A bi-axial direct mounted strain gauged lower links system for the measurement of tractor-implement forces was designed and calibrated for coincident and perpendicular loads up to 10 kN. No lateral force or moment was considered. The system was tested for its Sensitivity, Cross-Sensitivity, Hysteresis, Linearity and Repeatability. The results of the calibration tests revealed that the system was well working for a range of draught and vertical forces up to 20 kN. The results showed a high degree of linearity between bridge output voltage and force applied. The minimum co-efficient of correlation, R 2 , was found to be 0.9996. The hysteresis effect between the calibration curves for increasing and decreasing applied coincident and perpendicular force was very small (<1.20%). The interactions of the applied forces on the orthogonal force bridges were less than one percent. Maximum difference from the mean value for applied coincident and perpendicular force respectively was 1.75% and 1.3%. If the lower link arm 793/1 is considered as an example, the sensitivity for coincident and perpendicular force respectively was found to be 1.28x10 -4 µVN -1


A seismic anisotropy was found in the upper crust of the northern Yamato Basin, Japan Sea, during the downhole experiment in 1989. An ocean broadband downhole seismometer (OBDS) and nine ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) were installed during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 128 in and near Hole 794D. Traveltimes of P-wave recorded by the OBDS, and nearest three OBSs, which were corrected due to offset ranges from a shot to the receiver and thicknesses of the sedimentary layer, were fitted by an anisotropic velocity model: the azimuthal dependence of the velocity of P-wave propagation is expressed in terms of sinusoidal functions up to the sixth-order terms. Both the anisotropic terms, the second- and the fourth-order terms, and the laterally heterogeneous term, the first-order term, were significant in the model. The direction of P-wave propagation was measured by the OBS array data and found to deviate from the sagittal plate. The traveltimes and the direction of propagation both indicate that P-wave propagates faster east-west than north-south by 4%-7%. The anisotropy in the basement layer is interpreted to be due to stress induced opening of cracks.


When using various cardiac parameters as dependent variable some authors use their resting values as the reference point to which they compare the changes caused by the changes in independent variables. On many occasions it was shown that this approach was not reliable, because of the effects of various environmental variables. The aim of this study was to check the reliability and validity of the use of resting level cardiac parameters as reference points for the assessment of the effects of the independent variables. This study included 16 subjects, aged 19 to 22, whose cardiac R-R intervals were registrated on alternative hours during 24 hours. The R-R interval samples were taken in duration of one minute on each occasion. After this, every subject was left to sleep, which depth was monitored on the EEG recorder. When the subject was in the EEG delta phase (deep sleep), his cardiac R-R intervals were recorded. The comparison of the mean R-R intervals and their variability in the EEG delta phase of sleeping with the same parameters at the wake resting level showed marked differences between the two situations. Due to the fact that cardiac R-R intervals and their variability had significant circadian variations, the use of the cardiac parameters in the EEG sleep phase as the basal level (reference point) seem more logical and reliable than the resting level parameters, since the reliability of the latter changes in the course of day.


One of the most popular modalities in sports physical therapy in recent memory is blood flow restriction (BFR) training. The concept of BFR dates back to the 1960's, and BFR-related studies published in the literature started increasing in the early 2000's. Its close relative, ischemic preconditioning, had been used even earlier than the 2000's in non-traditional sports physical therapy populations, like cardiac disease, but is now being used as a recovery tool in sports medicine settings. As sports physical therapy professionals, we have a good reason to be excited about this modality. Many interventions we use or have used have little to no scientific basis or clinical research to support them. There are numerous trends that have a theoretical basis for use. Thus, it seems we tend to put practice before the scientific and/or clinical research support. BFR training has not only been supported scientifically regarding mechanisms of action in the literature, but also has support from clinical studies indicating that BFR helps to relieve pain,1,2 improve aerobic capacity,3–6 reduce the deleterious effects of immobilization,7,8 improve bone healing,9–11 and assist in the care of impairments in specific diagnoses like ACL reconstruction.12,13 Given that muscle weakness and atrophy are common impairments after musculoskeletal injury, BFR enables the sports physical therapist to mitigate atrophy and muscle weakness under low load conditions in order to minimize stress to healing tissues.14 The number of studies on the subject matter in peer-reviewed journals has exploded in the last six or seven years. The author of this viewpoint presented on the topic in 2015 and it was a novel concept to the audience and received with skepticism – for many of the current reasons. It can be overwhelming to wade through the science, the clinical studies, and the myriad of other considerations regarding BFR – safety/efficacy, indications/ contraindications, cuff selection, etc. Complicating matters further is that whenever trendy interventions surface, it is tempting to use them for any and all populations – everyone wants the shiny new toy, so to speak. The danger of this approach, though, is that in lieu of using proven methods, it is enticing to utilize cutting edge approaches for any and all purposes. Therefore, the objective of this viewpoint is threefold. First, a review of physiologic responses to BFR compared to more traditional training methods will be discussed. Second, a summary of key considerations for BFR with particular emphasis on safety and risk of DVT's will be reviewed. Last, a brief discussion about potential clinical usage and recommendations for implementing BFR. It is beyond the scope of this clinical viewpoint to go into detail about the neural, mechanical, and metabolic mechanisms of increased strength and hypertrophy. There are several excellent review articles: Patterson et al.,15 Pearson et al.,16 and Hwang et al.17 for reviews on the mechanisms of BFR, and Schoenfeld et al.,18 Kraemer et al.,19 and Kraemer et al.20 for reviews on traditional loading, respectively. To summarize, both traditional loading for strength and hypertrophy as well as low-load training with BFR cause increases in muscle building materials – growth hormone, Insulinlike growth factors (IGF's), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, mTORC1, and myogenic stem cells – all of which contribute to protein stimulus and muscle hypertrophy.21–23 When muscles are loaded up to 60% of one repetition maximum (1RM) or trained to failure, either could be aa potent stimulus for muscle hypertrophy.18 Strength is best trained with high loads, typically >80% 1RM for 3-4 sets in the 1-8 repetition range with long rest periods. In cases of the recovering athlete, high loads may not be appropriate or contraindicated. The evidence to date has shown that many of the benefits of traditional higher load training methods are similar or enhanced with low-load environments while using BFR. This is an exciting and clinically meaningful outcome. If we can get strength gains with loads that are as low as 20% of 1RM, this is significant for just about anyone in practice. Several concerns are frequently raised regarding the risk of deep venous thrombosis (DVT)/safety and legality. The reader is referred to the recent paper by Bond et al24 discussed the risk of DVT's when using BFR. Additionally, the Wells Criteria for DVT risk is a good reference for this topic.25 The fear of DVT is, at this time, more fear over facts. The author of this clinical viewpoint is not aware of any cases where a DVT was caused by BFR training. In a case study26 by Noto et al., a subject got an effort thrombosis


The use of pesticides does not only bring benefit to human being but a lso cause large-scale pesticide pollution. Currently, a method called as "no ef ficient program" can be used in bioremediation for pesticide pollution. The meth od is based on the constant application of pesticides to insects, as insect's de toxification enzymes can catalyze and degrade many xenobiotic agents including p esticides. And the use of insect detoxification enzymes provides a novel way in bioremediation of pesticide contamination.


The American government textbook is an important tool for the education of students. This article studies the changing images of blacks in American government textbooks. The article reports on the images suggested by twenty-five representative textbooks. Further, the article highlights several areas of concern for the analysis and description of black Americans in the political system.


Since the early 1990s, the Greek authorities have made great strides in bringing macroeconomic imbalances under control. The sustained effort has been crowned by Greece joining the euro area in 2001. While the growth and inflation performance has improved considerably, major policy challenges lie ahead. Furthermore, following this extraordinary effort, monetary policy had to ease in 2000 prior to joining EMU, thus fuelling demand. With rapid growth projected to continue in 2001 and 2002, underlying inflationary pressures could rise. Fiscal policy should thus tighten and tax cuts only be implemented if accompanied by spending cuts. There has been expenditure slippage in recent years, largely due to the failure to implement wide-ranging health, pension and administrative reforms. In all three areas deep reforms are needed not only to improve the efficiency of the public sector but also to keep a sufficient primary surplus to ensure a rapid reduction in debt. Structural reform has also been slow in many other areas. There has not yet been a comprehensive tax reform and, except for better tax compliance, the tax system has performed poorly in various respects. The authorities have indicated that a wide-ranging tax reform will be on the agenda in 2002. Various options to broaden tax bases and lower tax rates exist. Moreover, lowering non-wage labour cost by reducing social security contributions would improve job prospects. A step in this direction is included in the recent bill submitted to Parliament. Overall, labour market performance has been poor and labour market rigidities still need to be tackled. Concerning product markets, the privatisation


Current research on legally relevant personality disorders favours character-based approaches to classifications that are restricted to behavioural phenomena. This development agrees with those critics who demand a clear-cut distinction between pure delinquency and deviance resulting from psychopath


New aerated foam drilling fluid, using a special plant fiber named KWS as fluid material, not only has the characteristics of low density, high ability of removing cuttings and lower use of water, but also has the perforation of rejecting of the Na~+'s and Ca~(2+)'s affection. By application of this drilling fluid, drilling engineers dealt with the leakage problems successfully in Xinjiang and it has a bloom application in west part of China where is short of water.


Numerous works have shown how central judicial administrators in Japan may ideologically influence the nation's lower court judges. This piece draws upon these reports to analyze and frame these circumstances as "instrumental judicial administration," qualitatively distinguishing the various means used by administrators and reflecting on their degrees of impact on civil procedural justice. Then, moving from description to prescription, the work provides a thorough consideration of the underlying legal context, broadly drawing from constitutional text and history, statutory text, and case law, before launching a search for solutions in its conclusion.Although the immediate focus is on how instrumental judicial administration emerges in the Japanese civil justice system, the approach here is broadly applicable for studies of the roles of judges and functions of courts generally.A related work in this project, "Circumstances that Would Prejudice Impartiality: The Meaning of Fairness in Japanese Jurisprudence," 36 Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 475 (2013), is available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2188064.


A breakout of obesity is sprouting around the world. The worst part is that there are not only more obese people, but that obesity is being seen in young children. Child obesity has several severe complications. The most important is diabetes type 2 at an early age, something rarely seen before. This type of diabetes in children and adolescents, at the moment, is up to 45% of the cases in these age groups. There is a higher risk of diabetes if obesity is present in the family history, if they belong to the high-risk ethnic groups of Afro-Americans or Hispanics (Mexico-Americans). Diabetes usually shows up without any symptoms, without the classic «polis» and must be checked if the child/adolescent has gained weight fast recently or if there is clinical data of resistance to insulin such as acantosis nigricans. The treatment is the big challenge of this new millennium due to the fact that there is no past experience in this field. The use of sibutramine or orlistat in these age groups is not authorized. As for diabetes, the use of metformina as the first medication in the treatment is a logical strategy because of the characteristics of the disease but, it is evident that the algorithmic of the treatment is very similar of what is done with the adult patient with diabetes type 2. The Health Authorities and all society should be required to participate in educational programs at public and private levels to promote a change in lifestyle and general doctors should be aware of this new way diabetes is breaking out.


ABSTRACT Crop damage by wildlife can cause significant economic loss and non-human primates can be nuisances to farmers following their ingenuity in crop-raiding strategies. There is an emerging research interest on interspecies interaction in human-wildlife conflicts, following the growing field of merging human-animal barrier, at least analytically. We collected qualitative data from two villages experiencing macaque crop damage near a national nature reserve in Guangxi, China, to understand how humans and macaques interact in a crop damage scenario and how the interaction evolves in time. We find the mutually interactive processes taken place between farmers and monkeys as they try to learn and adjust to the counterparts' daily activities and raiding/guarding strategies. Their interaction is also mediated by materiality: the crops, the topography of the landscapes and managerial tools. In recent years, socioecological changes such as afforestation, hunting bans and out migration have enabled macaques to grow their population and more boldly pursue for their preference of crops. Our finding reveals the role of non-human animal agency, conservation, and other social processes in shaping human-wildlife relations, as well as the potential of using more-than-human perspective and ethnographic methods in understanding human-wildlife relations. It further implies the need of enhancing farmers' knowing and adjustment, as well as encouraging human-wildlife cohabitation.


This study evaluated liver function using gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (EOB-MRI) to improve assessment of patients with liver tumors compared to Child-Pugh classification (CPC). Materials and methods: The liver function of 59 patients was assessed to determine the indication for heavy ion therapy. Clinical and laboratory assessments, including 99m Tc-GSA liver scintigraphy and indocyanine green retention index (ICGR15), were performed for liver function assessment. EOB-MRI was performed on T1W1 images both before and after Gd-EOB-DTPA administration and hepatobiliary phase images were acquired 20-min post-injection. enhancement ratio (LER) was measured based on liver-to-spleen (L ╱ Sp) ratios calculating the average liver intensity divided by spleen intensity. Results: The mean LER values on MRI were 138.2 ± 12.8 (133.9 ─ 142.5), 115.7 ± 11.6 (110.0 ─ 121.5), and 93.2 ± 15.8 (73.6 ─ 112.9) in CPC-A, -B and -C, respectively. From the correlation between the LER on MRI and ICGR15 and parameters of 99m Tc-GSA liver scintigraphy, LER on MRI was highly significantly cor related with ICGR15 (r = - 0.67; p < 0.0001). Discussion: This study demonstrated that LER values on EOB-MRI could classify liver function and had high correlation with CPC and ICGR15.


Eyewitness memories are malleable and can be influenced by many factors. This study focuses on how construal of the self can influence the memory and create the post-event misinformation effect. It is hypothesised that individuals with interdependent self-construal are more influenced by an authoritative source than individuals with independent self-construal. After watching a short clip showing a theft, participants were presented with a co-witness testimony including some misinformation, which came either from a police officer off-duty or an anonymous passer-by. Participants, aged 18-35, were recruited in Belgium, Germany, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland and the UK. They were evaluated regarding their independence/interdependence with the Self-Construal Scale.


The design of potent indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) enzyme inhibitors targeting immunopathic neuroinflammation has emerged as an area of interest for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD); additionally, recent findings on the clinical benefits of antibodies preventing β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregation have renewed efforts to discover small molecule anti-aggregants targeting proteopathic protein misfolding. Exploiting an endogenous tryptophan-like scaffold, we describe the design and synthesis of small molecule inhibitors of both immunopathic and proteopathic processes, thus presenting the possibility of single therapeutics acting simultaneously on multiple AD pathogeneses. Specifically, investigations on compounds that inhibit both IDO1 (in human recombinant enzyme, transfected HEK293 cells and interferon-γ stimulated human microglia assays) and Aβ aggregation (in thioflavin-T and biotinylated-Aβ oligomeric assays) are presented. Five compounds have been identified with high potency against both targets, identifying (E)-3-styryl indoles as useful tool compounds for developing Alzheimer's therapeutics. Brain penetration of these compounds via passive diffusion or active transport was predicted using Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) Score and Brain Exposure Efficiency (BEE) Score calculations, respectively; the effects of efflux (pgp, BCRP) and influx (OCT1, OCT2) transporters were similarly predicted. Structure-activity relationships were rationalized with molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations, which also provide insights for future lead compound optimization.


In order to predict the influence of the daejeon sewage treatment plant relocation on the water quality, the paper simulated changes in water quality due to the relocation by using EFDC model, 3 dimensional numerical model. The main research results of this study are as follow. When the sewage treatment plant discharge point was moved to the planned relocation site at the downstream of Gapchun, under the same condition, the average load of COD(chemical oxygen demand) was increased by 8.55 kg/d, T-N(total nitrogen) by 7.274 kg/d and T-P(total phosphorus) by 0.077 kg/d, The paper analyzed that the water quality after the relocation of the sewage treatment plant is worse than the water quality before the sewage treatment plant relocation. The T-P treatment efficiency of the sewage treatment plant is at 98.1 %, Therefore, only if the treatment efficiency is higher than 98.3 %, 'Geumbon G' water quality target can be reached.


Objective To compare the antibiotic sensitivities of two methods, in which EDTA and 2-mercaptoethanol were used as enzyme inhibitors for detecting and screening metallo-beta-lactamase, and to provide the evidence for studying the drug resistant mechanism. Methods EDTA and 2-mercaptoethanol were served as the enzyme inhibitors and the substrates were ceftazidime, cefotaxime and imipenem. The microbiological sensitivity synergic tests were processed by KB method in the MH agar. Results Among the 68 strains of metallo-beta-lactamase-producing bacteria, the positive strains detected by EDTA method accounted for 57.4% (39/68), those detected by 2-mercaptoethanol method accounted for 77.9% (53/68), and those synchronously detected by the two methods accounted for 92.6% (63/68). Conclusions The results suggest that no statistically significant difference is found in the positive detection rate between the two methods (χ2=3.12, P0.05). EDTA and 2-mercaptoethanol synchronously served as the enzyme inhibitors can increase the positive rate of metallo-beta-lactamase detection.


The immediate and longterm outcome of treating patients with acute Crohn's disease with an elemental diet was studied retrospectively. Successful diet induced remission was achieved in 96 of 113 patients (85%) regardless of age, sex, site or severity of disease, or associated complications of strictures, fistula, or perianal disease. Treatment was unsuccessful in 17 patients (15%), but there were no features at the outset of treatment that distinguished these patients from those who had successful remission. The longterm outcome of treatment was assessed over a five year period by analysis of life tables and survival curves. Twenty two per cent of the patients relapsed within six months of treatment and thereafter the annual relapse rate was 8-10%. Patients with disease complicated by fistula or perianal involvement had early relapse, approaching 100% for the latter. A further retrospective comparison of longterm outcome of diet v steroid induced remissions showed no significant difference in the relapse rates between the two groups at one, three, and five years. It is now generally accepted from two large clinical studies'2 that steroids are beneficial in obtaining remission from acute Crohn's disease and that sulphasalazine is effective in mild to moderately active Crohn's colitis. There have been encouraging reports on the value of cyclosporine31 4and quadruple chemotherapy5 as used in tuberculosis, but like immunostimulation and immunosuppression their role is not firmly established. Once remission is achieved, there are no concrete guidelines on how to prolong


Purpose:
One of the major challenges for modern organizations is to create healthy and safe work environments, as evidenced by the number of occupational deaths (worldwide: four per minute), and an even higher number of injuries. This study explores different levels of motivation and ability, to identify which are most relevant for safety climate and safety performance. This study aims to pinpoint the areas information designers should focus on to most effectively contribute to healthy and safe work environments.

Method:
We designed a questionnaire for employees of a Dutch high-tech and high- risk warehouse, a workplace where safety regulations are important. The employees scored their attitudes regarding motivation, ability, safety climate, and safety performance.

Results:
The results confirmed the expected relationship between safety climate and safety performance. Of the explored sublevels of motivation and ability, personal motivation and external ability proved most relevant for creating a healthy safety climate and healthy safety performance.

Conclusion:
In the design of safety instructions, focusing on personal motivation and external ability seems a promising strategy for contributing to healthy and safe work environments, especially in high-risk environments.


CONtACt S.D. Vikhe firstname.lastname@example.com Research Scholar, Govt. College of Engineering, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Enviro Research Publishers This is an Open Access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ ), which permits unrestricted NonCommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CWE.12.2.28 Abstract Geographical information system proves efficient tool in delineation of watersheds and its planning. Land use planning through Land capability is the basis of watershed management programme. Land use planning for conservation measures of Basin using Remote Sensing and GIS Approach for Sukhana Basin of Aurangabad District, Maharashtra state has been carried out. Study area is located between 75.33°, 75.76° E longitudes, and 19.66°, 19.98° N latitudes. Class suitable for cultivation are II, III and IV have areal extent 134.41, 150.12 and 165.80 sq.Km. which is 67.32% of the total basin area and class VI and VII are not suitable for cultivation has areal extent 101.68 and 116.68 sq.Km respectively which is 32.68% of the total area. Based on land capability classification, land use planning with reference to conservation planning for Class II,III,IV are gully control measures, farm bunding such as compartment bunding, contour bunding and graded bunding. Whereas, for class VI measures are continuous contour trenches and staggered trenching and for class VII treatment propose a pasture development. Article history


The trend towards European academic homogenisation, budget cuts and other threats lead to shrinking the time for the aeronautical engineering programs. Some topics, knowledge and skills will have no place in future curricula. The paper advocates for keeping airplane design as a corner stone of the aeronautical engineering syllabi since it is the only topic that educates students in synthesis perspective, binds many independent disciplines and counterbalances18 years of well developed analytical mentality.


Objective To study the safety of Plumula nelumbinis microcapsules and its anti-arrhythmic effect.Methods Acute toxicity test in mice,arrhythmia mice models induced by chloroform and arrhythmia rats models induced by barium chloride(BaCl2)were adopted.Results The maximum tolerance dose for mice was 16.0 g/kg body weight.The microcapsule decreased the incidence of chloroform-induced ventricular fibrillation in mice significantly(P 0.05,compared with the blank control group),shortened the arrhythmia duration and longthened the rehabilitation duration significantly in arrhythmic rats induced by BaCl2(P 0.05,compared with the blank control group);meanwhile,the microcapsule also trended to advance the rehabilitation time point(P 0.05,compared with the blank control group).Conclusion The preliminary results show that Plumula nelumbinis microcapsule is safe,and exerts anti-arrhythmic effect against experimental arrhythmia.


Background. Clinical and pathologic features of oral and maxillofacial malignant lesions are very important and useful in diagnostic and therapeutic planning. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the clinicopathologic features of different types of oral and maxillofacial cancers in Cancer Registry System at Isfahan-Iran. Methods. In this cross-sectional descriptive analytic study, required data (tumor type, tumor location, age, sex, and grade of malignancy) of 1081 patients from Isfahan Cancer Registry collected. Results. In this study, the mean age of the patients was 59.9±18.5years old. Most of the patients were male (56.43%). In this study, squamous cell carcinoma was the most common malignancy (61.9%) followed by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (7%). The most common site was tongue (38.7%) and then the nasopharynx (13%). Also nasopharynx tumors in men were more common than women (P <0.001). Conclusion. Squamous cell carcinoma, as the most common oral and maxillofacial cancer, requires considerable attention and rapid and appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Knowing the clinical and pathological features of this cancer and risk factors can improve the prognosis of patients.


In computer-mediated communication CMC environments, users utilize their avatars as a communication channel to interact and connect with others, and they choose and create them accordingly to represent their self. As such, several major question areas arise: 1 As an extension of identity, how does a user customize his/her avatar? How is the avatar's appearance related to the avatar creator's self-concept? 2 How does avatar creation influence the avatar creator's psychological and behavioral consequences? To answer these questions, the current study leveraged a Korean social networking site, which currently provides avatars called "Minimis," in a randomized experimental setting. This study found that the more the participants perceived their avatars to look like their desired selves, the more likely they evaluated their avatars as being attractive, credible, confident, cool, capable, and persuasive, but failed to find a significant relationship between avatar users' perceptions toward self-created avatars and their attitudes toward the social network site or ads.. The limitations and implications will be discussed.


The deep Soil-Mixing technique consists in mixing a hydraulic binder into the soil mechanically in order to improve its properties. As far as dikes are concerned, two methods are available. The dry method which is one of these, consists in making a 1 m pre-trenched zone where cement powder is spread and the mixing tool mixes the soil and the cement with water down to a depth of 9 m from the top of the dyke. For the study of erodibility with laboratory tests, a hole erosion test apparatus is used in order to characterize the internal erosion of soils. Samples created in the laboratory as well as cored samples have been tested to get some ranges of soil-mixed responses.


1. Autoradiograms indicate a marked decrease in movement of 2,4-D and P32 throughout red kidneybean plants at higher moisture tensions. 2. More P32 was absorbed and about eight times as much translocated below 1/3-atm. as compared with near 3-atm. tension. 3. No effect of soil-moisture stress was found on the absorption of 2,4-D. Approximately twice as much 2,4-D was translocated at 1/3-atm. as compared with 4-atm. tension.


Using big data technology to integrate date, transform these data into fundamental and strategic resources in enterprise marketing management and formulate and implement data-driven marketing mix strategy has become a research hotspot in enterprise management circles, and it has generated far-reaching influence on traditional marketing theory and especially marketing mix theory. From perspective of big data, revolution idea and implementation form of traditional marketing mix theory is analyzed in this paper, and approach to establishing innovative strategies of marketing mix pattern under big data background is studied.


Marguerite Duras was born in Indochina in 1914 and died in Paris in 1996. Between these two polarities of her life all the major themes of her work find their place. Duras inscribed the condition of one who could never choose between Asia and Europe, to the extent that this ambivalence forms the nucleus of her literature. This major paradox of Duras' oeuvre is quintessentially expressed in her most famous work L'Amant . Here, the distinction between the personal space and the space of the other seems to disappear. My paper is an attempt to prove that in Duras' oeuvre the tension between the European self and the Asian other does not fall under the category broadly defined as Orientalism (Said, 1978). Rather, Duras integrates them into a constant monologue, whose ultimate meaning is to generate the pleasure of reading. Borrowing some of the key elements of Said's theory and also drawing on Homi Bhabha's notion of hybridity, I will show that Duras' literature is an enduring example of how the personal space and the space of the other can be reconciled in the name of what Roland Barthes called le plaisir du text.


Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antenna (RMPA) with U-slot is designed. It is incorporated with coaxial probe along the patch-length. Microstrip Patch Antenna (MPA) is classified on various types due to its cheaper cost, uncomplicated fabrication and low profile. A meticulous study of the designed antenna is presented and operated at the frequency of 2.45 GHz for WLAN applications. Rogers RO4350 substrate material with a height of 6 mm is utilized. The major design considerations for proposed antenna are radiation pattern, return loss, gain and VSWR. For the designed antenna, gain is 4.41 dB and bandwidth is 260 MHz. The antenna which is designed is replicated using HFSS.


Practical planning for well control events on actual wells has been carried out for many wells, worldwide, using realistic well control simulators such as the Schlumberger Cambridge Simulator (SIDEKICK), and the Rogalands RF simulator. While a multitude of possibilities exist for events at the wellsite based on wellbore geometry, mud type, formation properties, type and volume of influx, etc., modeling with such simulators allows focus to be given to likely events for a specific well/rig combination. A well plan, including design and procedures, which is safe and efficient can then be devised and tested, based on these scenarios. One example, using the scenario of swabbed kicks in an offshore well with a seafloor BOP and a long riser to surface and using synthetic oil-based mud (SOBM) is presented here to illustrate the concept.


Integration based on low-level interoperability of autonomous software components causes a number of problems which hurt both user productivity and performance. In this paper, we propose an object-oriented foundation for architecturing next-generation desktop computing systems which should reduce, if not eliminate, these problems. This foundation provides extensible, protected and transparent management of distributed persistent objects. We use the example of next-generation hypermedia systems to illustrate our design choices. We also report on our computing environment prototype which implements solutions to some of the issues facing this foundation.


For the protection of the bridge against ship impact, 20~30m diameter circular cells (dolphin) are considered in design for Incheon Bridge Project. To analyze the dynamic behavior of dolphins during impact, 3D dynamic FEM analysis is carried out. Centrifuge testing is applied for the verification of these FEM analyses. Total 31 number of Centrifuge tests were successfully carried out with the variations in model diameter, relative density of infilling material, velocity of ship impact and position of impact. The paper describes the experimental model test plan, the results of the tests and comparisons of test results as well.


cf. CA 59, 2070e. Of the hydroxybenzamides tested, the o-hydroxybenzanilides with 1 or 2 halogen atoms in the anilide ring exhibit the highest activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Highest activity was shown by the 4-bromoanilide and 2,4-dichloroanilide. The fact that the phenolic hydroxyl group has a marked influence on bacteriostatic properties was demonstrated by complete loss of such activity when shifting this group to the meta position. When, on the other hand, the hydroxyl substituent is shifted to the para position, the antibacterial effect was much enhanced, provided 2 Cl atoms were present in the aniline ring (p-hydroxybenz-2,3-dichloroanilide and p-hydroxybenz-2,4-dichloroanilide). An influence of halogen position on bacteriostatic activity is slightly noticeable in monohalogen derivs., but is very pronounced in dihalogenated hydroxybenzanilides. The 2,4-position proved to be the most favorable configuration.


A city's trees provide many environmental and social benefits. To ensure the long-term prosperity of its urban forest, a city should have an effective forest management plan that is guided by timely and accurate spatial information. High-spatial-resolution colour-infrared imagery is a commonly available source of forestry information, but accurate automated tree cover extraction in an urban environment remains a challenge. Presented is an effective, semi-automatic, object-based method for urban tree cover extraction, applied to 23?645 ha of 30 cm colour-infrared imagery of London, Ontario, Canada. Detailed methods, including some new techniques, are presented for the empirical selection of segmentation and classification parameters, the selection of subclasses and training samples, rule-based error correction, and image object border smoothing. A majority-voting interpretation of sample points was performed to reduce the subjectivity of the accuracy assessment. A test of the overall classification accuracy using the proposed method on a 2 km × 2 km image tile showed an improvement of 12.8% over that of a traditional maximum likelihood classification. The overall classification accuracy achieved for the entire city was 89.73%, with user's and producer's accuracy for trees of 75.61% and 86.36%, respectively.


The Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) strategy has got new, powerful toolset recently: the concepts of Internet of Things (IoT) and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). These can provide flexible but powerful data collection and analysis methods for Proactive and Predictive Maintenance. In the landscape of new digitalization and interconnection of products, services, processes, enterprises and people, IoT/CPS-based platforms are increasing in their size and target applications in a steady manner. Beside the fundamental research challenges regarding the reference architecture, interoperability, performance, quality and deployment issues, the challenges regarding system maintenance are also burning. There are various issues that are specific to the maintenance domain: interoperability and data flow management, data representation models, and data processing models and tools. The paper describes a maintenance reference architecture and platform, which aims to tackle all these challenges. The architecture suggested by the MANTIS project covers edge and cloud level interoperability, data flow management, and data processing issues. Furthermore, it provides domain-specific methods for root cause analysis, failure prediction, and models for predicting remaining useful life. The architecture is strengthened by the concept of MIMOSA, a data model definition that allows data representation models that are easy to fit into relational object and information management models required by CBM. The MANTIS platform utilizes the Arrowhead framework for tackling interoperability and integrability issues. Maintenance 4.0 World of Integrated Information Erkki Jantunen, Giovanni Di Orio, Csaba Hegedűs, Pal Varga, István Moldován Felix Larrinaga, Martin Becker, Michele Albano, and Pedro Maló 1 VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, P.O. Box 1000, 02044 VTT, Finland 2 Dep De Eng. Eletrotécnica, FCT-UNL, UNINOVA-CTS, Lisboa, Portugal 3 AITIA International Inc., Czetz Janos str. 48-50., 1039 Budapest, Hungary 4 Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Magyar Tudosok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary 5 Mondragon University, Loramendi 4, 20500 Mondragon, Spain 6 Fraunhofer IESE, Fraunhofer Platz 1, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany 7 CISTER, ISEP/INESC-TEC, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal Abstract. The Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) strategy has got new, powerful toolset recently: the concepts of Internet of Things (IoT) and CyberPhysical Systems (CPS). These can provide flexible but powerful data collection The Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) strategy has got new, powerful toolset recently: the concepts of Internet of Things (IoT) and CyberPhysical Systems (CPS). These can provide flexible but powerful data collection and analysis methods for Proactive and Predictive Maintenance. In the landscape of new digitalization and interconnection of products, services, processes, enterprises and people, IoT/CPS-based platforms are increasing in their size and target applications in a steady manner. Beside the fundamental research challenges regarding the reference architecture, interoperability, performance, quality and deployment issues, the challenges regarding system maintenance are also burning. There are various issues that are specific to the maintenance domain: interoperability and data flow management, data representation models, and data processing models and tools. The paper describes a maintenance reference architecture and platform, which aims to tackle all these challenges. The architecture suggested by the MANTIS project covers edge and cloud level interoperability, data flow management, and data processing issues. Furthermore, it provides domain-specific methods for root cause analysis, failure prediction, and models for predicting remaining useful life. The architecture is strengthened by the concept of MIMOSA, a data model definition that allows data representation models that are easy to fit into relational object and information management models required by CBM. The MANTIS platform utilizes the Arrowhead framework for tackling interoperability and integrability issues.


Abstract Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a persistent pattern of behaviours characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. This study evaluates the effects of a tailored Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IYTCM) programme aimed to improve participating children's on-task behaviour in a group of 6 to 10 year old children with ADHD in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The effectiveness of the IYTCM programme has been extensively examined for children with conduct disorder and/or behaviour and emotional issues, but not specifically with children with ADHD. In the present study, the effects of the IYTCM were examined on individual children with ADHD symptoms. Nine children identified with ADHD symptoms on the basis of teacher and parent reports of behaviour and nine normative comparison children were also selected from the same classrooms. Ten teachers received the tailored IYTCM-ADHD training for about 36 hours. A single-subject design was implemented to record the behaviour...


In this work, we adopt the super-regenerative receiver to implement the receiver for the Medical Implant Communications Service (MICS) applications. The receiver is designed to demodulate the on-off keying signal. The architecture is simple and consumes low power. The proposed topology incorporates digital circuits to generate the quench signal on chip. In addition, an open-loop frequency calibration loop is proposed to adjust the digitally-controlled oscillator frequency to the MICS band. Although a phase-locked loop can also lock the oscillator frequency and achieve precise frequency calibration, its locking time is long. This proposed frequency calibration loop can adjust the oscillator frequency in 4 μs; thus, it saves energy consumption. Fabricated in a 0.18-μm CMOS process, the measurement results show the proposed topology dissipates 3.5 mA from a 1.5-V supply. The total calibration time is less than 20 μs. The receiver has a sensitivity of -83 dBm and a maximum data rate of 1 Mbps. The chip area of the fully-integrated super-regenerative receiver is 1.47 mm X 1.46 mm including pads. The core area is 0.9 mm X 1 mm.


Langdale J. (1983) Competition in the United States' long-distance telecommunications industry, Reg. Studies 17, 393–409. Entry of competition in the United States' long-distance telecommunications industry is examined in the context of changes in the economic, technological and regulatory environment. Growth of large multi-plant firms has led to a rapid growth of demand on intermetropolitan routes. Technological change and deregulation of the industry have lowered the barriers to entry in the long-distance field. Geographical expansion of competitive services is discussed in relation to the structure of the urban hierarchy: services are initially introduced in major metropolitan areas and then spread down the hierarchy. In addition, the spread of American Telephone and Telegraph's specialized business communications service, Dataphone Digital Service, is examined.


This paper considers youth engagement with dominant discourses regarding school completion. The paper is fundamentally concerned with the way the notion of school completion is being cast, its supporting discourse and the manner in which this potentially marginalizes and excludes. The ultimate efficacy of secondary school completion in the current economic climate is not questioned, however, policy that aggressively promotes and normalizes universal Year 12 completion raises issues of equity and social exclusion for those who opt for other pathways for whatever reasons. Data are drawn from a qualitative longitudinal project tracking trade-oriented adolescent boys from five Western Australian secondary schools who undertook the same Year 11 cross-sectoral building and construction vocational education and training programme. Half of this cohort subsequently left secondary school prior to Year 12, while the other half chose to complete their final year of secondary schooling. The school completers endorsed the dominant ideas concerning the efficacy of Year 12 although few believed that they gained much academically or vocationally from their final school year. Contrary to the dominant claims made for Year 12 completion, however, the early exits tended to view their Year 12 peers as lacking in maturity, motivation and vocational commitment. Youth engagement with, and negotiation of, the dominant ideology and supporting discourse concerning the efficacy and purpose of school completion, such as that reported here, have implications for the manner in which encouragement to complete secondary school is presented to youth in the post-compulsory years.


Pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials with alkaline hydrogen peroxide greatly increases their susceptibility to enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis. During the course of the pretreatment reaction (18 h), the pH rises slowly, increasing from pH 11.5 to a final pH > 12. As a result, most of the hemicellulose in the lignocellulosic substrate becomes solubilized. Maintaining the reaction pH near the optimum of 11.5 prevents hemicellulose solubilization and decreases the time required for effective pretreatment to about 6 h. Alkaline peroxide pretreatment is most effective on lignocellulose from monocotyledonous plants, especially members of the family Gramineae. Enzymatic saccharification efficiencies > 90% of theoretical were attained from high yielding perennial grasses such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi) and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) after alkaline peroxide pretreatment.


Basic technology of metallic headgears plaster casting has been introduced including the main processes such as wax pattern forming,wax pattern string assembly,plaster mold forming,melting and pouring,castings cleaning with brief analysis on polular foundry equipment and technologies in use for headgears.


Type II Ge clathrate (NaxGe136) films containing a small amount of Na were successfully synthesized on a sapphire substrate by thermal annealing of precursor NaGe composite films. A new technique for Na removal from NaxGe136 was developed by applying the electric field in an Ar environment at 275 °C. Rietveld refinement analysis of NaxGe136 films showed an almost guest free nature (Na contents x ∼ 0) using this new technique. In addition, absorbance spectra obtained from NaxGe136 films showed a decrease in the absorbance intensity in the lower photon energy (<0.5 eV) with annealing. It suggests the decrease in free carrier absorption by the removal of Na atoms in NaxGe136.


At many synapses, neurotransmitter receptor molecules in the postsynaptic mem- brane are selectively concentrated at a site directly opposite the presynaptic nerve terminal . In this paper, I examine acetylcholine (ACh) receptor distribution in cardiac muscle in relation to the distribution of presynaptic axonal varicosities . The density of varicosities, stained with zinc iodide and osmium, ranges from 0.7/100 tt,m 2 in ventricle to 1.9/100 (,m2 in sinus venosus . It is estimated that 90% specificity to a single, saturable, high-affinity (Kd = 11 .1 pM at 21'C) class of binding sites . QNB binding sites are thought to correspond to ACh receptors, because muscarinic agonists compete for (3H)QNB binding and produce a hyperpolarization in the sinus venosus with the same order of potency . The concentrations of QNB binding sites in the sinus and atria are about twice those found in ventricle . The receptor density corresponds to the density of innervation measured by zinc iodide and osmium staining . Autoradiographic experiments show that (3H)QNB binding sites are distributed randomly over the entire surface of the muscle . This random distribution of ACh receptors in cardiac muscle has important implications for the function of the cardiac neuroeffector junction .


The present study investigates the various hydraulic characteristics of vegetated open channel under both emergent and submerged flow conditions with various discharges and flow depths. Cylindrical rigid iron rods of height 10 cm and diameter 6.5 mm planted in staggered pattern in a tilting hydraulic flume with a vegetal density of 76 per unit bed area of 1 m2 are used to simulate the effect of hydraulic characteristics on vegetation in open channel. Measurement of flow velocity inside the stem/vegetation layer under emergent condition indicates that the velocity profile is one layer with almost a uniform constant velocity at all points along the path of longitudinal direction of flow. However, under submerged flow condition, velocity of flow in the surface layer above the top of vegetation is very high and follows logarithmic law. The various hydraulic resistances like vegetal drag coefficient, CD, Manning's roughness coefficient n, and Darcy-Weisbach friction factor, f are found to be more for vegetated open channel than open channel without any vegetation. These resistance factors are found to vary with flow depths and submergence ratios whereas channel without vegetation bears a constant roughness coefficient. Under submerged flow conditions, when the depth of flow increases, values of n and f are found to decrease but values of CD are found to increase. However, under emergent flow conditions, reverse trends are noticed. Values of CD, n and f are found to increase with increasing depth of flow. Equations have been shown to predict the stem/vegetation layer velocity under both emergent and submerged flow cases. The calculated velocities are found to be close to the observed velocities indicating that the developed equation can be used to predict the flow for both emergent and submerged conditions. Further, regression based multi-linear models are developed relating to drag coefficient and various hydraulic and vegetative parameters for both emergent and submerged flow conditions and the models are found to work satisfactorily after validation with the present experimental data and data of other investigators


systems can be designed to obtain and process measurements from small volumes of complex fluids with efficiency and speed, and without the need for an expert operator; this unique set of capabilities is precisely what is needed to create portable point-of-care (POC) medical diagnostic systems 1,2. Fortunately for the microfluidics field, the military has always had a need to practise medicine in challenging and resource-limited environments, and so has long been trying to acquire robust medical technologies that add an absolute minimum to the burden of those people and machines transporting them. It was for this reason that microfluidics research in the United States was given a great boost in the 1990s by funding from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The technologies developed with DARPA's support (for examples, see www.darpa.mil/MTO/mFlumes) have the characteristics needed for delivering appropriate medical diagnos-tics to the world's poorest people. Today, the potential of microfluidic technologies to enhance the decentralization of medical testing is becoming accepted as one element in the next stage in the evolution of healthcare. Thanks to an upsurge in interest in (and funding of) health-care in the developing world, combined with a slow pace of change in the developed world, this new microfluidic diagnostic technology (MDT) may be adopted first for civilian healthcare in the developing world. Some initial steps towards designing appropriate microfluidic diagnostic systems are described here. In recent decades, substantial progress has been made in public health, but this progress has not been equal in developed and developing countries. The benefits and services that we in the West take for granted are often inadequate or lacking in many developing countries 3,4. For example, of the world's population of 6.1 billion people, 3 billion lack basic sanitation, 2 billion do not have access to electricity and more than 1 billion lack basic healthcare services and clean drinking water 5,6. For every public health triumph such as the eradication of smallpox, other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria have re-emerged, accompanied by new diseases such as HIV/AIDS (Fig. 1). More than half the deaths in the poorest countries are the result of infectious diseases (compared with less than 5% in the richest) 7,8. Global health, poverty and development are interdependent. Endemic poverty is a significant impediment to improving health 9. One billion, or half of the world's children, live The developing world does not have access to …


Herein we investigate the formation of aromatic organic nanoparticles in a three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic flow focusing microfluidic device. We demonstrate a microfluidic based solvent/non-solvent exchange technique that enables controllable formation of aromatic nanoparticles with tunable size and size distribution. The 3D focusing is achieved by hydrodynamically focusing the sample stream with sheathed streams in both horizontal and vertical directions, and solvent/non-solvent exchange happens between the solvent contained sample stream and non-solvent contained horizontally sheathed streams. The 3D focusing effect was visualized using florescence confocal microscopy and the dynamics of solvent (DMF) depletion in the focused stream was calculated using a finite element computation software package COMSOL Multiphysics. By analyzing the results of self-assembled aromatic nanoparticles in the microfluidic device, we find that the speed of DMF depletion strongly influences the size and size distribution of self-assembled aromatic nanoparticles, and a rapid depletion of DMF is critical for achieving small aromatic nanoparticles with narrow size distribution. This work suggests that our 3D hydrodynamic flow focusing microfluidic device with the ability to precisely control the convective-diffusion process, and continuously vary the fluid flow conditions is promising for studying the formation of nanomaterials.


Background—Secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA 2) and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA 2) are enzyme biomarkers of increased cardiovascular risk and targets of emerging therapeutic agents. Their relationship to cardiovascular events in the setting of high-dose statin therapy compared with placebo in patients with acute coronary syndrome is not known. Methods and Results—sPLA 2 and Lp-PLA 2 mass and activity were measured in 2587 patients in the Myocardial Ischemia Reduction With Acute Cholesterol Lowering (MIRACL) trial at baseline and after 16 weeks of treatment with atorvastatin 80 mg/d or placebo. Baseline levels of sPLA 2 and Lp-PLA 2 mass and activity were not associated with the primary efficacy measure of the trial of death, myocardial infarction, or unstable angina. However, in the overall cohort, baseline sPLA 2 mass predicted risk of death after multivariable adjustment (hazard ratio for 2-fold increase, 1.30; 95% confidence interval, 1.09 –1.56; Pϭ0.004). This association remained significant when examined separately in the placebo group but not in the atorvastatin group. Compared with placebo, atorvastatin reduced median sPLA 2 mass (Ϫ32.1% versus Ϫ23.1%), sPLA 2 activity (Ϫ29.5% versus Ϫ19.2%), Lp-PLA 2 mass (Ϫ35.8% versus Ϫ6.2%), and Lp-PLA 2 activity (Ϫ24.3% versus 5.4%; PϽ0.001 for all). Atorvastatin reduced the hazard of death associated with elevated sPLA 2 mass and activity by Ϸ50%. Conclusions—sPLA 2 mass independently predicts death during a 16-week period after acute coronary syndrome. High-dose atorvastatin significantly reduces sPLA 2 and Lp-PLA 2 mass and activity after acute coronary syndrome and mitigates the risk of death associated with sPLA 2 mass. Atorvastatin may exert antiinflammatory effects on phospholipases that contribute to its therapeutic benefit after acute coronary syndrome. S ecretory PLA 2 (sPLA 2) and lipoprotein-associated (Lp-PLA 2) phospholipase A 2 are enzymes that cleave the oxidized fatty acid side chain at the sn2 position of oxidized phospholipids (OxPLs). This reaction generates lysophos-phatidylcholine and an oxidized free fatty acid, which are lipid mediators of multiple proinflammatory and proathero-genic pathways. 1,2 Type IIA sPLA 2 is expressed in hepato-cytes, macrophages, platelets, and vascular smooth muscle cells, and its plasma levels are upregulated by proinflamma-tory compounds such as interleukin-1␤, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-␣, interferon-␥, and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL). sPLA 2 can also hydrolyze unmodified phospholipids, in contrast to Lp-PLA 2. 1 Lp-PLA 2 is released by inflammatory cells; associates with lipoproteins such as LDL, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and lipoprotein(a) 3 ; and circulates in the bloodstream. Lp-PLA 2 is …


Waterfowl use of 25 ponds blasted in Manitoba's Delta Marsh was studied from 1965-66. Greatest use of the ponds occurred during spring and early summer. In comparison to surrounding wetlands, there were greater fluctuations in annual abundance, less species diversity, and more breeding pairs per unit of shoreline on the ponds. Ducks stayed on the ponds a mean of 15.6 minutes per visit; 86 percent of their time was spent on elevated spoil. Blue-winged teal (Anas discors) comprised 56 percent of the waterfowl counted. These ponds seemingly functioned as isolation and loafing areas for breeding pairs of dabbling ducks. The declining quantity and quality of waterfowl habitats in North America has stimulated many wetland improvement projects. Scott and Dever (1940) were among the first to suggest blasting ponds as one method of improving marshlands for waterfowl. The objectives reported in this paper are: (1) to determine which species of waterfowl respond to blasting potholes; and (2) to describe how ducks use ponds blasted in a prairie marsh long inhabited by wildfowl. I wish to thank M. D. Pirnie, Michigan 1 Supported by Wildlife Management Institute, Michigan State University, Ducks Unlimited, and the Delta Waterfowl Research Station. 2 Present address: Stockbridge High School, Stockbridge, Michigan 49285. State University, for his helpful advice throughout the study; J. Rutledge, D. D. Moore, and D. P. Mossop for assisting with field work; the staff of the Delta Waterfowl Research Station, especially P. Ward and H. A. Hochbaum for their stimulating suggestions and for access to the Bell Estate.


We studied the temperature-dependent steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence properties of very small (1-2 nm) ZnO, CdO, and PbO amorphous nanoclusters prepared in AOT reverse micelles and imbedded in polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA) films. X-ray diffraction and electron diffraction and imaging indicate that these structures are amorphous. These amorphous oxide nanoclusters demonstrate similar structural, electronic, and optical properties. Properties of steady-state fluorescence spectra indicate the unique localization of electronic states due to the amorphous structure. ZnO and CdO show double-band fluorescence structure, which is due to the spin-orbital splitting, similar to Cu2O. Time-resolved fluorescence studies of the nanoclusters in the polymer reveal two lifetime components, as found in solution. The slow component reflects relaxation processes from band-tail states while the fast component may be related to high-lying extended states. The temperature dependence of fast fluorescence component reveals the presence of exciton hopping between anharmonic wells at temperatures higher than 200K. We correlate the barrier height between two wells formed around local atoms with the inter-atomic distance and bond ionicity.


Abstract The optimal design of a curved, composite fuselage frame under a static crush load is presented. The objective is to maximize the absorbed energy subject to a constraint on the maximum load, and thus improve the crashworthy response of the frame. The finite element analysis is based on a Vlasov-type curved bar theory extended to include laminated composite wall construction, and a selective and progressive ply-by-ply material degradation model for graphite-epoxy laminates. Results from the progressive failure analysis are in reasonable agreement with experimental data, A genetic algorithm is used to design the stacking sequence and cross-sectional dimensions, since the design variables are limited to discrete values and the objective function and constraint function are nonlinear, non-smooth functions of the design variables. Examples are presented which show a significant theoretical increase in energy absorption for thin-walled, I-section, graphite-epoxy frames. The combined analyses for progre...


Objective To improve the operative effect of presigmoid petrosal approach (PPA) for petroclival tumors. Methods The clinical features, operative methods, result of operation and postoperative complications of 40 cases of petroclival tumors resected via TPA were analyzed retrospectively. The presigmoid petrosal intersection and fissure for endolymphatic sac should be used as landmarks for drilling petrous bone to decrease injury to internal structure of the petrous bone. Results Total resection of the tumor was achieved in 27 cases, subtotal in 9, and partial in 4. No patient died. The main postoperative complications were injury to the cranial nerve, cerebral edema and decrease in muscle strength. Conclusion PPA is a preferable method for petroclival tumors, thus the tumors can be totally resected.


In recent years, the multimedia storage grows and the cost for storing multimedia data is cheaper. So there is huge number of videos available in the video repositories. It is difficult to retrieve the relevant videos from large video repository as per user interest. It is urgently required to make the unstructured multimedia data accessible and searchable with great ease and flexibility. This paper offers an overview of the different existing techniques in multimodal content based video retrieval and different approaches to search with in long videos.


Mechanosensitive (MS) ion channels are to date the best characterized biological force-sensing systems. They present the best example of coupling protein conformations to the mechanics of the surrounding cell membrane. Studies of MS channels conducted over the last 20 eight years have from their serendipitous discovery1,2 and confusion about their artifactual nature3 to their molecular identification4-6 and structural determination7-10 greatly contributed to our understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying the physiology of mechanosensory transduction.


The 12-monthly running means of CFC-11 and CFC-12 were examined for 1977-1992. As observed by earlier workers, during 1977-1988, there was a rapid, almost linear increase of these compounds, ~70% in the northern and ~77% in the southern hemisphere. From 1988 up to 1992, growth rates were slower, more so for CFC-11 in the northern hemisphere. Superposed on this pattern were QBO, QTO (Quasi-Biennial and Quasi-Triennial Oscillations). A spectral analysis of the various series indicated the following. The 50 hPa low latitude zonal wind had one prominent QBO peak at 2.58 years and much smaller peaks at 2.00 (QBO) and 5.1 years. The Southern oscillation index represented by (T-D), Tahiti minus Darwin atmospheric pressure, had a prominent peak at 4.1 years and a smaller peak at 2.31 years. CFC-11 had only one significant peak at 3.7 years in the southern hemisphere, roughly similar to the 4.1 year (T-D) peak. CFC-12 had prominent QBO (2.16-2.33 years) in both the hemispheres and a QTO (3.6 years) in the southern hemisphere. For individual locations, CFC-11 showed barely significant QBO in the range (1.95-3.07 years), while CFC 12 showed strong QBO in the range (1.86-2.38 years). The difference in the spectral characteristics of CFC-11 and CFC 12 time series is attributed to differences in their lifetimes (44 and 180 years), source emission rates and transport processes.


Part 1 Malaria - the problem: what is malaria? four species of malaria parasite infect humans malaria is a difficult disease to study the life cycle of "plasmodium" the genus "plasmodium" the malaria mosquito "anopheles" malaria afflicts most of the world's people human communities and malaria problems of cure problems of control. Part 2 "Plasmodium" - the parasite: an introduction to "plasmodium" ultrastructure phase 1 - from gametocyte to ookinete phase 2 - from ookinete to sporozoite phase 3 - from sporozoite to hepatic merozoite phase 4 - from hepatic merozoite to gametocyte metabolic pathways in "plasmodium" the molecular biology of "plasmodium falciparum" "plasmodium" antigens. Part 3 Malaria in the community: stable and unstable malaria transmission of malaria. Part 4 Control of mosquitoes and malaria: methods of malaria control methods used to study mosquitoes mosquito control in Papua, New Guinea malaria eradication in Sichuan imported malaria in Europe prospects. Appendices: severe malaria - a medical emergency sequestration in severe malaria clinical features of severe malaria intensive care of severe malaria treatment schedules for severe malaria.


On behalf of APTA's Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Rebecca L Craik, PT, PhD, FAPTA, as editor in chief of Physical Therapy.

As many of you know, Dr Craik succeeds the late Jules Rothstein, PT, PhD, FAPTA, Editor in Chief Emeritus, under whose profound leadership Physical Therapy achieved worldwide recognition as the premier physical therapy scientific journal.

Today, editors of health care journals must provide bold leadership at a time when readers, authors, and consumers expect rapid dissemination of credible data that can be readily applied. There is no question that Dr Craik has the vision and experience to meet and exceed these …


Objective To investigate the characteristics of death caused by accidental injuries among the local and migrant populations in Dongguan area, Guangdong province. Methods The clinical data of 363 cases of death cuased by accidental injuries in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Donghua Hospital Dongguan, 285 males (78.08%) and 80 females (21.92%), aged 30.34 (5 h~98 years old), including .313 migrant workers and 52 local residents. Results The top four causes of death caused by accidental injuries in the migrant workers included car accident, violence, accidental falling and suicide. 85.62% of the death caused by accidental injuries occurring in the migrant workers were aged 15~55. The annual death rate in migrant workers has been on the rise .The top four causes of deaths caused by accident in the local residents included car accident. drowning, accident falling and electronic shock .75.0% of the death caused by accidental injuries occurring in the local population were aged ≤35. Deaths in these two groups accounted for 85% and 14% respectively of the total deaths. Conclusion The main causes of death caused by accidental injuries are car accident and violence in the migrant workers, and are car accident and drowning in the local residents in Dongguan area.


We use the Athens Model Independent Analysis Scheme (AMIAS) to examine the validity of using the Fermi-Watson theorem in the multipole analyses of pion photoproduction and electroproduction data. A standard practice in this field is to fix the multipoles' phases from $\pi N$ scattering data, making use of the Fermi - Watson theorem. However, these phases are known with limited accuracy and the effect of this uncertainty on the obtained multipole extraction has not been fully explored yet. Using AMIAS we constrain the phases within their experimentally determined uncertainty. We first analyze sets of pseudodata of increasing statistical precision and subsequently we apply the methodology for a re-analysis of the Bates/Mainz electroproduction data. It is found that the uncertainty induced by the $\pi N$ phases uncertainty to the extracted solutions would be significant only in the analysis of data with much higher precision than the current available experimental data.


An adaptive perception system enables humanoid robots to interact with humans and their surroundings in a meaningful context-dependent manner. An important foundation for visual perception is the selectivity of early vision processes that enables the system to filter out low-level unimportant information while attending to features indicated as important by higher-level processes by way of top-down modulation. We present a novel way to integrate top-down and bottom-up processing for achieving such attention-based filtering. We specifically consider the case where the top-down target is not the most salient in any of the used submodalities.


This article analyses the conceptions and expectations concerning the Rural Education of a group of students registered in the High School on Educational Rur...


Primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) is a rare but serious birth defect. Genetic mutations have been implicated in the development of PCG, but little is known about nongenetic risk factors. This study investigates potential risk factors for PCG in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS), a large population‐based case–control study of major birth defects in the United States. The analysis includes case infants with PCG (N = 107) and control infants without birth defects (N = 10,084) enrolled in NBDPS from birth years 2000–2011. Pregnancy/infant clinical characteristics, demographics, and parental health history were collected through maternal interview. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed to examine associations with all PCG cases and isolated PCG cases without other major malformations. Associations with all the cases included term low birth weight (<2,500 g; aOR = 2.80, CI 1.59–4.94), non‐Hispanic black maternal race/ethnicity (aOR = 2.42, CI 1.42–4.13), maternal history of seizure (aOR = 2.73, CI 1.25–5.97), maternal antihypertensive use (aOR = 3.60, CI 1.52–8.53), and maternal sexually transmitted infection (aOR = 2.75, CI 1.17–6.44). These factors were also associated with isolated PCG, as was maternal use of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (aOR = 2.70, CI 1.15–6.34). This study is among the first to examine a wide array of potential risk factors for PCG in a population‐based sample.


A theory is presented for tunneling between compressible regions on the sides of a narrow incompressible Quantum Hall strip. Assuming that electron interactions lead to formation of a Wigner crystal on the edges of the compressible regions, we consider the situation when the non-conservation of electron momentum required for transport is provided, in the absence of disorder, by umklapp scattering on the crystal. The momentum given to the crystal is quantized due to the Bragg condition, which leads to resonances in tunneling conductivity as a function of the incompressible strip width, similar to those reported recently by N. Zhitenev, M. Brodsky, R. Ashoori, and M. Melloch.


I have the honor of writing this editorial note on the top 5 cited papers published in 2018 in the section of Biocatalysis of the Catalyst journal [...]


The gear ratio of the final drive and the distribution of the vehicle mass along the axles has a great influence on the technical and operational parameters of the vehicle. The article discusses the use of mathematical modelling in the MATLAB Simulink and the planning of the experiment to identify the optimal values of the final drive ratio and the mass distribution along the axles when driving a vehicle on a horizontal reference surface. A computational model for determining the moment of resistance on the wheels is developed when the vehicle moves along a supporting surface without slopes. The roughness and unevenness of the surface were not taken into account in the above model. The response function is obtained by studying the dependence of change in two parameters: the speed and fuel consumption of the car from two factors of variation: the final drive ratio and the mass distribution along the axles. The steep ascent method is used to determine the optimal parameters of the vehicle design, which allow achieving maximum speed with minimum fuel consumption when the vehicle is moving on a horizontal supporting surface.


The paper presents the results of work on control systems of bearingless electric motors. Authors proposed the applications of bearingless electric machines for aircraft actuation system. Suggested solution characterizes novel concept of on-board equipment design such as More Electric Aircraft. Magnetic suspension technology allows elimination of friction force and the negative performance features of classic bearing system. However, to achieve all these purposes appropriately, dedicated control system must be also applied.,The development of a control system of bearingless electric machine is presented in detail. Mathematical model and construction of induction bearingless motor are widely discussed. Then, proportional–integral-derivative controller algorithm designing for BEM control system was presented using the well pole placement method. Simulation model of BEM control system with use of Matlab-Simulink software was shown. Finally, experimental studies on laboratory stand were introduced. The paper presents design methodology of conventional and advanced control system of bearingless motor.,The presented concept of the bearingless electric machines could be applied in the on-board actuation system. During research, full control system of bearingless electric motor was designed and tested. This system consisted of two subsystems. The first responded for rotary speed stabilization and second one was designed for position control of the rotor in the air gap.,The presented concept of the bearingless electric machines could be applied in the on-board actuation system. During research, full control system of bearingless electric motor was designed and tested. This system consisted of two subsystems. The first responded for rotary speed stabilization and second one was designed for position control of the rotor in the air gap.,The idea of active magnetic suspension system will be implemented for aviation on technology readiness level V. The paper presents unique laboratory stand with bearingless electric motor and experimental studies. The stable time responses of designed control system were presented and discussed. In addition, preliminary considerations of advanced control system with robust controller were introduced as well.


Resident engineer Leon Bester has a disposition of controlled determination. Something that is only acquired by someone who has faced many challenges, some seemingly insurmountable, one after another, and has won through. The Koeberg Interchange Project in Cape Town is such a project.


This paper is an attempt to simulate the magnetorheological behavior of a suspension of ellipsoidal ferromagnetic particles in a numerical experiment. Accuracy of the calculations used are achieved and illustrated in the paper. It is shown that the relative error in the calculation of the characteristic viscosity does not exceed 5%.


This article examines the CBC/Netflix coproduction Anne with an E (2017–19), a leading example of cross-platform coproduction whose legacy is disrupted by the drama's unexpected cancellation. Theories of cultural and media imperialism are discussed to contextualise this circumstance, along with an overview of the Canadian media policy context. The relationship between the CBC's public service model and Netflix's subscription service is considered, followed by an analysis of the increased cultural representation of the drama, which incorporates Black, queer and Indigenous identities. The article concludes by suggesting what Anne with an E's cancellation may mean for the future of cross-platform coproductions.


Teachers and administrators are often at a loss as to where they should turn for practical, down-to-earth assistance in the area of parent conferencing. The counselor is in a position to provide such assistance, and several strategies are presented which are available to this mental health specialist. The counselor is provided with a working knowledge of a parent conferencing model which can be Used to conduct staff development activities for teachers, administrators, and other school personnel. (Author) *****o***************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** MISSION TO REPROlhICE THIS :MAL HAS BEEN OtANTio U 5 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION & WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION VIEW RECEIVED ED FROM :0RMATION THEEP-J(''. AM' TRAINING TEACHERS FOR PARENT CONFEPENCING: OPINIONS \TIoNAL vlEsouRcEs NOT EPRESENT OFP, EFTS THE ERIC SYS"-M A NEW HORIZON FOR THE SCHOOL COUNSELOR :) Fred H. Wallbrown Karen Kidd Prichard Wichita State University Wichita State UL-versity .7) Parent conferencing has not bee-A a popular topic with either educational researchers or theoriticians. One does 0 find occasional references to the topic by persons in the areas of school administration, curriculum development, program evaluation, and supervision, but the treatment of parent conferencing is usually secondary to some other issue or topic. When parent conferencing does attract the attention of educators, they tend to focus on the informational aspects of conferencing rather than the affective or feeling aspect of the interaction with parents. Some authorities have gone so far as to acknowledge the importance of the feeling aspect of conferencing, but in practice, their writing almost invariably emphasizes the informational aspect'of conferencing. With this state of affairs, teachers and administrators are often at a loss as to where they should turn for practical, down-to-earth assistance with the area of parent conferencing. Uhen one works with teachers in a warm, laxed atmosphere, the vast majority of them are willing to acknowledge the inadequacy of their conferencing skills. Specifically, teachers tend to perceive of themselves as being weakest in co what the present authors have chosen to call problem-oriented


I. INTRODUCTION The saline soil is a worldwide problem, while the research on dynamic aspect of the saline soil mainly focuses on the monitoring, assessment and forecasting techniques. The traditional method of the saline soil monitoring is the laboratory assay by extracting the soluble salt from the waterlogged soil. This method has many disadvantages, such as complex operating procedure, poor real-time and high detection cost. Some achievement of the research on the saline soil information has been got at home and abroad. At present, the information extraction of the saline soil is mainly based on the spectral response characteristics, which simulates and predicts the saline soil by combining the RS, GIS with expert system. Because the saline soil is seriously mixed with the other soil features, the spectral response characteristics can not accurately predict the quantitative degree of the saline soil, only the qualitative analysis can be done with the results. Therefore, accurate and automatic extraction of the saline soil has much important implication for the monitoring and the research on the dynamic aspect of the saline soil. This study adopts the multi-information acquisition technology by using the multi-sensor array. Based on this technology, the related portable equipment aiming to quickly monitor the saline soil can be developed. Then the saline soil conditions can be quickly and conveniently gotten, and the saline soil degree can be identified. The result of this research can be applied to model the precise agriculture facilities and regulate the greenhouse. From the literatures at home and abroad, soil salinity can be on behalf the soil conductivity. Many elements of the soil have a diagnostic absorption feature in the solar spectral range (0.3-2.5μm). The researchers have done much research on the relation between the soil properties and laboratory spectral reflectance, and successfully predicted the soil composition by using the technology of reflectance spectroscopy.


A new M-testability approach is introduced. M-testability is based on the variable testability measure (VTM), developed for data-path test prediction in high-level synthesis. For particular forms of arrays (iterative logic arrays of identical cells), the C-testability concept is appropriate to evaluate their testability using a one-faulty cell model. This concept is extended to M-testability to deal with more general arrays (of nonidentical cells or functional primitives in datapaths). The elaboration of the M-testability concept leads to the development of a classified-level approach. Some data-path examples are treated to show the practical application of the proposed technique in high-level synthesis.<<ETX>>


This work proposes a theoretical approach of gain-scheduled fuzzy PI control design based on gain and phase margins specifications for LPV (Linear and Parameters Varying) systems, in the continuous time domain. A mathematical formulation from the Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy model structure as well as the PDC (Parallel Distributed Compensation) strategy is developed. Analytical formulas are deduced for the PI subcontrollers parameters, in the robust fuzzy controller rules base, according to the fuzzy model parameters of the LPV plant to be controlled. Results of the necessary and sufficient conditions for the fuzzy controller design, from the proposed robust methodology, with one Axiom and two Theorems are also presented.


The preparation of fine powders by grinding may be accomplished by either a dry or a wet process, and the differences between these have been discussed. In general, it is well known that there are many mechanical properties which have direct effects upon the grindabilities of solids. Breaking properties, in particular are related to the grindabilities.In this paper, creep tests were carried out continuously for three hours on glass material under a bending condition in order to investigate the difference between dry and wet grinding. A crack was formed on the center of the tension side of the test piece by the Vickers diamond of the Micro Hardness Tester with an automatic loading system. The quantitative effects of water on the crack propagation on the glass surface and the creep property of glass were investigated.The results are summarized as follows:1) The crack length in water is larger than that in air.2) The ratio of both varied with the hold time and the bending stress.3) Based on the above, it could be presumed that there is a bending stress at which the specimen willl fracture in water but not in air.


National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID)-funded researchers have found three different treatment regimens superior to AZT monotherapy in preventing one or more of the serious consequences of HIV infection. Among study patients, those individuals assigned to ddI monotherapy, the combination of ddI plus AZT, or the combination of ddC plus AZT, were less likely than those taking AZT alone to have a decrease in CD4 T-cell counts, to developing an AIDS-defining condition, or to die. These results were observed whether or not participants had been previously treated with AZT. Careful planning of antiretroviral regimens are essential since prior antiretroviral experience may influence the effectiveness of some treatment regimens.


Currently, the clinical diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases rely on minimally or non-invasive measures that statistically correlate to the treatment. For example, cardiovascular function is assessed using measurements from the minimally invasive right heart catheterization (RHC) procedure after heart transplants to advise on treatment (Colunga et al. 2020). Repeated RHC measurements of ventricular and pulmonary arterial pressure are used to observe post-transplant pulmonary hypertension to identify potential further complications in post-transplant recovery. While close monitoring of these measurements is associated with better outcomes, RHC measures only depict the broader cardiovascular phenotype and do not assess the underlying physiological mechanisms, such as pressure, volume, and flow relationships in the cardiovascular system. Previous studies have suggested that a detailed assessment of the cardiovascular system may improve the diagnosis/treatment of cardiovascular dysfunction post-transplantation (Stobierska-Dzierzek et al. 2001). Similarly, other non-invasive measures are used to evaluate cardiac function post-transplantation, including echocardiography, magnetic resonance, and Doppler imaging. Clinically, these measurements are used in conjunction with RHC measurements as they may not provide enough information individually regarding a patient's cardiovascular function. The current study uses a patient-specific computational methodology which incorporates clinical measures and is used to predict time-dependent measures of pressure, flow, and volume, as well as mechanistic measures, many of which presented are not easily measured in the clinic. This study presented mechanistic parameter predictions of an individual patient at specific cardiovascular recovery time points. Thus, this study combines the physiology of the cardiovascular system with patient-specific measurements to better describe the cardiovascular health of a specific patient. The authors aim to use measures that monitor the health and condition of heart transplant patients to provide early indications regarding the success of the heart transplant.


The extensive use of Dichlorvos in controlling pests raised great concerns about their environmental hazards to aquatic organisms. Effect of sub-lethal concentration of Dichlorvos on growth performance and biochemical response in Clarias gariepinus (0.175 mg/L) was investigated. Juveniles (19±0.5 g) of the fish were exposed to a static renewal bioassay of Dichlorvos and fed varying concentrations (0%, 5% and 10%) of Moringa oleifera leaf. After the exposure period, fish were sacrificed to collect blood, gill and liver for biochemical assay. Activities of biochemical and antioxidant enzymes in the tissues of fish fed diet with 5 % M. oleifera were significantly (P<0.05) lower compared to those fed diet with 10 % M. oleifera . The glucose and protein levels in the blood showed a significant (P<0.05) reduction in fish fed on 5 % M. oleifera compared to those fed on 10 % M. oleifera . The specific growth rate of the fish decreased significantly (P<0.05) as the concentration of M. oleifera increased. This indicates that 5 % substitution rate of M. oleifera leaf in diet is capable of ameliorating the toxicity effect of Dichlorvos in C. gariepinus juveniles. Keywords: Toxicity, agrochemical, conservation, pollution, amelioration


The residual stresses that occur in drawn parts after tools removing are the main cause that generates the springback of such parts. Hence, to investigate the springback phenomenon it is needed to know at first the state of residual stresses developed in part by its cold forming. Because of the complex forming tools and parts geometry, the experimental investigation of residual stress distribution in the case of drawn parts is a difficult problem. A possible solution of the problem can be the simulation of the forming process, springback and residual stress distribution. The present paper investigates the influence of the punch shape on springback intensity and residual stresses distribution by simulating the drawing process in the case of conical parts made from steel sheets by using the following two punch shapes: cylindrical and conical.


This article explains in detail the experiment of the education transformation of acupuncture and Moxibastionscience, which is based on the use of internet resources, and the assessment method of education results. The article alsostresses the importance of using the above method to enhance education reformation in the universities of the traditionalChinese medicine, to change the education mode and to improve the education quality.[


There was "substantial" agreement between two readers for both scoring systems. Kappa values were 0.600 in PI-RADSv2 and 0.624 in PI-RADSv2.1. Ninety-eight (48.5%) patients had CSCa. AUC values of PI-RADSv2 and v2.1 scoring systems were 0.861 and 0.851 for reader 1, 0.873 and 0.883 for reader 2, respectively. Conclusion: Interreader agreement was "substantial" in mpMRI and slightly improved with PI-RADSv2.1. Diagnostic performance of the two systems were almost equal.


Only about 40 of the 680 tree species growing in Ghana are commercially exploited in the wood industry because the technical properties of the others are largely unknown. In order to help reduce the negative impacts of current forest management and to help stop the overexploitation of the best known commercial timber species, an international research and development project has been launched to investigate the technical properties of a selected number of lesser known species and thus help open them up for the market. This paper presents test results which indicate that some of these hitherto largely ignored timbers have remarkable mechanical and durability properties. They will make it to the top of structural and commercial timbers. The project plan includes the construction of two pilot pedestrian bridges in Kumasi, Ghana, using these new timber species.


Pneumatic cylinders may not achieve steady motion in applications where low velocities are required because of the stick-slip effect. However, an effective means to assess the possibility of stick-slip occurrence in pneumatic cylinders has not been reported. Despite friction force is an important parameter on stick-slip motion, there are only few studies on friction force at low velocities and stick-slip motion. In this paper, stick-slip motion in pneumatic cylinders is studied. Friction force is measured and stick-slip motion is simulated. The occurrence conditions of stick-slip are studied analytically using non-dimensional parameters. The inFLuence of each variable on the occurrence of stick-slip motion is clarified.


Abstract Individual muscles were dissected from the forequarter and hindquarter regions of four castrate and four entire male red deer, aged 27 months, just before the rut. Six forequarter muscles were found to be significantly lighter as a proportion of total side weight in castrates, and four hindquarter muscles were heavier. Overall, the total dissected forequarter muscles were proportionately 7% lighter(P<0.01) in castrates and the total hindquarter muscles were 7% heavier (P<0.05). Castrates also had significantly lighter heads than entire males(P<0.05).


Globalization is reshaping the fixed and firm boundary between domestic and international spheres and changing our conceptions of the proper domain of domestic and international politics and law…


Remote sensing of the atmospheric aerosol is a well-established technique that is currently used for routine monitoring of this atmospheric component, both from ground-based and satellite. The AERONET program, initiated in the 90's, is the most extended network and the data provided are currently used by a wide community of users for aerosol characterization, satellite and model validation and synergetic use with other instrumentation (lidar, in-situ, etc.). Aerosol properties are derived within the network from measurements made by ground-based Sun-sky scanning radiometers. Sky radiances are acquired in two geometries: almucantar and principal plane. Discrepancies in the products obtained following both geometries have been observed and the main aim of this work is to determine if they could be justified by measurement errors. Three systematic errors have been analyzed in order to quantify the effects on the inversion-derived aerosol properties: calibration, pointing accuracy and finite field of view. Si...


The invention relates to the technical field of optical and coaxial cable combined network access, in particular to an MOCA terminal for an optical fiber and coaxial cable combined network. The MOCA terminal for the optical fiber and coaxial cable combined network comprises a network interface module for connecting the Ethernet and a bootstrap storage module for storing a bootstrap program, wherein a central processing unit loads the bootstrap program from the bootstrap storage module and is connected the network interface module and an MOCA chip respectively. The MOCA terminal simplifies the complexity of hardware design, increases the reliability of a system, saves the hardware cost of the terminal, and in comparison with the conventional design mode, reduces energy consumption.


This paper illustrates the implementation of a Logarithmic Multiplier in two novel approaches by modifying a basic architecture. The increasing need of multiplier circuits due to collaboration of the VLSI and signal processing domains requires processors and digital circuits to be fast at the first place. However, many such applications such as video compression allow a minor compromise on accuracy. Logarithmic multipliers provide increased speed, low power consumption and low memory requirement at the expense of accuracy. This paper takes into account two techniques to achieve greater accuracy on a Logarithmic Multiplier without however affecting the speed, power and memory advantages. The final results are compared on the basis of Maximum Error Percentage and Power Dissipation. The proposed architecture as well as the referenced architecture were implemented on Xilinx xc3s1500-5fg676 FPGA and simulated in Verilog on Xilinx 14.5 ISE. Practical implementation was done at 25MHz with signal (toggle) rate of 12.5 %.


Several problem areas that are associated with the use of composites in spacecraft structures have been highlighted. In particular, the problem of controlling static-charge build-up on composites has been analyzed in some detail.


Early childhood sexual education is an important thing that can be provided to children starting as early as possible. From the rampant phenomena of cases of violence and sexual harassment that often occur, this article can be a guide for readers in providing sexual education to children by paying attention to the stages of child development. This article can increase knowledge for parents in conducting sexual education about their bodies so that children can take care of themselves and prevent increasing cases of irregularities around the child. With the literature review method using various sources of research results that have been done, this article can be a reference for parents in developing knowledge about early childhood sexual education. This article explains the method of knowing the body and the rules of underwear that are packed with attention to cognitive development, communication and sexuality of children. Parents can use strategies using various methods such as storytelling, discussion or question and answer and utilizing audio, visual and audio visual communication media such as pictures, videos and songs.


Japanese firms have historically followed a country-specific model of corporate governance. Yet, Japan has had to adapt its corporate model over the last 30 years, along with the transformation of distinctive characteristics of Japanese capitalism in the same period. We review the historical evolution of Japanese corporate governance over the last three decades with a specific emphasis on the changes in the capital structure of major companies and the efforts to correct ineffective board of directors monitoring. By doing this, we investigate to what extent specific Japanese corporate governance features may explain the nation's economic situation over this period. Thereby, we try to clarify the influences that have presided over recent corporate governance reforms in Japan despite the existence of managerial failures and corporate scandals. This paper places itself into the debate over the diversity of capitalism as it portrays the specificities, differences, and converging trends of Japanese corporate governance practices.


Publicity is important to corporations like McDonald's, but as to how it is done and portrayed to the people through the media lies firmly to the corporation's strategy. This helps the corporation to avoid having a repeat of another Mc Libel case in the future and damages to its corporate reputation. McDonald's marketing efforts should remain interconnected with its competition efforts, but it has to be ethical and should not exhibit deception to both competitors and the public. Though the years of McDonald's pleadings gained favor from the intellectual property law, and proven to its consumers and defamers that the corporation is not guilty of the allegations, admittedly, it gives no guarantee that the victory they enjoyed for years has the power the control to the effects of the case that has been on trial for more than two years.