Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is a rapid and nondestructive analytical technique that can be used to quantify various soil properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of NIRS to evaluate independently organic C, inorganic C, and total N content of diverse soil materials. Samples (n = 108) were prepared by mixing soil with CaCO3, humic acid, and/or compost materials. About 30% of the samples were selected randomly for the validation set, and the remaining samples were assigned to the calibration set. NIR spectra of these samples were correlated with measured values of organic C, inorganic C, total C, total N, and C:N ratios using partial least squares regression. Leave-one-out cross-validation analysis yielded r2 values between the measured and predicted soil properties higher than 0.86 for all tested properties. Similar results were obtained from analysis of the validation set (r2>0.85). The successful prediction of total N and C:N ratios for the studied samples indicates that NIRS predictions of total N for soils are based not on the strong correlation between levels of C and N but rather on an independent response to soil N. The results indicate that NIRS can be used to quantify independently and simultaneously organic C, inorganic C, and total N for soils with diverse C and N compositions.


The paper establishes an index system for evaluating the international competitive capability of tourism industry , determines the relative importance value of the indexes, and gives the methods of quantifying and dealing with the indexes, and of working out the synthetic evaluation value, then makes a quantitative evaluation and analysis of the international competitive capability of 12 strong countries in the tourism industry.


Background: Induction of labour has risen gradually in modern obstetrics all over the world. It is more predominant in developed countries (around 20%) than developing countries. Objectives: To evaluate the outcome of induction of labor in primiparous, multiparous women and the risk of cesarean delivery associated with induction. Patients and methods: This study included 200 patients attending to Obstetrics and Gynecological Department at Al-Hussein University Hospital for delivery and Al-Sinblawein General Hospital from September 2019 to April 2020. The patients were classified into two equal groups according to success of induction: Group 1 was given misoprostol vaginally after rupture of membrane, group 2 patients was give oxytocin by slow infusion after rupture of membrane. Patients with gestational age less than 37 weeks, previous cesarean delivery, with breech presentation and age above 40 years were excluded. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between group 1(misoprostol) and group 2 (oxytocin) regarding induction of labor with mean interval between hours was higher in group 2. Conclusion: Vaginal misoprostol was effective, easy to administer, safe method and superior to oxytocin for induction of labor.


iii CHAPTER ONE: RATIONAL 12 1.1. Rational 12 1.2. Research Aims 13 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 15 2.1. Organisational Justice 15 2.2. Organisational Distributive Justice 20 2.3. Organisational Procedural Justice 22 2.4. Organisational Interactional Justice 24 2.5. Restorative Justice in the Organisational Framework 26 2.5.1. Restorative Justice 26 2.5.2. Restorative Organisational Justice 28 2.5.3. General Restorative Justice 30 2.5.4. Restorative Distributive Justice 31 2.5.5. Restorative Procedural Justice 33 2.6. Organisational Attractiveness and its Possible Relationship to the Organisational Justice Framework 35 2.7. Organisational Justice, Restorative Organisational Justice, and Organisational Attractiveness 40


The Rapunzel syndrome is a rare condition, a term also used for a trichobezoar that presents a tail to the duodenum and/or jejunum through the pylorus. This is caused by a "hairy ball" within the stomach, leading to gastric outlet obstruction. We present a case of an 11-year old child with abdominal pain and vomiting episodes, with an abdominal mass depicted at physical examination, whose imaging findings were compatible with this condition, posteriorly with surgical confirmation.


OBJECTIVES
To assess the sex and age of patients undergoing tonsillectomy in the Cape Town metropolitan area.

METHODOLOGY
A retrospective audit was conducted from 1991 to 1995 comparing the sex and age of patients undergoing tonsillectomy with patients admitted to hospital for acute tonsillitis and the general population.

RESULTS
A total of 7,250 tonsillectomies were performed for recurrent tonsillitis, and 111 adult patients were admitted with acute tonsillitis. When the data for the adult tonsillectomy patients were isolated, the female/male ratio was 3.22:1, which is highly significant when compared with the data for the general population (Cornfield's 95% confidence limit: 2.82, 3.68) and for patients with acute tonsillitis (Cornfield's 95% confidence limit: 1.14, 2.65).

CONCLUSION
Recurrent tonsillitis requiring tonsillectomy occurs more commonly in female than male patients.


Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) or TENG‐based self‐charging systems harvesting energy from ambient environment are promising power solution for electronics. The stable running remains a key consideration in view of potential complex application environment. In this work, a textile‐based tailorable multifunctional TENG (T‐TENG) is developed. The T‐TENG is used as self‐powered human body motion sensor, water energy harvester, and formed all textile‐based flexible self‐charging system by integrating with textile‐based supercapacitors. The service behavior and the mechanism of performance retention are also studied when the T‐TENG is damaged. As a self‐powered human body motion sensor, the T‐TENG maintains the stable properties when it is cut. As a water energy harvester, the T‐TENG is capable of scavenging mechanical energy from water efficiently even if it is damaged partly. Besides, the charge properties of the self‐charging system are systematically investigated when the T‐TENG is cut. The investigation on service behavior of T‐TENG and TENG‐based self‐charging system pushes forward the development of highly reliable electronics and is a guide for other nanodevices and nanosystems.


Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) has been commonly applied to evaluate the shape of Fermi surfaces by employing simple criteria for the determination of the Fermi vector k_F parallel to the surface such as maximum photoemission intensity at the Fermi level or discontinuity in the momentum distribution function. Here we show that these criteria may lead to large uncertainties in particular for narrow band systems. We develop a reliable method for the determination of Fermi vectors employing high resolution ARPES at different temperatures.
The relevance and accuracy of the method is discussed on data of the quasi two dimensional system TiTe_2.


The statutory method for the determination of total vitamin A in margarine has been modified to enable vitamin A, α-and β-carotene to be determined separately.A collaborative test by six laboratories has shown that the proposed method is more accurate than the statutory method, particularly for margarine coloured with synthetic β-carotene, and there is no loss of precision.


Objective:To determine the content of aconitine,mesaconitine and hypaconitine in different compatibility of Radix Aconiti and Pinellia ternate water extract.Methods:HPLC was used to determine the content of aconitine,mesaconitine and hypaconitine in water extract of Radix Aconiti and Pinellia ternate with different compatibility(1:0,1:0.125,1:0.25,1:0.5,1:0.75,1:1,1:2).The chromatographic condition: Hypersil BDS C18 chromatographic column(5μm,4.6mm×250mm),mobile phase was methanol: water: chloroform: triethylamine(70:30:1:0.2),flow velocity was 1.0ml/min,column temperature was 30℃,detection wavelength was 235nm.Results:Aconitine,mesaconitine and hypaconitine had better linear relationship respectively at 1.5μg/ml-25.0μg/ml(r=0.9996),17.0μg/ml-85.0μg/ml(r=0.9998) and 16.0μg/ml-160.0μg/ml(0.9996).Along with increasing of compatibility proportion of Pinellia ternate,the dissolution of 3 kinds aconitine in Radix Aconiti gradually decreased.Conclusions: Pinellia ternate can reduce the dissolution of the aconitine,mesaconitine and hypaconitine in water extract of the Radix Aconiti.


Each epimers of 2, 3-episulfides of 5β, 25D-spirostane and 17β-hydroxy-5α-androstanes having a methyl group at C-1α, C2, or C3 were synthesized via the corresponding vicinal diaxial thiocyanatohydrins. In addition the formation of both episulfides and oxides from the vicinal diaxial thiocyanatohydrin acetates was discussed on the basis of the natures of the substituents.


Corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete structures is a major problem affecting North American infrastructure. Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) have outstanding properties such as high strength, durability, and resistance to electrochemical corrosion. The use of FRP wraps and their effectiveness in restoring the integrity of corroded reinforced concrete structures, as well as their impact on corrosion activity, is still in question. This paper focuses on inducing corrosion in columns using an aggressive environment that simulates natural corrosion, and the use of carbon FRP (CFRP) wraps in repair of corrosion-damaged reinforced concrete columns. The experiment included 12 large-scale circular columns 300 x 1200 mm (12 x 48 in.). Ten columns were cast with 3% NaCl (by weight of cement) premixed with the mixing water in the outer 75 mm (3 in.) thick ring. The two remaining columns were uncontaminated and used as control specimens (one wrapped and one unwrapped). The ten chloride-laden columns were corroded using an aggressive environment. The experiment incorporated electrochemical chloride extraction (ECE) treatment on four of the columns followed by CFRP wrapping on eight columns. The research concluded that the CFRP wraps applied over corrosion-damaged reinforced concrete columns will decrease the corrosion rate of the reinforcement and restore the structural integrity of the column. The ECE and wrapping combination provided the best protection against future corrosion. The application of the wraps will be more effective when applied at earlier stages of the corrosion. The strength of the wrapped columns was also very close to that of the wrapped control column.


Evidence is presented of teenagers with Down syndrome learning algebra and of one 51-year-old learning how to count and tell the time for the first time, suggesting that we need to be carefulin our assumptions about what numerical skills people with Down syndrome can attain. The authoroutlines the main approaches she has drawn from working with these individuals.


Experimental investigations were carried out in 0.3m trisonic wind tunnel at NAL to study the effects of an underexpanded jet on afterbody/nozzle drag of an axiswrnetric configuration. Detailed pressure measurements were obtained on the boat tailed aferbody, of this model which accornmo6ated a convergent nozzle.Wind tunnel tests were conducted i n the free stream Mach number range of 0.5 to 1.1, keeping model at zero degree of incidence-13; Jet pressure ratio (Pm/Pd,) was also varied from 1.0 (Jet-off) to about 5.5 during this investigation. The jet at nozzle exit was sonic throughout thzse tests. Test results show that for free stream Mach nurnbers lower than jet Mach number ( ie.1.0) afterbody, boattail and base13; pressure drags increasad 2s the jet pressure ratio is increased from 1.0 (Jet off) to abut 3.0 but these drags decreased when the jet pressure ration is increased beyond 3.G.For higher free stream mach numbers (gt; 1.0) the boattail static pressures increased and afterbody, boattail an,l base pressure drags decreased as the jet13; pressure ratio i s increased beyond 1.0 (jet off). Results also show increase in afterbody pressure drag as the free stream Mach nunber is increased to about 1.0 and it decreased as the free stream Mach number is increased beyond 1.0. Schlcren pictures clearly indicate the movenent of the shock downstream of the boattail Shoulder as the free stream Mach number is increased above 0.95 and also the movement of shock upstream of the nozzle exit plane when the jet pressure ration is increased from 1.0 ( jet off) to about 5.5. Oil flow patterns also indicate the existence of the separated flows regions 0n the afterbody that occurs due to the shock-boundary layer interactions in the transonic Nach number range of this investigation. Location of shock on the afterbody as obtained from trailsonic calculations compares quite well with that obtained from the present experiments.nature of static13; pressure distribution compares well with the available NASA test results.


Diabetes is a pro‐inflammatory state. Recently, we have shown that high glucose induces pro‐inflammatory cytokines via epigenetic changes. Fisetin, a flavonoid compound commonly present in fruits and vegetables, can exert anti‐inflammation activities via inhibition of the NF‐κB‐signaling pathway. In this study, we tested the effect of fisetin on histone acetylation and pro‐inflammatory cytokine secretion under high‐glucose conditions in human monocytes. Human monocytic (THP‐1) cells were cultured in presence of normoglycemic (NG, 5.5 mmol/L glucose) or hyperglycemic (HG, 20 mmol/L glucose) conditions in absence or presence of fisetin (3–10μM) for 48 h. Cytokine level, nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB) transactivation, histone deacetylases (HDACs) activity, histone acetylases (HATs) activity were measured by western blot, ELISA, and real‐time PCR. HG activates HAT which in turn acetylates p65 and suppresses HDAC3 resulting in NF‐κB activation and increased transcription of IL‐6 and TNF‐α in monocytes. Fisetin induces HDAC3 and decreases HAT (p300) activity, thereby resulting in decreased NF‐κB activation and decreased inflammatory cytokine release (p<0.001) in HG conditions. These results indicate that fisetin decreases HG‐induced cytokine production in monocytes via epigenetic changes involving NF‐κB. In conclusion, fisetin supplementation may prevent diabetic complications by reducing vascular inflammation


Objective To explore the effects of re-expression of Syk on oncogenesis,metastasis of breast cancer.Methods 5-aza-CDR was used to incubate with human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-435s,Methylation of Syk promoter region was detected by MSP,and RT-PCR technique was used to detected Syk gene in the methylated and silenced Syk gene in the cell line MDA-MB-435s,Meanwhile,cell lines were inoculated into subcanteous of ten nude mice.Results No methylation of Syk promoter region was found and Syk gene was detected in the Syk-negative cell line MDA-MB-435 after cell line was incubated by 5-aza-CDR,of 10 nude mice which were inoculated MDA-MB-435(Syk+),2 were observed macroscopic tumor.On contrast,tumor were found in 10 nude mice which were inoculated MDA-MB-435(Syk-),a significant difference was noted between two groups (χ2= 10.21, P 0.05).Conclusion Syk gene was re-expressed in the cell line MDA-MB-435 by demethylation with 5-aza-CDR.Syk gene re-expression suppressed the maligant growth and metastasis of human breast cancer.


Background Joubert syndrome (JS) is a neurodevelopmental ciliopathy characterised by a distinctive mid-hindbrain malformation, the 'molar tooth sign'. Over 40 JS-associated genes are known, accounting for two-thirds of cases. Methods While most variants are novel or extremely rare, we report on 11 recurring variants in seven genes, including three known 'founder variants' in the Ashkenazi Jewish, Hutterite and Finnish populations. We evaluated variant frequencies in ~550 European patients with JS and compared them with controls (>15 000 Italian plus gnomAD), and with an independent cohort of ~600 JS probands from the USA. Results All variants were markedly enriched in the European JS cohort compared with controls. When comparing allele frequencies in the two JS cohorts, the Ashkenazim founder variant (TMEM216 c.218G>T) was significantly enriched in American compared with European patients with JS, while MKS1 c.1476T>G was about 10 times more frequent among European JS. Frequencies of other variants were comparable in the two cohorts. Genotyping of several markers identified four novel European founder haplotypes. Two recurrent variants (MKS1 c.1476T>G and KIAA0586 c.428delG), have been detected in homozygosity in unaffected individuals, suggesting they could act as hypomorphic variants. However, while fibroblasts from a MKS1 c.1476T>G healthy homozygote showed impaired ability to form primary cilia and mildly reduced ciliary length, ciliary parameters were normal in cells from a KIAA0586 c.428delG healthy homozygote. Conclusion This study contributes to understand the complex genetic landscape of JS, explain its variable prevalence in distinct geographical areas and characterise two recurrent hypomorphic variants.


In this study, we present a new non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) method using the pixel's barycentric coordinates for endmember extraction, named BC-NMF. Our method applies the geometrical property of simplex in the calculation of abundance fraction. That is, for any pixel in an image, its abundance fractions are its barycentric coordinates within the endmember coordinate system. Experiments using both simulated and real hyperspectral images show that BC-NMF can generate endmembers with higher accuracy and lower computational complexity than NMF.


This study, which deals with Human Rights situation in Iraq and Kurdistan Region during the last three decades, aims to discuss and analyze certain Human Rights issues, including civil, political and cultural rights as stipulated in the current Iraqi Constitution and reflected under the present political circumstances, making specific short references to Human Rights Education. As a descriptive analytical study, clear integrated legal and political materials are used to draw particular realistic conclusions about violations of Human Rights, as well as the contradictions between the content of the Constitution and what is happening within political developments' process on the ground. In this regard, it seems that severe difficulties and serious challenges have reduced the capacity of Iraq and Kurdistan Region from building an efficient system for Human Rights which is able to enhance Human Rights issues and support Human Rights Education.


The International Federation of Accountants has sta ted that competence in information technology is imperative for the professional accou ntant due to its pervasive use in the business world. Auditors would normally be expected to have higher knowledge than the average accountant since they must audit the work of many d ifferent clients with diverse information systems. We surveyed 2,500 United States and German auditing professionals to determine their self-reported knowledge levels (IT self-efficacy) o f 36 information technologies, some of which include various emerging technologies. Responses totaled 587 for a 23.5% overall response rate. A factor analysis of the 36 individual technologies revealed five underlying general constructs. Response statistics indicated both countries lacked significant knowledge for three of these five constructs. Scores were then culturally standardized to approp riately compare United States and German responses. German auditors had significantly higher knowledge for the construct of networking and data transfer. U.S. auditors had sig nificantly higher knowledge for three constructs: ecommerce technologies, general office automation, and audit automation technologies. No differences were found for the construct of acco unting firm office automation technologies. This study provides a foundation and methodology by which future researchers can measure whether, as an "emerging technology" matures, greater convergence will occur over time across cultures in factor analysis, as in the case of the more mature construct, general office automations.


In recent times, there have been rapid advancements in technologies that can bring about fully autonomous driving. This can potentially result in substantial changes in the road network and traffic operations. People previously not being able to travel frequently (e.g., the elderly and people with disabilities) will be able to commute themselves. Due to this intuitive property of autonomous vehicles, additional trip production may produce an impact on travel costs between some origin-destination pairs. These unwanted changes create both positive and negative impacts on the network users resulting in an inequity issue. It is necessary to evaluate the inequity caused to a whole society by providing benefits through autonomous driving to a certain group of people. In the above context, this paper uses a bi-level optimization model technique to find an optimal solution of a multi-objective function. The proposed model aims to evaluate the maximum growth of trips that a network can support without causing inequity to other network users. The upper level of the model maximizes the generation of trips constrained by the inequity parameters, whereas the lower level minimizes the travel equilibrium costs for all the users by assigning trips to the network following the multinomial logit principle. The solution to the proposed model is provided by a multi-objective genetic algorithm.


This paper questions the prevalent approach in assessing the value of e-learning through the information system model. A recall is made of the evolution of DeLone and McCain model and other theory at the basis of such assessment, namely TAM derived models and performance models. In these years of covid which imposed e-learning on schools, without adequate preparation this examination is more than ever important since it changes the logic of the assessment. The covid19 caused an unvoluntary use of e-learning that questions the validity of prevalent models. An integrated model, which take this aspect into consideration, is proposed in this article, to be validated empirically in a soon future. © 2022 International Consortium for Electronic Business. All rights reserved.


Research indicates that providing social information about other people's charitable donations can increase individual contributions. However, the effects of social information on volunteering time are underexplored. In this field experiment, we measure the effects of different levels of feedback about other people's time contributions (very high, high, and moderate) on individuals' hours of volunteering. The experiment was conducted with students from English universities volunteering for a variety of organizations and with a group of predominantly older people volunteering for a national charity in England. Social information did not increase volunteering for either group relative to a control group receiving individualized feedback with no social comparison. For students whose baseline volunteering time was lower than the median, social information had a demotivating effect, reducing their volunteering, suggesting that donating time is different to donating money.


— The gamma radiation in samples of a variety of natural tiling rocks (granites) produced and imported in Iran use in the building industry was measured, employing high-resolution Gamma-ray spectroscopy. The rock samples were pulverized, sealed in 0.5 liter plastic Marinelli beakers, and measured in the laboratory with an accumulating time between 50000 and 80000 second each. From the measured Gamma-ray spectra, activity concentrations were determined for 232 Th (range from 6.5 to 172.2 Bq kg -1 ), 238 U (from 7.5 to 178.1 Bq kg -1 ), 226 Ra( from 3.8 to 94.2 Bq kg -1 ) 40 K (from 556.9 to 1539.2 Bq kg -1 ). From the 29 samples measured in this study, "Nehbndan ( Berjand )" appears to present the highest concentrations for 232 Th,"Big Red Flower (China) "for 238 U , " Khoram dareh" for 226 Ra and " Peranshahr" for 40 K , respectively.


Cu-Cu bonding has the potential to break through the extreme boundary of scaling down chips' I/Os into the sub-micrometer scale. In this study, we investigated the effect of 2-step bonding on the shear strength and electrical resistance of Cu-Cu microbumps using highly <111>-oriented nanotwinned Cu (nt-Cu). Alignment and bonding were achieved at 10 s in the first step, and a post-annealing process was further conducted to enhance its bonding strength. Results show that bonding strength was enhanced by 2–3 times after a post-annealing step. We found 50% of ductile fractures among 4548 post-annealed microbumps in one chip, while the rate was less than 20% for the as-bonded counterparts. During the post-annealing, interfacial grain growth and recrystallization occurred, and the bonding interface was eliminated. Ductile fracture in the form of zig-zag grain boundary was found at the original bonding interface, thus resulting in an increase in bonding strength of the microbumps.


Extension of the Hanstholm harbour (Denmark) is being planned, including the construction of a new breakwater. Within the general frame of the development plan of the harbour, numerical modelling has been carried out using the mild-slope model MILDwave developed at Ghent University, for estimating the wave conditions along the planned breakwater, close to the Danish Wave Energy Centre (DanWEC). Numerical results of the wave climate in the study area are presented here, including validation of the performance of the wave breaking module implemented in MILDwave, showing very good agreement with analytical (Goda' method) and numerical results (SWAN-1D).


This study explores the anthropological study of Islam through an ethnographic analysis of the Tablighi Jama'at - a transnational piety movement. Recent anthropological writings on Islam have approached Islam as a discursive tradition and, drawing heavily on the work of Michel Foucault, have detailed the ethical formation of the subject. Embedded within these formulations are important notions of power, knowledge, truth, and authority, which are fundamental features of Islamic beliefs and practices. In the ethnographic sections of the study, I will apply this framework in the analysis of the Tablighi Jama'at. Although the movement is very much the product of a particular moment, which I will demonstrate in my historical overview, the Tablighi Jama'at has been able to expand on a global level. These two aspects will be clarified by demonstrating how the Tablighi Jama'at's formal methodology and creed are put into practice at a mosque in San Diego. In order to do so, I will rely heavily on semiotics, or the process of signification, and I will demonstrate how semiotics forms are vital elements to the success of these types of piety movements. Thus, in the final section of this study, I will revisit the debates about signification surrounding the nature of authorizing discourses, and will aim to show how semiotics allows us to connect the discursive traditions of Islam, with its authorizing and authoritative discourses, with immanent utterances and practices in the world


The Keke AI Competition introduces an artificial agent competition for the game Baba is You - a Sokoban-like puzzle game where players can create rules that influence the mechanics of the game. Altering a rule can cause temporary or permanent effects for the rest of the level that could be part of the solution space. The nature of these dynamic rules and the deterministic aspect of the game creates a challenge for AI to adapt to a variety of mechanic combinations in order to solve a level. This paper describes the framework and evaluation metrics used to rank submitted agents and baseline results from sample tree search agents.


Most available CTD Satellite Relay Data Logger (CTD-SRDL) profiles are heavily compressed before satellite transmission. High-resolution profiles recorded at the sampling frequency of 0.5 Hz are, however, available upon physical retrieval of the logger. Between 2014 and 2018, several loggers deployed on elephant seals in the Southern Ocean have been set in continuous recording mode, capturing both the ascent and descent for over 60 profiles per day during several months, opening new horizons for the physical oceanography community. Taking advantage of a new dataset made of seven such loggers, a postprocessing procedure is proposed and validated to improve the quality of all CTD-SRDL data: that is, both high-resolution profiles and compressed low-resolution ones. First, temperature and conductivity are corrected for a thermal mass effect. Then salinity spiking and density inversion are removed by adjusting salinity while leaving temperature unchanged. This method, applied here to more than 50 000 profiles, yields significant and systematic improvements in both temperature and salinity, particularly in regions of rapid temperature variation. The continuous high-resolution dataset is then used to provide updated accuracy estimates of CTD-SRDL data. For high-resolution data, accuracies are estimated to be of ±0.02°C for temperature and ±0.03 g kg−1 for salinity. For low-resolution data, transmitted data points have similar accuracies; however, reconstructed temperature profiles have a reduced accuracy associated with the vertical interpolation of ±0.04°C and a nearly unchanged salinity accuracy of ±0.03 g kg−1.


Language skills must be owned by students. Therefore, the teacher's role is very important in the learning process because it must be able to provide strategic, innovative, and interesting methods, strategies, and learning media so that students are able to master the four language skills in Indonesian lessons, meaning that students must master these four skills in a balanced way.  However, in reality, writing skills are still less favored by students, this is due to the number of students who have difficulty expressing ideas, feelings, and thoughts through writing. So that learning to write is more difficult than the three competencies in other language learning. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the RAFT strategy on the development of descriptive text writing skills for students of class X IPA1 SMA Negeri 2 Seluma. The type of research used is quantitative research. The sample of this study was 34 people. The instruments used are test sheets and documentation. The results obtained from this study, it is known that the hypothesis test was carried out, it was obtained that the value of Fcount> Ftable i.e. = 0.48 > 0.39, thus the hypothesis Ha was accepted, which means that the implementation of the RAFT strategy can improve the development of text writing skills. description of students of class X IPA1 SMA Negeri 2 Seluma. The implementation of the influence test in the results of this study found that the raft learning strategy on the development of writing skills in class X IPA1 SMA Negeri 2 Seluma, with the results of data management from the research conducted, it is known that there is a positive influence between RAFT strategy (X) on the development of descriptive text writing skills (Y).


9 Petroglyphs, a form of rock art consisting of images pecked on rock surfaces, comprise one of the most important archaeological features of the Colorado Plateau region (Cole 2009). They provide glimpses into the life, behaviors, and customs of the prehistoric peoples who created them. Petroglyphs are widely distributed geographically and are composed of a broad sweep of themes relating to essentially everything of social significance to the people who created them. An important step in relating these images to other artifacts would be a reliable and nondestructive way of dating them.


The effect of chemical passivation in solutions of ammonium sulfide (NH4)2S on the optical and electronic properties of the n-InP (001) surface has been studied. It has been shown that treatment in a 4% aqueous solution of (NH4)2S leads to a decrease of surface band bending and localized charges in near-surface region in the 2 times. Processing in a 4% alcoholic solution of (NH4)2S leads to a decrease in these parameters in 3 times, and moreover, the barrier photovoltage and also reduces in three times.


Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease is a public health problem worldwide associated with high morbidity and hepatic steatosis, but no effective therapeutic interventions. Magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate (MGIG), a derivative of an active component of Glycyrrhiza glabra, is widely used for the treatment of inflammatory liver diseases due to its potent anti‐inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities. Hence, this study aimed to study the effects of MGIG on hepatic steatosis in mice fed a high‐fat diet (HFD). Oil Red O staining and transmission electron microscopy revealed a decrease in lipid accumulation in the liver after MGIG treatment along with improved mitochondrial ultramicrostructures. Metabonomic analysis demonstrated that MGIG intervention increased glutamate utilization in mitochondria by promoting the uptake of glutamate into the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. The NAD+/NADH ratio and the expression of other lipid‐metabolism‐related genes were increased in MGIG‐treated livers. Transcriptome sequencing showed that the expression of TLR4, an isoform of the innate immunity Toll‐like receptors (TLRs), was significantly decreased after MGIG treatment, suggesting a link between the anti‐inflammatory effects of MGIG and its suppression of lipidation. Our results reveal the potent effects of MGIG on lipid metabolism and suggest that hepatic TLR4 might be a crucial therapeutic target to regulate energy homeostasis in hepatic steatosis.


Loading unit attachment band for surgical stapling a loading unit and retention band assembly comprising: a shell (20) having a proximal end portion (22) defining an engagement window (24), the proximal end portion (22) including an annular surface (23); and a retention band (40) disposed radially about the annular surface (23) of the proximal end portion (22), the retention band (4) including a resilient body (45) having a first end (42) and a second end (46), the first end (42) including a resilient lock (44) configured to extend through the engagement window (24) of the proximal end portion (22) of the shell (2), the resilient lock (44)being dimensioned releasably engage a surgical instrument.


In order to meet the requirements of the live broadcast and make good use of the existing equipment in the TV station,this paper gives a detailed introduction of the design and application of live broadcast system.


A survey of sleeping sickness, scientifically called humanAfrican trypanosomiasis, aimed at case detection and treatment was carried out in Gboko, Buruku, Gwer and Ushongo Local GovernmentAreas (LGAs) of Benue State, Nigeria in April 2009.A total of 820 individuals aged 2-87 years were clinically examined for palpable glands and screened for the presence of circulating anti-Trypanosoma brucei gambiense anti-bodies using the Card Agglutination Test for Trypanosomiasis (CATT) as a primary screening test. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were held with village leaders and selected community members to assess their knowledge, attitude and perception (KAP) about sleeping sickness. The clinical data showed two individuals with suggestive palpable glands which upon examination of the aspirates following gland punctures were microscopically negative for trypanosomes. The CATT gave zero prevalence (0 %) indicating that the 820 individuals were negative. Qualitative data showed the rarity of sleeping sickness in the areas surveyed. It appears from our results that the parts of Benue State covered in the screening exercise are currently no longer endemic to sleeping sickness.We recommend more extensive population surveys taking cognisance of the remaining 19 LGAs in order to establish with certainty the current situation of sleeping sickness in the entire State.


Cross sections and thermal rate coefficients for single‐collision dissociation in ground‐state Rg2 by Rg (Rg = Ne,Ar,Kr, and Xe) were computed using Monte Carlo quasiclassical trajectories. The influence of vibrational and rotational excitation of the dissociation cross sections and rate coefficients was investigated for Ar+Ar2. The following conclusions are reached. At high collision energies the cross section for dissociation of ground‐state dimers is given by πR2e (where Re is the equilibrium internuclear separation of the dimer). Initial vibrational excitation greatly enhances dissociation; initial rotation also enhances dissociation but not to the extent that vibration does. The temperature dependence of the rate coefficients for dissociation of ground‐state dimers is shown to be well described by k = CT−1/3. The rate of Ar2 dissociation by Ar is found to be orders of magnitude greater than previously reported values.


Land issue is the core of social problems in China.From China's "dual economy" structure observation,studying land bank is a very significant issue.This study found that the economic structure of the dual partition could be easier to have a "moral hazard" for property transactions,and deepen the "dual economy" of the opposition.Incomplete system of property rights led to more confusion,appearing "multi-center subject" interest pattern,that is "weaken one,enhance the other" on economic rights,the result is that the low efficiency of land resources.While "land money" is the government monopoly on land pricing derivatives,by controlling the "land money" issue volume to increase or decrease revenue.But they are a serious impediment to the land of the deepening of capital,and it is not conducive to the expansion of land banking.


In microscopic traffic simulation, the fidelity of the road network model has a significant impact on the difference between the simulation and the actual urban traffic state. Accurately matching data on the simulated road network and the surroundings has become a central concern in traffic simulation research. This study provides a multi-source data-based framework for automatic road network generation (ARNG) to address the issue of manual procedures in the creation of the simulated road network and surroundings. First, the proposed method of fusion and matching of diverse road network data is used to acquire the basic road network information, and the combining of the features of different road network data can enhance the authenticity of the basic road network. Second, a multi-modal simulation road network is developed based on multi-modal traffic operation data to serve as the simulation operation's foundational environment. To address the requirements of the dynamic evolution of the simulated road network, an editor for the dynamic road network is built based on spatial closest neighbor matching. The case study illustrates the process of building the simulated road network and environment in the old city zone of Suzhou. Real-world examples demonstrate that the data-based ARNG approach provided in this study is highly automatic and scalable.


With the gradual development and update of the skills and tactics of judo and with the higher requirement of overall athletic level, the competition has been fiercer and fiercer. Through literature method, observation method and visitation method and by integrating years of training and experience in contests the writer has analyzed and summarized the skills and tactics of judo and the features of the skills and tactics of judo and its training ways with the aim to provide some reference and suggestions for coaches' teaching and athletes' training.


Accurate modeling of soil water dynamics during vertical drainage is needed for reasonable prediction of crop yield and agrochemical leaching. This study was carried out to improve the soil water drainage model in the DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) family of crop models. In the existing model, the daily change in soil water content (&thetas;) from a soil layer is calculated by multiplying the drainable soil water (initial &thetas; - drained upper limit &thetas; (&thetas;dul)) by a parameter, C, that represents the soil hydraulic properties. In this model, one value for C is assumed for the whole soil profile, and C is lacking theoretical basis. Two changes have been introduced to this model: a relationship between C and &thetas;dul was developed and a new coefficient, F, which accounts for the incoming soil water flow into a particular layer of the profile (Qi), was added. By stepping through the texture triangle in increments of 5% clay and 5% sand, theoretical values of C for all possible soil texture combinations were calculated using numeric solutions. A quadratic relationship between these C values and the corresponding &thetas;dul was developed. A published international data set of drainage cycles of more than 50 soil profiles was used to examine this relationship. The root mean square difference (RMSD) between estimated and numerical C for the international soils was 0.136 days−1. The performance of the DSSAT and of the modified DSSAT models as a whole was evaluated for two soils in the summer of 1997. The modified DSSAT estimated the daily &thetas; reasonably well at the different depths throughout the drainage cycle (maximum RMSD < 0.013 m3 m−3), outperforming the original DSSAT by reducing the RMSD 2–4 fold at most of the soil depths


In this paper, we describe the nuts and bolts of WebRogue. WebRogue is an internet tool, which bridges the gap between the virtual presence in a website and the full interaction with other users browsing the same page. The rationale behind WebRogue is simple indeed: a web browser and a chat client are linked together and each time the user loads a web page, he/she can see who is connected to that site and can start an end-to-end chat session with the other users. This allows web surfers to spontaneously aggregate around sites of interest, as happens in the real world, without being limited or controlled in any way by site owners. Additionally, WebRogue provides users with many functionalities to allow sophisticate interactions, such as whispering (sending private messages), screaming (sending a chat message that anyone can read), joining a group of users for group surfing and waiting in line.


Abstract The goal of environmental justice (EJ) is for all peoples to achieve the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards. This suggests that impacts should be evaluated from the perspective of the affected community because only the community truly knows what is at risk from adverse impacts. If the EJ assessment is based solely on spatial analysis of demographic data with a criterion that 20% of a local community must be of a single ethnic group or below a certain income level in order to be recognized as an environmental justice community, then impacts to tribal natural resources and well-being will often be overlooked or significantly underestimated. When American Indian tribes and tribal resources are affected on or off a reservation, a proper impact assessment requires considerations of natural resource trusteeship, federal fiduciary trust obligations across ceded or usual and accustomed areas, and the spatial distribution of natural resources that are potentially impacted. Th...


A clinic case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a 51 years old woman is reported. The patient exhibited signs of pyramidal system and anterior motor neuron involvement. The cerebrospinal fluid examinations showed clear cut indications of parenchymatous neurosyphilis. Attention is called to the rarity of the association above mentioned. The role of neurosyphilis as an atiological factor of ALS is discussed. The authors conclude that in the case described there is a close relationship between the two entities.


Since the onset of intracytoplasmic sperm injection, researchers have intensified the search for the ideal spermatozoa to be used for injection. The aim of this study was to record the functional role of cumulus cell interaction with human spermatozoa as far as capacitation, acrosome reaction, morphology, zona binding and chromatin packaging quality are concerned. Using a previously described cumulus oophorus model, we recorded specific sperm functional aspects of sperm populations that transverse a cumulus cells mass. Control spermatozoa were kept under similar experimental conditions in the culture media only. Results indicated cumulus cells to be beneficial to spermatozoa as far as functional and capacitational events are concerned. The mean percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa in the control sample was 6.9%, while the spermatozoa that traversed the cumulus oophorus (test) had a significantly higher percentage of normal forms (mean 9.5%; P ≤ 0.01). We observed a decline in the percentage of CMA3‐positive spermatozoa when we compared the control population (49.1%) to the test, i.e. 38.4%, (P = <0.05), thus implying that the spermatozoa with good chromatin condensation increased during cumulus penetration. Significantly more (P ≤ 0.01) acrosome‐reacted spermatozoa were found in the penetrated spermatozoa (mean 23%) than in the control spermatozoa (mean 11%). The test spermatozoa had a higher zona binding capacity with significantly more (P ≤ 0.01) tightly bound spermatozoa on the hemizona (61 ± 15) than the control spermatozoa (47 ± 18). In the absence of sophisticated and expensive sperm selection products, the use of a cumulus model to select spermatozoa for intracellular sperm injection seems to be an alternative method.


In this article I will summarize the basic points of view appearing in postwar sociology into the following three forms, and by using them as a framework I will attempt to summarize and view postwar sociology.1. A pure positive view which puts stress on empirical and individual facts themselves—empirical sociology.2. A historical, positive view which puts stress on the systematic structure of the whole society and its change that is the background of empirical facts—historical sociology.3. A pure theoretical, analytical view which puts stress on meaning-relations (rules) of empirical facts—theoretical sociology.Prewar Japanese sociology mainly took the third view, but in the postwar period the first one appeared under the influence of American sociology, taking the form of criticism of the earlier view, and influenced Japanese sociology greatly (1949-1966). In its turn the third one came to the front in a different form from that of the prewar one (1955-1966), and the second one intends to be the core of Japanese sociology ranking with the others (1960-66). In this trend the mutual relationship of the three has been, roughly speaking, either one of repulsion, apposition or easy concession and compromise. I expect the development of future Japanese sociology in two points: (1) recognition of their uniqueness and interdependence, (2) establishment of the division system in sociology by them, and at the same. I insist once more on sociology as an actual science.


Looping media are recurring components of online content, from gifs to Vine videos, in addition to the conceptual repetition of memes and related practices. This paper analyses practices around looping visual media as examples of vernacular creativity, social media literacies, and internet culture, especially for irreverent and playful purposes. Focusing on the LGBTQ digital cultural context as a pilot study, this research examines multi-platform uses of looping media, including personal narratives through Vine videos and animated gifs on Tumblr. In addition to textual analysis of LGBTQ looping visual social media content, the study will further explore the platform context as part of the experience of looped media. The research will address how these factors may also contribute to practices of irreverence and play, both within the specific case of LGBTQ culture and internet culture more generally.


EDITOR—We disagree with Latham and Preble's statement that HIV transmission through breast feeding is rare and has been exaggerated.1 Worldwide about 600 000 children a year are infected through mother to child transmission, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and breast feeding accounts for over a third of this number.2 At least 200 000 infections worldwide cannot be dismissed.

In underresourced areas, such as most of sub-Saharan …


We present a novel blind watermarking method for copyright protection. Two distance measures are devised to genetically select the significant wavelet singularities for lossless and robust embedding. Then, forward and backward pair checksum generated from the embedded singularities is adopted to alternately correct the attacked image errors for blind retrieval.


In-situ burning of oiled wetlands potentially provides a cleanup technique that is compatible with the wetland environment and is consistent with present wetland management procedures; thus, it would be highly valued. However, effects of burning of wetlands can vary with different scenarios, and burning of wetlands can have beneficial as well as detrimental impacts. Factors, such as water depth over the soil surface, marsh types with different plant species, and oil types, may influence the response of wetlands to the burn, yet they have not been adequately addressed scientifically. Our previous research demonstrated has that ten centimeters of water overlying the soil surface was sufficient to protect the marsh soil from burn impacts to the salt marsh grass, Spartina alterniflora. In contrast, a water table 10-cm below the soil surface resulted in high soil temperature and almost completely inhibited the survival of the grass. However, the effect of water level between 10 cm and –10 cm relative to the soil surface on the vegetation was not unequivocally identified. Therefore, a mesocosm scale investigation was conducted to study the effects of water depth, different types of oil burning, and oil application on the relationship between recovery of marsh vegetation, soil temperature and oil remediation for different marsh types. Marsh sods, collected from a Spartina alterniflora dominated salt marsh, a Spartina patens and Distichlis spicata co-dominated brackish marsh, and a Sagittaria lancifolia dominated fresh marsh in southeast Louisiana and placed in 5 gallon metal buckets, were instrumented with thermocouples and assigned to the following treatments: a) Oil exposure: diesel (0.5 liters m), crude oil (0.5 liters m), and no oil application, (b) Burn types: 700 s (seconds) crude oil burn and 700 s diesel fuel burn, and (c) Water depth: 10, 2 and –2 cm over the marsh surface during in-situ burning. Soil temperature, as a function of soil depth, sod elevation, and marsh type, was continuously recorded during the 700 s (second) burn and for a period of 4700 s post-burn. After the burns, the mesocosms were returned to the greenhouse where plant recovery was evaluated. Oil residue floating on the water surface after burning was analyzed to determine the efficiency of burning compared to the initial oil (diesel or crude). Soil samples for total petroleum hydrocarbon and GC/MS analyses were collected 24 hours post-burn to evaluate the in-situ burning remediation of oil in the soil. The water depth over the soil surface during in-situ burning was a key factor controlling marsh plant recovery. Ten and 2 centimeters of water overlying the soil surface were sufficient to protect marsh vegetation of all 3 types of marshes from burning impacts. Soil surface temperatures did not exceed 40 °C and 50 °C for 10 and 2 centimeters of water overlying the soil surface, respectively. Plant survival rate was 100%, and growth responses after the burn with 10 and 2 cm of water over the soil surface was not significantly different from the unburned control. In contrast, a water table 2 cm below the soil surface (2 cm of soil exposure to the fire) during the burn resulted in high soil temperatures, with 80-100 °C at 0 to 0.5 cm below the soil surface. The effect of thermal stress on plant survival differed with species at 2 cm of water over the soil surface. Two cm of soil exposure during in-situ burning impeded the post-burn recovery of the


Analyzes the problem of DFE equalization for a system resulting from the combination of multitone modulation with direct sequence spectrum spreading introduced in Vandendorpe (1994). In order to understand the potential of the system with equalization the authors first study the steady-state behavior of the DFE equalizer for an MMSE criterion. The investigation is carried out for a receiver made of a bank of filters matched to both the symbol shape and the channel, and for a two paths channel. Assuming transmission of BPSK symbols, an exact expression of the bit error probability is obtained.


The professional ethical behavior of tour guides is directly related to their service quality and the(market)image of the toursit destination.In the present empirical study,autohor has found that the occupational ethical behavior of Chinese tour guides is a multidimensional contruct,consisting of dimesions of maintaining professional image,reasonable shopping guide,service quality guarantee and law-abiding behavior etc.Tour guides' perceived ethical climate positiviely is related four categories of professional ethical behavior of tour guides.In organizations with higher moral standard,tour guides are more likely to exhibit professional ethical behaviors.The author has also found that,results-oriented control system is the travel agency has a significant negative impact on two forms of professional ethical behavior:reasonable shopping guide and law-abiding behavior.


This paper introduces a speed vector control system of induction motor (IM) with minimization of the copper and iron losses. Proposed loss model based method minimizes the most significant losses in the motor: heat losses in the stator and rotor windings and core losses from eddy currents. A new method for the structural realization of this optimal system is proposed. The proposed system differs from typical systems in terms of the reference signal generation method for the direct and quadrature components of the stator current. It enables increased steady-state efficiency, and ensures high transients quality.


Abstract The weathering phenomena resulting from the growth of six foliose and crustose lichens (Parmelia subrudecta, Xanthoria ectaneoides, Parmelia conspersa, Aspicilia radiosa, Caloplaca sp. and Ochrolechia parella) on three mafic rocks have been studied. The bioweathering results in more or less extensive fragmentation and corrosion of the mineral surfaces immediately beneath the lichen thalli and in the formation, in the thallus or at the rock-lichen interface, of secondary products. The significant amounts of whewellite found in all interfaces, and the bipiramids of weddellite detected at the serpentine rock-Ochrolechia parella interface, suggest that the oxalic acid secreted by the mycobiont is the chemical substance principally involved. The capacity of the lichens to alter their rock substrata does not appear to be related to their thallus morphology.


Dissolved organic matter (DOM) represents a mixture of organic molecules that vary due to different source materials and degree of processing. Characterizing how DOM composition evolves along the aquatic continuum can be difficult. Using a size‐exclusion chromatography technique (liquid chromatography‐organic carbon detection [LC‐OCD]), we assessed the variability in DOM composition from both surface and groundwaters across a number of Canadian ecozones (mean annual temperature spanning −10°C to +6°C). A wide range in DOM concentration was found from 0.2 to 120 mg C L−1. Proportions of different size‐based groupings across ecozones were variable, yet similarities between specific waterbody types, regardless of location, suggest commonality in the processes dictating DOM composition. A principal component analysis identified 70% of the variation in LC‐OCD derived DOM compositions could be explained by the waterbody type. We find that DOM composition within a specific waterbody type is similar regardless of the differences in climate or surrounding vegetation where the sample originated from.


In this study, emotion analysis classification performances of comments were analyzed using machine learning methods on amazon product reviews data set. The study conducted is the determination of whether the product comments contain emotions, if comment contains emotions, whether they are positive, negative or neutral. In the study, the data set includes Kaggle Amazon product reviews [1] was obtained and the system was run with 4 different machine learning algoritms using Python language on Jupyter Lab. The cross validation method was used as k = 10. Among the methods used, it has been experimentally indicates that using Logistic Regression classification algorithm is more successful with an accuracy rate of 96 percent compared to other Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machines and Decision Tree methods


Cao Chao changed classic poems with eight five-character lines and became the first person to write ancient poems with five characters to each line with fervent and sad style.Cao Pi increased lyric nature of five-character poems,promoting the formation of flowery style of five-character poems.And Cao Zhi consolidated the position of five-character poems,writing many five-character poems with unique style and producing great influence on the appearance of special poems in the latter generation.


Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) was a new corporate structure that combined the flexibility of a partnership and the advantages of limited liabilities of a company at a low compliance cost (Kothari, Business of Government article; part: 13). In other words, it is an alternative corporate business vehicle that provides the benefits of limited liabilities of a company, but allows its members the flexibility of organizing their internal management on the basis of a mutually arrived agreement, as is the case in a partnership firm. Owing to flexibility in its structure and operations, it would be useful for small and medium enterprises, in general, and for the enterprises in service sector, in particular (KB Chandrashekhar, 2009). Internationally, LLPs were the preferred vehicle of business, particularly for service industry or for activities involving professionals. Thus, due to its large importance in the market, it becomes important for us to analyze its scope for growth and viability in the future.


Objective To explore the clinical value of color Doppler ultrasound in the diagnosis of emergency gynecological and obstetric cases.Method One hundred and eighty emergency gynecological and obstetric patients hospitalized in Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center from January 2009 to January 2011 were enrolled into this study.Color Doppler ultrasonic examination characteristics of the patients were retrospectively analyzed.Results Comparison of the results of surgery and color ultrasonic diagnosis showed that there were 11 cases of rupture of corpus luteum(including 10 cases diagnosed and 1 case misdiagnosed),93 cases of ectopic pregnancy(including 89 cases diagnosed and 3 case misdiagnosed),26 cases of pelvic inflammatory mass(including 24 cases diagnosed and 2 case misdiagnosed),12 cases of hydatidiform mole(all the 12 cases were confirmed),and 20 cases of missed abortion(all the 20 cases were confirmed),and 6 cases of retained placenta(all the 6 cases were confirmed).Conclusions Ultrasonic diagnosis of emergency gynecological and obstetric cases shows the advantages of high accuracy,painlessness,simple operation,easy diagnosis and inexpensiveness.It is worthy of clinical application and popularization.


Dysphagia and obstruction are among the most common indications for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in African countries 1 . In a survey conducted by the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) International Affairs Working Group (IAWG), benign esophageal strictures as well as malignant upper gastrointestinal obstruction were reported as some of the most prevalent diseases leading to gastrointestinal endoscopy 1 .

Management of esophageal obstruction may vary, depending on the cause of obstruction as well as the availability of resources. According to the ESGE original guideline, it could involve, for example, stent placement, radiotherapy/brachytherapy, or bypass surgery 2 . For resource-limited settings, however, a number of additional factors need to be considered before recommendations can be made. These involve economic considerations and resource availability. Furthermore, patients in low-resource settings presenting with malignant esophageal obstruction are often unfit for surgery due to presentation with advanced malignant disease as well as comorbidities such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis 3 . For such situations, self-expanding metal stents (SEMS) of the esophagus may provide a suitable palliative option 3 4 .

After the initial ESGE cascade guidelines on non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIH), we aimed this ESGE cascade guideline to standardize management of esophageal stenting for benign and malignant disease in low-resource settings 2 5 .


Social insect colonies have evolved collective foraging strategies that consist of many autonomous individuals operating without centralized control. The ant colony optimization (ACO) family of algorithms mimics this behavior to approximate solutions to computationally difficult problems. ACO algorithms focus on pheromone recruitment, which is only one of several known biological foraging strategies. Here, we use a spatial agent-based model to simulate three foraging strategies: pheromone recruitment, nest recruitment, and random search. We compare their performance across two environmental dimensions: spatial distribution of food resources and resource volatility. We find that pheromone recruitment performs only marginally better than the simpler nest recruitment strategy in most environments. Further, both strategies become progressively less efficient as resource dispersion and volatility increase. In the extreme, with highly dispersed or volatile resources, the simplest strategy of all, random search, outperforms the other two. Our results suggest that in many environments, pheromone-based strategies may not be required and that simpler methods like random search or nest recruitment may be sufficient, both for biological ants and computational methods.


In regard to a recent paper published in your journal Sicot J: The use of anterior subcutaneous internal fixation (INFIX) for treatment of pelvic ring injuries in major trauma patients, complications and outcomes by Richard Steer, Ganesh Balendra, Justin Matthews, Martin Wullschleger, and James Reidy. We have an issue with the introduction of the article on the origins of the INFIX technique. The authors state


A translation approach is described which allows one to extend the syntax and semantics of a given high-level base language by the use of a new formalism called a syntax-macro. Syntax-macros define string transformations based on syntactic elements of the base language. Two types of macros are discussed, and examples are given of their use. The conditional generation of macros based on options and alternatives recognized by the scan are also described.


The study looks at the fuel-only option to recover road resource cost from trucks. The main advantage of this scheme as a cost recovery mechanism is the minimum administrative and enforcement costs. The study examines the correlation between fuel consumption (litrelkm) and road resource cost (centslkm) based on travel distance, capacity, road wear and tear, pavement wear and bridge wear. The study is conducted using a vehicle performance and fuel consumption mod~l developed jointly by the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at . the University of Melbourne and the SAE-Australasia. Fuel consumption is estimated for rigid and articulated trucks and road trains operating at three selected masses (tare, average and fully laden) over typical UIban and highway drive cycles. The results obtained show good correlation between fuel consumption and road resource cost on the basis of which a scenario is identified for recovery of fully allocated road expenditure through fuel-only charges. Sensitivity analysis of the effect offactors such as engine power, vehicle age and the use of fuel saving technologies on the proposed charges is also presented.


A time domain electromagnetic instrument has been constructed by the Geological Survey of Norway. The instrument records the horizontal and vertical magnetic field simultanously in 8 channels. One of the channels has a time window in the pulse-on period, from minus 0 .02 to 0.00 milliseconds.


The scattering of the unpolarized beams of electrons by nanomagnets in the vicinity of some scattering angles leads to complete spin polarized electrons. This result is obtained with the help of the perturbation theory. The dipole-dipole interaction between the magnetic moment of the nanomagnet and the magnetic moment of electron is treated as perturbation. This interaction is not spherically symmetric. Rather it depends on the electron spin variables. It in turn results in spinor character of the scattering amplitudes. Due to the smallness of the magnetic interactions, the scattering length of this process is very small to be proved experimentally. To enhance the relevant scattering lengths, we considered the diffraction of unpolarized beams of electrons by linear chains of nanomagnets. By tuning the distance between the scatterers it is possible to obtain the diffraction maximum of the scattered electrons at scattering angles which corresponds to complete spin polarization of electrons. It is shown that the total differential scattering length is proportional to N2 (N is a number of scatterers). Even small number of nanomagnets in the chain helps to obtain experimentally visible enhancement of spin polarization of the scattered electrons.


The Objective of this paper is to study the group of units problem in two different kinds of neutrosophic structures (neutrosophic rings and refined neutrosophic rings), where we use the concept of AH-isometry to classify neutrosophic rings\refined neutrosophic rings as direct products of classical rings with itself. Also, this classification will lead to the algebraic structure of the corresponding group of units.


Although most of the hormones present in the mammalian pituitary gland have also been demonstrated in the teleost hypophysis (Pickford, '59; Witschi, '55) the assignment of piscine hormones to specific cell types has not kept pace with similar research in the higher vertebrates. In this study chief reliance was placed on a modification of the aldehyde fuchsin method of Halmi ('52) which tinctorially differentiates thyrotropes from gonadotropes in the rat. This method, when applied to teleost pituitary glands, differentiates at least 6 tinctorial and morphological cell types in the adenohypophysis, and selectively stains the hypothalamo-hypophysial neurosecretory system as well. Although in the teleosts a distinction between the thyrotropic and gonadotropic basophiles could not be made on the basis of color alone, it did separate these two basophiles from all others, and aided in the analysis of the cellular composition of the fish pituitary gland, thus facilitating cyto-physiological study.


Modeling Basin- and Plume-Scale Processes of CO 2 Storage for Full- Scale Deployment Quanlin Zhou * a , Jens T. Birkholzer a , Edward Mehnert b , Yu-Feng Lin c , Keni Zhang a *corresponding author, Email: firstname.lastname@example.com, Tel: 510-486-5748, Fax: 510-486-5686, Address: MS 90-1116, One Cyclotron Road a Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 b Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL 61820 c Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, IL 61820


General practices should employ more physician associates because they are cheaper than GPs, a report on the primary care workforce has recommended.1

A report by the Primary Care Workforce Commission said that general practices could benefit from the "wider use of physician associates and healthcare assistants" and that these workers had "significant potential" for primary care to tackle its workload problems.

The commission was established by Health Education England (HEE) at the end of 2014. HEE said that, as …


The authors explore whether the need for ethical reflection on the part of designing engineers is dependent on the type of design process. They use Vincenti's (1992) distinction between normal and radical design and different levels of design hierarchy. These two dimensions are coupled with the concept of ill-structured problems, which are problems in which possible solutions cannot be ordered on a scale from better to worse. Design problems are better structured at lower hierarchical levels and in cases of normal design. Better structured design problems require less ethical reflection on the part of designing engineers if such situations are characterized by the existence of generally accepted normative frameworks. Engineers could then deal with moral problems within the bounds of such frameworks and without the need for further reflection. On the basis of a number of empirical cases, the authors explore whether these ideas hold water. They discuss four cases ranging from a high-level radical design process to a low-level normal design process.


Major evolutions have took place starting with primary structure counting on initiated request via way of means of a customer to a processing facet known as the server. Such architectures had been now no longer sufficient to manage up with the quick ever-growing range of requests and want to make use of community bandwidth. Mobile sellers tried to triumph over such drawbacks however did cope up for see you later with the developing era platforms. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) then developed to be one of the maximum a success representations of the customer-server structure with an introduced commercial enterprise price that offers reusable and loosely coupled services. SOA did now no longer meet clients and commercial enterprise expectancies because it changed into nevertheless counting on monolithic systems. Resilience, scalability, rapid software program shipping and the usage of fewer assets are incredibly applicable features.


Electric-discharge coatings on the samples made of steel 30ХГСА fabricated using a UR-121 installation are investigated. Electrodes for electric-discharge machining are fabricated by hot compacting from the powders prepared by electroerosive dispersing of waste of high-speed steel Р6М5. The microstructure, thickness of the coating layer, and its surface state are studied using modern investigation techniques. Roughness parameters of wares and microhardness of the electric-discharge coating and substrate made of steel 30KhGSA are determined. It is established that the coating microhardness is larger than that one of the substrate by a factor of 2,1, which can be associated with a nonuniform distribution of the particles of high-speed steel in the electric-discharge coating. It is shown that powder materials fabricated by electroerosion dispersing from high-speed steel wastes can be used as the electrode material to fabricate various functional coatings by electric-discharge alloying.


We study the ability of hedge funds to restructure target firms. A purchase of at least 3% of a target firm's stake is subject to a 13D SEC Filing in the US. We use these filings to investigate the impact of such transactions in the period 2009–2020. Our method of choice is the event study approach. We set the event on the date of the transaction and compute cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) within a specified event window. Based on accounting metrics, such as return on equity and return on assets, we study how restructuring impacts target company's capital structure. Based on SEC Section 13G filings, we are further able to distinguish between acquisitions with active and passive aims. We find that firms targeted for active purposes achieve higher abnormal returns and overall higher performance. We further look on the impact of the overall stock-market cycle on abnormal returns. We find that the level of abnormal returns for actively targeted companies remains higher with no regard to the market cycle. Based on these findings, we draw conclusions on the overall impact of hedge fund activism.


The paper introduces a device of testing luminous flux of vehicle lamp with integrating sphere and selenium cell as detector,and gives design thought of this system.The devices is controlled by microcopmuter,and its data acquisition,standard discriminant and priniting of the results are completed automtically.With relative error less than 5%, the international performance index of vehicle lamp is achieved. A good practical effect is showed when running a ideal test device in vehicle industry。


A specific form of the spectral-domain Green's functions for the superstrate-loaded cylindrically conformal microstrip structure is developed through the rigorous full-wave analysis. The incident fields produced by the known radial current source along the thin probe are also deduced in this special structure for the first time. Ultimately, with these considerations above, the surface current distribution can be obtained by the Method of Moment.


This article examines three novels in order to provide a new perspective on traditional gerontological studies of caregiving and the public policies they generate. All three novels challenge the model of caregivers as rational calculators and the fixed, static notion of caregiving that underlies cross-sectional research. The novels also highlight the importance of paying greater attention to the particularities of individual experience.


Excerpt only. Full-text article is available through licensed access provided by the publisher. Published in Generations, 15(1), 21-24. Members of the USF System may access the full-text of the article through the authenticated link provided below.


By the adoption of the Protection and Treatment of Children andJuveniles in Criminal Procedure Act 2014(which started applying in early 2015)the criminal and legal position of juvenile perpetrators of criminal offences inthe Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was regulated in a new way. TheRepublika Srpska and Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina have been applyinglaws of similar content from before. Education measures are providedas the most important measure of social reaction towards these persons. Thelaw recognizes several types of these measures with different content, purpose,duration and manner of implementation which are subject matter of this paper.


A novel technique has been developed to study the kinetics of the back reaction of electrons with I3- in dye-sensitized nanocrystalline cells. A solid-state switched operational amplifier feedback circuit controlling the cell is used to alternate open-circuit and short-circuit conditions. In the experiment, electrons are injected by the photoexcited dye during illumination at open circuit, and then the subsequent decay of the open-circuit photovoltage in the dark is recorded up to a given time, at which the cell is short-circuited abruptly. The electron charge extracted at short circuit is measured by a current amplifier and integrator device. The kinetics of electron decay at open circuit has been studied by varying the delay between interrupting the illumination and short-circuiting the cell. Analysis of the time dependence of the electron density has established that the decay process is second-order in the total electron concentration. This is consistent with a mechanism involving the formation of I2-...


The magnetic moment µ of the ρ meson is studied in QCD light cone sum rules, and it is found that µ = (2 . 3 ± 0 . 5). A comparison of our result on the magnetic moment of the ρ meson with the predictions of the other approaches, is presented.


The character "Ze" is an empty word with its many usages in the Archaic Chinese. However, two usages of them have always been overlooked in the literature. One is the function of hypothetical conjunction; another is to act as an adverb with certain affirmative mood. It should be indicated that two commentary errors have been found in the textbook of Ancient Chinese (editor in chief by Wangli).


The Internet of Things (IoT) represents the next significant step in the evolution of the Internet. It will allow "things" to be connected anytime, anywhere, with anything and anyone, providing a myriad of novel applications and augmented services to citizens, governments, and enterprises. We believe that for the IoT to reach its full potential, it will be necessary to advance the investigation of techniques and technologies to build systems in such a brand-new scenario. In the IoT, the collaborating entities encompass both physical and virtual resources, interactions occur both in an active and programmed way as well as by chance, and therefore it is necessary to deal with expected but also emerging behaviors of the collaborating parties. In this paper, we first discuss the main features that make IoT a unique ecosystem, and as such, calls for new software development solutions. We claim that there is a need to rethinking the techniques and methodologies for developing IoT systems and applications. Novel models, architectural approaches and techniques should be proposed, or existing ones should be adapted to deal with the high heterogeneity, dynamism, serendipity and interdependencies that are typical of the IoT ecosystem. We then analyze and discuss potential key design solutions that deserve a deeper understanding in order to pave the way for the building of this new generation of systems. Our discussion is presented from a bottom-up perspective: from the modeling of devices that make up the $\mathrm{IoT}$ to the representation of requirements that must be addressed when engineering IoT systems.


British Commonwealth of Nations — Sovereignty of the Dominions — Legislative Competence of New Zealand — Prior to Adoption of the Statute of Westminster — Application of the Colonial Laws Validity Act — Meaning of the Phrase "Repugnant to the Laws of England" — Doctrine of Extraterritoriality in Relation to Dominion Legislation — Nature of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council — Whether an Integral Part of the New Zealand Constitution — Whether Parliament of New Zealand has Jurisdiction to Confer Power on the New Zealand Court of Appeal to Grant Leave to Appeal to the Privy Council in Such Cases.


It has become commonplace to talk about the influence that technological developments have on audiovisual media. At some point in the 20th century, video and broadcast television came to disturb the traditional organization of the cinema, revealing the image as soon as it was captured and bringing it into the audience's home. Currently, computer synthesis and online networks have even stronger effects on the medium as they increase the public's agency in the dynamics of the movie market. Film, as Professor Janet Harbord has so concisely summarized, 'is not what it used to be' (2007, p. 1). A number of technological, industrial and social shifts have affected it in recent years, the most notable being the fact that film is no longer 'filmed' – at least not on celluloid. Inasmuch as this might be the origin of a crisis in medium specificity, it is also what allows film to seamlessly converge with other media, escaping from the bounds of cinematic presentation into potentially limitless sites of exhibition and consumption, from mobile phones to public facades. It is impossible to count here the myriad ways that film production, distribution, exhibition and consumption have changed over recent years; not least because by the time of publication the 'new' developments will undoubtedly have been superseded by yet more epoch-altering changes. Suffice to say that while the methods of production and consumption of film and other media content undergo an endless cycle of birth, rebirth and death, so too does the scholarship that attempts to grasp the complexities of the mediated world we all inhabit. Film studies and its cognate disciplines have been trying very hard to keep up with these fundamental transformations of their subjects.


Non-destructive techniques (NDT) are often seen as a practical and efficient way to assess the material and structural condition of existing reinforced concrete structures. However, assessment cannot be reduced to measurement and interpretation, and asset managers and structural engineers often need a quantitative assessment. A combination of several techniques can offer precious help. This article intends to show what kind of improvement can be expected from such a combination. Examples are taken from a series of on-site case studies and laboratory experiments. The focus is on the assessment of water content and concrete porosity as these material properties are key factors regarding their present condition as well as their durability in an aggressive marine environment. Material variability, uncertainties on measurements and model error condition the accuracy of the parameter estimation. Their relative contribution to the quality of material assessment is analysed.


According to the comprehensiveness and abstractness of quadratic forms,we first elaborate graphics of the canonical forms of quadratic forms by the geometric significance,then come to the essence of quadratic forms,and establish the visual concepts of quadratic forms.


Obfuscation is a low cost software protection methodology to avoid reverse engineering and re engineering of applications. Source code obfuscation aims in obscuring the source code to hide the functionality of the codes. This paper proposes an Array data transformation in order to obfuscate the source code which uses arrays. The applications using the proposed data structures force the programmer to obscure the logic manually. It makes the developed obscured codes hard to reverse engineer and also protects the functionality of the codes. HE first part of the translation is from Java source to Java Virtual Machine (JVM) machine code. Followed by, translation to real machine instruction in the browser on the user's machine. Since byte code retains almost all information of the source file, there are possibilities for reverse engineering (10) and reengineering. Reverse Engineering or Reengineering is a form of intellectual property theft which is illegal. The code obfuscation was a novel move for software protection and the intention is to hide the functionality of the codes, to limit the possibilities of reverse engineering or reengineering. The possibility of the execution of the obfuscated object code, has led to the popularity of obfuscation. The popular code obfuscation transformation techniques are (i) Layout transformation (making the code unreadable) (ii) Data transformation (obscuring data and data structures) (iii) Control transformation (obscuring the flow of execution) (2) (7) (8). Source code obfuscation is achieved through source code transformations, Java bytecode obfuscation through bytecode transformations and binary obfuscation through binary rewriting (6). Our focus is on source code obfuscation, aiming at obscuring the source code manually. It consists of techniques to target at making source code less comprehensible and automatically transform the programmer's source code into more complex, functionally equivalent source code.


As the demands and nature of caregiving work in the health-care sector become more varied and challenging, our research and theories need to match this evolving reality. This editorial introduces theories of caregiving work and then uses each of the four papers featured in the special issue to advance a more nuanced and social approach to theorizing and studying the emotional experience of caregiving work. The articles and editorial explore the implications of whole person organizational and social supports, (un)shared social location between caregivers and patients, the complexity and consequences of emotional experience, and novel measurement and analytic tools to study them.


Antihistaminic drags have topical anesthetic properties which have not yet been fully developed. We have employed one of these agents, pyribenzamine in 4 per cent solution, as a topical anesthetic agent for bronchoscopy in 12 cases. There were 2 untoward reactions thought to be due to toxic effects of the drug. Because of an unpleasant burning sensation, increased salivation and inability to obtain consistently an adequate anesthesia, the 4 per cent solution of pyribenzamine was found to be unsatisfactory as employed by us. Further investigation is proposed.


A theoretical method for estimating the performance of concatenated codes is proposed in this paper This is achieved by combining the performance of single level coding and the character of channel modulation Some results got by this method are presented


A Hungarian city will be designated as the European Capital of Culture in 2023. The series of programmes are designed to show the multi-colour European culture, accordingly, the cultural values and cultural dimensions of the cities are in the focus. Several cities take part in the competition in the customary way by submitting their tender documentation within the framework of a pre-selection procedure. Győr, Veszprém and Debrecen proved to be the most probable candidate cities to win in Hungary, they were chosen to enter the second round of the selection procedure. Although the focus of intense attention usually falls on the cultural programmes planned for the project year, the period of the competition itself is also regarded an exciting phase of the project, since this is the period when candidate cities are expected to give an account of their plans, moreover, they are also expected to outline their projected development conception in the field of culture and their cultural potentials. The present study aims to analyse and confront the plans of three Hungarian cities that were selected to enter the second round of the competition and, consequently, it also intends to explore the visions, the strengths and weaknesses of the Hungarian cities of outstanding cultural ambitions mainly via factors denoted in figures. Today we know, that the winning city became Veszprém. Although based on the quantitative data we saw the other two cities as more likely to win, due to a number of qualitative as well as subjective factors, the city of Veszprém proved to be better during the selection procedure. We do not want to override the decision; we only outline an analytical framework for the cultural comparison of our culturally ambitious Hungarian cities.


In the process of ion-exchange membrane electrolysis,ions passing through an ion exchange membrane are accompanied by a solvation shell of water molecules,which is known as the electro-osmotic water flux or water transfer phenomenon.The structure of domestic DF988 ion-exchange membrane was introduced briefly.The attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared(ATR-FTIR) spectra revealed that DF988 membrane do contain a sulfonic polymer layer and a carboxylic layer,the barrier layer.Research on water transfer phenomenon is conducive to understand the transference performance of DF988 membrane.The water transfer was investigated systematically using self-made electrolysis equipment.The water transfer number(tw) and the sodium chloride content in NaOH were determined under different conditions,including anolyte concentration,catholyte concentration,current density and temperature.The results show that water transfer number was remarkably affected by the concentration of the electrolytes.The decreasing of anolyte concentration can increase the water transfer number.While the current density and temperature have an obvious influence on the sodium chloride content in NaOH.


Five different state space realizability conditions for nonlinear single-input single-output high order input-output differential equation are compared and proved to be equivalent. Moreover, the explicit formulas are provided for calculation of the differentials of the state coordinates which can be integrated to obtain the state coordinates iff the necessary and sufficient realizability conditions are satisfied.


We present the current development of the image formation pipeline for color gigapixel images obtained by the AWARE-10 multiscale camera. We introduce a camera simulator, the modifications to the scalable pipeline, and the challenges for creating seamless color gigapixel panoramas.


(57) ABSTRACT A process for making a brick comprises the steps of prear ranging at least one pair of half-shells (3a, 3b) and fixing said half-shells (3a, 3b) to each other to define a main body (2) of the brick with a cavity {4} therein. The process further com prises the step of introducing a preset quantity of argon into said cavity (4), Abrick comprises a pair of half-shells (3a, 3b) fixed to each other to define a main body (2) of said brick (1): said main body (2) exhibits an inner cavity (4); said cavity (4) holds a preset quantity of argon.


Throughout time, the possession of riches has been intrinsic to the stability and security of nations. This was true to the heroic society. Separate...


Inthecurrent railway systems, itisbecoming more Thesesystems usually present theproblem ofgenerating necessary tohavesafety elements inorder toavoid accidents. One false alarms, thuscreating financial losses whenever thesystem ofthecauses that canprovoke serious accidents istheexistence of detects anobstacle whichdoesnot,inreality, exist. Toavoid obstacles inrailways, either fixed ormobiles. Inthis work,a thisproblem isnecessary toincrease thereliability ofthe multisensorial system isproposed inordertoinformthedetection system. Thisfactdepends strongly onthesensor monitoring system oftheexistence ofobstacle. Theuseofdifferent usedth sensors forthesametaskisjustified bythehighdegreeof e reliability neededintheseenvironments, wherethesafety is out. fundamental. Inarailway environment working conditions canbereally adverse, andtheaffectation canbequite different depending on


Suboptimal decoding of linear codes in "symmetric" memoryless channels is considered. For the q-ary codes of length n /spl rarr/ /spl infin/ and code rate R the number of decoding operations is upper bounded by the value q/sup n(c+o(1)), where o(1) /spl rarr/ 0 and c = min(R(1 - R), (1 - R)/2). The decoding error probability /spl epsi/ is upper bounded by the double error probability /spl epsi//sub e/ of maximum likelihood (ML) decoding, while /spl epsi/ /spl sim/ /spl epsi//sub e/, when n /spl rarr/ /spl infin/. For the channels with discrete (quantified) output the better estimate c = R(1 - R)/(1 + R) is obtained.


Herein, we demonstrate a graphene based efficient UV photodetector by using vertically aligned ZnO 8 NWs on chemical vapor deposited graphene with and without a ZnO buffer layer. The effect of rapid 9 thermal annealing (RTA) on grapheneZnO thin film hybrid prior to the growth of ZnO NWs by physical 10 vapor deposition technique is investigated from the μRaman spectroscopy and high resolution 11 transmission electron microscopy. The change in the relative intensities of 2D and D band Raman modes 12 and a red shift in 2D band (~ 13 cm) after RTA treatment in ZnO coated graphene substrate reveals the 13 strong interaction between graphene and ZnO hexagonal lattice, covalent sp carbon lattice. The vertical 14 ZnO NWs with high aspect ratio on the grapheneZnO thin film hybrid exhibit enhanced UV absorption, 15 strong UV and visible photoluminescence and improved UV photoresponse. There is a 6 fold 16 enhancement in the photocurrent in ZnO NWs grown on graphene as compared to the ZnO NWs grown 17 on bare ZnO seed layer. The improved performance of these graphene based 2D1D integrated hybrid ZnO 18 nanostructures is an important step towards the fabrication of hybrid photodetectors and phototransistors 19 with enhanced UV response. 20


Cache replacement policies often order blocks into distinct positions. A block is placed into a set in some initial position. A re-referenced block is promoted into a higher position while other blocks may move into lower positions. A block in the lowest position is a candidate for replacement. Tree-based PseudoLRU is a well-known space-efficient replacement policy based on representing block positions as distinct paths in a binary tree. We find that a placement or promotion for one block often needlessly disturbs the non-promoted blocks. Guided by the principle of minimal disturbance, i.e. that a policy should seek to disturb the order of non-promoted blocks to the smallest extent possible, we develop a simple modification to PseudoLRU resulting in a policy that improves performance over previous techniques while retaining the low cost of PseudoLRU. The result is a minimal disturbance placement and promotion (MDPP) policy. We first give a static formulation of MDPP and show that it provides superior performance to LRU, PseudoLRU and matches performance for SRRIP for both single-threaded and multi-core workloads. We then give a dynamic formulation that uses dead block prediction for placement and bypass and show that it meets or exceeds state-of-the-art performance with lower overhead. For single-threaded workloads, dynamic MDPP matches the 5.9% speedup over LRU of the state-of-the-art policy SHiP. For multi-core workloads, dynamic MDPP gives a normalized weighted speedup of 14.3% over LRU, compared with SHiP that yields a speedup of 12.3% over LRU and requires double the storage overhead per set. We show that minimal disturbance policies can reduce the frequency of a costly read-modify-write cycle for replacement state, making them potentially suitable for future work in DRAM caches.


Because the existing mobile IPv6 IntServ/RSVP model lacks the ability to handle mobile node's handoff, this paper introduces a new Mobile IPv6 QoS Model, named Hierarchical Mobility Management-based Flow Transparent Mobile IPv6 QoS Model(the HMMFT Mobile IPv6 Model). The hierarchical mobility management will reduce the amount of signaling to correspondent nodes and the home agent and may also improve the performance of MIPv6 in terms of handoff speed. The HMMFT Mobile IPv6 Model identifies a flow based on the regional care-of address, thus implements flow transparent when mobile node performs a handoff in a MAP domain. At last, we also analyze the performance of this model using the Network Simulator 2(NS2).


As the research hotspot and difficulty of management science,mechanical engineering and application mathematics,production scheduling has profound practice background and wide application foreground. It analyzes the conception of production scheduling,classifies and analyzes the state of production scheduling research. It presents the problem of production scheduling modeling research and production scheduling algorithm research,discusses production scheduling toolbox research,points out the development trend and research hotspot of production scheduling.


AbstractThe paper presents an investigation of market power potential in a deregulated hydro and thermal based electricity market through a two-stage stochastic Cournot model. The optimal hydro and forward strategies are examined when generation companies take into account the commitment effect of these decisions, i.e. the influence on the future play of opponents. The generation capacity of each company is regarded as given. In the first stage, firms decide on forward contracting, hydro and thermal generation (including nuclear) for the current spot market. In the second stage, they learn about water inflows to reservoirs before deciding on generation for the second stage spot market. Using cost and capacity data and historical inflow series from the Scandinavian market, large pure hydro producers are found to have little or no market power on the seasonal level, and that the largest producer, Vattenfall, has some incentive to withdraw capacity from the market. The simulated price in an oligopoly case is less than 7% higher than under perfect competition, thus the market is expected to be reasonably competitive. Still, competition authorities should monitor and possibly prevent market concentration to increase.


We propose a novel Statistical Deformable Model (SDM) for bone-related soft tissue prediction, which we called Br-SDM. In Br-SDM, we have integrated Finite Element Method (FEM) and SDM to achieve both accurate and efficient prediction for orthognathic surgery planning. By combining FEM-based sample generation and SDM-Based soft tissue prediction, we are able to capture the prior knowledge of bone-related soft tissue deformation. Then the post-operative appearance can be predicted in a more efficient way from a Br-SDM based optimisation. Our experiments have shown that Br-SDM is able to give comparable soft tissue prediction accuracy with respect to conventional FEM-based prediction while reducing the computation cost from O(n²) to O(n) at the same time.


Carbohydrate‐deficient glycoprotein (CDG) syndrome clearly represents a new type of distinct disease entity(ies), from both a clinical and a biochemical point of view. It is most probably a disorder of glycoprotein metabolism with autosomal recessive inheritance, and presents with unique and complex clinical, biochemical and ultra‐structural features. This supplement is based on 29 biochemically verified Scandinavian and Belgian patients. In addition to these, seven of their siblings have died in a clinically identical condition, and another 21 patients have come to our knowledge within a short period of time, including a few non‐European cases. The patients represent altogether eight nationalities.