The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) that was on board the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured optical emissions produced by lightning. In this work, we quantify and evaluate the LIS performance characteristics at both the pixel level of LIS events and contiguous clusters of events known as groups during a recent 2-yr period. Differences in the detection threshold among the four quadrants in the LIS pixel array produce small but meaningful differences in their optical characteristics. In particular, one LIS quadrant (Q1, X ≥ 64; Y ≥ 64) detects 15%–20% more lightning events than the others because of a lower detection threshold. Sensitivity decreases radially from the center of the LIS array to the edges because of sensor optics. The observed falloff behavior is larger on orbit than was measured during the prelaunch laboratory calibration and is likely linked to changes in cloud scattering pathlength with instrument viewing angle. Also, a two-season comparison with the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) has uncovered a 5–7-km north–south LIS location offset that changes sign because of periodic TRMM yaw maneuvers. LIS groups and flashes that had any temporally and spatially corresponding NLDN reports (i.e., NLDN reported the radio signals from the same group and/or from other groups in the same flash) tended to be spatially larger and last longer (only for flashes) than the overall population of groups/flashes.


This paper is a study on the management system of data and documents for the LRT Project using the systems engineering approach. It is addressed a computed based management system using the Systems Engineering Approach toward system thinking to manage effectively and efficiently data and documents. Because the unified efforts was insufficient data and outcomes of project management and systems engineering during the existing LRT Project, we proposed the unified computer management system for the project management and systems engineering efforts using the systems engineering methodology like as a operation concept, collection and analysis of requirements, and functional architecture analysis. This will offer supply efficiently data and outcomes management for the LRT project and then support the automatical document publish output.


Abstract A new starfish, Pseudarchaster motutaraensis (Goniasteridae: Pseudarchasterinae), is described from a near‐complete specimen from volcaniclastic mid‐bathyal sandstone of Nihotupu Formation, Waitakere Group, Akarana Supergroup (mid‐Altonian Stage, late Early Miocene) Motutara, West Auckland, New Zealand. It is the first asteroid to be described from the Akarana Supergroup.


This paper focuses on high value-added liquid crystal materials for automotive applications. In automotive usage, there is a wide temperature range requirement, necessitating LC mixture with high melting points (Tni). However, this requirement causes slower response time at lower temperature. Our research introduces a novel liquid crystal material that accelerates the response time, thereby improving the picture quality at low temperature. The results of this study hold promise for delivering high performance liquid crystal materials to the automotive display.


We recently developed a fieldable large-area, coded-aperture, gamma imager (the large area imager - LAI). The instrument was developed to detect weak radiation sources in a fluctuating natural background. Ideally, the efficacy of the instrument is determined using a receiver-operator statistics generated from measurement data in terms of probability of detection versus probability of false alarm. However, due to the impracticality of hiding many sources in public areas, it is difficult to measure the data required to generate receiver- operator characteristic (ROC) curves. Instead, we developed a high statistics "model source" from measurements of a real point source. The model source is then injected into data collected from the world at large where, presumably, no source exists. In this paper we have applied this "source injection" technique to evaluate the performance of the gamma imager. We injected the model source at many locations parallel to the imager driving direction keeping the source to imager distance fixed. From this data, we generated probabilities of detection and false alarms and plotted ROC curves for 1,1.25 and 1.5 mCi sources placed at 50-m from the imager. We also developed ROC curves for 1 mCi source injected at 35, 40, 45 and 50-m from the imager. The result shows that this prototype instrument provides excellent performance for a 1-mCi source injected at 50-m perpendicular distance from the imager in a single pass at an average velocity of 11 m/s.


The invention to, when the application of the connecting structure of the band-type tightening mechanism and optimized to give a clamping force uniformly to the configuration cells of the fuel cell fastening of the fuel cell stack dead volume related to a fuel cell stack structure for automobiles minimized, which sikimyeo due improve the output density of the stack, in particular by the fuel cell stack cope with through modular according to a narrow space requirements of the vehicle, can improve the structural stability and repair property, and the right and so on, and , this will on the performance of the fuel cell stack on a vehicle fuel cell stack structure for one level to increase. Car, a fuel cell stack, a band, a current collecting plate, insulating plate, end plate, common distributing mechanism


Objective. To study the association of polymorphism rs1801282 of the PPARγ gene with different components of metabolic syndrome (MS). Materials and methods. 145 subjects with newly diagnosed MS were examined. All subjects underwent a clinical examination, including general clinical, laboratory and instrumental methods; presence of polymorphism rs1801282 of the PPARγ gene was also determined. Results. In the group of subjects with rs1801282 polymorphism, hyperglycemia was observed less frequently compared with the rest of subjects the incidence was 53.8% and 79.8% cases respectively (p = 0.005). A decrease in the risk of arterial hypertension was also observed in subjects with polymorphic allele: an increase in blood pressure was noted in 70.6% of rs1801282 group and 96.2% for wild type PPARγ (p < 0.001) When analyzing levels of triglycerides and high-density lipoproteins, an increase in these parameters was noted in the group of subjects with rs1801282 polymorphism. Conclusion. The results of the study indicate the association of rs1801282 polymorphism in subjects with metabolic syndrome with a number of clinical features of the disease, dyslipidemia and a reduction of the risk of hyperglycemia and hypertension. (For citation: Eremenko TV, Kotova SM, Matezius IYu, et al. Association of polimorphism rs1801282 with different components of the metabolic syndrome. Herald of North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov. 2018;10(2):39-43. doi: 10.17816/mechnikov201810239-43).


The cost of treating people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) with newly approved therapies is likely to place a tremendous economic burden on the country's healthcare system, according to a study published in the March 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.


Geography, as known to the Mughal court and the Persian-writing authors of Mughal India, should have expanded in respect of Europe once the Portuguese and then the Dutch, English and French merchants arrived in India. An exploration of Persian texts containing geographical information, including lists of places in the world with their coordinates, reveals that while both Indian and European geographers followed the same Hellenistic system of coordinates, there was very meagre information about Europe added in Mughal-period texts to what had already been recorded in earlier Arabic-Persian works, and this remained pretty meagre. Even the discovery of the New World was rarely noticed and so its implications were not at all comprehended.


The e- learning course delivery platform including a program for generating a digital processing apparatus and distribution server course, products, programs, and methods are disclosed herein. Said server comprises a plurality of learning activities - the activities of at least one of the courses are organized according to plan lessons that are designed to achieve one or more educational objectives and the plan is more than one activity for use in the map environment and Independently identifying one or more of the activities to be assigned as the study; Module to display the one or more activity on the environment map, and provide access thereto; Module is assigned to more than one person said one or more activities as an independent study student - the module approach is possible only by the teacher; And a module for displaying the activities assigned as independent study and provide access to it - comprises - the module access is possible by the teacher or the student.


In the current study, we aimed to determine whether arousing music produces higher levels of physiological arousal than relaxing music during sport imagery. This was a precursor to examining the impact on performance of
imagery accompanied by music. We examined whether unfamiliar music increased or decreased arousal level during familiar sport imagery. We chose unfamiliar music to
minimize confounding effects of past associations. We added familiar arousing music for comparison. 10 elite shooters (7 males, 3 females) performed shooting imagery while we played relaxing music, unfamiliar arousing
music, and familiar arousing music. Using a ProComp+ system and BioGraph Software version 5.0 from Thought TechnologiesTM, we monitored blood volume pulse-amplitude
(BVPAmp), heart rate (HR), galvanic skin response (GSR), and peripheral temperature (PT), for consistent patterns of physiological arousal during each type of music, while
participants did sport imagery. All participants
listened to nine classical music excerpts, chosen by the researchers, before their normal training schedule. Three excerpts were played in each of three training sessions. Resting levels of physiological measures were recorded
first. Between music excerpts, participants rested until those levels were reached again. Analysis of variance revealed significant changes on GSR, F2,162=15.35, p<.05,
eta2=.16, BVPAmp, F2,162=10.83, p<.05, eta2=.12, and HR, F2,162=24.33, p<.05, eta2=.23, for different categories of music. There was a significant interaction effect for PT
and different categories of music, F16,162=1.87, p<.05, eta2=.16. Unfamiliar arousing music created higher arousal levels than familiar arousing music. Relaxing music
showed lower levels of arousal compared to other pieces of music. GSR, PT, and HR showed consistent patterns of interpretation for arousal level of music during imagery. BVPAmp showed more variable results, which might be due to the highly sensitive measurement of BVP, which could be easily influenced by small amounts of noise. In conclusion, some music may produce greater arousal or relaxation than others. Thus, careful selection of music to be used during imagery rehearsal is important to manipulate arousal level for examining the effect of
arousal/relaxation on imagery.


Discriminant validity was originally presented as a set of empirical criteria that can be assessed from multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) matrices. Because datasets used by applied researchers rarely lend themselves to MTMM analysis, the need to assess discriminant validity in empirical research has led to the introduction of numerous techniques, some of which have been introduced in an ad hoc manner and without rigorous methodological support. We review various definitions of and techniques for assessing discriminant validity and provide a generalized definition of discriminant validity based on the correlation between two measures after measurement error has been considered. We then review techniques that have been proposed for discriminant validity assessment, demonstrating some problems and equivalencies of these techniques that have gone unnoticed by prior research. After conducting Monte Carlo simulations that compare the techniques, we present techniques called CICFA(sys) and χ 2 (sys) that applied researchers can use to assess discriminant validity.


Abstract : With the aid of a simple physical model the maximum heat flow in a heat pipe is computed at variable values of gravity. The results are shown by the example of a heat pipe at 900K filled with sodium. Furthermore, the effects of gravity on heat transfer during boiling and condensation in a heat pipe are discussed. (Author)


Recently, the research for reducing harmful automotive emissions have been recognized seriously. Particularly, the improvement for reducing harmful automotive emissions depends on diesel engine combustion characteristics such as EGR rate, Swirl ratio, Start of Injection and etc. In this paper, the examination and simulation data are extracted from the diesel engine combustion characteristics. Based on these results, the amount of emissions such as NOx, SOOT, and etc are anticipated by performing approximations on back-progagation neural networks which have benefit nonlinear characteristic prediction. Consequently, the possibility of predicted approximation based on the characteristic condition of diesel engine combustion is examined.


This work is dedicated to the dialogue of two religious traditions in the work of Czesław Miłosz. It is an attempt to answer the question of relations between Gnosticism and Zen, and their role in Dalsze okolice, but also throughout Miłosz's poetry. These two different types of spiritual experience, both reaching beyond the Christian view, are united in the work of Czesław Miłosz under the category of "internal dialogicality", and — central to each — the issue of duality of subject and object of cognition. Milosz's conflict between Gnosticism highlighting the problem of alienation in the world of nature and the Zen mind which is trying to cross this alienation, turns out to be an interesting example of dialogue between Western and Eastern philosophy. The dichotomous strucutre of this work allows the author to elaborate on the theoretical model of these relations, and then with the help of it, interpret the poetry of Czesław Miłosz. Zen, Gnosticism, Czesław Miłosz, internal dialogicality DOI: https://doi.org/10.26485/ZRL/2018/61.1/4


Abstract Ischemic preconditioning has been used as a training and/or pre-competition strategy; however its use for post-exercise recovery is still unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of ischemic preconditioning on performance and recovery ratings following a simulated match in sub-elite rugby players. Following baseline measures, male players (n=8) performed a 40 min, rugby-specific exercise protocol followed by an intervention: 21 min of ischemic preconditioning (3×5 min occlusion at 220 mmHg with 2 min reperfusion at 0 mmHg) or passive rest (control) on 2 separate days. An agility T-test, a single vertical countermovement jump and 30 s of continuous vertical jumps were performed at baseline (–24 h), immediately after exercise, and immediately after the intervention. The rugby-specific exercise protocol induced similar mean heart rates (158.3±18.0 vs. 158.7±16.0 bpm) and perceived exertion levels (8.2±0.9 vs. 8.0±1.0) for both trials with all recovery performance measures and rating of recovery (13.9±1.4 vs. 13.6±1.6) similar between ischemic preconditioning and control trials (best p=0.385). We conclude that the use of ischemic preconditioning does not improve recovery acutely (~1 h) including specific variables related to rugby performance in amateur rugby union players.


Summary

The space-probe plasma and magnetic evidence for Mars having a significant dipole field is uncertain and contradictory. If ionization processes in the planet's exosphere are taken into account, several discrepancies between observation and the fluid model can be explained. The possibility that some solar plasma flows directly into the atmosphere and is there absorbed is still open.


This paper deals with modeling and control of electrostrictive polymer (EP) for endoscopic microcapsule. The EP is so flexible that we considered it as a flexible membrane. And the EP has time variant variable. It is the reason that the elastic modulus of EP is very small and changes during deformation of EP. But an electronics, polymer science and mechanics must be considered at the same time to have exact model of EP. So a control algorithm was used. The control algorithm must overcome the limit of modeling. So the algorithm of adaptive fuzzy algorithm was used to control the actuator exactly.


We present a framework for accounting of the German statutory pension scheme and estimate a balance sheet for the years 2005 until 2012. Extending and applying the methodology proposed by Settergren and Mikula (2005), we estimate the cross-sectional internal rates of return of the German pension scheme over this period. We are able to show that the cross-sectional internal rate of return is mainly financed by increasing contributions and by changing the liabilities not backed by assets. Additionally, our results reveal that from an expenditure perspective, the major part of the internal rate of return is resulting from changing longevity rather than indexation of pension entitlements. Finally, we prove that from a cross-sectional perspective the implicit tax of a pension scheme can mainly be interpreted as an "implicit wealth tax" on pension wealth and subsequently present empirical estimates for these cross-sectional implicit tax rates.


H.D.Cheng introduced fuzziness into maximum entropy approach and proposed the fuzzy c partitions maximum entropy. But it was not satisfied the definition of image segmentation, a fuzzy weighted entropy is proposed to solve the disadvantage. In addition, membership function is a trapezia distribution which can reduce the parameter' s dimension and shorten the computational time.


A safety critical distance algorithm based on adaptive cruise control system was proposed, in view of the shortcomings of the traditional safety distance model with few parameters and large deviations in vehicle distance control. When the critical distance was reached, the ACC control system sent a signal to the vehicle control unit to adjust the throttle opening and properly brake the wheels to keep the vehicle within safe critical distance range. In order to ensure the accuracy of the algorithm, CarMaker dynamic simulation software and Matlab / Simulink were used to establish a virtual simulation environment for algorithm verification. The results showed that the safety-critical distance model algorithm was reasonable, and the estimated safety-critical distance and deceleration values met the driver's requirements for the vehicle. In addition, the algorithm can also evaluate the performance of the ACC system to reduce the overall development cost and cycle of the vehicle.


We consider optimal coding of video sequences in the sense of employing an optimal selection of quantization scales under buffer and channel constraints. As a result of the delayed-coding framework, multiple rate constraints emerge, leading to the appearance of multiple Lagrange multipliers in a Lagrangian solution approach. We review the applicable Lagrangian optimization theory developed to-date, and present an efficient new solution algorithm.


The articles by Stanberry and by Kilgour on equal pay reminded me that the Equal Pay Act was enacted 50 years ago. I drafted an original version of this editorial in response and sent it to the members of the Advisory Board for comment. They suggested a few changes. Then I received a paper with a somewhat different point of view from Duncan Brown, expressing the view from the United Kingdom (which will appear in the next issue). His comments raise important issues about the management of compensation. His country along with the United States and others are increasingly concerned about the reality that is an economy with far too many low-pay jobs. Many of these jobs are female dominated. These are public policy issues but clearly worthy of discussion within the compensation community. The truth is that HR policies are at the heart of creating a work environment that is fair and gender neutral. This theme will be addressed in future articles. The articles published here made me think about how different the world of work was when the Equal Pay Act was enacted. Many women chose to stay home and raise their children. Those who worked were limited to "female" occupations—teacher, nurse, secretary, librarian and a number of service jobs. The career alternatives then available to women had low pay, well below that of male-dominated jobs. But Congress chose to limit the protection of the law to women working in jobs that are essentially identical to those performed by men. The U.S. Congress and the federal courts have thus far rejected the comparable worth/pay equity argument. Today women in the United States account for more than half of business school applicants and roughly two thirds of college graduates, and women account for more than half of the professional workforce in the United States and a number of countries. To borrow a phrase, women have come a long way. The equal pay issues today are very different, but the pay gap still exists. As someone who first worked on this problem more than three decades ago, I can say unequivocally that there are valid reasons why the gap has not been closed. Furthermore, at least a portion of the gap is unrelated to conscious gender discrimination. Finally—and this is from someone who feels very strongly that everyone should have equal opportunities—the changes in private sector practices needed to eliminate the gap would be detrimental to employer success. The gap calculations at the national level depend on "black box" multivariate statistical methods. It's not that the statistical results and gap estimates are wrong; they are, however, misleading because key variables are frequently not included and/or they are based on data that do not accurately reflect the dynamics governing pay levels. For example, using "degree level" ignores the significant differences in market pay levels for education, liberal arts, business and engineering majors. Similarly, age is not an accurate proxy for experience. Perhaps the most important variable is the difference related to career choice. It is still true that women are more likely to choose comparatively low-paying occupations. (I am aware this is a chicken-and-egg argument.) Moreover, their career choice is also more likely to channel them into public sector jobs. It's not possible to ignore the combination of supply-and-demand dynamics and political reality. In today's environment, with government budget deficits, pay adjustment funds are not readily available. For employers, the comparable worth argument would require the installation of a defensible job evaluation system and having all employees paid under a single salary system. In the 1980s, women and unions pressured elected officials at all levels of government to enact legislation that would mandate employers to take that step. They succeeded in gaining acceptance for their argument for public employers in a few states—for example, Minnesota and Washington. There are similar requirements for selected employers in Canada and Australia. One of the barriers in the United States is the obvious fact that private sector employers maintain two (i.e., exempt and nonexempt) or more pay systems. That practice is not required, but it facilitates compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. It's also increasingly common to rely on different pay strategies for different job families. 510992 CBRXXX10.1177/0886368713510992Risher research-article2013


The quasistatic rate-independent evolution of delamination in the
so-called mixed-mode, i.e. distinguishing opening (mode I) from
shearing (mode II), devised in [45], is described in detail and
rigorously analysed as far as existence of the so-called energetic
solutions concerns.
The model formulated at small strains uses a delamination parameter of
Fremond's type combined with a concept of interface plasticity,
and is associative in the sense that the dissipative force
driving delamination has a potential
which depends in a 1-homogeneous way only on rates of internal
parameters. A sample numerical simulation documents that this
model can really produce mode-mixity-sensitive delamination.


⋆ How can Shor's algorithm for factoring actually be realized? The first step in answering this question is to ask how the main quantum components, namely the F or modular exponentiation box and the Q or quantum Fourier transform box, can be represented in a quantum circuit involving relatively simple operations: onetwoand three-qubit gates. • The final measurements, in this way of thinking about the problem, are only carried out after all the quantum unitary transformations have been completed. There is an alternative approach, measurementbased (or one-way) computation, in which measurement outcomes on parts of an initial entangled state are used to determine what other measurements should be carried out on another part, and so forth. This lies outside the purview of these notes (though there is a hint of it in our discussion of the Q circuit). • Of course, designing circuits does not build a quantum computer, but it does give the engineers something to aim for.


H. and Wegeberg, S. Mapping of marine sediments on the Greenland West Coast: contributions of fishers' ecological knowledge. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 75: 1768–1778. The rapidly changing climate is pushing the Greenland fishing footprint northwards. With bottom fisheries moving into hitherto unmapped areas, large knowledge gaps regarding the environment in which the fishery takes place ensue. Mapping sediment in these areas is a time con-suming and expensive task. Recognizing that fishers have considerable local ecological knowledge can help bridge this knowledge gap. A workshop including ship masters and factory managers on factory trawlers was conducted in order to understand how their knowledge transpired when mapped. This knowledge was compared to historical data and recent bottom photos to develop a better understanding of the differences and similarities between the methods used. The fishers had a good knowledge of sediment types; further some fishers expressed that the topography has changed over time due to intensive trawling. Even though this fishery is undertaken in a high technology environment on large trawlers, the long-time experience of the fishers can contribute to large scale knowledge of marine landscapes. These results are useful when mapping sediments in the future and can also provide a basis for further investigations of changing topography due to trawling.


Immunofluorescence (IF) to detect HCV antigens and non‐isotopic in situ hybridization (NISH) to detect HCV RNA genome were carried out on bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) mononuclear cells (MC) of 11 chronically HCV‐infected patients. In four patients (36.4%) HCV antigens were detected in monocytes macrophages as well as in B lymphocytes in both BMMC and PBMC. Positive T lymphocytes in BMMC were found in three of them, but only one patient showed positive T cells in PBMC. NISH invariably demonstrated minus and plus HCV RNA genomic strands either in monocytes macrophages or B and T lymphocytes in BMMC and PBMC in the four HCV antigen‐positive patients and in two further patients not expressing viral proteins in blood MC. IF signals appeared diffusely distributed within the cytoplasm, or as brilliant granules in distinct submembrane areas or else in cytoplasm membrane. Nuclei never stained. Similarly, NISH displayed HCV RNA accumulation restricted to MC cytoplasm only, nuclei being persistently negative. NISH, however, was unable to detect cell membrane signal. Infection of blood MC is a common event in naturally acquired HCV infection, since none of these patients was conditioned by immunomodulating or immunosuppressive therapies. No difference was found in terms of mean age, length of disease, anti‐HCV immune response, type and severity of chronic liver damage between patients with HCV‐infected MC and patients without cell infection. These results demonstrate that HCV can infect BMMC and PBMC that represent important extrahepatic sites of virus replication, and may help to explain the immunological abnormalities observed in chronic HCV carriers.


Generating entanglement by simply cooling a system into a stationary state which is highly entangled has many advantages. Schemes based on this idea are robust against parameter fluctuations, tolerate relatively large spontaneous decay rates, and achieve high fidelities independent of their initial state. A possible implementation of this idea in atom-cavity systems has recently been proposed by Kastoryano et al., [Kastoryano et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 090502 (2011).]. Here we propose an improved entanglement cooling scheme for two atoms inside an optical cavity which achieves higher fidelities for comparable single-atom cooperativity parameters $C$. For example, we predict fidelities above $90%$ even for $C$ as low as 20 without having to detect photons.


The achievement of eco-product value and the growth of eco-industry can boost the economic advancement of karst areas. The findings of a statistical analysis of 520 relevant studies reveal the following: (1) From a time series perspective, the amount of papers increase with each wave of research; (2) contents mainly concentrate on four aspects, namely, ecosystem services supply (8.46%), value accounting (10.58%), value realization (37.88%), and eco-industry (30.38%); (3) the study areas are primarily concentrated in Asia (85.96%), Europe (7.12%), and North America (4.04%), most of which are located in China's karst areas with vulnerable ecological environments and regions that are aware of eco-product values; and (4) research frontiers are reflected through four aspects of the ecosystem, namely, services supply, value accounting, value realization, and the eco-industry. Based on the analysis in this paper, it can be concluded that paths, mechanisms, and models for eco-product value realization are still slow. Therefore, to support the growth of karst agroforestry ecosystem services, it is imperative to further research the capacity of agroforestry ecosystem services supply, value accounting systems, ecological compensation mechanisms, the value realization models of eco-products, and the formation mechanism of eco-industries.


Knowing, understanding and interpreting the spirit as a beginning is the first step in the biological development of man. Physical and social changes, subjective aspirations, intuitions and experiences are prerequisites for interpretative guidelines and spirit conceptualization in symbolic forms. In this respect, their multi-faceted sense or emotional load determines the purpose of the work - evoking the natural principles of self-assembling the spirit and critical analysis of the preconditions that pose the problems of its ecology.


Substrate curvature measurements were used to measure viscous flow in ion‐beam sputtered amorphous Pd‐Si and amorphous Pd‐Si/Pd‐Si‐Fe multilayered thin films. Viscosities were found to increase linearly with time, characteristic of a bimolecular flow defect annihilation process. The results for Q=2.4±0.8 eV, the isoconfigurational enthalpy, and η, the change in viscosity with time, of the Pd78Si22 thin films are in agreement with the values found in tensile creep experiments on thin films and melt‐quenched ribbons. No dependence on repeat length was found for the viscosity of the multilayered films. Although constant η values were found for the multilayers studied here, an analysis shows that this is not necessarily the case for multilayers in which sublayers have a constant η.


One of the major problems facing law enforcement agents in developing nations is their inability to apprehend road traffic violators without physically stopping them to demand for relevant particulars. Some of these particulars when presented may either be fake, expired or genuine but there is no way the law enforcement agent can confirm the genuineness of requirements of the system were clearly stated and two algorithms; system and RFID were proposed to enable the computer and the technology communicates effectively and efficiently with each other in order to track any moving vehicle and transfer a unique identification of the vehicle to the computer for further information. The system was tested using sampled data and the result was successful.


Objective: To discuss nursing characteristic of COPD II with breath prostrate.Method: To observe clinical effect on 50 cases of COPD with II Breath prostrate were cured and nursed by mechanical air with out hurt.Result: In 50 cases,30 cases had healed.(cure ratio 72%).In 14 invalid cases,5 cases had trachea aerating by intubatton.4 cases died.Conclusion: Clinical effect that COPD with II breath prostrate is applied with air with out hurtis well.Before treatment,noticed essential preparative for nursing.In curing,strictly observe the status of vigour,body character,mind and the breath machine.complication guardianship is nursing emphases of air with out hurt.


This review summarizes some recently published articles on methadone maintenance treatment for intravenous heroin users and the role that these programs can play in helping to reduce the spread of HIV among intravenous drug users. Providing an adequate dose of methadone appears to be vital, as is the duration of treatment and organization of the program. Programs that prescribe insufficient doses of methadone may be able to attract a large number of the most problematic users, which gives the opportunity of providing medical and social care to help stabilize the life of these addicts. However, these programs are unlikely to stop heroin use and are, therefore, also unlikely to be effective in the prevention of HIV infection.


Digital communications can perform unreliably and inaccurately in the presence of noise and interference along a channel. A technique has been developed not only to detect these inaccuracies, but also correct them when decoded. Here we are implementing a block coded system consisting of Reed Muller (RM) code for error detection and correction. RM codes are a family of linear error-correcting codes used in communications. RM codes are among the oldest known codes and have found widespread applications. A useful log domain belief propagation algorithm is used for decoding purpose. The algorithm works by passing real valued functions called messages along the edges between the bit node and check nodes. The performance will be evaluated and validated under Additive White Gaussian Noise channel environment (AWGN). A MATLAB simulation results were tested to achieve bit error rate of 10-5. Simulations are carried out with variable code rate and with 10 iterations. It is observed that bit error rate performance of system depends on code rate, block length and number of iterations. IndexTerms Block Codes. Reed Muller Code, Log Domain Belief Propagation Algorithm, Bit Error Rate Introduction In digital communication, the critical area is how to send the message from the source to the destination with high accuracy. One of the most used techniques and also the most convenient is the adoption of error-correcting codes (ECC). Indeed the codes are used to improve the reliability of data transmission over communication channels susceptible to noise. The coding techniques are based on the following principle: add the redundancy to the transmitted message to obtain a vector called "code word". Decoding techniques are based on the algorithms witch try to find the most likely transmitted code word related to the received one. Decoding algorithms are classified into two categories: hard-decision and soft-decision algorithms. Hard-decision algorithms work on a binary form of the received information. In contrast, soft decision algorithms work directly on the received symbols. According to the manner in which redundancy is added to messages, ECC can be divided into two classes: block and convolution. Block codes implement a one-to-one mapping of a set of k information symbols on to a set of n code symbols. Convolution codes offer an approach to error control substantially different from that of block codes. A convolution encoder converts the entire data stream, regardless of its length, into a single codeword. Both types of coding schemes have found practical applications. Block codes have been the subject of a considerable amount of research in information theory. General coding theorems and sophisticated implementation techniques have been developed for these codes. www.ijcrt.org © 2018 IJCRT | Volume 6, Issue 1 March 2018 | ISSN: 2320-2882 IJCRT1802862 International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT) www.ijcrt.org 1219 RM codes are a family of linear error-correcting codes used in communications. RM codes were introduced in 1954, first by Muller and shortly after by Reed who oldest and simplest codes to construct; the codewords are the evaluation vectors of all multivariate polynomials of a given degree bound. RM codes have been extremely influential in the theory of computation, playing a central role in some important developments in several areas. In cryptography, they have been used e.g. in secret sharing schemes, instance hiding constructions and private information retrieval. The conjecture that RM codes achieve capacity has been experimentally confirmed in simulations [1,2]. Moreover, despite being extremely old, new interest in it resurged a few years ago with the advent of polar codes [3]. The main iterative belief propagation (BP) decoding algorithms for RM code include soft-decision such as Sum Product (SP) algorithm [4] and hard-decision such as Bit flipping. In iterative decoding, a critical trade-off between complexity and performance is required. Based on these two issues, algorithms may be classified as optimal, sub-optimal or quasi-optimal. The optimal iterative decoding is performed by the SumProduct algorithm at the price of an increased complexity, computation instability, and dependence on thermal noise estimation errors. The Min-Sum algorithm [5] performs a suboptimal iterative decoding, less complex than the Sum-Product decoding. The sub-optimality of the Min-Sum decoding comes from the overestimation of checknode messages, which leads to performance loss with respect to the Sum-Product decoding. Several correction methods were proposed in the literatures in order to recover the performance loss of the Min-Sum decoding with respect to the Sum-Product decoding which are called quasi-optimal algorithms. An example is Normalized min-sum algorithm proposed by Chen and Fossorier. This paper is organised as, in section 2 we will discuss basic dimensions of RM code. The generation of RM code is also illustrated. In section 3 gives the insight about log domain BP decoding algorithm. In section 4 we have presented the simulated result for bit error rate (BER) performance of system. Reed Muller Code A RM code of order r and m is denoted as RM (r,m) or RM (N,K). For m ≥ 0, and 0 ≤ K ≤ N Table 1 : Dimensions of RM Code Mathematical Expression Dimensional Quantity N – Block Length K – Input Msg. Length d = minimum hamming distance of code R – Code Rate The RM code of order (r,m) can be generated mainly by two methods. Recursive Construction: (2.1) m N 2           m


As social beings, humans in living life will definitely depend on other humans. Therefore, religion provides teachings to spread love between people, one of which is by giving alms as a form of reflection to create love between people. And to make a person who likes to give or someone who has the character of a donor requires habituation from an early age, because in terms of the character of Helen G. D. it gives an understanding that character is not inherited, but something that is built continuously day by day through thoughts and actions, thoughts for the sake of thought, action after action. As was carried out by TPQ Daarul Hamdi Ulujami South Jakarta, namely Friday charity activities for students every Friday as a reflection of the teachings of the prophet's hadith. it is hoped that students will have high social sensitivity so as to produce philanthropic characters. This research uses descriptive qualitative method. The purpose of this research is to cultivate characters that are in accordance with the values of Islamic teachings.


The paper concerns the analysis of the role of artefacts and instruments in approaching calculus by graphic-symbolic calculator at high school level. We focus on an element of the introduction of calculus: the global/local game. We discus the hypothesis that the zoom-controls of calculator support the production of gestures and metaphors that foster the shift from a global to a local point of view. The analysis of protocols confirms that the exploration of several functions through the zooming process was supported by gestures and language. They appeared during the zooming process and in pupils' answers to the tests when the calculator was no more available and when the task concerned mathematical objects.


First‐line treatment for patients with knee osteoarthritis should ideally prescribe patient education, exercise, and if needed, weight loss. In practice, however, adjunctive treatments, including painkillers and referrals to specialists, are typically introduced before these measures. This study evaluated interventions to sustainably improve general practitioner delivered care for patients with knee osteoarthritis.


This paper presents a new primal-dual method for computing an equilibrium of generalized (continuous) Nash game (referred to as generalized Nash equilibrium problem (GNEP)) where each player's feasible strategy set depends on the other players' strategies. The method is based on a new form of Lagrangian function with a quadratic approximation. First, we reformulate a GNEP as a saddle point computation problem using the new Lagrangian and establish equivalence between a saddle point of the Lagrangian and an equilibrium of the GNEP. We then propose a simple algorithm that is convergent to the saddle point. Furthermore, we establish global convergence by assuming that the Lagrangian function satisfies the Kurdyka-Ł ojasiewicz property. A distinctive feature of our analysis is to make use of the new Lagrangian as a potential function to guide the iterate convergence, which is based on the idea of turning a descent method into a multiplier method. Our method has two novel features over existing approaches: (i) it requires neither boundedness assumptions on the strategy set and the set of multipliers of each player, nor any boundedness assumptions on the iterates generated by the algorithm; (ii) it leads to a Jacobi-type decomposition scheme, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first development of a distributed algorithm to solve a general class of GNEPs. Numerical experiments are performed on benchmark test problems, and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.


In a separate article (Forsyth and Kay, Fiscal Studies, No.3), we have described the gains to the British economy from the exploitation of North Sea oil reserves. These gains arise partly from the value of oil output itself, and partly from the improvement in the terms of trade which result from the rise in the value of sterling. Because of the conventions adopted in the construction of national income. Over the period 1977-80, the reported growth rate of the UK under-estimates the increase in real consumption and investment by almost five per cent. Although the issues involved are somewhat technical, they are therefore central to the analysis and description of current economic events. In this article we describe the problems with the existing measure and present estimates of the UK growth rate over the last 10 years with suitable adjustments.


The "TanDEM-X Change DEM" will be a new DEM consisting of the data globally acquired by the TanDEM-X mission from 2017 until 2020. This new DEM aims to characterize terrain changes which occurred between the acquisition of the TanDEM-X global DEM, acquired between 2010 and 2015, and the new temporally independent and up-to-date data set. The new data will mostly contain only one global coverage. Therefore, necessary improvements in the acquisition planning process as well as in the interferometric processing were made. Specifically, a new adaptive filtering approach is presented in this paper as well as its influence on the interferometric phase and the DEM for test sites over Germany and Chile.


Governance structures and Knowledge Management Systems standards such as ISO 30401 and ISO 9001 ask for policies for knowledge management but leave open, how such a policy might be detailed. Depending on the preferences of owners, management or more extensive stakeholder groups, the assumptions about what is good and can therefore be considered as ethical, vary substantially. In the German literature, two authors represent two extremes of a wide spectrum of business ethics: Peter Ulrich and his Integrative Economic Ethics (Ulrich, 2007), positioning ethical behavior above all other corporate objectives on the one (politically left) side and Karl Homann with the Instrumental Ethic (Homann, 1999) and the general idea to maximize shareholder value on the other (politically right) side. Both European continental authors are distinct from the Anglo-American tradition of "business ethics" represented by Solomon (1994), Donaldson and Dunfee (1999) or Freemann (1984), who are, in general, less focused on principles, but suggest procedures that avoid risks for organizations (or their top managers) of being framed as unethical.
Knowledge as an intangible asset and different to tangibles such as money, goods, or infrastructure, is usually not controlled by investors, but by employees of an organization and thus affects problems of agency (Jensen, 1976) or stewardship (Donaldson, 1982) in corporate governance. Questions of ownership, modes of sharing and transferring knowledge to development of new knowledge and strategies of utilizing knowledge to create value need to be answered in a way to attract the best knowledge professionals. The answers might help formulate a formally consistent policy for knowledge management that considers either position – or come up with a more balanced approach, which could be implemented with established governance structures or ethic management systems (Wieland, 2014).
This paper discusses two qualitative positions of Homann and Ulrich in the context of knowledge management systems and knowledge as a corporate resource with the ambition to suggest recommendations to formulate a knowledge management policy that delivers on the formal requirements of ISO 30401.


The objective of this work was to identify genotypes of lettuce, sweet potato, beans (snap beans and dry beans), Capsicum (hot and sweet peppers) and tomatoes possibly resistant to the nematode Meloidogyne mayaguensis. Ten lettuce cultivars (Elisa, Vera, Verônica, Mirella, Grand Rapids, Salinas 88, Julia, Luisa, Hortência and Babá de Verão), eight sweet potato clones (UFLA07-43, UFLA07-49, UFLA07-53, UFLA07-31, Brazlândia Branca, Brazlândia Rosada, Brazlândia Roxa and Palmas), six dry bean cultivars (Macarrão Trepador, Aporé, Talismã, Ouro Negro, Macarrão Atibaia and Macarrão Preferido), 4 snap-bean cultivars (Macarrão Rasteiro, Macarrão Rasteiro Conquista, Macarrão Rasteiro Dourado and Macarrão Favorito), 25 Capsicum spp. (Ikeda, Magali-R, Magnata Super, Mayara F1, BGH-433, BGH-4285, PIM-030, PIM-031, PIM032, PIM-033, PIM-034, PIM-035, PIM-036, PIM-037, Linha-017, PIX-022I31-07-01, PIX-022I-31-07-02, PIX-022I-31-13-01 PIX-022I31-13-02, PIX022I-31-14-01, PIX-022I-31-14-02, PIX-022I-31-20-01, PIX-022I-31-20-02, Carolina Wonder and Charleston Belle) and six tomato (TOM-584, TOM-684, PI-134417, PI-127826, LA-716 and PI-126443) genotypes were tested. Each lettuce or tomato plant was inoculated with 1992 viable eggs, while each bean and pepper plant was inoculated with 5977 and 828 viable eggs, respectively, 15 days after the sowing date (DAS). Sweet potatoes were inoculated with 2065 viable eggs per plant 30 DAS. Reproduction factors and reproduction indices were determined for each plant, and each genotype was rated according to its degree of resistance. No tomato acession was rated as resistant. Moderate levels of resistance were found for the bean cultivar Aporé, for the Capsicum chinense accessions BGH-433 and BGH-4285, and for the C. annuum lines PIM-031, PIX-022I-31-07-02 and PIX-022I-31-13-01. The lettuce cultivars Grand Rapids, Verônica, Julia, Hortência and Babá de Verão and the sweet potato clones UFLA07-49 and UFLA07-53 were considered very resistant to the nematode.


With the Austrian economy becoming more integrated into Eastern Central Europe, manufacturing steps are being shifted to Eastern Europe (outsourcing or "fragmentation"), following the intermediate step of lower costs payable for imported materials and services. Outsourcing impacts directly and negatively on domestic employment, yet simultaneously raises both output and employment indirectly as a consequence of lower costs at the macroeconomic level. This indirect effect is produced by cost savings, which in turn change output prices and thus improve competitiveness (on all markets).


A response in writing: A low-cost bioactive paper device is designed to perform ABO and RhD blood typing tests, and the paper reports the results in writing. This idea was inspired by the vision of the British author, J. K. Rowling, through her novel "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" in which a piece of paper could be interrogated for information and unambiguous answers were received from the paper in writing.


In order to get the optimal damper of building structures, in the paper,a robust critical excitation approach is adopted.Considering it is difficult to acquire the frequencies action areas,modes transfer is used to lessen the high-order frequencies influence and reduce the search of frequencies action areas.On the premise that the structural anti-vibration effect could be assured,the real coded genetic algorithms is utilized to find the optimal damper in order to acquire a lesser total-damper-increment and feasible and simple optimization method.Meanwhile,by a numerical example,we find that it is favorable to put the bigger damper into the middle floor position.


Back of photograph: Old House at 211 Pierre St. Manhattan Sept. 21, 1936. 8- 1/25, 9:00 a.m. Razed for construction of the viaduct October, 1936.


The concept of road safety, its content and features are presented based on the analysis of legislation in the field of traffic.


Animation is a synthesis of ideas that often encounters unpredictable, illogical, and imagined domains. In those animated worlds, recorded sound is now part of a coalition of two sensory forms mediated through hearing and vision. Sound has therefore been embedded in the audio-visual toolbox since the successful synchronisation of sound and picture. Sonic elements now contribute significantly to how animators might shape their films and express ideas. These animated worlds also often represent deeply rooted expressions of the interior mind of the artists and animators themselves. This chapter explores the relationship of sound to image in the evolutionary and increasingly variable animated forms that are currently proliferating. It aims to focus on sound as being the primary channel that is best able to reflect those interior ideas within a range of animated media. The exploration seeks to do this through tracing proto-cinematic ideas in the art of the past and animation practice that researches the sonified and animated image using musical and figurative metaphors.


To tackle the challenge of ineffective sentiment prediction using current sentiment classification methods, this paper introduces a method social network text sentiment classification. The method leverages a bidirectional short and long-term memory model (AT-BiLSTM), specifically designed for a big data environment. First, a vectorized representation of text is realized by introducing a pre-trained BERT model, and the classification results are dynamically adjusted according to the semantic information of the words. Then, the BiLSTM combined with the attention mechanism performs aspect-level sentiment analysis, and the corresponding model AT-BiLSTM is formulated. Finally, the BERT model randomly selects input tags for information masking and pre-trains the proposed model. The proposed method was evaluated against three alternative methods using an identical dataset. The results show that the novel method achieved the highest accuracy, recall, and F1-score, reaching 93.72%, 93.91%, and 92.38%, respectively. Consequently, the proposed method demonstrates superior performance compared to the other three methods evaluated.


Abstract Based on a review of literature and interviews with thirty women who occupy middle or senior management positions in the field, this paper illustrates how the traditional model of career development is inadequate for understanding the experiences of women in leisure services management. Elements of a women- centered model of career development are introduced and the implications of adopting this model as a basis of human resource development are discussed. The model deals with the variety of factors that influence the paid and non-paid roles that women assume over their life course and considers alternative definitions of career success. These factors include: socio-economic factors, organizational factors, legislative factors, professional organizations, background factors, current positions, family situation, and individual factors. It is argued that employers who revise human resource development policies and practises to reflect the diverse career experiences of women will be in a better posi...


Hsinchu 300, Taiwan, R.O.C. Acomprehensive evaluation of Cs ions sorption to and diffusion in crushed granite was conducted in this study. The sorption capacity of crushed granite suggested by the Langmuir model was 5.48 10 -6 mol-Cs/g-granite. The distribution coefficient (Kd) was around 7.5 mL/g and pH independent. By using anin-diffusionmethodwithamodifiedcapillarycolumn,somediffusionrelevantparametersofCsionsin crushed granite were derived. The apparent diffusion coefficient (Da) seemed unaffected by Cs concentration (1.15 10 -10 to 2.82 10 -10 m 2 /s, at 10 -7 and 10 -3 M, respectively). The determined effective diffusion coefficients (De) were located in the window from 8.59 10 -10 (10 -7 M) to 1.69 10 -9 (10 -3 M) m 2 /s. UndervariouspHenvironments,pHindependentDa(9.010 -9 m 2 /s)andDe(1.010 -9 m 2 /s)valueswere observed. Under current systems, consistently higher De than Da implied the diffusion of Cs ions was governed by surface diffusion phenomenon. Whereas the pH insensitive feature indicated the Cs sorption to crushed granite was mainly through ion-exchange reaction. Moreover, further SEM/EDS mapping clearly showed the adsorbed Cs ions were highly concentrated on the fracture surface of biotite.


In this paper, we review the application of dynamic Bayesian networks to prognostic modelling. An example is provided for illustration. With this example, we show how the equipment's reliability decays over time in the situation where repair is not possible and then how a simple change to the model allows us to represent different maintenance policies for repairable equipment.


The subject of this paper is sensor fusion analysis of the tele-operation unmanned vehicle. The whole system target is studied in context of a motor control system, algorithms for the high level control of a tele-operation unmanned vehicle and integration of driving simulator and unmanned vehicle. The master system has a host computer and simulator, the slave system is an electronic vehicle system. The slave vehicle system consists of three parts. First, the laser sensor system for keeping the front sensory system and ultrasonic sensor system for keeping the side avoiding collision. Second, the acceleration system and brake control system for longitudinal motion control. Third, the steering control system for lateral motion control. In this research, mechanical and electronic parts are implemented to operate the unmanned vehicle as a whole-integrated system. We show the experimental result about fixed brake range test, handling performance and acceleration test. The system integrates a driving simulator and the unmanned vehicle.


According to the theories of Reliability Centered Maintenance and Proactive Maintenance,the combnication of preventive maintenance and predictive maintenance,which is the strategy of preventive maintenance and management,should be adopted according to the development of power plant equipment asset management system(DLEAM).All the enterprise departments are well integrated with the work flow as carrier for the equipment maintenance and management.Therefore with the the submitting,approval and implementation of work order as the main line,the whole life cycle of equipment asset management can be tracked in the DLEAM.According to the strategy of equipment maintenance,the flows of preventive maintenance and predictive maintenance are researcherd.The systems preventive maintenance functions are realized though periodic maintenance programe,inspection programe,lubrication programe,maintenance ways programe,asset schedule programe and the programe for the status points definition equipment.And in order to facilitate the implementation of preventive maintenance,the interface between EAM with various types of project management software or the same time real-time monitor systems need to be designed.


Coding sequences from the intracellular segment linking repeat domains III and IV of the para‐homologous sodium channel gene were amplified and cloned from two species of Heliothine larvae using RT‐PCR techniques. Sequence comparisons between standard laboratory susceptible and nerve insensitive strains of the tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens) and the cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) identified two mutations. These were an aspartic acid (GAC) to valine (GTC ) and a glutamic acid (GAA) to glycine (GGA) mutation. PCR and sequencing was undertaken only on individuals that were demonstrated to be phenotypically nerve insensitive or susceptible to pyrethroids using a neurophysiological technique. The finding of identical mutations across two species suggests that they may be implicated in resistance.


A 17-year-old gender nonbinary patient presented with cachexia, nonbilious, nonbloody emesis, lower abdominal discomfort, and decreased oral intake for four days and 40 lb weight loss for 1 year. Emesis started 4 days before admission, and they denied prior epi-sodes of vomiting. They were vegan and although their weight was 30.4 kg (<0.01%, z = –6.68), and BMI was 11.73 kg/m 2 (<0.01%, z = –7.92), they were satisfied with their weight. Initial workup at the outside emergency room was significant for elevated lipase of 4544 U/L, sodium 131 mmol/L, bicarbonate 32 mmol/L, BUN 56 mg/dL, creatinine 1.3 mg/dL, and a normal abdominal ultrasound. Ultrasound showed a normal pancreas and no evidence of cholelithiasis or choledocholithiasis. Upon transfer to our institution for admission, they had per-sistent emesis, despite being on bowel rest. Due to concern about obstruction, CT abdomen and pelvis was performed, which showed a massively dilated stomach and duodenum with cutoff at the third portion of the duodenum, and the pancreas appeared homogenous and flattened secondary to the distended stomach (Fig. 1). During the exploratory laparotomy, findings were consistent with superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome, and due to the severity of the obstruction, duodenojejunal anastomosis, and gastrostomy tube placement were performed. Adolescent medicine and psychiatry were consulted, and the patient admitted that their grandmother's health was a


Abstract A non-biotin amplification (NBA) detection system was compared to current, widely used biotin-labeled secondary antibody combined with streptavidin enzyme conjugate (Lab-SA) detection system. Series of normal and abnormal tissue sections were analyzed with these 2 systems under identical experimental conditions. NBA detection system had similar sensitivity to Lab-SA kits in all 6 cases tested with 6 different primary antibodies at 3 different dilutions. There was no significant difference in staining intensity of the target antigen. Results of multinormal tissue blocks staining with both Lab-SA and NBA detection systenls after heat-induced epitope retrieval (HIER) indicated that HIER reactivated endogenous biotin, and that Lab-SA required an additional step of biotin-blocking for optimal staining. NBA detection system showed no evidence of nonspecific biotin staining caused by endogenous biotin that was induced by HIER procedure in the formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissues. (The J Histotechnol 23:327, 2000)


While globalization is largely theorized in terms of trans-border flows, this article suggests an exploratory sociological framework for analyzing globalization as consisting of systemic processes of closure and containment. The suggested framework points at the emergence of a global mobility regime that actively seeks to contain social movement both within and across borders. The mobility regime is theorized as premised upon a pervasive "paradigm of suspicion" that conflates the perceived threats of crime, immigration, and terrorism, thus constituting a conceptual blueprint for the organization of global risk-management strategies. The article draws on multiple examples, singling out some elementary forms of the mobility regime, emphasizing the sociological affinity between guarded borders on the one hand and gated communities on the other. In particular, the article aims at theorizing the translation of the paradigm of suspicion into actual technologies of social screening designed to police the mobility of those social elements that are deemed to belong to suspect social categories. Specifically, the article points at biosocial profiling as an increasingly dominant technology of intervention. Biosocial profiling, in turn, is theorized in juxtaposition to other modalities of power, namely, legal and disciplinary measures.


Jiangsu Jiangdong ZH1130 uses an adapter that makes it possible to operate an engine on three different fuels Propane, Natural Gas, and Gasoline.


Abstract This study looks at the relationship between fear of death, views on aging, and generalized anxiety. We theorize that positive views on aging (such as disagreeing that old age is a time of loss and decline) will buffer anxieties related to the unavoidable event of death. To test an implication of this theory, we ran a model looking at whether scores from a five-item views of aging scale altered the relationship between a fear of death measure (i.e., Collet-Lester's "Your death" subscale) and generalized anxiety as measured on the GAD-7. Covariates related to religious beliefs, history with depression and anxiety, stress, social desirability reporting, and routine behaviors were included. An online probability sample of American adults age 18 and older (fielded January 2019) yielded results consistent with a "views-on-aging-as-an-anxiety-buffer" theory. Specifically, visualizations indicate that in a high fear of death condition, those with positive views of aging have significantly lower anxiety levels than those who do not. As such, this research suggests that positive views on aging may console those harboring fears about death.


The aim of this work was to study the activity of novel benzalkonium and ammonium ionic liquids with 2-mercaptobenzothiazolate as accelerators in the sulfur vulcanization of butadiene–styrene elastomer (SBR). In this Article, the effect of the ionic liquids on the vulcanization kinetics of the rubber compounds, the cross-link density, and the mechanical properties of the vulcanizates, as well as their resistance to thermal and UV aging, was studied. The application of novel ionic liquids allowed for the elimination of N-cyclohexyl-2-benzothiazolesulfenamide from SBR compounds and for the considerable reduction of the amount of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole present in rubber products. Synthesized salts seem to be good substitutes for standard accelerators in the sulfur vulcanization of SBR rubber, without the observation of any detrimental effects on the vulcanization process, the physical properties, or the thermal stability of the obtained vulcanizates.


ABSTRACT A phosphatase secreted by Staphylococcus aureus strain 154 has previously been characterized and classified as a new member of the bacterial class C family of nonspecific acid phosphatases. As the acid phosphatase activity can be easily detected with a cost-effective plate screen assay, quantitatively measured by a simple enzyme assay, and detected by zymography, its potential use as a reporter system was investigated. The S. aureus acid phosphatase (sapS) gene has been cloned and expressed from its own regulatory sequences in Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus halodurans. Transcriptional and translational fusions of the sapS gene with selected heterologous promoters and signal sequences were constructed and expressed in all three of the host strains. From the range of promoters evaluated, the strongest promoter for heterologous protein production in each of the host strains was identified, i.e., the E. coli lacZ promoter in E. coli, the B. halodurans alkaline protease promoter in B. subtilis, and the B. halodurans σD promoter in B. halodurans. This is the first report on the development of a class C acid phosphatase gene as a reporter gene with the advantage of being able to function in both gram-positive and gram-negative host strains.


To determine how low pH and high aluminum concentrations directly affect microbial activity on decomposing leaves in streams, we examined microbial communities on leaf surfaces using in situ flow-through chambers which exclude macroinvertebrates. Bacterial production (thymidine incorporation) on leaf material was significantly higher at pH 6.4 than at 4.9 after 4 wk of incubation, and this difference persisted for the last 5 wk of the experiment. Microbial respiration was greater at the high pH site after 6 wk, and there were no significant differences in ATP standing stock. Concentrations of oxalate-extractable aluminum on the leaf material increased significantly within the first 4 wk of incubation and stabilized at significantly greater levels at low pH (4.66 mg∙g−1) than at high pH (1.70 mg∙g−1). Transferring leaf material from the high-pH to the low-pH stream had negative effects after only 1 wk of incubation. However, transferring from low pH to high pH did not result in significant positive effects...


2008 Wenchuan "5.12" destructive earthquake,not only directly destroy forest 17.3 million hm2,but also bring potential threat to existing forest by changing soil and firewood habitat within.Major species Cupressus funebris was selected in this study,which was in the Beichuan and its surrounding areas in the earthquake disaster areas.In three states: severe landslides,landslides and non-landslides,soluble sugar and starch contents were measured in early June 2009(early summer) and early in October(autumn).It aims to explore the responses of carbohydrates of Cupressus funebris to Wenchuan earthquake in the earthquake zone,in order to provide theoretical basis and practical guidance for studying the impact of carbohydrates and adaption to stress after the earthquake.The results show that: earthquake has a greater influence on contents of carbohydrates of Cupressus funebris;the severe landslides have higher soluble sugar contents,and low starch contents in the roots;The soluble sugar contents in leaves,branches and roots of severe landslides in early summer are(11.44±1.08)%、(4.64±0.42)%、(5.48±0.51)% respectively.To different organs,the soluble sugar contents showed leavesrootsbranches and leaf starch contentsbranchroot;carbohydrate content in early summer were higher than in autumn.Only soluble sugar and starch contents in different seasons showed significant differences(P0.05),indicating that leaves of Cupressus funebris are more sensitive to earthquakes.That indicated earthquake caused disaster such as landslides and collapses have great effects on physiological activities of plants and did not conducive to tree growth.


The decentralized feedback control strategy of a line of manufacturing machines is proposed and studied both in continuous-domain and in discrete-event representation. The illustrating example for a line of four machines is presented, showing desired system performance for various conditions.


A cleistanthane-type diterpene, compound 1, was isolated from the marine-derived Fusarium sp. FH-146. The structure of 1 was determined by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. Compound 1 showed moderate antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and phytotoxic activities Graphical Abstract A Cleistanthane Diterpene From a Marine-derived Fusarium Species Under Submerged Fermentation


The size distribution of soot nanoparticles in an ethylene flame has been mapped in an in situ small angle x-ray scattering measurement at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. It has been seen that an abrupt size distribution change occurs at about a third of the flame's visible height and this is believed to be due to the oxidation and dehydrogenation of the particles.


Composite i-PP/PEDOT films made of isotactic polypropylene (i-PP), which is frequently used for the fabrication of implantable medical devices for internal use, and chemically synthesized poly(3,4-...


In postwar Japan, the term salaryman, denoting middle-class male employees, has come to be conceptualized as the Japanese masculine norm, and represents men's authoritative and static agency performed through their roles in the household and the nation-state. Given generational shifts in the middle-class life orientation of Japanese men from being centered on work stability and the responsibilities of work and family to a more self-oriented approach to life, how is transnational mobility practiced among young Japanese men? This article explores ways in which transnational Japanese men in their twenties and early thirties have reacted to and adopted the salaryman ideal, combining an ie (family) ideology with their own wants and needs. Through exploring the life trajectories of several Japanese men who have lived in Dublin on temporary visas, this article argues for a distinctive difference underlined by life stage in the way that they acted with regard to transnational mobility.


Abstract : We developed methods to study the uncertainty that arises when we need multiple forms of reasoning and when multiple data representations are involved. We developed the concepts of heterogeneous temporal probabilistic (HTP) agents, the concept of probabilistic version of XML and RDF, and probabilistic methods to reason about collections of moving objects.


The sources and sinks are used to simulate the mechanical drives and the drives of the feed and withdrawals in the simulation of the flow field of a gas centrifuge for isotope separation.The new sources and sinks terms in the hydrodynamic equations are re-derived,which are different from those used in the literature.The new terms reflect the association of a type of sources and sinks with another type of sources and sinks,and the interaction of sources and sinks with the flow field,which is referred to as the coupling of the sources and sinks.Due to the coupling,which is not taken into account before,some sources and sinks terms become unknowns,which have to be determined along with the solution of the flow field.Comparing the results with and without the consideration of the coupling,it is shown that the basic flow patterns in the separation chamber are similar,but the values of the flow quantities are different and so the separative power has a quite big difference.So the sources and sinks coupling should be taken into account in the simulation of the flow field of gas centrifuges.


Study Objectives. To compare rates of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia among elderly hospitalized patients with normal blood glucose concentrations at baseline who were receiving either gatifloxacin or levofloxacin, and to determine if appropriateness of their doses, according to their package inserts, was associated with hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.


Objective: Toinvestigate the method and technique of minimally invasive removal of crow's feet and to improve the outer canthus. Method: We removed loose skin by under eyebrow incision, especially the lateral segment skin; freed orbicularis muscle flap, suspended the upper lateral orbicularis oculi muscle on the periosteal flap at the outer 1/3 of supraorbital margin. Results: Among 48 cases of clinical application, crow's feet was completely removed in 45 cases and significantly reduced in 3 cases. Conclusion: Eyebrow incision and upward strain of orbicularis muscle flap are simple, safe, and effective methods to remove crow's feet.


Geologic setting: "In 1932 near Mountain City, a zone of supergene-enriched sulphides was discovered 228 feet beneath barren gossans by Frank Hunt (York, 1944, p. 71). The deposit was rich in copper and was the main ore body of the Rio Tinto mine. It is located along the contact between the Black Rock Quartzite and the Rio Tinto Formation, formations tentatively correlated with the argillaceous rocks (Pza) in the Rowland quadrangle."


analgesic preparations. It posses good counter irritant activity. In this present study, a colorimetric method is developed for the quantitative estimation of methyl salicylate, both in the bulk form and in the formulations. A dark bluish – purple colour is formed between methyl salicylate and ferric chloride reagent. The intensity of the colour is directly related to the concentration of methyl salicylate present. The developed method was simple and gave accurate and precise results. The developed colour had its maximum value of absorbance at 537 nm when scanned in the visible region. The absorbance of the coloured system was measured at 537 nm. Beer's law was obeyed in the range of 12 to 72 µg/mL. The equation for the straight line was found to be, y = 0.0075 x + 0.002 with correlation coefficient value of 0.996. The developed method was applied to semi – solid formulations for the quantitative estimation of methyl salicylate. The percentage of recovery was between 99.62 % in the formulation. The method proved to be a convenient analytical tool for the quantity determination of methyl salicylate.


The problem of cochannel interference is addressed. The ability of the Numerical Electromagnetics Code (NEC2) computer program to predict the radiation pattern of an antenna array on a mast is investigated. The evaluation and validation of NEC2 is undertaken by the comparison of measured and computed radiation patterns of log-periodic dipole antenna arrays. Emphasis is placed on the correspondence of the side-lobe levels -30 to -40 dB down from the main lobe. This is important in the synthesis of an array with predictable null positions and depths. >


ABSTRACT Marine navigation consists in continuous observation of the situation at sea, determination the anti-collision manoeuvre. So it necessary to determine ship safe trajectory as a sequence of ship course changing manoeuvres. Each manoeuvre is undertaken on the basis of information obtained from the anti-collision system ARPA. This paper describes a method of safe ship control in the collision situation in a fuzzy environment based on a branch and bound method and a genetic algorithm. The optimal safe ship trajectory in a collision situation is presented as multistage decision-making process


The paper lists issues that a university teacher faces while designing a course in literary translation for students of English. The subject requires a very individual approach, both due to its nature and to the lack of textbooks covering English-Polish literary translation. On the basis of experience with such a course offered to students of English taking an MA programme in translation studies, the author lists important issues, starting with the rationale for including such a course in the curriculum, the choice of reference sources, selection of source texts for translation activities (poetry or prose, excerpts or whole texts, recognizable classics or relatively anonymous authors, text which have or have not been already translated), the choice of other types of activities (source text analysis, translation criticism, error correction in translations and target language texts), and assessment methods (holistic or focused on specific problems, from the perspective of a reader or that of a language teacher).


PURPOSE
To determine the value of gray-scale ultrasonography (US) and Doppler US in the prediction, diagnosis, and prognostic assessment of hepatic veno-occlusive disease (HVOD).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
One hundred patients (median age, 22 years; range, 18 months to 59 years) receiving total body irradiation or busulfan therapy as intensive treatment before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation were studied prospectively. Each patient underwent gray-scale and Doppler US examination before transplantation and weekly thereafter while hospitalized (about four examinations per patient). Seven gray-scale morphologic criteria and seven Doppler criteria were studied, yielding three individual scores: gray-scale score, Doppler score, and total score.

RESULTS
Twenty-five patients developed HVOD; nine of these patients died. Positive predictive values of the 14 criteria were 31%-95%, and negative predictive values were 85%-96%. The three scores correlated with the clinical diagnosis of HVOD. Depending on the cutoff value, the positive predictive value of the total score was 44%-89% and the negative predictive value was 91%-98%. The gray-scale and Doppler criteria differed significantly between patients with HVOD and those with graft-versus-host disease of the liver (P = 10(-4)).

CONCLUSION
Even if there is overlap in findings between patients with and those without HVOD, gray-scale and Doppler US are valid for positive and differential diagnosis and have predictive and prognostic relevance.


In November 1959, a group of businessmen and politicians from Wheeling, West Virginia, a small city of fifty-five thousand along the Ohio River, traveled to their larger neighbor upstream with hopes of recreating Pittsburgh's successful urban renewal program in their own community. Over the previous six years, the Wheeling Area Conference on Community Development had pushed through a series of smoke control and infrastructure projects modeled on the Steel City's Renaissance. In a letter to Edward Magee, executive director of Pittsburgh's Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Wheeling retailer Robert Levenson expressed his gratitude for the "wonderful cooperation and inspiration you provided," and declared that the trip had "galvanized our city government into action." Adopting the slogan, "live on the hills and work in the city," the Urban Renewal Authority of Wheeling (URAW), chaired by Levenson, subsequently cleared a rundown neighborhood along the river in the early 1960s with the goal of creating a new planned industrial district. "All citizens who believe in Wheeling find themselves welcome," Wheeling Conference officials declared. We are "moving forward in giant steps and can become as great a city as its citizens want it to be." 1 The public–private partnership behind the Pittsburgh Renaissance always understood its economic mission in terms of the broader metropolitan region. First and foremost, Allegheny Conference leaders and their political allies sought to improve the competitiveness of the Pittsburgh region with respect to other American cities. Smoke and flood control efforts, highway construction, a system of rural parks, and urban renewal projects, including the corporate skyscrapers of the Golden Triangle, were all conceived within an overall framework of attracting and maintaining population and business investment. In response to long-running concerns about a chronic shortage of space for commercial expansion due to the rugged topography, conservative business leaders reluctantly turned to federally subsidized urban renewal programs in the 1950s for assistance in transforming older, mixed-use areas along the riverfronts into planned industrial districts, such as one envisioned for the Manchester neighborhood on the city's North Side. At the same time, Conference officials acknowledged and even encouraged the migration of other urban functions, especially housing, to the periphery, where there was "enough land so that housing objectives may be realized, and every family live within easy commuting distance of the heart of the city." 2


Techniques to determine the proportions of constituent materials within a single pixel spectrum are well documented in the reflective (0.4-2.5μm) domain. The same capability is also desirable for the thermal (7-14μm) domain, but is complicated by the thermal contributions to the measured spectral radiance. Atmospheric compensation schemes for the thermal domain have been described along with methods for estimating the spectral emissivity from a spectral radiance measurement and hence the next stage to be tackled is the unmixing of thermal spectral signatures. In order to pursue this goal it is necessary to collect data of well-calibrated targets which will expose the limits of the available techniques and enable more robust methods to be designed. This paper describes the design of a set of ground targets for an airborne hyperspectral imager, which will test the effectiveness of available methods. The set of targets include panels to explore a number of difficult scenarios such as isothermal (different materials at identical temperature), isochromal (identical materials, but at differing temperatures), thermal adjacency and thermal point sources. Practical fabrication issues for heated targets and selection of appropriate materials are described. Mathematical modelling of the experiments has enabled prediction of at-sensor measured radiances which are used to assess the design parameters. Finally, a number of useful lessons learned during the fielding of these actual targets are presented to assist those planning future trials of thermal hyperspectral sensors.


Evaluation as a discipline has just started to take hold in Spain, especially since the nineties. More and more research centres, independent consultants, professionals and scholars are devoted to these tasks. However, we lack a unified body of knowledge, there is no shared vision of what evaluation is, nor is there a professional profile recognized by society or even by ourselves. Entry of unqualified persons in the profession is a tangible reality, with many supposed evaluators whose training is limited, in the best of cases, to a specific course, or certain personal experience as participants (not technicians) in some evaluation process, generally in an accreditation system.


Abstract. When writing an academic paper, researchers often spend considerable time reviewing and summarizing papers to extract relevant citations and data to compose the Introduction and Related Work sections. To address this problem, we propose QuOTeS, an interactive system designed to retrieve sentences related to a summary of the research from a collection of potential references and hence assist in the composition of new papers. QuOTeS integrates techniques from Query-Focused Extractive Summarization and High-Recall Information Retrieval to provide Interactive Query-Focused Summarization of scientific documents. To measure the performance of our system, we carried out a comprehensive user study where participants uploaded papers related to their research and evaluated the system in terms of its usability and the quality of the summaries it produces. The results show that QuOTeS provides a positive user experience and consistently provides query-focused summaries that are relevant, concise, and complete. We share the code of our system and the novel Query-Focused Summarization dataset collected during our experiments at https://github.com/jarobyte91/quotes.


Crystalline polymers can be oriented by epitaxy on various substrates, including low molecular weight, usually aromatic compounds and polymers oriented by epitaxy and by mechanical means (strain induced polyolefin films and friction-deposited PTFE layers). The resulting oriented films are thin, but display unusual morphologies with lamellae standing edge-on and, often, single crystal structure. They are adequate investigation materials for structure determination, show enhanced or maximized orientation-dependent properties, and may contribute to mechanical strengthening in composite polymer films.


The purpose of this descriptive and exploratory study was to extend our understanding of the motivations for trophy hunting. Hunting is an important recreational activity and part of the culture in Montana. Placing specific emphasis on the importance of obtaining a trophy nonhuman animal when hunting, the study examined the attitudes of resident hunters and nonresident outfitter-sponsored hunters. The study used a qualitative approach to data collection and developed 2 surveys that contained mostly open-ended questions. Results from 1000 surveys mailed to resident elk hunters and 1000 surveys mailed to nonresident outfitter-sponsored elk hunters indicated that nonresident outfitter-sponsored hunters were more likely than resident hunters to seek trophy-class animals. Respondents provided statements about the importance of obtaining trophy animals.


The field experiment has revealed that application of green manure and mulching of seedlings by organic matters and zeolite-containing clay increases the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and improves agro-physical parameters of soil. As consequence the yield of red beet has increased up to 14-34%, the root weight has increased up to 11-16 g, and the standard output has increased up to 3-7%. The improvement of biochemical and phytosanitary quality of roots was revealed.


Background Severe hearing loss can affect speech perception in children, and hearing aids as a medical device may help improve speech perception in children. Objective To explore the effects of fitting hearing aids (HAs) on speech perception in children with severe hearing loss (60–70 dB HL). Methods Ninety-five children with bilateral severe hearing loss who were fitted bilaterally with HAs before the age of 3 years were followed up. The subjects were grouped according to their age at the time of fitting, i.e., <1, 1–2 , and 2–3 years groups. The Mandarin Early Speech Perception test was used to evaluate speech perception of Mandarin monosyllabic words at 12, 24, and 36 months after fitting. Results There were significant improvements in vowel, consonant, and tone perception scores from 12 to 36 months after fitting HAs in the three age groups, and the mean score at 36 months after fitting was significantly improved at >85%. The mean speech pattern and spondee perception scores averaged at >90% at 12 months after fitting and were comparable to the scores of 2-year-old children with normal hearing. Conclusions HA helps with speech perception in children with severe hearing loss.


INTRODUCTION The HIV pandemic has raised the profile of Cryptococcus neoformans from an obscure yeast to the most important fungal cause of morbidity and death worldwide. Previously described as a rare cause of meningitis in the tropics, or in patients with some form of acquired immunodeficiency such as haematological malignancy or organ transplantation, cryptococcal meningitis is now a significant public health burden in developing countries. 20% of all AIDS deaths are due to cryptococcal meningitis, making it the second most common cause of death in HIV infection after tuberculosis (French et al. 2002). Moreover, despite the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), it continues to pose difficult management questions in the industrialized world. Questions remain for physicians regarding the optimal combination of antifungal agents, duration of treatment, accurate indicators of response to therapy, management of raised intracranial pressure, and the role of adjunctive therapies such as corticosteroids or other


This dissertation focuses on the following two topics: 1. Van Bosse, both as an individual and as a member of Dutch cabinets; with an assessment of his ministerships (Chapter I), and 2. the changes which took place in fiscal legislation in the period from 1848 to 1853. This dissertation also discusses the influence of liberalism on fiscal issues in the same period (Chapters 5 and 6 ) . The thesis places the above topics in a historical context by outlining: - social conditions in the the decades preceding l848 (Chapter 2), and - the growth in the popularity of liberalism and the development of fiscal legislation during the first half of the 19th century (Chapters 3 and 4 ). ... Zie: Summary


Cloud Computing is a technology that consists of an internal server and a common server which is used to store data in it in such a way that it can be accessed universally. Big data is a collection of a large data set or data modules. Various studies have been made where the successful integration of cloud and big data have been performed. The advantage of linking big data with cloud is that the data availability becomes global and could be accessed easily. This opens the data up for vandalism and could be easily manipulated. To ensure proper data integrity, different encryption techniques could be used to provide security to the data. Role-Based policy access is an access policy, which provides access to the end users based upon their attributes, which are used to supposedly authenticate the user. It gives the end user the privileges like file access, file modification and updating. This survey determines in various ways that role policy access using cloud has its own advantages and disadvantages.


An adaptive threshold approach is proposed for the segmentation of glottal images acquired from high-speed phonoscopy (HSP). In this approach, difference image sequences are used to identify a region of interest (ROI) that encloses the maximal vocal-fold motion. Then, sub-image sequences are defined from the identified ROI from each original image frame. Finally, threshold segmentation is performed on the sub-image sequences with variable threshold value adapted for each sub-image frame. The proposed approach has been shown effective for segmenting a vast amount of image frames from clinical HSP recordings representing both normal and pathological voice conditions.


It is shown that molecular states of two nuclei may exist as the result of a common orbit of a strongly excited neutron. (auth)


Malware has become a serious threat to the internet. Their numbers are constantly increasing, and the level of complexity is rising. This paper aims to conduct a systematic survey on the development of malware detection technology. The main contributions of this paper are: 1) Describing in detail the state-of-the-art of malware detection methods, 2) Exploring the challenges and limitations of machine learning implementation on malware detection, 3) Providing new trends and developments in malware detection technology. This survey is expected to help researchers to understand the malware detection technology and the direction of its research development.


Abstract An analysis of the seasonal dependence of the ionospheric response to the geomagnetic activity and the shortterm variations of the solar radiation has been made. The research is based on the critical frequency of the F-region measurements from the ionosonde station Sofia for the period from 1995 to 2014. The crosscorrelations and delay times between the relative values of the critical frequencies of the ionospheric F-region with the planetary geomagnetic activity Kp-index and the solar radio flux at 10.7 cm (F10.7) for each calendar month of the year are investigated. The results can be used to create empirical models of the ionospheric parameters which depend on the variations of short-term solar and geomagnetic activity.


Abstract Disodium-oxidovanadium(IV) disulfate, a new and interesting battery electrode material, is prepared by a new very simple, and easy synthetic procedure. Its infrared and Raman spectra were recorded and discussed on the basis of their structural peculiarities with the aid of a factor group analysis of the internal vibrations of the sulfate groups of the compound. The spectra appear strongly dominated by correlation field effects.


In this paper, we apply Galerkin method with Chebyshev polynomials to solve the integral equation of the second kind with degenerate kernel. We compare the exact solution with an approximate solution obtained by Galerkin method on numerical examples. Graphical comparison between the exact solution and the approximate solution is carried out. The results show that the Galerkin method with Chebyshev polynomials is efficient and can be applied to solve other problems.


The conquest of the Ottoman state at the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century put under its rule most of the territory inhabited by Croats. In the Croatian lands that came under Ottoman rule, the legal position of Catholics was built on the model of Muhammad's order towards those who recognized his political power and possessed »holy books« and did not accept Islam. The conqueror of Bosnia, Sultan Mehmed II gave the Bosnian Franciscans Hatisherif the so-called Ahdnama, by which he guaranteed to the Franciscans personal inviolability and freedom of religious activity, and to the Christian population unhindered possession of property and freedom of residence in the area of his authority. It was a pragmatic act, because despite the legal guarantees, the position of Catholics and Franciscans was very difficult. Wars with Christian, mostly Catholic countries, often provoked terrible retaliation. The Franciscans were the only Catholic priests in the area under Ottoman rule. Although they often suffered great injustices from state and local Ottoman powerful people and resisted the proselytizing efforts of Orthodox bishops, they expanded their activities beyond the borders of medieval Bosnia. The missionary dynamics and tradition of the Franciscans over the centuries have made the Franciscans in Croatian lands a vital component of the Order and they, in the service of preserving Catholicism and pastoral work, successfully maneuvered between the demands of the Ottoman theocratic state, Orthodox proselytism and the demands of Christian states of Western Europe, mainly of the Habsburg Empire, the papacy, and Venice.


There are many factors affecting listening competence,including affective factors and other factors.However,the affective factors play a decisive role in it.Affective factors affecting improving English listening competence include motivation,self-confidence,and anxiety.The study of Affective Filter Hypothesis shows that the improvement of English listening should rely on learners' good motivations,strong self-confidence and the building of a low anxiety environment for listening education on basis of the sources of anxieties.


Thermal management is one of the key issues arising in designing light-emitting diode (LED) based luminaire products. Dynamic compact thermal models (DCTMs) are required to predict the thermal behaviour of LED packages fast and accurately in system level simulations. The European Delphi4LED consortium aims to develop multi-domain (electrical-thermal-optical) compact models. One of its targets is to develop a methodology to extract DCTMs that can handle multiple heat sources of LEDs. We present the implementation of Krylov subspace based model order reduction techniques to extract the DCTMs of LED packages selected in the Delphi4LED simulation benchmarks. The results presented in this paper show that the extraction of DCTMs using iterative rational Krylov is highly accurate for these benchmark problems.


Robert Cover's Nomos and Narrative points to the need to recognize a second, novel dimension for understanding rights. His concept of nomos, applied to competing notions of nation in pluralistic societies, suggests that the current dimension for understanding rights, which conceives of them fundamentally as protections for the individual against the state, is too narrow. Rather a second dimension, understanding rights of individuals against the nation, and aimed at ensuring individuals' ability to participate in the development of an idea of nation, is necessary to avoid "a total crushing of the jurisgenerative character" of nomoi by the state, or by ascendent national groups. This need is underscored by the rise of populist nationalist movements that seek to capture the state to impose on their fellow citizens a particular vision of the nation. Such groups, like the segregationist Bob Jones University that Nomos and Narrative addressed, pose a problem for rights regimes by underscoring the limits of a state neutrality in the face of illiberal visions of the nation. This second dimension of rights builds on and ultimately revives the revolutionary elements of Cover's seminal article a fitting tribute to his brilliance. * Ralph Denton Professor of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law. J.D., Yale Law School, 1991; B.A., Southern University, 1988.