Abstract Accidents and disasters (AD) is seriously treated among all kinds of emergencies with an increasing transboundary crisis feature. To form better response, we approve to form regional administrative collaboration (RAC) to AD and propose evolutionary game models to investigate the strategic options, converging process and evolutionary paths of provincial administration of work safety(AWS), without and under restraints from higher-level governments(HAWS) respectively. The findings indicate that (1) without restraints from HAWS, point (0,0) is always one of the ESSs in the system; ESS (1,1) could be only converged with very high gains for provincial governments when Pt - Ct - ∂Wa1 > 0 and Pt - Ct - ∂Wa2 > 0; unbalanced externalities trigger {passive response, passive response} strategic option; (2) with restraints from HAWS, the likelihood of local and peripheral governments forming RAC to AD is increasing that (1,1) can likely be the only ESS; only ESS (0,0) exists when M + F < Cti + ∂Wai ,Pt + A + F < Cti + ∂Wai (i = 1, 2) in the Pt + A < M system; only ESS (1,1) exists when M + F > Cti + ∂Wai, Pt + A + F > Cti + ∂Wai (i = 1, 2) in the Pt + A > M system; however, when M + F < Ct1 + ∂Wa2, M + F > Ct2 + ∂Wa1, two ESSs of (1,0) and (0,1) exist in the Pt + A < M system. Numerical simulations are conducted to verify the findings.


The thermal control of future micro/nano spacecraft will be challenging due to power densities which are expected to exceed 25 W/cm2. Advanced thermal control concepts and technologies are essential to keep their payload within allowable temperature limits and also to provide accurate temperature control required by the science instruments and engineering equipment on board. To this end, a MEMS-based pumped liquid cooling system is being investigated at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The mechanically pumped cooling system consists of a working fluid circulated through microchannels by a micropump. Microchannel heat exchangers have been designed and fabricated in silicon at JPL and currently are being tested for hydraulic and thermal performance in simulated microspacecraft heat loads using deionized water as the working fluid. The microchannels are 50 microns deep with widths ranging from 50 to 100 microns. The hydraulic and thermal test data was used for numerical model validation. Optimization studies are being conducted using these numerical models on various microchannel configurations, working fluids, and micropump technologies. This paper presents background on the need for pumped liquid cooling systems for future micro/nano spacecraft and results from this ongoing numerical and experimental investigation.


The policy of magnanimity toward Japan after World War Ⅱ, a strategic political gesture, largely reflected Chiang Kai-shek's hope of reconciliation with the Japanese in the post-war era. Its practical measures included maintaining the emperor-system, not dismembering Japan, and quickly repatriating prisoners of war; however, Chiang did not initially consider canceling war reparations. In other words, since the Cairo conference Chiang had demanded that Japan should pay China reparations in industrial equipment and military goods. During the post-war era, the Nationalist government, through the Far Eastern Commission, began the removal of some Japanese factories for reparations. However, the situation then changed with the Communist takeover of mainland China, and the Nationalist government agreed to give up its reparation claims, which was acknowledged in the peace treaty signed in 1952. It was also the 1949 Communist revolution in China that changed the policy of the United States toward Japan and destroyed the chances of the Nationalist government to seek reparations. Originally, the U. S. had supported reparations, but later it disallowed any of the powers from seeking reparations. The only exception was for other Asian countries to demand symbolic labor service. This definitely destroyed the possibility for the Nationalist government to demand war reparations, and since the mainland was lost to the Communists, it could not even demand symbolic labor service. Chiang Kai-shek also forgave a defeated Japan all its war crimes because of his belief that the Japanese people had not been China's enemies. He believed that China and Japan were fundamentally as close as brothers, and as soon as Japanese militarism perished, Sino-Japanese relations could return to friendship. As well, if a post-war China led Asia in the future, Japan would surely follow, letting bygones be bygones. Chiang thus not only wanted China to decline to take revenge after the war, but also to help Japan rebuild. In Chiang's view, post-war Sino-Japanese relations could not only move from hostility to friendship, but also the Japanese would follow the lead of China. Prior to the war, both nations shared anti-communist policies, and in the post-war period anti-communism should become an even more powerful glue. In the latter years of the war, before the U. S. had recognized the international communist threat and still advocated strict punishment of Japan, Chiang was determined to follow a policy of magnanimity toward Japan and support the maintenance of the emperor-system and Japan's territorial integrity. In addition to support for the emperor-system and Japan's territorial integrity as part of a long-term plan to deal with the Soviet Union, Chiang also had a more immediate need to cooperate with Japan. The clearest case was the issue of postwar surrender, which for the Nationalist government was another battle to defend its sovereignty over mainland China. In terms of the political crisis facing the Nationalists, success in receiving Japan's surrender would not only help it against the Communists but also in its later relations with other nations. At the cost of Outer Mongolia and Port Arthur, the treaty of friendship and alliance with USSR committed the Soviet Union not to support the Communists against the Nationalist government and not to intervene on China's northeastern border or in Sinkiang (Xinjiang). However, the Soviet Union would fulfill its treaty obligations only if the Nationalist government could stabilize its authority over mainland China. On the other hand, the U. S., although the Nationalists' most important ally during the war, strongly supported peace talks between the GMD and the CCP and opposed the Nationalists' policy of fighting the Communists. Facing these internal and external pressures, the Nationalists absolutely had to receive Japan's surrender in order to maintain any semblance of power. On the eve of Japan's surrender, the Nationalist forces were concentrated in southwest and northwest China, and they had to move to the north and northeast to take over the occupied areas-just next to the Communist-controlled areas. This obviously gave the Communists a geographical advantage in moving in on the Japanese areas, and so the challenge facing Chiang was how to mobilize the Japanese troops to hold out until the Nationalists could arrive. Chiang's strategy was to maintain the existing Japanese military system, to share supplies with them, and to offer them the same levels of treatment as the Nationalist army. With Japanese cooperation, the Nationalists thus regained control of 21 of 27 strategic cities, while six were occupied by the USSR. This high degree of cooperation with the Japanese army was the key to the Nationalists' takeover of the occupied territories. Especially in North China, in securing railway transportation and military supplies, the Japanese army lost at least 9,000 soldiers within half a year (including the wounded and missing)-evidence of the high degree of Japanese military coordination with Chiang. The policy of allying with Japan against the Communists thus came to fruition, allowing the Nationalist government to smoothly reassert its leadership over China. Therefore, any evaluation of the merits and problems of Chiang Kal-shek's magnanimity policy should take into account the rapidly changing historical situation: the "fall of the mainland" to the Communists and their extended period of rule. In other words, Chiang's original expectations were not entirely unmet, for policies like support for the emperor-system and Japan's territorial integrity were all helpful to its post-war reconstruction. The restored Japan did become the Pacific's central base of resistance to international communism. However, with the loss of the mainland to the Communists, which destroyed Chiang's hopes that China would become the leading country in Asia, and with the Communists' successful maintenance of power, the Japanese government broke off formal diplomatic relations with the Nationalist government and established them with Communist China in 1972.


This essay appears in the publication 'Seventeen of Sixty-Eight', a Baltic Plus artists book by Ingrid Pollard, published to accompany her Baltic Artists Award and solo exhibition at The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, February 2019.

The essay considers a selection of the photographs in the context of the mixed media exhibition of her works, drawing attention to the way in which they act as questioning presences which disturb a comfortable sense of self-certainty in belonging.


With the rapid development of highway,more and a growing number of cross section tunnels spring up in the building of highway.So tunnel excavation methods appears especially important.This article introduces the applications of double sidewall drift method and three bench method in Dawangding Tunnel and chooses the best excavation method through comparing the two ways in terms of construction progress,safety and economy and so on.


This research was carried out to investigate the indicators that influence polices perception towards the Quality of Work Life (QWL) in police organisation. A total of 40 respondents were chosen by using a simple random sampling methods and questionnaires. This study identifies the overall QWL level and INdividual level for the different indicators. The independent variables in this research were gender. position. age. year ofservice. marital status and amount ofdependant. The dependent variables were the eIg/It KKB indicators. which include reward. safety. and social interaction within organisation. autonomy. feetlbaclc.job design, job involvement and quality offamily life. This study also looks into the priorities of the different indicators and the differences of QWL level based on the demographic characteristics of
respondents. The finding from the research showed that the level ofQWL in police organisation was at a lower level (Mean = 2.30). Thefindings showed, respondents were most satisfied with thejob involvement at the work place (Mean = 2.65) while respondents were least satisfied wilh the reward and feedback gtWIII (Mean = 2.20). When respondents were asked for their priorities in determining their QWL. the result showed the reward indicator was given the first priority. In addition, the result however did not show any differences on the level of QWL based on their demographic characteristics. which include gender. position. age. and year ofservice. marital status and amount ofdependant. The findings ofthis study also showed that there was no Significant relationship between age and year of service towards QWL.


Objective
To observe the effect of applying WeChat follow-up combined with KAP theory on in patients with unstable angina pectoris after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods
A total of 147 patients with unstable angina pectoris were enrolled in our hospital from May, 2018 to January, 2019). The patients were divided into a reference group and an experimental group according to the admission sequence. The reference group was routinely intervened; in addition, the experimental group was intervened by WeChat follow-up and KAP theory. The scores of depression (SDS), anxiety (SAS), self-efficacy (GSES), and quality of life (WHOQOL-100) before and after the intervention were compared between these two groups.

Results
The scores of SAS and SDS were (37.26±3.37) and (40.82±3.24) in the experimental group, which were lower than those in the reference group (both P<0.05). The scores of WHOQOL-100 and GSES after the intervention were (87.47±6.53) and (28.61±7.24) in the experimental group, which were higher than those in the reference group (both P<0.05).

Conclusion
WeChat follow-up combined with KAP theory intervention for patients with unstable angina pectoris can improve their depression, anxiety, self-efficacy, and quality of life.

Key words:
WeChat follow-up; KAP theory; Unstable angina; PCI


Conodonts are jawless vertebrates deposited in marine strata from the Cambrian to the Triassic that play an important role in geoscience research. The accurate identification of conodonts requires experienced professional researchers. The process is time-consuming and laborious and can be subjective and affected by the professional level and opinions of the appraisers. The problem is exacerbated by the limited number of experts who are qualified to identify conodonts. Therefore, a rapid and simple artificial intelligence method is needed to assist with the identification of conodont species. Although the use of deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) for fossil identification has been widely studied, the data used are usually from different families, genera or even higher-level taxonomic units. However, in practical geoscience research, geologists are often more interested in classifying species belonging to the same genus. In this study, we use five fine-grained CNN models on a dataset consisting of nine species of the conodont genus Hindeodus. Based on the cross-validation results, we show that using the Bilinear-ResNet18 model and transfer learning generates the optimal classifier. Area Under Curve (AUC) value of 0.9 on the test dataset was obtained by the optimal classifier, indicating that the performance of our classifier is satisfactory. In addition, although our study is based on a very limited taxa of conodonts, our research principles and processes can be used as a reference for the automatic identification of other fossils.


This note is a symbiosis of classical and modern gravimetric geodesy. The formulas obtained are almost equivalent to those of Molodensky and Brovar but are less data dependent, more direct from the computational point of view, and more advantageous for the utilization of artificial satellite data. Because of the inclusion of terms involving a non-vanishing topographic mean density, the new theory is more general than the method of Bjerhammar and not subject to a growing bias with decreasing wavelength. It also has ramifications for simplified models and model combinations derived or proposed by other authors.


or assumed style. Stein, Cooley, Hoffman, and Pearse present an interesting direct-observation method of identifying leaders in small groups. The other authors, Yukl and Nemeroff, Luthans (using his well-known behaviouristic perspective) and Sims, provide a constructive (and, in the case of Yukl and Nemeroff, a practical) response to previous criticism regarding the use of questionnaires in measuring leader behaviour. Finally, both Robert Dubin and the editors have done their best in looking beyond, rather than looking back at, the papers presented at the symposium. Dubin attempts to probe significant dimensions of leadership by discussing several metaphors which are both recognizable to the practitioner and stimulating to the theoretician. The editors summarize the results of a survey of some sixty current studies on leadership. Although Crosscurrents in leadership represents only one or two mainstreams


We investigated NaCuO2 as a positive electrode material for sodium-ion energy storage batteries. Its charge/ discharge properties in a Na/NaCuO2 cell were evaluated in voltage ranges of 0.75–3.0, 1.7–4.2, and 0.75–4.2V. It was found that the charge/discharge properties and cycling-induced new products depended on the voltage range. In the range of 0.75–4.2V, NaCuO2 showed a reversible capacity of 190mAh/g after ten cycles, with an average voltage of 2.5V versus Na/Na+. The results of an ex-situ XRD analysis of NaCuO2 electrode at various charged/ discharged stages revealed that NaCuO2 is converted to NaCuO after the second cycle, and then, reversible structural changes occur between NaCuO and CuO. © The Electrochemical Society of Japan, All rights reserved.


ww w. id dr i.o rg This article is based on research that has received a financial support from the French government in the framework of the programme « Investissements d'avenir », managed by ANR (French national agency for research) under the reference ANR-10-LABX-14-01. ADDRESSING A RESEARCH GAP TO GO BEYOND DOGMA Poland is a particularly carbon intensive economy. This has created concern that it may be particularly exposed to carbon leakage. However, there is an absence of robust and transparent empirical research on carbon leakage risks in Poland. This study aims at filling this gap by assessing the impact of EU climate policy, in particular the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, on Polish industry.


To date, there has been little published that synthesizes and draw lessons from the economics of agricultural policy. This study fills that void, providing an economic analysis of the policies that affect agriculture and agribusiness in both Canada and the United States. The authors emphasize the role of farmers and agribusiness in the formation of policy, exploring the farm problem from both economic and historical perspectives. The various institutions that influence the development and implementation of policy are also discussed and compared. Because of the importance of international trade to North American agriculture, one chapter is devoted to a discussion of trade models. The book then goes on to analyze specific problems, such as price and income stabilization, science policy, environmental policy, and food quality and safety. The role of vertical markets in agriculture is emphasized throughout. The authors combine the traditional welfare economics framework with the new institutional economics and rent-seeking behaviour to explain the development of agricultural policy. This much-needed study will be welcomed by researchers and policy analysts, as well as instructors seeking material for senior undergraduate and graduate courses.


A five-metal-layered interconnection 20k gate CMOS LSI is fabricated using polyimide resist insulators. It is proved that the use of polyimide resist insulators results in excellent planarization, small residual stress, a smooth via profile, and a reduction in the number of steps required for the process. As a result, this technique appears to be a practical means of fabricating five or more layered interconnection systems.


The bibliographic format of The Tale of H an Ying's Collection of Poetry is considerably unique. Each chapter cit es from The Book of Poetry as its thesis statement and compose s the content of the chapter with such wellorganized interpretative materials as remarks, stories, eloquent opinions and noble deeds of former generations bas ed in the key word on the citation from The Book of Poetry or the extended meaning of the line from The Book of Poetry. The sequence of the chapters in nearly all volumes is organized by the order of the complete passages in The Book of Poetry from which citations a re made. In this sense, a n exposure of this style of bibliographic format is of great significance to a p rop er understanding of the meaning of interpreting The Book of Poetry as does t his book and clues of historical addition and deletion of this boo k.


Our goal is always to offer you an assortment of cost-free ebooks too as aid resolve your troubles. We have got a considerable collection of totally free of expense Book for people from every single stroll of life. We have got tried our finest to gather a sizable library of preferred cost-free as well as paid files. Searching for most marketed book or reading source in the world? We offer them all in style type as word, txt, kindle, pdf, zip, rar and also ppt. among them is this certified a students guide to maxwells equations that has been written by Still puzzled ways to get it? Well, simply read online or download by registering in our site below. Click them. Need a magnificent e-book? a students guide to maxwells equations by , the best one! Wan na get it? Discover this exceptional e-book by below currently. Download and install or read online is readily available. Why we are the best site for downloading this a students guide to maxwells equations Of course, you could choose the book in different report types and also media. Search for ppt, txt, pdf, word, rar, zip, as well as kindle? Why not? Get them right here, now! GO TO THE TECHNICAL WRITING FOR AN EXPANDED TYPE OF THIS A STUDENTS GUIDE TO MAXWELLS EQUATIONS, ALONG WITH A CORRECTLY FORMATTED VERSION OF THE INSTANCE MANUAL PAGE ABOVE.


This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following reviewof Information contained In an abatrwt submitted by the authorfa). Contmrta of the pap aa presented, have nnt bwn reviewed by the society of Petroleum Enginwra and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, es prewnted, does not newawrlty roft any position of the Society of Petroleum Engbrwrs, Ita officers, or members. Papere presented at SPE mwtings are subject to publication revtew by Edftc"lal Commlttws of the &ole of Petroleum Englnwra. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more then T 'I wrds. Illuatratlona may not be copied. The abstract ehoufd contain cwrepkuoue @mwWgmd of whare and by whom the paper is presentad. Write Publications Manager, SPE, PO. BOXSS3#3S, Rlchardaon. TX 7WK+3S36. Telex, 730W9 SPEOAL.


Folklore and notes on education and games from molepo's by I.K. Mpe (written in Sepedi). Forms part of van Warmelo Collection housed at the University of Pretoria.


This article analyzes the current status of the lighting quality at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Aeronáutica y del Espacio (ETSIAE), the aerospace engineering faculty at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), and evaluates possible improvement actions based on the use of DIALux® lighting simulation software together with measured data. The results show rather low levels of measured illuminance on classroom desks and blackboards in one of the buildings comprising the faculty. The improvements proposed (a new coat of paint on the walls and replacement of luminaires) were simulated in four individual classrooms representing all rooms in two of the ETSIAE buildings (where the lower illuminance levels were measured). In order to study these improvements, the current situation of the four selected classrooms was simulated using DIALux® and fine-tuning attenuation of the luminaires to take into account their wear and tear. The correlation between the DIALux® simulation and the test results was analyzed with quite good results. The results clearly reveal a need to fully replace the classroom lighting systems in ETSIAE building A (the oldest building, dating back to 1955). According to the results from the selected classrooms, the average lighting over the desks can be greatly improved by using LED technology in order to meet UNE 12464-1 standard (that is, 500 lx, from an initial situation with much lower illuminance values: 129 lx to 295 lx). This article represents an innovative way to perform lighting improvement projects as real measured lighting data is used as initial input for the lighting simulations.


Genetic Algorithm (GA) are powerful search techniques that are used to solve various types of problems in various discipline. There are a growing number of programming systems for implementation of genetic algorithms. The potentiality of parallel genetic algorithm is enormous over existing information processing, classification and control of very large and varied data. Parallel genetic algorithm is particularly easy to implement and promise substantial gains in performance. This paper gives a brief overview of advances, computing trends and applications and future perspectives in parallel genetic algorithm. Keywords— Genetic Algorithm, Parallel Genetic Algorithm


For years, intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) has been the only effective acute stroke therapy. However, the treatment landscape for acute ischemic stroke has evolved rapidly in the past decade. With the advent of neuroendovascular therapies, large vessel strokes are now being treated


The connection between various energy types in the integrated power and natural gas system has grown stronger in recent years, as has the penetration rate of clean energy. Wind power generation volatility offers a considerable barrier to power system operation. This research provides a multi-time scale economic dispatch model with flexibility limitations to address this issue. Through chance-constrained programming, the equipment flexibility is described by probability functions and predetermined confidence levels in this model, and the generating cost and wind power consumption are improved through day-ahead and intra-day optimal scheduling. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed model is verified by two case studies of integrated energy systems, where the results show that about 68.0–72.1% wind power curtailment can be effectively reduced while satisfying all load and system safety requirements.


OBJECTIVE To study the curative effect of Yupinfeng San combined with cefprozil on treatment of acute bacterial sinusitis and observe the improvement of symptoms and physical signs so as to evaluate its clinical effectiveness. METHODS A total of 200cases of patients who met the diagnostic criteria from Jan 2010to Jan 2013were enrolled in the study and randomly divided into the treatment group and the control group,with 100cases in each,then the observation group was given the oral medication of Yupingfeng San combined with cefprozil;the control group was only given cefprozil.Both groups were withdrawn 7days after the treatment,the clinical symptoms,improvement of typical signs,and starting time of improvement were recorded,the cure rate and the effective rate were statistically analyzed with the use of SPSS16.0software,the t-test was performed for the measurement data,and the chisquare test was carried out for the count data.RESULTS The improvement of nasal congestion(χ2=3.18,P= 0.01),runny nose(χ2=3.23,P= 0.01),sticky secretions on the nasal passages(χ2=3.23,P=3.23),and swelling of the nasal mucosa hypertrophy(χ2=3.05,P=0.02)of the observation group were better than those of the control group;the time cost for improvement of nasal obstruction(t= 1.78,P=0.03),runny nose(t= 1.26,P=1.26),headache(t=1.68,P=1.68),cough(t=1.84,P=0.02),and other symptoms of the observation group were shorter than those of the control group;the cure rate was 75.0%in the observation group,53.0%in the control group,the total effective rate was 98.0%in the observation group,83.0%in the control group,both the cure rate and the total effective rate were significantly higher in the treatment group than in the control group(χ2=8.67,P0.01;χ2=7.34,P0.01).CONCLUSIONThe Yupingfeng San combined with cefprozilis is superior to single cefprozil in the improvement of symptotic signs and time,Yupingfeng San combined with cefprozilis may achieve better curative effect on treatment of acute bacterial sinusitis,it is worthy to be promoted.


The bandwidths of three aperture stacked patch antennas have been combined successfully into a single large bandwidth using microwave photonic techniques. The antenna system produces an effective frequency bandwidth of approximately 150% with an average gain level of 5.5 dBi and gain variation of plusmn2 dB.


The role of the British overseas banks in the provision of medium- and long-term finance in British colonial Africa is examined, with special reference to the establishment of the bank development corporations after the Second World War. The origins of the banks' involvement in development financing are traced, and in particular those of the Barclays Overseas Development Corporation, the first in the field. It is argued that, although their performance was modest, at least it was not as disastrous as the initial performance of the public sector Colonial Development Corporation. The three bank development corporations, and the medium- and long-term lending undertaken by the fourth British bank operating in British colonial Africa, filled a necessary gap in the financial structure of these territories at a time when the British banks were often the only commercial banks in existence.


We present JWST images of the well-known planetary nebula NGC 6720 (the Ring Nebula), covering wavelengths from 1.6$\mu$m to 25 $\mu$m. The bright shell is strongly fragmented with some 20 000 dense globules, bright in H$_2$, with a characteristic diameter of 0.2 arcsec and density $n_{\rm H} \sim 10^5$-$10^6$ cm$^{-3}$. The shell contains a thin ring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission. H$_2$ is found throughout the shell and in the halo. H$_2$ in the halo may be located on the swept-up walls of a biconal polar flow. The central cavity is shown to be filled with high ionization gas and shows two linear structures. The central star is located 2 arcsec from the emission centroid of the cavity and shell. Linear features (`spikes') extend outward from the ring, pointing away from the central star. Hydrodynamical simulations are shown which reproduce the clumping and possibly the spikes. Around ten low-contrast, regularly spaced concentric arc-like features are present; they suggest orbital modulation by a low-mass companion with a period of about 280 yr. A previously known much wider companion is located at a projected separation of about 15 000 au; we show that it is an M2-M4 dwarf. The system is therefore a triple star. These features, including the multiplicity, are similar to those seen in the Southern Ring Nebula (NGC 3132) and may be a common aspect of such nebulae.


The prevalence of allergic diseases has increased during the last forty years and it is estimated that, in the developed world, almost the 25% of all the children present certain form of allergic problems. Even though the prevalence of allergic diseases is increasing all over the world, up to the extent of calling this phenomenon "allergic epidemic", this disorder takes different forms in developing countries and in the developed ones. In 1989, Strachan proposes that the lack of maturation in the immune system and the stimuli from certain infections increase allergic diseases. Health theory argues that the increase of allergic diseases is related to a decrease in the exposure to germs. These researches have detected factors related to rhinitis and atopic dermatitis, such as sex hormones during pregnancy, which may favor the development of allergic diseases during prebubertal stage; the male gender shows a high prevalence of allergy sensibility. In the case of mother's breastwww.medigraphic.org.mx


Voltage regulator modules (VRM) have stringent efficiency and transient response requirements. A stepping inductance based VRM (SI_VRM) has been proposed by other researchers with the aim of achieving fast dynamic current response under step-load conditions. However, the scheme proposed to control the SI_VRM has several problems, such as high voltage ripple under 'inductor current recovery' condition and interruption of inductor current without any freewheeling action. In this paper, a new control scheme is proposed for the SI_VRM which can achieve fast transient response, smooth transition between different operating states, low ripple voltage both under normal and inductor current recovery conditions. The paper also investigates the requirements of the stepping inductance and its design. Simulation and experimental results are provided to confirm the expected improvements in performance


During a time where there is a solid reliance on electrical apparatuses for residential schedules, this paper proposes a calculation for distinguishing residential exercises from non-nosy shrewd meter total information. It recognizes exercise of human activities pattern and predict its effect on human health. For the two kinds of exercises, it begins by disaggregating the add up to control utilization down to individual electrical machines. At that point, fabricate a characteristic action model to reason four residential exercises utilizing the Dempster-Shafer hypothesis of confirm. To approve our calculations, utilize genuine vitality and ecological information gathered in a genuine UK family unit over a time of three months, benchmarked on a period stamped log of exercises. The outcomes demonstrate that it is conceivable to distinguish four tried household day by day exercises with high exactness based on the total


Six potential process related impurities were detected during the impurity profile study of an antiarrhythmic drug substance, Dronedarone (1). Simple high performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry methods were used for the detection of these process impurities. Based on the synthesis and spectral data (MS, IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and DEPT), the structures of these impurities were characterized as 5-amino-3-[4-(3-di-n-butylaminopropoxy)benzoyl]-2-n-butylbenzofuran (impurity I); N-(2-butyl-3-(4-(3-(dibutylamino)propoxy)benzoyl)benzofuran-5-yl)-N-(methylsulfonyl)methanesulfonamide (impurity II); N-(2-butyl-3-(4-(3-(dibutylamino)propoxy)benzoyl)benzofuran-5-yl)-1-chloromethanesulfonamide (impurity III); N-{2-propyl-3-[4-(3-dibutylaminopropoxy)benzoyl]benzofuran-5-yl}methanesulfonamide (impurity IV); N-(2-butyl-3-(4-(3-(dibutylamino)propoxy)benzoyl)benzofuran-5-yl)formamide (impurity V); and (2-butyl-5-((3-(dibutylamino)propyl)amino)benzofuran-3-yl)(4-(3-(dibutylamino)propoxy)p...


It is to research English majors'learning the request strategies under the explicit pragmatic teaching in the English-learning environment in China,where Chinese is the mother tongue while English is the target language.The result shows that explicit pragmatic classroom teaching can improve the students' pragmatic ability.


In Landau theory of Fermi liquids, the particle-hole interaction near the Fermi energy in different spin-isospin channels is probed in terms of an expansion over the Legendre polynomials. This provides a useful and efficient way to constrain properties of nuclear energy density functionals in symmetric nuclear matter and finite nuclei. In this study, we present general expressions for Landau parameters corresponding to a two-body central local regularized pseudopotential. We also show results obtained for two recently adjusted NLO and N2LO parametrizations. Such pseudopotentials will be used to determine mean-field and beyond-mean-field properties of paired nuclei across the entire nuclear chart.


We study time-reversal symmetry-breaking superconductivity with ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{k}={\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{{x}^{2}\ensuremath{-}{y}^{2}}{(k)+e}^{i\ensuremath{\theta}}{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}(\ensuremath{\alpha}=s$ or ${d}_{\mathrm{xy}})$ symmetries. It is shown that the behavior of such superconductors could be qualitatively different depending on the minor component $(\ensuremath{\alpha})$ and its phase at lower temperatures. It is argued that such qualitatively different behaviors in thermal as well as in angular dependences could be a source of consequences in transport and Josephson physics. Orthorhombicity is found to be a strong mechanism for the mixed phase (in the case of $\ensuremath{\alpha}=s).$ We show that due to electron correlation the order parameter is more like a pure ${d}_{{x}^{2}\ensuremath{-}{y}^{2}}$ symmetry near optimum doping.


Admitting the better craftsmanship of the Athenian pot, which could hardly be denied, are we justified in going further, and inferring that the culture-level, the standard of living, of the Alexandrian community (or a part of it) is lower than that of the Athenian (or a part of it) ? Now we do know something about living conditions in Alexandria and Athens ; and I do not think that any one familiar with both wcluld hesitate for a moment if he were asked which was the better of the two. Alexandria is probably no worse than many other Egyptian towns ; but the filth of its streets and the squalor of its houses is plain to every observer. Moreover the Arab culture generally is undoubtedly on a far lower level than that of the Greeks. So far as mere observation goes, then, it agrees entirely with the inferences that might be drawn by a speculative archaeologist excavating the sites of Athens and Alexandria several centuries hence. Can we go further and detect, in the superior craftsmanship, any faint echoes of that superb artistic skill which produced the Greek vases of classical times ? To do so would be, I think, unwarranted, because there are so many missing links. But surely some lingering remnant of the Keramikos may still survive, even if the tradition cannot be proved to have continued unbroken since classical times. My purpose, however, is to state rather than to solve the problem. In conclusion, I would refer those who are interested to some very suggestive remarks by the late Dr Hogarth, in his Twilight of History, p. 4 (8th Earl Grey Memorial Lecture, Oxford, 1926). O.G.S.C.


Two maternal lineages of bank vole (Myodes glareolus), the Eastern and the Carpathian, that had originated from different glacial refugia, came to a secondary contact in north-east Poland. We analysed a fragment of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) [cytochrome b (cyt b), 424 bp] from 1038 samples of the species to map the contact zone, estimate the mtDNA diversity of bank vole populations, and analyse if the distribution of the two lineages correlates with environmental variables. We found 89 haplotypes of mtDNA: 36 in the Carpathian lineage, 51 in the Eastern lineage and additionally 2 belonging in the Western lineage. The contact zone between lineages varied in width from 45 to 243 km. Nucleotide diversity and haplotype diversity of cyt b were notably higher in the Carpathian lineage than in the Eastern lineage. There was evidence of demographic and spatial expansion in the Eastern lineage. The spatial distribution of bank vole haplotypes belonging to the Carpathian lineage was positively correlated with the number of plant species associated with the Carpathian refugium and the mean temperature of July. The opposite (negative correlations with these two variables) was found for the Eastern lineage. These factors can be related to the different environmental conditions in which the two lineages survived and which affected the current mtDNA diversity.


Background/Aims Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) makes up approximately 25% of all breast cancer diagnoses and is considered to be a precursor to invasive cancer. Most DCIS diagnoses will not progress to invasive cancer, but reliable prognostic and predictive markers to guide treatment have not been established. Considerable debate exists about how to best treat DCIS, and many have expressed concern that DCIS is over-diagnosed and over-treated. This study examined patterns of DCIS incidence and treatment across six regions of Kaiser Permanente (KP). Methods Women aged ≥ 18 years of age diagnosed with DCIS between 2000 and 2010 were identified from tumor registries at each region using distributed code. Annual age-adjusted incidence rates of DCIS were estimated overall and by region and were standardized to the 2000 US population. The annual incidence of DCIS was also estimated for women aged ≥ 45 years and stratified on hormone replacement therapy status at DCIS diagnosis. Demographic characteristics and variation in first course of therapy were compared. Results Across six KP regions, overall age-adjusted incidence was 35.2/100,000 in 2000, increased to a high of 47.2/100,000 in 2007, and then decreased to 42.6/100,000 in 2010. Age-adjusted incidence rates for women on estrogen plus progestin hormone therapy prior to diagnosis were higher than for women on estrogen only or no hormone therapy. The most common first course therapy was breast conserving surgery plus radiation (38%); however, we observed different treatment patterns across regions. These patterns will be explored further in additional analyses that will include examining variation in treatment patterns by age, year of diagnosis, and histopathologic characteristics such as hormone receptor status and tumor grade. Conclusions Although age-adjusted incidence rates from six KP regions were consistent over time, we observed differences in treatment patterns. Differences in patient mix, tumor characteristics, patient, or physician preferences may have contributed to the variation in treatment patterns. These results may be of clinical use in determining factors associated with DCIS diagnosis and in understanding and evaluating regional treatment differences.


In selective epitaxy, growth rate is modified by the ratio of unmasked area to entire surface area and by each window area on a wafer. Such "local loading effect" phenomena were studied in a SiH2Cl2/HCl/H2 selective epitaxial growth system. The effect is attributed to species spatial concentration variation which is generated by coexistence of a masked area and windows on a wafer. The growth condition which can suppress the effect is obtained for VLSI device fabrication.


This article is concerned with the resonant property which is exhibited in insect flight, and analyzes how resonant propulsion works when implemented in powering a flapping wing micro aerial vehicle. This article is divided into three parts. In the first part, information regarding to insect flight, the resonant property, and flapping wing micro aerial vehicles are described. In the second part, mathematical models representing the micro aerial vehicle (basing on the model developed by Bolsman) are applied, simplified and built into simulation in MATLAB. Some interesting properties from the simulations are presented.


The bachelor thesis deals with interactions of two chains of hyaluronan in an aqueous solu-tion with various concentrations of sodium chloride by means of NAMD - software for molecular dynamics studies. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with hyaluronic acid, describes the principle of molecular dynamics and how it can be useful in the study of hyaluronic acid, and summarizes the findings from previous similar investigations. In the practical part, the frequency of intermolecular hydrogen bonds and the influence of sodium ions and water molecules on these bonds are examined on two different models - chains completely free and chains fixed in places where hydrogen bonds are spontaneously for-med - at a constant temperature of 275 K and at various salt centcentrations of NaCl.


Experiments were carried out the phenomenal observation on effect of corona treated hotmelt laminating film in process of manufacture by 2 kinds of rolling speed and electric power variatons. Surface treatment by corona which is exposure of film surface to electron of ion bombardment, rather than mere exposure to active species, like atomic oxygen or ozone, can enhance adhesion by removing contaminant, electret, roughening surface, and introducing reactive chemical group. Reactive neutrals, ions, electron and photons generated during the corona treatment interact simultaneously with polymers to alter surface chemical composition, wettability, and thus film adhesion. However, it is highly recommended that extensive chains scission is avoided because it can lead to side-effect by forming sticky matter, resulting in dropouts. This paper reviews principles of surface preparation of polypropylene substrate by corona discharging. In addition, the experimental section provides a description of parameter optimization on corona discharging treatment and its side-effect. Experimental results are discussed in terms of surface wetting as determined by contact angle and SEM measurements. When the rolling speed of the film decreased from 1.666 [m / sec] to 0.083 [m / sec], contact angle decreased from 80 [°] to 64 [°], and the wettability was greatly improved. As the supply power increased from 0.4 [kVA] to 2 [kVA] at the corona discharge surface treatment, the contact angle decreased from 77 [°] to 65 [°], and the wettability was greatly improved.


The <italic>dV</italic> / <italic>dt</italic> in superjunction metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) during the turn-off transient has been shown to be higher than during the turn-on, which can be attributed to a shorter Miller plateau. In this article, we will show that these asymmetrical turn-on and turn-off characteristics are indirectly detected by the hysteresis of the dynamic gate-to-drain capacitance, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${C}_{\text {GD}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. Moreover, this article reveals the mechanisms behind the asymmetrical switching and the origin of the hysteresis, which have been shown to be caused by the difference in the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${C}_{\text {GD}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> displacement current paths for the turn-off and the turn-on.


Objective: To compare the frequency of conventional risk factors in patients below and above forty yearsof age presenting with acute myocardial infarction. Methodology: It was a three years retrospective comparative descriptive study conducted in CardiologyDepartment, PGMI, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar. Computerized data of patients admitted with acutemyocardial infarction (AMI) from 1st September 2006 to 31st August 2009 was reviewed. Patients withage <40 years were assigned Group-I while those with ≥40 years as Group-II. Conventional risk factorswere age, sex, pertinent family history, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypertensionand diabetes mellitus. Using SPSS version 16, data was analyzed. Results: A total of 4935 patients were admitted with AMI over the study period. Mean age was 58.4 ±12.37 (20 to 99) years. Group-I had 252 patients (79.4% males), while Group-II had 4683(65.9% males).Positive family history in Group-I vs. Group-II was 43(17.1%) vs. 426(9.1%), [p<0.001], respectively. Hypertensionin Group-I vs. Group-II was 57(22.6%) vs. 1666(35.6%), [p<0.001], respectively. Diabetes mellitusin Group-I vs. Group-II was 29/252(1.5%) vs. 1059(22.6%), [p<0.001], respectively. Hypercholesterolemiain Group-I vs. Group-II was 63(25%) and 583(12.4%), [p<0.001], respectively. Hypertriglyceridemiain Group-I vs. Group-II was 68(27%) vs.1188 (25.4%), [p<0.001], respectively. Smokers in Group-I vs.Group-II were reported in 24(9.5%) vs. 76(1.6%), [p<0.001], respectively. Conclusion: Positive family history, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and smoking were morefrequent in younger age group while hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the predominant risk factorsin older age group.


By analyzing the shortcomings in the teaching progress of "Electrical and Electronic Technology" in higher vocational college,this paper discusses on how to improve teaching quality and change the status of poor teaching effectiveness,and better optimize the process of teaching,improve teaching quality.


World over, Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) have greatly influenced mathematics teaching and learning. The last two decades have witnessed extensive research in this area and Mathematics educators have been investigating various ways of integrating CAS with classroom teaching to develop a balanced curriculum, which lays less emphasis on paperpencil techniques and focuses more on understanding concepts. Computer Algebra Systems such as Mathematica, Maple, Derive etc. provide powerful dynamic working environments. However the availability of CAS in the form of handheld calculators such as the Casio Class Pad 300 has brought the power of visualization and exploration right into the hands of the student. This paper describes a research study conducted with 40 students of year 11 in a traditional teaching environment where the prescribed curriculum emphasizes on mastery of paper-pencil skills and using technology is not a general practice. Two exploratory lab modules in calculus, one based on understanding of limits and the other on application of derivatives to optimization problems, have been discussed. These modules utilize the graphic, numeric and symbolic manipulation capabilities of the Class Pad 300 to facilitate conceptual understanding. The study revealed that CAS provided opportunities for resequencing concepts and skills thus making it possible to teach concepts and applications before manipulative skills. The easy graphing capability of the Class Pad lead to a 'geometric' approach, which allowed the students to visualize and explore concepts. The study also showed that CAS led to the constructivist approach where the learning environment was transformed from the traditional teacher-centered classroom to a student-centered laboratory where the students discovered mathematical ideas for themselves.


Objective To assess the heritability of serum uric acid in adolescent using the classic twin design.MethodsAdolescent twins were recruited from the Qingdao Twin Registry.Their uric acid,height,weight were measured.Zygosity in all same-sex and same-blood-group twin pairs was determined by 16 polymorphic markers.Heritability was assessed by structuralequation models,with age,gender and body mass index(BMI)included as covariate.Results A total of 521 twin pairs wereavailable for data analyses,including 274 pairs of monozygotic twins and 247 pairs of dizygotic.After square root transformed,uric acid in male was significantly higher than in female(t=5.584,P0.0001).After age,sex and BMI adjustment,intraclass correlations for uric acid were 0.80 for monozygotic twins and 0.46 for dizygotic.A sex-limitation AE model combining additive genetic and unique environmental factors produced the best fit for the data.Heritability estimates for uric acid were 77.5%(95% confidence interval:0.731-0.811.Unique environmental effects explained 22.5%(95% confidence interval:0.189-0.269).Conclusion Genetic factors are the main factors that influence the variation of uric acid in twin samples of this study.


A method for the extraction of Lunar data and/or planetary features is provided. The feature extraction method can include one or more image processing techniques, including, but not limited to, a watershed segmentation and/or the gen- eralized Hough Transform. According to some embodiments, the feature extraction method can include extracting features, such as, small rocks. According to some embodiments, small rocks can be extracted by applying a watershed segmentation algorithm to the Canny gradient. According to some embodiments, applying a watershed segmentation algorithm to the Canny gradient can allow regions that appear as close con- tours in the gradient to be segmented.


The level of abstraction of textual material is one factor affecting the difficulty it presents to the reader and so effective ways of assessing it are potentially useful for the teacher and researcher. A 'new' measure was compared with an old one and some similarity found in their assessment of science texts. The earlier measure may be the easier one for the non-specialist to use. The results also suggested a rule of thumb which practising teachers might find useful.


An electron-bio tandem reactor is assembled with Cu catalysts and microorganisms. Ethylene is produced in the gas phase, and the byproducts such as HCOOH, CO, and H2 can be recycled as electron donors for acetate biosynthesis via the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway.


This note outlines the derivation of the parameter update formulas for the variational non-uniform blind deblurring algorithm described in Whyte et al. [4]. First, using the calculus of variations, we find the optimal forms of the factorized approximating distributions and arrive at the same formulas as in the uniform blind deblurring of Miskin & MacKay [3] and Fergus et al. [2]. Next, we derive the parameter update equations, which differ significantly from [3, 2]. 1. Summary We derive here the optimal forms and parameters of the approximating distributions q(f), q(w) and q(βσ) used in the variational inference of the blind deblurring algorithms of Miskin & MacKay [3] and Fergus et al. [2]. Using the calculus of variations, we find that the optimal distributions for the latent variables are (the same as Equations (42, 43, 17) of [3]): q(wk) ∝ p(wk) exp ( − 2 w (2) k ( wk − w k )2) (1) q(fj) ∝ p(fj) exp ( − 2 f (2) j ( fj − f (1) j )2) (2) q(βσ) = Γ ( βσ; 1 2 ∑ i 〈 (gi − ĝi(f ,w)) 〉 q(f ,w) , Ng 2 ) , (3) where w k , w (2) k , f (1) j , f (2) j are parameters of the distributions, ĝi(f ,w) is the "reconstruction" of the i th blurry pixel using the model in Equation (7) of Whyte et al. [4]. Note that f and w are random variables, so in this context ĝi(f ,w) is also a random variable, which for simplicity we denote by ĝi from now on. Ng is the number of observed blurry pixels, and 〈·〉q represents the expectation with respect to the the distribution q. For each latent variable, the parameters of its distribution depend on the distributions of all the other latent variables, e.g. w k and w (2) k depend on q(βσ), q(fj) for all j and q(wk′) for all k′ 6= k. For our non-uniform blur model, we find the following optimal values for the parameters (c.f . Equations (46–49) of [3]):


It is important to characterize distribution of cardiometabolic disease (CMD) based on different body mass index (BMI) levels in a population. This information remains scarce in China, so we investigated the proportions and related factors of cardiometabolic disease stages based on different BMI levels in Chinese adults.


Despite no consensus among economists on the threshold limit of the current account deficit, an everwidening current account deficit has always been an issue of concern for policymakers. An imbalance in merchandise trade that is not covered by invisible earnings leads to current account deficits. With the exception of a few years, the Indian economy has faced deficits in its current account since the 1980s due to excessive imports accompanied by sluggish growth in exports. A large current account deficit was a key reason among many for the severe balance of payments crisis in 1991. Having no other options in sight, the country resorted to economic reforms on a massive scale in subsequent years. With economic reforms and judicious external sector policies, the country became resilient on the external front in the late 1990s. Moreover, the government realized a current account surplus for three consecutive years, i.e., from 2001-02 to 2003-04 and the current account deficit was not a cause of concern for policymakers until the advent of the global financial crisis in 2008-09. The present paper discusses the trend and composition of India's current account since the 1990s, the reasons for expanding the current account deficit, and policy responses by the government to make the current account sustainable.


Over 200 000 people in England and Wales have type 1 diabetes. After the discovery of insulin, it became clear that people with diabetes had a reduced life expectancy and in the 1950s someone with type 1 diabetes might only expect to live until their sixth decade before they died from diabetic complications. Since then, longevity has increased and significant numbers are living into their eighth decade.


Objective To observe the changes in proportion of CD4+Foxp3+regulatory T cells( Treg cell),procalcitonin( PCT),nuclear factor kappa-B( nuclear factor-kappa B,NF-κB) during the elderly patients with acute stage COPD,the elderly patients with stable COPD and in elderly healthy,to offer clinical information for diagnose and treatment. Methods Forty-two elderly patients with acute stage COPD and thirty-nine elderly patients with stable COPD were investigated as group 1 and group 2,thirty-five elderly healthy were investigated as control group. To detect the proportion of Treg cells, the level of PCT and the percentage of NF-κB p65. Results ①the percentage of the Treg cells were significant difference among multiple pairwise comparisons( P 0. 05); ②the level of PCT was significant difference between the group 1and group 2,it also was significantly different between the group 1 and the control group( P 0. 05),but it was no difference between the group 2 and the control group( P 0. 05); ③the percentage of the NF-κB were significant difference among multiple pairwise comparisons( P 0. 05). Conclusion Inflammation mechanism and immunity mechanism both had the important effect in elderly COPD patients. Detecting the change of the Treg cell,NF-κB and PCT in elderly COPD patients provided very important laboratory basis for clinical diagnose and treatment.


Recent advances in shape matching have shown that jointly optimizing the maps among the shapes in a collection can lead to significant improvements when compared to estimating maps between pairs of shapes in isolation. These methods typically invoke a cycle‐consistency criterion — the fact that compositions of maps along a cycle of shapes should approximate the identity map. This condition regularizes the network and allows for the correction of errors and imperfections in individual maps. In particular, it encourages the estimation of maps between dissimilar shapes by compositions of maps along a path of more similar shapes.


In this paper, a comparison is made between Jerome's and Petrus Chrysologus' interpretations of the parable of the prodigal son. In Letter 21, written in 383/384, Jerome responds to a request by Pope Damasus to clarify specific questions about this well-known parable. After an introduction in which the specific questions are mentioned and briefly discussed, he continues with a verse-by-verse commentary of the Lucan passage, followed by a short conclusion. Petrus Chrysologus (c. 380–c. 450), bishop of Ravenna, delivered five sermons on the parable of the prodigal son, of which the fifth sermon offers a spiritual interpretation. A comparison between the two different approaches to the parable highlights Jerome's usual exegetical method. There is a sharper focus on Jerome's letter, and in comparison with Chrysologus' work, the unique character of Jerome's approach is underlined. An essential aspect of Jerome's commentary is his identification with the contents of the parable and the fact that he uses this work to promote himself as a biblical scholar and exegete.


This article discusses three contributions to new thinking on the Left. * Two of these, Anthony Giddens' s Beyond Left and Right: The Future of Radical Politics and David Miliband's collection Reinventing the Left (to which Giddens contributes the first chapter), set out to provide the new thinking which the post-Clause 4 Labour Party certainly needs. Socialismfor a Sceptical Age, by Ralph Miliband (Miliband pere), defends traditional socialist positions against facile revisionism, as its author did throughout his working life. The most theoretically ambitious of these works is that of Anthony Giddens. It is a prolegomenon to a political programme, somewhere between a theoretical framework and the specific policies it might generate. 'A Future for Post-Socialism', one might say.' This book was originally announced in 1981 2 under the title 'Between Capitalism and Socialism'. It was going then to combine the project of realizing still-valid socialist ideals with confronting the 'absences' in Marxism and in actually-existing socialism: the role of violence, military power, ethnic and sexual exploitation. But Giddens's thinking has moved on. Now he says socialism is virtually moribund and looks to a post-socialist and post-capitalist perspective, as if the enemies confronted by these old ideologies have vanished into thin air, or, more precisely, into cyberspace.3


Operational data are those which are used in routine flights to indicate the weight of payload and fuel that can safely be carried. Therefore, operational data consist of information on take-off, climb, cruise, descent, and landing.

Airplanes which make the most use of this type of information at present are long range, propeller driven transports and bombers; the material presented on the following pages is specifically for use with this general type of aircraft.

Methods of reducing take-off tests, climb tests, and of obtaining high speed cruise control are presented in the body of the thesis.


Zeolite ZSM 5 membranes were prepared on α Al 2O 3 tube supports by hydrothermal synthesis at 170 ℃.A high permeance of H 2 up to 11 3×10 -6 mol/m 2·s·Pa of synthesized membrane was achieved by synthesis on a pre wetted tube support.Effects of different particle sizes on permeance of membranes were studied.Sizes of particles forming the membranes were 7~8 μm and 2~3 μm respectively.XRD、SEM and single gas permeance measurements were conducted.The results showed that the membrane was dense and integral.The permeance of the membrane formed by 2~3 μm particles is lower although it is thinner than the membrane formed by 7~8 μm particles.This fact showed that qualified membrane could not be formed by relatively smaller crystals.This implied that a matching effect existed between the supports and the crystals.


General situations of revision of "Model Contract for Port Waterway Engineering Construction Supervision " concerning the contents, forms and clauses are introduced.


In this work we deal with the Ship Stowage Planning Problem. It is a two-step process. The first step is executed by the shipping line, which designs the stowage plan for all ports of a vessel's rotation. At a given port, the stowage plan indicates containers that must be discharged and, for each available slot, a class of containers which can be loaded there. Here we focus on the second step, which pertains to the terminal planners. On the basis of the stowage plan, they must assign exactly one container, of a given class, selected in the yard, to a slot of the same class. The objective is the minimization of the total loading time. We present a Linear Integer Model and a heuristic algorithm, to get feasible solutions for the problem.


AbstractEthylcellulose has become a polymer widely used in pharmaceutical film coating, especially when it is necessary to produce a modified-release dosage form. While initial emphasis was placed on using organic-solvent-based solutions of this polymer, more recent introduction of aqueous latex dispersions of ethylcellulose has attracted a lot of interest. This review will describe the characteristics of ethylcellulose film-coating systems, and discuss those factors (including those relating to the substrate, coating formulation and coating process) that can influence the behavior of such systems


The world has already moved from the industrial economy to the networked, digital economy. In this information era, characterized by the fast growth and development of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and the Internet, a further and faster expansion and necessity of new management alternatives can be witnessed. The world has moved from being a cluster of national economies to a global marketplace. The emergence of new, global e-business models based on digital technologies and the Internet has become an imperative for the management of companies of all sizes. Aware of the enormous influence of ICT and the Internet on the overall organizational transformation, and knowing the fact that in the biggest economies in the world, small business are the power jets, managers are obliged to adjust the way they are managing their business initiatives and to apply e-business applications in their small businesses. In this sense, the main objective of this paper is to research and present the possibilities of using the new changed marketing mix applied in digital economy The idea is to show the need for changes in the standard marketing practices in a relation to the need of the new digital economy, using the new trends provided by ICT technologies, Internet and different e-business application to innovate and reengineer different levels within companies.


The article investigates the influence of international military treaties on regional policy. Military contracts are considered as part of the implementation of the state's military policy. It assesses the role of the military contracts to provide security. The article presents a classification of military contracts, the influence of the military agreements of the Russian Federation on the political situation in the South Caucasus.


The ability to accurately estimate job runtime properties allows a scheduler to effectively schedule jobs. State-of-the-art online cluster job schedulers use history-based learning, which uses past job execution information to estimate the runtime properties of newly arrived jobs. However, with fast-paced development in cluster technology (in both hardware and software) and changing user inputs, job runtime properties can change over time, which lead to inaccurate predictions. In this article, we explore the potential and limitation of real-time learning of job runtime properties, by proactively sampling and scheduling a small fraction of the tasks of each job. Such a task-sampling-based approach exploits the similarity among runtime properties of the tasks of the same job and is inherently immune to changing job behavior. Our analytical and experimental analysis of 3 production traces with different skew and job distribution shows that learning in space can be substantially more accurate. Our simulation and testbed evaluation on Azure of the two learning approaches anchored in a generic job scheduler using 3 production cluster job traces shows that despite its online overhead, learning in space reduces the average Job Completion Time (JCT) by 1.28×, 1.56×, and 1.32× compared to the prior-art history-based predictor. We further analyze the experimental results to give intuitive explanations to why learning in space outperforms learning in time in these experiments. Finally, we show how sampling-based learning can be extended to schedule DAG jobs and achieve similar speedups over the prior-art history-based predictor.


The article deals with the role of an educational system as a key factor of social and economic development of a region.


The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different biological and biochemical additives on the final nutritive quality, fermentation process and concentration of mycotoxins of ensiled high moisture crimped corn. We created four variants for the experiment: control (UC), A1, and A2 (biological stimulators with the active principle of lactic acid bacteria) and variant B (combined additives with the active principle of lactic acid bacteria, benzoate sodium and active enzymatic complex of cellulases). After 6 months of storage in laboratory conditions, we determined in experimental silages the content of dry matter ranging from 608.9 to 613 g·kg -1 . The significantly lower content of crude fibre was detected in silages with additives. In silages ensiled with additives we detected the highest content of nitrogen-free extract in variant B (834.3 g·kg-1 of DM, P 0.05) after the application of biological and biochemical silage additives. In concentration of T-2 toxin we detected a significantly (P < 0.05) lower value in variant A1. In concentration of AFL we found significant differences between variants A1 and B, as well as in concentration of OT between untreated control variant (UC) and variants conserved by additives. Application of silage additives influenced the nutritive and hygienic quality of the conserved fodders.


The qualitative and quantitative study of fault opening or sealing and the analysis of petroleum systems are two fashionable research subjects in the domain of petroleum exploration at present. In the study of petroleum systems, the division of petroleum systems is critcal. It has very important significance to the objective evaluation of resource potential for petroleum systems and to the determination of favorable zones and traps for exploration. With the sealing or opening of faults, the geographic distributive ranges of petroleum systems decrease or increase,and the evaluation on the potential of petroleum exploration changes correspondingly. It this paper, the present situation of fault sealing research is reviewed, and it is applied to the analysis of petroleum systems in the Bachu uplift of the Tarim basin.


Despite the common occurrence of breast cysts' and their possible association with an increased risk of breast until recently comparatively little was known about the composition of cyst fluids. However, it is now recognized that breast cyst fluids have a distinctive composition with unusual profiles of many components. Furthermore, certain constituents show not only an enormous range of levels in cyst fluids but also a distribution of values that is consistent with the presence of distinct subpopulations. In particular, two major subgroups of cysts may be identified on the basis of electrolyte c o m p ~ s i t i o n . ~ ~ ~ This paper compares the concentrations of a spectrum of substances in these subpopulations of cyst fluids, breast secretions obtained by nipple aspirates, and peripheral plasma. In this way it was hoped to determine how constituents in cyst fluids accumulate and the mechanism by which cysts originate.


Capacitive sensing at long ranges (10x the plate diameter) for long-term environmental monitoring can be limited by slow but significant measurement drifts from charge induction, which can exceed the small capacitance variations of interest, below 0.01%. This paper proposes a slope modulation differential capacitance measurement method for single-plate capacitive sensors operating in loading mode that effectively rejects noise from quasi-constant drift currents. It is based on periodical plate capacitance charge-discharge, like the period modulation frontends (astable multivibrators) that were used in past work, but it uses a constant oscillation period and compares the slopes of adjacent plate voltage ramps. Plate capacitance is calculated by averaging the slope magnitudes, which rejects the noise from quasi-constant drift currents. The sensitivity and noise rejection are compared with the period modulation techniques analytically, and the results are validated using simulations and experiments. They show that human body sensing range doubles and the noise floor is substantially lower compared to the state-of-the-art (period modulation).


By using the zigzag transformer, the scheme of medium-voltage simultaneous AC and DC distribution network is designed. The topological structure of power router is put forward based on the simultaneous AC and DC distribution network. The feasibility of the simultaneous AC and DC distribution network and power router are verified by using MATLAB/Simulink. Taking line voltage drop and line loss as performance constraints, this paper compares medium-voltage simultaneous AC and DC distribution network and medium-voltage AC distribution network. We analyse simultaneous AC and DC distribution network performance on the condition of different ratio of AC and DC voltage superposition component. The results show that simultaneous AC and DC distribution network performance is better than AC distribution network when AC and DC voltage components are in a certain range of superposition ratio.


The problem of reconciling the interests of the structural organization of socio -economic systems, taking into account the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the required effort. Theurgencyisdue to take place in the rail industry structural changes, organizational, economic and other nature that requires a review of existing methods of performance evaluation. And also the fact that the basis of competition is that people will never be able to fully satisfy all your desires and needs ( power, money, honor, status, love, etc.). While competition and rivalry inherent in any society in all its spheres, the intensity and shape of their appearance may be different. In this case, the existing indicators of razhaya useful to society the effect of the transport work, do not give an accurate assessment of the actual value of labor costs patransportworkers.


ABSTRACT Category D open prisons mark a critical juncture of a prisoner's sentence as they near the end of imprisonment and reach the cusp of release. Such establishments aim to support prisoner re-entry by offering greater freedom and autonomy. A greater understanding of the reality of life within an open establishment and exactly how these conditions support prisoner re-entry is needed. This study is made up of interviews with 11 prisoners residing in a UK open prison. Interviews were analysed qualitatively using interpretative phenomenological analysis which revealed two superordinate themes: 'redemption through active citizenship' and 'coping with invisible boundaries'. These themes are unpacked and their relevance to prisoner re-entry are discussed. The study found that greater freedom and autonomy encouraged reciprocal support amongst residents. Participants discuss strategies they utilise to help them to cope with the 'pains of freedom'. Implications for supporting individuals in their transformation from prisoner to citizen within an open establishment are highlighted and suggestions for future research offered.


The Plenary session officially opens the 2007 Radio and Wireless Symposium. All technical and exhibitor registrants for any of the week's events are welcome to attend. The featured Plenary speaker is Dr. Kiyohito Nagata, speaking on the topic of "Mobile Terminal Today and Future." The talk will address current mobile service and terminal development competition, terminal platform technology development status, and future technology trend and service direction for mobile terminal business.


When you get rid of the worst moments of your life, do you also get rid of yourself? Are horrible life experiences simply required? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Laz has gone to the ends of the earth, the southern tip of Argentina, to throw a diary containing all his life's disappointments and misery into the ocean, so as to rid himself of these experiences. While dining he sits with an intriguing couple who hear the story of his life and put forth an alternative theory, that our negative experiences are necessary to form our personality. That without our negative experiences, we are left the shell of a person. Laz takes these words to heart, and decides to retain his negative life experiences.


In this article, a novel series feeding network as an N-way balanced-to-balanced structure for balanced frequency-scanning phased array is proposed. Design requirements of the N-way balanced-to-balanced series feeding (BBSF) network are extracted and mixed-mode S-parameters are expressed by using matrix transformation. Designing the BBSF network without using baluns at input and output paths of the network results in the compact and low-loss feeding network, while maintaining the common-mode suppression feature. Furthermore, to have a planar BBSF network, microstrip crossovers are utilized to avoid the use of multilayer PCB design, resulting in the elegant transfer of intersecting RF signals. To validate the proposed structure, a three-way BBSF network is fabricated which shows acceptable mixed-mode measurement results. Also, to demonstrate the performance of the proposed structure, a balanced frequency-scanning phased array is designed employing the proposed feeding network. The measurement results of the fabricated array show that the differential return loss and the differential mode to common mode conversions are better than 20 and 30 dB at 5.85 GHz, respectively. Meanwhile, the fabricated array shows a wide-range beam-scanning capability over its frequency band.


Career orientations of 833 male and female school-based educators were examined at the start of their teaching careers and currently. Data were collected using anonymous questionnaires. Although more men held Careerist occupational self-concepts than women initially, this career orientation decreased for men and increased for women over time. The presence of the Careerist orientation was associated with increasing administrative responsibility for both men and women.


Agricultural ecological efficiency is not only the key link between green development and high-quality development of agriculture, but also an important regulatory indicator for China's rural revitalization. Based on provincial panel data of China from 2000 to 2019, using land, mechanical, labor, fertilizer, pesticide, and agricultural film as input variables and economic output and agricultural carbon emissions as output variables, the inter-provincial agricultural ecological efficiency is calculated by a super-efficient SBM model, and the traditional spatial Markov probability transfer matrices are constructed based on time series and spatial correlation analyses. By exploring the spatial and temporal dynamic evolution characteristics of agricultural ecological efficiency, it is found that the agricultural ecological efficiency of China increased steadily with fluctuations. In addition, the provincial gap has been narrowing, but the overall level is still at a low level; thus, there is still a large space for improvement in agricultural ecological efficiency. The overall trend of agricultural ecological efficiency shifting to a high level in China is significant, but its evolution has the stability to maintain the original state, and achieving leapfrog transfer is relatively hard. The geospatial pattern plays an important role in the spatial-temporal evolution of agricultural ecological efficiency, with significant spatial agglomeration characteristics. Provinces with high agricultural ecological efficiency enjoy positive spillover effects, while provinces with low agricultural ecological efficiency have negative spillover effects; thus, gradually forming a "club convergence" phenomenon of "high agglomeration, low agglomeration, high radiation, and low suppression" in the spatial pattern. In addition, support for the improvement of agricultural ecological efficiency will be provided in this study.


: Crime prevention has rapidly emerged as an important new trend in the law and order debate. Crime prevention programmes now appear on the agendas of all the major political parties and some perceive this issue as being the key to the law and order question, and so of central concern to the very success of these political parties. The issue is complex enough to allow each of the parties to take up a differing perspective on both that the problem is' and 'how it should be solved'. For example, the Conservative party - by latching on to more traditional modes of viewing crime prevention - can maintain their hold on the law and order issue. However, of major interest is just how the other two major parties - the Labour Party and the S. D.P./Liberal Alliance - have attempted to grasp the issue from the Conservatives. In this paper I examine these strategies; looking to how successful each of them have been so far, and how the opposing parties have attempted to refute the positions into which these strategies have cast them. The importance of this paper is that it brings to light developing issues in current political thinking on law and order: it points out how, by developing these political strategies, each of the parties has somehow 'missed the point' which current criminology can offer them.


A paradigm shift toward edge computing infrastructures that prioritize small footprint and scalable/easy-to-estimate performance is increasing. In this paper, we propose the following to improve the footprint and the scalability of systolic arrays: (1) column multithreading for reducing the number of physical units and maintaining the performance even for back-to-back floating-point accumulations; (2) a cascaded peer-to-peer AXI bus for a scalable multichip structure and an intra-chip parallel local memory bus for low latency; (3) multilevel loop control in any unit for reducing the startup overhead and adaptive operation shifting for efficient reuse of local memories. We designed a systolic array with a single column × 64 row configuration with Verilog HDL, evaluated the frequency and the performance on an FPGA attached to a ZYNQ system as an AXI slave device, and evaluated the area with a TSMC 28nm library and memory generator and identified the following: (1) the execution speed of a matrix multiplication/a convolution operation/a light-field depth extraction, whose size larger than the capacity of the local memory, is 6.3× / 9.2× / 6.6× compared with a similar systolic array (EMAX); (2) the estimated speed with a 4-chip configuration is 19.6× / 16.0× / 8.5×; (3) the size of a single-chip is 8.4 mm2 (0.31× of EMAX) and the basic performance per area is 2.4×. key words: systolic array, reconfigurable memory space, memory bandwidth


A viscosity method for a hierarchical fixed point approach to variational inequality problems is presented. This method is used to solve variational inequalities where the involving operators are complements of nonexpansive mappigs and the solutions are sought in the set of the fixed points of another nonexpansive mapping. Such variational inequalities include monotone inclusions and convex optimization problems to be solved over the fixed point sets of nonexpansive mappings.


Performing a frenotomy on tongue‐tied infants is controversial, particularly with regard to breastfeeding issues. This paper reviews the literature to bring together clinical experiences and scientific evidence in this field. I found that some tongue‐tied babies may exhibit breastfeeding problems, while others may feed perfectly. The literature suggests that medical breastfeeding‐related problems should be the only relevant criteria to guide the decision‐making for a frenotomy in infancy. The advantages and disadvantages of either a wait and see position or surgical approach are addressed. Conclusion: The cornerstones for best practice are the meticulous examination, correct diagnosis and classification of tongue‐tied infants.


The invention relates to the technical field of touch screens, in particular to a technology for manufacturing a touch screen of a G1F structure. Compared with a traditional double-layer glass touch screen, the touch screen is lighter and thinner and is provided with a narrow frame. According to the technology for manufacturing the touch screen of the G1F structure, the mode that conductive silver paste is wholly printed and laser etching is conducted on the conductive silver paste so that a silver paste bridging circuit can be formed and the mode that silk-screen is directly conducted on the conductive silver paste so that the silver paste bridging circuit can be formed are combined, the problems that the silver paste bridging circuit is difficult to process and prone to breakage are effectively solved, and the product yield is guaranteed. The process of protective film adhesion is added to the technology for manufacturing the touch screen of the G1F structure, so that the product is prevented from being polluted and scratched in the production process and the product yield is prevented from being influenced. In conclusion, the touch screen manufactured through the technology is high in product yield and the performance is greatly improved compared with that of products of the same type.


A method for cold start of an engine (2) Thermal adapted to drive at least one drive wheel of a motor vehicle, said motor being associated with an electric machine (15) reversibly operable according to a mode generator or on a basis motor in which said electric machine (15) participates in the torque (C) provided on a rotary shaft (18) output torque for driving the vehicle, characterized in that it comprises steps of: - determining the value a parameter representative of the cold operation of the engine (2) (T?); - comparing the value of said parameter (θ, T) with a threshold (S, TS?) - as said parameter (θ, T) is less than said threshold (S, TS?): A. increase the thermal couple (Ct) of the engine (2) to a value greater than the starting torque (C) of said engine (2), in which combustion is the most stable; and B. operating the electric machine (15) in generator mode to absorb the positive gap torque (Δ) applied to the thermal couple.


According to data of 1∶50 000 and 1∶200 000 regional geological survey, classify in accordance with scheme of the International Stratigraphic Commission to Ordovician Period of Guilin again, the lowest limit of upper Ordovician series and the lowest limit of traditional medium Ordovician series are about equal; the lowest limit of medium Ordovician series through the lowest limit of traditional lower Ordovician, the lowest limit of lower Ordovician, the lowest limit of lower Ordovician from the bottom of Baidong Fm. move upward to the bottom of pyroclastic rick of Huangyi Fm. .


Objective To investigate the cause and combined therapy of pregnancy accompanied with severe hepatopathy,and to study the influence of pregnancy outcome of the choice of time and method for termination of pregnancy.Method Clinical data of 14 cases,including etiological factor,clinical symptom,treatment and pregnancy outcome,were analyzed.Results Hepatitis B virus infection was identified in 9 out of 14 cases (64.3%).Upon the final diagnosis,they were given combined therapy which include the protection of liver and use of blood plasma,albumin,fibrinogen and prothrombin complex as soon as possible.When the vital sign of patients were quite stable,13 cases were terminated pregnancy by cesarean section.12 mothers and 13 babies were survival,except a woman died.And one patient who delivered by vagina was survived,but her newborn baby died of prematurity.Conclusion Infection of hepatitis B virus mainly causes pregnancy accompanied by severe hepatitis.Once the patients are diagnosed,pregnancy must be terminated by cesarean section or vaginal delivery,which prevents patient situation from deteriorating.


This paper approaches the important historical achievements of XinHua Ribao on propagandizing the war of resistance against Japan from four different angles: exposing the achievements of Japan aggressors, reporting the achievements of army and common people striking Japan aggressors, analysing the situation change of the war in time and pointing out the developmental direction of the war, answering questions for the masses about the war and let friends publish their views for resistance against Japan. Furthermore it made objective analyses and state author's own ideas concerning the character and the effect of XinHua Ribao.


We present a new analysis of the behavior of counterflow spray diffusion flames in which the droplets are permitted to evaporate at a finite rate. The effects of fuel volatility, droplet size, and liquid fuel loading on steady-state combustion and conditions for extinction are investigated. We treat instances in which (1) the flame front is located beyond the stagnation plane in the region that, in the current model, is impenetrable to fuel droplets and (2) the flame front is located in the fuel half-plane. In case (2) droplets may actually traverse the flame front, become ignited, and burn out in the heterogeneous mode. An expression is derived for the ratio of extinction conditions with droplets present to those when all the fuel is prevaporized, enabling the direct influence of the droplets to be isolated in a compact fashion.


Under the conditions of climate change in South Africa, ecological and technical measures are needed to reduce the water consumption of irrigated crops. Windbreak hedges are long-rated systems in agriculture that significantly reduce wind speed. Their possibilities to reduce evapotranspiration and water demand are being investigated at a vineyard in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Detailed measurements of meteorological parameters relevant for the computation of reference and crop-specific evapotranspiration following the FAO 56 approaches within a vineyard in the Western Cape Province of South Africa have shown the beneficial effect of an existing hedgerow consisting of 6 m high poplars (Populus simonii (Carrière) Wesm.). With reference to a control station in the open field, the mean wind speed in a position about 18 m from the hedgerow at canopy level (2 m) was reduced by 27.6% over the entire year and by 39.2% over the summer growing season. This effect leads to a parallel reduction of reference evapotranspiration of 15.5% during the whole year and of 18.4% over the growing season. When applying empirical crop-specific Kc values for well-irrigated grapes, the reduction of evapotranspiration is 18.8% over the summer growth period. The introduced tree shelterbelts are a suitable eco-engineering approach to reduce water consumption and to enhance water saving in vineyards.


It is the purpose of this paper to present a derivation of the Law of Mass Action that should have meaning and could be used at an elementary level.


In a previous paper, we described a new method for including detailed information about substructure in semi-analytic models of halo formation based on merger trees. In this paper, we compare the predictions of our model with results from self-consistent numerical simulations. We find that in general the two methods agree extremely well, particularly once numerical effects and selection effects in the choice of haloes are taken into account. As expected from the original analyses of the simulations, we see some evidence for artificial overmerging in the innermost regions of the simulated haloes, either because substructure is being disrupted artificially or because the group-finding algorithms used to identify substructure are not detecting all the bound clumps in the highest-density regions. Our analytic results suggest that greater mass and force resolution may be required before numerical overmerging becomes negligible in all current applications. We discuss the implications of this result for observational and experimental tests of halo substructure, such as the analysis of discrepant magnification ratios in strongly lensed systems, terrestrial experiments to detect dark matter particles directly or indirect detection experiments searching for positrons, gamma-rays, neutrinos or other dark matter decay or annihilation products.


Te trade union should become the main body of maintaining the special rights and interests of the women workers and constructing the harmonious labor relationship. The trade union should improve the quality of the women workers continuously and helping the women workers to solve the specific problems.


The effects of inertia of a particle on its flow tracking accuracy and particle dispersion are studied using direct numerical simulations of two‐dimensional compressible free shear layers in convective Mach number (Mc) range of 0.2 to 0.6. The results show that particle response is well characterized by τ, the ratio of particle response time to the flow time scale (Stokes' number). The slip between particle and fluid imposes a fundamental limit on the accuracy of optical measurements such as LDV and PIV. The error is found to grow like τ up to τ=1 and taper off at higher τ. For τ=0.2 the error is about 2%. In the flow visualizations based on Mie scattering, particles with τ>0.05 are found to grossly misrepresent the flow features. These errors are quantified by calculating the dispersion of particles relative to the fluid. The trend in lateral dispersion of particles is similar to that of incompressible flows reported by previous investigators. Overall, the effect of compressibility does not seem to be si...


Almtraet--The ambiguities in the spin Hamiltonian formalism describing electron paramagnetic resonance spectra are discussed in terms of the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics. The observables in the spin Hamiltonian can be defined as the invariants under transformation in the spinor basis of effective spins, or the invariants under rotation in the Cartesian frame, if the spectra are recorded in crystals or isotropic liquids, respectively. The separability of scalar, antisymmetric and tensorial components of magnetic interactions in liquids, as well as the non-separability in crystals is considered as the uncertainty in the measurements of angle and angular momentum.


ABSTRACT In situ X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering experiments using a diamond anvil cell revealed that Im-3-type KSbO3 remains stable up to 40.5 GPa with a bulk modulus K0 = 101.6 (7) GPa. Rietveld structure refinements and mode Grüneisen parameters suggested that the stability mechanism of this three-dimensional cubic tunnel structure was attributed to the isotropic compression for all types of Sb–O bonding in the unit of SbO6 octahedron. Isotropic structure adjustment with external pressure reflected the nature that Im-3-type KSbO3 model structure has a high ionic tolerance with a change in the chemical pressure in the isomorphous substitutions.


Ever since the corporatization of grocery retail, the sector is indeed complex and difficult to interpret. In Indian context the grocery retailing is more contentious than anywhere in global markets. The variations between organized and unorganized sector grocery retailing are driven to the extent of business model differences that a sustainable strategy is hard to adopt. This paper explores the issue of trust building across supply chain driven business model that is inherent in traditional Indian mindset and seeks to explore the questions that revolve around the emerging role of supply chains as instruments of cost rationalization. Indian markets are different from global peers. The modeling of trust across both the physical and online retail channels would be explored yet they face stiff competition from the business modeling of local kirana outlets. This paper harps on a study of existing literature and adopts a qualitative approach to deduce the challenges towards viable business modeling in Indian grocery retail sector


ABSTRACT The focus of the article is analysis of relationships between value perceptions, commitment and intentions to use mobile multimedia service (MMS) content. Attracting a committed wide audience end-user base that uses multimedia content frequently is essential for success of the services. Customers' preferences for both the content provider and for the channel used are included. This is necessary for exploring further how to increase continuous use and revenue per user in the mobile field. In the empirical case of mobile multimedia services in the real estate business, intentions to use the same service provider again were found to be directly influenced by commitment to use the same provider, and indirectly by emotional and social value perceptions of MMS content. The usefulness of the content had no effect on intentions to use the same provider. However, it influenced intentions to use the mobile channel as such. Implications for theory and marketers are discussed. INTRODUCTION In recent years, companies have started to extend their cross-media strategies by implementing SMS (short message service) and MMS (multimedia messaging service)[1] -based content in their service offerings (Feldmann 2005). The importance of the mobile channel in multi-channel strategies is expected to increase, as the customers require interactive service anytime, anywhere (Pagani 2004). The electronic channels add to the traditional media and enable customers to access content via several media or distribution channels (e.g. Internet, mobile channel, digital television, magazines, brick and mortar stores). Offering valuable content via mobile devices is expected to be increasingly important in gaining a competitive edge by strengthening relationships with the customers (Lin and Wang 2006). Creating profitable content requires long-term customer relationships and understanding of what influences the users. commitment to a mobile vendor and their repeat purchase intentions (Lin and Wang 2006). Since there is a finite number of users, customers should value the content so that they are willing to pay for it and optimally be kept long-term after the trial (Peffers and Tuunanen 2005). Lack of understanding of the needs and requirements of the wide end-user audience and of the ability to keep the trial users of new technology may easily result in market failure (Tuunanen 2003). In this vein, value perceptions have proven to be useful, since they are linked to purchase behaviour. Thus, companies should try to attract customers that are committed to the provider and prefer to use the mobile channel to access content services. Furthermore, they should also aim at providing content that these users perceive as valuable. The technology acceptance model (TAM) has become a cornerstone of IS research (Scornavacca, Barnes, and Huff 2006). However, previous TAM theories offer little insight as to how to promote commitment to content provider and what the wide audience perceives as valuable in the content offered with the help of the technology. Traditional TAM studies do not take into account the positive attitude towards a provider that is essential for attracting and keeping the wide audiences. New theories should be tested empirically in the mobile field, where previous research has long been dominated by descriptive and conceptual analysis (Scornavacca, Barnes, and Huff 2006). Thus, this study aims at adding to the mobile research field. It also fills a gap in the IS field by analyzing commitment to content provider and how value perceptions influence it. Theories that help to understand how to commit users to use one content provider's services in the long run are essential for keeping the wide audience end-users. Moreover, perceived value theories are helpful in examining why mobile content is used. Services marketing theories do not explicitly account for the influence of new technology or the channel used to access the service, which is increasingly important in new self-service contexts where users can choose between several distribution channels. …