did weaken violent movie content's influence. Particularly, for the highly transported audience, there were no significant differences between the movie groups in terms of their perceptions of place images. However, significant differences were found among the audience that was not well transported. Finally, this study found that both affective place image and cognitive place image could enhance the viewers' visitation interest.


Nickel based super alloy, Inconel 718 is a very hard material (46 HRC). Because of its hardness, work hardening and low thermal conductivity, its machining is very difficult. End milling is an effective method for machining, drilling, slotting, and making key ways of Inconel 718. Tensile residual stress takes place during machining of Inconel 718. It is a critical problem, which is minimized to obtain better quality. Residual stress becomes more in the presence of rough machined surface. In this paper we optimize the surface roughness of Inconel 718 in end milling under dry condition. The surface roughness is optimized using four parameter nose radius, depth of cut, feed rate and cutting speed by using a cemented carbide tool. L27 orthogonal array of Taguchi method uses to analyse the result. 27 experimental runs based on L27 orthogonal array of Taguchi method.


In this work we investigated the effect of congestion over the average throughput, average packet loss, average packet retransmission and average energy consumption of the various nodes of the 802.11 ad hoc networks. Due to lack of coordination and sharing in these networks a number of problems has been encountered. One among the various problems that lowers the performance of ad hoc networks is the window mechanism of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). To handle this problem TCP with fractional window (FeW) mechanism has been proposed earlier that has given very good results as compared to original TCP. Here in our work we implemented the same mechanism with another variant of TCP known as TCP with selective acknowledgement (TCP-SACK) and named the modified version as SACK-FeW. Our simulation results have shown that the proposed scheme improves SACK's performance in 802.11 adhoc networks.


The invention provides a method for authenticating identification among peer-to-peer nodes in a P2P network. Each peer-to-peer node in the P2P network has a certificate which is acquired when a user node logs on the network through a certificate server, and the certificate comprises an encryption result of a private key of the certificate server to a public key of the user node. The method comprises the following steps: a first user node transmits an identification authentication message to a second user node in the network, wherein the identification authentication message comprises a certificate of the first user node and the public key of the first user node; a second user node authenticates identification of the first user node by the identification authentication message, after authentication succeeds, the identification authentication message is returned to the first user node, wherein the identification authentication message comprises a certificate of the second user node and the public key of the second user node; and the first user node authenticates the identification of the second user node by the identification authentication message returned by the second user node, and if the authentication succeeds, identification authentication between two user nodes succeeds.


This paper explores the concept of currency arbitrage detection using basic Lin ear Programming methods. A thorough introduction to currency exchange is given. The Arbitrage Theorem is proven, and the key related concept of pricing via arbitrage is illustrated with an extended example. Next, the basics of Lin ear Programming are explained theoretically and shown through example. This information is then used to solve for arbitrage opportunities between five major currencies at one point in time, yielding four distinct solution sets. Results are discussed and relativized in the discussion section, where the reader can also find a brief summary of some related literature in the field.


A bioactive compound means a substance which has a biological activity. The definition
of bioactive compounds takes different dimensions like deriving from nature or synthetic,
compounds usually occur in small quantity, adhere potential effect on human health. It is
well known that many organism like sponge, jellyfish, fish, coral, mussels, bivalves, sea hare,
seahorse, crustacean, marine plants and turtles yield bioactive compounds of great
importance to human welfare.
The long coastline of 8129 Km2 with an EEZ of 2.02 million Sq. km including the continental
shelf of 0.5 million Sq. Km harbors extensively rich multitude of species. Vast regions of
mangroves are found along the coast of West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu,
Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andaman Islands which extends up to about 682000 ha area. Coral
reefs are found in the Gulf of Kutch, along the Maharashtra coast, Kerala coast, in the Gulf of
Mannar, Palk Bay and the Wadge Bank along the Tamilnadu coast and around Andaman and
Lakshadweep Islands. The variety of coastal ecosystems include brackish water lakes, lagoons,
estuaries, back waters, salt marshes, rocky bottom, sandy bottom and muddy areas provides
a home and shelter for the mega biodiversity of India. These regions support very rich fauna
and flora and constitute rich biological diversity of marine ecosystems. This great mega
diversity of abundant species along the Indian marine ecosystems provided immense
opportunity for the exploration and utilization of the bioactive compounds.


Equilibrium models of receptor-mediated cellular responses to bioactive molecules allow a reasonable description of mono-modal responses. Over the last decade polymodal responses have been observed in many in vivo and in vitro systems. Polymodal responses can be partially explained as a series of mono-modal responses to polymodal ('pulsatile') release of a stimulatory factor. That explanation is inadequate, since experimental observations have shown that polymodal responses can be generated after a single bolus of hormone. In the present work we combine a two compartment pharmacokinetic model for hormone clearance with a particle counter model and show that the model predicts that a single pulse of stimulatory hormone can produce a polymodal response, consistent with experimental observations. The pharmacokinetic-particle counter model has significant implications for testing engineered hormones or growth factors in vivo. It predicts that the effect of binding protein is not simply to damp hormone responses, but can also change the temporal shape of the responses and that the shape of the response-versus-time graph is dependent on the dose of hormone. Key-Words:growth factor, hormone, binding-protein, polymodal, dose-response curve, particle counter model


As web browsers have become more capable and standards compliant, JavaScript has grown in prominence. JavaScript lets designers add sparkle and life to web pages, while more complex JavaScript has led to the rise of Ajax -- the latest rage in web development that allows developers to create powerful and more responsive applications in the browser window. Learning JavaScript introduces this powerful scripting language to web designers and developers in easy-to-understand terms. Using the latest examples from modern browser development practices, this book teaches you how to integrate the language with the browser environment, and how to practice proper coding techniques for standards-compliant web sites. By the end of the book, you'll be able to use all of the JavaScript language and many of the object models provided by web browsers, and you'll even be able to create a basic Ajax application.


The aim of this thesis is to find out how women artists and artists from outside Europe and North America are represented in chapters 19 through 22 of the book A world history of art by Hugh Honour and John Fleming. By examining representation in this part of the book, which is about modern art from 1900 to 2012, using qualitative and quantitative content analysis as well as cultural theorist Stuart Hall's theories about representation, the art historical canon presented by the book is described and analysed. The results of the quantitative analysis shows that an overwhelming majority of all the artists mentioned in the text and images are male and from either Europe or North America – as many as 89% of all mentioned artists are male and 96% are from Europe or North America. The qualitative analysis further explores the ways in which women and non-European- or North American artists are excluded form this part of the book. (Less)


The post processing methods for interpreting flow characteristics from the annular cascade at the KTH Division of Heat and Power Technology are replaced with those used by a test turbine in order to provide more reliable results at high Mach numbers. The resulting measurements are compared against previous studies conducted at KTH in order to determine the differences in flow angle, speed, and pressure calculations. The new process results in an increase in yaw values of about 1° and smoother pressure distributions at high Mach numbers. The technique for multidimensional matrix construction and post processing application are described here in order to be reproduced and used in future studies. Due to the highly interpolated nature of the new method, varying matrix construction methods were tested, showing cubic interpolation to yield results with a further increase in exit yaw angle.


Abstract : The long-term goal of this project is to study waves, irregularities, and propagation in the earth s ionosphere, particularly with respect to GPS. The project has two foci: first, to understand how the ionosphere affects GPS signals and second, how GPS can be used for remote sensing of the ionosphere. In association with these goals, we additionally conduct in situ experiments on satellites and sounding rockets to directly measure ionospheric waves and irregularities that affect signal propagation.


The present study identifies and analyzes the sublime terror in Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale (1985). The concept of sublime according to Emmanuel Kant and Theodore Adorno will be drawn on in the investigation of life under the totalitarian regime of Gilead republic. In defining the sublime, the study highlights the difference between the views of the two German philosophers as well as the historical background that inspires this difference. The study sets to investigate the impact of sublime terror on the heroine's sentiments towards the wall—the site of persecuting convicted Gileadeans – seeking to prove whether these sentiments are static or dynamic. The study handles the issue of reconstruction of episodes told by the heroine to decide the reason/s for such hesitancy. Accordingly, the point of view is investigated with the aim of deciding its suitability to transmitting her sublime experience. Furthermore, nostalgia is detected in the novel to decide the nature of its effect on the heroine at certain critical moments. Finally, the study offers a reading of the novel's Historical Notes informed by Kant's view on dynamic sublime. The conclusion detects the novel's implied evaluation of the power of Western democracy and the hidden threats which might erupt putting this democracy to the test. Abstract The present study identifies and analyzes the sublime terror in Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale (1985). The concept of the sublime according to Emmanuel Kant and Theodore Adorno will be drawn on in the investigation of life under the totalitarian regime of the Gilead republic. In defining the sublime, the study highlights the difference between the views of the two German philosophers as well as the historical background that inspires this difference. The study sets to investigate the impact of the sublime terror on the heroine's sentiments towards the wall—the site of persecuting convicted Gileadeans – seeking to prove whether these sentiments are static or dynamic. The study handles the issue of reconstruction of episodes told by the heroine to decide the reason/s for such hesitancy. Accordingly, the point of view is investigated to decide its suitability for transmitting her sublime experience. Furthermore, nostalgia is detected in the novel to decide the nature of its effect on the heroine at certain critical moments. Finally, the study offers a reading of the novel's Historical Notes informed by Kant's view on the dynamic sublime. The conclusion detects the novel's implied evaluation of the power of Western democracy and the hidden threats which might erupt putting this democracy to the test. The present study identifies and analyzes the sublime terror in Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale (1985). The concept of the sublime according to Emmanuel Kant and Theodore Adorno will be drawn on in the investigation of life under the totalitarian regime of the Gilead republic. In defining the sublime, the study highlights the difference between the views of the two German philosophers as well as the historical background that inspires this difference. The study sets to investigate the impact of the sublime terror on the heroine's sentiments towards the wall—the site of persecuting convicted Gileadeans – seeking to prove whether these sentiments are static or dynamic. The study handles the issue of reconstruction of episodes told by the heroine to decide the reason/s for such hesitancy. Accordingly, the point of view is investigated to decide its suitability for transmitting her sublime experience. Furthermore, nostalgia is detected in the novel to decide the nature of its effect on the heroine at certain critical moments. Finally, the study offers a reading of the novel's Historical Notes informed by Kant's view on the dynamic sublime. The conclusion detects the novel's implied evaluation of the power of Western democracy and the hidden threats which might erupt, putting this democracy to the test.


The theatre provides the playwrights with a public platform through which they open up a more comprehensive framework to reinterpret the concept of the feminine. The chapter, in which translation remains a fundamental instrument that will be utilized to offer new interpretations to old ideas about the feminine, explores how the post-war British woman playwright Ann Jellicoe translates a women-related myth and reinterprets the concept of the feminine in The Sport of My Mad Mother (w.1958, r.1962). In this context, the chapter focuses on the concept of the Terrible Mother archetype which represents the female creative power as well as the potential for destruction in the play within a special reference to Jung's premises on the archetypal nature of the femininity and maternity. Thus, the chapter indicates that Ann Jellicoe, taking on board and challenging the perceived social, ideological, and psychological ideals of femininity, reclaims the legacy of the female strength.


Pseudomonas aeruginosa can regulate different group actives and physiological processes through the quorum sensing mechanism. The aims of this research were to detect the presence of quorum sensing genes in 50 clinical P. aeruginosa isolates, which represent by (lasI, lasR, rhlI, and rhlR) and Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) (PgsA, PgsB, PgsC, PgsD, PgsE, and MvfR) genes by Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique and interaction between the two systems. Isolates were subjected to test their susceptibility to 12 antimicrobial drugs, 64% of isolates showed resistance to ceftazidime, followed by carbencillin (56%), while only 8% were resistant to imipenem. In addition, all of the bacterial isolates were distributed within three multidrug-resistant (MDR) patterns, viz., A, B, and C. The highest rate of MDR was showed with MDR pattern C, in which bacterial isolates showed resistance to resist (9→11) antimicrobial drugs. Results revealed that P. aeruginosa isolates have different gene patterns, viz., A to E. According to quorum sensing genes production, pattern A found to express all the genes in LasI, RhI, and PQS system, while pattern B has a defective for the production of lasR, rhlR genes, while the same isolates have the PQS system all present. Significantly, there is a positive relationship between las and rhl system and regulation of antibiotics resistance, in which the bacterial isolates that have las and rhl genes showed high resistance to common antimicrobial agents under study. These findings suggest that PQS can function as an intercellular signal in P. aeruginosa that is not restricted only to alkyl homoserine lactones (AHL).


Origin of hot spring water in the Yakushima island was clarified using δD and δ18O values and Cl-. δD and δ18O values and Cl-concentrations of river water in the Yakushima island showed zonation. Both δD and δ18O values and Cl-concentrations decreased with increase of height because of isotope effect and sea salt migration caused by air. δD and δ18O values and Cl-concentrations of two hot spring waters were in agreement with those in river waters at 600 to 800 m in height and 1200 m in height respectively. Therefore two hot spring waters were thought to derive from river waters 600 to 800 m in height and 1200 m in height. As hot spring temperature calculated from both the normal geothermal gradients in Japan and altitude differences between recharge area and hot springs can reach actual temperature, thermal origin of hot spring does not need volcanic activity.


In a Petlyuk distillation column, two extra degrees of freedom can be used for optimization purposes. It has been reported that a typical energy saving of 30% is achievable with a Petlyuk distillation column, compared to conventional distillation arrangements. However, the optimal steady-state operation point can be difficult to maintain in practice. In this work we propose and studied the performance of a parallel control configuration, using habituating parameters, for the Petlyuk distillation column in presence of disturbances. The results show that parallel control configuration can be used to improve the robustness of operation by extending traditional decentralized product composition control loops for two and three points by using the two degrees of freedom as manipulated variable in a parallel feedback control loop. Keywords— Continuous distillation, Thermal coupled distillation, Petlyuk, composition control, Parallel control.


The cavum vergae (CV), described by Andrea Verga in 1851, is a potential space in the supratentorial midline, traditionally and currently taught to represent a posterior extension of the cavum septi pellucidi (CSP) (1–3). It is bound superiorly and posteriorly by the corpus callosum and splenium and


127 Restoration of vocal function with laryngeal framework surgery (laryngoplastic phonosurgery) was introduced at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, these procedures have emerged as the dominant surgical management approach for the treatment of the aerodynamic incompetence and acoustic deterioration associated with vocal fold paralysis/paresis. Other indications include cancer defects, vocal fold scar, sulcus vocalis, bowing associated with vocal fold atrophy, laryngeal trauma, and neuromuscular disorders including abductor spasmodic dysphonia and parkinsonism. Laryngeal framework surgery has also been employed to alter pitch for gender reassignment; however, this topic is not discussed here. Although medialization of the musculomembranous vocal fold by means of rearranging the laryngeal cartilage framework was described by Payr1 in 1915, and others in the mid–20th century,2,3 Isshiki et al4–6 championed the systematic analysis and laryngoplastic treatment of glottal incompetence in the 1970s. He designed his medialization procedure of the musculomembranous vocal fold with the use of a synthetic implant in 1974. In 1978, Isshiki et al5 designed the arytenoid adduction procedure to treat patients with large glottal gaps secondary to a malpositioned arytenoid. One of his outstanding contributions is that he taught surgeons that laryngeal framework procedures could be done with facility utilizing local anesthesia with sedation. The concept that the cricoarytenoid joint could be dissected and manipulated under local anesthesia to allow for phonatory feedback was revolutionary. Based on this seminal work, the adduction arytenopexy2,7–9 and cricothyroid subluxation7,8,10 procedures were introduced to further enhance phonatory reconstruction.


"An error is generally introduced when an image is taken remotely by an imaging system, This is more prominent when an airborne system takes the image of the earth's surface. Generally the error, known as geometric error, is a composite of translation, rotation, scaling, and warping of the image. This paper discusses an algorithm to remove geometric error by applying geometric transformation and registering an image with its reference image, or the same image taken at some other instance of time. To remove these highly irregular distortions, translation, rotation, scaling, and warping to the image is applied simultaneously. This is done by establishing a polynomial affine transformation, which is applied to the image with geometric error to register it with the reference image, thus removing the error


A field experiment on hybrid rice (PHB-71) was conducted during kharif season of 2009 and 2010 in agriculture farm, Institute of Agriculture, Sriniketan, Visva-Bharati, West Bengal to study the effect of nitrogen and homo-brassinosteroids on growth, yield parameters and yield of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.) in lateritic zone of West Bengal in India. The experiment was conducted with five nitrogen levels, viz. 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha−1 and three levels of homo-brassinosteroids (no spray, spary at panicle initiation stage and spray at panicle initiation+flowering stage). Application of nitrogen @ 150 kg ha−1 recorded significantly more panicle weight, grain yield (54.11 q ha−1) and harvest index (43.58%) whereas 200 kg ha−1 showed maximum plant height, number of tillers hill−1, number of effective tillers hill−1 and straw yield. In case of homo-brassinosteroids, spraying at PI+flowering stage resulted in significantly taller plants with more number of effective tillers hill−1, panicle weight, grain yield (47.29 q ha−1), straw yield (63.17 q ha−1) and harvest index (42.38%).


Co-design is a process for creating interventions with representative participants of the target group. The co-design process ensures that the technologies are aligned with people's needs and removes the designer subjectivity. This paper discusses the co-design methodology and evaluation of the Pro-CEE serious game, an innovative intervention which is aimed to raise the awareness of prostate cancer among African Caribbean men. The serious game provides information and risk evaluation based on the user's profile and symptoms. Feedback from focus group evaluations of the serious game revealed that it is an effective tool which can potentially have positive impacts on changing user behaviour among those who are at high risk of prostate cancer and experience symptoms. The co-design approach adopted for the development of Pro-CEE ensured that an effective and culturally sensitive intervention was developed.


This paper researched characteristic of crack in overlying strata over abandoned gob by borehole exploration,borehole TV,geophysical well logging,rock mechanics test,et al.Results was shown as follows.Rock in bending zone over abandoned gob was intact and took on continuous bending deformation with local cracks.Cracks developed in crack zone but rock didn't cave.Rock parted and caved in caving zone.Statistics from 53 cracks induced by mining showed that average interval of the cracks was 1.08m and cracks whose interval less than 2.0m was 85% of total data.Cracks in overlying rock over abandoned gob were mostly small dip.Dip less than 30°was 68% of total data.Underground cave,parting,cracks induced by mining,under-consolidation and aqueous pore in caving zone were basic cause of abandoned gob activation.


The short-term foreign loan of China grows rapidly since 2001,which is possibly one of the characteristics of international speculative capital entering China.This paper analyzes short-term foreign loan scale of China,its structure,its influence on China's economy and its potential threat.In open economic system,some factors,such as difference of exchange rate and interest rate,trigger off flow-in of capital.Its solution depends on adjustment of domestic economic structure and industrial structure,and on transformation of economic growth mode.


process. It begins with timely, uniform stand establishment, and includes adequate but not excessive nitrogen fertilization, development of adequate prebloom plant structure, high retention of early set fruit , avoidance of late irrigation, and other management practices that contribute to crop earliness and, finally, uniform cutout. Harvest-aid chemicals such as dessicants, defoliants and plant growth regulators are used in many areas to reduce the foliage and plant mositure that interfere with harvesting operations. Many factors influence the effectiveness of harvest-aid chemicals. One of the most important factors is plant maturity. Producers who understand cotton plant growth and the defoliation process will be more successful in deciding what harvest aids to use and when to apply them.


This article is an edited version of a keynote address given at the 2nd annual convention of the International Society of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses in Miami, Florida, on April 28, 2000.


Firstly, the growing use of new imaging technologies such as computed tomography (CT) and fluoroscopy and nuclear medicine [1]. For example, the number of CT scans performed in the U.S. has grown by about 10% on an annual basis [2]. On average, these new imaging technologies use a much higher amount of radiation per examination than conventional X-ray examinations [1]. For example, a CT head examination gives approximately 100 times the radiation dose to the patient compared to a conventional chest X-ray [3]. An article published in Radiology documented that CT scans only constituted about 13% of the diagnostic imaging orders for hospitals in the U.S. but represented an amazing 70% of the total dose [4].


Fish being at the top of the aquatic food chain has the capacity to accumulate significant amount of metals in muscles that may cause health risk for consumers. Therefore, toxic and essential metals concentrations in muscles of frozen (local and imported species of fish and shrimp), canned fish (imported) samples were analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Among all frozen fish and shrimp samples analyzed, highest Cu (5.23 µg/g) concentrations were found in fish imported from Malaysia, similarly highest levels (µg/g) of Ni (3.03), Pb (2.95) and Mn (2.10) were detected in fish imported from Thailand. In canned fish samples, highest levels (µg/g) of Pb (2.50), Cu (2.18), Mn (1.62) and Ni (1.33) were detected in sardine skin imported from Thailand. Pb and Ni concentrations in majority of frozen and canned samples were greater than EC and USEPA limits.


Ru and Pd (2 wt%) loaded on pure and on Ndoped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) were prepared and tested using the isopropyl alcohol decomposition reaction as probe reaction. The presence of nitrogen functionalities (pyridinic, pyrrolic, and quaternary nitrogen) on the nitrogen doped support induced a higher metal dispersion: Pd/NCNT (1.8 nm) Pd/CNT (4.9 nm), and Ru/NCNT (2.4 nm) Ru/CNT (3.0 nm). The catalytic activity of the supports was determined first. Isopropyl alcohol conversion produces acetone on CNTs while on NCNTs it led to both dehydration and dehydrogenation products. At 210 °C and in the presence of air, the isopropyl alcohol conversion was higher on the NCNTs (25%) than on the CNTs (11%). The Pd loaded catalysts were more active and more selective than the Ru ones. At 115 °C, the Pd catalysts were 100% selective towards acetone for a conversion of 100%, whereas the Ru catalysts led to dehydration and dehydrogenation products. The nitrogen doping induced the appearance of redox properties when oxygen is present in the reaction mixture.


Introduction: Substantial declines in physical activity (PA) have been found to occur during adolescents' transition out of high school (Kwan et al., 2012). Few studies, however, have examined the psychosocial factors related to PA prior to this transition period. The purpose our study was to examine the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) model among a sample of impending high school graduates. Methods: Participants included 154 grade 12 students (Mage = 16.91 ±.48; n=87 males) from the baseline cohort of the MovingU Study. They completed a brief questionnaire, including measures of outcome expectancies, social norms, intentions, perceived social support, and action planning, and wore a GT9X Link accelerometer for seven consecutive days. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model. Results: Analysis revealed very good fit with the data and model X2(18)=212.95 p Acknowledgments: MovingU Study funded by SSHRC


Land is essential for every human activity on earth as it is the source of all material wealth. In order to regulate the ownership, use and development of land and land resources, nations the world over have instituted land ownership systems aimed at consistent balancing of the interests of the government, the land owning class and the landless class. This paper examines land ownership in Nigeria. The paper argues that land ownership structure in Nigeria has evolved over the years until 1978 when a single land policy document, otherwise known as the Land Use Act of 1978 was established to harmonise and regulate land ownership in the country. The paper further contends that the present land ownership system in Nigeria as enshrined in the Land Use Act of 1978 has socialist inclinations with excessive state control of land ownership, use and development. The paper concludes that such land system cannot effectively support private sector-driven enterprises and development initiatives as it creates too much bureaucracy in the documentation of land transactions, land registration and land titling. It recommends an urgent amendment of the nation's Land Use Act to facilitate access to land with ease for various purposes. Keywords: Land; Land System; Land Use Act; Land Ownership; Nigeria


Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is an effective procedure for the management of late stage knee osteoarthritis (OA), and one which is increasing in demand. There are numerous surgical approaches of which the subvastus approach (SVa) and medial parapatellar approaches (MPa) are two options. Despite claims that SVa provides superior outcomes to the more common MPa, there has been little investigation into the physical and functional outcomes associated with each approach or their relative effect on patellar vascularity. Studies that have compared the approaches contain methodological flaws affecting confidence in the conclusions drawn. Indications for when a patient requires referral to an orthopaedic surgeon for TKA are also unclear. A better understanding of how surgical approach affects outcomes, and when a patient should be referred to an orthopaedic surgeon for review of their knee OA may optimise outcomes and improve efficiencies in patient selection. The aims of this thesis were to address deficits in the literature concerning the relative merits of the MPa and SVa in TKA, and the clinical indications for TKA. The first aim was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to compare the two approaches to determine whether one had superior outcomes over the other. The second aim was to conduct a randomised controlled trial comparing the physical and functional outcomes associated with MPa and SVa in TKA in the short, and medium (18 month) terms. The third aim was to conduct a sub-study to determine whether the SVa maintained better patellar vascularity than the MPa, thereby reducing the risk of avascular necrosis (AVN) and anterior knee pain. The final aim was to conduct modelling to determine if physical measures, patient-assessed scoring instruments and/or clinical rating systems could be used as indicators for the timely referral of patients to an orthopaedic surgeon. Results of the systematic review revealed insufficient or equivocal evidence supporting the SVa over the MPa. The methodological quality of most studies was poor as they either failed to randomise appropriately, adequately conceal allocation, report complications, define inclusion and exclusion criteria, or define outcomes. The use of heterogeneous outcomes prevented pooling of data for meta-analysis which may have resulted in stronger conclusions. The randomised controlled trial was designed and conducted to address the limitations that were highlighted by the systematic review. The American Knee Society Score (AKSS) was used as the primary outcome from pre-operatively to 18 months. Secondary outcomes were knee pain, the Oxford Knee Score, three metre Timed Up and Go test, knee flexion, extension, quadriceps lag on straight leg raise (SLR), days to SLR, knee girth, length of hospital stay, operation duration, tourniquet time and surgeon perceived level of difficulty with the approach. Results of the randomised controlled trial, using linear mixed modelling for the analysis of continuous variables, revealed no difference on any outcome at any time-point between the SVa and MPa groups. The exceptions were earlier SLR in the SVa group, better AKSS Objective scores on day 1 post-operatively in the SVa group but overall better AKSS Functional scores at 12 and 18 months for the MPa group. While earlier SLR was observed in the SVa group, the surgeons perceived this approach as more difficult. Patellar vascularity was assessed using two novel methods developed for this trial from nuclear medicine imaging techniques. These were the pat:fem ratio, which is a ratio of photon counts in the patella compared to a standardised region of interest on the femur; and the five-point Bone Vascularity Scale (BVS), which is a new quantitative method for analysing images of vascularity. There was no difference in patellar vascularity between groups on either the pat:fem or the BVS measures. The model developed to assist primary health care providers to decide when to refer a patient with knee OA to an orthopaedic surgeon, incorporated the AKSS Functional score and knee flexion range of motion (AKSSFun/flexion) and predicted group allocation accurately 95% of the time (Odds Ratios: 1.28 to 3.40 for 1o and 5o parameter changes in flexion respectively). This research program found, on balance, no substantive evidence supporting the superiority of the SVa over the MPa over a range of physical, functional and vascularity measures. The findings therefore refute previous supposition and claims of advantages the SVa provides over the MPa.


A comparative study of the thermal stability of nanocrystalline Cu–Mo and Ag–Mo alloy thin films was performed. Phase decomposition, texture evolution, grain coarsening and segregation of Mo to planar faults of both films, before and after heat treatment, were studied using X-ray diffraction measurements and (high-resolution) transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The evolution of stress/strain in the thin films was traced by in situ X-ray diffraction measurements. The segregation of Mo solute atoms at twin boundaries in both films already occurs at room temperature. By first segregation and then precipitation of Mo atoms at grain boundaries, the columnar grain microstructure is preserved upon heat treatment. In the case of Ag–Mo thin films, the twin boundaries are also more or less preserved at elevated temperature, but in the case of Cu–Mo thin films the annihilation of twin boundaries takes place concomitantly with the precipitation of Mo in columnar grain interiors.


The emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) is a cause for concern when seeking sustainable development in view of global warming. The multiple ecosystem services associated with land use and land cover are at the center of the global climate agenda, both as a mitigation and adaptation strategy to climate change and growing urbanization. Among these services is carbon storage and sequestration (CSS). It can remove GHG carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the form of organic matter, a natural carbon stock. Thus, to design projects that guarantee sustainable development, it is necessary to use metrics that can quantify the impact of sequestration on natural carbon stocks. We aimed to implement the InVEST CSS methodology in the region of Itaperuna-RJ (Brazil) to quantify the net change in carbon storage over time (sequestration and loss) between 2015 and 2020. The obtained total difference in carbon stocks between the analyzed maps was −39,103.56 × 103 kg C, which has an equivalent social cost of carbon of USD 16,559,187.69. This social value represents the social damage caused by releasing that amount of carbon into the atmosphere. This main result brings an important application for validating the InVEST CSS methodology in Brazil. Furthermore, it points out parameters that can help elaborate sustainable development policies.


The study is aimed at designing an effective edutech platform based on online remote classes, and clarifying the effect of empathy competence of youths through the operation linked with the empathic reading program focusing on reading. To this end, after constructing the environment for education and drawing a class model based on components of edutech for remote classes on the basis of previous studies and elaborating the empathic reading education program, this study has been conducted for one semester for 107 students in 4 classes in their 1st grade at S middle school, Gyeonggi-do in order to apply them to fields. As a result of the study, the empathy reading program that a remote class model was applied has shown a meaningful difference among groups in cognitive empathy and emotional empathy, and it was found that there was a statistically meaningful difference between the two groups in total scores. Besides, the effect and meaning of adolescents' empathy competence have been verified through the remote empathy reading education and the empirical analysis, and the direction to develop the empathy reading program has been suggested for a solution to settle differences in students' learning due to COVID-19.


The invention relates to a tokenizer-based agricultural knowledge entry handheld terminal which comprises a handheld device connected with a server in a communication way, wherein a portable power supply and a wireless module are adopted by the handheld terminal; the handheld terminal is provided with a global positioning system (GPS) positioning module and an input module; after an agricultural tokenizer is arranged in a knowledge entry system, agricultural knowledge can be acquired and uploaded immediately in the field. The invention also discloses an entry method. After the tokenizer-based agricultural knowledge entry handheld terminal and the entry method are adopted, the agricultural knowledge entry operation can be carried out at any time and any place; the entry handheld terminal and the entry method are convenient and flexible.


Time series of daily erythemal ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure, ozone, and cloud cover were analyzed over the Australian continent using data sets from the NASA Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) from 1979–1992. The TOMS UVR exposures showed good agreement with data from surface observations. Using a relationship derived from comparisons of the TOMS partial cloud reflectivities with surface cloud cover observations, the TOMS reflectivities were converted into estimates of cloud cover for several Australian regions. It was shown that the deseasonalized time series of UVR exposures can be statistically described as a linear function of ozone and cloud cover anomalies. Results of a trend analysis indicated statistically significant increases in UVR exposures of 10% decade−1 in the summer months in the tropics. These were associated with a simultaneous depletion of ozone and a decrease in cloud cover. Midlatitudinal regions showed no significant trends of UVR. It was found that variations of ozone and UVR over Australia were significantly influenced by the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). An increase in zonal wind strength of 20 m s−1 was correlative with reductions of ozone of 1.7% and enhancements of UVR exposures of 2.2%. An increase in solar radio flux of 100×10−22 W m−2 (Hz)−1 was associated with significant reductions of UVR of 5–10% in the tropical and subtropical regions in summer. The results suggested that enhancements in summer UVR exposures of about 10–20% above the climatological average might be expected in years in which the QBO is in its westerly phase and the solar cycle is at its minimum.


Statement of Retraction We, the Editors and Publisher of the journal Cell Cycle, have retracted the following article: Ruirui Cheng, Guowei Zhang, Yong Bai, Furui Zhang, and Guojun Zhang. LncRNA SENCR promotes cell proliferation and progression in non-small-cell lung cancer cells via sponging miR-1-3p. Cell Cycle. 2021;20(14):1402–1414. doi: 10.1080/15384101.2021.1924958 Since publication, concerns have been raised about the integrity of the data in the article. When approached for an explanation, the authors have been unable to address the concerns raised and have not been able to provide their original data. As verifying the validity of published work is core to the integrity of the scholarly record, we are therefore retracting the article. The corresponding author listed in this publication has been informed. The authors do not agree with the retraction. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as 'Retracted'.


We examined the effects of increasing light availability along a vertical gradient within a forest community on the efficiency of leaf nitrogen (N) use in individual trees. The N contents of green and senescent leaves in canopy and subcanopy trees of an evergreen coniferous species, Podocarpus nagi, and an evergreen hardwood species, Neolitsea aciculata, were analyzed in a mixed forest community at Mt Mikasa, Nara City, Japan. The inverse of N concentration (NC) in senescent leaves was used as an index of N use efficiency (NUE) at the leaf-level. The leaf-level NUE was higher in canopy trees than in subcanopy trees in both P. nagi and N. aciculata, although soil N mineralization rates around canopy and subcanopy trees did not differ significantly. The NC in green leaves was lower in canopy trees than in subcanopy trees. The ratio of resorbed N in senescent leaves to the N content in green leaves was higher in canopy trees than in subcanopy trees. The higher leaf-level NUE of canopy trees was partly a result of lower NC in living tissues and partly because of greater N resorption during senescence. The present study suggested that the leaf-level NUE could be increased in response to an imbalance between soil N and light availability caused by spatial community structure.


Now the Web Services Flow Modeling can only use describing languages such as WSCL, BPEIAWS. The shortcoming of describing languages is that the user can't understand the model at the first sight, so we try to use Petri net in the procedure of Web Services Flow modeling. In this paper, we give a formal definition of Web Services and Web Services Flow, propose a Petri net-based algebra used to model control flow as a necessary constituent of reliable Web service composition process, and Simple Petri net-based Web Services Flow model. To show the merit of this method, we give an example in the last chapter which uses the strictly synchronized SPNs (stochastic Petri nets) model.


The persistence of grid environment is to yield a virtual mainframe by using different types of assets available in the large area using broad networks. Grid computing is expanding promptly in the existing era. Grid Computing for controlling and allotment large-scale resources to solve complex technical obstacles. Arrangement is the greatest contemporary theme used to achieve high performance in grid environments. The rotation of the assets floods dishonest announcement infrastructure and availability of the resources carriage a major challenge for proficient resource carriage. Due to fundamental scattering of the assets and their observation, grid provision is a NP-hard exertion. It has been exposed that heuristic algorithms such as tabu search offer optimal performance for resource provision in grid atmosphere. This paper presented a unusual merging algorithm inspired by the tabu search with ant colony optimization .The proposed fusion approach ambitions to breed energetically, an peak skeleton to widespread responsibilities within tiniest time period and also to use assets skillfully.


Wireless technology has become a main player in communication through its desirable mobility characteristic. However, like many technologies, there are ways that it can be exploited. One of these ways is through side-channel communication, whereby secret messages are passed along by the purposeful corruption of frames. These side channels can be established by intentionally corrupting the Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field by using a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) polynomial that is different from the standard CRC polynomial. Malicious nodes can exploit the fact that normal unsuspecting nodes will drop these frames since they appear as naturally corrupted frames. This paper presents a CRC Hamming distance metric as a feature for the detection of this type of side-channel communication. The proposed detection method applies the Hamming distance measure to compare CRC values that are generated by different CRC polynomials. The hypothesis is that the mean Hamming distance between two CRC values generated by two different CRC polynomials would be significantly far apart than the mean Hamming distance of a CRC value of a frame that was naturally corrupted but was generated by the same CRC polynomial. The results of our real data experiments show that the there is a consistent and significant difference between the mean Hamming values of naturally corrupted frames to those that use the Koopman polynomial to calculate the CRC for side-channel communications. The analysis of the results also demonstrate that the difference of the CRC values that have the the maximum F-Score vary between 10-14 under varying noisy conditions and side-channel throughput.


This paper provides a concise introduction to the MAgtALO system. This prototype software environment provides a mechanism enabling users to engage in online debate using naturalistic dialogue underpinned by sound argumentation theory. MAgtALO is used to demonstrate how dialogue protocols can be applied to support flexible intuitive interaction within complex and contentious problem domains.


Common problems that often arise in the program to memorize the Qur'an for children include children who memorize but cannot read or can memorize but cannot write. Factors that influence the success of the program to memorize the Qur'an include internal factors of students and external factors such as teacher competence and methods used. Complete method is a method that combines the ability to read, write and memorize the Qur'an. The flow of this service activity is socialization, training, mentoring and evaluation. The results of this service activity have been able to answer the initial goal of service, namely providing education about the Complete method and improving students' reading, writing and memorizing competencies


The general urban planning is a major driver to the land price.This paper based on a case study of Tanghai county in Hebei applies spatial analysis,land price model and relativity method to study the spatial-temporal evolvement of urban land price driven by general planning,reveals a rule of planning on land price that a rational planning is helpful to increase urban land yield,achieving a highly efficient and intensive urban land utilization.


ABSTRACT Buildings are complex systems that provide the setting and conditions for many day-to-day critical commercial and industrial activities. Buildings aggregate and integrate HVAC and lighting system components from multiple manufacturers. These systems are subject to change over time, their controllers must respond to varying outdoor environments while maintaining specific indoor conditions. Technological advances over time also influence the composition and configuration of building systems. Buildings create technical challenges of providing individual comfort, organizational flexibility, technological adaptability, environmental sustainability, while at the same time minimizing energy consumption. With emerging trends of using large scale systems with broadly-distributed components in the built environment, a single interface interaction to change the temperature in a space can spawn many backend transactions among multiple nodes that offer specific services. For a flexible and redistributable solution, some form of building information management is needed. This paper discusses the development of a tool to structure building operation information in the Robert L Preger Intelligent Workplace at Carnegie Mellon University.


Experimental tests were carried out by burning typical bituminous and lignite coal in a bench-scale fluidized bed,during which the emitted concentration of both N2O and NO was measured with and without addition of coal ash or inorganic minerals generally contained in coal ash(including CaO,MgO,Fe2O3,Al2O3,CaSO4,and MgSO4).Results show that coal ash may help to reduce the N2O emission and raise the NO emission;the total conversion rate of fuel nitrogen to NOx increases with rising mass fraction of coal ash;the main active components in coal ash affecting the NOx emission are respectively CaO,Fe2O3,and MgO.


The goal of our work was preparation and investigation of Er-doped potassium ytterbium lanthanum orthoand metha-phosphate glassy mixtures developed as a solid-state laser active medium. The tested samples were prepared by rapid quenching of molten mixture of starting K2CO3, YbPO4, LaPO4, YbPO4 and P2O5. Their cations molar concentration was as follows n(K) = 0.7, n(Yb) = 0.135, n(La) = 0.16 and n(Er) = 0.005 and it was the same in all tested samples. The additions of the P2O5 to the individual starting charges were batched so the following compositions of resulting glasses should be obtained: (i) pure meta-phosphate, (ii) mixture of 80 mol% of meta-phosphate and 20 mol% of ortho-phosphate, (iii) mixture of 50 mol% of meta-phosphate and 50 mol% of ortho-phosphate, (iv) mixture of 25 mol% of meta-phosphate and 75 mol% of ortho-phosphate, and (v) pure ortho-phosphate. The glassy samples were prepared in the form of discs about 8mm in diameter and 2mm in height. The absorption spectra were measured in broad range from 200 up to 2500 nm to identify possible impurities, mainly the residual OH-absorption and to calculate absorption cross-section for pumping and laser transition 4I15/2 → 4I11/2 and 4I13/2 → 4I15/2, respectively. For particular transitions fluorescence spectra and fluorescence decay time were recorded simultaneously. It was found that the fluorescence decay time, corresponding to upper laser level 4I13/2 depopulation, progressively increases with the content of orthophosphate in glass composition starting from 2ms for sample (i) up to 8ms for sample (iv). The laser action at 1.54 μm under 975nm pulsed laser diode pumping was successfully demonstrated using the sample with the longest upper laser level lifetime.


For many decades most oil wells in Iran have produced using their natural flow potential and haven't needed to be fractured. As time goes by, the reservoir pressure depletes and the need for hydraulic fracturing as a stimulation practice arises. Nonetheless there is no record of successful hydraulic fracturing in Iran. The Bangestan reservoir with a suitable amount of oil in place and good rock reservoirs, has been selected for the present research work. In this work, the in situ stress profile was calculated by using the available petrophysical data. This is achieved by using poroelastic theory for the stresses, and the Mohr–Coulomb criterion to predict failure. The model leads to easily computed expressions for calculating the pressure required to maintain hydraulic fracturing. Then the appropriate depth for treatment was determined. The results indicate that Ilam and Sarvak formations could be good candidates for hydraulic fracturing. Then, for two layers, a hydraulic fracture was designed and the production was predicted and the Net Present Value (NPV) resulting from the fracture of both layers was investigated.


A study to assess the effectiveness of video assisted teaching programme on knowledge of basic cardiac life support among school teachers in a selected school at erode district.
The present study assessed the knowledge regarding basic cardiac life support
among the school teachers and found they had inadequate knowledge. After video
assisted teaching programme on basic cardiac life support there is a significant
improvement in the level of their knowledge. The study concluded that the video
assisted teaching programme was effective in improving the knowledge regarding
basic cardiac life support.


This study determined what the courts have said regarding the condition of equipment and facilities in physical education, athletic, and intramural programs and developed guidelines to assist sport managers. Four trends emerged from the study: (a) In comparison with the 14 equipment cases, the larger number of 60 facility cases is significant, (b) The number of reported cases based on the doctrine of governmental immunity did not decrease through the years, as was anticipated, but remained relatively constant within and across the decades, (c) The number of equipment and facility cases supports the observation that America is becoming an increasingly litigious society. (d) Generally neither age, role, sex of the injured party, nor the sport or activity within which the injury occurred would appear to influence the decision of the court. Court decisions consistently have been based on the presence or absence of the four elements necessary to prove negligence and the legal principle applied. Guidelines were...


Abstract Proponents of social service decentralization often claim that transferring service administration to lower levels of government facilitates increases citizen participation and governmental accountability while improving allocative efficiency and equity in service distribution. Using the cases of health and education decentralization in Chile, this article evaluates whether and under what conditions social service decentralization programs are likely to deliver on these promises. It discusses the tensions between equity and efficiency goals and how these may play out given different accountability mechanisms in local public choice, principal-agent, and real-world "hybrid" decentralization models. The case studies illustrate the difficulty of balancing the need for central standards and funding with local autonomy, but suggest that accountability mechanisms that emerged following Chile's transition to democracy in 1990 led to improvements in both equity and efficiency in decentralized service administration.


The invention relates to a highly impact-resistant ABS resin and a preparation method thereof. The invention mainly solves a problem of low impact strength existing in the performance of ABS resin prepared through a continuous bulk polymerization method in the prior arts. Through the technical scheme that 60 to 99 parts of ABS resin prepared through the continuous bulk polymerization method and 1 to 44 parts of MBS are blended and extruded to form the highly impact-resistant ABS resin, the problem is solved well. The preparation method can be utilized for ABS resin modification and automobile industrial production.


Cell cycle checkpoints play a crucial role in cell division by monitoring the orderly progression of each phase, ensuring accurate completion before advancing to the next stage. They act as quality control mechanisms, pausing the cell cycle when optimal conditions are not met, thereby preventing errors during cell division. Objective: To discover Sesquiterpene Lactones (SLs) as inhibitory compounds targeting Cyclin D1/Cyclin Dependent Kinase 4 (CDK4)- Cyclin Dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) complex and Eukaryotic Transcription Factor 2 protein (E2F-2). Methods: The inhibitory potential of SLs, namely ilicol, eucalyptone, and ascleposide E, was investigated using molecular docking analysis. The docking and visualization of ligand-protein complexes were performed using MGL Tools version 1.5.7, BIOVIA Discovery Studio version 21.1.0, and PyMol version 2.5.2. Additionally, drug likeness and pharmacokinetic properties of SLs were assessed via pkCSM and ADMET analysis. Results: Findings demonstrate that ilicol exhibit most favourable complex with CDK6 having binding energy of –7.8 kCal/mol and inhibition constant 1.81 μM. The visualization of ligand-receptor complexes reveals substantial hydrogen bonding interactions. Conclusions: Current study revealed that novel SLs show favourable drug likeness and promising ADMET profile along with strong inhibitory effect on G1/S regulatory proteins. The potency of SLs is in order of ilicol> ascleposide E>eucalyptone. To further validate the inhibitory effect of ilicol, implementation of comprehensive in vitro and in vivo investigations must be employed for progression of its development as a novel anti-cancer therapeutic.


Software systems require maintenance to modify them, this involves stopping the system's execution and apply the changes. Reflection allows to get the executing system's information and let adapt the system without any interruption. The intercession in Java programming language is limited only in writing into fields, therefore it is not possible to modify the program's behavior. This paper features an intercession scheme which gets information from reflection to add new functionalities into the existing system.


A graphitic phase is very unreactive toward hydrogenation and represents a deactivated surface. In the present study, the inactive form of carbon formed from methane decomposition on single-crystal Ru catalysts has been characterized using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS). The results show that the carbonaceous species formed on Ru surfaces a t temperatures exceeding 800 K is graphitic. On a Ru(0001) surface, a graphitic species initially forms discrete clusters with dimensions 10-15 A in diameter and 2-3 A in apparent height. Only a t temperatures exceeding 1300 K is the hexagonal superstructure of continuous graphite monolayers observed. In contrast, the carbonaceous species from methane decomposition at 800 K nucleates to form large three-dimensional particles of graphite on Ru( 1 130).


A reversed charge transfer pathway in photoredox catalysis has been achieved by rational structure engineering through electrostatically integrating g-C3N4 quantum dots with nanoporous CdS nanosheets.


Compton scattering of gamma photons can give rise to inter-crystal crosstalk in detector arrays for positron emission tomography (PET). PET systems made of pixelated detectors with individual readout can recover inter-crystal scatter (ICS) events in the list-mode data file, but these events are generally ignored since their inclusion in the image reconstruction process leads to undesirable image noise. For such systems, including lines-of-response (LORs) resulting from triple events increases detection efficiency, but at the expense of degrading image quality. Therefore, it is important to understand the various processes contributing to triple coincidences to underline neglected sources of noise counteracting the benefit of ICS inclusion. It was found that a main source of mispositioned LORs is caused by triple randoms consisting of a true coincidence with a single detection. Limiting the contribution of these triple randoms when recovering ICS events resulted in improvements of image quality.


The article described and justified by theoretical and experimental study of hydrodynamics and mass transfer in a «gas — liquid» by centrifugal force, process modeling, development of methods of engineering calculation of highly energy-and resource-saving equipment.


Glacial deposits in locally-glaciated mountain regions are often expressed through their surface form and the study of these deposits constitutes a major branch of geomorphology. Studies of glacial depositional records in mountain areas have often neglected formal stratigraphical procedure resulting in an ad hoc development of quasi-stratigraphical nomenclature. Here, a formal stratigraphical procedure is recommended, since this enables a systematic approach to the subdivision of glacial deposits in mountain regions. Moreover, such an approach facilitates, in some instances, the development of a formal chronostratigraphy that can be compared to regional and global geological time scales. This is important in locally-glaciated mountain regions where glacial deposits represent one of the most important records of cold stage environments. Given that glacial landforms represent a key component of the Quaternary record, maintaining a formal link between geomorphological and geological stratigraphical procedure is a fundamental requirement of a consistent and comparable stratigraphical framework.