The dynamic relationship between economic growth and capability of sustainable development has become one of the focuses in China.This paper surveyed the ecological footprint from 1990 to 2006 in Zhejiang Province and evaluated the capability of sustainable development by applying Ulanowicz's formula of growth and development.Through the empirical research on Zhejiang Province,three conclusions were arrived:①Ecological footprint per capita and ecological deficit from 1990 to 2006 in Zhejiang Province is increasing year by year.②Ecological footprint per 10000 GDP tended to decline and the economic capability grows in the past years.③However,the economic capability growth mainly depended on the expands of ecological footprint per capita,while diversity index tended to decline.It is demonstrated that there are still some factors block the process of sustainable development in Zhejiang Province.The key point to sustainable development is to enhance the economic capability growth and diversity index.Nowadays,the rate of economic growth in East Area of China,such as Zhejiang Province,has apparently slowed down.This paper concludes that the economy-ecology paradox,even the income-happiness paradox in Zhejiang Province,is due to the enterprises' small scale,low technology,unfair transaction of factor-privilege,and end-of-pipe treatment industrial mode.Ostensibly,the objective of the macro-control from 2003 is the macro-economy.However,the macro-control is come from the environmental problems.Those problems are relevant and typical;thus the cognition and settlement degree of them could radically influence the sustainable development capacity of the region and the nation.


Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic metabolic disease characterised by an autoimmune destruction of the beta cells in the pancreas, responsible of insulin secretion which promotes glucose transport into the cells. The resulting absolute insulin deficiency results in high blood glucose levels (hyperglycaemia). Therefore, people with T1D require exogenous delivery of insulin in order to survive. Sustained elevated glucose levels can lead to long-term complications (retinopathy, nephropathy, heart disease), which place a heavy burden to the healthcare system. Due to the complexity of glucoseinsulin metabolism, achieving good glucose control is often a very difficult task. The development of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) have opened the door to the development of automatic insulin delivery systems, the so-called artificial pancreas (AP). In the past 10 years there has been an intensive research effort from different players in the artificial pancreas development, which has translated into a first system reaching the market in 2017, although patient intervention for meal control is still needed (this is referred as 'hybrid artificial pancreas'). This has been thanks to important contributions from modelling and control engineering, in combination with technological and pharmacological achievements.


Monoclonal antibodies to the 28kDa glutathione S‐transferase of Schistosoma bovis have been constructed in mice and used to characterize the epitope(s) potentially implied in the induction of anti‐fecundity and anti‐egg viability immune responses. Among the MoAbs produced three were particularly studied: Sb4‐50 (IgG2a) and Sb4‐56 (IgG1) which inhibited Sb28GST activity and Sb4‐10 (IgG1) which did not. The use of overlappting peptides covering the entire amino acid sequence of Sb28GST, allowed us to define the linear epitopes recognized by these anti‐Sb28GST MoAbs. Amino acid residues 202‐211 were recognized by both MoAbs Sb4‐50 and Sb4‐56 and MoAb Sb4‐10 recognized amino acid residues 58‐67. Their capacity to inhibit GST activity suggested binding to the active site or to neighbouring regions, which include the C‐terminal domain (a.a. 190‐211) of the protein. When passively transfered into BALB/c mice MoAbs induced a significant reduction in egg hatching and an increase in immature eggs. Effects on worm burdens were, however, variable and no clear‐cut association between the inhibition of enzyme activity and anti‐fecundity or anti‐viability activities was recorded. Our data indicate that beside the anti‐fecundity and anti‐viability immunity related to the impairment of GST activity, immune response to epitopes located in other regions of the molecule also contribute to the reduction of egg viability.


Objective
To detect the change of stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) in induced sputum of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at acute exacerbation and remission, to investigate their related clinical significance.

Methods
Twenty patients with acute exacerbation of COPD were prospectively enrolled, and twenty healthy subjects were selected as the control group.The levels of SDF-1 in induced sputum of patients with COPD and healthy controls were checked by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, and the percentage of inflammatory cells in induced sputum (percentage of eosinophils and neutrophils) were also detected.C-reactive protein (CRP) in blood, lung function and quality of life scores (CAT) were conventionally tested.The correlation was analyzed between SDF-1 and the above indexes.

Results
SDF-1 [(620±88) ng/L], neutrophil ratio [(52±7)%] and eosinophil ratio [(8.61±2.63)%] in induced sputum were significantly higher in the patients with COPD before treatment as compared to those after treatment[(315±37) ng/L, (30±6)%, (1.87±0.35)%] and the healthy controls [(236±69) ng/L, (24±5)%, (2.35±0.28)%], the difference was statistically significant (t=2.236, P 0.05). The patients with COPD in remission stage after treatment were further divided into subgroups according to their grades of lung function, SDF-1 [(320±45) ng/L, (398±29) ng/L], neutrophil ratio [(35±5)%, (40±3)%] in GOLD 3 grade and GOLD 4 grade was still higher than the healthy control group, the difference was statistically significant (t=2.542, 2.783, 2.516, 2.961, all P 0.05). The change of SDF-1 in induced sputum before and after COPD treatment was positively correlated with the change of CRP (r=0.039, P 0.05).

Conclusions
SDF-1 is involved in COPD airway inflammation or airway remodeling by recruiting inflammatory cells, especially neutrophils.SDF-1 may be used as a reference indicator to judge the clinical condition and observe the curative effect of COPD patients.

Key words:
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Stromal cell-derived factor 1; Inflammatory mediators


Wind speed fluctuations in wind‐integrated energy systems render the need for the fast and proper response of the conventional thermal generating units. This is while ramping constraints of these units as the backbone of the traditional power generation cycle depreciate their response, which poses a serious security challenge. This article is aimed at enhancing the security of multiarea wind‐integrated energy systems by the coordinated deployment of energy storage systems (ESSs). To realize a practical model, a probabilistic reformulation of decentralized security‐constrained optimal power flow by taking into account the thermal units' ramping constraints is developed, which tackles the uncertainties of wind speed fluctuations through a proper provision of ramping requirements by ESSs. Moreover, the optimality condition decomposition algorithm is used to solve security‐constrained optimal power flow at each area of the energy system in a decentralized manner. Furthermore, to reduce the computational burden, a contingency filtering approach is employed that filters the uncritical conditions during the solution process. Different scenarios of transmission line and generator outages are explored by linear outage factors, including the line outage distribution factor and the power transfer distribution factor. In the established model, the value of loss of load and the value of wind curtailment factors are employed to reflect the economic impact of load shedding and wind energy curtailment. For supplying the lost power in generation outages, the participation factor of the connected sources is modified, which considers the remained generation capacity of sources. To assess the efficiency of the proposed model, the New England 39‐bus testbed is put under extensive investigation. The results are discussed in depth.


This paper aims at unpacking the becoming of the mathematics teacher as professional immerse in Chilean society, by mapping the changes that have taken within his/her fabrication and governing. A Foucault–inspired history of the present is deployed, as an analytical strategy, to problematize how the discursive assemblage of social development and school mathematics produces a particular mathematics teacher—an autonomous professional that has to engage in continuous training and has to be a good decision-maker, framing within political and economic agenda. Ways of conceiving and understand the mathematics teacher are (re)producing a discursive network, which operates as a technology of government for the fabrication of the desired mathematics teacher.


Glasgow Unity Theatre was established in 1940 and staged its first production in January 1941. It was formed through the amalgamation of a number of left-wing amateur companies in the city: the Workers' Theatre Group, the Clarion Players, the Glasgow (formerly Scottish Labour College) Players, the Transport Players, and the Jewish Institute Players. For the first few years Unity functioned as an amateur company but at the end of the war in 1945 it


Introduction: Infection after hip or knee replacement occurs with low frequency but shares high morbidity. Aim of this study was an evaluation of incidence and risk factors related to post operative infection after joint lower limb joint replacement in an orthopaedics unit. Material and methods: This is a monocentric, retrospective, case control study over the years 2000 to 2002. All first intention Total Hip and Knee Replacement and revision cases for mechanical reasons that became infected were identified. Demographic, surgical and medical variables, potentially associated to prosthetic infection were compared for these patients to a control group of non ifected patients over the same time, matched for sex, age and surgery type. Results: Ten patients, all male, contracted post operative joint infection, out of 630 Total Hip or Knee Arthroplasties. This represented 1.2% after hip replacement and 3.1% after knee replacement. Bacteriological datas showed a majority of Staphylococal infection (5 aureus, 1 epidermidis), 2 among these being resistant to meticillin, but also evidence of ENT commensals (2 Streptococci milleri, 1 Actinomyces) and one epidermal commensal (Propionobacterium acnes). Univariate analysis: datas associated with increased risk of infection were diabetes melitus (OR 9.3; CI 95% 1.4–63), operating time exceeding 120 minutes (OR15.5 ; CI 95% 1,73–139,66), superficial wound infection (odds ratio 29; CI95% 2,77–303,32), coinfection outside the operation site (urinary tract , dental infection) (OR: 9,3 ; CI 95% 1,33–63,2). In our study an MNIS score higher than 1, autologous transfusion, locore-gional anaesthesia with or without the use of a catheter, antibioprophylaxis that did not comply with national recommendations could not be drawn as a risk factor. Discussion: Incidence of infection and risk factors related to infection in our study were found similar tothe results of published datas. The small number of events (10 cases) did not allow us to realize multivariate analysis and could explain that some known risk factors such as non recommended antibioprophylaxis, could not be elicitated. However these results suggested the need to reevaluate the system of prevention of infection in our centre such as protocolization of antibioprophylaxis and screening for and treatement of perioperative coinfection.


The present research focuses on the identification of stable trait specific genetic resources across the five semiarid environments located in the four states of India. The study illustrated the existence of a wide range of variations for most of the characters among the sunflower genotypes, which provides opportunities for genetic gain through selection or hybridization. Genotype x Environment (G x E) interaction was significant for all traits except for days to 50 % flowering, maturity days and 100-seed weight which means different genotypes responded differently to environments for the rest of the traits. Based on per se performance across the locations GMU 296 and HOHAL 30 can be considered as high yielding and high oil content accessions. Based on biplot, stability and per se performance genotypes GMU 806, GMU 635, GMU 296, GMU 802 and check DRSF113, can be considered as a medium to high yielding with medium oil content and medium maturity genotypes across the environments and can be considered as an ideal genotype across semi-arid environments. Character association indicated that among the seven traits, seed yield per plant had a significant negative association with oil content. The traits 50 % flowering and maturity days fall under one group and showed the more or less similar type of pattern in the expression of the traits by heat map approach. Based on diversity analysis identified genotypes from the second cluster can be utilized for the development of high yielding, medium oil content and medium duration diverse gene pool in sunflower for semi-arid environments.


In this paper, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for inextensible curve flow of timelike curves and spacelike curves with timelike normal according to Bishop 2-type frame in the Minkowski-3 space R3 1.


Binary gender and sexuality are socially constructed, but they structure thought at such a deep level that even those critical of sexism and homophobia can unwittingly reproduce them, with consequences felt most profoundly by those whose gender/sexual identity defy binary logic. This article outlines a generic pattern in the reproduction of inequality we call foreclosing fluidity, the symbolic or material removal of fluid possibilities from sexual and gender experience and categorization. Based on 115 responses from people who are both sexually and gender fluid and a reading of existing sociologies of gender and sexualities from a fluid standpoint, we demonstrate how lesbian/gay/straight, cisgender, and transgender women and men—regardless of intentions—may foreclose fluidity by mobilizing cisnormative, transnormative, heteronormative, and/or homonormative beliefs and practices. Examining patterns of foreclosing fluidity may provide insight into (1) the further incorporation of fluid people and standpoints into symbolic interactionism, and (2) the reproduction and persistence of sexual and gender inequalities.


Injection Molding Process is a closed cycle process involving 4 important factors that influencing product quality such as: process setting parameter, plastic material selection, product design and mold design. Ideally a plastic product is designed with uniform wall thickness since the thickness variation brought about negative effect on the final product. Those negative effects are warpage, sink mark or voids. Warpage is a bending failure of product, void cannot be observed as unfilled or holes on the cross section of the part, whereas sink mark is a deflected mark that can directly be seen on the surface of the part. Those 3 failures are normally caused by material accumulation and thermal rate differentiation. This research was a computerized based simulation using Autodesk MoldFlow Plastic Insight software to predict the 3 failures and to optimize the product quality by Sink Mark Index reduction, minimizing sink mark estimation and volumetric shrinkage  due to extreem thickness variation. The selected specimen was a brush handle, a real product that can easily be found in the market. The errors of brush handle in fact was caused by poor design and the only way to improve its quality is from process parameters point of view. There are 5 possible factors in fixing the failures, each factor possessed 3 level of values, then according to the Taguchi approach of design experiment, there must be 27 experiments to be done. After having 27 times experiments with combination of level and factors, it can be summerized that by combining low melting temperature, high injection pressure and high holding pressure, a sink mark index of 2.642% and a volumetric shrinkage of 19.28% can be obtained, and those were the minimum values representing the best results of product. The extension of holding time did not give a significant influence on the target quality.


This study addresses the optimal structure of the cotton ginning industry in the Southern High Plains of Texas, assuming a monopolistically competitive market structure. Employing survey, regression, simulation, and mathematical programming techniques, the study determines the optimal structure of the ginning industry. Results indicate that a restructuring of the ginning industry in the Southern High Plains of Texas could save the industry about $15 million per season.


This thesis systematically develops a computational model to identify the conformational and base-pairing preferences of PhOdG, 4-Cl-PhOdG, DCP-OdG, TCP-OdG, and PCP-OdG by gradually increasing the size of the system also structural properties of unsubstituted O-linked. All adducts at nucleoside level adopted syn conformation. Moreover, effect of protonation at N3 and N7 site on the structural properties and deglycosilation barrier of adducted guanosine was probed. It was highly desirable to include O-linked phenolic as well as C8-dG adducts into a DNA strand in order to understand the detrimental effect of them and the conformational distortion of double helix duplex the desired modified base into NarI DNA duplex through the employment of molecular dynamic simulation (MD) was assessed. The anti-conformation against cytosine is preferred with this model for all adducts and syn conformer for all unsubstituted O-linked and ortho and para Clinked structures against guanine mismatch is the lowest energy structure.


The topic of enhancing the software development process has received much attention in recent decades. Several models have been developed to this end, typically addressing the characteristics of the process or the organization. We believe that an additional, substantial enhancement of software development can be achieved via encouraging productive behavior among individual software developers. In this paper, we propose a framework for enhancing motivation among software developers, using gamification principles. As a first step in this ongoing research, we designed a prototype for a game, which can be used in various tasks in the software development process. The game is based on cognitive theories, which address motivation among practitioners.


Accuracy in representing, communicating and reporting science is critical to the translation of science into knowledge. Any lack of accuracy degrades the quality and reliability of consequent decisions. One common cause of inaccuracy is the use of superseded paradigmatic concepts with a lack of careful validation. This leads to evidentiary dissonance (an apparent abundance of evidence with little basis in actual reported scientific findings). We illustrate the nature and consequences of evidentiary dissonance using the example of estimates of the value of mangroves to fisheries, which are key motivators of decision-making around land-use activities in mangroves systems, mangrove restoration and disturbance offset initiatives. Causes include the use of inappropriate or inaccurate data and inadequate support for reasoning used to develop estimates of fisheries value. Evidentiary dissonance in linking estimates to scientific understanding has produced a citable and cited body of work with tenuous foundations in current ecological understanding, and a body of literature that is likely to lead to unrealistic expectations, misdirected and wasted resources, and perverse management outcomes.


The method includes the steps of receiving information about the transmission time interval length which is required for use by the user equipment, determining whether it is possible to use the requested transmission time interval length is, if not available in, and a step of using the user equipment a transmission time interval different lengths. .FIELD 7


This text generally introduces the physical principles and their application field of three kinds of instruments(namely the X-Ray fluorescence spectrum,laser and analyzer of neutron activation).From them we know that the scientific innovation is not only the innovation of theoretical regulation but also the innovation of practice(that is application field).


In this paper, we introduce the notion of null flows via sequence entropy. We study the structure of minimal null flows and show that such a flow is almost automorphic and uniquely ergodic. Moreover, minimal null functions on R are defined and investigated. At the same time, we show that the set of almost automorphic flows strictly contain the set of minimal null flows which strictly contain the set of almost periodic flows.


Article history: Received: 04 November, 2019 Accepted: 20 January, 2020 Online: 07 February, 2020 The character education program conducted through extracurricular areas of the Scout. The method used in this study is the Research and Development (R&D). The research objectives are scouts elementary and junior high school. This research resulted in 3 Prototype Free Model implementation of character education through extracurricular scouting programs in the form of three models that must be followed. All three models include 1) a regular model so-called Block model; 2) Actualization models and 3) Regular models. Having tested through descriptive statistics, the percentage of respondents who obtained the opinion states that the model most widely used is the Block model, which reached 33.78%. The actualization model application reached 6.75%, while the Regular model application reaches 17.57%. The findings further analysis of the model character education through extracurricular activities scouting in basic education in West Java can be done via the Blocks model. The Results of the obtained tendencies that cause suboptimal extracurricular of the Scout to embed the characters early on elementary and secondary school.


1258 www.bioessays-journal.com If there is one constant in the history of science, it is the evolution of disciplines. For example, if a physicist from the 1900s came back to life and could witness physics today, (s)he would be astonished at the extent of change; indeed, physics had already been completely transformed in its foundational ideas by the early 1930s. Such changes are driven, of course, by new discoveries and new techniques and then by the ideas that those findings and methods help generate. If the changes are sufficiently profound, as they were in physics between the early 1900s and the 1930s, one can even question to what extent the subject can be said to be the "same" field. One issue that absorbs both historians and philosophers of science is whether there are common features to such transformations, beyond the fact of their being driven by new facts, techniques, and ideas. The great majority of working scientists may give that general question little thought but will almost always be strongly interested in how their own specific disciplines have evolved over time. An interesting example of such disciplinary evolution is a field that is part of evolutionary biology itself, namely evolutionary developmental biology, commonly known as "evodevo." It is a relatively new field but one that has already undergone some major changes since its early modern stirrings in the early 1980s. Furthermore, many of those who participated in its early flowering are still alive and can reflect on its changes, hence this is a "living history" rather than something to be exhumed from books and documents. Furthermore, apart from all the living witnesses, its literature is abundant and there is ample documentation of how ideas have changed during its existence. The new book reviewed here, Conceptual Change in Biology: Scientific and Philosophical Perspectives on Evolution and Development, sets out to chart this history and its broader implications within the larger philosophical context of the nature of scientific conceptual change. It is a


NASA has begun pre-formulation studies for the Earth System Observatory, a constellation of observatories designed to implement the recommendations of the 2017 NASA Earth Science Decadal Survey. For the atmosphere, the Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) will focus on aerosols, clouds, convection, and precipitation, their mutual interactions, and interactions with atmospheric radiation. AOS consists of two projects, one in an inclined orbit to measure sub-daily variability across all times of day, particularly for deep convection and its attendant high clouds, and one in a polar orbit to provide globally distributed observations with more advanced capabilities, coupling to radiation, and an eye toward continuity of key cloud and aerosol data records. This paper describes the AOS science objectives, the architectures of the two projects, planned suborbital activities, and relevant applications.


This paper analyzes systematically the causes of transverse crack in continuous casting billet based on the casting operation for recent years at No. 1 Steelmaking Plant of Angang. The affecting factors include oscillating parameters,secondary cooling,casting speed, the property of powder and the operating condition. The rejection of billet with transverse crack has been reduced through taking the respective measures.


Background: In the early period of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), the body may show severe immunosuppression and excessive activation of inflammatory response, This is very similar to sepsis in many ways. Objective: The aim of this study is to observe changes of the early expression of monocyte human leukocyte antigen DR in patients with cardiac arrest, so as to explore the clinical significance of the related immune assessment and prognosis prediction. Methods: A total of 43 patients with cardiac arrest who have been treated in the emergency department of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital from January 2015 to February 2018 are selected. By taking the survival rate on the 28th day of hospitalization as the end of observation, the patients are divided into the survival group and the death group. Changes of APACHE-II scores and monocyte human leukocyte antigen DR levels on the first, second, and third day after admission are analyzed. Results: On the first, second, and third day after onset, cardiac arrest patients show significantly decreased levels of monocyte human leukocyte antigen DR which are obviously lower in the death group than in the survival group. In addition, human leukocyte antigen DR levels were significantly negatively correlated with APACHE-II scores. Conclusion: The expression of monocyte human leukocyte antigen DR is proven to be an ideal indicator to evaluate the immune function and prognosis of cardiac arrest patients. A constantly low expression of human leukocyte antigen DR indicates impaired immune function and increased mortality of patients.


With this essay I seek to elicit discussion and debate about some key ideas that I believe accentuates the differences between what academics do and what people do 'in practice', and yet also provides an opportunity for shared sense-making in order to bridge the scholar-practice divide. In particular I look at the differences in how we in academia approach theory and value compared to people in other domains. What I say here is not new or novel, but it has been absent from discussions between scholars and practitioners in our field of strategic contracting and negotiations. I close by arguing for closer collaboration between university, government, industry and the third sector in working on complex wicked problems facing societies and economies.


Currently, screening for abnormalities of the protein C (PC) pathway is based on determination of PC, PS and factor V (FV) Leiden-related activated (A) PC resistance. However, more than 70% of the Caucasian patients with thrombophilia yield normal results. This highlights the potential usefulness of a simple global screening assay for these abnormalities rationalizing the use of expensive individual assays. The HemosIL ThromboPath assay (Instrumentation Laboratory) is a new chromogenic assay designed to globally evaluate the functionality of the PC pathway. It is based on the ability of endogenous APC generated after activation of PC by a snake venom extract (Protac) to reduce the thrombin generation induced by a reagent containing tissue factor. Briefly, optical density is measured after addition of a thrombin-specific chromogenic substrate in the presence (OD A) or absence (OD B) of Protac. It is recommended by the test manufacturer to express results as the Protac- Induced Coagulation Inhibition percentage (PiCI%) which corresponds to the ratio [OD B − OD A]/OD B × 100. The within-run and the between run precision is below 6.3% using commercially-available plasma samples both in the normal and pathological ranges. This multicenter trial involving three laboratories was designed in order to determine the ability of this assay to distinguish between subjects with and without PC pathway abnormalities. For that purpose, we retrospectively tested frozen plasma samples obtained from patients with a history of venous thromboembolism and patients family members who were referred to the different participating laboratories in order to screen for biological risk factors for thrombosis, as well as from healthy controls. The ThromboPath assay was locally performed, blinded of the specific test results. In all of three centers, test results were significantly lower (p


Forewords by Dr Gro Brundtland, Dr Kenneth G. Ruffing and Dr Rajendra Pachauri 1. Securing 'Our Common Future' 2. Achieving Economic Growth and Reducing Environmental Pressures 3. Factors that can Undermine or Even Block Efforts to Achieve Decoupling 4. Factors that affect Poorer Nations' Ability to Achieve Decoupling 5. Informing and Developing National Strategies for Decoupling 6. Responding to the Complexity of Climate Change 7. Decoupling Economic Growth from Greenhouse Gas Emissions 8. Decoupling Economic Growth from Loss of Biodiversity and the Deterioration of Natural Systems 9. Decoupling Economic Growth from Freshwater Extraction 10. Decoupling Economic Growth from Waste Production 11. Decoupling Economic Growth from Air Pollution 12. Reducing Air Pollution through Public Interest Litigation: The Delhi Pollution Case


The article deals with the aspects of assessing the financial performance of the company using the example of PJSC "PhosAgro".
The analysis of balance sheet liquidity, financial stability of the company was carried out using a number of coefficients. The financial leverage ratio and profitability indicators were calculated. Using the methods of financial mathematics, conclusions were drawn about the financial position
and development prospects of the company.


ABSTRACT Morocco's reaction to the Arab Spring sets it aside from other countries in the region in terms of how political elites adapted to the demands for democratic change. In the framework of a constitutional reform, the right to petition has been granted at the constitutional level, supposedly aiming at fostering citizens' engagement in political processes through the creation of new avenues for institutional participation. This article discusses the effect of institutional participatory spaces on the process of making rights claims. Grounded in two case studies and continuous observations in the field for over one year and a half, the article shows that citizens' engagement in these spaces reflects multiple logics and goals. Recognizing the important influence of the institutional design on the seizure of the right to petition, the findings highlight that seizing these spaces may also aim at achieving outcomes that go beyond the initial scope of the participatory space. The article argues that a better comprehension of the effect of the reconfiguration of citizens' participation in the policy process in Morocco could be achieved by shifting the focus to the performances of citizenship itself.


The Color Purple was written by the famous author Alice Walker. In the novel the author Alice Walker creates several characters to illustrate the black people's struggle in the white-dominated mainstream society. This paper focuses on the main characters in The Color Purple to explore their own identities and arouse the sense of their ethnic pride, and also attempts to answers how to overcome such distressed "duality" of black soul and how to get the fullness of the soul in the modern society.


This volume is composed of papers presented at the 3rd European Space Weather Week. The meeting took place at the Royal Library of Belgium between 13‐17 November 2006. This event built on the advances made during the first two European Space Weather Weeks held at ESA/ESTEC in 2004 and 2005. The 2006 meeting adopted the central aim of bringing together diverse communities working on all elements of space weather. The organizers are pleased to see this reflected in the papers published in this special issue, the following publications covering a range of space weather oriented advances in both scientific research and transitioning new research into applications. The 2006 event specifically focused on new results through a cross-disciplinary "hot topics" session. The agenda also focused on a number of topical thematic issues from both scientific and applications oriented perspectives. New tools and techniques were discussed and demonstrated during the workshop with a view to aiding the transition between new scientific results and space weather services. The meeting also aimed to facilitate community development and investigation of possible routes towards the creation of a sustainable space weather activity in Europe. The meeting was attended by more than two hundred participants from almost 30 countries including strong participation from many Eastern European states, leading to many fruitful discussions. Meeting organisation was carried out jointly between the Solar Influences Data analysis Center (SIDC) at the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), ESA, the SWWT, the COST 724 and COST 296 communities. The local organization was done by the SIDC. The meeting website can be found at: http://sidc.oma.be/ esww3. The chairpersons of the meeting J. Lilensten and A. Glover would like to express their thanks to all members of the Organising Committee, namely A. Belehaki, A. Hilgers, A. Bourdillon, M. Rycroft, M. Hapgood, F. Lefeuvre, P.'Gille and R. Van der Linden together with the Local Organising Committee for their support and hard work to ensure a successful meeting.


The aim of this thesis is to investigate the writing process in the teaching of the subject of Swedish at upper secondary school. This study analyses the relations between the pupils' writing and t ...


The 50-item Pickley Assessment of Self Esteem (BASE) is an experimental instrument designed to measure the self-esteem of children enrolled in early childhood educacion. In addition to yielding an overall measure of a child's self-esteem, the BASE attempts to measure the child's general orientation toward academics, toward his or her teachers, and toward other persons. A study involving 206 children enrolled in kindergarten through grade 3 evaluated the ability of 14 BASE items tc assess how the student feels in relationship to his or her teachet!s), or the student-teacher factor. Results of a one-way analysis of variance, with grade level as the main effect, indicate that when the 206 profiles were scored on only the items that constitute the student-teacher factor of the BASE, a significant difference was found between the four grade levels examined. A New Duncan Multiple Range Test was used to determine which grade levels were significantly different from others; kindergarten contrasted with all three other grade levels. A Kuder-Richardson Formula 21 reliability was computed to measure the internal consistency of the items. Overall, data tend to indicate that the BASE can discriminate between subjects on the student-teacher factor. (TJH) * * * k * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * . * * * * **** **** * ** * **** * *** ** * ** * * * * 0 * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * THE ABILITY OF THE STUDENT-TEACHER FACTOR TO DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN SUBJECTS ON THE BICKLEY ASSESSMENT OF SELF ESTEEM U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Pnf 1,, ar c, Pesear n ani Imr veE ntlt A /10NAI Rf SOURCES INFORACr TION C NTE R ERIC, Ie,s urrerl has beer r ecr.,du, Pd rert,ed tr, rr 're perser rgarza,q,n cwylnahnq Mimi haeges ha, twor made In ye reProdu PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Leslie E. Figa LESC/C Ey F/64 Francis Marion College TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) One of the many factors that may effect how well a child achieves in school is the ability of the child to establish and maintain appropriate relationships with peers and adults. Although this important phase of the socialization process has its beginning during the pre-school years, it is especially important during the first several years of formal schooling. The ability to relate to adults, of course, carries over to how well the student is able to interact with teachers (Morse, 1970). The reaction the child receives as he attempts to interact with teachers will have a direct effect on his self-esteem (Bruan, 1973). The child who experiences difficulties while attempting to interact with teachers is certainly at a disadvantage both socially and academically (Brown and MacDougall, 1973; Clock, 1972). It is with this important consideration in mind that the Bickley Assessment of Self Esteem WAS designed to specifically include a measure of student-teacher relationships. Oo The Bickley Assessment of Self Esteem, or BASE, is an


Background: Surgeons' nontechnical skills are critical for patient safety in the operating room (OR) and have been included in resident training requirements. The optimal approach to their training and assessment though is unknown. The goal of this thesis was to develop a structured approach to the training and assessment of nontechnical skills in surgical


The scope and motivation of the paper relates to prediction and early detection, by means of active condition monitoring, of possible right-side failures in railway signalling mechanical equipment which would otherwise cause delay. Train-stops have been considered in the first instance. Modern condition monitoring techniques provide early warning signals. They can complement and direct the maintenance work of permanent way engineers in order to make efficient use of resources, save costs associated with too frequent maintenance routines and increase the quality of service by reducing delays. Train-stops are firstly described and their operation explained. Current maintenance routines are briefly outlined and the most common fault modes and processes which cause them are discussed. The paper follows with a survey of various fault prediction and condition monitoring techniques in other industries and analyses their possible usage in this particular application. Results from the application of two such techniques on a laboratory test rig are presented.


Persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) frequently experience limitations of ambulation in the course of their disease. Not surprisingly, in recent surveys PwMS considered lower extremity function as one of the most important bodily functions, and ranked mobility limitations as the most important factor affecting their quality of life. The impact of MS on ambulation is reflected in the fact that the most commonly used outcome measures in clinical trials of MS disease-modifying therapies, the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the MS Functional Composite (MSFC), include walking performance as one of their main components. There has been an increasing effort to evaluate the effect of traditional interventions on ambulation, and new treatments and devices are being tested or marketed for the specific purpose of improving walking performance in PwMS.


We demonstrate that the present superaccurate measurements of transition processes between atomic states in hydrogen atom reached the limit of accuracy when transition frequency can not be defined any more in a unique way. This was predicted earlier and is due to the necessity to include in the description of resonant processes the nonresonant corrections. The experimental spectral line profile becomes asymmetric and it becomes not possible to extract the value of transition frequency from this profile in a unique way. Nonresonant corrections depend on the type of experiment, on the experimental arrangement etc. However, the line profile itself for any resonant process can be defined with any desired level of accuracy. A popular modern search for the atomic frequency standards and atomic clocks is the search for transitions where the nonresonant corrections are negligible. In this paper we present closed expressions for the resonant photon scattering cross sections on an atomic level with dependence on all atomic quantum numbers including fine and hyperfine structure. These expressions are given for different types of experiments with fixation of the initial (final) photon propagation directions and initial (final) photon polarization. Using these expressions we demonstrate that the transition frequencies in particular cases cannot be derived uniquely if the accuracy of measurement reaches the level quoted in {\it Science} 358, 79 (2017). Our interpretation of the results of the this experiment is alternative to the interpretation given by the authors of {\it Science} 358, 79 (2017).


As the middle layer of three-tiered structure of spatial data engine-ArcSDE,ArcSDE service is responsible for data interaction between client and server.Properties of ArcSDE service were introduced.The working procedure of giomgr and gsrvr processes were analyzed and theworkingprinciple of ArcSDE servicewas expounded.Utilizing ArcSDE service,interaction between GIS data in Oracle and ArcGIS platform wasrealized.The applicationof ArcSDE service resolved bottleneck of data provided and dataaccess modelbetween GIS application and DBMS.


Numerous monumental changes have been made in the existing web service selection to provide quality of services. The quality of service is a major bottle neck in the recent development. Hitherto various QoS based Web Service Selection Techniques exist. But these techniques lacks in functional and non-functional attributes. This paper consists with the following tasks; segregate various QoS based Web Service selection techniques with their respective merits and demerits, an extensive comparative study on different QoS aware service selection techniques with respect to the user requirements and multiple QoS properties and preferences. This paper also evaluates the performance of discussed techniques based on the strength of various QoS aware Web service selection functionalities using a set of evaluation metrics.


The s-wave on-shell Jost solution for the Manning-Rosen potential is constructed via the ordinary differential equation approach to the problem. The corresponding off-shell Jost function is calculated by using the integral representation of the off-shell Jost function in a single channel scattering. The half off-shell T- matrix is obtained from the knowledge of the off-shell Jost function. Our constructed expressions for the Jost functions are applied to compute T-matrix, quasi-elastic phase shifts and the scattering phase shifts for the nuclear systems.


A coarsening theory is proposed which incorporates both size and shape changes for particles having a constant interfacial energy. The theory describes time evolution of the mean volume of needle-shaped precipitates. Deviations from the cubic coarsening law of the classical LSW theory are predicted with initial coarsening rates being significantly larger compared to those of spherical particles. Because of simultaneous shape coarsening the initially needle-like precipitates approach gradually the spherical shape and the associated lower coarsening rates. The theory can be simply extended to disc-shaped precipitates. Introduction In a two-phase precipitate-matrix system after a first-order phase transformation, a large amount of interfacial area can be present which increases the total free energy of the system. In order to lower the free energy, diffuse fluxes between the precipitates occur which result in a dissolution of small precipitates and the growth of large ones. As a result, the mean particle size increases while the number of particles decreases. This process, originally discovered at the beginning of this century by W. Ostwald, is called coarsening or Ostwald ripening. According to Gibbs-Thomson equation, the driving force for the coarsening process is related to the curvature of the interface. The higher the curvature of the precipitate-matrix interface, the higher the driving force for atoms to flow from regions of high curvature to regions of low curvature. Thus, the coarsening kinetics is generally controlled by volume diffusion through the matrix. The first attempt to describe the Ostwald ripening quantitatively was proposed by Greenwood in 1956 [1]. A generally accepted coarsening theory was proposed in 1961 by Lifshitz and Slyozov [2] and Wagner [3], now simply known as LSW theory. Considering the limiting case of zero volume fraction of spherical precipitates with the mean radius and a particle size distribution (PSD) function obeying the equation of continuity, the LSW theory predicts a cubic coarsening law . (1) where is the initial mean particle radius before the coarsening process, K is the coarsening rate constant and t is time. The cubic coarsening law (1) is derived from the Gibbs-Thomson equation and the Fick's law by assuming a small degree of supersaturation and constant coarsening rate K [1]. The assumption of constant coarsening rate requires constant temperature and interfacial energy per unit surface during coarsening. Based on the above-mentioned assumptions, the LSW theory predicts the coarsening kinetics, i.e. the mean particle size and the PSD function. In spite that a cubic coarsening law is frequently observed in experimental studies, the details of the predictions by the LSW theory are usually in disagreement with experimental results. Consequently, numerous attempts have been made to propose improved theories by considering finite volume fractions of the second phase [4-12] or elastic stress interactions either between precipitates or on the precipitate-matrix interface [13-18]. Although these modifications usually result in the change of the PSD shape, the coarsening kinetics of the precipitates obeys in most cases the cubic law; deviations from the cubic law are predicted when elastic stress interactions occur between particles [15]. Surprisingly small attention was paid to the effect of non-spherical shape of precipitates. Due to the anisotropy of surface energy in many systems, the precipitates grow in a shape with lower symmetry than spherical [19-21]. When the coarsening starts at the end of the growth process, precipitates have still non-spherical morphology and thus the basic assumption of the LSW theory is not valid. Since the curvature along the surface of a non-spherical particle vary, volume diffusion to and from the surface will vary too. For growing particle, according to the Gibbs-Thomson equation, the volume diffusion of atoms will be lower to the regions of high curvature and higher to the regions of low curvature. In addition, new diffuse fluxes occur along the particle surface and this interface diffusion will exist together with the volume diffusion. The volume diffusion, therefore, changes both the shape and the size of a non-spherical particle while interface diffusion changes only the particle shape. A few theories of shape coarsening of an isolated plate-shaped precipitate have been developed [22-25]. Shiflet et al. [22] considered only volume diffusion and, in addition, a special case of precipitate growth by the ledge mechanism, which require coherent or semi-coherent precipitates. Merle and Doherty [23] developed an alternative model for interface controlled diffusion, in which the volume diffusion is neglected, and thus, the model describes only shape coarsening or, strictly speaking, only the shape changes. Zwillinger [24] analysed the coarsening of a collection of nonspherical particles of general shape. He introduced a shape function, which described the shape of each particle but in the same time, the shape function was assumed to be time independent, i.e. each particle was constrained to remain in its original shape during coarsening. By this restriction, the model describes only size coarsening and, as one could expect, the coarsening kinetics obeys the cubic law. Recently, Marsh and Glicksman [25] proposed a more general approach to size coarsening in nonspherical morphologies by describing time evolution of small convex interfacial patches. The patches were, again, constrained to have a fixed shape in time, and the model did not take into account diffuse fluxes along surface of the patches. However, due to the general approach, the model is applicable to arbitrarily curved surfaces. Thus, its results are used as starting point in the present work. As experiments show, size and shape coarsening processes occur simultaneously and the diffuse fluxes associated with shape coarsening are often comparable in magnitude to the interparticle fluxes [26]. Therefore, an attempt is presented in the following to develop a simple coarsening theory for incoherent needle-shaped precipitates by incorporating both size and shape changes. Size coarsening The needle-shaped precipitate can be mathematically modelled by a prolate symmetrical ellipsoid with two independent variables describing its shape, i.e. two principal axes or one of them and the aspect ratio. If a is the major and b the minor axis, the eccentricity ε of the prolate symmetrical ellipsoid is defined as


This paper utilizes long-range energy alternatives planning system(LEAP) software to simulate the total energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission in four basic scenarios through quantitative and qualitative analyses. The results show that, firstly, the increase of the crude steel output is the major factor which causes the increase of carbon dioxide emission, the improvement of energy efficiency leads to the decrease of carbon dioxide emission; secondly, there is a relatively great potential for China's iron steel industry to reduce its carbon dioxide emission in the long run, and reaching the emission target of iron steel industry is based on industry structure adjustment and technical improvement. It will be helpful for us to be fully aware of the future direction of energy saving and emission reduction for China's steel steel industry.Meanwhile, it also provides practical basis for China's relevant policy-making sectors to enact realistic policies on the steel iron industry.


Abstract Let G be a locally compact unimodular group, and let
$\phi $
 be some function of n variables on G. To such a
$\phi $
 , one can associate a multilinear Fourier multiplier, which acts on some n-fold product of the noncommutative
$L_p$
 -spaces of the group von Neumann algebra. One may also define an associated Schur multiplier, which acts on an n-fold product of Schatten classes
$S_p(L_2(G))$
 . We generalize well-known transference results from the linear case to the multilinear case. In particular, we show that the so-called "multiplicatively bounded
$(p_1,\ldots ,p_n)$
 -norm" of a multilinear Schur multiplier is bounded above by the corresponding multiplicatively bounded norm of the Fourier multiplier, with equality whenever the group is amenable. Furthermore, we prove that the bilinear Hilbert transform is not bounded as a vector-valued map
$L_{p_1}(\mathbb {R}, S_{p_1}) \times L_{p_2}(\mathbb {R}, S_{p_2}) \rightarrow L_{1}(\mathbb {R}, S_{1})$
 , whenever
$p_1$
 and
$p_2$
 are such that
$\frac {1}{p_1} + \frac {1}{p_2} = 1$
 . A similar result holds for certain Calderón–Zygmund-type operators. This is in contrast to the nonvector-valued Euclidean case.


Distribution ofthe Amines in Brain The gross distribution of the amines in brain has been examined in a series of studies using biological or fluorescence assay methods. These studies have been recently reviewed by Adam (1969). At the cellular level Swedish workers have developed the technique of fluorescence microscopy for the identification of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), noradrenaline (NA) and dopamine (DA) containing neurones and fibre tracts in brain and spinal cord (Fuxe et al. 1969).


Abstract In ashstone and siltstone of the uppermost part of the Lyudyanza horizon in South Primorye a representative complex of Late Changxingian ammonoids (17 species, 10 genera) has been recently discovered. New data confirm the existence of a complete section for the Upper Permian in South Primorye and allow correlation of the uppermost Lyudyanza horizon (Pleuronodoceratidae-Liuchengoceras beds, Xenodiscus-Posidonia beds and Huananoceras qianjiangense beds) with the upper zones of the Changxing Formation (Pleuronodoceras-Rotodiscoceras zone) in South China and uppermost Dorashamian (Pleurondoceras occidentale zone) in Transcaucasia.


With the popularization of the internet and media technology and the rapid adaption to the development of information technology, the online shopping has been accepted by millions of customers as a new model of shopping. It has been applied to different domains such as electronics, books and clothing marketing. Thus, it has led to the growth of hundreds of online shopping sites around the world and has created competitive electronic commerce. This paper analyzes the influencing factors on consumers of online shopping in the Arab world using Arabic tweets. Several classification algorithms have been used, such as support vector machine, naive Bayes, random forest, voting classifier and decision tree in Python and Weka. The results show that around 51% of users say that the online shopping is better than the traditional one based on the tweets in dataset. In addition, it has been found out that the random forest is the best algorithm in Python compared to other ones with an accuracy of 93.7% in 0.4 test size.


Frequent references in the Old Testament designate the temple as a kind of treasury or financial center. The first mention of this fact is found at the conclusion of Solomon's dedication of the temple, where it is said: "Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated, even the silver and the gold, and the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of the house of Jahweh" (I Kings 7:51). Henceforth throughout the Old Testament the treasuries of the house of Jahweh play a significant r6le. One of the attractions for foreign invaders seems to have been the treasures of silver and gold that filled the sacred coffer of the temple, as well as that of the king's house. The first invasion of the land after the division of the kingdom, that of the king of Egypt, did not terminate until Shishak had taken "away the treasures of the house of Jahweh, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made" (I Kings 14:26). The conclusion of the civil war between the Northern and Southern kingdoms, between Jehoash of Israel and Amaziah of Judah, resulted in the plunder of "all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of Jahweh" (II Kings 14:14). One of the prizes of Nebuchadrezzar's final capture of Jerusalem, was "the treasures of the house of Jahweh" (II Kings 24:13). From the foregoing passages and others to be noted, it is evident that the treasury of the temple was a prolific source of plunder for those who were able to capture it, that it was held in high esteem by outside nations. The sources of this wealth seem to have been the


Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is a powerful tool for studying surface species present on supported catalysts during normal reaction conditions of high temperature and/or pressure. We have used a special high-throughput optical bench to optimize the sensitivity of the system for high optical density catalyst samples. The infrared cell is designed to operate at high vacuum for adsorption studies or as a recycle-flow reactor. Improvements in spectral subtractions have been obtained by the precise repositioning of samples in the IR beam. The enhanced performance resulting from these modifications has been instrumental in improving the sensitivity for infrared surface studies of the reactions C6H6 + 3H2 ⇔ C6H12 and 2C0 + 02 → 2CO2 over a Pt/A1203 catalyst. The bonding and geometry of benzene chemisorbed on the Pt surface have been determined from the infrared spectra. Simultaneous reaction rate and surface coverage measurements have also been made during CO oxidation on Pt/A1203. Hysteresis effects in both reaction rate and CO surface coverage are observed. The IR spectra indicate that islands of CO form on the Pt surface during reaction.


The spray characteristics of a Common Rail injection system used in HSDI(High Speed Diesel Engine) were investigated by direct photographing the spray processes. The experiments were performed in the high pressure spray test rig at the room temperature. The cone angle and penetration length of the spray were analyzed from the spray images. In addition, the spray behavior with the pilot injection was observed. It was found that the spray cone angle increased with the chamber pressure increase. There was little hole to hole variations in the mini-sac nozzle


Abstract. The impact of nutritional variables on the development of host‐seeking and biting behaviours after emergence by female Culex nigripalpus mosquitoes were studied using air‐flow olfactometer and close‐range biting assays, respectively. Unfed females failed to develop resting stage ovarian follicles. When offered a bird host in the absence of competing stimuli, sugar‐fed mosquitoes were significantly more responsive in both host‐seeking and biting than unfed controls. In a choice olfactometer assay using nectar odours (honey scented with artificial apple‐blossom oil) versus host odours (a bird), unfed females preferred honey over bird odours except when honey odour was weak. After sucrose feeding, females switched from honey to bird preference. This change in behaviour was accompanied by significant accumulation of lipid and by follicular growth to the resting stage. Elevation of host responsiveness after sugar feeding was reversible; starvation ultimately resulted in females preferring honey over bird odours. When the larval diet was restricted by crowding, the wing‐length and total lipid of resultant adult females were reduced. Although differences were subtle, unfed bird‐responding females tended to have longer wings and more lipid than their honey‐responding counterparts.


The coefficient of mutual diffusion of the binary gas mixtures Ne—A, A—Kr, and Ne–Kr has been determined at 0°, 15°, 30°, and 45°C. Diffusion is allowed to take place between two diffusion bulbs through a precision capillary tube and samples of gas are withdrawn from one bulb at different times and analyzed by a differential conductivity analyzer. From the experimentally determined values of the diffusion coefficient at different temperatures the unlike interaction parameters for the above gas pairs have been calculated by two different methods on the Lennard‐Jones 12:6 model. These values of the force parameters are found to be in good agreement with those obtained from the usual combination rules and also from the thermal diffusion data following the method of Srivastava and Madan. These values are found to reproduce the experimental data on mutual diffusion quite satisfactorily.With Kelvin's method, these data have also been utilized to calculate the self‐diffusion coefficient of neon, argon, and krypton.


Based on previoud dtudirs, audit delay in Indonesia is till a problem that serious in any company, it is influenced by sevral factors, ratio ROA, debt to asset, size of the company and the reputation of the hood. Population in this research is 30 compenies listed in the Jakarta Islamic Index. The sample in this research taken by purposive sampling method. The sample in this study took the 15 (seventeen) companies listed in Jakarta Islamic Index. The data used in this study is secondary data obtained form each website. The method used in this study uses panel data with the method of the analysis of the panel data regression the software Eviews 8. The result of this study showed variable ratiao ROA, debt to asset, size company does not affect the audit delay. While the variable reputation of the hood of a significant positive effect on audit delay.


The microwave and/or infrared spectra of alkali monoxides and NO3 were observed in order to characterize these molecules in detail, which play significant roles in atmospheric chemistry. Similar studies were carried out on a few inorganic molecules, including SinHm neutrals and ions with n = 1, 2 and m = 1, 2, 3, in view of their important roles in electronic-device processing. Recent innovations in high-resolution spectroscopic methods are briefly discussed.


Esophageal adenocarcinoma has seen increased incidence due to gastroesophageal reflux disease, smoking, and obesity. There are no established guidelines for screening of esophageal cancer and many patients present late in their disease process. Most early stage adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation, followed by surgical resection. We describe a case of locally advanced esophageal cancer where the patient had a relatively insignificant response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation, who was then treated by open direct resection of the esophagus and proximal stomach (three field McKeown approach) with lymphadenectomy. There were no surgical complications such as anstomotic leak or chylothorax. Pathology showed T2N0 disease. The mainstay of esophageal resection continues to be minimally invasive procedures for early stage esophageal malignancy; however, locally advanced esophageal cancer in the mediastinum occasionally requires an open direct approach. We felt that this was a necessary procedure due to the large mass effect of the tumor, and a preoperative staging of T2N3. In this case, despite recent advancements, there was a limited response of the cancer to neoinduction therapy. Surgery was necessary to both assess and treat this cancer, proving that older, established therapy is still relevant.


A concurrent validity study of the Computer Attitude Scale <CAS) (Nickell & Pinto, 1984) was undertaken to index criterarelated validity through available performance evaluation data of 47 computer programmers and operators at a large, midwest, public utility organization. A Pearson productmoment correlation coefficient of CAS scores with performance evaluations indicated high validity of the instrument, r<46)=+.63, p.<001. In agreement with prior research findings, both age and sex were significantly related to CAS scores. Implications of the results were discussed with regard to the use of the CAS as a placement and training instrument.


Refractive index retrieval is possible using the transport intensity equation (TIE), which presents advantages over interferometric techniques. The TIE method is valid only for paraxial ray assumptions. However, diffraction can nullify these TIE model assumptions. Therefore, the refractive index is problematic for reconstruction in three-dimensions (3D) using a set of defocused images, as diffraction effects become prominent. We propose a method to recover the 3D refractive index by combining TIE and deconvolution. A brightfield (BF) microscope was then constructed to apply the proposed technique. A microsphere was used as a sample with well-known properties. The deconvolution of the BF-images of the sample using the microscope's 3D point spread function led to significantly reduced diffraction effects. TIE was then applied for each set of three images. Applying TIE without taking into account diffraction failed to reconstruct the 3D refractive index. Taking diffraction into account, the refractive index of the sample was clearly recovered, and the sectioning effect of the microsphere was highlighted, leading to a determination of its size. This work is of great significance in improving the 3D reconstruction of the refractive index using the TIE method.


RAPD technique was explored to evaluate the genetic structure between natural and cultivated stock of Sinonovacula constricta distributed in Changjie of Ningbo.121distinguished RAPD sites,ranging from250bp to2500bp in size,were acquired with21decamer random primers.The statistic results,inclouding genetic distance,inbreeding co-efficient and available number for reproduction,informed us that the stock condition exerted little influence on their genetic structure.The values of the above genetic parameters were0.0497,0.0735and3.1514in turn.The heterozygosities was higher in cultivated stock than natural one,which was not consistent with any other reports in other aquatic animals.This may be due to the abundance bait and natural larva collecion.


Based on experimental characteristcs of green agricultural products and imperfect information in consumer market,the present thesis analyses why "lemon effect" appears in green agricultural products market and its influence.Meanwhile,it denotes the efficient way,in clearing up "lemon market" and constructing competitive power of green agricultural products,lies in the formation of fully-principled environment that "positive signals" demonstrates.


This paper presents comparative study of Virtual Inertia Control System (VICS) techniques for smoothing power production of enormous wind farm which connected to the electric grid system. Four commonly used VICS methods, synchronous generator model-based, swing equation based, droop-based approach, and frequency-power response-based, are compared in terms of effectiveness in smoothing wind farm power production and damping frequency fluctuation of the power system. The VICS is applied on the inverter based STATCOM/BESS which connected to 9-Bus power system model. The PSCAD/EMTDC has been used to perform the simulation analyses. The simulation study demonstrates that the frequency-power response-based VICS is superior for minimizing power fluctuation from the wind farm.


. A. T. Marshal, R.G.H., Electrocatalyst Activity of IrO2-RuO2 Supported on Sb-Doped SnO2. Electrochimica Acta, 2010. 55: p. 1978-1984 B. X. Wu, K. Scott., RuO2 Supported on Sb-Doped SnO2 Nanoparticles. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2011. 36: p. 5806-5810. C. T. Reier, D. Teschner, T. Lunkenbein, A. Bergmann, S. Selve, R. Kraehnert, R. Schlogl and P. Strasser, J. Electroch. Soc., 161, F876 (2014). D. K. D. Sandbakk, Supported Ir Catalyst for the Oxgen Evolution Reaction. Master Thesis, Department of Material Technology, NTNT: Trondheim, 2011. In this work the change in morphological structure of the catalyst iridium oxide supported on antimony tin oxide as a function of the calcination temperature is studied. Using various physical characterizations we realized that Polyol method synthesizes nanoparticles of iridium oxide with amorphous structure, and calcining the catalyst with temperatures higher than 4000C can lead to larger particles with crystalline structure. Also electrochemical characterization demonstrates that the amorphous iridium oxide catalyst provide a higher EASA and higher activity than the crystalline iridium oxide. Background Iridium oxide nanoparticles supported on Antimony Tin oxide (ATO) have been widely used for the oxygen evolution reaction in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis. In this paper the morphology, crystallinity and performance for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of the catalyst iridium oxide supported on ATO at various calcination temperatures will be reported. The supported catalyst was synthesized using a modified Polyol method and calcined at temperatures of 200, 350, 500 and 7000C. The electrocatalysts were physically characterized by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Xray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area measurements. The catalysts were also electrochemically characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in a typical three electrode system.


slamic higher education finds itself at the cross-roads of a variety of developments: it oscillates between the 'teaching into' approach of Theology and the 'teaching about' approach of Religious Studies, between the security-driven need for a 'European Islam' and a European Muslim-driven need for a high-quality education in 'Islam in Europe', between traditional one-way knowledge dissemination and innovative two-way knowledge sharing, and between Islam as defined and discussed by scholars and Islam as defined and discussed by the public. This myriad of dynamics is challenging and a source of tensions among all parties involved, in particular between lecturers and students. In this article, a qualitative self-study research based on personal experiences with various Islamic higher education programs at Leiden University will be used to reflect on the broader developments in Islamic higher education programs in Europe. It argues that thinking about Islamic higher education is not a process of finding solutions to problems but is a process of educational opportunities and innovation.


The perception that agencies are out of control arises from the fact that in being called on to make fundamental value judgments they have moved outside their accustomed sphere of activity, outside their expertise, and outside the established system of controls. This perturbation ofthe regulatory process will notbe corrected until the agencies are relieved of the necessity of makingjudgments they are not equipped to make.


Spring and Autumn Period was an important enlightenment period of thinking in the Chinese history.The humanitarianism centered on "universal love" advocated by Mohists represents the interests of vast numbers of civilians and small producers in the feudal era,and the peaceful development concepts centered on "non-attack" reflect the basic interest pursuits the populace.In the contemporary era,Mohism "universal love,non-offensive" idea has a strong importance of guidance to the construction of political civilization and social democracy in modern society.It is also the great idea of strong ideological guidance to build a socialist harmonious society and to thought advocated by China of the international peaceful coexistence and harmonious world construction.


In this study, the poly(3,4-propylenedioxythiophene)/SnO2 nanocomposites (PProDOT/SnO2) with different contents of SnO2 were successfully prepared by using hand grinding and ball milling methods, respectively. The effects of the synthesis methods and SnO2 on the structure and electrochemical properties of the nanocomposites were deeply discussed. The results showed the structure of composites were highly affected by the increasing amount of nano-SnO2 particles in reaction medium of hand grinding method than ball milling method. And, the PProDOT/SnO2 nanocomposites from ball milling method displayed similar absorption spectra, and ball milling method promoted the uniform distribution of nano-SnO2 particles in PProDOT matrix. However, PProDOT/SnO2 nanocomposites from hand grinding method displayed the higher specific surface area and stronger synergetic effects between PProDOT and SnO2 than that of PProDOT/SnO2 nanocomposites from ball milling method. As a result, the PProDOT/SnO2 nanocomposites from hand grinding method showed higher electrochemical activity than PProDOT/SnO2 nanocomposites from ball milling method. Moreover, the specific capacitance and cycle stability of PProDOT/SnO2 nanocomposites from both methods were higher than respective pure PProDOT. Among all the nanocomposites, PProDOT/15wt%SnO2 nanocomposite from hand grinding method possessed the highest specific capacitance (259 F g−1) with the best cycle performance (capacitance retention of 82% after 1,000 cycles). POLYM. COMPOS., 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers


One of the most interesting topics in the field of human machine interaction is workload. In this paper, using information theory concepts, baud rates generated in all subsystems of a generic simulator of piloting tasks were calculated and then, a unique numerical index presenting an estimation of overall workload was extracted. To examine the effectiveness of offered criteria, three tests with different levels of autopilot failure were designed in which existing workload were labeled based on involving baud rates. A group of subjects performed these tests as the pilots while recording their own idea about perceived workload. Results confirmed that there were statistically significant differences between the averages of scores assigned by subjects to the overall workload for three levels of difficulty. Consequently, the proposed quantitative index is effective enough for determination of workload levels in the simulator environment and facilitates creation of needed scenario noticeably.


The conditioning and dewatering of phosphorus-rich biological sludge, obtained from a pilot-scale biological phosphorus removal plant, was investigated. Dual conditioning utilizing a polyampholyte (AC4601) in combination with aluminum chloride (AlCl3), ferric chloride (FeCl3), and calcium chloride (CaCl2) was studied. Capillary suction time (CST) and specific resistance to filtration (SRF) were utilized to assess sludge dewaterability. The dewaterability and removal of dissolved phosphorus from the phosphorus-rich sludge were examined. Compared with conditioning with only AC 4601, dual conditioning by adding 49 kg/ton of AlCl3 prior to addition of AC4601 resulted in formation of large flocs, better dewaterability, and removal of 50% of soluble phosphorus. Better dewaterability, even larger flocs (> 1 cm), and 75% removal of soluble phosphorus were found when dosage of AlCl3 increased to 189.2 kg/ton. The use of alumina (Al2O3) in combination with AC4601 could achieve equivalent dewaterability. However, only insignificant removal of soluble phosphorus (ca. 10%) was found. Sludge conditioning utilizing FeCl3 and AC4601 was also very effective. A higher dosage of AC4601 was required and insignificant removal of soluble phosphorus was found when CaCl2 was used in combination with AC4601. The interactions between hydrolyzed species of trivalent metal ions and polyampholyte contributed to enhanced dewaterability. Precipitates acted as skeleton builder and assisted in dewaterability as well. In addition, the removal of phosphorus was due to its precipitation reactions with metal ions. This study demonstrated an alternative way to condition phosphorus-rich sludge that could control the release of phosphorus from sludge to aqueous phase under anaerobic environment and achieve enhanced dewaterability simultaneously.


IN this interpretation, there is presented the 10-year experience of Ohio in public health administration1920 to 1929 inclusive. Answers are sought to such questions as: has the number of public health commissioners increased? what was their age? how long have they served? what was their salary? what qualifications did they have? and, what was the relation of the year of their appointment to the year they were licensed and to the date of their graduation? The significance of the study lies in the fact that Ohio was one of the first states to cease placing reliance upon the township, village, and city subdivisions of government as the units of public health organization. In 1919 the General Assembly passed a law, the IHughes-Griswold Act,' which divided the local subdivisions of the state into three possible units for public health administration-the city health district, which embraces all cities in the state 2; the general health district, which embraces all townships and villages in each county (referred to here as county districts); and a union of two general health districts or a general health district and a city health district located within such district 3 (referred to here as combined districts). This law be-


This study aims to examine the effect of the information systems of management accounting, leadership style, trust, and environmental uncertainty on managerial performance. The test was carried out on forty managers of sharia cooperatives in Lombok. The type of research is associative. The type of data used in this research is quantitative using primary data. Data processing techniques in this study were calculated by SEM-based variants (SEM PLS) using a smart PLS software application. The results of this study showed that environmental uncertainty has a significant effect on managerial performance, while the information system of management accounting, leadership style, and trust have an effect but not significant on managerial performance. The results of the finding of this study have an implication for sharia cooperatives, both sharia cooperative managers, supervisors, and members of sharia cooperatives in general, especially in Lombok in making decisions to formulate policies related to the implementation of management accounting information systems, leadership style, trust and being able to anticipate environmental uncertainty and can create right decisions to improve managerial performance.


FIELD: chemistry. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to sorbents for extraction of metabolic waste products from dialytic fluid. Sorbent includes first layer, consisting of mixture of particles of immobilised enzyme, which splits uremic toxins, and particles of cation exchanger. Size of cation exchanger particles constitutes from 10 to 1000 microns. Sorbent can additionally contain second layer, which consists of cation exchanger particles, and third layer, consisting of anion exchanger particles, mixed with particles of activated carbon. EFFECT: possibility of regulating loss of dialysate pressure in first layer of sorbent depending on size of cation exchanger particles in said layer. 17 cl, 4 dwg, 15 tbl


Production techniques based on net shape forming from the liquid or semisolid state offer advantages in terms of manufacturing simplicity, cost, and energy consumption compared with current complex solid state forming processes. Engineering molten alloys to change their solidification process improves part integrity and alloy microstructure, leading to better component performance.


Abstract
In the economic literature, a crisis has been thematically defined around bank runs, failure of large financial corporations, and financial distress. Section 1 summarizes our learnings about international banking crisis, in terms of the origin and impact of such crises. This provides us an international benchmark before we delve deeper into India's banking distress, its size and trends. Section 2 focuses on the twin-balance-sheet crisis in India. On one side, corporate firms recklessly overleveraged, resulting in excess capacities and business diversification. On the other side, banks, both private and public, fell prey to excessive and procyclical credit lending and improper monitoring. Overall, too many projects were left too weakly monitored. Separately, we have focused on two subsections, first, how the financial institutions in India have overstretched their credit-disposal limit during market upturns. Second, we found absence of any theoretically grounded approaches to determine the capital-adequacy ratios (CARs) for the banks. In Section 3, we have identified the steps taken so far by the Banking regulator and the Government to resolve the crisis. Further, we critically examine the role of Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) towards a successful non-performing assets (NPAs) resolution in South Korea. Few key takeaways include, (1) establishing a public asset-management company (AMC) focused on maximization of recoveries and resolution of stressed assets, (2) well-defined governance structure for the AMC ensuring it works on market principles, shielded from political interferences, and (3) realistic asset valuation and transfer price that ensures limited downside risks for the public AMC.


Abstract Objective: To identify factors associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) and its progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a non-cardiac/non-vascular surgery setting. Methods: This study examined the Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality database for surgical entries between 2000–2014. Demographics, comorbidities, laboratory findings and hospital outcomes were assessed. The primary end-point was the occurrence of AKI, defined as an increase of ≥0.3 mg/dL, 48 h post-operatively. Major adverse cardiac event (MACE) was defined as the composite first occurrence of myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, and death in 30 days (secondary end-point) and was compared between two groups. Rates of progression to CKD in 1 year and long-term survival were examined. Main outcome measures: Occurrence of AKI 48 h post-operatively. Results: AKI was documented in 8.5% of patients. Age, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, platelet count, serum albumin level, and duration of surgery were identified as independent predictors of AKI. In total, 6.4% patients developed MACE, which was more frequent in patients with AKI (p < .001). Age and pre-operative hematocrit <30% were independent predictors of progression to CKD. Pre-operative hematocrit with a cut-off value of 30% was the only modifiable factor to predict the long-term survival. Conclusion: Development of AKI is associated with increased odds of various post-operative complications and long-term renal insufficiency and mortality.


The article considers considers the institutional development of banking regulation and supervision in Ukraine, taking into account the progressive domestic and international experience in the article. Theoretical and practical aspects of the institutional development of banking regulation and supervision are revealed, the efficiency of the banking supervision and regulation system is analyzed in the context of introduction of a new institutional system of banking supervision in Ukraine, which would provide clear and effective supervision. The expediency of creating a single regulator of the entire financial market on the basis of the National Bank of Ukraine is considered, taking into account international experience. The main international trends in the implementation of Basel III and Basel IV are highlighted, as well as the main threats to the banking system of Ukraine are described. The IMF recommendations on improving the legislative and operational framework for crisis preparedness («The Financial Safety Net») are considered. A new institutional system of supervision has been proposed, which should include clear and effective supervision of consumer protection and the behavior of financial market participants. In parallel with the creation of a mega-regulator based on the National Bank of Ukraine (a single regulator of the financial market), it is proposed to create an independent institution for a consumer protection of financial services, which will cover the entire financial market and will have exclusive responsibility for consumer protection aw well as play a leading role in financial literacy initiatives. Once a new institutional system of supervision has been established, both functions (prudential and consumer supervisions) should be balanced and interact with each other to ensure the effective functioning of the supervision system.


1Department of Occupational Medicine, Hematology, Oncology and Genetics Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Yazd, Iran 2Department of Pediatrics, Hematology, Oncology and Genetics Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Yazd, Iran 3General Practitioner, Yazd, Iran 4MSc Nursing 5Hematology, Oncology and Genetics Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Yazd, Iran


A useful way to estimate the local Mach number of shock propagating in a pipe is proposed in this paper. The shock Mach number, or the shock strength gradually decreases or increases as the shock propagates downstream in pipe due to the shock-boundary layer interaction. In general, the shock Mach number is estimated through the measurement of the time, which it takes for the shock to propagate between any two points along the pipe. This technique is very useful if the decreasing rate of the shock strength is given and it, after all, yields the average Mach number between the two points. In this paper the measurement of the local Mach number of shock in the shock tube is examined using one pressure transducer. The pressure history after the shock reaches the pressure tap is analyzed. The method to estimate the local Mach number is discussed considering the dynamic characteristic of the pressure transducer.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


Libidibia ferrea Martius is a species of the Leguminosae-Caesalpinoidae family, popularly known as juca, is commonly found in the Caatinga. It is used in construction, medicine and reclamation. The seeds of this species have cutaneous numbness, which is characteristic of legumes. To overcome dormancy, pre-germination treatments have been used on seeds of various tree species, to accelerate and standardize the process of emergence. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the best method of breaking dormancy in juca seeds. The study was conducted at the Biotechnology Laboratory, Federal Rural University of the SemiArid, Natal, RN, in June 2013. The seeds were subjected to four treatments: T1 control; T2 soaking in distilled water for 24 hours; T3 scarified with sandpaper No. 80 and T4 scarified with sandpaper n ° 80 and then soaked in distilled water for 24 hours. After soaking, the seeds were submitted to the seedling emergence test in sand washed substrate. The counts of seedlings were performed daily. The parameters evaluated were: percentage of seedling emergence, first count and emergence speed index. The experimental design was completely randomized with four replications of 25 seeds. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and treatment means were compared by Tukey test at 5% probability. The parameters evaluated showed significant differences. The percentages of emerging seedlings differed significantly in the four treatments, and the T2 and T4 showed higher emergence to 50%. Best IVG (germination speed index) was presented in T2 and T4 and the first count was fastest in T4 treatment. Therefore, it is concluded that the best treatment for dormancy breaking in juca seed was scarification with sandpaper No. 80 and soaking in distilled water for 24 hours.


When implementing wide band low frequency antennas in small devices, e.g., mobile phones using DVB-H, a large mismatch is inevitable. An impedance tuning unit (ITU) can then be introduced to reduce the reflection losses and noise and improve the gain. An ITU consisting of 6 switched capacitances and 2 fixed LTCC inductors is investigated. Both simulations and measurements show that the ITU reduces a V SWR = 10 mismatch to better than V SWR = 2. Furthermore, simulations show that it increases the power delivered by 2.9 dB to 4.2 dB for an antenna mismatch between V SWR = 4 and V SWR = 8. At the same time, the average noise figure for V SWR = 4 is reduced by 1.4 dB from 4.6 dB to 3.2 dB; and for V SWR = 8 it is reduced by 2.8 dB from 6.4 dB to 3.7 dB. The highest noise figure for V SWR = 8 is reduced by 4.2 dB from 9.1 dB to 4.9 dB.


Introduction Employee engagement is of significant interest to management practitioners (Macey et al. 2009) and policy makers (MacLeod and Clarke 2009). There has been particular focus on the relationship between employee engagement and the achievement of performance indicators including satisfaction, commitment and retention, as well as improved productivity. However, little is currently known about the two facets of employee engagement and their relationship: 1) employee engagement as an organisational activity and 2) employee engagement as a state of being. The former is concerned with what managers do to help their employees connect with colleagues, managers and the wider organisation (Truss, quoted in MacLeod and Clarke 2009). The latter is about employees' willingness to contribute intellectual effort in a meaningful way. Indicators of employee engagement include the creation of meaningful work, the creation of opportunities to participate in decision-making, and effective managerial communication (Alfes et al. 2010).


The title compound, (3aα, 10aα)-11,11-dibromo-6-methoxy-2,3,3a, 10a-tetrahydro-1H,4H-3a, 10a-methano-benz[f]azulen-9(10H)-one, C 16 H 16 Br 2 O 2 , is shown to contain a C6-methoxylated aromatic ring and bears some resemblance to the ABC ring system of paclitaxel (Taxol TM ).


Two factors play an important in the process of reformation of the Russian Federation Armed Forces: historical and social. Transformation of the RF Military Forces into contract-based ones ended with failure as either historical or social factors were taken into consideration. Contemporary public policy tends to equally consider them both basing on principles of prestige and current situation.


An information‐theoretic statistical procedure for the analysis of categorical or qualitative variables or count data not necessarily arrayed in a multi‐way cross‐classification or contingency table is presented. This procedure can be used to provide a uniform approach to both statistical testing and estimation in various kinds of traffic studies. In particular, a statistical procedure is presented for analyzing counts of violations observed at various intersections during cycles of red left turn arrow or red ball signals. Data was collected at fifteen intersections of different types at different times of the day and located in different geographical locations.


To solve the complex information integration problem of railway power supply scheduling, a three-layer distributed structure based on Client/Message Middleware/Server to develop the railway power supply scheduling system is introduced. First, the model, its characteristics and advantages of the three-layer structure are analyzed. Then the design and implementation methods of the key technique of building message middleware are demonstrated. In the end, system implementation and main functional index are summarized. The introduced method has some applicable value in those information systems, in which there are complex network structures and interfaces.


Compressive speech enhancement is based on the compressive sensing (CS) sampling theory and utilizes the sparsity of the signal for its enhancement. To improve the performance of the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) basis-function based compressive speech enhancement algorithm, this study presents a semi-soft thresholding approach suggesting improved threshold estimation and threshold rescaling parameters. The semi-soft thresholding approach utilizes two thresholds, one threshold value is an improved universal threshold and the other is calculated based on the initial-silence-region of the signal. This study suggests that thresholding should be applied to both detail coefficients and approximation coefficients to remove noise effectively. The performances of the hard, soft, garrote and semi-soft thresholding approaches are compared based on objective quality and speech intelligibility measures. The normalized covariance measure is introduced as an effective intelligibility measure as it has a strong correlation with the intelligibility of the speech signal. A visual inspection of the output signal is used to verify the results. Experiments were conducted on the noisy speech corpus (NOIZEUS) speech database. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method of semi-soft thresholding using improved threshold estimation provides better enhancement compared to the other thresholding approaches.


The determination of SCCmec types among staphylococcal strains causing infections in the hospital environment is crucial for understanding the basis of genetic transfer, tracking the emergence and dispersion routes of the strains involved, and defining control strategies. The aim of this study was to determine the SCCmec types of methicillin-resistant (MR) Staphylococcus spp. causing hospital-associated infections and to compare the diversity of SCCmec types between Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) clinical MR isolates. SCCmec types were assessed via a PCR-based scheme using sets of primers targeting the ccr and mec complexes and other structures. The results revealed differences in the distribution of SCCmec types between the analyzed S. aureus and CoNS isolates. SCCmec types II, III and IV were evenly distributed among the S. aureus strains. Among the CoNS isolates, the SCCmec types occurred in different proportions: the highest frequency was observed for SCCmec IV, followed by type III, while type V, which was absent from the S. aureus strains, occurred in a lower percentage of the CoNS strains. A number of isolates could not be categorized and were designated as non-typable (NT). The frequency of NT isolates was higher among the S. aureus strains than the CoNS strains, but the difference was not statistically significant (p-value = 0.2485). We hope that this study will contribute to improving the understanding of the molecular epidemiology of SCCmec types among hospital infection-associated S. aureus and CoNS strains in the study region.


Analyzing the techniques of resource management on grids, a model for resource management in satellite information network was set up and implemented, based on the architecture of its network management system and characteristics. In the architecture the resource management is based on the dynamic division of management domain to form the hierarchy composed of core resource manager and local resource scheduler, by which the static resources and dynamic resources are processed separately. All resources are described in XML in the system which is implemented in C++. The system could be incorporated into the satellite information network management system as one of its main functions.


The world is rapidly changing as a result of technology, which has played an important role in organisational development by improving operations and reducing obstacles. Businesses are constantly investing in technology in order to improve their performance and gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. Technological advancements assist businesses in automating their systems and management, providing them with the impetus to efficiently target customers through low-cost business solutions. As a result, this paper examined the relationship between technology adoption and the performance of business organisations involved in manufacturing.This study was conducted quantitatively, with data collected via questionnaire survey. The collected data was used to develop the model of structural relationship between the factors using PLS-SEM approach. Based on the validated PLS-SEM model, it was found that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating condition all have a positive relationship with technology adoption. One of the most significant benefits of increased technological use in manufacturing firms is increased revenue through improved performance. The evaluation of the mediation effects of firm size and training on the relationship between technology adoption and manufacturing firm performance in the UAE revealed that the hypotheses' outcomes were positive, indicating that firm size and training do play a role in manufacturing performance. When using technology in manufacturing, the training and firm size have a significant impact on manufacturing performance.


The spectral super‐element approach uses a hybridization of finite elements, boundary integrals, and wave‐number integration to solve the Helmholtz equation in a range‐dependent ocean environment. The range‐dependent ocean is divided into range‐independent sectors or super‐elements. Wave‐number integral representations can be derived for an influence matrix representing the relation between displacement and pressure expansions on the vertical boundaries. The integration kernels are determined very efficiently by the direct global matrix method in combination with a numerical quadrature scheme. The unknown expansion coefficients are then found by matching the boundary conditions of continuous displacement and stress between the sectors, with the acoustic field following by evaluating the wave‐number integrals within each sector, e.g. using the FFP technique. Two different boundary matching schemes are applied. One solves the global coupling problem incorporating all multiple scattering. A second, more effi...